MikePaschall.com

There is a new podcast available on this site recorded February 13th at Emmanuel Christian Fellowship in McGregor, TX.

I recently saw this quote and thought I’d post it for your introspection:

“We harden into hell.  We take on an unforgiving attitude and don’t even realize we’ve done it.” Gerald Vann, British Roman Catholic Theologian, 1906-1963

-MDP-

“My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; for they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck.”  Proverbs 1:8, NKJ

It was a big deal when you got the word “hear” in Wisdom literature.  The Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” Deuteronomy 6:4, NKJ, was the basic confession of Judaism.  The name is derived from shâmaʿ, shaw-mah´ meaning to hear with your intellect and give attention to its truth with the intent to obey.  All kinds of bells went off to the severity and importance of what you were going to be told.  So, Solomon’s instruction centered on the one-two punch: dad’s commandments and mother’s enforcement of those commandments; also known as truth and law.  I don’t want to distract from my path today, but some people can relate to the fact that dad issued the commands and mom policed the action.  That was kind of the way it was in the home where I grew up, so it was very important to hear on the front end to avoid confrontation on the back end, if you get my drift.

Very little happens with the Body of Christ without our finding a way to attach a label to it and properly catalogue the experience.  For example, we can’t just hang out in worship, waiting to hear what the Lord might have to say.  We have to call it something, so we call it Harp and Bowl.  Then we develop a curriculum about how to orchestrate Harp and Bowl.  Then once we have a curriculum, we write books about Harp and Bowl.  If we have enough interest about that topic, then we’ll put on a conference and have in big name speakers all to talk about Harp and Bowl worship.  I often wonder if God ever looks down on all our activity and scratches his holy head?   I doubt David ever called it anything.  He just went into the Holy place to hang out and to hear God.

I know there are all kinds of operations of intercession.  The surfacing value and strategic roll of intercessors has drastically increased in the last 20 years.  Prayer is not new, but the way of intercessors and their role in the Body has taken on new forms and powerful strategies!  I have full appreciation for the relevance and importance of Spirit led intercession!  But, when you really get to the meat of prayer, you have to understand the importance of being able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.  In fact, the core of prayer is hearing, not blabbing.   Have you ever tried to comfort or counsel someone who is wounded and won’t shut up long enough for you to try to tell them something?  Honestly, it is exhausting trying to respond in the midst of all that!  We do that in prayer sometimes.  There is no new information you can tell God.  He already knows all about what you are burdened with.  He knows your need before you ask.  Go ahead and ask, He’ll be glad you asked, we are invited to ask, but we need to spend way more time listening instead of running our mouth.  Hearing or listening is not a style of prayer; it is prayer.  You may have a counter-argument… fine… go ahead… I’m listening.

-MDP

More from the project.   -MDP-

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”  Proverbs 25:2, NAS

For way too many years, I believed that the only way that God speaks is through the Bible.   I’m not totally sure how I arrived at such a conclusion, but it was what I thought.  I had a bunch of other crazy notions that totally ignored the work of the Holy Spirit and all the other relational attributes of a living God.  Once I discovered the personal nature of the Holy Spirit, God began to unravel my theological hardwiring.  I was like Alice who fell through the rabbit’s hole.  God was speaking everywhere in ways that were almost too wonderful to comprehend!  I wanted to sample everything that was on the Lord’s buffet.  I didn’t have to rationalize away the voice of God anymore.  The gifts of the Spirit were real and applicable in the most magnificent yet simple tangible ways.  No longer did I have to proof-text life through the scriptures.  As I removed the preset boundaries of my God experience, as expressed only by the holy writ, I was propelled into a deeper faith and trust to hear the voice of God in the most unusual ways.

I’ve often wondered if Moses would have ever reached the conclusion to go and confront Pharaoh by only reading the Torah?  Would Peter have drawn his conclusions about the Gentiles without the supernatural voice of God?  Would Mary have remained peaceful about her growing belly without a visitation from heaven?  Would Joseph have tolerated his betrothed’s holy expansion without a clear message in a night vision?  One more, would David have seen his sin concerning Bathsheba’s husband without a direct word from God via the prophet Nathan?  In all sincerity, I surmise that the Bible itself would have made little if any difference in how these people interacted with God’s voice.  It was all about His voice, their ear.

Part of interpreting dreams has to do with our searching out a matter.  We rarely pay attention to our dreams because we figure the pizza we ate last night caused that pink monkey, which is in the driver’s seat, to plunge a minivan into the neighbor’s swimming pool!  So, God gives us these bizarre dreams that require us to use natural discipline to ponder and think in order to figure out what God is saying to us!  Check this out: “Indeed God speaks once, or twice, yet no one notices it.   In a dream, a vision of the night, when sound sleep falls on men, while they slumber in their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction, that He may turn man aside from his conduct, and keep man from pride; He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from passing over into Sheol” Job 33:14-18, NAS. Wow!  The bottom-line here is that God is still creatively communicating.   Why dreams?  Because we are not paying attention to the other ways He is communicating!  We’re either too busy, moving too fast, moving too slow, or we are set on our agenda and we have turned our ears off!  So, He downloads a dream.  The bigger question is: are we willing to search out all the ways in which He communicates?  We are royalty in His Kingdom.  We each have a duty to hear and obey no matter what method He uses to get our attention.  Kings and Queens search it out.

