Media can be used for God’s glory or our own shame.
Now I am also on Pinterest: MertHershberger .
My goal is to bring glory to God by raising up prayer for the Arabian Peninsula, for those I serve & reach out to, and my family.
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Recovery
Today I participated in a NAMI Conference for Washtenaw County, and this seems appropriate to pass the publishing gate. Not all who suffer get this bad, but sometimes this is the only way to get out of the fog. A quick shout out to all those that I got to talk to there. I especially enjoyed hearing the fellow play a bit of Bach.
Lesson for the day from all those I got to hear:
Those of us with mental mazes are not social problems,
we are social pioneers and can be mentally amazing. But I digress.
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Dedicated to those who suffer from chronic mental illness.
As winter comes
and days are shorter, colder, and less friendly,
I huddle up, hugging blankets,
hoping to love, and be loved in return.
And when nothing happens but the dull passage of time,
I see a choice:
to hide forever digging deeper into darkness
or to rage against it all.
I have already hidden,
. . . but if I were to rage, would I rage against the walls?
or would I rage until I slid beneath in cowers?
or would I rage against the Living God?
or would I rage against some foe so tangible to me,
invisible to you?
The walls would yield till I fell cold.
My energy must not be wasted, for there is too little.
My rage must not be spent in ways as foolish as despair.
The Living God has long withstood my rage,
and all my hammering is empty,
looking so much like rebellion
that I have come to despise myself,
yet I shall see the face of God.
So if I raged against the foe who hides
and preys on weaker souls,
would "they" call me crazy?
Would I give up too soon, too short of victory?
Would I be crowned a hero for the day?
They have already called me crazy.
Awakening to victory against the enemy is worth
a thousand yesterdays of failure.
I have no choice but to rage in a hidden, friend-filled place
my love exploding gladly in the face of fear.
till God rewards with rich, undying, open grace.
Categories: Peer support, Poem, Uncategorized
Tags: 2 Corinthians 1:4, anxiety, bipolar disorder, blues, demons, depression, fear, Free verse, lazy, Mental Illness, Rage, recovery, satan, victory
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Evangelism: Proclamation and Friendship
There are two primary ways evangelism takes place: proclamation and friendship. Biblical discipleship which was practiced by Jesus and Paul according to the Gospels and Acts involve both.
Proclamation is the public heralding or annoucing. Today, this may be done not only in gatherings, but also on university campuses and on the internet. These are largely a monologue with an invitation to dialogue with an interest in finding the truth. Here is the Truth: Jesus. Do you want Him? Are you interested.
Friendship Evangelism takes place when people intentially enter into friendships with the goal of sharing the life of Jesus in word and deed. Now, if a there is a friendship, but no evangelism or spiritual dialogue takes place, there is really no evangelism, just friendship with the world. It is when that cup of coffee or tea time is mixed with faith in the Truth of Christ, then you have friendship evangelism.
Often, in the ministries of Jesus and Paul and their associates, Proclamation in the public gathering place was to be followed by a frienship or friendships that led to Jesus and a life with Him. I.e. what we would call Friendship Evangelism.
These are two peas in a pod. They belong together. Knocking on doors is not opposed to making friends with your neighbors. Rather one is a way of scanning wide, the other is a way of going deep. Common sense says to fish you must be on the lake. It takes a work of Jesus to fill your nets at just the right time and place.
Persistence is the key.
I learned this from a friend who made no profession of faith in Christ. He asked me: Do you know the key to fishing?
I guessed a wide variety of things: weather, timing, chance, bait, nets … No, no, no, no, no.
Then the friend who was with me guessed: Patience.
Exactly.
Do you want to know Jesus? Do you want others to know Jesus? It will take patience. Or, in it’s more english root: Long-suffering. Lots of difficulties will come up, but Jesus will overcome. Look to Him and He will eventually answer all your questions and bring in all the questing.
So: as I learned in sales: spread out wide and send your roots deep. It is the same in Christian Missions and the same with the Love of God: Deep & Wide, there’s a fountain flowing deep & wide.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: communication, Deep & Wide, evangelism, fishers of men, friendship, love of God, patience, proclamation, witnessing
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Muslimah Madonna??
It appears that Madonna, the raunchy pop singer, is studying Islam.
My wife is from Indonesia and describes it like this: women get famous as “artists” (singers, movie stars, etc) and then they choose to put on a show of outward virtue by wearing the hijab and sunglasses.
Women reveal all, and then as if to cover their tracks, they put on a little veil.
Now, let me be clear: I am all for modesty. I’m all for godliness. But when religion becomes another part of a multimedia show to sell music or movies, then it has missed the boat. Religion is not supposed to be a marketing or money making tool.
Faith is a matter of the heart. The early missionaries advocated that women not only be modest in their outward adornment, but to put on gentleness and a quiet spirit. Humility is true beauty.
