The Spirit of Jesus

Dear Readers,

Don’t you wish you had easy answers to difficult questions? I know sometimes I face challenges that seem overwhelming and I don’t know how I’m going to resolve them.

I think I pray hard enough (or do I?) but the answers seem very elusive.

I’ve read many verses about the leading of the Holy Spirit and how He will lead me “into all truth”. But then I get into the quandary of defining truth, and for a concrete thinker like me the answers can seem endless what truth looks like.

I read a couple Bible verses recently that caught my attention. It made me wonder if I was making things too difficult. The verses were located in Acts 16:6-8 (NLT). They go like this: “Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia,but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.”

Pay attention to verse 7 where it talks about the “Spirit of Jesus” that did not allow them to a specific place.

What would it take for you and I to be so in tune to God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, to have such specific direction given to us…and for us to discern it?

I pray and long for a day when I am so in tune with God’s will that I can directly tap into it to deal with difficult questions and challenges. How about you?

See you next time,

Arlen

Will Cleveland Winning a Championship Bring Happiness?

Dear Readers,

The last couple weeks the Cleveland Cavaliers have been playing in the NBA championship finals. Much has been made of the fact that Cleveland has not had a sports championship for 51 years. The Cleveland Browns won the NFL championship in 1964, three years before the beginning of the Super Bowl era.

All will be right in the northern Ohio world if Lebron and his cohorts bring home the coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy…or will it?

I will be one of the most excited fans around if the Cavs bring home the trophy. My excitement will almost border on euphoria. But I question if it will bring me true happiness.

I give as an example Ohio State Buckeyes winning the NCAA championship. It was very much fun to see the underdog pull out the last two games over much higher touted opponents. But how do I feel about that now?

I doubt that the championship itself brought anyone closer to the Lord. And what do you think about the high paid athletes in pro sports? Do winning championships make them think about how meaningless their millions really are?

I will be a happy camper when a Cleveland sports team brings home the gold. But my highest amount of happiness will be when my family and friends give their hearts to the Lord!

"Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord." Psalm 89:15

See you next time,

Arlen

Is It OK to Mourn?

Dear Readers, 

Tonight I went on a rant with my wife. I was not angry and my rant was not focused on her. I think I was a little bit melancholy. You see, I sometimes get into a state of questioning and in a sense “mourning”. During these times I usually think about the past, the present, and the future. I’m a sentimentalist at heart, although some people might disagree. And I have a degree of mourning about things. 

Sometimes I mourn when I wonder about the past. I wonder why I was born into my particular family and heritage. I wonder why I was raised in my Amish-Mennonite community. I wonder about the circumstances I encountered in my childhood, most of them good, but not necessarily extraordinary. My childhood church is now a huge church with large outreach in Holmes County, Ohio, and I wonder why it waited until I left to grow and thrive. I even wonder why my school sports teams waited until I left to become perennial state powerhouses that I can only experience from a distance. 

Sometimes I mourn when I wonder about the present. I wonder what my purpose is at this point in time. I wonder about my impact as a husband and a dad. I wonder about my vocation and what impact I’m having as a job developer in a community mental health center. I wonder about my tiny church and what impact we are having in the Mansfield, Ohio area. I wonder about Ohio, American, and world events and the impact they will have on the future. I wonder what it would take for government leaders and citizens to only worry about pleasing God and not worry about pleasing their respective political parties. I wonder what it takes to be a productive and discerning citizen. 
 
Lastly, sometimes I mourn when I wonder about the future. I wonder if I will have an enduring legacy that will be looked upon with respect and draw people toward God. I wonder about my wife and where her writing will take her, and what lasting impact it will have. I wonder about my son, and what it will take for him to reach his great potential. I wonder what it will take for family members and friends both nearby and far away, to change, and to perhaps wonder along with me what wonderful things God has in store for us. I wonder where my church can go, and what it can become in our community. Can it grow both spiritually and in numbers that I can experience it first hand, instead of later after I have moved on. I wonder if our government leaders can follow God’s leading rather than their political party. Also, I wonder if the worst of all people like ISIS individuals can have an awakening. 

I think it can be good to mourn about things, but perhaps to not go on a rant or to be melancholy about it. 

See you next time, 
Arlen

The Night That Donny Yoder of Hiland High School Was “In A Zone”

Dear Readers,  

Donny Yoder was in a zone that night. Hiland High School was playing at Riverview High School back in 1971. Donny had a night to remember.

It was a cold, snowy night outside, but inside that Riverview gym Donny was hot. Donny was not a ball hog by any means, but he was draining long range jumpers one after another. (Note: This was long before Ohio high school basketball had the 3-pointer.) He had over 40 points, a school record at that time. Everyone marveled at the feat. He simply said, “I was in a zone.”

What does being “in a zone” mean. Donny was a steady double figure scorer, but why did he never score that many points before that night, and why not after that night?

Why do people sometimes get “in a zone”? My wife is a writer and she states that sometimes she gets to the point where words and ideas just flow from her mind to the page. She in a sense is in a writing “zone”.

Inventors try unsuccessfully hundreds of times to develop a product. Then one day they hit on something that’s successful. They become almost obsessed until they perfect their product, hoping that it will change the lives of people. You might say they are in an inventor’s “zone”.

We can come up with many other examples of people, like musicians, professionals, computer geeks, etc. who get “in a zone” until they produce wonderful music, business deals, and technological advances.