What do you do with your dreams?  I highly recommend that you get the book:  Understanding the Dreams you Dream by Ira Milligan.   Ira is a close friend, a skilled counselor, seasoned Prophet, and excellent teacher of God’s word!

Not a word of what is below is mine.  They all belong to Richard Rohr.  This was my devotional reading this morning.  It’s too good not to post!   -MDP-

Kingdom people are history makers.  People who are still living in the false self, in the false world of illusion, are history stoppers.  They just keep repeating.  They’re conformist, fearful people, the nice respectable proper thinkers of every age who think collectively and have no power to break through.

“Woe to you when the world speaks well of you,” Jesus says (Luke 6:26). He seems to know that unhealthiness will usually be called healthy and normal.

Kingdom reality is seeing life in a new way:  Things are not what they seem.  It’s not what you think.  Only one thing is absolute.  All else is relative and passing.  The system is the way people think when they don’t think.

Kingdom thinking will never be commonly accepted.  The system is very seductive and blinding.

I dedicate this to my two natural daughters, my granddaughter and all the spiritual daughters in my life.  Just because of who you are, you motivate me to find the deeper stuff in my heart.  You make me better.  xo  -mdp-

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.”  Proverbs 13:12, NKJ

I was thinking today how much my mood affects these writings.  I’m in one of “those” moods today, where I want to sit down with young married men over a nice pint, light a cigar, cozy up to the fireplace and have a discussion about all the possibilities of this verse.  The gravitational pull inside my own heart is toward the sons.  I do not have natural sons.  God blessed me with natural daughters and they have taught me a lot about myself.  I wasn’t very good at fathering them early on but they were patient and receptive to all of my blundering efforts to cover them with love.  As they grew up, I grew up.  They actually prepared me to lead in a culture of honor.  They taught me that without love, it is all pointless and neutered.   All of my daughters (natural and spiritual) provide the proper motivation and set the standards that demand a boy to grow up into the full stature of manhood:  Young warriors, princes and lovers of honor and selfless sacrifice.  I have no problem what-so-ever in seating one of the daughters at the table of such fine company.

I fully realize that I have spiritual sons only because of the choices they’ve made to come under my headship, counsel or work.  I have to admit, having sons who pull on my passions and salute my life, is quite the reward for many years of serving God.  They honor me much more than I probably deserve and I take very seriously their desire for a place in my heart.  It really is a wonderful dynamic!  Sons and daughters are truly a gift from the Lord!  The fact that they want to relate makes my world a great place to live!

Now, back to the fireplace, the pint, the cigar and the discussion.  Too many young women, married and single, are waiting for the man they’ve said “yes” to, to become the man that they thought they said, “yes” to.  Desperate and immature men make promises they cannot keep or have no intention of honoring.   They live for the moment, regardless of what it costs them later.  Hope deferred makes the heart sick. Every woman has hope that her guy will be different from the rest.  She has a violent hunger for strength and protection without bargaining arrangements.  They crave the care of an internal strength that produces respect and churns their love.  A woman, who does not respect her man, is a heart-sick woman!  Too many of God’s daughters are waiting for the little boy inside of their guy to diminish and the real man to manifest.   The word deferred is mâshak, maw-shak´. Our vernacular would best describe it as the person who is dragging their feet, shuffling along and basically wasting time.  At the fireplace, we might need to consider the possibility that it is time to grow up and put away the toys of self-centered pleasure.  It could be, that it is time to stop dragging the baggage of our youthful past, into the serious opportunities of the present.  Sir, she is waiting on you.

SOMETHING TO JOURNAL ABOUT

Rohr says: “In order for a man to be born, the boyhood and keeping all my options open, must die.  The man must use his sword to kill the boy inside.” Elaborate on what you think all that means.  A properly initiate man gets this.  How would you suggest we convey this to the next generation?

Another devo entry.  Happy New Year!  -mdp-

“…knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”  Romans 6:6-7, NAS

My friend Michael Hindes tells the greatest story that illustrates the powerful truth of this passage.  Growing up in the tough streets of Pontiac, MI, presented lots of sullen opportunities to see humanity at its weakest.  Although there was more than enough conflict in his own home, often Michael’s father would have to bear arms and intervene at the neighbor’s house when Mr. Taylor would drink too much.  Jack was a mean drunk, a fighting drunk, which put Mrs. Taylor and the kids in harms way.   Many years after leaving the neighborhood, Michael visited the old stomping grounds and paid a visit to the Taylor home.  Mrs. Taylor was plenty cordial and extremely warm to Michael’s visit.  He asked Mrs. Taylor, “How’s Jack?  Has he stopped drinking?” Her response said it all, “Jack is dead.  He doesn’t get drunk anymore!” In that simple response we find the truth that we all can tap into.  We can come into agreement with the completed work of the cross that actually killed the power of sin and death over our life.   In short, we do NOT have to sin.  We can actually say no the things that once controlled and manipulated our life.  We no longer have to be a slave to sin.  We have a choice.  How?  Because we’ve been crucified with Him!

