1 John 3:8 | Chuck Balsamo

Monday, August 3rd, 2009 by chuck 9 Comments

Happy Monday!

Today is Heavens birthday… I pray for her while she sleeps, knowing how excited she gets about birthdays… that she will wake up and have the day of her life. Father God, I pray a blessing over my children right now… asking you to place your hands on their heads while they sleep… speak to them in dreams… and when they wake speak to them with your Spirit. I pray for them to KNOW your voice and KNOW your direction for their lives… that they would not live in confusion. May they both continue to serve you with all their hearts as they step over the threshold into adulthood. I entrust them into your hands and I have great confidence in your ability to KEEP them on the path of righteousness!

As I pray this morning, I pray for tomorrow nights Bethel Harvest Youth Camp… I want the night session to be unprecedented… that worship would produce a glimpse of eternity and my message would birth a MOVEMENT in the hearts of those young adults! I still remember the prophecy spoken over my life by Prophet Ed Traut of South Africa… and I pray that maybe tomorrow night would be the beginning of that greater effectiveness among our young! I pray that my heart will be more attuned to Gods voice than usual… and that I would be able to SEE what EYES cannot see… that I would be able to CALL THEM OUT just like Jesus called his 12… that they too would CARRY SOMETHING away from tomorrow nights meeting… something that would STILL BE BURNING 2000 years from tomorrow, should the earth remain!

Todays Inspirational message: Our Founding Manifesto!

Mark 16:15-18 He said to them, “Go into all the world and PREACH THE GOOD NEWS to all creation. 16WHOEVER BELIEVES and is baptized WILL BE SAVED, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And THESE SIGNS will accompany those who believe: In my name THEY will drive out demons; THEY will speak in new tongues; THEY will pick up snakes with their hands; and when THEY drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; THEY will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

A few weeks ago, Emily and I were talking about life and ministry and she said something that triggered a new wave of thoughts… a wave I’m still riding today. Here’s what Emily Said, “Most people are bored with Christianity because we are not DOING the right things with our faith.” She commented about the JOY of leading unbelievers to Christ… and how Jesus had left his church with the task of EVANGELIZING the lost world. Emily said she believes there is something inside of EVERY believer that LONGS for SPIRITUAL REPRODUCTION!

We talked about how so many Christians want EXPERIENCES without RESPONSIBILITY. Todays RADICAL church seems to desire more and more SPIRITUAL ENCOUNTERS… while most of us have done very little over the past decade or more to convert the lost. I guess this brings up the question… what is the mission of the church?

Jesus started a MOVEMENT… and over the course of 2000 years, humanity has taken HIS MOVEMENT and turned it into a RELIGION. I believe God longs for this modern church to REDISCOVER OUR FOUNDING MANIFESTO… and REIGNITE OUR DORMANT MOVEMENT!

Our mission SHOULD be the very same mission of Jesus… the very same mission Jesus passed on to his disciples. Jesus told the whole world EXACTLY WHY HE WAS HERE:

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to SEEK and SAVE those who are LOST.

1 John 3:8 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For THIS PURPOSE the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Herein is contained the church’s FOUNDING MANIFESTO: That we too would CONTINUE what Jesus began! That we would be BAPTIZED WITH THE GREAT COMMISSION… and BOLDNESS TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS TO ALL CREATION! That we too would DESTROY the activities of the devil in our 21st century world!

The people of todays world need to be RESCUED from godlessness. They long for us to REACH them! So many of them WANT TO BELIEVE. They wait for us to shed off our selfish version of Christianity where the entire focus is on the SPIRITUAL ENCOUNTER we’re having instead of the ETERNAL LIFE we’re giving away.

I realize that this blog is incomplete in so many ways and it’s very preachy… I just felt inspired to lay some of my raw and unedited thoughts out there for you guys to consider. Please take a few minutes to think about the meaning of life today… think about how short life is… think about eternity… think about the great big world and all the people who don’t yet have the pleasure of knowing Christ like you do… think about your own boredom with todays Christianity… and how much more LIVELY this whole thing can become IF we were to reenlist in the GREATEST COMMISSION EVER!

I pray that todays blog triggers thoughts that add tremendous value to your amazing lives! We are the salt of the earth… a city set on a hill! Let’s shine out… all day long! God bless you guys!

Vacation Talk With My Father in Law

Monday, July 6th, 2009 by chuck 7 Comments

Happy Monday!

Last night, we were sitting in the living room of this vacation cottage… Coree and Elizabeth we’re playing RockBand, Emily and Millie were taking showers, Heaven was on the phone with Cole… leaving Merle and I to chat about spiritual things.

Merle started talking about how amazing Jesus was for the three years he walked this earth. He referred to all the miracles… and all the GOOD things Jesus did for everyone who believed in him. It’s always nice to read through the first four books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John… to travel through the footsteps of Jesus.

Acts 10:38 “And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. THEN Jesus went about DOING GOOD AND HEALING all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

As Merle continued, he said he was talking to a friend recently who mentioned how amazing it would have been if Jesus had stayed another 3 years… or even longer. We could take this thought even further by wondering how BEAUTIFUL it would be if Jesus were walking the earth TODAY!

Merle looked over at me and said, “Jesus wasn’t supposed to be here longer than three years… he didn’t NEED to be here longer than 3 years. He came to GIVE US A COVENANT OF SALVATION… and Jesus accomplished this mission perfectly!” He continued, “And as far as wondering what it would have been like if Jesus had stayed a few more years or longer… HE LEFT HIS HOLY SPIRIT for YOU AND ME… so that WE CAN DO GOOD IN HIS NAME!”

Merle loves talking about the BELIEVERS AUTHORITY. He reads every book he finds on the subject. Every time we talk, Merle reminds me about the authority I have as a believer of Christ! He makes me want to find the biggest mountain and TELL IT TO MOVE!

So last night, as Merle was wrapping up his “Sunday Night Sermon”, he talked about how the disciples of Jesus went right on doing the VERY SAME miracles Jesus did for the REST OF THEIR LIVES… and how they received the VERY SAME Holy Spirit that Jesus had… and how that VERY SAME authority over all the works of the dark force is STILL AVAILABLE to us TODAY!

1 John 3:8b “For this purpose was the Son of God manifested… that he might DESTROY the works of the devil.”

So there you have it everyone… a vacation message from my Father in Law, Royce Merle Wall! If life has been getting the best of you lately, memorize Luke 10:19, “I (Jesus) have given you AUTHORITY to trample on snakes and scorpions to OVERCOME all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you!”

No matter what kind of evil you may be facing today… know this: As believers of Jesus, we have the VERY SAME Holy Spirit AND power that Jesus and HIS DISCIPLES had… and we can most definitely STAND with Jesus NOW and TRAMPLE on those things that have trampled on us! PRAY A PRAYER OF FAITH right now, believing that God loves you and WANT YOU TO LIVE IN VICTORY OVER ALL THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL!

I pray that today’s blogs adds tremendous value to your amazing lives! Even though I’m on vacation… I’m still praying for all you beautiful people! Have a super day… please leave your comments!