When I find a song I enjoy, I tend to listen to it endlessly. I was on my 5^th or 6^th pass thru one the other day — you know the song — the one about needing a revelation… and not having a clue of what to do …great song – great feel – great hook – well constructed – good band & good music!

While it certainly seemed to capture and articulate things I’ve felt before, as I pondered, a revelation came. It dawned on me—here’s a clue, Jim! It’s like a lamp to my feet, a beacon, a light to my path … and it’s always profitable for correction, instruction, reproof… Wow.

One fairly obvious clue: whenever you pray, a. enter your secret place, b. shut the door, and c. commune with Father! If I accomplish that, Mt.6:6 guarantees me this result: Father will always respond and reward! I mean, it’s not like, “Lord, could You give me a better clue?!”

Don’t get too angry with me. There’s an clear reason why I was listening for the fifth successive time. My “revelation search” was in full stride when the light came on – again. ‘Jim… Jim…, just find the secret place and shut the door!’ Amen! Selah. \o/

Facing crisis, the natural tendency of human frailty is to retreat or if possible, ignore… to seek a diversion and any path of less resistance. Ministry leaders typically offer guidance that nicely blends psychology and social remedy with God’s Word. As believer’s, we are generally schooled to persevere, to take courage, to stand and face challenge with resilient defiance and be proactive—to attack! While noble and socially applauded, this misses a much greater point.

When life seriously appears to be coming apart at the seams, with adversity seemingly on every side and ‘Murphy’s Law’ the apparent rule-of-the-day, do not immediately begin gritting your teeth, frantically quoting scripture, waving your Sword wildly and hoisting your shield of faith. Time out!! Peace. Be still! Take just a moment and …wait. Collect yourself, refocus your heart and set your affections on things above! Worship.

Isa 40:29 AMP He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; 31 But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.
    Apparently, renewed strength, eagles wings and not fainting or being weary are blessings reserved for those who “wait” on the Lord. Waiting on the Lord is not a description of inactivity… It is the fundamental basis of spiritual pro-action, of truly standing—and at its core, it’s worshiper-talk. Selah.\o/

I am more convinced than ever that the greatest undeveloped area in believers’ lives today is not their ability to pray or stand in faith or quote God’s Word or resist the devil or walk in love or evangelize or… but it’s being able, when the going gets really tough, to seek and find peace—to locate and access a secret place with Father! …The ability and personal resolve to simply and genuinely set affections on things above, to exercise loving the Lord our God with all heart, soul, mind and strength—to cultivate sanctuary in the midst of the fire.

When under great pressure, most of the church is powerless to seek and find true refuge, to re-focus the desperately distracted heart amidst utterly consuming circumstances—to genuinely worship!

I’m not minimizing other areas that similarly need strengthening … just proposing that while those other subjects are regularly discussed and championed, this area is not only most vital to our foundation, but the most “under the radar” …the most overlooked and foreign.

Really, when embattled, I cannot effectively function in any other aspect of my Christian walk until I’ve crossed this bridge—until I have identified and addressed this core issue. I can’t resist effectively until I re-connected my heart to the “power source.” Truly standing in faith, praying authoritatively and confidently, loving others unconditionally, resting… all are hopeless if the power remains unplugged.

“Father, You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy!” Ps.16:11. (Thank you David, it couldn’t be said any better.) Selah. \o/

Hear Litmus Test at this link: SelahBreak #7

What if God gave us a litmus test for the church? Actually, according to Moses, He has. “Litmus Test” explores how God measures the church experience.

Click on the player below to play a demo of our new CD, “A Quiet Place.”

For every worshiper, there must be seasons of quiet. There are depths in the Lord that can only be reached in a fervent stillness. It often seems God’s greatest treasures are conveyed in a still, small voice. This project is a tool to help you find this place.

A Quiet Place is a gently flowing progression of intimate moments … songs and interludes of passion and pursuit. More than a musical experience, it is a vehicle to fuel your fervor and to inspire & accelerate your worship journey.

Click on the “Play” button (the black triangle pointing to the right) below to play demo as Streaming Audio.

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You may also click HERE to purchase the CD from our On-Line catalog.

The greatest challenge facing the church today is NOT a lack of cultural relevance. It is this: recognizing that there is a vast difference between discussion about God and genuine encounter with God. The church must re-prioritize between group therapy and personal encounter. Even in the “good” churches our services tend to focus primarily on instruction about kingdom principle and about principles for righteous living (all noble and valid) rather than becoming a laboratory—an incubator for encountering God face-to-face! The tragic result is that for any believer to truly discover the treasure of a secret place with God, they must virtually do it on their own, having heard rumors about it at church, yet never truly experiencing…

Is the purpose of the church to instruct about glorious God-encounters or to actually pursue them? …To discuss the depths from the riverbank—or to launch out into the deep? In truth, the “depth” of the discussion and revelation means nothing if it fails to inspire and compel a fervent personal pursuit.

God’s Jer.29:13 guarantee does NOT read, “You shall seek me and find me when you search for me as an appetizer to the main event, when your search is an hors d’oeuvre—a snack before the main course of learning more about the kingdom. ‘Missing the mark’ is how the Bible characterizes sin—an unfortunate description of the focus of much of the church today. Selah! (Reprinted from recent Selahgram)