FOCUS 2018 - Post 5

We read in Isaiah 58 that the people were busy coming before the Lord with what they thought would get His attention and release His blessing. As they came with fasting, they saw themselves as righteous and obedient, seeking God's presence. And yet God told Isaiah to confront them about how out of alignment their lives were with His ways and desires. God asked them, "Is what you are doing what I really want?" The intent was to awaken the people to recalibrate and refocus on what was pleasing to God.

And here is the mercy of God to all of us: when we find ourselves out of alignment God comes to renew us to His plan and His promise. "This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope: The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:21-13). So the Lord comes to His people to tell them what He is looking for and the reward that is theirs if they respond and seek His pleasure.

We see in Isaiah 58 how the Lord tenderly renews these people to His plan and destiny over their lives. He sets before them the "if...then" breakthrough. "If you will choose this, then I will release this to you." Understand that our Father is responsible for fulfilling His promises to us but He is not responsible for our potential and the choices we make toward that. He will keep reminding us about who we are in Him and the abundance He wants to release to us as we move within His pleasures.

Here we see the Lord longing to bring them into increased light that impacts those around them. He wants to bring them into recovery of things lost to them. He wants to surround them with His glory that protects them and provides. He wants them to come into such relationship with Him that they know their voice is heard immediately and He will answer. They would walk with Him and He would guide them. They would see the devastated places of their lives become the very places of greatest fruitfulness and power. Not only that, but they would begin to rebuild the previous glory of their culture and restore to prominence of the wisdom of heaven in their nation. God would use them to become the answer to unsolvable problems and lead the way into a glorious future as God had promised when He first brought them into this land flowing with milk and honey.

As we seek the Lord this month for 2018, ask Holy Spirit to reveal the promises He has for us individually and as a church. As we set our hearts to know what is pleasing to the Lord and give ourselves to these things, let us anticipate the mercy of the Lord to come upon us and break open massive restoration, fulfillment, empowerment and glory which positions us to become the answer to our valley, nation and the nations where God will send us. It's a new day!

FOCUS 2018 - Post 4

One of the precious revelations in Isaiah 58 is how the Lord instructs His people on what is pleasing and acceptable to Him. Even though the people's hearts were out of alignment with heaven and their actions were displeasing to God, He was willing to show them His thoughts and ways so that they might be blessed and fulfill their destiny.

The main issue in Father God's confrontation with them centered in the words "your own desire", "your own pleasure", "your own words". And He asked the questions of them, "what is acceptable to me?", "what do I choose?". All that they were looking for from God was not coming to them because their hearts had not been transformed in a loving relationship with their Creator. The Lord was nothing more than a power source, a blessing machine. Though they entered the temple of God day after day with prayers and fastings, their hearts were far away. So God spoke through Isaiah the prophet to help bring them back into alignment, give them a chance to repent, and know what was pleasing to God.

I have found that one of the greatest turning points in a believer's life is when they recognize that in this love relationship with our Father and His son there is an expression of love that drives us to find out what pleases Him and then operate that way. The apostle Paul wrote it this way to the Ephesian church, "For you were formerly darkness but now your are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.... trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.... so then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 5:8,10,17). To the Colossian church he wrote, "we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please hIm in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work" (Colossians 1:9-10).

There must come a point in our lives where we transition from our natural inclination to please ourselves and choose our ways to an elevated consciousness of something greater, more satisfying, more fruitful and rewarding that is only found in the desire and plans of God. If He is the way, the truth and the life, what will we find if we seek His pleasure first? How superior will your life become if you give yourself to understand His will and heart and live in alignment with heaven?

Laying down my own desire for His does not come easy. Something in our flesh must die. Our relationship with the world which has supplied so much of our pleasure must be radically altered. In fact, apart from Jesus you can't do it. Jesus is the only one who has perfectly loved the Father enough to do all of the Father's pleasure and will. And this is why we must be born again of the Spirit of God and baptized into Christ. We receive a new nature that is in perfect harmony with heaven's desires, thoughts and ways. It is only a new creation in Christ that has the supernatural ability and potential to walk in a manner pleasing to God.

