Me. You. And the Temple of God

It is difficult to travel to Israel and immediately comprehend all that you have seen and to process all the thoughts, emotions, and stories while you are there. I dare say it is impossible. In fact, the fog is still rolling back from my mind, finally allowing for some reflection, even though it has been over a month since I was there. However, there is one thing that has been burning in my mind ever since I left and I hope I can brand it in you as well.

We traveled with CJF Ministries who not only provided a top of the line tour of the Holy Land, but taught us to evangelize to the Jewish people, equipped us in service, and educated us on the Jewish roots of Scripture and Jesus’ life. And let me tell you it opened my eyes to a side of Jesus I never knew.

After spending time and talking with the local Jewish people it dawned on me why God chose such incredible people. I have never seen a people so dedicated to keeping of the law, of preservation of their sacred texts, and passionate about their heritage—a truly zealous and proud people. OF COURSE the Lord would trust them with such a high task of writing and preserving his Word. It started to make sense. But here is the problem.

Most Jewish people deny Jesus as the Messiah despite his prophesied coming in Isaiah and various other parts of Scripture.

Just as the prophets and the apostles said, the Lord would turn temporally to the Gentiles to carry out his kingdom plan because of the hardened hearts of His chosen people. It would be us, the Gentiles to lovingly bring them back to the Father through Yeshua (Hebrew name of Jesus). It hit me the hardest when we approached the Western Wall, the closest public spot to where God’s presence once COMPLETELY DWELLED among his people. The temple was the most sacred spot in the world for Jewish people and they have so much reverence for it that they would pay any price, even there own lives to restore it. I mean this is a BIG deal to everyone in Israel, but there it stands…broken and torn down. It ripped my heart out to see how badly these Jewish people longed for God to return and dwell with them again. My heart cried, “If they only knew… If they only knew…” Know what you may ask?

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

Wait a minute? God’s temple still exists? His spirit is still dwelling in us? You better believe it. When Jesus became that blameless man (lamb) and walked to his death on the cross (the altar), we identified in his death as a sacrifice for us, and he exchanged our sins for his righteousness so His Spirit could dwell in our hearts (The Temple of God) forever. How much Jesus must love us to choose little ol’ me and you to become his holy temple? What a privilege.

I walked into the Western Wall as a living temple, broken hearted as many were seeking the old and nullified one. Pride…? No. Brokenness and compassion. Do you see the need to pray, to beg, to ask God to gently bring back his chosen people. Can you see it is Jesus, Yeshua, that they are looking for, for the Spirit of God to dwell again? So what I ask of you and myself is simple, yet a faithful commitment. Let us pray daily for Israel and the Jewish people to come back to the Father who never stops loving his children, and maybe in the process we will be filled with the zeal that the Jewish people possess and be a generation of faithful and active love.

You can start by praying here. Psalm 83

Love you all.

-Zach Duke

Uniting the Generations Part 2

The flat out truth is that we (the younger generation) desperately NEED the older generation if we hope to see sustained revival. Sure, they won’t be on the everyday battlefields as we are, but their role is just as vital. I have found that if I align my heart with my Spiritual Fathers then I receive what they have. The Lord set it up this way.

Proverbs 24:6 “For by wise guidance you will wage war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.” (NASB)

Isn’t it in all of us to go further that those who have gone before? OR do we want to fight the same battles they have fought just to reach the same place? No way. By submitting ourselves to and honoring our Spiritual Fathers we now start where they finished. All of their lifetime experiences, their wisdom, their mistakes, their accomplishments, their insights, and their guidance that took a lifetime to reach can be ours. This could save someone from 20 years of ministry mistakes and replace it with blessings! Think of it as a spiritual inheritance from a father to a son. EVERYTHING thing they have is now joyfully yours, and their ceiling becomes your floor.  Now we can take their torch and do things they never even DREAMED of for the Kingdom of God!

So as the large trees in a forest protect the growing saplings below, and as Moses is raising the Rod of the Lord, we, as a generation can go out fully protected and fully covered in prayer to fight the new battles and to take the new ground. And this ground could very well be the heart and mind of America to be humbled and “repent… and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19 NIV).

Pray to the Lord and ask him to bring you fathers and mothers, and position yourself to receive and honor them.

