Monday, January 21, 2008

GIANTS WIN!

Going to the Super Bowl!

I interrupt this regularly scheduled intense blog for a bit of lighthearted levity and Celebration....

THE GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!

What a night, what a game! Whew! I am wiped out! But it feels so good!

GO GIANTS!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Oh God, Where are the Real Men?

Where are the Davids who will run to the battle armed with only passion and five smooth stones against a massive giant and his armor bearer?

Where are the Davids who will dance before the Lord with all their might and not be ashamed?

Where are the men like Jesus who will tell the Pharisees that they are indeed white washed tombs filled with dead men’s bones?

Where are the Elijah’s who will challenge the false prophets, mock their false gods and dare them to pour more water on their unconsumed offering?

Where are the Peters & Johns who rather obey God than man?

Where are the Pauls and Silas’ who will pray and worship at midnight after being stripped, beaten and thrown in prison for demonstrating the gospel?

Oh God where are the shepherds who will kill the wolves that threaten your sheep?

Oh God, where are the real men with enough backbone, courage and guts to never quit?

Oh God, save us from leaders who walk in more fear of man than fear of You!

Save us from pastors who are better politicians than preachers!

Save us from leaders who are more comfortable with compromise than truth!

Save us from all the meaninglessness that fills your church!

Oh God have mercy on us and rip from our souls timidity, cowardice and passivity.

Oh God, where are the real men, the husbands, the fathers and the leaders who do not love their lives so much as to shrink from death?

Where are the uncompromising men of conviction with fire in their eyes and passion in their bellies?

Where are the real men, those warriors, those lovers of freedom who refuse to rest while others live enslaved?

Oh dear God give us real men, true leaders willing to pay any price, endure any trial and face any persecution to see your kingdom advanced and your name glorified!

Oh dear God, give us real men who will stand in the breach, face evil eye to eye and say, “Thus far and no more! Not in my town! Not in my church! Not in my house! Not here, not now, not this day, not ever! To get to them - you have to go through me!”

Oh God, where are the real men?
Oh dear God, where are the real men?
Oh God, give us real men?

Oh God, make ME a real man.

Amen.

© Tom Zawacki 2008

Friday, January 11, 2008

Fatherly Tips for 2008

In my January 1st post I shared a recent experience with a heavenly messenger and his declaration that “This is a New Day”. I preached about this experience last Sunday at The Bridge. Toward the end of my sermon I offered some fatherly tips for navigating 2008 well. Let me share them with you.

Don’t Look Back
Isaiah 43:18-19 says "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”

God’s doing a new thing in 2008. Forget 2007, you can’t move forward if you’re always looking behind you. You’re powerless to change yesterday but you can still have a huge impact on today and on tomorrow. Looking back may cause you to miss what’s right in front of you.

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus
Hebrews 12:2 says “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…”

People and circumstances may disappoint you but Jesus never will. Keep your focus completely fixed on the Lord and you’ll be more than satisfied no matter what happens in 2008. He’s bigger than you’re problem, he’s bigger than your need, look to him.

Finish the Race
2 Timothy 4:7 say “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Don’t quit! No matter what you do don’t quit. I’m convinced that the difference between great men and ordinary men is that great men never quit. Finish the race that God has marked out for you. Not only do I encourage you to finish, I encourage you to finish well. Like Saint Paul… fight the good fight and keep the faith.

It’s in you.
You’ve got what it takes.
You can do it.
You’re stronger than you know.
Christ lives within you.

And…

It IS a new day!

© Tom Zawacki 2008

Thursday, January 10, 2008

A New Look

A new look for a new year. Many thanks to my lovely wife for figuring out the XML coding so we could modify and personalize this template. Speaking of this template, it’s appropriately named “Parchment” and I found it on Blogcrowds.com.

Blogcrowds.com has many XML blogger templates that work with the new blogger. I did lose a few things. I had to reinstall all the widgets on my sidebar such as visitor maps, counters, links, blogs, freedom quotes and that lovely picture with my bride. I also lost a couple of features like the header feature and the ability to automatically modify fonts and colors. These now have to happen by modifying the XML code. Once again, thank God for Nadine’s help!

Here are a couple of the other Blogcrowds.com templates I considered before finally deciding on Parchment… Top Secret & Sky3c. I was also intrigued with these two iPhone themed templates… IPhone & iPhone 2. Maybe I’ll switch to one of them after I purchase an iPhone (hint, hint Na).

I still want to tweak a few things here and there but what do you think, do you like my new look for Emancipation of the Freed?

© Tom Zawacki 2008

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

A Cry for Revival

Over 20 churches in my community have joined together agreeing to begin 2008 with a 40 fast. Hundreds of people are fasting, praying and crying for more of God. This article by Charisma’s J. Lee Grady resonates with my spirit and it sounds like what God is doing across our land. May it challenge your heart as it does mine.

A Desperate Cry for Revival in 2008
by J. Lee Grady

As we begin a new year I urge you to join other believers across the nation for three weeks of fasting.

Never in my 15 years at Charisma have I known a time of such intense spiritual turbulence. God is shaking everything that can be shaken, including our Christian colleges, our megachurches and our most prominent ministries.

At a time when a U.S. senator is investigating the financial practices of six well-known preachers, I sense that God has taken out His holy plumb line to conduct His own detailed inspection of every church and ministry in this country. He wants to unleash a nationwide revival, but He must bring His correction first.