But the reality is that even though millions have been born again and received the powerful Holy Spirit indwelling them, they take no thought of living so as to please God. They are just like the Israelites in Isaiah 58 seeking to get by with doing certain things that will yield blessings and get them to heaven.

Paul wrote something to the Philippian church that helped me greatly. He told them, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12-13). Do you see what has been happening since the day you gave your life to Jesus? God has been working, moving, stirring and pressing you from your spirit to love and choose His good pleasure! Wow! He is giving us the "want to". But not only that, if we choose it, He gives us the power/ability to follow through. And when we do that, our salvation, our new nature in Christ, takes us somewhere. We are changed into the very likeness of Jesus Himself, and we get His results and blessings!

Take a moment and ask yourself honestly whose pleasure you seek most often. Would you like Holy Spirit to teach you what is pleasing to God? Are you willing to have your heart trained in understanding what God desires so that is your greatest motivation and "go to" choice? If you will make this your focus in 2018 you will be amazed at all that opens up before you from heaven! Why not ask the Holy Spirit right now?

FOCUS 2018 - Post 3

As we stand before the word of the Lord in Isaiah 58 as standing before a mirror to see clearly (btw, there is no other way to come to scripture that will change your life), we are given a picture of spiritual life among the Israelites in Isaiah's day. These people had a strong sense of connection to the God of their father's, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, through whom they had received a covenant and laws unlike any other people on the earth. In their midst was the temple that Solomon had built unto the Lord to facilitate worship, house the Ark of God's Presence in the Holy of Holies, offer sacrifices to maintain right relationship with God, and to promote the teachings/word of God through the generations. If you were a visitor to Israel, and especially Jerusalem, you would be strongly impressed by what appeared to be a faith/religious- centered culture. 

And if you had observed these people of God in the day described by Isaiah in chapter 58 as they were seeking God through their fasting, you would have been even more impressed. You would have seen people laying on the ground in various places, especially around and in the temple courts. You would have seen them laying in ashes with some of the ashes thrown on their heads and smeared on their faces, looking sad and humbled. You would have noticed their bodies wrapped not in normal clothes, but very uncomfortable (and ugly!) sackcloth. You would wonder what it must be like to have that scratchy material against your skin, rubbing you every time you move. You would have been impressed by the level of suffering, humility and hunger they were enduring to be seen and heard by their God. They are not even lifting up their heads toward heaven, but are bowed down and bent over. You would have thought to yourself, "These are very righteous people, they want their God to come to them and bring justice and more of His glorious works in their midst. Oh how they love their God to go to such great lengths of service, suffering and sacrifice! Look at how they are calling upon their God with groans and tears!"

In fact, that is how these Israelites saw themselves! But God had a different opinion about them. Can I tell you that this is one of the most profound, life-changing revelations that a person can embrace in their life-time: No matter how I see myself and the value of what I am doing, our Father Who created us and rules over all, He has a different opinion? And He is always right. He is never deceived nor can be, as we so often become. As the prophet Isaiah had told these people previously, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts....For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways....For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:7-9). Until we grasp this and adjust our whole lives to this reality, we are grossly out of alignment with heaven's truth and life.

I am sure that when Isaiah spoke those words to these Israelites there were some who said to themselves that he must be talking to somebody else because he referred to the wicked and the unrighteous. But we are never the judge of what is wicked or unrighteous, only God is. And we would like to look at all the spiritual things we might be doing to feel better about ourselves and be seen as righteous in God's eyes. But what did God say to these people? Your ways and your thoughts don't line up with Mine. There is a big and awful gap. What God was revealing is that when we do not really know our God's heart, His thoughts, His words, His desires, His plans, His motivations, His views, etc, and our own heart is not seeking after these, all that we do produce through our own thoughts and choices will not come close to what God esteems as righteous and good.