-Zach Duke

Uniting the Generations Part 1

We all want to see revival—REAL revival. We all want to see this nation turn its gaze and affection back to Jesus Christ. To dwell in a nation that worships in Spirit and in Truth. This very well could be the generation that sees this come to pass, but whether we do or not, one thing is certain: we will NOT do it independently.

There have been several revivals in the last hundred years, but in the end they have all faded away. Why? Because it was only ONE generation! I truly believe our generation has been set apart to do and see mighty things for God, but if we think we can do it alone; we are only repeating history. It’s time to be dependant on God and on the generations that have gone before us. We must align and unify the generations for the purpose of the Gospel. For deep in the heart of independence lies a nasty thing called, pride.

Let me explain. In Exodus 17:8-16 we see a story of Joshua and Moses going into battle against the Amalekites. Moses tells Joshua to choose certain men to take into battle, and he himself would go to the top of the hill, overlooking the battle. Moses took the rod of God and stretched it out, and as long as his hands were raised, Joshua was victorious. After some time, however, Moses grew tired and began to let down his arms. As he did this, Joshua’s army began to be defeated, so several surrounded Moses to lift up his arms until the battle was won.

It is the same story for us today. If we try to fight this battle only with the younger generation, we will eventually be defeated, but if we align ourselves with the generation before us, we will indeed win. Moses could not have won the battle without Joshua, and Joshua could not have won the battle without Moses.

So what does this look like? Simple. We must seek out and find Spiritual Fathers and Mothers. Maybe you have them already, maybe you don’t, but ALWAYS seek for more. Sure, we are trying to do something new here, but we are not blazing our own trail, we are building onto what has been laid out by the generations that have gone before. And Jesus is the cornerstone.

"The Love of God Shed Abroad in Our Hearts"

Romans 5:1-5 (King James Version)

1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

I ran across this passage about a week ago and have been meditating on it quite often.  Focusing on different parts of the scripture at different times. I must say my favorite part of this verse is the concept of standing on grace and all that it entails, but right now I am relishing in “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts”. What a powerful concept and truth! How many of us walk around with “the love of God shed abroad in our hearts”? If it weren’t for the Lord’s continual grace that I stand on, this would have been more of a conviction to me than a promise!

But how?

(This is all under the assumption that you have already experienced regeneration, or in other words, have placed TOTAL faith in Jesus Christ.)

1. Standing on the Promise of Grace. Vs. 2

2.   Rejoicing and Hoping in the Glory of the Lord. (His promised coming) Vs. 2

3.   Rejoicing and glorying in our trying times Vs. 3

            -This works patience.

            -Patience brings experience

            -Experience brings hope

            -Hope makes us unashamed

One thing I understand from this list in Romans is that it’s definitely a process. “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts” did not happen immediately but after specific times and experiences to stand firm on grace and truth. But once we get to the place of receiving the grace of God FULLY, we realize that we are eternally in debt to God, not for his justice, but to his love and mercy forever, and likewise in debt to all people for the IMPOSSIBLE grace freely given by the blood of Jesus Christ. Trials may come, but we rejoice in the Lord’s coming and stand on grace. This shed’s God’s love abroad in our hearts.

On the opposite spectrum. Is it too far to say that worrying, complaining, being let down or disappointed, or ticked at your given circumstances is utter godlessness? I think not. It is our very rejoicing that brings glory to His name in our trying times. The opposite of this breeds contempt in every way. Is the way you are living you life saying, “I HATE GOD”? Or in all things saying, “I LOVE HIS HOLY NAME”?

2 Chronicles 7:14- The Cry of Haiti

Here is an email that was given to me by my mother that is literally astounding. I cannot think of any greater hope that can come from such dark times in such a dark and hopeless place. Jesus you truly are our Savior. The Son of the living God and we cry with the people of Haiti asking for forgiveness and mercy! May they be a testimony to the world of the Lord's great and abundant mercy on those who humble themselves!

Karen,

all is well today.  Looking forward to goat stew for lunch.  Dad is doing
well.  He is now beginning to decompress (meaning to let go a be taken care
of some).  Things here are very safe and sanitary.  The death has passed
from this area.

I listened to the radio last night as public radio (non religious) went out
over haiti to cry out to Jesus and turn your lives over to him.  This is
coming out of Port au Prince and is blanketing this country.  Man after man
came on the radio and cried out to God...on public radio.   REVIVAL IS
AFOOT!

