When Yesterday's Manna Ceases

By Francis Frangipane

We have a fairly neat, pleasant little package in our minds of who we consider the Lord Jesus Christ to be. I think that our view is essentially correct, but the problem is it is incomplete. It is important to recognize that there are certain perceptions we have of the nature of Christ that must be re-evaluated as the day of the Lord draws near. There are some things we are probably not quite ready to accept.

Our understanding of who the Lord is and who He wants to be in our lives needs to expand drastically to accommodate the restoration of Christ in the church. As the Lord continues to restore His gifts, ministries and power, we need to submit ourselves afresh to that which the Spirit is speaking. It is not an easy task, because our doctrines and our concepts, by nature, are self­ limiting.

The Deception Surrounding Splits

By Francis Frangipane 

I can offer no political solution to divisions. Ultimately, if attaining Christlikeness is not enough for you, I have no other remedy. I am a man in quest of the character of Christ. I write to people who share my passion. If you are reading this, but do not care passionately about becoming Christlike, I truly have nothing to offer you regarding splits. Becoming Christlike is the only way to avoid them or be healed from them.

Let the Word Be True
The Bible has a great deal to say about unity. However, I have yet to find one New Testament example where the Scriptures encouraged born again Christians to divide from or split a church. I have heard many Scriptures taken out of context and twisted to suit the purpose of division, but in context I do not see the Holy Spirit anywhere telling His people it is right to divide from other imperfect Christians.

The Lord Whose Sword Is Drawn

By Francis Frangipane

Of all the names the heavenly Father could have given His Son, it is most significant that He chose the name Jesus, for Jesus is the Greek form of "Joshua." Joshua, you recall, was the Hebrew general who led God's people into war. To be prepared for greater victories, we need a greater revelation of Jesus Christ. We need to see Him as He will be revealed in the last moments of this age: a Holy Warrior dressed for battle.

Will You Recognize Jesus When He Comes?
Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" Joshua 5:13

The Three Battlegrounds

By Francis Frangipane

Introduction 
I want to talk with you about spiritual warfare. Before we proceed, however, I have two concerns. The first is our need for wisdom. There is an old European proverb worth heeding. It reads: "Age and treachery will always defeat youth and zeal." Before we engage in spiritual warfare, we should know this about Satan: he is an ancient and extremely treacherous foe. On the other hand, the strength of most Christians lies primarily in idealism and untested fervor. Usually five to ten years in the ministry and most zeal has waned. Without warning, the minister's call has deteriorated from a walk of vision to a mere job.

What occurred was that zeal, by itself, challenged the treachery of hell and lost. The brightness of youthful dreams dimmed under the dark cloud of relentless satanic assault. Under the weight of growing frustrations and discouragement, compromise increased, and with it came iniquity and spiritual bondage.

Possessing the Redeemer’s Mind

By Francis Frangipane

As Christians, we spend too much time battling basic, elementary battles: "Am I truly saved?" "Am I really forgiven?" The fact is, God has so much more for us. He seeks to conform our thought-life to the actual thought-life of Christ. Indeed, the Holy Spirit comes, not just to give us goose bumps and chills, but to restructure our attitudes and perceptions until we think the thoughts of Jesus.

Consider Paul's remarkable insights. He wrote,

"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:14-16).

The Holy Obsession

By Francis Frangipane

To be in love is to be obsessed with one's beloved; it is "to think continually about the same thing." In this sense, the Father is obsessed with love for His Son, Jesus Christ. Indeed, beginning with eternity past, revealing the Firstborn in the womb of time, and then continuing with the transformation of the church, the Father's ultimate goal is for all creation to be summed up in Christ (Eph. 1:10). Our goal is to participate in this "summing up" until all that we are -- our loves, our passions, our dreams and our character -- is conformed to Christ.

Now, if the Father is obsessed with His Son, let us also surrender to this divine obsession. For such is the prayer of Christ Himself for His followers. He prayed,

"I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:26).