This is a moment of recognition that Holy Spirit longs to bring each person to. And sometimes it is a moment of crisis where I come to the end of trusting in myself. I begin to realize as Solomon wrote in Proverbs 16:25, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." He also added in 16:2, "All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives." Can you see the real problem we are up against from within ourselves? Can you see that until we let Holy Spirit confront our own self-deception, self-reliance and selfish desires, our relationship with Papa God, His throne, His plans and His blessings will always have a breakdown. And we will blame God for it!

And this is what Isaiah was addressing with the people in Isaiah 58. As we read it now, as standing before a mirror, all these centuries later, can we hear the confrontation that comes from His love and desire for us? "Behold, on the day of your fast you find your own desire" (v. 3). "Is it a fast like this which I choose?....Will you call this an acceptable day to the Lord?" (V.5). ""Turn your foot from doing your own pleasure....desisting from your own ways and speaking your own word....delighting in the Lord" (vs. 13-14).

As we stand before 2018 to focus on what really matters and what will release heaven's blessings on earth, let us take a profound moment today to humble ourselves before the Lord and acknowledge there is a most likely a gap between our thoughts, desires and ways and His. And that we need help in this. What if in this year we gave our hearts completely over to knowing the heart and desire of Father God? That our hearts became so transformed unto the very heart of Jesus, the Son, who said that His very food was to do the will of His Father Who sent Him and accomplish His work (John 4:34). At the end of a 40 day fast (a real one with no fruit juices), Jesus was tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread as a practical answer to solving His hunger issue. But even then Jesus declared, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). He was saying, "I don't want the results of my words, only my Father's perfect and amazing words". May God grant you and me such a heart change in this year that will allow us to be trusted with Heaven's best to set the captives free and release a glorious reformation, such as the world (and the church) has never seen!

FOCUS 2018 - Post 2

We have entered into this dedicated time in January 2018 to engage our God with an open heart. What is so radically different for us than the billions of people on the planet who are presently bowing down to their many gods for favor and blessing is not only Who we are seeking but what we believe about Him. We are coming in fasting and prayer and worship to Yahweh, The Lord of Hosts, the Lord of all the earth, The Holy One, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Great I AM. And we come with a view of Him revealed in the Bible, God's Word.

And we are coming in the light of endless testimonies from those who have sought after Him and walked with Him throughout history. And what does the Word and the testimony invite us into? A relationship with this One Who is good, Who is love, Who is perfect and holy, Who is faithful and all-powerful, Who is the embodiment of all wisdom, knowledge and truth.

Can we come to anyone higher or greater than Him? Can we find anyone more kind and wonderful than Him? Can we bring all the cares and needs of our lives to anymore more capable and trustworthy than this One Who calls Himself our Father and Shepherd? Can we find real life and hope in any other power or philosophy or reality besides the One Who created us for Himself to share in His glory?

Oh how blessed are we that we have found Him, rather that He found us and revealed Himself to us that we might seek Him. And in seeking after Him there is open before us unlimited possibility to rise above, to transcend, the brokenness and darkness of this world where death and futility define all the outcomes of the days we spend trying to find life in this world. Not only do we rise above and overcome, in Him we are restored to a potential place of power and authority to change the painful outcomes for countless others who have not known our wonderful Father and His Son. We are invited into heaven's family, into the Kingdom of God, where we get to be a part of a movement from heaven toward earth that releases redemption, restoration, recovery, reconciliation, renewal, revival, recompense and all the other "re's" that powerfully change all the negatives that suck the life out of us and position for all the best heaven has for those created to be sons and daughters of God. Yeah!!!

And this is where we find ourselves today as we bow before Him to consider what He wants to do in 2018 and how we might be a part of it. We are seeking Him to align ourselves more perfectly with His heart, His ways, His plans and His rewards. And it requires that we focus like never before, to see more clearly Whom we are seeking and what matters most in this next year. "How" you see Him and "how" you see the life He is inviting us into will determine "how" you seek after Him during this time we have set aside as a church.