There is a national day of prayer and repentance being called for feb 12th.

One witch doctor just up the road from here, during the quake ran out into
the road and cried out JESUS save me,

The people over the radio are compeliing witch doctors and those who
practice the occult to denouce it and follow Jesus.  This is going out from
one end of the country to the other.

The prayers of our little church in riverview are being answered by a mighty
God.  The Lord is giving to these people the opportunity for something new.
Isaiah 61:1-3

We will pray sunday for this passage to come true for these wonderful
people.

I love you and will see you in a few days
David



If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

2010—New Year, New House:

After a quick and uplifting Christmas break, I trekked back to Virginia from Indiana for my final semester of my junior year. I have never been a fan of long road trips; they always seem to bring out the worst in me. I am known to get cranky in the car! J Lord, forgive me. Anyways, this time it was different. I am not sure why. Maybe I am getting older and starting to think more about the upcoming years in my life, I don’t know. That will certainly be new terrain and unmarked territory in my life, but regardless… the Lord was pressing in my soul.

Instead of listening to music on my IPOD for the 9-hour drive, I put in “Walking with God”, an audio book by John Eldridge and a sermon from the Passion Conference by Francis Chan. It was fantastic. One thing it stirred me to do was to take an honest look at my life, and not just my life but deeper, to look deep into the basement of my soul. To do this is harder than it sounds because it HURTS when you begin to peel back layers of your life to get to the core. This is necessary for a straightforward, no pride involved, lay it all down, reflection of myself. To make a long story short I was disgusted.

I realized that in light of God, his holiness, and in his quest for receiving ALL of the glory, I had begun to take satisfaction in taking part in that credit, that ultimate glory. I LIKED it when people recognized me. I LIKED it when my name or face was attached to an event or time, place, or whatever. I LIKED it when people told me all these good things about me. I LIKED it when I thought that I could do so much on my own because of what God has given me. I LIKED even LOVED my own glory. What I had not realized was the poison this injects.

In my quest for self-exaltation and pride, I had laced every area of my life to make myself known… I would tell partial truths, I would cover up things to save face, I would cut corners and take easy roads, and I would twist stories to make myself sound better than I actually was. And wouldn’t you know it, it never made me happy. But there I was, striving for the unattainable, striving for the very opposite of God’s nature and doing so in a position where I was preaching God’s Word. Shameful is the word that comes to mind. Utterly disgusting. There is only one thing I could do. Repent and pray for God’s love to heal my heart. Nothing else would work. I needed the transformation of God’s work in my life more than ever. But there was hope.

At the end of this past year, we lived in a dirty, old house that was filled with mold and was literally killing us. I mean it was so bad that the most poisonous mold was growing in our house and we could not breathe. I am pretty sure the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were formed in this environment. But it was obvious that if we stayed here it would be horrendous for our health and we needed a new place to stay. We recognized our state; we knew something had to change.

In the New Year, here I sit in a brand new, just finished house. No mold, no ninja turtles, new life. In that car ride down it dawned on me that is what the Holy Spirit is doing to me that is what He wants to do to you. He wants us to recognize our filthy state and to do anything at all cost to allow him to give us a new house, a new dwelling place, a fresh start. A new heart. This is only possible to placing faith in Jesus and following Him wholeheartedly. He does not just want to clean your house; he wants to give you a completely new house, a completely new spirit. It never ends there though. Like a new house, much work is required. Paint the walls, landscaping, putting new furniture and décor up. He gives us new life, and asks us to work out what He is working in. To the unbeliever. Jesus can redeem your life and make you new. To the believer, allow God to search the intimate parts of your heart and renew you everyday! He is a good Father.

I love how God uses everyday life to teach us his way.

So I pray.

Lord, glorious King, maker of the Heavens and Earth. I am nothing in your sight. I am humbled by your holiness and know that I have nothing that has not been given. Please open my eyes to the garbage of my soul and renew me to see you love, to be aware of your goodness. May I show that to others and make your name famous with no regards of my own. Bind the spirit of pride and cast it far from me in Jesus’ name. Your love is stronger than death. I accept your love even if I feel like I am unworthy, for you are worthy. In Jesus’ name I magnify and pray. Amen.

