Devotions for Advent

Charismatics sometimes overlook the benefit of more liturgical observances like Advent, but one of my favorite CLCers passed along this recommendation for a daily devotion that you can use during this wonderful season, to maximize your experience.

If you’re interested, just click here and enjoy!

And don’t forget to invite your friends & family to join you for our 3-D Christmas series beginning this Sunday, December 6.

Sunday reflections

Having watched almost every play of the Vikings mauling of da Bears (which actually turned out closer than I expected), it’s time to weigh in with my thoughts about today at CLC:

• fairly typical Thanksgiving weekend attendance at every campus – meaning I look forward to everyone being home and not-hungover-from-Turkey-overload next Sunday!
• I never get tired of baby dedications and water baptisms!  BIG day for several CLC families today, celebrating those special moments in their child’s life!
• LOVE Dr. Ron Rembert’s saxophone solo on “Amazing Grace” – WOW!  Nothing like anointed talent!
• Special thanks to Jon Jones, Betty Hofstra & Minnie Hardy for sharing their stories today!
• Pastors Doug Neal & Eric Stone in South Bend & Lisle both tackled the racial issue today and reported great response from their congregations.
• Our interim pastor in Shorewood, Glenn Wharton reports that my wife’s ministry there today was a continuation of last Sunday, with an unusual manifestation of God’s Presence and great anointing during the message and altar time!
• Pastor Herley Montes at our campus in Davao City, Philippines reports that the Presence of God was so strong in their services this weekend that the people didn’t want to leave…..and to that I say, “do it here, Lord!

I think that’s it…..time for some more Thanksgiving leftovers with my honey…..signing off for the night!

A thank you letter

I just received this from Senegal, and thought I’d share it with all our readers – and especially the CLC  team of 20 or so who just recently returned – CLC: you are making a difference!

Rufisque the 27^th November 09

A THANK YOU LETTER

Dear friends and partners,

On behalf of the Calvary Ministries team  CAPRO in Senegal we  wish to thank you all, for your immense contribution despite the different challenges you are facing, you have remained steadfast and committed to the cause of making the word of God accessible to many .

We pray that God will continue to bless and increase you in all your endeavors in this world.

Your coming in Senegal was so great and important for the work because it’s beyond what you can imagine.

God has used you to encouraged us, bless the communities were we hold the clinic and the name of God is really glorified because you have obeided to his voice to come.

We believe that your labor is not in vain.

Tomorrow 15 women from the Dakar church are going to Baba Garage with sister Francisca DOGUE ( Pastor Eloi’s) for three days retreat and they will be in contact with some people we met during the clinic please remember them in your prayers.

We love you because your are special for us.

God bless you all

Pastor Victorien NAKIGAN

Ask the Pastor

One of our CLC-SW members wrote, I have a question for you that I have always wondered since I got saved! Why do we not see the gift of interpretation of tongues in the church these days???

Great question!  I wish I had the wisdom to say, “I don’t know” (because that’s the honest truth).

But since I try to deliver each Friday, I’ll give you my ‘thoughts’ on the subject:

• Some of us HAVE seen the gift of interpretation of tongues in operation – me included.  I’ve had a few experiences that would give you Holy Ghost goose-bumps for sure, and I’ve had lots of other experiences in church through the years that were completely forgettable.  But I’ve definitely seen enough to know that it is a valid gift that is still in use in the Body of Christ today.
• Having said that, I will quickly say that the use of that gift seems to primarily occur in Pentecostal churches, and not in more ‘charismatic’ churches (boy, I hate labels like those, and I just used two in one sentence!) I’m not sure WHY that is; it’s just been my observation.  I suppose it could amount to a bias toward that gift (obviously with it’s companion, the gift of tongues) among Pentecostals, perhaps because of their tradition and ‘comfort levels’, compared to Charismatics, who may be more comfortable with the gift of prophecy.
• It could also have to do with our shortened-services to accommodate multiple service schedules & please American Christians (I’m just sayin’). Personally, I feel the pressure every Sunday to fit everything in that we try to do (worship, special announcements, special music, preaching, etc) and keep the service to a 75-minute time limit (which we usually exceed anyway, but that’s the goal).  In my heart of hearts, I try to balance that with our love for the full ministry of the Holy Spirit, and a determination to never quench what the Holy Spirit might want to do in our public gatherings – but it’s possible that we don’t always spend the time lingering in His Presence, which is the atmosphere from which many of the gifts of the Spirit flow.
• One other interesting possibility that is espoused by some teachers is that the gifts of the Spirit were given for special needs & circumstances, to provide supernatural assistance – so some have concluded that if we aren’t seeing certain gifts manifest, it simply means that there isn’t a need at that particular assembly.  (I’m a little uncomfortable to take than too far, but obviously we don’t need the gifts of healing to manifest if there’s no one in the meeting who is sick, etc.)