As you read in Isaiah 58, especially in vs. 1-5 and 13, you can see that the people of God were seeking God but not in the right way. It was producing nothing. Is it possible that they did not really know Him or His heart? Did they really trust Him and love Him, following His ways and plans? Or was Yahweh just another god among many they were trying to manipulate for their own needs? As we read in Isaiah 29:13, "Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of traditions they have learned."

Today, since there lies within each of us the potential to seek after God erroneously as these Israelites did, operating from inadequate knowledge of Him, and relating to Him without our hearts fully loving and trusting Him, can we take a moment to ask Holy Spirit to help us see Him and ourselves more clearly? Can we cry out for true alignment with our Father Creator? Can we choose to humble ourselves to focus and see what we have not seen before that will require us to repent and renew our commitment to Him? Is there a level of worthiness in our God that rearranges our priorities and how we worship Him that we are willing to embrace this year? How we respond to these questions will determine where we end up at the end of 2018. May this be the greatest year we have ever experienced because we are aligned with our magnificent and worthy God and Savior! He is standing at the end of 2018 calling us forward into things He has prepared for those who love Him.


If you didn't get a copy of the FOCUS 2018 booklet, you can still pick one up at The River. We look forward to seeing you for our 3 special gatherings for the The River or Cowboy Church.

The River

• Tuesday at 7pm 
• Thursday at 7pm 
• Friday at 7pm 

Flathead Valley Cowboy Church

• Monday at 7pm 
• Wednesday at 7pm 
• Saturday at 7pm

FOCUS 2018 - Post 1

As we turn our faces toward the journey we will take through 2018 (ready or not, here we come), we as a church family are choosing to pause this month at the beginning of the journey to be intentional with Father, Son and Holy Spirit to be in partnership with heaven. We want to reap heavenly fruit that only God can make happen in our individual lives and in our church. We want to be wise, not foolish, with the gift of this year, which all of heaven has already prepared for us—things we would not believe, even if we were told. We are taking on the attitude of the wise virgins who made sure they not only trimmed their lamps but had plenty of oil as they head into the unknown with certainty for encounter with the One Who is coming with blessing and eternal promise.

(If you have not read all of Isaiah 58, take a moment to read it now before reading the rest of this.)

Every great journey worth taking begins with great preparation. You may know what you want to see and experience when you get there (or what you want to take away with you that made the journey worth the investment). But even though you may gather all the maps and google all the potential places to go, you check in with Trip Advisor or other websites that give you the inside scoop on what is the best and things to avoid, so your takeaway is optimum.

This is why we are pressing into Isaiah 58 this year as we ponder what God will do in us, for us and through us, and what we might do with Him to change the world and bring Him glory. In this chapter we find a marvelous list from God's heart of all that He would like to do in our lives through His love, things we are seeking after: light in the darkness, recovery, restoration, more glory, protection, direct line to heaven, guidance, desires fulfilled, health, and our nation healed! Wow! This could be the best year ever!

But you find from the prophet Isaiah something that is hard for many of us: correction, confrontation, a call to repentance and change. Ouch! Is this any way to begin a great journey with God? Is this what love looks like from our Papa Creator? Actually, absolutely yes! If you read Revelation 3:14-19 you will see not only one of the biggest corrections in the New Testament from Jesus to his people but, you will see the motivation: Love.

As we start out FOCUS 2018, can we stop and do a heart check in our relationship with God? Am I willing to hear His voice that lovingly speaks correction, adjustment, needed changes that will help me to focus on what really matters? Am I willing to let Him drop a plumb line over my life and heart to see what is out of alignment with His perfect created purpose for my life? Will He find a big "yes" in me all along the journey of this year? Can He lead me into some places and with certain people to do particular things that might be challenging to me and push me out of my comfort zone, because I trust Him and His word?

