A walk in the park

Last night I was driving home from a meeting I had to attend, and I drove past this park that I used to go at night and pray a few years ago. Well, since I got married 3 years ago, I find it a little more difficult to try to take that time with God. That used to be my favorite thing to do.

But anyway as I drove by, the Lord asked me why I don't spend time with Him like I that anymore. He laid it on my heart to pull into the park and so I did. I got out of the van, put on the song "Give me Jesus" by Jeremy Camp and just continued to walk in the dark between these two softball fields. I just started talking to Jesus and thanking Him for bringing me here and all that he has done in my life.

After spending a while in prayer I started walking back to my car clear across the park. Then, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. From a distance I saw this man rattling a plastic bag as he sat on one of the park benches facing the softball field. It was very difficult to see because it was so dark out. So, I kept walking but I started to think what if this man is homeless? It's cold out here and it's late. Where is he going to go? So I asked the Lord what He wanted me to do. Should I go up to him? What would I say? Should I offer him a ride anywhere? Should I buy him food? I don't want to scare the poor guy, after all we are the only two people in this big park late at night. And I, being a total stranger, just walk up to him? Kinda creepy I admit.

After struggling with the idea of going up to a total stranger who appears to be homeless in the dark late at night in a park with no one else around, I finally gave in to the Holy Spirit and started to pursue this poor soul who needs Jesus. I thought to myself, I am doing God's work right now. This feels good. I'm going to help this poor man and then he is going to thank me and I'll be good with the Lord and I can go back home to my wife and family so I can brag about how I've been a servant doing God's work helping a homeless man…. Just being honest.

As I approached him I said “I was in the park praying and felt lead to come over and talk with you”. I explained to him I used to come here all the time and pray and having a big family lately has distracted me from doing so. He said... "Yeah". So, thinking he was going to give me some sad story of him being homeless tonight and that he has nowhere to go, I asked him "What are you doing here"?

And this is when I started to be humbled and surprised by his answer… He said with such a meek, gentle smile and tone…”Why am I here? Well I am here to talk to people about Jesus.” Umm…I thought to myself, we are the only ones here and it’s dark! What people is he talking about? Anyway, we continued talking about our Lord and before I had shared anything at all with this man he starts telling me Satan is after my family! Wow!!! Blown away again! Over the course of three years of being married, my family and I have been through some pretty rough spots. I’m not going to go into all of that but those rough spots were pretty significant to say the least. And here lately in the past month, we as a family have been hit with some more intense drama that can easily bring division between me and my wife. So, I briefly shared some of those things with my new meekly mannered friend Anthony. He simply said “don’t give up! You will be ok, just keep loving the Lord and seek him like you did tonight. And keep loving your wife.” I asked to pray for him and he was grateful. Then he prayed for me. He laid one hand on my shoulder and my other hand he held in his. As he started to pray, his words were powerful and started to shake me and physically move my body as he rebuked Satan and his demons to leave me and my family alone! That prayer came straight from his heart! He was so passionate about it. Then we said our good byes and I went back to my van.

Isn’t it funny? I went over to that man thinking I was going to bless him and do something wonderful for God by being a servant to this man… Reality was, I was the one who got blessed last night! I was the one who was broken and needing Jesus! And Jesus knew it!

Don’t ever think, just because a man wearing worn-out clothes and has a plastic bag for his home, he doesn’t have anything to give and to bless somebody with! This man lead me back to Christ. That gift is priceless!!!

-Doug McGowan

His Favorite Name is Father

Today’s scripture:

“I have always wanted to treat you as my children and give you the best land, the most beautiful on earth. I wanted you to call me “Father” and not turn from me.” (Jeremiah 3:19)

“Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9)

What kind of thoughts or emotions go through you when the word “Father” is mentioned? If you’re like me, you might have a hard time relating the name Father to the gifts of the Spirit… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. I didn’t have the best experiences with my earthly father, so when I hear the word father mentioned, thoughts of anger, disappointment and bitterness kind of rises up in me.

Of course, as you can imagine, having these kind of ungodly thoughts is not what God wants for you. God the Father has much more for you than that. He has a great and awesome plan for your life. A plan that includes Him being your father and you being His son or daughter! He loves you so much and He is patient to have that unfold in your life.