Does God equate Messiah Jesus with Moses with Mohammed like her beau equates being a good Muslim with being a good Jew with being a good Christian. These are not all the same.
And even if they were, would they equate to Madonna’s antics?
There is a holiness without which no one will see God. No one. We must put on the Holiness of the Spirit of Jesus. This is not a holiness I can conjure up by certain rituals and practices. It is not good character derived from elaborate classes.
Holiness is a sign of the Holy Spirit in our lives convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and of judgement to come.
Do you admit that in your own flesh dwells no good thing? Are you a sinner?
Do you know the righteousness of Jesus? Do you know that He is right, when everyone else is wrong?
Do you know and acknowledge and persuade people in view of the fact that one day all will have to stand before Jesus to be judged whether they lived and died for Him or not? Are you living in awe of the Majestic Messiah?
My prayer is that more Muslims will read the New Testament (the Injeel) and discover the person of Jesus. He is the only one who can take us from being good for nothing to being perfect on that final day.
Categories: Uncategorized
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Yemeni Jews and Jesus’ Plan
May “all those Jews from Sheba (ie. contemporary Yemen) come” fulfilling prophecy. Even more, may they praise the Lord Jesus as the saints in the land of promise minister to them. Isaiah 60:6
There is a new day dawning for Israel. Perhaps all those from Sheba will soon up and leave to make Aliyah. The survivors will scatter from Sheba, and the Savior will announce salvation at the ends of the earth.
Good News will come to Yemen. Be aware. Watch: Jews are connecting to Jesus in record numbers. There is more Christian witness going on in Israel by Jews themselves than ever before. More and more Muslims are realizing that the Holocaust was real. That it is wrong to persecute.
Even the famed Dr. Oz acknowledged the role of the Jews as special and the suffering as unjustifiable.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=11065
The curtain is drawn back. Oz is no longer in control. A greater Power is at work, even the most Praised A-Z.
They will come from the ends of the world and the nations acknowledging the Lordship of Jesus and learn the law from Jesus Himself soon at the feet of the King. Jerusalem will one day be a place where peace is founded.
I remember the first evening after the first Sabbath in September of 2013: I was with a group of people from nations derived from families around the world celebrating my 10 years of marriage. It was mentioned that Syria was entangled in war and that it looked like the American President Obama wanted to extend the war and American involvement in the land of Damascus. We paused the discussion and prayed. The conversation shifted into more quiet things and we forgot about it.
Later, one of the men from the church I participate in mentioned to me, “God answered your prayers!”
“What did I pray?”
“You prayed that we wouldn’t get involved in Syria.”
Folks, if we will begin to pray for the Lord to work in Yemen, the ends of the earth, He will. IF we will pray for Jews and Muslims to reconcile in Messiah Jesus, they will. If we will pray for heaven to meet earth in a new world, it will happen.
God’s word is true. He promised a new creation, it is coming. He is coming. Jesus will return. He is not waiting for the Mahdi or human manipulation. He is waiting for us to get right with Him. He is waiting for us to listen to Him.
Jesus is waiting for you. Are you waiting on Jesus? Are you serving the King who will soon reign? Are you preparing to meet the Prince of peace?
Peace will come. Jesus is calling you. He suffered for you. He poured out His life for you. He calls from on high speaking peace to those who are far and peace to those who are near. Will you come to Him?
Jesus cries in quiet whispers of the night.
Jesus weeps at funerals where hope is not held out.
Jesus sobs when youth resist His word of grace.
Jesus tears up when the religious insist on shrouds.
Jesus died for you.
Jesus loves you.
Jesus lives for you.
Jesus chuckles when the church insists upon His promises.
Jesus mocks when nations resist His awesome law of love.
Jesus laughs as newsmongers gossip about wars unwaged.
Jesus smiles when babes reach out to Heaven for His touch.
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Consecration & Cars: A parable
I live in an area where automotive research makes a lot of money. Even though not in Detroit, the engineering schools attract a lot of top talent for companies like Subaru, Toyota, Honda, Chrysler, etc. However, there is a lack of study here on what excellence in spiritual life looks like: Christlike.
Most of the spirituality here is of the car-like variety: running & rusting. Dirty in the winter, idolized in the summer. Dreamed about, but wasted.
Often when the Bible talks about a soul running, they are either running to the Lord (Isaiah 40:31) or away from the Lord (Jonah). When a car is running, that means it works, likewise, when a person is running, they are exerting effort, laboring. The real issue though is: Are we exerting effort to draw closer to God or are we drawing away from God. Consecration (that is, our dedication of purpose) makes all the difference.