Fasting is not a natural choice for us. It carries a cost in various ways. It is a choice you make by your will to trade one thing for another, to lay aside one thing to gain another, to pursue things that are not easy to come by. And there are the kinds of fasting that we choose according to what we think will be effective. But then there is fast that God calls us to. It may be totally off your map and surprise you. As you work through the FOCUS 2018 booklet handed out on Sunday, give your heart to hear from God about what He is calling you to do this week, this month, and commit yourself to the things you write down to fulfill this fast unto the Lord. Amazing things await us!

If you didn't get a copy of the FOCUS 2018 booklet, you can still pick one up at The River. We look forward to seeing you for our 3 special gatherings for the The River or Cowboy Church.

The River

• Tuesday at 7pm 
• Thursday at 7pm 
• Friday at 7pm 

Flathead Valley Cowboy Church

• Monday at 7pm 
• Wednesday at 7pm 
• Saturday at 7pm

I Heard the Lord say, "Open Doors"

It’s a new year and a new day. This is the time that many people traditionally reflect on where they have been and what might be in the future. It offers us all a chance at a fresh start. In looking toward a new year, we can let go of what is behind and begin to dream again. This year is no different in that regard.

As the people of God, I believe it is important to hear His voice and move with His rhythms. God is not confined to time and space and we know from Isaiah 55 that His ways are not our ways. But, His Kingdom does flow with times and seasons. There are moments in the Kingdom that God ordains for certain purposes. That is why I believe it is essential to tune into what His Spirit is saying to be in sync with what heaven is doing. Like the sons of Issachar, we need to understand the times and know what to do. 

Two years ago, as we held our first service in our new building, I heard swords clashing in the spirit. It seemed to be a perfect time for celebrating our move into the space we had worked so hard to restore. But instead, I felt a warning that the enemy was not pleased and would not surrender the war against God’s people simply because we had taken this territory. I wondered at that, but kept it in mind knowing that we can never rest on our laurels. We can never sleep on our watch. 

Then last year, as I sought the Lord for what He might say to us as a church I heard the word: “surprises.” That word was full of possibilities and I knew the Lord was speaking to tell His people to expect the unexpected. I knew that He was being gracious to prepare us for the things we would see and experience during 2016. It was the kind of word that allowed us to hold steady and not be moved by anything that happened. How could we have ever known that word would have so many implications, not only for our personal lives, but for our nation and indeed the world? Headlines screamed on November 9th that shocked nearly everyone. There was a huge political upset. Certainly those “in the know” didn’t see it coming. This change in our government will guarantee that the unexpected has already happened and will continue to play out in the future. 

Why do I recall God speaking the word about swords clashing and the word about surprises? Because it is important that we recognize that God is on the move and His people need to move with Him. We are living in a profoundly prophetic time! We have entered into the year 5777 on the Jewish calendar. Five is a number that often symbolizes grace. And you probably know that 7 is a number that represents completion or perfection. But in Hebrew the letter “zayin” refers to the number “7” and is also a reference for the word “sword.” Supernaturally, this year speaks of God giving “grace” for victory in the battle of clashing swords. 

As I pondered this I originally thought that I had somehow missed the right timing because I received the word about the clashing of swords two years ago. And the word about expecting the unexpected was for last year! But, Holy Spirit has been teaching me that He is not bound by the western calendar or any other man made reference to time. Somehow, I had assumed that a “word” for one year could only apply to that year and that we were to look for another “word.” But, He has been showing me that the word of the Lord is like a river and often flows together with what has already been spoken. His word doesn’t stop just because we flip the page on the calendar. 

So, as I sought Him for any new word He might have for us in this new year, I felt Him speaking “open doors.” Honestly, I think it is so important to test what we hear. I had decided that I would not presume that He had a word for us or that I would necessarily hear it. But, as I prayed and spent time in the Scripture, I have felt a confirmation. The first verse I felt impressed by was Isaiah 45:1-3: “Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him. And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut. I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places. So that you may know that it is I, The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.” These verses are loaded with promise about what God Himself is about to do. They speak of Him going before us and giving us revelation, from secret places. 