It was a few years ago when I was living alone about a year or two after becoming born again that He revealed something very precious to me. He knew I was having a hard time relating to Him as my Father. So, one 4^th of July when most people were with their families and friends, I was feeling exceptionally lonely and God was calling me out to walk with Him so He could speak tenderly to me being that I was feeling vulnerable.

He said to me, “Doug, My son, don’t feel discouraged or even shameful that you have a distorted view of what a father really means to you. I will fix that in you. I understand that you need to relearn Fatherhood in the way that was meant for you. In the mean-time look to the one that you can relate to as a friend… My son Jesus.  I sent Jesus to you as a human being. He has experienced pain and suffering and loneliness more than you have, so you can be sure the two of you can be the best of friends if you let Him. He will always be faithful to you because He is one with Me and I am perfect in love. And Doug, its ok when you hear me being referred to as Father to also picture me being nurturing and gentle like a mother because that is what I am to you. Do not worry my child, I will purify this idea of fatherhood in you so that we can be closer than ever before. I love you.”

God is so good, isn’t He? He knows just what we need and when we need it and just how to apply it to our lives. He showed me that He can be everything that a father should be but He is not gender specific. You see, when we hear the term “Father” we tend to think masculine as a man and maybe even a little rough, that’s my view anyway. However, God the Father is not a man or a woman. To be a man you would miss out on what comes natural for women and to be a woman, you would not have what comes natural as a man. But, God you see, is complete not lacking anything. He is not gender specific. He has a nurturing and gentle disposition just as a mother would have with the same amount of leadership and protection and provision as a father would have. He is complete and all that you need.

God is addressed as “Father” 260 times in the bible. Some theologians say that “Father” is Jesus’ favorite name when referring to God and I believe that it’s true. Think about it… could it be because Father and son is all about a relationship and an intimate relationship at that! Remember that Christianity is not about following rules that your father has giving you. It’s about having that close love for your father that you want to follow His rules. He even says in Matthew 18:3 that to be the greatest in His kingdom, we need to become as little children. Little children have this way of calling for their father… “Papa” or “Daddy”. These two words refer to father with such intimacy that says I trust you.

Please click on this link for a special blessing...  Your favorite name is Father by Newsong

Reflection:

I sometimes cringe a little when I hear that people have this incredible closeness with their earthly father only because I never really had that, but praise the Lord that they are blessed with that awesome gift. Statistics say that 1 out of every 3 children are living without their biological father in the home! So, I know that this will be speaking to a lot of people who don’t really understand having an intimate relationship with their earthly father. However, it should create a hunger in us to have that closeness with God as our Father. Believe it or not, that in itself is a gift.

Challenge:

With these statistics as high as they are, I’m sure you know someone that has this challenge of knowing a compassionate loving father. Will you please intercede for them in prayer? Ask the Lord to touch their heart and to use that challenge to create a hunger in their heart for Jesus to be their friend and savior so that they can have an intimate relationship with the one and only Father. Maybe even come alongside them with the compassion of knowing where they are at and be mercy to them.

-Doug McGowan

A Fight to the Death

Today’s scripture:

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. (Mark 8:35)

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. (Luke 9:23)

Very recently I heard of a situation about this one person who we will call Becky. Becky has been faced with all kinds of health issues the past few years which have continually gotten worse and worse. Over the years her family has prayed for her to give her life to Jesus and to be healed. Now Becky is at the point that she is face with the very real probability of death and nobody being able to care for her until she dies and still she is so set in her ways she will not give up and let God in. Becky continues to fight to the death to have her way instead of letting God have His way.

Have you ever been so stubborn wanting your own way that you shove God out? God may have been trying to get your attention for a long time and the more you shove God push Him away, ignore Him or even wrestle against Him, the worse things get. God is a very patient God but He is also very very jealous.

As I was hearing about Becky and her situation, immediately I started to wonder and question God like I usually do when I hear about things like this. I would think things like “Is God even paying attention to this lost soul?” “Does He even care?” The answer is of course He cares and yes, not only is He paying attention to her needs, He is doing something about it.”

Think about it. In Becky’s situation, things started out kind of bad with her health. However, as time went on and prayers went up, God heard those prayers and He decided to do something about it. When God works, it usually does not come how we imagine it should come. God is trying to get her attention! He is at work….MIGHTLY!

