• Home
  • About Us
    • What We Do
  • Connecting
    • Contact Us
    • Events
  • Perspectives
    • Thinking Out Loud
    • Healing Insights
  • Join us
  • Support Us
  • Media
    • Music
    • Teaching Videos
  • Home
  • About Us
    • What We Do
  • Connecting
    • Contact Us
    • Events
  • Perspectives
    • Thinking Out Loud
    • Healing Insights
  • Join us
  • Support Us
  • Media
    • Music
    • Teaching Videos
  Rushing Streams Ministries

Thinking out loud

The Easy Yoke

10/16/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.“  Matthew 11:28-30

We must come to Him if we are weary, tired, exhausted from toil or effort, burdened with the things we cannot seem to get on top of.
When we come, He will give us a place to recover, to collect our strength and be refreshed.
He will bring us into a place where we can quiet our spirit, restore our soul and body.
But we must come, we must choose to walk away from our labors and burdens and seek him out.
In the place of rest we get a perspective that allows us to see more clearly, do discern the things that are significant and those that aren't.
We have a tendency to take on burdens that have no kingdom value, those things that tire us and wear us down with worry.

He is not telling us that we will not labor, but that the labor will not be difficult.
We are told to take up his yoke and watch and learn from him and in so doing we learn to live from a place humility and quietness of heart.
When we do, we will come to rest.
The yoke, the submission to his guidance in the work of the kingdom is easy, since he labors with us.

We are not alone, He is with us to lighten the load, a time of putting our shoulders together to move the kingdom into the world.
The joy of working together with a close friend who is taking the lead and the weight of the work. It is a time of close fellowship.
His yoke is easy, it does not grind us down and the burden (there will be a burden) is light. He knows our strength and our endurance and will not impose more than we can handle.
Once we learn to share His yoke, we can then do it for others.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  Galatians 6:2
0 Comments

Do not Tell!

10/7/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
“Do not Tell.”


     John the Baptist had declared that Jesus was, “Behold the Lamb of God.”

     Jesus preferred anonymity.

     Jesus had offended the Pharisees by doing good on the “Sabbath.”          

     Now they planned to kill him.

          Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Matthew 12:15

     However, word got out and the people came to him in droves with the needy and the ill.

          “… and he healed all who were ill. He warned them not to tell others about him. Matthew 12:16


     He warned them not to talk about him. He did not need  promoting or the attention. 

     When the work of the kingdom finds the approval of man it may be a trap.
    
      How different that is from what we often see today.
     As often as not, the driving purpose of ministry today is to become “known," to attract attention.

     Even the drive to “Do ministry” can be a trap that draws us into performance for the sake of acceptance of others.
    
    The call to ministry can be a dangerous assignment, often reserved for those who value the lives of others more than their own lives. 
    
     Do you believe God is with you even if no one recognizes or applauds you or what you do? 
    
    However, if the need is for the approval, recognition and the validation of man, then you are operating in a worldly mindset and may be missing the greater purpose of God for your life.

     When the “Business” of ministry takes you away from those things that draw you deeper into His presence, then you may become great in the sight of man, but miss the best of God.

     This is how Jesus' brothers saw things, when they told him,.
 
          “For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.
           John 7:4

       At times you may even find yourselves  tempted to look for the favor of man and risk missing the face of God.
    God will always provide what you need for your daily activities, whether it is raising the dead, visiting with a friend or quiet time with Him, the Father.

     When you operate in His agenda, you are always in the right place and timing.












0 Comments

Behold!

9/14/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Behold!

    “Behold! The lamb of God.” John 1:29

    With these words, John pointed Jesus out for all to hear and see.
    
    “Behold,” is a forceful word, a command to “Pay attention,” “Look!”

    His pronouncement is a powerful, earth-changing declaration: a call to attention …

    John boldly declares, “He is the one!” 

    “…Whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie.” John 1:27

    “…He surpasses me because he was before me.” John 1:30

    “…I have seen and testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” John 1:34

    “…I saw the Spirit come down from heaven and remain on him.” John 1:32

    His announcement is barely noticed.

    From all of John’s disciples, only two are mentioned who listened to his words. The others stayed with him to the end, failing to seek the one he so powerfully proclaimed.    
    
    But two men took John’s staggering testimony to heart. They immediately left him for the one who had drawn such a powerful endorsement, “This is the Lamb of God.” 

    They followed him for a time before Jesus faced them and initiated the encounter; he always does.

