Stolen Wells

Have you ever done something you believed to be the will of God and then something unexpected happened and all the time, money and efforts where stolen? Or maybe they took the credit from an idea that was yours? This often happens, because of the fallen world we live in and the selfish nature of some people. Then, there are those so-called accidents that can also rob us of time and money. And finally there is satan, whose is a thief and is basically responsibly for every evil thing thats happened. But, when you're a child of God you sometimes feel those kind of things shouldn't happen to you, but they do. How, you respond in those kind of situations is important.

We all have rights or think we do and everyone wants justice. But as a son of God, our attitude and recourse should be different from the world's. Our petition and attitudes are to be laid before our Heavenly Father, the Righteous Judge. However, what's interesting is that God often allows these things happen for our benefit, for several reasons. One is for correction, because we often make mistakes (doing things we shouldn't have). Another reason is God wants to bless us as we trust and obey Him through those trying situations, so that we will become mature sons and daughters. Lastly, there is also "the cross," we bear the loss for the sake of Christ. In all three situations there are blessings, if our heart is right.

Therefore, theft in a way is a blessing in disguise, even though it may be painful at the time. Remember, we are to give thanks in (not for) all things. (I Thess. 5:18). Besides, God promises to restore all things, when we make our petition, based on faith and forgiveness. God has no choice, but to honor His Word. (Mark 11:22-26) However, restoration happens in God's time, not ours. It can happen quickly and other times it may take years. (I have experienced both situations.) Sometimes we may not see the full reward in our lifetime, but others will benefit, because of our sacrifice and His promises to us. God will see to it, that everything happens at just the right time. Just as we saw in the lives of Job, Joseph, Moses, David, Jesus, the apostles and many others lives. 

However, I would like to share the examples from the lives of two other great men, Abraham and Isaac. Since both of their losses dealt with actual wells of water, and how they dealt with the theft. They lived in an arid region where it was necessary to have access to a special source of water for them to survive, usually a well. It was one of their most valuable possession. A well represented life and the water from it was more precious than gold. It took a lot of time and effort to dig a deep hole and then line the walls to hold the water. A well was a major investment and the cool fresh water was the reward and a blessing from God. Those efforts would benefit their family and friends for generations to come. It was wrong for anyone to attempt or take a well by force, and it was worth fighting for and protect.

However, in the life of Abraham we see a different reaction. He had dug a well in the land God had promised to him. Then one day the servants of the king, seized Abraham's well by force. Abraham was a man of peace, he was also a warrior, as we learned regarding his rescue of Lot, and his family (Gen. 13:8 & 14:14,15). Yet this time, he apparently didn't feel water was worth fighting for, as some others may have. So Abraham chose to let the men have the well, for the time being, even though what they did was wrong. But, the time eventually came when those evil actions were made known to the king, whom Abraham may have thought was been behind the theft.

King Abimelech saw that God had blessed Abraham. So the king and his commander wanted to make a peace treaty with Abraham regarding both of their futures. Abraham was more than willing to have peace. However, before Abraham was willing to sealed their agreement he filed his complaint about his stolen well. The king was surprised and denied having any knowledge of it. Then the two of them took an oath and made a covenant. (I'm sure the matter of the well, was quickly corrected.)

However, many years later we see Abraham's son, Isaac in a similar situation, and with the same forgiving nature. Other wells of Abraham, had be filled in with rocks and dirt by the people in the region. The surrounding people envied Isaac , but they were also afraid of him, so they had old king Abimelech ask Isaac to move on. (so much for a covenant) 

Anyway, Isaac moves to another area and his servants dug a new well, one with flowing water, but the people there contend with him. So he move away again and dug another well, only to have the people quarrel over that one too. Isaac move on again, because he too was a man of peace, even though the people feared him. So he dug again, and this time, when they found water there was no quarrel. (I don't know if I. would have had that much patience.) Anyway, Isaac built an altar to the Lord, thanking Him for a place to settle down and flourish. Then the old king came again to make a peace covenant with Isaac, and so they did.

Every generation of Abraham had to deal with evil, sometimes even within their own family. Jacob was an example of this, this time the thief was his father-law, Laban. The man stole and cheated Jacob many time. Yet, God was faithful to Jacob and he continued to bless and prosper him, in spite of Laban's evil actions. Jacob chose to continue trusting God, rather than confront Laban's actions.