I have been following Becky’s situation for a little while now. And, now things are worse than ever with her. Her stubbornness is stronger than ever, her health is weaker than ever, and her relationship with friends and family are at its most desperate moment. In Becky’s eyes it may be a fight to the death to have her own way but with God at work, it’s a fight to the death of one’s self (Mark 8:35). He has to bring us to the end of our own self where we have nothing left to fight with where we have to either die or give up and let God. I believe this happens a lot when people go into comas. They have nothing left to do but talk to God.

But God is so gracious and merciful that when we come to the point of giving up and letting God have us, we end up so filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. It’s almost like even when we lose, we still win! That is God’s heart and His character. This is what is meant by one of today’s scripture Mark 8:35.

My prayer for people who find themselves in the state of absolute despair is that they also see themselves as the thief on the cross. It is NEVER TOO LATE! That thief on the cross was being crucified along with Jesus. Moments before his death, that thief admitted his sins and asked for forgiveness and so quickly Jesus responded with such mercy “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” It is never too late!!!

Reflection:

Coming to the end of one’s self is not the end at all. It’s a new beginning (2 Corinthians 5:17)! The only death, the only end, the only destruction when you give up on yourself and let God is the death of self. And that is a very good thing! Until then, Just watch how God will continually try to get your attention with humility (Matthew 23:12)

Challenge:

Today, pray for those who you see that are going through some very difficult times. God may be using those trials to get their attention. Next time you go through some tough times, remember that God is paying attention and He is doing something about it. Just humble yourself by giving up and just let God have His way with you.

-Doug McGowan

The Great Banquet

Luke 14:21b "...Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame." Throughout the bible Jesus' heart has always been for those "down-and-outs", "outcasts" those kind of people that you normally wouldn't want to have around because of various reasons. But Jesus came for everyone and He is calling out ....NO, He is CRYING out to those lost souls with a desperate cry for them to hear that their sins are forgiven if they would just turn to Him. And He is also calling us to go and send them the invitation.

"Who will go for me...? Here am I Lord, send me!"

A little while back Pastor Bob Nienhuis from my church (Liberty Bible Church) gave a sermon about the parable of the great banquet and reaching out to the lost? Well, I have put together a preliminary idea of something that maybe we as a church can do. What I mean as us as the church is no matter your domination or detailed beliefs. If you have a desire to help those who are lost and need to hear about the mercy from God and what He has done on the cross for them, then that's all that matters, not what church you belong to.

Here is the idea...

The Great Supper based on Luke 14:15-24

This would be a FREE "non-formal dress come as you are" event. However, they will be treated as royalty being catered to just as if it were an expensive night out.

We want this night to communicate to them that we care about the struggles and trials of life we all go through and we want to help and that there is hope in Jesus Christ and help from those who want to follow Him.

Provide...

- Bus commutes to & from dinner    
- Biblical Counciling information booths    
- Designated testimonies on stage    
- Most Excellent Way information (support group from LBC)
- Prayer warriors standing by
- A small teaching of the symbolism of this banquet and the banquet with God (salvation)
- Invitation to receive Christ as their savor (altar call).
                                         
Promote at...
     
- Welfare offices
- Porter County Jail
- Westfield Prison    
- State Prison
- Rehabs centers
- Porter Starke          
- Trailer parks
- New Creation Men's Center
- Battered women's shelter
- Housing opportunities
- Any other places you may think of

As you can probably imagine, this kind of event may be a lot of hard work for one person, so I'm looking to see how many local people that see this post will be willing to help me pull this off. Also if you have any ideas to help to add to this or to make it happen, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Build on the Rock

Today’s scriptures:

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalms 18:2)

But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), (Genesis 49:24)

As we go through life we are bound to have disappointments, hurt, pain, and sadness. We are guaranteed to experience earth-shaking situations that could either, in a matter of speaking, make or break us. I can say this because Jesus tells us that we will have trouble in this life (John 16:33). But then He says that it is ok that we go through times that are hard because He has overcome the world. Being that He has beaten the grave and the ways of this world and the lies of the devil, that gives Him the right position to be the Rock on which we can stand in the midst of such adversity in our own lives.

Please dear saints do not read this and hear me say so flippantly that its ok that you are experiencing great sadness and hurt because you can always turn to Jesus for your rock. Even though that is true, Jesus is not saying it so carelessly. He says it with deep compassion of knowing your great pain because He himself went through that. And He is not some vague imagination that can turn your world into happiness whenever you turn to Him. As a matter of fact, God the Father did not do that for Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane as Jesus prayed for the cup of a terrible death and separation from His Father to be passed from Him. No, Jesus had a purpose to endure the physical and spiritual pain so that you and I can be free from Hell if we embrace that gift by giving Him our life and letting Him live through us.