    “What do you want?” John 1:38
    The question is an invitation, not a challenge.
 
    They had no answer. Confused all they could say was, “Where are you staying?”

    It was enough. 

    They were hungry for a life in God, and Jesus had what would satisfy them.

    “Come and you will see.” John 1:39

    And so the adventure began and it changed their lives forever.

    If you follow him, he will ask you the same question, “What do you want?”
    It begins the conversation and the adventure
0 Comments

Seeing Jesus

9/14/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Seeing Jesus


    “Lord when did we see you hungry and thirsty…” Matthew 25:44

    Jesus answered, “I am seen in anyone who is hungry, in anyone who is thirsty, I am in the needy, the stranger, the sick and the one in prison. That is where you see me.”

    When you look for Him in others, you also reveal Him to others. 
    And He and the Father will reveal themselves to you. John 14:21

    The very nature of your faith declares that you have an obligation to those who are lost, those who are your enemies, who hate you. Luke 6:27-30

    As James so powerfully declares;
    “What good is it, …, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? .., faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:14-17

    Your life is not counted by, "How much you believe" Or even by ”How much you pray" But by, ”How much you did for others”. 
    Private prayer and faith are never persecuted, but the deeds they produce are. 

    Jesus always acted on behalf of his “neighbors,” to the point of dying for them. To see Jesus, you must walk in the same spirit.
    And suddenly your neighbors are everywhere; all you need to do is look, and you will have an opportunity to minister to Jesus as he presents himself to you in one of His many of disguises.

    The beauty of your faith in action, is the delight it brings Him to see you being present on His behalf to another. 
    Your goodness will draw out the hidden manna in them: a revelation of Jesus, the one who truly loves them.

    In the sight of the Lord failing to do “Good” to another is an offense.
    
    Therefore, let us never tire of being kind and doing good, always aware of his delight in it.

0 Comments

The Withered Hand

9/9/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
The Withered Hand

    “Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.”  Mark 3:4

    The Sabbath was a day to glorify God, but the people had turned it into a day of limitations, where even God’s glory would not be allowed to manifest.

    “Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.“ Mark 3:2 

    The withered hand was the trap. A deformity, the cause of deep grief, was used as bait to trap Jesus into breaking the law.
    Any deformity (spiritual, emotional, mental or physical) that keeps you on the fringes of community feels like living under a curse and must be confronted.
    Otherwise it becomes a life sentence of isolation and rejection.
    
    The leaders and the people had come to accept his condition: “It is the result of sin!” “This is the will of God!” 

    Any other answer would require their effort in seeking a solution which may upset their carefully developed theology that allowed them to stay uninvolved and “undefiled.”


    Their detached acceptance of the man’s condition prompts the question, "Is it legal, is it right to do good, to bring life on a day set aside for rest by God?”
    
    This is the question we all face. Is it right to ask God to extend grace and healing to those who for all intents and purposes are withering under a curse as a consequence of “Their Sin?”
    
    When faced with the confusing, the disturbing, the impossible, you can easily lose your confidence, and wonder,    
​    “What can I do?”

    The question is an admission of unbelief and powerlessness.
    
    It is not so for Jesus. It never is.

    Jesus sees things differently. He always does.  

    Where there is no fulness of life, there is no fulness of God, and he is driven by the heart of the Father to confront the situation.

    He is a full blown agent of change. Anything less than the glory of God flowing through man is not acceptable.
    Receiving no answer to his question, he answered it by doing “Good”.


    “He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. “Mark 3:5
    
    The people's religious mindset caused their hardness of heart; they used the Word of God to justify their readiness to settle for less. It angered and grieved Jesus, and moved him to act.

    Jesus’ actions bring an instant reaction; the Pharisees and the Herodians (religious and political leaders) immediately planned to destroy him. 

    “Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.” Mark 3:6

    They saw His actions as challenge to their religion, and they raged.

    When you do “Good" you release “life.” That is always a challenge to any form of limitation, spiritual or physical.


    Goodness begins to release people from that which holds them in bondage. Whatever their defects. 
    Any withered “hand” is a call to do good.
    Against goodness, kindness there is no law, only opposition.



2 Comments

Storms - Creators of Doubt

9/2/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
Storms  Create  Doubt
    “Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
    Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
​
    And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.”  Matthew 14:29-32

    When you take your eyes off Jesus and focus on the storms in your life, you take your eyes off the only one who can calm them and you open the door to fear and doubt.

