Posts

gifts

Three Gifts of the Magi

/0 Comments/in , /by

Three Gifts of the Magi

Christmas is passed, but it’s important to remember the traditional story of the Three Wise Men making a pilgrimage to worship Jesus.

There are two major hypotheses on the gifts:

All three presents are both regular offerings and gifts to a king. Myrrh is a standard anointing oil, frankincense is a fragrant, and gold is a value.

The three presents each had a spiritual meaning: gold represented earthly kingship, frankincense (an incense) represented a deity, and myrrh (an embalming ointment) represented death. Until the 15th century, myrrh was employed as an embalming ointment and a penitential incense in funerals and cremations. The Eastern Orthodox Church’s “holy oil” for conducting the sacraments of chrismation and unction is traditionally perfumed with myrrh. Receiving either of these sacraments is usually called “receiving the myrrh.”

In most Western Christian denominations, the visit of the Magi is honored by the celebration of Epiphany, January 6th, which also serves as the feast of the three saints. On December 25th, the Eastern Orthodox celebrate the Magi’s visit.

Invitation

Prophetic wisdom and anointing await you. Connect for a personal prophecy.

Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

gifts

Magi

Who Were the Magi? 

/0 Comments/in /by

New Testament Magi

            The New Testament does not give the names of the Magi. However, traditions and legends identify a variety of different names for them. In the Western Christian church, they have all been regarded as saints and are commonly known as: 

  • Melchior (also Melichior), a Persian scholar;
  • Caspar (also Gaspar, Jaspar, Jaspas, Gathaspa, and other variations);
  • Balthazar (also Balthasar, Balthassar, and Bithisarea), a Babylonian scholar.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Balthasar is often depicted as a king of Arabia, Melchior as a king of Persia, and Gaspar as a king of India.” These names appear to be derived from a Greek document. Most likely written in Alexandria around 500, and translated into Latin as Excerpta Latina Barbari.

The phrase “from the east,” more properly “from the rise [of the sun],” is the sole information Matthew gives regarding the place they came from. The Parthian Empire, centered in Persia, controlled nearly all of the territory east of Judea and Syria (except for the deserts of Arabia to the southeast). Though the kingdom tolerated other religions, Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion, with its priestly magos class.

Reverence for the Baby Jesus

Although Matthew’s account does not explicitly state the reason for their journey (other than seeing the star in the east, which they mistook for the star of the King of the Jews), the Syriac Infancy Gospel provides some clarity in the third chapter by stating explicitly that they were pursuing a prophecy from their prophet, Zoradascht (Zoroaster). The Syriac Infancy Gospel (also known as the Arabic Infancy Gospel) is one of the New Testament apocryphal works about Jesus’ infancy. The Magi are depicted as “falling down,” “kneeling,” or “bowing” in their worship of Jesus.

Together with Luke’s birth myth, this simple gesture significantly impacted Christian religious traditions. They were highly reverent symbols and often used while honoring a king. While prostration is somewhat uncommon in the Western Churches, it is still rather frequent in the Eastern Churches, particularly during Lent. Kneeling is still an important part of Christian worship today. The three gifts of the magi are clearly specified in Matthew as gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and are most likely the source of the number three. Many interpretations about the purpose and symbolism of the gifts have been proposed. While we are all familiar with gold, frankincense and, in significantly, myrrh are far more obscure.        

Invitation

Prophetic wisdom and anointing await you. Connect for a personal prophecy.

Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

Magi

Gathering the Nations 

/0 Comments/in , /by

Bringing the People Together

“I have come to gather nations,” the prophecy begins. While it might be argued that the prophecy primarily refers to gathering the scattered Israelites, it could also refer to the nations themselves, the Gentiles. (The word here is goyim, which translates as “Gentiles” or “nations,” not “Jews.”) The goal of God’s plan of redemption is to bring all peoples together to worship him, to bless “all the families of the earth.” As at a pilgrim feast, the Gentiles are brought to Jerusalem to partake in God’s worship. The Lord declares in the prophecy that he will collect the nations and send “fugitives” to them to broadcast his “glory among the nations.”

These “escapees” or “survivors” have survived national persecution and God’s judgment. They resemble the earliest Christian missionaries, such as Paul, who traveled the world proclaiming the Gospel message. These missionaries’ task is to bring in a “harvest” of Gentiles and bring them to the Lord in Jerusalem. While making an offering to Jerusalem is primarily symbolic of our purposes, St. Paul took it very seriously. When he traveled over the Roman realm preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, he also collected money from the Gentiles to give to the Christians in Jerusalem.