Today we are looking into the twenty-first topic on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is teaching, which is “Build on the Rock”. Matthew 7:24-27… Jesus says, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

What does Jesus mean when He says, “I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock”?

Building your house on the rock is about intimacy with Jesus. Strengthen your faith in Him by worshiping Him with everything you do, so when the suffocating floods and the damaging winds come, and they will come, your house will not fall.

Recently I was meditating on this very thing when my wife Cyndi told me about this car accident that she saw on 80/94 by Chicago yesterday. She said this woman looked like she was in emotional agony as help was just arriving to the scene. Cyndi didn’t find out what had happened but it got me thinking maybe it was a fatal accident and it was someone this woman was close to that had died. It’s horrible enough to go through something so gut wrenching, it is even worse to face it without the hope that Jesus gives if you have a relationship with Him. He is the firmness of your strength, the stability in your weakness, and the power in your love in any and every situation you are in.

Reflection:

Well, this wraps up the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount. All of which are attitudes of the heart. Remember, attitudes come from the heart. If your attitude is wrong, that means your heart is not right. In this teaching there is an attitude of endurance as you work out your faith in Jesus and what He has done for you. The kind of endurance that will carry you through trials and that endurance only comes by you surrendering your own will and strength and let God work through you.

Challenge:

Dear saints, I challenge you to carefully consider how you are building your faith. Even people who call themselves christains can build their faith on sand having knowledge of God but not having closeness with Jesus. Talk to Jesus and ask Him to make it clear to you if you are standing firm on His foundation. Then go and win souls to the same house built on the Rock!

-Doug McGowan

I Never Knew You

Today’s scriptures:

They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. (Titus 1:16)

(for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; (Romans 2:13)

What horrifying 4 words from such a loving God! Think about it, in the verse below God says “in that day”. I believe Jesus is talking about in the day when a person departs from this world and is taking up to meet his Creator, God says “I never knew you; depart from Me”. I want to never hear those words spoken to me. After hearing those words you know that all true hope is now lost and you will forever be spending the rest of eternity in the lake of fire to be tortured and tormented… FOREVER! There is nothing you can say that can reverse that judgment brought on you by a just and loving God. It will be the only time that there will truly be no hope at all.

Today we are looking into the twentieth topic on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is teaching, which is “I never knew you”. Matthew 7:21-23… Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

Take a look at the verse above (Romans 2:13). Notice it says the doers of the law are justified. Now, if we compare this scripture with this passage in Matthew, one might say didn’t they “do” the will of God and yet God says depart from me? There is one thing to understand here. And that is the heart of Christ. The heart of Christ is always LOVE. To be in the will of God, it will always, without fail, have love at the core of it. To do something that seems right and noble may be good by our standards but if we really take a good hard look at the core reason and our motive of doing good things, they must be out of love.

One might say, didn’t I prophecy and teach Your Word? Didn’t I lay hands on those who were sick? Didn’t I go on mission trips to experience the despair of the poor and needy? Didn’t I tithe to the church for You? Didn’t I visit those who are in the hospital? Didn’t I read the bible every day? Didn’t I speak in tongues? Didn’t I do the things You did? And He will say “I never knew you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness!”

That very last part of Jesus statement I believe is key. They practiced lawlessness. See, we now go back to why I started writing “The HEART Of Christ” in the first place. It’s Love that is woven in and out of God’s law. Without love you are nothing and what you do is counted as worthless. Without love it is counted as lawlessness. And that is what some who call themselves christains practice. True, Jesus did do all those things but it was out of complete and pure love that was and still is acted out from His emotion of compassion that comes from His grace. That action of love is mercy and that my friend is the HEART of Christ!

Dear saints, I don’t want to speak harsh just for the sake of speaking harsh. But, I do want the Word of God to be spoken without compromise. I truly want to get your attention. It is a very scary and horrible thing to get to the end of it all and realize that you have missed it. I want you to hear that passage from Matthew 25:21 “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ All because you truly gave you whole life to Jesus and did the will of the Father out of love for His people.