    Peter, a great man of faith, took his eyes off Jesus, and immediately began to sink, realizing that his ability and strength would not save him. 

    Storms are big, violent and out of control events and are always alarming.

    When you are in the storm (an out of control circumstance), your  tendency is to look for a solution, often in your own strength and wisdom. 

    When you do, you take your eyes off the one who is the solution. 

    In a moment Peter realized his helplessness and called out.     “Lord, save me!”

    Jesus pulled him out of the dire circumstance his doubt had caused saying, “Oh, you of little faith,” 

    Even though Peter had shown more faith than the others, his faith took him out of the boat and he walked on water.

    Rather than praising Peter for his courage, however fleeting, Jesus rebukes him for his little faith.
 

    It was Peter’s double mindedness that brought him the rebuke.

    Peter "lost“ his confidence when he took his eyes off the source of faith and turned to what he knew - the storm, and its immediate danger. 

    His loss of focus opened the door to doubt and fear.   "Why did you doubt?”

    He asks you the same question, ‘Why do you doubt?”

    You know the storms in your life, those things that cause you anxiety, fears and panic. The storms that easily overwhelm you and lead you into hopelessness and doubt. 
 

    Your doubt exists only because your circumstances have become more powerful than Jesus.

    When Peter suddenly saw his circumstance, he panicked, even though Jesus was standing next to him. 

    When your circumstances stir up your fear and worry, it is usually to take control and rob you of your faith. 

   Anything you submit to other than God, including your own abilities and strength, will move you into fear and doubt.
    Your faith in Jesus is the only tool you have to challenge and confront fear and doubt.
​

    “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
1 Comment

The Power of Doubt - John the Baptist

8/26/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture

T

The Power of Doubt
    Doubt: it is the place where understanding and faith collide, where spiritual chaos is created.

    Doubt that is contemplated is always destructive to your spirit.

    “When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” “Matthew 11:2-3

    It seems like an unthinkable question from a man whom Jesus called, “Greatest man born of women,” Matthew 11:11.

     Prison was John's place of restraint, a place where he had to endure and was powerless to act.  
​     All he had was time for contemplation, time to ponder, and he began to doubt.


    “Should we expect someone else?”

    What a forlorn question.

    “No!” would not suffice; he needed evidence to put his doubts to rest.

    Jesus gave him balm for his spirit - the words of Isaiah,  "…the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised us, the poor have the good news preached to them."
​

    If you look for Messiah or the Kingdom through your interpretation or how you want it to appear, you miss the King. 

    Even though John had a revelation that Jesus was "The One,” his expectation of how the Messiah must look and behave were a stumbling block to his belief.

    "Are you the one who is to come…" 

    What a desperate plea from a man who spent his life announcing and preparing for the moment of Messiah’s revelation.
     When Jesus  began to reveal God's nature, it was not what he expected, and he doubted.

    
    The world had decided what Messiah would look like. Not looking beyond their expectations, they missed the moment of visitation. 

     
Jesus did not and does not conform to the expectation of man.

    They were looking for someone who fit their understanding of God, and their understanding blinded them to the very one who would give them sight and hearing. 

    Even John, the herald of the new king and kingdom missed it.
    
    “Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
John 1:32-34


    When you question and become uncertain, not unlike John, you will lose the heavenly perspective and rely on an earthly view of what Jesus the Messiah would do and look like, and you move into doubt.

    That which is of the flesh is limited to the flesh and open to doubt.
​

    Unless you are empowered by Holy Spirit to see things differently, you do not have the ability to do otherwise. 
     You must be born of the Spirit to see things in the Spirit.
,
1 Comment

Avoiding the Enemy's Traps

8/19/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Avoiding The Enemy's Traps

​    ”Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”  Galatians 6:1


    Temptation is an enticing lure the enemy uses to trap and capture his victims, but more than that, he then uses these victims to draw others into the same trap.

     The danger for those who try to free the captive is that they can easily be ensnared by the same lure.
     Therefore you must be free from mindsets that hinder you and any sin in your own life that can so easily entangle you.  Hebrews 12:1

    Otherwise in your attempt to free others from the trap they are in, you can be easily deceived and taken captive by the very arguments that captured the “victim” you are trying to help.

    “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”  Colossians 2:8

    Unless you are fully submitted and secure in your relationship with Christ Jesus, you become easy prey to an enemy who often knows you better than you know yourself.

     Your only measure security and strength is the presence of His Holy Spirit in your life. 

    In your quest to set the captive free, you must be immune to his ways, or the enemy will spring the same trap on you that he has used so successfully in the lives of those around you.