That’s about as much speculation as I can render – hope it gives you some food for thought.  Let me close with 1Cor. 14:1 – we may not know why certain gifts are manifest more than others, but EACH of us should desire spiritual gifts, and use them to edify the body of Christ!

Now, what would YOU like to Ask the Pastor?

Are you looking up?

Here’s my thought for THANKSGIVING – found in the familiar story of Jesus feeding the multitude with a little boy’s lunch - Luke 9:16.

Notice that Jesus didn’t look down at the small lunch in his hands.

Neither did He look out at the teeming, hungry crowd, perhaps 20-25,000 strong.

He didn’t look around for some other solution to this very real challenge.

Instead He looked up, toward His Heavenly Father, the source of His answer, and His PROVIDER.

This Thanksgiving season, I would encourage you to not look down and out – don’t focus on the huge needs you may feel, or how little you feel you have to meet those needs.  And certainly I would challenge you not to look at the economy or the conditions around you that offer you little hope and perhaps even make you depressed.

Let’s each of us look UP and remember that God is still on the Throne…that HE is still Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider.  As we enjoy the blessings of family and friends and the fellowship around some delicious food – let’s remember how good God has been to us, and give HIM thanks!

Love you all – Happy Thanksgiving!

Too good to keep….

Just received this report from our partners in ISRAEL, and I thought it would be good ‘fuel’ to stoke the fires for your Thanksgiving week, as we all reflect on God’s blessings.  Enjoy the report here-

And don’t forget: CLC will be going to Israel for a missions & sightseeing tour next November 9-19.  Full details will be coming soon, but mark the dates and start saving the funds to join us!

Finally here (and you can get yours)

I posted about this over two months ago.

I promised every CLC volunteer a personal copy of Dino’s message because I was that impacted by it.  Had to jump thru some hoops to get it, but finally it’s here.  And what a great time of year to listen to this message!

Special thanks to Andre & Trina Satchell in our Media Ministry for helping make it possible.

So if you serve as a volunteer in any area of ministry at CLC (at any campus), just ask your ministry leader for your copy – or check at Connections in Tinley Park.

Listen and grow – this message expresses the heart of what we want for everyone at CLC!

(If you don’t serve in ministry at CLC, but would like to purchase a copy of this CD, just place your order at the Media booth in Tinley Park)

Sunday reflections

Feeling drained…maybe from caring for a very sick wife for last few days (at least the fever broke last night, and she’s making progress now – after being in bed since Thursday evening) – or maybe just the three-service routine followed by a newcomer’s reception….at any rate, I’m already on the couch as I post these thoughts:

• first, my thoughts & prayers are with the Victory Christian Center folks in Tulsa tonight – I was never privileged to know Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty personally, but I had long admired him from afar and was shocked & saddened to learn of his passing today.
• strong attendance today in Davao (full house), Shorewood, & Lisle (SRO according to Pastor Eric) while Tinley Park was ravaged by the flu, down by more than 100 people from ‘normal’ attendance.
• Despite the last-minute change of plans with Chris not able to minister in South Bend, Pastor Doug reported a good response to the video teaching and a lot of fun with the renewal of vows there-
• LOVE the new song unveiled in the 11:30 service in Tinley Park – thank you, David & Nicole Binion for “Heaven on Earth”!
• Also loved having the Hispanic Praise Team provide the special music in TP today – thanks to William Arevalo and his team for a job well done!
• And special thanks to Director Dale Van Steenis who not only blessed each of our campuses over the last eight days, but was off the charts today in Shorewood, as he ushered in an AWESOME (interim pastor Glenn Wharton’s word) move of the Holy Spirit, with full altars and several folks receiving their own prayer language today!  (I’ve seen some FB posts that people were inspired to pray in the Spirit every day!)
• Thrilling to see folks pray to receive Jesus at each service in Tinley Park today – especially after a teaching on racial reconciliation!
• Perhaps my favorite report of the day came from Pastor Herley in Davao, who, in-between his morning & evening services went across town to help with an Encounter Retreat for another pastor he’s mentoring, and saw about 80 people filled with the Holy Spirit, including one Muslim lady who couldn’t wait to get home to share the gospel with her entire family!  Yay Jesus, and Yay Pastor Herley!
• Glad for people in 8 different states who worshipped with us online today!
• Finally (best for last) – was it incredible to see PASTORS STEVE & SHAE today or what!  All of us are thankful for his ongoing recovery from quintuple bypass surgery!