Reflection:

After hearing those words “I never knew you” there is absolutely no hope at all! However, we do have hope in the here and now! We have hope from a very loving and compassionate Savior and His name is Jesus Christ. He is very patient with us, but please dear ones, don’t wait to find out why you do what you do. The HEART of Christ needs to be dwelling within you.

Challenge:

Ask God to search your heart. Ask Him to give you true compassion for His people and for those who are lost and without hope. Don’t do it with the desire to gain something for yourself. Go out into the world and be a light in the darkness. Go out and seek out someone who has a need, but do it with the intention of wanting to help him or her. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself how you would want to be treated and go beyond to treat them better than that.

-Doug McGowan

Fruit Test

It has been a while since I wrote anything to continue the series of the Sermon on the Mount. But here is the next teaching I felt led to write about. This follows the last teaching back in September of last year 2013 called "The Gate and the Way are Narrow". please check it out to see where we left off.

Today’s scripture:

Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ” (Luke 13:7-9 NKJV)

The Lord is so patient with us, isn’t He? I mean, if we truly knew how messed up and wicked we really are in light of Him, we would wonder how He could put up with us. But, He does put up with us because He is patient. He is kind. He is not easily angered. He never fails to pursue our hearts. I want to be that way with people, but I have so far to go. The desire of my spirit is to pursue His love and His likeness and His relationship with me so that I can love and give mercy to others, especially in my own family. But, what about those who think they are of the vine and think they are producing good fruit? Is His patience going to last forever for them?

Today we are looking into the nineteenth topic on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is teaching, which is “You will know them by their fruits”. Matthew 7:15-20… Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Jesus starts out His teaching here with a warning. He warns us to watch out for false prophets. A prophet is someone who the Holy Spirit inspires to speak and to teach that comes straight from God’s heart to someone else. It isn’t talking about someone that just speaks about the future. Very often you might run into people who say they speak for God or that they are true believers who act as they are motivated to help others. Jesus calls them ravenous wolves dressed up in sheep’s clothing. The scary thing for them is they may not even realize they are a wolf. They may truly be so deceived thinking they are in God’s favor. In-fact, even as I write this, I do it with fear because teachers are held more accountable and I want to know for sure that I am doing it with the right reason of helping others and not for myself in any way.

This should bring a sense of fear that is healthy. The very respectable and reverence kind of fear. God is very patient and full of love, but He says those who eventually do not produce good fruit will be cut off and thrown into the fire! Sounds harsh right? Well it should, because Hell is a very serious matter. DO NOT TAKE THIS LIGHTLY! If you truly are a follower of Christ, a true Born again Christian, then you will be producing good fruit if you stay connected to the vine which is Jesus (John 15:5). But Jesus is talking about those who are “playing church”, like those who may be in ministry for themselves or to gain acceptance or to become popular. Or it may be those who think it’s just about the strictness of God’s law without the intimacy of Jesus Himself. Being a true believer of Jesus should show a major distinction between the life you had before you met Jesus than the life you are living after you gave your life to Him. Remember, God is not mocked! You cannot fool Him by your actions. He knows the very depths of your heart.

God is love, but He is also holy and just. He will not allow wolves to devour His children. He most definitely will not allow His people to continue to act as if they belong to themselves or this world. He will have to get your attention, and if your not willing to submit to His will, eventually, He will have to give you over to the devil in hopes that you will come back to Him (1 Corinthians 5:5).

Today’s scripture reminds me of how Moses was with his people the Israelites. God was tired of their complaining and idolatry so much that He was going to wipe them all out. In Exodus 32:9-10, The Lord said “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them.” However, in v. 11-13 Moses (their intercessor) had compassion on them and stepped in and prayed. So, God relented.

Reflection:

Somehow, I have gotten this reputation that I preach a hell-fire message. But, the fact is, God is full of mercy and love and has compassion but He is also holy. He loves His people way too much to see them being taught by a false prophet who has selfish motives rather than having an interceding heart. He also loves those false prophets way too much to see them defiling themselves with pride and the ways of this world. He will remove them from His sheep!

Challenge:

Please dear saints, be in consistent check of your motives. Remember, we are consistently worshiping something. Is a true prophet of God who has your needs above his own teaching you? Or, are you being the one teaching with selfless motives, wanting God’s Word to truly reach the lost and needy? Don’t be afraid to ask God to search your heart.

-Doug McGowan