I just returned a couple of weeks ago from Israel and learned something about the city of Dan that I had never known before. I knew that Dan was originally named Laish. I knew that the tribe of Dan had not been originally assigned the northern territory by Joshua, but didn’t know why they moved from their originally assigned place to the farthest northern region of Israel. Our guide said that the tribe of Dan’s original territory made them a buffer between Jerusalem and the Philistines. That would obviously put them in a place of perpetual vigilance and sometimes even hostility. Moving north for the tribe of Dan was a move of convenience. Moving north also left the heart of Israel defenseless against Philistine aggression…a huge problem for the Judges and the Kings of Israel for hundreds of years to come.

Our guide told us this while we were standing on the Tel of Dan, looking down on the remains of Jeroboam’s temple and golden calf altar. That was when it hit me: that temple and altar were also motivated by convenience for the people and political expedience for the king. “Why travel all the way to Jerusalem to worship? Why go to all that bother? It is a long way to the Temple and will require a lot of planning, effort and expense. I know God said we are to worship Him only in the place He has established for His Name, but this temple will be much more convenient! No need to get so dogmatic about things. We will provide you a god and worship that are much more tailored to your needs.”

This move towards convenience is what divided the kingdom of Israel between north and south and eventually cost the northern tribes their place in the Promised Land and even their very lives. Standing in front of the ruins of Jeroboam’s altar to the golden calf, I felt such a deep sense of their loss, and for what? For the sake of convenience on two counts: first, the tribe’s move to the city to avoid being in a place of warfare and what it cost the rest of Israel. And second, Jeroboam’s temple and golden calf in that same city hundreds of years later. And all that is left of both are ruins!

Here is the application to the people of God in our day: When convenience becomes the main thing, compromise is inevitable! It took standing there, looking at the ruins, for me to realize that the price to be paid will be seen for generations to come.

Pastor Alec Rowlands

Greetings from Alec Rowlands! from church awakening on Vimeo.

Dr. Moore identifies the Old Testament prophet as one who is “called out” by God for the purpose of “calling out” to the people, what is on the heart of God for them. Then, using the breadth of the Old Testament narrative, he identifies four elements of God’s prophetic call:

1. The prophet as a messenger, with more than just the transmission of information. The message of the prophet is more like an “event” resulting in transformation.

2. The prophet as a minstrel, since in many cases poetry is the medium of prophetic communication. The artistic and sometimes theatrical discourse was designed by God to move the audience in ways conventional communication could not do.

3. The prophet as a madman. In Hosea 9:7, the prophet is called a fool. Jeremiah is treated dismissively, as a madman, by the Jewish officials in exile in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:26).

4. The prophet as a martyr. Dr. Moore writes, “Given the shattering weight of the prophetic message, the passion-provoking poetic form it took, and the alien mentality it effected in its bearers, prophets characteristically lost their lives.”

If you are interested in reading Dr. Moore’s whole article on the subject, please contact the Church Awakening office at info@churchawakening.com or by phone at 425 771-5247 for your copy of the full manuscript.
Pastor Alec Rowlands
Church Awakening
Founder/President
Senior Pastor, Westgate Chapel

I read an article this week about a pastor of a church who challenged his congregation with this sobering and critical question that every one of us as Christians and churches as a whole should take time to reflect upon. The question….”Are You Sleeping?”

The pastor’s sermon was taken from Matthew 26:36-46 where in the final hours before Jesus was betrayed by Judas, He was in the Garden of Gethsemane along with His disciples, Peter, James & John.

“Stay here and Keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.”

He went away a second time and prayed…When He came back, He again found them sleeping….so He left them and went away once more and prayed the third time…Then He returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer.”

The pastor noted that while the eleven disciples slept rather than pray, there was one disciple awake and busy outside the garden – Judas, the betrayer.

So I pose the same question to you. Are you sleeping? Is your church sleeping? It’s time for all of us as Christians to wake-up and be aware of the darkness surrounding us. It’s time that we pray unceasingly and immerse ourselves in His Presence!

I end with this quote from EM Bounds, “Prayer is not preparation for the battle, Prayer is the battle.”

Church Awakening Staff Member

*Maureen Richardson – CWA of Washington

I thought about how much God must have loved Ezekiel and his wife.  He didn’t just without care or concern for them take her out, but in His sovereign love, He called her home.

The realization came to me that the things I call “mine” really aren’t; my wife, my family, my ministry, my stuff, even my rights. In actuality, I am only a steward of most of the things I consider mine. When we are called to a life of surrender, there is very little that I can call my own, because “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give.”

For the tweeters among us, Pastor Alec tweets regularly. You can sign in and follow him by using your phone to text the message: Send your text to: 40404 and in the body of the message, simply write: follow pastoralec.
You can also view his tweets on the home page of our website, www.churchawakening.com.

It is very easy to do and takes about 15 seconds. You will then be signed in to follow Pastor Alec as he messages on a variety of topics.

Blessings!
Church Awakening Staff

When discussing the inerrancy of scripture: If it is true, it’s not new! from soundthealarm on Vimeo.