Revolution

My Portion

March 30, 2011 — 1 Comment

Josh 13:33
But Moses gave no allotment of land to the tribe of Levi, for the Lord, the God of Israel, had promised that he himself would be their allotment.

When God called Amy and I into full time ministry he did it in a supernatural unquestionable way! That time of our lives was so exciting and we were so full of this passion that was very much like the passion I felt in the moments I first fell in love with my beautiful wife. It was so new, and so exhilarating that it was the first thing we felt when we woke up, and we fell asleep talking about it every night. We were so passionate, and trusted God so much that we were willing to do the work without pay knowing that God would miraculously make a way. Like I said, God supernaturally orchestrated the whole thing and we were able to be put on staff, but our Faith was so elevated we would have done the work anyway. We were just so honored to serve the Kingdom
Well, years later, I can honestly say, not every moment of this journey has been as exciting as those first days. In fact, some weeks have been absolute Hell on earth. This is by far the hardest, and sometimes the most stressful, lonely, terrifying, heart breaking, exhausting, at times unrewarding and thankless job you will ever do. I have been taking advantage of, betrayed, ridiculed, abandoned by some I had given my life for, and hated by those I had loved unconditionally. As a youth pastor I have even been despised, blamed, and accused by parents. On top of all that, financially we have had to believe for miraculous provision time and time again just to live. Wow, what a glowing endorsement! Listen, having said all that, and after all we have gone through, I would still rather be here doing this work than anywhere else in the universe.” How can you possibly feel that way” you might ask.. And trust me I have asked myself the same thing many times. But every time I come to the same conclusion. God is my portion. You see we had to learn early on, and occasionally(meaning every day) have to learn all over again, that doing the work of the ministry can not be done to find some source of fulfillment, or for monitory reward. I get really ticked off when people tell me “I know if I could just be in full-time ministry I will feel fulfilled”. If that’s why you do it you will be sorely disappointed. I am fulfilled as I walk in the will of God, but I am not “entitled” because of my service. Well, maybe I am… I’m entitled to suffer as Jesus did…to be hated and despised and to pick up my cross, and lay down my life. But, as I do lay down my life, as I follow the example of Jesus and serve those God has giving into my care, in return, God has promised to be my reward. When others work to acquire riches, God reveals his face to me, which is far more precious and supplies ALL my needs according to his riches in Glory and gives me all the desires of my heart … As others labour to find fame, God calls me friend and says my name is written in his book and in Jesus has given me his Glory …as others strive and strive for some semblance of peace, I rest in Gods peace which passes understanding…When I am hated, I am loved…When I am abused, I am comforted…when I am abandoned, I am never forsaken…when I’m without, I abound. God almighty,the creator of the universe, the Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings is my portion, and let me tell you, it’s enough.
Lord, whenever I .allow myself to covet or lust after material things, or to feel bitter about the struggles I often find myself in, remind me of the awesome blessing and privilege it is to be a minister in your house. You are my portion and my allotment, and you have given me an eternal inheritance that never fluctuates in value, and will never pass away!

Never separated from the love of God,
Pastor Josh

Devine Purpose

January 26, 2011 — Standard — 1 Comment

Matt 1:17
All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.

It’s hard to be a skeptic when you see the careful planning God put into bringing about our salvation. I’m not going to pretend to understand the symbolism behind every ” type and shadow”‘, nor do I know the significance of all the numbers and dates and so on and so on….but any idiot (a category that I may very possibly fall in to) can see that so many consistencies can’t possibly be a coincidence. Before man ever fell, God had a carefully laid out plan for restoration. Our God is the greatest strategist ever…OK, that’s kind of an understatement. Think about it though! You really have to have more faith to be a skeptic then a believer. But here’s the really awesome part. The same careful planning that went into salvation, went into our purpose and destiny! Check this out…..

Eph 1:4-5
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

Even before he made the world!!!!! What!!! There are no coincidences in our existence. before the world was even made there was a plan…for me. I was loved, I was wanted, therefore I am loved and I am wanted and I have a purpose and a destiny and a “call” that is eternal and irrevocable! Wow! Meditate on that one as you go through your day. What could the world possibly throw at me that could touch it!

Loved and Chosen,
Pastor Josh

Write the Vision

January 25, 2011 — Standard — Leave a comment

Habakkuk 2:2 Then the Lord said to me,
“Write my answer plainly on tablets,
so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

Well, as all of you, my adoring public, know, I have not been to good at staying on top of this blogging thing. I do hope to change that in this coming year. God put it on my heart some time ago to write a yearly devotional for our young people, and have begun to peruse that the last few weeks. Something I have always tried to do is journal every day as I study the word. I heard someone say once that the mind doesn’t remember revelation so as God reveals himself to us through his word and prayer we should always record those things we receive. As I have been reading through my past years journals in preparation for the devotional, I have been overwhelmed by the amount of entries that I have completely forgotten about. Some of them were even revelations that actually changed the course and direction of my life! If I hadn’t written them down, they would now be lost in that one moment of encounter, which though it was an awesome moment, would have little to no lasting effect on the rest of my life. It is these revelations that I will be using to write the book that I hope will be a blessing to those who use it. I have decided to post some of my new daily journal entries here on my blog. I don’t pretend for one moment to assume that God is revealing anything to me that he is not revealing to anyone else that is truly pursuing him with a heart to hear, nor that my thoughts are any more important than anyone else’s….but, this is joshkiefer.com, which means I get to write what I want! Just kidding. I promise I won’t rant and rave about my opinion on this and that, or go off on tirades bashing the government, exposing some new conspiracy theory. Just quick little thoughts about what God’s showing me in his word. Nothing more, nothing less. So, check it out….or don’t. It’s all good.

Peace and Love,
Pastor Josh