Fourthstream - Finding Hope

"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  (John 3:8) There are reasons Jesus uses this descriptive analogy. If we are to find God we must do so through God's wind - His Holy Spirit. This God Story thread begins in Genesis 1:1,2 and completes in Revelation 22:17. "In the beginn...

Our God IS Shelter! Under Shelter courses you will find five different yet integrated paths for growing in the depth of God's Shelter. There are videos and notes featuring the authors/teachers at Storiesofshelter.com . To join this community click on the join button. 1.  19 Principles: The Heart of What Jesus Taught His Followers Some of the most central teachings of Jesus - both for personal grow...

Jesus instructed His followers (disciples) to make disciples just as He did. Let's break this down a bit. This comes from Matthew 28:16-20. #1. "But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated." It is important to note that Jesus remained on earth 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1: 3). "To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by...

The entire Bible has been given to us so we may know God , understand a life of God- honor , and live in a manner "worthy" of the One Who created us. Six times in the letters the words "manner worthy" are used to describe the walk of a God follower. It means we honor God (As well as ourselves) by placing honorable weight upon our great God. Let's think through what Paul taught the Philippians in 3...

When Jesus announced His Kingdom He began to select a group of men and women who would follow Him by pursuing the example He had shown them and the Words from His Father He had communicated. This included a number of things reflected in the amazing display of "God coming near" (Immanuel) to save humanity from futility (our lives counting for nothing) and judgment for falling short of the image we...

This diagram tracks the recurring woven threads throughout God's Word (over 62,000 connections!). As you consider your personal strategic plan for spirituality we have considered: √   King First - then Kingdom - then Church/what Jesus taught about spirituality √   Cultivating Deeper/skills for unlocking the Word Today we discuss the big picture on the Word of God, and what we like to call Jesus-Ce...

Finding our first King - then Kingdom - then Church balance is important for our spirituality. Obviously we have given this much thought, but you should investigate this yourself. Our purpose for pursuing this was to make sure we were prioritizing how we invested our time , our talents (gifts), and our treasures (resources).  Having an effective and growing strategic plan for spiritual life it is...

There are many ways of being mentored in spirituality. While this may come from significant people in our lives, books we read or study, favorite music et al, I have found that the Spirit is Jesus' voice inside of me is the most substantial. He is always ready to teach me and shape me and lead me in the direction Jesus wants for me. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into...

It is one thing to understand the concept of  First King - then Kingdom - then Church , but another to live a life directed toward connection with your King. The first thing is to decide where you stand on Jesus. A great teacher? One of many unremarkable religionists? Someone into whose hands you can place the welfare of your soul? We can talk about what Jesus taught about authentic connectivity,...

God IS shelter. We NEED to be sheltered. We need each other to remind us of what is IMPORTANT. We are surrounded by chaos, turbulence, and are so vulnerable to the weaknesses, pitfalls, and schemes of unprincipled men and women. How do we find our way through? There appears to be a clear path! "Hear my cry, O God, and listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is fa...

Because understanding the Kingdom is so critical to our spiritual lives, let's take some time to absorb the core message of Jesus when it comes to building in a manner that is pleasing to Him. We have already mentioned that the Kingdom is mentioned in the Gospels over 100 times and the church only twice. So the  Kingdom message was clear to Jesus and to His disciples. In the book of Acts after the...

A number of years ago we were thinking through Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 13:13  "Now these three powerful things: faith, hope, and love exist among us; but the greatest of these is love." This makes sense in that God IS love and we are made in His image. It would be great if we always loved the way He does - but we do not. We are surrounded by turbulence - from the inside-out. Even evil it...

The levels of turbulence around us are massive. In every corner of our American and world culture we see division and twisted wisdom. There are three great gifts from God: Faith, Hope, and Love (1 Corinthians 13). Each of these may be found by those who choose to enter through the Door of the sheep (John 10). In faith we find a different and substantive present and future. Through love we make our...

There is a basic understanding Jesus tried to communicate to humanity when He came to the earth. When we get this right there is fruitfulness in our lives - when we don't varying degrees of misinformation prevail. Both John the Baptist (Jesus' cousin) and Jesus proclaimed the same thing:  "Turn away and turn toward, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7) T...

I just finished Jordan Peterson's latest book  "We Who Wrestle With God." I like how he reasons, and even though I am not ready to place him in the upper echelon of my spiritual teachers, he is a genuine, thoughtful soul. One premise of his book relates to the relationship between chaos and order , something many philosophers, scientists, and faith reflectors see as key for arriving at a satisfied...

Jesus is our Savior, Healer, and Friend. He alone can  restore the access of honor we need to reconnect with Creator God. Let's follow part of this thread! "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for th...

Healing is a curious concept with many opinions on the what, how, and why. A survey of known history makes it quite clear that no one healed like Jesus did. Even within all of the other religions of antiquity there is no one like Him, and some religious healer's miracles were pretty lame. Jesus, however, did nothing in a corner. He was transparent and prolific. And those who witnessed what He did...

Everyone operates from a  home base . Our upbringing. Our experiences. Our choices. Even factors made on our behalf by others. Through all of this we build our home base. Scientifically we apply what we see and learn. Philosophical we land on what we have wrestled with in our lives - positively and negatively. And to the degree we have encountered and contemplated faith we solidify our beliefs. Or...

One deep question for life seekers: "what does connection with God look like?" For years authors have pondered this, scientifically, philosophically, and through the optics of faith. For Moses it was all about shelter. Check out Psalm 90. A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. "Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born o r You gave birth to the earth and...

As mentioned before, the trinity is in many ways a mystery to us. It is not to our Creator. In Genesis 1 "the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." The Father created and the Spirit moved. From His mind to His hands. And where was the Son while this unfolded? Apparently creating right along with Him.  "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by...

God is a sheltering being. He provides shelter. But even more than this - He IS shelter. In fact, He is building the ultimate shelter family through the work of His Son. Jesus is the connector to our Creator. God wants to mentor us. We know this because He mentored Jesus. The Son's best friend while He was on the earth was His Dad. He learned from Him. He was dedicated to His will. He gave up all...

Most humans look at God things as a choice. I get this, but I have been thinking it is incomplete. If there is a Creator and He  made all things - it seems to me that He is the one who is making the choice, right? Weighing this has become a key premise for me about spirituality. Does it begin with me - or with Him? I realize this is kind of out there, but most other options are limiting. If it all...

Often we must understand bad news in order to perceive and appreciate good news. It is the same with finding shelter. Until we are uncovered it is difficult to appreciate being covered . This is the nature of all life. Impermanence. Limited control. The necessity to learn to hope. Turbulence and imperfection. A good question: Who has given you shelter? A parent? A teacher? A sibling? A neighbor? W...

There is a spirituality which finds roots in God's Son Jesus Himself. While there are many religions, there is only one proven to be the Son of God, and He is the King over His Kingdom. This is the Story of the God Story. What this means is massive, and today we will cover several of the core amazing things about experiencing Kingdom spirituality . It is authentic, connective, and filled with prom...

Storiesofshelter.com We read stories. We tell stories. We live stories. Here is a deep dive story of the ROOT WORDS FOR SHELTER. There are several Hebrew words which reflect and define shelter which are found in the Law of Moses and the prophets of Israel. A Roof of Beams (as in a home) Genesis 19:8 quarah A Refuge (as a hiding place) Job 24:8 chasah A Screen that overshadows (like a filter) Psalm...