Many years later, Jacob's son, Joseph, also experienced an unbelievable turn of events, due to his brothers selling him into slavery. God's blessing was on Joseph despite all his misfortunes. Many years later, Joseph's response to his brothers evil actions was one of peace and forgiveness. Joseph told his brother, "What you meant for evil against me, God meant it for good." All these Patriarchs were able to see God's ultimate plan, and forgive others in spite of their evil behavior.

Note: Throughout history, satan has tried to steel, kill and destroy God's sons and what was meant for them. No one is exempt from satan's attempts or efforts. Although it may look like the enemy has won at times, he really hasn't. God is still in control of everything. Satan is simply one of God's pawns. 

"All things work together for good, to them who love the Lord, and are called according to his purpose." 

When our life's race is complete, the thieves will be the losers and God's sons the winners. His sons are always compensated many time over, and in the end they never regret any of their past losses. They were able to forgive others and they trusted more in the faithfulness of God, besides they were looking for something better—a city who's foundation is God, rather than the temporary things in life.  

Jesus Christ is that city, the New Jerusalem. The lose of  life or possessions meant nothing to them, compared to the riches of being in the presence of the Lord.

Despite all of the enemies attempts to harass, argue, quarrel and steal from God's sons, God give them His peace. All evil actions will eventually be exposed (Eph.5:13) and all God's sons and daughters will be honored. God has also promised, that He will repay what was lost and stolen. (Joel 2:25) Even by our own negligence.

I have experienced many loses, because of selfish and foolish choices. Like many people, I did things the way I wanted until I was almost 40 years old. Even though I had gone to church most of my life. From that kind of behavior, I lost money, a house, a new van, and a lot other things. Yet, when I turned my life back to Jesus Christ, He restored everything within the next twelve years with better ones.
 
Satan has also stolen many things from me, such as money, paintings, investments, friends, relationships and even my wife. The latter was the greatest loss (only temporary). As a result, satan also stole a lot of my emotions (mainly peace and joy), but then maybe some of that was due to my poor choices. 

However, satan was never able to steal my relationship with God. Jesus Christ has always been with me, especially during the hard times and He was faithful in every way. He has also promised to restore all things, including my marriage, and that He would "kiss my soul and spirit alive." He always restores things to better than what they were before.

God does this for every son and daughter, because of His awesome love and grace and mercy. Jesus Christ is also "The Well," that no one can steal, and deep within Him flows the River of Life. Why don't you, "taste and see that the Lord is Good." Then keep reaching and drinking. Don't be content with just a sip, every now and then. You may even want to dive in and be baptized into His love, His death and rise up in His resurrection power. You never regret it.

Another Beginning

God often takes us through new doors, levels or stages in our walk with Him. He also calls them "new beginning." And so it is for both Sheldon David and I. God is taking each of us to different levels. We have been friend for over 22 years and in that time we have done many things together and we have also learned so much from the Lord. Our spiritual callings are different, and yet they have complimented each other as well.

Since moving to Vancouver, Washington where Sheldon lives, we have gotten to do more together. Sheldon has continued to disciple me and edited my articles every Tuesday or Wednesdays for over a year. But God decided that the time has come for me to be less dependent on Sheldon's help, spiritual strength or his approval. We will still meet for Bible study on Thursday with other people and on Friday evenings, when just the to of us meet for prayer, worship and intercession. However, last week was the last time we met for editing my articles. Sheldon has been very patience with me. So, please bare with me and any grammar errors you might find as God continues to help me. I'm hoping my wife will help more often. She is very good at editing.

The Lord said to me, "I separate to establish." So it has come time for me to move foreword without any crutches or applauds. I have often asked for Sheldon's opinion on certain things, even on my Blog articles, because he knows God much better that I do. But, God wanted to change that and it didn't really come me as a surprise. It was nice while it lasted and I learned a lot. I am very grateful for all the time Sheldon has help me. This will also give Sheldon more time to do what he needs to. He is a very blessed and awesome man of God and someday people will see and realize just how blessed.