    Your immunity to capture lies in the depth of your life in the Spirit.  Which is the evidence of the fruit we manifest; Love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

    “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”   Galatians 5:24

    Against such things there is no tactic the enemy can employ, there is no law the enemy can use to ensnare you.              
     Life in the Spirit is a most effective tool to set the captive free.
0 Comments

The Enemy Within

8/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Enemy Within, The Fear that Shapes

     You are shaped by your thoughts - those internal beliefs and ideas taught by parents and teachers and formed by circumstances and the fears that often result from painful encounter with others.       

     There is a warning about this kind of fear:
     "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”
 Proverbs 29:35

     Your driving force soon becomes, “What will people think?  The snare is now set.

     This creates  great distractions in your life. 

     Criticism, rejection or failure, opens the door to the fear of man and occupies your attention and fills you with anxiety.  
     As  the fear grows, your mind comes more and more under its control. 
     You soon find that this fear creates most of the problems you face in life. 

    When your fear is magnified, the offenses and problems in your life will also increase.
    
    Your words and actions reveal the fear that now influences and shapes your life.
    As long as you leave God out of the solution, you will find that your problems grow as you submit to their claims. 
         
    The level and power of your anxiety is inversely proportional to your faith and trust in God.
    Whenever you believe and embrace a lie about God, you move into anxiety.
    
    Magnifying, thanking and praising God greatly reduces the fear and the control your problems have over you.
   You must recognize that the problem is not with God, but with the influences, attitudes and beliefs you now carry.


    Ask yourself, who taught you to think the thoughts you have about yourself, others and God?  
    Were those thoughts life-giving?

   Your thoughts are mostly the result of someone else’s influence, which is often not life-giving,  but is the worldly pattern of thinking.
    
  What is the familiar voice in your life: “You are a failure, a sinner?” or is it the truth, “You are more than a conqueror, a child of the most high God?"    

   Magnify God, not your fears.
   The voice you listen to will open the door to your identity and destiny, either death or life.
    You choose! 


​   
0 Comments

You will Never Fail

8/5/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
     “For if you have these things you will never fail.”  2 Peter 1:10

     The promise is incredible, but it comes with a condition.

     “… make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, …, you will never stumble.” 2 Peter 1:5-8, 10

     This is our mandate: to increasingly make these virtues the ingredients of our life. Then we will not stumble or fail.

    When goodness, moral excellence, is displayed in and through us, we will continually look for the hidden excellence in others and nurture it.

     We can only do so by continually growing in deeper knowledge and manifestation of Christ in us and through us.

     To do so requires submission to Jesus in all we do. This becomes the hallmark of our lives. Our submission leads to Godly discipline that brings the flesh under control.

  Our discipline, self-control, in turn gives us the strength to persevere, maintaining a steadfast and patient endurance, with a trusting expectancy that God will work all things out for good.

     This trusting perseverance develops in us an intense loyalty towards God’s ways above all else; it brings a hunger for Godliness into our lives.

    Once loyalty is established, we cannot help but develop a genuine affection for those God loves. We grow in brotherly kindness in all circumstances where cherishing one another becomes our priority.

      With these qualities we cannot help but grow in Christian love for all that God loves.

     If we have these Godly characteristics in increasing measure, we will “..receive a right welcome into the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:11

     These are our great weapons. With them we can fully trust the promise that “No weapon forged against us will prosper.”
     In this place our position is so secure the enemy will have no strategy against us.
     We become faithful servants who have the trust of the Father in all we do.
     What a magnificent promise.
0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Thinking Out Loud

    These are short meditations on some of the thoughts and ideas we receive as we read, study or ponder the things of God.
    They are short blogs meant to cause us to think, explore, meditate or simply delight in the things of the Lord.


    Author

    In a counseling career spanning over 30 years, author and teacher Martin Frankena has shared the life-changing power of Christ’s redemption with individuals and churches in America, Canada, South America, and Europe.  Martin's heart is to further the Lord’s mandate of releasing people into freedom from bondages to experience greater wholeness and fulfillment in life. A major focus of the ministry is healing from generational issues.

    Archives

    December 2018
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    December 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013

    Categories

    All
    Choice
    Commitment
    Faith
    Fear
    Holy
    Prayer
    Purpose
    Refreshment
    Repent
    Repent And Return
    Thinking Out Loud

    RSS Feed

Copyright © 2015 - Rushing Streams Ministries