Preston Gillham

Dictionary.com says joy is an emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good. In secondary meanings, it uses: pleasure, delight, glad feeling, and festive.

Then there is this verse from the Bible referencing Jesus’ and joy: “…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Are Dictionary.com and the Bible at odds?

I’ve heard a thousand sermons on the horrors of crucifixion. You have too, and even the most eloquent minister cannot capture what Jesus endured on the cross. It was hardly a delight, a happy occasion, or a festive mood. Yet, the verse says He had joy.

Why does this matter? Trying to put ourselves in Jesus’ place and comprehend His joy is conjecture. It presumes that we can know what He felt, endure what He felt, and do so without being crucified.

Here is why this is important: The Bible says that not only Jesus had joy, but you and I have joy as well. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit, in fact.

This is good news at a high level. If Jesus had joy midst crucifixion, I must have joy midst the trials that plague me. And while I can’t feel what Jesus felt during crucifixion, I do possess the self-awareness to emote during my angst. However, joy is not the first descriptive word that leaps to mind to describe my emotional state. What gives day-to-day?

There is compatibility between Dictionary.com and Hebrews 12:2. The compatibility is between “something exceptionally good” and “sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” It is exceptionally good that Jesus is seated at God’s right hand, not only for Him, but for us as well. In fact, our joy is anchored in the fact that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God.

Joy is ours absolutely because joy is not circumstantial. (Better read that again.) Joy is visionary and retroactively applicable today.

It is religious tripe that we are supposed to display placid smiles and utter spiritual sounding dismissals in the face of difficulty. Joy is not denial.

On the contrary! Joy enables us to embrace whatever life dishes out because of the vision of joy: that Christ is seated at God’s right hand and advocates and encourages us on higher ideals; that the Spirit lives in us and exudes joy; and that we live beyond and therefore have confidence in the midst.

In “No Mercy,” Hank wrestles through this concept, but he lives it. Sometimes it is really helpful to have a guide. You can pick up a copy of the book here.

Because our enemy is described as the “prince of the power of the air,” anything that has to do with the air is his domain. That means most forms of communication travel through/via his domain.

Whew. Ever wonder where that nonsensical confusion comes from during a discussion that turns into a fight? Ever done a test on dropped calls and then watched the Tech’s eyes as you report your findings?

Cell is not working. Home computer unstable. Land line not working reliably. And, no one knows why. All new SIM cards, new phone, new cable lines, new modems, new land line phones…. No progress. Hours and hours of time.

If you go out to meet the enemy and don’t encounter resistance, you’ve only gone for a walk. Done enough walking. I received a text from my friend Kevin a few days before he died of cancer. His text came early in the morning—like about 2:00 AM—stating that he had a broken beer bottle and was going after the enemy in an all-out brawl. Of course, it was a figure of speech that he and I had discussed, but I knew what he meant, and it all occurred in his hospital room.

Like Hank says in “No Mercy” at one point, “I’m not a knight. I’m a knife fighter, a barroom brawler.” He’s thinking there is more nobility in being a knight than a knife fighter, but the knights around him correct his opinion.

It should be encouraging that we have an opportunity to engage the battle. But, it is essential that we understand: warriors do not go into battle alone. Thus, the reason for the Prayer Tribe: to link us all together in a common cause that takes life and light into the enemy’s territory and strongholds.

Enough of holding our ground. Countries hold ground. Warriors seize territory, which in this case, is the hearts and lives of those caught in darkness who long to walk in the light.

For more about walking in the light, check this out.

It took seven years for me to write, “No Mercy.” I stopped and started, stopped and started. There are lots of reasons why, but the primary culprit for stopping was…

Fear!

Fear of the critics. Fear my heart’s work would languish. Fear of disappointment. Fear of public opinion, especially church leadership. Fear I would sabotage my reputation. Fear of indifference. Fear of failure.

Publishers didn’t like my manuscript—at all! They didn’t like my subsequent efforts—any of them. They wanted a formula, something safe, and predictable, and routine, and inside the box of normalcy. I couldn’t do it—wouldn’t do it. Ultimately, they gave up on my book and me.

I originally wrote “No Mercy” using a pseudonym—for protection. I feared what people would think. I feared the repercussions.

“No Mercy” is a revolutionary work. I blew up the standard (apart from printing on paper) because I didn’t want to “write another book.” Each time I stopped, I began again. I persisted. The book was in my heart and needed to be written.

Fear is not bad unless you let it paralyze you. When I’m in the Texas woods, I stop and study before I step over a log. I fear the Copperhead (i.e., a poisonous snake) that might be underneath. But I still go to the woods—and I get over the log.

As I wrote recently, fear is the belief that you can find yourself someplace where God is not. Stopping my writing of “No Mercy” inevitably drove me to the streets of my neighborhood to discuss the book project with my Father in heaven. I walked and we talked. Father was not absent—is not absent.

And “No Mercy” is written and delivered. No pen name!

In the book, Hank Henderson confronts his fears. His story shows us how to persist.

We have an exciting task at hand. I am stoked just thinking about it. We are to open major doors for No Mercy through prayer. Father encourages us to knock and to ask; to not miss an opportunity to receive because we have not asked. Please ask Father to open the doors to some of the large ministries in the country to Preston and No Mercy. Ask Him to arrange interviews, presentations and book signings for Preston through the media channels, networks, and local groups of these ministries. Think big.

