Salty & Shiny

My son, Issac, who is involved in the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) at his high school, recently brought home a shirt that they designed for the members of FCA. On the shirt there is a saltshaker and a bright-smiling sun. The saltshaker is pouring salt on the earth, and the sun is shining on the earth. It simply says, “ Salty & Shiny!” I love it! That’s what we are to be!

If you have been a Believer for any length of time, you have probably asked the LORD “Why?” Why am I in this place, this neighborhood, this job or this church? What is my purpose? Am I being effective? Below, I have copied some quotes from a recent article on Elijah List written by Danny Steyne entitled, "New Barns, New Bowls, New Wineskins...”

After reading through the first few pages of this article, the story of Elisha and the spring near Jericho spoke volumes to me. Sometimes, God simply has us in a particular place to be SALT and LIGHT. Enjoy!

"The men of the city said to Elisha, 'Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.' 'Bring me a new bowl,' he said, 'and put salt in it.' So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, 'This is what the LORD says: I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.'" 2 Kings 2:19-21

It's Time for the New Bowls!
Elisha, the newly ordained prophet of Israel, is called on to do his first miracle in the Promised Land. Interestingly, it's at the same place that the first victory came to the people of Israel many years before. Jericho! Right outside of Jericho, there is this little spring that pours water through it constantly at a wonderful speed! It looks so refreshing, so inviting, and so full of promise and life, yet simply it is poison to the whole region! I imagine the people had spent their time praying for this spring to be cleansed. Likely, the whole community gathered to discuss some possible resolve for the situation at the spring.

It's likely that some may even have gone to Jerusalem to sacrifice something in the hopes that there would be a cleansing of the water. This was supposed to be a provider of life. It was supposed to be something that would result in fruit in the community and enough fruitfulness that the community would be able to live off of what was released as a result of this water. I think eventually, the people gave up; they realized the water simply wasn't any good, and all the considerations of how to purify it didn't work. But the men of the city, the ones who sat in the gates, the leaders, they still pressed into healing for the water. For some reason, they held on to the hope that this would provide life and sustenance for their community and families. In the same way many have walked away from the existing church believing it is too rife with problems. But there are a few who are holding out for a miracle. Those with a fresh sense of God to break the pattern of unproductivity and fruitlessness and release God into the mix where everything changes!

Can You Do Anything Elisha?
The conversation goes something like this (paraphrased): "Can you bring me a bowl?" Elisha says, "Oh, one that has no preconceived ideas. It must be a new one. It must not have any idea of what may be going into it. There must be no taste of leftovers on it." He hears back, "That may take longer to get, Elisha. My wife has a good used one nearby. Does it really matter?" Elisha says, "Yes! It REALLY matters! I want a new bowl. I want something that has no history other than the potter's wheel; no history other than the furnace; no history other than the simplicity of knowing that there is future destiny. I'm not sure how that will be fulfilled, only that one day it will be full of God's purpose!"

Elisha takes the new bowl. The one that doesn't look back at history, but looks forward into promise. The bowl that doesn't recall how things used to be and won't bring to recollection of how revivals started in the past. He pours salt...no, he fills the bowl with salt! He prophetically declares--that which poisons the fields of the enemy will in fact purify the springs of life!
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." Matthew 5:13 Jesus would one day indicate that we are the salt of the earth. He would declare that we would salt everything--not simply sit in bowls, but rather change the nature of everything that we touch! Paul indicates that we are "vessels"--pots--bowls intended to be filled with Jesus! Elisha was speaking into the erroneous teaching, which says that all we need is more power. We don't need more power, and the early church NEVER asked for more power. The Holy Spirit was fully poured out at Pentecost, how do you get more than fully, which is ALL? The early church asked for one thing: Make us saltier; make us bolder. (For the full article, please see Elijahlist.com and look for this article on 5/22/08)

Yes Lord! Make me saltier, make me bolder!

Blessings, Jewelya

Encountering God

Encounters with God are prevalent throughout the Bible. Enoch encountered God, and went straight to heaven, without passing “GO”, without collecting $200 and without dying! Esther encountered God when the entire Israelite nation in Persia was threatened with extinction and the intercession of the nation was on her shoulders. A man named Saul encountered God while on his way to Damascus to persecute believers; God changed him inside and out and even changed his name.

One definition of Encounter in Webster’s is: “to come face-to-face with;” Our church has recently begun a ministry that prepares people for just that…a “face-to-face” with our loving God. This ministry is called “Encounters.” Our first Encounter was held in April. Encounter #1 resulted in 15 participants and 7 leaders who have been changed, forever. This is the purpose…an eternal change, inside and out as we meet and spend time with our LORD. We prepare for these Encounters in the natural and in prayer, and then we take our hands off, and simply welcome the working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all. And what a wonderul work He does! I'm included in that change...and will never be the same.

"The Wind"

At our first Encounter, the Holy Spirit manifested Himself in such a glorious way. He came in literally like a mighty whirlwind, sweeping around us then lifting up, taking our breath away. Soon after, my friend and mentor, Jeanette, prophesied about the tornadoes and winds. Holy Ghost has been revealing so many things to us about this ‘wind.’ We heard how Holy Ghost came and manifested Himself in a very similar way to the group of people from Morningstar after two students had returned from a Breakout revival in Lakeland, FL. The report is that He came in a whirlwind, much like He did to us at the retreat center. In prayer service on 3/8, the LORD spoke to us from Hosea 8 and said that, “you have heard it said “sow to the wind and reap the whirlwind,” and you have always associated that with destruction, but I say to you now, sow to THIS wind and reap the wind of My Spirit!” Then, on 3/13 as I was driving down the street by the church, I glanced at the church’s billboard and Holy Ghost highlighted the phrase on the billboard, “the winds of change are blowing at FBC.” This sign has been up for nearly a year… it’s prophetic, and we (at least me) didn’t even notice it! Wow! Even today, I heard of a new outbreak of this Holy Ghost Outpouring in Oregon. What an exciting time to be alive! Thank You LORD!