Steve Caronna

The Freeing Power Of Knowledge- Isaiah 5

Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst.  Isaiah 5:13

Without the knowledge in the proper areas, we are captives of our own ignorance, wrong thinking, and bad choices.  I dare say that all of us have been affected by wrong choices we have made based upon lack of information.  It's one thing to have been given wrong information, but I find that the bigger problem is that most people don't pursue the proper knowledge to begin with!  Why do we do that?

1.  Thinking we already know enough to complete the project successfully, when in reality there is much more to be learned.

2.  There are people in our companies, families, and Churches who are just general "know-it-alls". Their responses to our observations are peppered with "I know", or "I knew THAT", or just a general disinterest in what anyone else is saying.

3.   An unwillingness to "mine" knowledge.  Often the knowledge we need to be truly successful is not obvious to everyone, and will be gathered up by those who have the  motivation to pursue it.  It comes in several forms:  by books, cd's, seminars, even appointments with those you know who have what you need. (Don't be one of those who think that they are pursuers of knowledge who only want  for free what has taken a lifetime of effort for someone else to obtain!) 

This Scripture is very similar to Hosea 4:6-  "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priests for me".  Do you think God is trying to tell us something?  Pursue knowledge!

Also, remember that most every failure is a knowledge problem.  Husbands lose wives because they refuse to pursue knowledge about their marriage and spouse.  Business owners lose businesses because they refuse to pursue the knowledge needed to make them successful.  People even lose their intimnate relationship with God because they won't pursue knowing Him more.

Pursue knowledge!

 

 

This passage looks very similar to Hosea 4:6- "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priests for me".  

The Opposite Of Good Is Not "Bad"- Isaiah 5

He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.  “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.  What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes? - Is. 5:2 

Whenever most of us hear the word "good" we automatically think that the opposite would be "bad".  However in this passage, God seems to have a different thought...that the opposite of "good" is "WILD".

Good grapes allow themselves to be planted, nurtured, trained, and pruned.  Wild grapes have no planting, nurturing, training, or pruning, and the result is a grape that is bitter and, except for wild animals, unedible.

As we are planted in the House Of God, nurtured by her leadership, trained by the Word, and pruned by the Holy Spirit, we will grow up to be strong, fruitful, and productive in the Vineyard Of God.  Today, let's resist any inclination we have to be wild, doing our own thing, making our own decisions, charting our own course.  

Today, let's pursue God!

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.  But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!  When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father."- John 15:5-8

 

What Does It Take To "Eat The Good Of The Land"? Isaiah 1::19

If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land- Is. 1:19

What do you think of when your hear the phrase, "the good of the land"? When I think of "the good of the land", I think of 1 Tim. 6:17 which says: ..."the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy." God certainly wants to bless us, for two reasons: So that we can be a blessing to others, and so that we can enjoy his blessings!

In order to qualify for this, we must fulfill two requirement:

1. Willingness- (Heb) to consent, to yield to, to accept. We have to consent to God's
Will, Plan, and Purpose, We must yield to what He wants above what we may think is good and right. We must accept His Word as the final authority in our lives.

2. Obedience- After yielding, consenting, and accepting, which are all internal exercises of our will, then we must actually DO what He has instructed us to do.

In other words, we are to allow God to determine for us what the good of the land IS, then we must follow what He tells us to do to actually obtain it.

So what is the "good of the land" that God has in YOUR future? I REALLY want to see you walk in it! It will only be obtained by making His Word a priority in your life, and actually OBEYING it. Don't delay, start today!

"But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves."- James 1:22

The Fast Is Over...Now What? Part 3

Having BIG faith to pray BIG prayers to a BIG God is not going to be fulfilling if it's only for ourselves all the time. God wants to enlarge our capacity to include other people and their needs. David prayed that type of prayer in Psalm 119:32:

I will run the course of Your commandments, For You shall enlarge my heart.

With the launching of "The Table", our online prayer community this week, the Church really needs for all of us to pray for God to enlarge our hearts. In other words, pray that we all have a greater capacity to pray BIG prayers to a BIG God with BIG faith for the needs of those who entrust their prayer requests to us. Don't take those prayer requests lightly! By the way, you can sign up for "The Table" at www.lwfc.org .