Jesus, in Acts 1:8 talked about people getting in a “zone”, if you will. It was a spiritual “zone” that would enable His followers to spread the news about His saving power around the world.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere…” Acts 1:8 (NLT)
 
I'm not sure if Donny is still in the Hiland High School record books. I hope he is, because I got to see someone in person that cold, snowy night that was "in a zone"!

See you next time,
Arlen

The Power for Witnessing

Note: If you want to copy the Roman Road please go to my pinterest post at the following: 
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/375346950167867896/

 Dear Readers,

My last two blog posts were about power, one about false power, the last about “True Power” that identified three men who are now either gone, or in the last stages of their lives that brought to bear true power.

One major way that power is manifested today is the power when the Holy Spirit comes on us…and Jesus specifically stated that the power is for witnessing for him. See Acts 1:8:

He replied “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people everywhere about me—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

So I want to help us to become more confident in witnessing. One tool is the Roman Road which is pictured above. My wife used this tool just yesterday to lead another lady to the Lord. 

The picture I got off the internet, but I developed the accompanying Steps and Actions. I hope and pray that you it meaningful. Perhaps you can copy and paste it, print it, and carry it with you to help you when you get the chance to use the power for witnessing.

See you next time,
Arlen

True Power

Dear Readers,
 
My last blog post identified three men who claim to be the long awaited Messiah, and the false power they possess.

Tonight I watched a video about another three men who worked together to proclaim one man as the true Messiah and they changed the world with the true power of God.

I was brought to tears when watching a Bill Gaither documentary which highlighted Cliff Barrows’ life as the song leader for the Billy Graham Crusades. I attended the Billy Graham Crusade in 1993 in Columbus, Ohio, and was involved as a counselor at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1994. Mr. Barrows was getting older then, but he still showed vibrancy leading the songs.

Twenty years later in the 2014 documentary Mr. Barrows was full of the joy of the Lord. But at 83 years old he has a cane to walk and is obviously going blind, which I confirmed via the internet. He lamented the loss in 2013 of his long-time cohort, the famed bass soloist George Beverly Shea. They both had worked alongside Rev. Graham since the late 1940’s.

Lastly there is Billy Graham, the famed evangelist, who is in failing health at the age of 87. He was a dynamic speaker who never lost his zeal for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He teamed with Barrows and Shea to form a trio of what I would expect is the longest running evangelistic team ever to not break up in over 60 years. They developed a bond of friendship that could never be broken. A funny moment was when the three together sang “This Little Light of Mine”. Rev. Graham acted as the fall guy who could not sing a lick. He was the “no” guy when the other two sang “Won’t let Satan put it out”.

I marveled at the humble Mr. Barrows now with so many physical ailments, and then see videos when he was younger and leading stadiums of up to 100,000 people in glorious praise to God. I looked at the Billy Graham Crusade itineraries in cities all over the world and marveled that three men could have such an impact with literally millions coming to Christ.

These are three men that have true power that comes from the Holy Spirit of God.

See you next time,
Arlen

False Power

Dear Readers,

Recently I watched videos of different men in various parts of the world that proclaim that they are the long-awaited Messiah.
 
A recent documentary showed Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop, aka Vissarion, who is a former Russian police officer and former member of the Red Army. He lives in a beautiful mountainous setting in Siberia. The video shows followers walking several miles up a mountain to witness their messiah. The crowd waits in rapt anticipation. Finally, Vissarion strolls down from the top of the mountain with majestic music playing in the background. He then sits on a stone platform to address his throng.
 

Alan John Miller, aka Jesus, is the leader of Divine Truth. He is a former information technology worker in Australia who claims he is the reincarnation of Jesus of Nazareth, and whose partner is Mary Suzanne Luck, aka Mary Magdalene. Miller and his followers have recently purchased almost 600 acres upon which he plans to build a Divine Truth International Center on the eastern coast of Australia. He puts out many Divine Truth videos. “Jesus”, and “Mary Magdalene”, his cohort, seem like an easygoing couple who anybody could trust.

Raymond Howard-Lear, aka Lord Rayel, is from Chicago. He testifies via a series of videos that he is the long awaited messiah who was revealed on May 21, 2011, as he was transported, extra-terrestrially, to Jerusalem. Lear, a former political candidate and leader in Chicago’s Guardian Angels (civilian group to protect the streets of Chicago) is unlike the other two men mentioned above who talk in person on videos. Lord Rayel seems more a cyber Messiah, who has developed a series of long videos using many news clips and dire music warning of disaster to people who do not follow him.

It’s difficult for me to understand the “innards” if you will, of a person going to such lengths and putting forth such energy to gain a following. How does a person keep up the facade for years and do they ever get tired of their own charade?

And the people that follow such men, what drives them? People travel for thousands of miles to glimpse them, and many stay on as devoted followers. They give their entire lives and resources to please their masters.

I think that Vissarion and Miller, aka Jesus, take a risk of showing their flaws when they speak publicly. Vissarion acts more ethereally, and tries to portray a likeness of Jesus. Miller acts more like the “common man”. Lord Rayel, on the other hand, perhaps knows his flaws and does not speak in public. He is like the Great Oz behind the scenes orchestrating a convincing imagery of power. Oh, for a Toto to expose his deception!

I think these men, and in the case of “Mary Magdalene”, who is a woman, crave power. Perhaps they have not been successful in their pursuits in the world of work, and they perceived, maybe from childhood, that they have a degree of charisma and can use it to gain a following and the power that comes with it.

They, however, have been led astray, and have succumbed to a lie of Satan that instead of just wanting to be like Jesus, they want to be Jesus. Jesus predicted it in Matthew 24:24.

See you next time,

Arlen