I had never considered this idea I’m about to convey here, until I heard it from my British friend Anthony Chapman.  Traditionally, we take this day and begin to plot a New Year’s Resolution for some change in our life.  Whether we need to begin to exercise, lose weight, learn a new skill, quit smoking or even change our behaviors in relationships, the weight of a resolution is that we change our mind or restructure our thoughts that pumps us up into legitimate motivation.  The only problem with this whole resolution concept is that we too easily lose that motivation and or interest by the end of January!  Too many great intentions are discarded like a soiled paper napkin.  I know that a couple days after New Years, the health club where I work out will be full of new members in cute little workout clothes and dazzling new running shoes.  By February, 75% of them will still be paying their dues, but no longer attending because they like the notion of being in shape, but no longer willing to pay the cost to be in shape.  Chapman’s thought is we really need a New Year’s Revolution!   That means that something old dies and something new is born.  The old regime, the old thing that has power in your life now, must die and the Spirit must birth the new thing, with new power!   You need a Jack Taylor!  Yes, you need to change your mind, but you also need to activate the truth that God will help you overcome in the Spirit and in the natural!

So, before you make some resolution of how you’re going to change, why not first identify what needs to die.   Then call upon the power of Christ to transform your thoughts and action.  Prophesy and activate your spirit to come into alignment with that power to change.  Then expect to move toward that thing or change what needs to happen next year, with the full expectation of complete victory!

This chick’s material is off the hook!  CHECK OUT JAMIE’S BLOG!

This is another entry from the writing project.  One of my loving editors has requested I post this.  Hope you enjoy it!  Merry Christmas!  xo

ADVENT

The western commercialization of Christmas absolutely wears me out.  I really dig the family stuff, presents for our loved ones, even the decorations and traditions are awesome, but the excess and the over the top spending for the entire season and then our token dialing-in to the birth of the Christ on Christmas eve or Christmas day leaves me feeling very sad and restless in the season.  We spin so fast during the holidays, I wonder if we really slow down enough to get to the truth of what the fuss is really all about.  Today I offer an Advent Prayer taken from Richard Rohr’s booklet:  Preparing for Christmas.  The word “advent” means the arrival of a notable person, not what we seem to make it:  the arrival of a notable season.  The poetry in this prayer is beautiful and the truth is rich.  This is not the kind of wording I use privately or pray with publically.  But it hit my spirit and I wanted to share it with you.  Maybe this is the year that we push in deeper to the Christ.  O come O come Emmanuel!  Lets begin to focus our minds and our spirit to the magnificent truth that He came and still, every day, comes for us!

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care.  Come, O Sacred Lord of ancient Israel, you showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush and you gave the holy law on Mount Sinai:  Come, O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you; Come, O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel, you [not the systems of this world] control at your will the gate of heaven:  Come break down the prison walls of death, O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:  Come shine on those who dwell in the darkness and the shadow of death.  O, King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of humankind:  Come and save these creatures you fashioned from the dust.  O, Emmanuel, God-With-Us, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people:  Come and set us free.  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”  Amen.

So Mary gives birth to the child.  Shepherds nearby receive a visitation from the angel of the Lord.  He scares the bujeebers out of them, but they manage to gather themselves to hear his message: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And from there it was on!  It is good for us to dial it down enough to go back to the manger, to whisper softly and peek into those warm blankets to see the mysterious miracle all over again.  May this advent season be the richest, most memorable ever!  He has come!  Let the earth rejoice!  He has come!

-MDP-

Do you declare yourself sober and binge drink on the weekends?

Do you announce that you are clean and still use occasionally?

Do you profess high integrity, but only steal when you go into Walmart?

Do you project to everyone that you’re a truth-talker, but are still prone to lying, embellishment and exaggeration?

Do you say “I’m waiting on God to open the doors”, but in reality you are pressuring man to open the doors for you?

Do you tell a man or woman that you love them, but treat their kids (natural or spiritual) with contempt?

Do you tell a man or woman that you love them, but treat their parents (natural or spiritual) with contempt?

Are you willing to honor “the elders” at church or in the ministry, but you will not honor or prefer your work boss, parents,  spouse, family or peers?

When is a good time to defile?  When is jealousy & covetous attitudes ok?  When is judgment acceptable?

“GOD is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him.”  2 Chron 16:9, MSG

The good thing about spiritual government is that it is always engaged.  The problem with spiritual government is that it always engaged.  The smallest contradictions cut the deepest grooves in our spirit.  We can’t pick and choose when and where we’ll be full-time Kingdom.  Going at it with part-time effort is creating more problems for you than you’ll ever realize…until later.

-MDP-