Also, let's ask the the Holy Spirit for a BIG word for our Church and life for 2012. Let's let the Holy Spirit set our faith goals this year, not our doubts, our friends, or our bad experiences! God has a purpose for your existence here on earth. Find out what it is and PURSUE it!

I talked with a lady at lunch today who has had a strong desire for a long time to go to school to be a dental assistant, and finally today, she applied! Fear had held her back for a couple of years, but today she "took the plunge!"

In what area of YOUR life is the Holy Spirit trying to get you to "TAKE THE PLUNGE"?

The Fast Is Over...Now What? Pt. 2

Every day isn't a "big prayer" day. Yes, we need God's Presence every day, but there are those times in our lives when we need BIG prayers answered. Are we ready to pray BIG prayers when those days come?

On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies. Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day!- Joshua 10:12-14

No, Joshua didn't pray that the sun would stand still EVERY day, but he was able to pray that BIG prayer when he needed to. How can we prepare our lives in 2012 to pray BIG prayers?

1. Have BIG faith- covered yesterday.

2. Pursue BIG goals. Don't pursue average. If average is your goal, you will always
be struggling to meet it! Remember: In pursuing greatness, average is
automatically attained.

3. Focus on a BIG God. Some people don't make room in their faith for a BIG God to
work. Instead, God has to work everything out the way THEY see it..."I want THIS
job on THIS date with THIS pay on THESE days with THESE benefits with a boss that
has THIS color hair! Don't get me wrong, you should pray very specific prayers.
Just remember that God has a vast universe of possibilities out there for you. But
if your situation doesn't turn out exactly as you've prayed, don't get an attitude
with God. Instead, remember that He sees the end from the beginning and knows what
will REALLY meet the needs of our situation, even better than we do.

The Fast Is Over...Now What? Part 1

It felt so strange going through the Starbucks drive-thru this morning! There are SO many praise reports coming in already as a result of the fast, and we're just starting to get them in. It's so exciting to see God moving in the lives of so many people. Our staff, leaders, and Church really took the hundreds of prayer requests seriously that came in during those 21 days, and those began to be answered the day we began the fast!

I really feel that we we should recap this past Sunday's teaching about what we are to do now that the fast is over. Don't waste the fast! Let's keep going with what God is doing by taking the next step: Pray BIGGER prayers!

Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!” So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees. Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.” The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.” Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’ ” And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.- 1 Kings 18:41-46

Elijah prayed a BIG prayer, and it rained! There are areas where we need God's Presence, Power, and Provision to rain down on us, and in order for us to experience that, we need to know how to pray BIG prayers!

1. BIG prayers require BIG faith!
A. Faith can be quantified.
1. Matt. 8:10- the centurion had BIG faith,
2. Matt. 8:26- the disciples had LITTLE faith.
B. James 5:15 says that it's the prayer of FAITH that gets results, not just the
act of prayer itself.
1. Heb. 11:1 (AMP) tells us that faith perceives as REAL FACT what is not
yet revealed to our senses. We can't see it, smell it, taste it, touch
it, or hear it...yet we KNOW within ourselves that God is meeting the
need!
2. How do we get BIG faith so that we can perceive BIG things as real fact
even though our senses don't detect them?
a. Rom. 10:17- "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word
of God." If you want BIG faith, you have to get the Word of God into
you in a BIG way! Hear it at every opportunity!
b. Be sure that you're not at your "Word capacity"...that you "feel"
full of the Word, but it's still not enough to get BIG things done in
your life. what are you willing to let go of to make MORE room for
the Word?

The Final Day! John 21

This is it, the final day of our 21 day fast! THANK YOU for participating with your Church family in one of our most significant God encounters! So many people are talking about the powerful way that the Holy Spirit has ministered to them during this time. So many praise reports are coming in of answered prayer. Remember, fasting isn't changing God...it's changing us! By practicing saying, "NO" to ourselves, we're learning to say "YES" to what we know is right and good!

I wanted to blog today from John 21:7-8:

"Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish."

As soon as Peter sees an opportunity to have an encounter with the Risen Lord, he leaves the net of fish that Jesus has just miraculously helped them catch and plunges into the water in pursuit of Jesus Himself. The other six disciples, instead of pursuing Jesus, stay behind "dragging" the fish.