Often, we speak of cars resting. If they are resting at a traffic light, people will either be honking because it is green and they should go or the driver will be restless because they are wanting to go through to their destination ASAP! Except in Minnesota, where people are “Minnesota nice” and have contests waving each other through, most people do not regard stops as social events, much less ministry events. In sharp contrast, when the church is at rest it is growing. Think of a bunch of cars parked in front of a friends house during a house church or small group. Usually, in such instances the only time you think about the car is when parking and finding the address initially: if you want to go to a party or other gathering, go where the cars are resting. Hmmm, the cars are consecrated in this instance, because likewise, when saints are resting before the Lord, there are often great things that happen: prayer, mission callings, dreams & visions.
Maybe we should park out in the Lord’s presence more often. What would happen if you kept your spiritual life in as good repair as your car? You would listen for the little murmurs that indicate engine trouble, certainly you would keep the tires inflated for maximum efficiency. You would rest. You would drive your car to church on a regular basis to worship.
Now, it is time for a confession, I have no car I claim as my own. I ride busses. But those buses are consecrated to the Lord, as far as I am concerned. I look forward to the rides on the buses as a time when I can meet & encourage & bless people. Some may dread the bus, I delight in them because they are dedicated to the Lord.
Wait, I must address something else in which cars and consecration are very similar: it is about more than appearances. Would you rather have a handsome car with no engine or an ugly car with great gas mileage and great gusto? Hypocrisy affects both cars and people, just because it looks good, doesn’t mean it actually runs all that well. Are you in good repair spiritually? Are you tuned up in the Spirit? Next time you gas your car, pray that the Holy Spirit would fill you up as well. The longer you must pump, the longer you will pray. The more frequently you refuel, the more frequently you will pray.
And while you are at it, pay inside and share the Good News with the gas station attendant.
God loves you.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Ann Arbor, appearances, car repair, cars, comparisons, consecration, contrasts, Detroit, Good News, house church, hypocrisy, Minnesota nice, rust, small group, stop light, traffic
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The Confusion of Christ
There he goes, up from the river, into the back country. Nobody knows what happened other than what he says. He reports conversations with the devil.
Later, he would go into his hometown and speak about the Messianic Kingdom, in terms of fulfillment.
He refused to be a leader even when people wanted to make him one.
He chose to treated like a shepherd: despised, yet dealing with ravenous wolves.
He cared so much for those he tended to that he neglected to sit down for dinner. He was always talking about God and even talked about dying an early death, to the discomfort of his friends.
He knew those who hated him, but he still loved them.
He spoke against powerful leaders, yet was unafraid.
He promoted his mission shamelessly claiming that he would never leave his followers to the end of the age … and then he left … or did he?
This Jesus whom I talk about constantly is the Lord and Lifegiving Spirit.
Some run after visions in the wilderness only to chase this spirit or that spirit.
Others run after this denomination or that denomination.
A few claim to be the messiah themselves.
Personally, I am obsessed with the Man & Messiah: Jesus, Y’shua, Issa.
I cannot force him on anyone, but nor do I intentionally try to hide him. He has infected me with joy and I hope that that spreads to others. Sometimes I laugh at myself or the situation I am in, it is hard not to. Christ has conquered it all! Jesus really is King!
I lost my mind when I thought he was coming back in 3.5 days. Actually, he didn’t. Don’t worry, if you are reading this, you still have an opportunity to repent.
However, many people mistake the pictures of Christ for Jesus himself. They imagine Jesus to be a pleasant teacher who talked vaguely about intangible realities.
Actually, Jesus talked about life and death. He talked about sex and the dangers of sex outside the context of marriage. He talked about the risks of anger on your future. He talked about the failure of the day’s best religious trends to conquer the human heart.
Jesus claimed to be God.
He said, “Be before Abraham was, I am.”
A prophet is not just someone who confronts the age or opinion thereof, rather, a prophet is a God-guided & commissioned person whose words match the Life of Jesus and who emulates the life of God in their own walk.
I cannot claim to be a prophet, but I know that Jesus was more than merely a prophet.
He seemed confused to his family. His followers seem confused to the world. We face all kinds of difficulties, but those difficulties will be overcome through the blood of Jesus.
WHAT?? Human sacrifice is needed to cover our sins?
Yes. A particular sacrifice. A sinless sacrifice. A virgin’s sacrifice. Jesus.
No other way is available. We must tell the world about this. It must be told. We must tell everyone we can. We will seem like the village idiots when we confront sin. We will seem confused when we are so severe on self. We will seem stupid when we resist the ways of the world. But God’s confusion is more clever than the scholarship & psychiatry of the world.
Which will you choose?
Humanistic therapies & thoughts that lead to hell.
OR
Hope from the Father that leads to Heaven.
I once asked a young man what NOT following Jesus was costing him.
His answer: Sanity.
How true that is. Not following Jesus costs you your sanity. You are crazy not to follow Jesus. Mental illness is all rooted in sin. Why is the Western World increasingly dependent upon worthless physicians? Because of sin.