Isaiah 26:8; Phil 3

The Morning Heartcry

In the morning you search me;
You know the foolishness of my heart.
I have cried, but none have heard.
When will your light shine through in the dark?
My ways are to futile, your ways are so high;
How can I submit my life to you?
I am flirting on the edge, holding onto a lie.
My hands have been calloused, my heart has turned cold.
Has it not been to my King Jesus my life been sold?

My lovers are great, my critics still greater,
But all I want is to proclaim The Creator.
On my knees I must fall
And ask humbly again,
"Lord, forgive me my pride, fake walls, and my sin.
I have built up a house that cannot stand,
I have tossed The Rock and embraced my sand.
The storm did come, the storm did blow,
And by the storm, the storm did show,

Publish Post

I NEED YOU MY GOD, MY KING, MY LORD
TO BE MY ROCK, SHIELD, AND SWORD.
I BEG YOU, TAKE ME BACK AS YOUR OWN,
AS I THROW MYSELF BEFORE YOUR THRONE."

Then as I stand I feel the rain.
That holy rain from above.
It drenches me once again this new day
With Mercy, Grace, Hope, and Love.

This is Our Generation

Remedy-Our Generation

-I see a generation seeking and savoring Christ

-A generation that has a oneness with the Father

-A generation Uniting the body of Christ

-A generation using our gifts all together to advance the kingdom

-A generation as a haven and a place of healing

-A generation that stands on truth, speaks truth, and is not moved

-A generation who counts the cost and considers it worth it

-A generation that places Jesus above all else

-A generation that remembers where they came from and where grace has brought them, the grace paid for by Jesus blood, the blood that never fails

-A generation that is waiting in earnest expectation of the Lord and giving their every moment to prepare the way for their true King

-A generation that knows their depravity and respond with love and worship for the only and true remedy of salvation that God has given them and wants to live to exhibit their gratitude for it, working out their own salvation

- A generation that is selfless and savors the sweet fact that God’s love is greater than life

-A generation that united under the influence of the Holy Spirit and allows him to infiltrate their very being to the extent that they are living in a controlled overwhelmed manner

-A generation that will fight with faith and remember that the Lord is our defense

-A generation that desires the Lord’s glory in every action, thought, motive, idea, relationship, and their very own being.

-A generation that thirsts for the knowledge of the Lord and seeks the godly council of those who have paved the way for us.

-A generation whose love for the world is greater than the visibility of the sin in it.

-A generation who worships regardless of circumstance

-A generation who is willing to take risks, do the unthinkable, and attempt the impossible because they have a relationship with the limitless God

-A generation that renews the term radical to its rightful place of the only way to live

-A generation that despises and refuses complacency

-A generation who understands their identity in Christ and their power and commission given

-A generation who reaches up so God can reach in and allows us to reach out

-A generation that takes each step not knowing their every move, but knowing God is guiding their footsteps

-A generation that gives more than they have, blesses with their money, time, and words

-A generation that loves when there is no love and takes light to a place of complete darkness

-A generation that is consistent and persistent knowing that God is their shield and their hope

-A generation that has a single-minded obsession with Jesus Christ and His truth.

-A generation that is unwavering and will believe the Lord’s every promise is true

-A generation who prevails when persecuted and stands back up when batted down and spreads life when death threatens

-A generation who drinks deep of the remedy and takes that power to the ends of the earth

-I see this generation, and I believe this generation is now, The Remedy is here, Our Father is here. Jesus is here. And the Spirit is upon us.

About Remedy

Remedy is for the college age and young adult body where we are given the opportunity to gather from around the community and surrounding communities, connecting with people and growing in Jesus Christ through fellowship, passion-filled worship music, a message of truth, and small groups.

Remedy is not through a church, although it is hosted at a church. It is for everybody, from all walks of life, all denominations, crossing all boundaries bringing together the body of Christ in the one unifying factor, Jesus Christ. Even if you have no idea who Jesus is, this group is for you as well.

It is just one night a week, so do WHATEVER you have to do to be able to be here, you will not want to miss out on God’s blessing through Remedy! If you work, try your best to keep Wednesday nights free!

We as college students all have many questions considering our future, our purpose. There are many trials we go through and no matter how hard we try and hide it we all have some sort of wound, brokenness, or pain in our life. May there be a Remedy in your life this summer, a Remedy that is forever.

Jesus is the Healer and His Fire is contagious!

Come and see