A River in the Desert 

In Isaiah 41, the prophet likens the pilgrimage to a search for water in the desert: 

“The poor and needy search for water, 

    but there is none; 

    their tongues are parched with thirst. 

But I the Lord will answer them; 

    I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 

I will make rivers flow on barren heights, 

    and springs within the valleys. 

I will turn the desert into pools of water, 

    and the parched ground into springs. 

I will put in the desert 

    the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. 

I will set junipers in the wasteland, 

    the fir and the cypress together, 

so that people may see and know, 

    may consider and understand, 

that the hand of the Lord has done this, 

    that the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isa. 41:17-20)

This imagery is echoed in Psalm 84, written for the director of music: 

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, 

    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 

As they pass through the Valley of Baka, 

    they make it a place of springs; 

    the autumn rains also cover it with pools (Psa. 84:5-6)

A Highway in the Wilderness 

Another metaphor that Isaiah uses to show God’s favor toward His pilgrims is that of the highway in the wilderness, a voice of one calling, “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isa. 40:3)

Isaiah is more explicit in Chapter 3: 

And a highway will be there; 

    it will be called the Way of Holiness; 

    it will be for those who walk on that Way. 

The unclean will not journey on it; 

    wicked fools will not go about on it. (Isa. 35:8)

We see these words of the prophet echoed in the Gospels, particularly the Gospel of John, when John replied to the priests and Levites sent by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” (Jn. 1:23)

Prophetic wisdom and anointing await you. Connect for a personal prophecy.

Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

 

Nations

Pilgrimages

Metaphoric Pilgrimages 

/1 Comment/in , /by

Metaphoric Pilgrimages :

“Life is a pilgrimage. The wise man does not rest by the roadside inns. He marches direct to the illimitable domain of eternal bliss, his ultimate destination.” 

Sivananda 

POWER TRUTH 

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life but must endure God’s wrath. 

John 3:36 NRSV 

Apart from the literal pilgrimages in the Bible, the theme of pilgrimage comes up repeatedly metaphorically. The prophet Isaiah explicitly uses the metaphor of the Mountain of the Lord: 

In the last days 

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
    and all nations will stream to it. 

Many peoples will come and say, 

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
    and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war anymore. 

Come, descendants of Jacob,
    let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isa. 2:2-5)

Isaiah: Shakespeare of the Prophets

Isaiah is sometimes referred to as the “Shakespeare of the Prophets” due to his verse’s lyrical and poetic nature. In another passage, he describes the final culmination of God’s plan in terms the Jews would understand – using the metaphor of the pilgrimage feasts. 

As discussed in the previous chapter, the ancient Jews celebrated several holidays by pilgrimage to the Jerusalem temple. These feasts, Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot), and the Feast of Booths (Sukkot), are related to events in Israel’s history and with agricultural occasions such as harvest.  

During these feasts, Jewish men would come to Jerusalem from around the Holy Land, bringing sacrifices and grain offerings from their farms. They would eat ceremonial meals in the holy city and worship the Lord with special rituals. These feasts would be an excellent time of unity, celebration, and encounter with God. Isaiah uses these pilgrim feasts to portray the end when God will finally gather the redeemed. Here we can see a special connection to the ancient Feast of Booths. Which is also called the Feast of In-Gathering since it is a harvest-time feast, a time when farmers “in-gather” produce (Exo. 23:16). However, the final “in-gathering” that the prophet speaks of is a bringing in of people rather than grain. 

In Isaiah 66, the prophet tells the people: 

“And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory. 

“I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.” (Isa. 66:18-21)

 

Prophetic wisdom and anointing await you. Connect for a personal prophecy.

Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

Pilgrimages

 

Pilgrimages

Pilgrimages and the Jewish Community 

/0 Comments/in /by

thTPilgrimages and the Jewish Community

Reaffirming Commitment

The pilgrimage festivals allowed the Jewish community a chance to reaffirm their devotion to the covenant with God, enhance the nation’s awareness of itself as a religious community, and keep Jerusalem and the Temple site sacred. These occurrences unite people. Some academics think Jerusalem’s “business” community at the time of the Bible supported the obligation to go to Jerusalem and stay there for the whole holiday, which benefited from the regular flow of pilgrims looking for food, accommodation, and animals to sacrifice.