I actually feel pretty good about this move, yet a little nervous. It also means I'm becoming more dependent on God, which is what I've always wanted, especially in ministry. Everyone needs to eventually learn to walk with the Lord on their own. Even Moses wanted help at first so God gave him Aaron until he got his confidence. We are to live by faith and do what God tells us, and not always looking to others for help, approval or even their OK; that includes friends, parents and even your wife.

Most people seek the approval of others. But, as followers of Jesus Christ, we're not to seek their approval. The other night God said to us, "I told you, that you would share My reputation, good or bad, as it needs to be. Leave it in My hands and let it become what it needs to. For it doesn't matter what man thinks or says. The Father is the audience. He's the only audiences that matters. The audience of one is the only one that matters. There's not an American who thinks like that...Yet, you realized that Christ is the principle itself. That if you have God you have everything."

This has also been a problem for most people in the world, especially for leaders and people in ministry and that shouldn't be the situation. We are to listen and obey God regardless of what others think. Adam, Aaron and King Saul are just a few example of men who made very serious mistakes by listen to the voices of others. God's word and ways are foremost. Jesus said and did only what He saw the Father saying and doing (John 5:19), regardless of what others thought. If Jesus did it, shouldn't we?

Our fears often whole us back from fulfilling God's will for our lives as well as others. There is a time in which we need to be taught. Jesus also taught his disciples, but there also came a time for them to graduate. The Disciple were able to do far more than they had ever imagined , after Jesus' ascension. They learned to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and walk in Christ's strength and power, by spending more time waiting in the presence of the Heavenly Father.

A few weeks ago God said to us, "This will be the best year in your life." I'm believing that and looking foreword to sharing it with you in the months and years ahead. Now, is the most important time for all of us to get closer to the Heavenly Father. So close that you can hear His heart beat. Each beat is telling us how much He loves us. We also need to listening to what He's saying and doing. Lately, He has been saying, "All that I am and all that I have is yours." Its time to return home and receive the inheritance of the Father. The most important and valuable thing is becoming one, "I am" with Him.

The Tabernacle of the Lord

Today is the beginning of the Tabernacle season. It begins with Rosh Hashanah and end ten days later with Yom Kippur, the Most Holy Day. It is also called, The Day of Atonement and it is a time of reflection. It is one of the three major Holy Days (season) that the Lord commanded the children of Israel to celebrate, especially for the men. The people were to come to Jerusalem during this time and camp in tents. The tent were to be circular and open at the top. That way when they laid on their backs at night they could look up and see the stars, and remember the Promises and Covenant God made with Abraham, the father of our faith.

The Tabernacle season is still a time that the Heavenly Father desire to see His sons and daughters celebrate and to seek His heart. Many times Sheldon and I have gone camping in the awesome Redwood Forest (as shown above) in northern California, to celebrate this wonderful season. Many of the Redwood trees are over 2000 years old, 20 feet in diameter and 250 feet tall. The very nature and character of those tree is unique, just like Yahweh. You feel very small and humble in their presence and His Presence as well. And He established the Tabernacle season to remind us of His Atonement for our sins and His faithfulness.

During those times camping and many others places, we have heard God share his heart or the height and depth of his love. Sometimes that would include a directions He would be taking us or challenging our faith to another level. All of it, created memories that we will never forget. We should always desire to know what God would want of us. To set an example for another generation.

Tabernacles is also the beginning of the Jewish New Year, the Feast of Trumpets, the blowing of the shofars (horns), a time of new beginnings as well. During this time there is often repentance, fasting, seeking, giving, feasting and/or consecrating ones life anew to the Lord. The Father desires to see all of us move forward into our inheritance in Him and it will always begin with humility. We are His dwelling place and collective we are the Tabernacle (Temple) of the Lord.

My Wife and Marriage

I will be posting some articles on marriage shortly that I've been working on, so I thought it would be a good thing to first introduce my wife, Roberta. We met in Denver, Colorado at an art show just before Thanksgiving, and we were married the following year on July 10, 1976. It didn't take us long to know we were meant for each other. However, we only saw each other less than 50 times before the actual wedding day, mostly because of the distance we lived from each other. She was finishing her last year of college at Bethany Nazarene Bible College in Oklahoma City, and I was a lonely artist who had just turned 29. How we met is a long story in itself. However, God and Roberta's mother had a lot to do with it. During the time we were apart, we communicated often by phone and mail. There were also a few plane trips in between. After our wedding in Colorado Springs, we went to Yellowstone Park for a honeymoon in my 25' motor home. I had driven it down to Colorado to get married, also to bring her things back to my old home in Bellevue, Washington. Roberta was the prettiest woman I ever dated, and now we've been married 33 years.

