JOEL 2 GENERATION

I am indebted to the influence of one teacher for much of the substance of this blog post.  I can no longer endorse the man because of other areas of his life, but the truth of this post remains true nonetheless. In this interesting hour, there are many "traps" that Christians can fall into and have fallen into.  We can fall into fear. And many have fallen.  Some remain, some have found their way out.  But this has undoubtedly been one of the greatest struggles globally for the Body of Christ.  I have blogged and podcasted about this trap and how to get free and stay free by the grace of God.  So I won't be re-visiting the issue of fear in this post.  Check out previous blog posts and at least 6 podcasts on the topic of "Fear Extinguishing" ( https://joel2generation.podomatic.com/ ). Another trap that I have seen is the trap of compromise.  That also isn't the main topic of this blog post, but needs to be mentioned. In this hour, instead of giving...

An old Vineyard adage about Power Evangelism was "The MEAT is in the Street".  I don't know who came up with it, nor how widely it was believed or practiced,  but my experience for many years was/is that it is true.  God often does more OUTSIDE of the four walls of the Church than what happens inside.  I have been praying for the sick 'on the streets' intentionally for the past 20 years.  And I have seen again and again that the MEAT of the Kingdom, so to speak, has been truly amongst the lost in every conceivable context and location, all around the world.   The Lord has interesting ways that He speaks to His kids. He will use the familiar in our lives to speak and lead us.  And that is exactly what He did in my life with regards to how the Church would be able to meet in light of global restrictions being put upon it. Full disclosure; I live in a part of the world where, in some of the countries, believers are not allowed to gather in Church bui...

It has been time for Christians to be gathering IN PERSON.  And by so doing, believers are accessing God's grace in a unique way.  In short, there is grace in the gathering!  I literally heard the Lord say that back in May or early June. Many Christians at that time were living in their virtual "Zoom Worlds" and yet the Lord was clearly saying, "It is time for those who are online, to get OFFLINE". It was time to be gathering, back in May/June.  It didn't matter where or how. It wasn't about a big meeting vs. a small meeting.  It was simply the fact that Christians needed to be meeting together in person.  Whether to walk together, to sit together...the Lord gave us many creative ways to be meeting in spite of all the legal restrictions that had been put upon us.  If the Lord was emphasizing gathering in person back in May/June, how much more is it that time in August?!?  The isolation has been devasting for many believers.  In all honesty, w...