In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, pilgrimage festivals were a major social and religious institution. They transported ancient Mediterranean Jews to Jerusalem. Tens of thousands of Jews made pilgrimages annually. This included raising animals for sacrifices, a lively animal market, a complicated banking system, and hundreds of inns and taverns to lodge pilgrims.

Historical Pilgrimages

King Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed ruler of Judea, erected a vast plaza around the Temple to accommodate travelers. This increased the Temple’s space, allowing thousands more pilgrims to attend religious activities. The Harem esh-Sharif in Jerusalem is built on Herodian Temple ruins. The Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa mosque is here. The Western Wall, sometimes called the “Wailing Wall,” supports the Herodian Temple’s courtyard. A historical rabbinic remembrance of the Temple’s heyday tells that even when hundreds of thousands of pilgrims crowded into the courtyard, no one complained about the crush.

The Romans demolished the Second Temple after the Great Jewish Revolt in 70 C.E. The pilgrimage festivals continued, although largely in synagogues. Since 2,000 years ago, pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem halted, although these holidays are still dubbed “pilgrimage festivals” Historical and agricultural themes have replaced animal sacrifices in Diaspora festivities. The numbers of Israelis make a pilgrimage to the Western Wall, all that’s left of the Temple and one of Judaism’s holiest sites. They do this because they believe it honors our Temple-era forebears.

Invitation

Prophetic wisdom and anointing await you. Connect for a personal prophecy.

Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

 

 

Pilgrimages

Passover – Commemorating the Exodus 

/0 Comments/in /by

Remembering the Exodus

Passover commemorates God’s deliverance of the Jews from slavery in ancient Egypt and their emancipation as a nation under Moses’ leadership. It commemorates the story of the Exodus as told in the Hebrew Bible, particularly the Book of Exodus, in which the Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt. According to traditional biblical chronology, this event occurred around 1300 BCE. Passover is a spring celebration that offers the “first fruits of the barley” during the Temple’s existence in Jerusalem, the first grain to ripen and be harvested in the Land of Israel.

Passover begins on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan. It lasts seven days (in Israel and for Reform Jews and other progressive Jews worldwide who follow the Biblical mandate) or eight days (for Orthodox, Hasidic, and most Conservative Jews) (in the diaspora). In Judaism, a day begins at sundown and ends at nightfall the next day; hence, the first day of Passover begins after dusk on the 14th of Nisan and finishes at dusk on the 15th of Nisan. When the sunset of Nisan arrives, the traditions peculiar to Passover begin with the Passover Seder. Passover is observed in the Northern Hemisphere in spring, as the Torah prescribes: “in the month of [the] spring.” It is one of the most frequently observed Jewish festivals.

What happened then

The Bible says that God assisted the Children of Israel to escape slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues on the ancient Egyptians before the Pharaoh would free his Israelite slaves; the tenth and deadliest of the plagues was the death of the Egyptian firstborn.

The Israelites were ordered to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a killed spring lamb, and when the spirit of the Lord saw this, he knew to pass over the firstborn in these households, hence the holiday’s English name.

When Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they were in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread dough to rise (leaven). In commemoration, no leavened bread is eaten during Passover, which is why Passover is called the feast of unleavened bread in the Torah. Thus matzo (flat unleavened bread) is eaten during Passover and is a holiday tradition.

Passover, together with Shavuot and Sukkot, is one of the Three Trip Festivals (Shalosh Regalim), during which the entire kingdom of Judah made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.

 

Prophetic wisdom and anointing await you. Connect for a personal prophecy.

Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

Passover

Literal Pilgrimages

Literal Pilgrimages

/0 Comments/in , /by

Literal Pilgrimages

 “We are invited to make a pilgrimage – into the heart and life of God.” 

Dallas Willard 

POWER TRUTH 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

John 14:6 NRSV 

As a Literary Theme

Pilgrimages 

The subject of pilgrimage is talked about in many of the writings that make up the Christian Bible. It’s a complex idea that includes things like a journey, being sent away, living as a pilgrim or sojourner, and looking for a home.
The Book of Genesis, which is part of the Old Testament and comes from Judaism, tells the story of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden after they disobeyed God by eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This story is central to how Christians think about pilgrimage.
It turns out that the Fall of Adam and Eve had a lot of effects. Sin means that they and their descendants must live as exiles on a harsh and unfriendly planet, away from God and each other. Cain, Adam and Eve’s oldest son, kills his younger brother Abel out of jealousy when God says that Abel’s gift to God is better than his own. God sends Cain further away from his home and family as a punishment.