We have a daughter named Shannyn, who is married to Jak Kukes and they have given us four beautiful grandchildren. Roberta is an incredible mother and grandmother, always helping whenever she can. She makes a special effort to spend time with each person. And for those special occasions, she has thoughtful gifts and/or cute cards with words of encouragement, love and scriptures personally written to them. Her loved ones are always in her thoughts and prayers.

Roberta is the most loving and considerate person I know, and people warm up to her quickly. She is friendly and outgoing and has a servant's heart that cares about people's needs. My wife is also creative and a great decorator. She loves animals, especially cats. We have two of them and when we got married, I had two dogs. Her ability to communicate and be a servant to others are her gifts, and she is very patient with people. She has a great love and faith for God, and she often prays with people at church, at work and the homes of parents who have children with challenging behavioral problems.

As a wife, she has loved and encouraged me over the years, even through the difficult times. She has been a source of help and comfort when I have felt down. Even through the hard times her love for God has been there. Through the years we have learned to adjust to our individual temperaments, as every couple must. Roberta has supported me on many wild and sometimes foolish ventures, yet together we have seen God's grace and faithfulness. We have opposite personalities which helps compliment and balance us. Yet, there are other times we have had to learn to adjust through love and forgiveness. We have stayed the course with Jesus Christ as our focus. Together we have experienced love, joy and sorrow through many challenging situations and seasons, as well as incredible miracles and financial blessings. Yet the best days are still ahead, as we minister together in Christ's anointing. Everything is working together for His good, and we owe it all to our Heavenly Father's love, grace and mercy.

Like many young married couples, we had many high hopes, dreams and expectations. But it wasn't long before we realized there would also be challenging days (or even years) ahead. We both made many mistakes, and as a result there were consequences for those mistakes. Our marriage has also lacked many things—peace, love, joy and oneness— that many couples would hope to experience and share for the rest of their lives. Yet we had a few brief moments, especially when our daughter was born, but they seldom lasted as long as we would have hoped. Sure, we could have made some changes; hindsight is twenty-twenty once you know all the facts.

There have been many failed dreams and expectations. Mostly, because of our weakness, pride and selfish desires. Also the lack of understanding God's ways, submission to His authority and false concepts. Demons of control and contention have played havoc in our marriage. This is also true in many others marriages that I have seen.

There was also a cross that came later, because of the "calling" given to me, that compounded the problems that already existed in our shaky marriage. And because of that prophetic calling, Satan has done his best to destroy our lives and marriage. He has wanted me to give up and believe that I failed, but I haven't failed. Religion has also effected our marriage. We were both raised in church life and had found comfort in it at times. However, God was moving me away from organized religious teachings and traditions, and that didn't make Roberta happy. And because of strife I wasn't happy either, my spirit and soul within me has nearly died, but the Lord has vowed to me that He would "kiss my spirit and soul alive," in the coming months. We are both in need of God's restoration.

This has not been easy for Roberta either, being married to a man like me, with a prophetic calling. Yet, I am a son, living out the life God planed for me, something neither of us knew or realized when we first got married. But, God has been faithful and so has Roberta. And since moving down here I have gotten to know the Father better. It has also helped Roberta, thanks to Sheldon. Together we (will) share the life God has designed for both of us, making us one in Him.

I'm thankful that God brought Roberta into my life. Being married to her has helped fill in many of the gaps where I was lacking. She has also inspired me and has helped support the man I am, and for that I am grateful. I love her very much and I always will. She has often said, I have a strange way of showing it. And to that I agree, but covenantal love is different than human love. I am a passionate and compassionate man with strong emotional and spiritual feelings, but I will obey God whether my wife, or family and friends likes it or not. The same goes for my flesh as well. (God's approval and our relationship with Him is the most important thing, regardless of our personal feelings.) I don't enjoy hardship, but that is part of The Way, when your following Jesus. We still have so much to learn from each other and from God. I can't imagine what my life would have been without her. I pray for her daily that God would bless her and guide her. I also consider myself a very blessed man.