Yes, you and I are sinners. We need Jesus to heal us.
Today is the day.
REPENT.
“Seek My Face” – The Heart of God.
Sadly, many times translations of the Bible overdo it on occasion. They add in words or alternate words that would be best kept a little closer to the text. Happily, these are rare. Psalm 27:8 is one instance where a literal reading of the present Hebrew text gives the clearest and most profound reading. I am using The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia 1990. The simplest rendering of Psalm 27:7-9 is as follows:
Hear, O Lord, my voice when my voice cries
Have mercy on me and answer me.
“My heart says to you, ‘Seek my face.'”
Your face, O Lord, will I seek.
Don’t hide your face from me.
Don’t turn in anger from your servant.
You Have lived as my help.
Don’t leave and don’t abandon me,
O God, my Savior.
This is a Psalm of David. Psalm 27:8a is where translators mess up: essentially God is answering David. He says, “Seek my Face.” David has been seeking God and talking about building a house for God. Here David hears from God and God is saying Seek My Face. It is the Heart of God: I.e. the core of the creator wants us to look to the source of our visage. The Image is to reflect the Face of God. So then the Mirror cries out for God to look at the Mirror. What is neat about this simpler translations than the circumlocutions in modern English versions is that it helps us understands what Acts 13:22 is about when David is called a Man after God’s Own Heart. David is someone who obeys God in that He seeks the face of God. He realizes that he is a king, but he wants the smile of the King of king on his life for the King’s smile gives life.
Life is simple: we are to obey God’s intention & heart which is communicated through his voice& the Word: God wants us to seek His face.
Where is that face found? In the person of Jesus Christ. As we reflect on Jesus, we actually are conformed more and more into the character of the Annointed. Through suffering, the Spirit begins to ooze out of our lives and into the lives of those around us, bringing healing. The effect of this healing is hope & comfort. It is a healing of our future as well as a soothing from past pains.
When an individual saint or corporate church meets God at the point of reflecting His glory, we are humbled and He is honored. Peace flows. Love goes where man cannot. Our God reigns on high and with the lowly in heart. The meek inherit the earth at this juncture of crying out to God & hearing His voice.
More than minds meet. We receive the Mind of Christ. The Kingdom of God is at hand. The Lord almighty is at work. The Eternal comes infinitely near.
Hallelujah!! Amen.
Categories: Good News, Prayer, Uncategorized
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Missionary of Hope
The resolution of morality based on force of will is why the Post-Christian culture is not very critical of Islam as the source of the problem (or when it does, it does so to accuse and excuse, rather than in a confessional manner): The west also adores power. Left or Right, few are willing to take up the cross. And when we must take up the cross, we are too often embarrassed.
Forgiveness is powerful. I need more power, the power of forgiveness that is.
I wonder how many times we just treat the trauma of abuse in Islam but never minister healing to the heart because the full power of forgiving and being forgiven is not understood.
Abuse is also present in America, even in the churches. But it goes by different names. In need of revival, the shame is the same. The guilt is the same in both cultures. It is just when the trauma gets so intense, as is the case in Islamic cultures of people clamoring for status, honor, pleasure, goods, etc., when the oppression intensifies, the only way to protect the soul is by being ashamed of being a victim and pretending to be a victor.
I must confess, I often feel beaten but not defeated. I think I can understand Paul the apostle in this regard. True victory comes in persevering in the midst of trial and difficulty because of what Jesus has already accomplished. I will be forever thankful for what I have learned from the persecuted church: to count it all joy and to be honest about the struggles-because otherwise I too would be a pretender. As it is, I am the worst of sinners, and the least of the saints, and …I am a missionary, a missionary of hope.
This much like telling a blind man that there is light … until the sighted saint sees that better glasses will not do. The blind man has no eyes. Only by faith can the blind be healed. Only by faith can Muslims be saved. So I am also a missionary of faith.
Because doubt demands power, but trust enables kindness to be given and received, I would suggest that we should also be missionaries of love and loving missionaries. This is an impossible task. In this life there is so much trouble, it is not funny. Yet we rejoice because the little love we show points to a Greater Love, a Perfect Love, revealed through what Christ Suffered. He knows what it is like to be in a power-conflicted society and to answer demons of abuse and isolation and arrogance and confusion with the wisdom and grace of His Word. Oh, how precious is His blood which speaks a better word than the blood of Abel!
Life is not easy for me. So thank you for letting me pour out my heart. And thank you for praying with me in view of the redemption.
Peace in Jesus, the Fount of all hope,
– MertH., everyday saint
I believe in one holy universal-Christian church.
I believe in the resurrection.
I believe in the forgiveness of sins.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Christianity, cross, faith, Hope, Islam, Love, missionary, religion, suffering, the West
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