Old Testament Models

Several Old Testament trips had spiritual connotations. Abraham’s trip and the Exodus from Egypt highlight how crucial it is to believe and obey God.
Abraham, a significant figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, leaves his house to find a place God will show him. His determination to obey God makes him a “pilgrim” or “sojourner”
Israelites leave Egypt and travel through the wilderness to Canaan. They confront trials and God’s guidance.
The long trip through the desert to the Promised Land is a paradigm for the Christian’s trek from a damaged world to heaven. Over time, Jerusalem became a location to encounter God. All Israelite men had to travel to Jerusalem for Passover, Weeks, and Booths, and their families often accompanied them. Exile made travels to Jerusalem emotionally and spiritually vital.

Invitation

Prophetic wisdom and anointing await you. Connect for a personal prophecy.

Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

Literal Pilgrimages

THE EXODUS

/0 Comments/in /by

The Exodus Pattern 

The Exodus wasn’t the first biblical deliverance. Abram and Sarai traveled to Egypt during a famine, and the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his household for marrying Sarai. Pharaoh ordered Abram to leave when he realized Sarai was his wife, not his sister. This parallels the Ten Plagues God brought to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites.

This exodus pattern recurs throughout the Bible, from Lot’s flight from Sodom through Jacob’s stay with Laban. God delivers Israel from Egypt in Exodus, following the patriarchs.

Exodus has several connected stages

    • The people of God have to leave their homes because of a threat.
    • The Serpent tries to hurt the Woman and her offspring.
    • Misinformation is used to fool the Serpent.
    • God’s people are enslaved.
    • God helps his people while punishing those who hurt them.
    • God saves his people by stepping in.
    • The Serpent puts the blame on the good and accuses them.
    • God makes the false gods look bad.
    • The people of God leave with what their enemies have given them.
    • God brings his people to the Holy Land.
    • A place of worship is set up.

The Exodus Journey

During the escape, God revealed his covenant identity. God reveals himself via the exodus by revealing his name at the burning bush, sending plagues upon Egypt, revealing the Law at Sinai, and delivering his people. This reveals God’s character and commitment to his people.

It’s as if God stamped his signature on a blank canvas labeled ‘Exodus’ before creating a masterpiece and this proves God’s authority over other gods. God beats all the Egyptian gods in every aspect of creation. God exhibits his strength from the life-giving Nile to the heavenly sun. By the time the people reach Sinai, they’ve seen God’s constancy, compassion, might, infinite reach, and majesty. The Law begins by reminding Israel of God’s exodus labor.

Passover, which commemorates the Exodus, is fundamental to Israel’s identity.

The exodus inspires prophetic hope. The migration memorial is retroactive and foreshadows a future departure. Prophets like Isaiah used the exodus to foretell a future deliverance for God’s people. And this was a declaration of God’s good purpose for his people—that they might serve him without fear all their lives—and each celebration of the exodus looked forward to that day.

Invitation

Your weekly dose of prophetic wisdom and anointing awaits you. Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

THE EXODUS

Freedom

The Pilgrimage of Moses to Freedom 

/4 Comments/in /by

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. 

Nelson Mandela 

POWER TRUTH 

For freedom, Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 

Galatians 5:1 NRSV 

 

Moses is famous in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, so many of us know his story. For discussion’s sake, though, and especially in the context of Prophetic Pilgrimages, it would be good to review the Exodus in a general way.

The Book of Exodus says that Moses was born at a time when his people, the Israelites, who were a small group of slaves, were growing in number, and the Egyptian Pharaoh was worried that they might join with Egypt’s enemies. No one cared about Joseph’s actions to save Egypt from the great famine. When the Pharaoh told all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed, Moses’ Hebrew mother, Jochebed, hid him. He did this because the Pharaoh wanted to reduce the number of Israelites.