Gonna settle in now to see if da Bears are as bad as I think….hope you enjoy your evening!

Ask the Pastor

Today I’m going to try to answer 2 questions, since both were submitted the same day, and actually somewhat overlap:

Q (1): Pastor, I have a question regarding angels and statues and I guess you can say any type of graven images. I know that some churches have statues and they even pray to these statues. Some of these statues are images of Jesus, Mary and some of the people they perceive to be saints in the bible. I personally have a problem with this. But my main question goes so far as to ask your thoughts on pictures? Years ago, myself included, we would have pictures of how we perceived Jesus to look. We didn’t consciously pray to the picture, however, it would be so easy to look at the picture and unconsciously ask for his help. Please enlighten me.

A: Interesting question…one that I haven’t heard often.  First of all, my understanding of “graven images” is strictly in the context of idol worship in heathen cultures, where they literally carved or constructed idols to represent the gods that they worshipped – mostly out of superstition and fear.  Certainly idolatry is forbidden throughout Scripture – in the sense of us having any other gods before the Lord, the only True God.  And I’m among the preachers who have said, “you can make an idol out of anything: your job, your car, your spouse, your money, your hobby, etc.”

Perhaps the most interesting application of this principle in the New Testament is Col. 3:5, which equates idolatry with greed (covetousness in many other translations) – which certainly gives us a reason to stop & consider the materialism of our day and culture.

Nonetheless, in regards to your specific question, I don’t find anything in Scripture that would forbid having a picture of an angel, or a Bible character, or even an artist’s conception of Jesus – so long as it’s a picture only and NEVER the object of prayer or devotion.  Having said that, I personally don’t know why anyone would want those type of pictures in the first place, since no one knows exactly what an angel or Jesus looked like – in fact, if we did see an actual photograph of Him, I think we’d be quite surprised, according to Isaiah 53:2!

Q (2): If God is love and love is not jealous, how can God be a jealous God? I heard that Oprah quit attending church because she heard that God was jealous of her…. is there a scripture that says God is jealous OF us?? If so could you explain what that mean exactly, as well as explain what could appear to some as a contradiction of Jealousy and Love from God?

A: Wow…never been asked these before!  I guess I’d start by saying I suspect the Oprah rumor is just that, a rumor – and certainly there is NO Scripture that would imply that God is jealous OF us!

After a quick consult with Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, I found that jealous has 4 possible meanings, but only 2 that could ever apply of the Lord:

• intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness
• vigilant in guarding a possession

The other 2 meanings are: “disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness” and “hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage” and it’s in that sense (I believe) that 1Cor. 13 has in mind when it reports that “love is not jealous”.  As humans, we may become suspicious or get hostile toward a rival, but God doesn’t.  However, He IS intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness on our part – He won’t tolerate us having other ‘loves’ ahead of Him, since He is the only true God.

And I’m thankful that He is SO vigilant in guarding us, His possession! (see Deut. 32:8-12)

I don’t see that as a contradiction; I see that as proof of true love!

Hope this helped a little bit, although I admit that both are tough questions.

Now, what would YOU like to Ask the Pastor?

Prayer works!

I just got this news, so I’m passing it on to you – we rejoice together!

What is it that you’ve been praying for, that you haven’t seen manifest yet?  May this answer encourage you that MORE are on the way!

Join us tonight at 7:30pm at CLC-TP when we expect healings to manifest!

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