The fish represent God's miraculous provision, and we're thankful every time God "comes through" for us. But whenever there's an opportunity for an encounter with the Lord, whether it's at Church or in your prayer closet, never choose the fish over the Savior. Never choose the provision over the Provider. There will always be more fish when we treat His Presence as precious.

Never drag fish when you can plunge into the water in pursuit of HIM!

What Does It Take For You To Believe?- John 20

I understand that some of the claims of Christ can be challenging to believe...the virgin birth, the sinless Christ, Jesus' resurrection, even OUR resurrection. Jesus doesn't want to leave us faithless, but wants us to believe, to the point that He has done everything possible to prove Himself to us. Not because He HAS to do that, but because He WANTS to.

"Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” -John 20:24-29

All of the other disciples had already seen Jesus, come to grips with their unbelief, and were confident that Jesus had risen, but Thomas hadn't been with them then. When they told him about their encounter, Thomas refused to believe. Jesus then makes a special appearance just for him! I love the way Jesus reaches out to Thomas, giving him the exact opportunity he asked for. However, don't forget that Thomas STILL HAS A CHOICE TO MAKE! Will he believe?

"Of course he will!", you say. "Jesus has just proven Himself to Thomas!" The question on the table now is, "How many times has He proven Himself to us?" Look at all of the times He has revealed Himself in His Word to us. The miraculous things that have happened to us. The times we have sensed His presence when we needed Him the most. The times His arms have wrapped around us in divine protection.

Let's be smart like Thomas. Let's BELIEVE.

Finishing The Course- John 19

Are you in the habit of finishing what you start? This is such an important part of any successful person's life, and should be the habit of every Christian. However, many of us have unfinished projects, books, classes, applications, closets, landscaping, and even relationships!

"When Jesus tasted the vinegar, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and died." - John 19:30

Of course Jesus here is referring to His ultimate purpose for being on this earth, which was to give Himself as the ransom for our sins. In 3 days, He would then prove that He has power over death, hell, and the grave by His resurrection. His death, the ultimate sacrifice, was the redemption offered to the whole world, and He went through misunderstanding, persecution, rejection, beating, and ultimately crucifixion to get there.

Jesus' big secret was that He was able to stay focused on the mission until He finished it. He was tempted by the devil with the kingdoms of this world (Matt. 4:8). He was tempted by people who wanted to crown Him king of Rome (John 6:15). Because of the horror of the death that awaited Him and being separated from His Father during His darkest hour, he was tempted to abandon the mission altogether!(Matt. 26:39) Instead, He stayed focused, and was finally able to say, "It is finished!"

When was the last time YOU were able to say that? Some of us may have not been able to utter those words since our high school diploma! It isn't that we didn't intend on finishing, its just that so many things got in the way. It's my prayer during this fast that the Holy Spirit helps us to FOCUS! To get rid of the distractions and the fluff that won't matter in the end. I want all of you to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant" at the end of your life, not only for a life well-lived, but a mission accomplished!

Are You Avoiding The Victory?- John 18

If we spent as much time and energy experiencing victory in our problems as we do in trying to avoid them, we would have a much better understanding of the Power Of God at work in us.

"Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priests servant, and cut off his right ear. The servants name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?" (John 18:10, 11 NKJV)

Jesus knew the cross was coming. Do you realize that as God in the flesh, He could have avoided the cross completely? But if He had, He would not have experienced the victory of the resurrection, and we would not have the redemption purchased with His Blood that leads to our salvation. In order for the resurrection to come, the cross had to come first.

I am not trying to speak over you or convince you that God sends problems your way for what you can experience from them. The Bible is clear that "...the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but Jesus came so we could have abundant life! When difficulties do come, however, they must be CONQUERED, not avoided. When we avoid life's difficulties, they keep returning. When we CONQUER them, we deal with them once and for all! Jesus didn't avoid death...He CONQUERED IT...and we have that same spirit of faith!

We have 4 days left in our 21 day fast. It's my prayer that as we are learning to say, "no" to ourselves, we are learning to say "yes" to the conquering power of God inside of us to overcome ANY challenge, no matter how big the enemy tries to make it look. Christ is IN YOU...your Hope Of Glory!