Through the Pharaoh’s daughter, who the Midrash calls Queen Bithia, the child was taken in after being found in the Nile river and raised as part of the Egyptian royal family. She named the baby Moses, which means “drawn out of the water” in Hebrew and “son” in Egyptian. This was the first step in God’s plan to end 400 years of slavery for these people. Moses grew up in the palace of the pharaoh. There, he learned to read and write, which prepared him to write the first five books of the Bible. Even though he was happy in the palace, he longed to see his own people as he got older. When he saw an Egyptian overseer beating a Hebrew slave, he hit the Egyptian and killed him.

The Start of Moses’ Journey

When the pharaoh found out that Moses had killed the man, he ordered to have Moses killed. Moses ran across the Red Sea to the land of Midian. When he got there, he found seven daughters coming to a well to get water for their father’s flock. Shepherds tried to get them to leave, but Moses stood up for them. After his daughters told him what had happened, he invited Moses to dinner and married off his daughter Zipporah. They had a son, and they named him Gershom, which means “stranger in a foreign land.” Moses became a shepherd in Midian.

One day, as he was taking care of his sheep on Mount Horeb, he met the Angel of the Lord, who spoke to him from a burning bush (which he regarded as the Mountain of God). He told Moses to go back to Egypt and lead his people there. Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and get the Israelites out of Egypt?” God replied, “I AM what I AM. “I AM has sent me to you,” tell the Israelites.

Going Back to Egypt

God told Moses to return to Egypt and ask for the Israelites to be freed from slavery. Moses said he couldn’t speak well, so God gave Moses’s brother Aaron the job of speaking for him. He returned to Egypt to do what God told him to do, but God made the Pharaoh say no. The Pharaoh finally gave in after God sent ten plagues to Egypt. Moreover, Moses led the Israelites to the border of Egypt, but once they were there, God hardened the Pharaoh’s heart again so that he could destroy the Pharaoh and his army at the Red Sea Crossing as a sign of his power to Israel and the rest of the world.

No one in Pharaoh’s army made it out alive. When the Israelites saw the dead Egyptian soldiers on the beach and saw how powerful the Lord was against Egypt, they feared the Lord. They had faith in God and in Moses, who was his servant.

The Longest Journey

Finally, after Moses led the Israelites to victory over the Amalekites, who were thought to be the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother, Moses led the Israelites on the Exodus, a forty-year journey to freedom. This was to be the end of Abraham’s long journey to the Promised Land, which had begun many years before. During the Exodus, the Lord made it clear that He was the God of the Israelites. He said, “I will make you my own people, and I will be your God.” Then you will know that I am your God, the Lord, who saved you from slavery in Egypt.”

Invitation

Your weekly dose of prophetic wisdom and anointing awaits you. Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

freedom

Christianese

Christianese

/0 Comments/in , /by

Do not exclude people.  

When you spend enough time in church, you develop a “Christian lingo,” also known as “Christianese.” You say things that a Christian should say. There is nothing wrong with this when you are in church, but when you go out on your mission field, this will cause you to fail.

What is the first thing an Insider needs to know in an Insider mission? The dialect. An American spy cannot enter a foreign agency while speaking in English. He’ll be apprehended right there and then. To blend in, he must be fluent in the language of the foreign agency he wishes to work for. This is not to say that you must use curse words to “belong.” As Insider, you must exercise caution so that your comments do not exclude others.

Sometimes your sentences all end with “Praise God!” Hallelujah! “We become overtly religious when we describe something.” When a friend inquires about your meal, you respond, “Anointed, Bro! “Someone asks you to pray for him, and you go all mystical and yell at the top of your lungs, “Thus says the Lord, Father God.” Don’t get us wrong: this is not sinful. However, if you are serious about reaching out to the lost, you must be deliberate in your language use.

Your language

You must ensure you are winning people to Christ rather than sending them away. They may dismiss you because of your language. It may cause them to perceive you as someone they cannot relate to. Is this the kind of presence you want to bring to the workplace?

We don’t want to be known as the “weird Christian.” It’s not that we’re overly concerned with what other people think of us or that we’re apprehensive about our image. However, we should be concerned to some extent. What good is it if people avoid us in the hallway? What good is it for our mission if we can’t even persuade people to engage in a normal conversation with us?

We must keep things simple. We must maintain our sincerity. We must keep it current. We are not disputing that speaking in such a way as to honor God is an outpouring of our hearts. According to the Bible, we speak from the overflow of our hearts. “Praise God!” we can’t help but exclaim at times. “However, we must be able to communicate in two languages.” We must be like the amphibian, able to function in the world we inhabit and the church.