Another significant confirmation came from Revelation chapter 4. John is speaking about what he experienced on the island of Patmos. “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.'” I felt the Lord impressing me that those who are looking will see a door open in heaven. I wish time and space would allow me to unwrap all that I have discovered in this prophetic chapter. The open door referred to here is one that allows the beholder to see the Lord Himself in His glory and to experience a bit of the activity of heaven. I believe that the word “open doors” is a reference to the opportunity to receive revelation this year unlike any time before. I also believe it is a time that we can “immediately be in the spirit ” (verse 2) And it is an opportunity to join with the hosts of heaven in new levels of worship that go beyond anything we have experienced before. This chapter speaks of the elders falling down before Him and the living creatures who never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty…” 

There is so much more, but I believe God is offering us an invitation to experience open doors of opportunity in this next season, open doors of revelation and worship which in turn will release grace to wield the sword. Beloved, be assured that there will be warfare as the enemy recognizes that time is running out for him, but victory will be ours if we position ourselves to hear God’s voice and to move with Him. He is beckoning us to “come up!” 

As we walk through open doors in this next year, I believe we will experience opportunities that we have longed for to advance His Kingdom. I believe in the process of those opportunities we will receive restoration in ways that will cause us to marvel at His goodness. And I believe we will receive revelation from heaven unlike anything in the past. And finally, I believe we will be given the summons to go up higher and enter into levels of worship that are truly heavenly!

The Awe of a Disciple

What does a disciple of Jesus look like? I’m sure that many could come up with a list of attributes or attitudes that disciples of Jesus should have. But the Bible gives one description of the disciples and followers of Jesus that grips me:

“They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid” (Mark 10:32, NIV).

The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I realize how important this description is. Another translation says, "Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear" (NLT). Another puts it like this, "Jesus was walking on in front of them; and they were bewildered and perplexed and greatly astonished, and those [who were still] following were seized with alarm and were afraid" (AMP).

You see, if there isn't a sense of awe in your walk with God—mixed with fear, astonishment, and perplexity—you might not truly be a disciple and follower of Jesus. If this doesn't describe you and I, it's a sign that we aren't living our lives in close enough proximity to Him. 

At the time this verse was written, the disciples had been following Jesus for about 3 years. Day in, day out—they did everything that Jesus did. And it cost them dearly to follow. In verse 28, just a few verses prior, Peter had exclaimed, "We have left everything to follow You!" After leaving everything and following Jesus, they were exposed to a lifestyle that was mind-boggling; they experienced the most extreme supernatural workings of God, watching as Jesus raised the dead, turned water into wine, as He calmed storms with a word, as He walked on water, and as He set people free. The disciples themselves had even experienced the supernatural power of God flowing through their own hands as they watched food multiply, the sick healed, and the demonized set free (see Mark 6:7, Luke 9:1, Luke 10:17 for examples). They experienced a level of supernatural experiences and of heaven breaking into earth like almost nobody on earth prior. 

Along with these powerful displays of the miraculous, the disciples also received the call of Jesus to abandon earthly security. Jesus repeatedly gave them new rules for living His Kingdom way, and they were extreme: Don't worry about your life or about what you will eat, drink or wear; find your life by losing it for My sake; don't store up treasures on earth but store them up in heaven; love your enemies and do good to those who hate you; be perfect; and eat My flesh and drink My blood. 

Jesus was inviting His disciples into a life of extreme miracles and extreme sacrifice, a life of blessing and of persecution. He called them to trust Him with everything and to not trust in anything else. The bridge from the way they were used to living into His Kingdom was all or nothing—not just once, but every day. 

As I follow Jesus, I have found that He is the most thrilling person and the scariest person I know. He has the power to absolutely change my life and my circumstances like no one else can—but He says that I need to let Him run my life. Many times have I asked Him to bless my finances, and He speaks to my heart to give away what I have first. Every time I obey, the miraculous happens! But it's scary! He has asked me to go to some of the most dangerous places where I could lose my life—and those are the places where I've seen the greatest miracles. I feel the most alive when I am the most out of control and trusting that He is faithful. 

