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

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

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

Esther’s

Esther’s Place in the Palace

/0 Comments/in /by

Esther’s Story

Esther’s rise to power is reminiscent of the fairy tale Cinderella. She was a Jewish orphan and a child of the people who were exiled, but she ended up being elevated to the highest position that any woman could have had in the entire world at that time. She was the Empress of Japan. This was the account of her life. But we can’t just leave it at that. There was no chance involved in her story. This was the story that God told.

There is a providential power at work, and it is directing its own plans by means of the king’s affections. Esther conceals the fact that she is Jewish throughout the entire ordeal, which is a significant factor. In light of the widespread anti-Semitism that pervaded the Persian Empire at the time, Mordecai advised her to carry out the aforementioned action. When Esther finally admitted that she was a Jew, she did so at the utmost crucial and essential moment (Esther 4:6).

Despite the difficulties that Esther has faced throughout her life, she was given a position in the palace. In a later discussion, we will go into further detail regarding Esther’s account. However, Esther was able to save her people because of the position she held in the palace and the fact that she was elevated to the position of queen.

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

Esther’s

Redemption of the Work Life

Redemption of the Work Life

/1 Comment/in , /by

Redemption of the Work Life: 

When you look at your work, you should think: “It’s not my secular work. It’s a sacred calling.” When we realize this and take this to the core of our being, we redeem our time. If, in the past, we considered our work secular and somehow we have been deceived that it is not under God, making a shift in our perspective redeems our work life. Making a shift creates an opening wherein our work life is redeemed.  

When you redeem your time, you re-label your time. 

The word “redeem” means to purchase or to buy back. “Redeem” comes from two English words. “Re” means “do again” while “Deem” means to label.” For example, if you deem something worthy, you label something according to its worth. When you consider an object, you frame it. When you see consider something, you put a name on it. You give it a new identity. Thus, when you redeem your time, you re-label your time.  

How much time are you re-labeling to be “sacred”? We are talking about a whole third of your life. How many hours have you been driving the bus? Have you been pushing paperwork for hours? Perhaps, you’re a teacher and spend a good four to six hours teaching students. As a chef, how long do you spend each day in the kitchen? Work usually averages eight hours a week, five days a week. This is about 160 hours each month that you are re-labeling.    

What would the Devil want you to do with these 160 hours? To call these 160 hours a month a drag will be to call a significant period of your life to be a drag.  When you redeem your time, you dedicate it as ministry time. You begin to see how you are a minister in the marketplace for 40 hours a week or 160 hours in a month. 

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

 

 

work life

insider

The Favor Upon God’s Insider

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Favor Upon God’s Insider

The Insider works six days a week and is the most well-liked and accomplished group member. The fact that you are taking this stance allows your coworkers to investigate and learn more about what makes you so favored. This creates a window of opportunity for influence.

According to the principle God has laid out for you here, you are required to work on, in, or through things for six days. On the seventh day, you take the opportunity to rest, recover, and review your progress. Recuperation is an essential component of the work experience. People who don’t take time to rest become exhausted. The length of your sabbatical can range from one day to a week and even up to a month. There may even be a sabbatical year in your life, but the most important thing is to take time to step back and recharge your batteries.

We have constructed an entire religion around the seventh. When we look at it, we see it as a religious tradition, according to which you should not work on Saturday and Sunday. When, in reality, according to the Career Mandate, Sabbath is a necessary part of your job duties, you should take it. This is the part of your job where you take a step back and relax a little. Because rest is an integral part of one’s work, it can be considered a religious act and a work-related activity. The fact that you can rest indicates that you have faith in God enough to follow His commandment.

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

 

insider

Taking Your Sabbath is a Stand

/0 Comments/in /by

Taking Your Sabbath is a Stand

The Purpose of Rest

Why does a God with omnipotence even need to rest? Was He tired? No. He was showing us something foundational. God revealed how our career mandate must unfold through the Creation account. This blog will talk about the purpose and value of rest in fulfilling our Career Mandate.  

What is He doing? God introduces Himself to us as a creative God who manifests His intentions in stages and phases. He reviews the stages, and then He rests. He has revealed to us how He steps back from the project.  

God is teaching us how resting is an essential part of creating. Stepping back for a season is vital. God has already shown us how we must “do” work from the very beginning. Taking a Sabbath from a week of work is a stand. It is a stand of your faith.  

Even when we dread work, most of us live in the office. How many of you have punched in countless overtimes? How many of you consider yourselves workaholics? Keeping the Sabbath shows for whom we are working. It shows where we put our faith.  

Trust God, Not Your Strength

When you fail to keep the Sabbath holy, when you use the Sabbath to work, it reveals that you are trusting in your abilities. Why would you work on a Sabbath? It is mostly because you are afraid to lose your job. You are worried that you will be unable to finish the tasks you can do. You are relying on yourself.  