Invitation

Your weekly dose of a prophetic word and prophetic anointing awaits you. Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

 

Christianese

Four Types of Evil (Part 2)

/0 Comments/in /by

Four Types of Evil (Part 2)

The Marketplace

Most battles in the past happened because two groups wanted a particular piece of land. The land is given to the people of the army or tribe that wins. In the same way, we are “Insiders” who have been sent into these industries to win them for the Kingdom of the Lord.

The marketplace was where business, education, politics, and religion all came together in the past. When we talk about “marketplace” ministry, we mean the work of becoming Insiders to these four pillars of power and being God’s agents.

Paul said, “We were not fighting against people when he said, “We are not wrestling against flesh and blood.” We’re not fighting against people.” You are in the wrong fight if you are fighting people. Quit. Back away from that fight. You are not supposed to fight with your boss at work. You are not fighting against the court. No one is fighting you. This is where the battle is. The fight is with principalities, which, if you look at the word’s roots, means that the spirits in your area are in charge of the politics. The business world is what the powers refer to. The rulers of darkness are in charge of education, and spiritual wickedness is about religion.

Let’s rewrite the passage as if Paul were talking to us today: “When I went to Ephesus, my message was opposed by political, business, cultural, and spiritual factors. Religion, culture, business, and politics all worked together to put an end to the light of my message.

Synagogues

When we read Acts 19:8, we get a fascinating picture of the beast of Ephesus. It says, “Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly about the kingdom of God for three months.

” As far as arguing and persuading go, that’s about as far as you can go regarding religion and “religious people.” If you only use God’s gifts inside a church, your ministry will be limited to arguing and trying to convince people. Paul tried for three months to help the people in the synagogue, which should have been an easy task. But the Bible says that he failed to help them.

Don’t you think that’s a waste? You want to tell someone about some good news. Jesus is still alive, and you know it.  Don’t you want people to know this? Maybe you think to yourself, “Let’s start with the religious people.” But what went wrong? Paul argued and won people over for three months. Well, if that’s what you want to do, go ahead. But what happened when all the arguing and persuading was over?

Invitation

Your weekly dose of prophetic wisdom and anointing awaits you. Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

evil

Your Covenant is Your Calling

/4 Comments/in , /by

Your Covenant is Your Calling

“Every day is important for us because it is a day ordained by God. If we are bored with life there is something wrong with our concept of God and His involvement in our daily lives. Even the most dull and tedious days of our lives are ordained by God and ought to be used by us to glorify Him.” 

― Jerry Bridges

Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.

Proverbs 12:11

A Covenant with God 

The faithful career covenant begins when you regard your job as sacred rather than secular. Our covenant with God is to complete our Career Mandate. A covenant is not the same as a contract. People usually establish contracts between two parties to release the other party from obligation if the other party violates the agreed-upon terms. When it comes to a covenant, however, both parties are expected to continue with their roles, regardless of whether the other person follows through or not. When it comes to a covenant with God, He is a perfect and faithful God. We are frequently the only ones who fail to do our part. Nonetheless, we can be confident because God is eternally faithful.

God designed you precisely the way you are for His purposes. 

Once you’ve bridged the sacred-secular divide, you’ll realize that a covenant is an agreement with God regarding using your time and gifts, even while you’re at work. You will also reach a deal with God regarding using your compensations, including your monetary rewards. When you make Jesus the Lord of your life, you give Him control over every aspect of your life, including how you manage your finances and set your desires, dreams, and goals.

God has a grand design for your life. It will be beyond anything you could ever hope for or imagine. God has already given you hints as to what this fantastic plan entails. Just consider your talents, interests, and desires to get a sense of where God wants you to be. God created you exactly as you are for His purposes. “And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose,” Paul said (Romans 8:28).

He has placed you exactly where you are. God can use you mightily for His purposes if you are willing and available. If you commit your success to furthering God’s plan, you have entered into a career covenant with Him. With a covenant with God, you can fully expect to see His divine power flowing through your profession and His supernatural assistance flowing to bring you your dreams. Are you looking forward to it?

Invitation

Your weekly dose of prophetic wisdom and anointing awaits you. Join our LIVE Conference Call!

1) Call 515-604-9266

2) Go to startmeeting.com, and use the login: BishopJordan

Covenant