In Mark 10:32, it gives the reason that they were in awe and fear: "Jesus [was] leading the way." They were going with His flow, at His pace, where He wanted to go. (And, in context, He was going to Jerusalem to willingly die.) If you are truly a disciple and follower of Jesus, this is what it looks like. He is out in front. He isn't just our "buddy" with whom we discuss our options of how to live. He isn't just a little splash of heaven to warm our hearts. He isn't just a little grace to cover our precious bad habits. No. If He's not in front, then we aren't followers. 

I believe that we are living in a time where God is calling us back to the basics. Sometimes we can become so sophisticated in our spirituality that we can rationalize our way out of just obeying God. We are so padded by our repertoire of scriptural quotes and tweets from our favorite spiritual gurus that we don't drop our nets to follow Jesus anymore. Sometimes we forget that following Jesus is absolutely crazy—or at least it should look and feel that way. He chooses things that are foolish to shut up what seems intelligent. He does it on purpose because He likes it that way. He takes things that don't even exist yet and uses them to defeat His enemies. His ways are higher than all the ways we've learned, and they always are going to be better. He wants His heavenly Kingdom to be the authority over all—all earthly kingdoms and all my decisions. 

As I read this simple description of the disciples, I am reminded that being a disciple and following Jesus is both awesome and frightening. If you've never had this experience, you might not yet know what it actually means to follow Jesus. You see, Jesus never asked anyone to pray a prayer, raise their hand while everyone's eyes were closed, or sign a decision card to become a disciple. He never counted His converts. That's not even in the book! It's a low-level substitute—a false security—that tells us we can have heaven while we still live the earthly lives we are used to. It's time for us to go back to what Jesus actually said and did: He promised us all of heaven and demanded that we follow, no matter the cost. For some people, that means Jesus will require us to forgive those who have hurt us so deeply. For others, it will mean that we will go live in a place that is far from home—or to stay when we would rather run. For others, it will mean cutting off relationships that distract us from Heavenly pursuit. It may mean giving away your furniture and your car. It may mean laying down your life. But if Jesus is worth following at all, He's worth following all the way. If you've never lived like this, now is a great time to start. Just tell the Lord, "Jesus, I may have prayed a prayer that you would forgive my sins, but I've never chosen to follow you and become a disciple. But I'm ready for the journey. I don't even know where we are going, but I trust that You are good and I will follow You." 

Maybe you have chosen to follow Jesus and to become a disciple. But do a heart check. For me, if I'm not overwhelmed with awe and nervous at the same time, then that is a sign that I'm not following Jesus as close as I need to. Maybe I've stopped to smell the roses and gotten distracted. Maybe I've shut my eyes and covered my ears because it's hard. Or maybe I've stepped up to give Jesus my advice about where we ought to be going instead of following where He knows we need to go. If that sounds like you, it's time to become a follower all over again. It's a choice we make daily, not just once.

You see, there is something called the "fear of the Lord," and a true disciple has it. There is no better attribute of your life as a disciple. Without the fear of the Lord, I believe, we cannot even truly love God or worship Him in spirit and truth. The fear of the Lord comes with all of these promises and more:

• "The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love" (Psalm 33:18).
• "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life" (Proverbs 14:27).
• "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them" (Psalm 34:7).

If you're in the middle of awe, astonishment, bewilderment, overwhelming fear, and perplexity—all because you've been so close to Jesus—you're right where you should be. And if you're not, I challenge you not to settle for anything less than awe and the fear of the Lord. I challenge you to make your discipleship look like scripture rather than what popular religion has stooped down to. Let your Christianity be defined by your likeness to Christ Himself. Let Jesus lead out front in your life, and follow Him as closely as you possibly can.

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If you're in Northwest, Montana, I invite you to join my church family at The River. We meet on Sundays at 10:00 A.M. and we have several other opportunities to grow closer to Jesus throughout the week. Visit therivermontana.com for complete details.