When you rest on your Sabbath, it shows that you want to obey God at the end of the day. It proves that you are relying on God’s strength, not yours. Keeping your Sabbath day holy shows that you understand that your career will be blessed if you obey God. This is one of the reasons why we “do” work differently than the rest of the work. We take rest seriously. 

We all required the rest. God declared this commandment to Moses. This commandment pertains to our work behavior.  

 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11) 

 

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

Sabbath

Your Commitment To Your Mandate

/1 Comment/in , /by

Your Commitment To Your Mandate

“Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” 

Maya Angelou 

Power Truth 

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places. 

Leviticus 23:3 

Have you ever heard of people saying, “You know what, I’m waiting, Bishop. When I find out what my ministry is, that’s when I’m going to give it 100%”. You will find your ultimate ministry in life as you serve, not as you wait. As you serve the church, as you serve your workplace, as you serve your family, you will see what you are good at. You will recognize your gifts and your passion. You won’t see it, sitting on the couch all day, waiting for the Lord to reveal it to you. 

Personal Application 

  1. What is keeping you from worshipping God with your work? 
  2. How can you make your work your worship? 
  3. Have you discovered your faithful ministry in life? If so, what is it? 

Mandate: 

Points to Ponder on 

  • Each one of us has a career mandate.  
  • God assigned Adam his “Career Mandate,” Adam worshiped God through his obedience. 
  • It is unnatural to have no work.  
  • The job of pastors is only to equip every believer to conquer the field or industry they are assigned to be Insiders in.  
  • Ministry is service. Your work is your service.  

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

Mandate

Battlefield

Your Work is Your Battlefield

/0 Comments/in , /by

Your Purpose and Your Battlefield

Your workplace is your battlefield. God said, “Sir, you’re going to find your purpose, your career calling. Then you’re going to find Eve.” In most cultures, this is normal. Unfortunately, we live in a twisted culture in the United States that accepts unemployment as a norm. No father would have ever given his daughter to a man that did not have a career calling. In most cultures, this would not happen. But it’s happening to most of us in our twisted rendition of the American culture.  

If you think about it, low self-esteem and high levels of desperation push people into unnatural and unspiritual relationships. This false mindset is what the enemy is doing in our culture. Mighty men of God, no woman is going to despise you for not being able to get a job. But she is going to hate you for still being in bed when she’s gone out.  

Paul supports this Career Mandate. Paul tells us, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). How can you provide for your household? You provide by having a job. If you don’t have a job, your full-time job is finding a job. Get up and find a job.  

Where is your battlefield? 

If there is a Career Mandate, this means that our Commander, Jesus Christ, has already revealed to you where your battlefield is. The work you have is where you conduct your wrestling match. Your workplace is your battlefield. 

God goes to work with His people every single day. If you work in a school, God goes with you there. Let’s say you work in a mall. God goes with you there. What if you work in a law firm? God goes with you there. If you work for the government, God goes with you there. Wherever you are working, God is there because you are there. 

Many of us want to go into full-time ministry with the church because our career calling is not equivalent to full-time ministry. Because of this theology of separation that we are used to, we see our work to be unrelated to ministry work for God.  

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

Battlefield

Work

Blessed to Have Work

/0 Comments/in , /by

When God made Adam, the first thing he does is work. During this time, the world was perfect because sin had not entered the world yet. The perfection that Adam and Eve had experienced was not reflected in the absence of work. There was work.  

Work was not the punishment. Hard labor was the punishment. The question is, what are you experiencing right now? Are you placing yourself in the position of fulfilling your career mandate or in the position of the curse of sin? 

Adam’s Job Was a Blessing

Adam had a job. He had a business. First, God told him to keep the garden. In fac hobby that God gave Adam to help him pass the time until game consoles are created. Have you ever tried to keep a garden or even just a single plant? You know it’s a job, especially when the garden is the size of a country.  

The second job Adam was given was to name all the animals. This is intended to be a mental exercise. Moreover, the task also requires a mental database. Similarly, God intended for Adam to exercise his creativity to name things, put them into categories, and label everything.  

If you think Adam had it easy, Scripture reveals to us how he had a lot of work to do. Nor does he wake up in the morning thinking, “Oh, what to do today?” Adam wakes up in the morning with a purpose.  His first thought of the day would be: “Got to get on with my work. Got to do like my daddy does. We’re going to rest on the seventh day, but I got work to do.”  

The purpose of Adam’s existence was to worship God. How did he do it? By working. Moreover, this is true that work is even the basis of his marital relationship. If you read on, we see that it is stated, “It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him help, meet for him (Genesis 2:18).” The whole idea here was to help.  

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

work