These are desperate times that require desperate measures. That is why I have joined with the Awakening America Alliance to call for a solemn 21-day fast that runs from January 1-21. Here’s a list of the things I’m praying for during the next three weeks:

1. The fear of God.
Holiness was so tangible among early Christians that false prophets were blinded and greedy liars fell over dead. As a result of God’s judgment on Ananias and Sapphira, “great fear came over the whole church” (Acts 5:11, NASB).

Where is this sense of “shock and awe” today? How can Christians be so cavalier about divorce or so flippant about adultery? How can television preachers sleep at night after robbing God’s people with manipulative fundraising appeals?

We celebrate His mercy but ignore His severity. We need a thunderclap from heaven and a display of Elijah’s fire to remind a wayward church that God will not be mocked.

2. Integrity and purity in the church.
Our movement hit rock-bottom in October when charismatic pastor Donnie Earl Paulk of Atlanta announced to his stunned congregation that a DNA test had proved he is not the nephew of Bishop Earl Paulk but is in fact his son. That such unspeakable depravity was permitted to thrive for decades at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit is an indictment against the elder Paulk and all leaders who refused to challenge his behavior when they first learned about it years ago.

This and other recent religious scandals have so tarnished our credibility that we have become a curious freak show. Many unbelievers now associate ministers with wife-swapping, wife-beating, no-fault divorce, gay affairs and $10,000-a-night hotel rooms. We need a Holy Ghost housecleaning.

3. A return to evangelism.
In the 1970s we were less sophisticated but so much more zealous for Jesus. We handed out tracts and witnessed to everyone. Sharing our faith was the priority. Yet most people in churches today have never led anyone to Christ.

We are no longer contagious. Spirit-filled believers spend more time chasing “financial breakthroughs” than lost souls. We have rejected sacrifice and compassion and embraced a counterfeit gospel that produces bored, selfish spectators.

4. Godly leadership.
As we head into an election season it’s obvious that our nation is facing a leadership crisis. But this leadership vacuum is not just in the political arena. Many of our spiritual fathers have disappointed us, either by their own moral failures or by their refusal to confront sin.

I pray that God does not give us the president we deserve in 2008. If we cry out for mercy, perhaps He will upset the current slate of candidates and put someone in the White House who can model Christian integrity. May He also give us spiritual shepherds who care more for the flock than for the crowd’s applause.

5. A national spiritual awakening.
There were seasons in America’s past when sinners became so convicted of their sins that they collapsed under the weight of their guilt. During the days of revivalists George Whitefield and Charles Finney, huge waves of conversions led to a widespread transformation of society. Drunks became sober, prison inmates sang hymns, stingy business owners stopped oppressing their workers, atheists surrendered their unbelief and rebellious children returned to faith.

Can such a movement happen again? It must or our country will descend into its darkest hour. I urge you to join me in this solemn fast. Pray with desperation for the five topics outlined here. We can’t settle for anything less than a heavenly visitation.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Coffee Talk with John Paul

My good friend and leader John Paul Jackson has started a blog! You can read his “ideas, musings, questions and more” at Coffee Talk with John Paul. Check it out, trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

For those of you who may not be familiar with him, John Paul Jackson is an internationally known spiritual leader, prophetic voice, author and conference speaker. Among John Paul’s many accomplishments has been the establishment of various ministries. These include…

Streams Ministries International
The Institute for Spiritual Development
The Association of Bridge Churches
John Paul Jackson TV
Euro Streams
Streams Canada
Streams Academy
And more…

John Paul is a good man who hears God and speaks the truth in love. He’s also my friend. If you’ve enjoyed reading Emancipation of the Freed, you’ll love Coffee Talk with John Paul.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

This is a New Day!

Warm and comfortable hours earlier than required my eyes pop open. Before me the familiar green glow of electronic digits... "5:53" fill my entire view. Even a state of near unconsciousness couldn’t prevent me from comprehending their meaning, Isaiah 55:3.

Compelled by curiosity I arose to discover the words behind this divine mystery. They were… “Give ear and come to me; hear me that your soul may live…”

Ah… an invitation…

…Pressing in I enter the realm of the Spirit. I’m surrounded by sparkling light and flanked by the Spirits of Wisdom and Revelation. Together we soar very high and very fast to a brilliantly white heavenly plateau. I’m overwhelmed feeling inexplicable freedom and joy.

As if stepping out onto a grand stage, the heavens open and a massive golden messenger appears. With an extremely long, polished gold trumpet in hand he steps forward with divine authority, places the instrument to his lips and declares...

“This is a new day, the old has passed away!
This is a new day, the new has come!”

“This is a new day, the old has passed away!
This is a new day, a new song to be sung!”

With resounding clarity the chorus continues, repeating it’s hope infused pronouncement again and again and again. Soon I hear the rhythmic pounding of drums. The beat resonates with my spirit as it reverberates throughout the heavens until it reaches the Earth. Instantly life giving and energizing... I recognize what can only be the heartbeat of the Father.

Behind the Golden Trumpeter appears a heavenly orchestra two hundred strong, maybe more! Together in perfect harmony they release the message of a new sound, the heartbeat of the Father for a generation. It IS a new day! Somehow I know that this sound and this song will never end.

2008 - A new sound, a new day, a new year and a new beginning.

Happy New Year!

© Tom Zawacki 2008