A few weeks ago, I was reading World Magazine, the Christian alternative to Newsweek. It is a great magazine and when I saw the book review page my heart jumped. I immediately thought, “This is where No Mercy needs to be reviewed.” When Father gives you an idea, he has a way to carry it out. He reminded me that a students I had ministered to used to work for World Magazine. I wrote her. To make a long story short, I ended up with an email from the editor letting me know that they would accept a copy of the book to review. They did not guarantee a review but they asked for the book nonetheless. I have been on the look out for a review of No Mercy since, but haven’t seen it yet. This puzzled me. Father opened a huge door after all. And than I remembered that I never shared with you and or included you in the process. It is awesome enough to get an email from the editor asking for the book. It built my faith up. It encouraged me. But Father reminded me that that we are in this journey together. It’s not just about me being encouraged and seeing God at work. It is about all of us, as a body, united around the heart of God, trusting Him, seeking His thoughts and ideas, carrying them out and being on adventure with Him. So, let’s go together before Father and ask that the editor of World Magazine picks up the book and writes an excellent commentary.

But let’s not stop there. Think of the ministries that have influenced you. Ask Father to open doors there, to use you to share No Mercy. And please, include the rest of us on the journey. It is not fun going alone on this.

Be blessed as you dream big,

Reny Madjarska
Head Prayer Tribeswoman

I’m not a fan of satisfaction, and I’m not in pursuit of satisfaction.

Of course, there are lots of definitions for satisfaction, but what I’m referencing is the complacency of being comfortable—satisfied with good enough—whether referencing business, product development, physical conditioning…or spirituality. In these arenas, satisfied is synonymous with complacent, stagnant, apathetic, flat, or tepid.

Anyone who is not growing and pursuing—who is satisfied—is in danger. Were we to be confronted by Rocky Balboa’s trainer about being satisfied, he would tell us, “You’ve lost the eye of the tiger.”

I’m not talking about the misconstrued, biblical concept of rest. The Bible’s concept of rest is an active pursuit of what Father has placed before us while trusting His life inside us to push forward through us. Resting is active. Trusting is tenacious. Faith is motivated.

Relationships cannot be static. Ideas can be. Concepts can be. But not relationships.

If you are standing still, you are regressing. You are relational. Your Father in heaven is relational. If you are satisfied, you are complacent. If you have fallen prey to taking your relationship with Christ Jesus for granted, you are now susceptible to the temptation of entitlement.

Entitlement sours the soul.

Satisfaction is exactly what our enemy would love to see us adopt, and once we do, he then persuades that our satisfaction is spirituality. Before we know it, we are soured. Before we know it, our spirituality is soured.

Love, a fire, a wellspring, the wind—these are never satisfied, and each is a biblical picture of our Heavenly Father’s disposition. Further, these are fueled by Father’s furious grace and mercy that will not be satisfied until our hearts are connected to His…and we know it, don’t doubt it, and live like it, love like it, and carry ourselves (i.e., literally our physical comportment and mental posture) like it.

“No Mercy” is a story about a man who recovered his fiery passion for life, love, adventure, and spirituality.

Fear is the belief that you will find yourself someplace where God is not—that you can do something that will take you to a place that is apart from God.

You are not that powerful.

Your actions—good, bad, or indifferent—are no surprise to God.

God promised to never leave you or abandon you, and He made this promise far in advance of you entering life’s stage, with full knowledge of your faults, foibles, and failures. Considering all your propensities, in conjunction with His heart’s desire, He declared numerous times, “Do not be afraid. I am with you.”

In the book, “No Mercy,” the main character (Hank) contends against fear. At one point he is talking with his brother, Vassar, who is representative of Jesus Christ. Hank is skeptical, finding it difficult to believe he should not be abandoned, and says, “Alright. What’s your promise, Vassar?”

“Hank, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not—I cannot—in any degree leave you helpless, nor alone, nor let you down, nor relax my hold on you. You’re my brother, my family” (ref).

Their exchange continues: Hank studied his brother. “You know, you didn’t leave yourself much room to mess up, Vassar.”
“No, I didn’t, did I?”

“Look, Vassar. You don’t need to do this. It’s not worth it.”

“You mean, you’re not worth it,” Vassar corrected.

And there is the point of fear for Hank: He feared he was not worth Vassar staying with him, loving him, caring for him, and vowing allegiance to him.

Your heart, like Hank’s, was not designed to fear. Your heart desires to live courageously with the confident conviction that God is never far away. Rather, that He is in you, as close as your own heart.

Here is a link to Hank’s story. Sometimes it is immeasurably helpful to see how someone else gets down the road of life.

There is a difference between wilting and withering. In the plant world, wilting is remedied with water. Withered is irreparable.

The concepts of wilting and withering carry forward into the world of the heart. Like plants, a wilting heart can be fixed. A withered heart isn’t exactly irreparable, but it is a serious matter. Proverbs says you must guard your heart diligently since it is the wellspring of life. That’s wise counsel.

Threats to our hearts abound, but no danger is riskier than that which threatens our dreams and quenches our heart’s desire. Although your heart’s dreams and desires might be ill-defined or lack articulation, deep in the recesses of your soul, your heart holds these tender treasures in trust.

Mismanagement of your heart’s dreams and desires is a bad plan. Initially, your heart wilts, but in time it will wither.

On one end of the mismanagement spectrum, the celebrity types famously flash their wilted-withered hearts on the front of numerous magazines (not to mention their music and movies). At the other end of the gamut are people who cram their heart, and all it contains, inside the bottle of their intellect and screw the lid of rationale on so tight no man can unscrew it.

Whether flaunting or repressing, fear drives the mismanagement of this deepest and dearest treasure called the heart. Initially, it wilts. But in time, the heart withers.

And what is fear? It is the belief that you can find yourself someplace where God is not.

Here is a story about fear, trust, and care for the heart.

Getting started is the hardest part. The passage from no momentum to having momentum is remarkably difficult, especially if initiating momentum signals that you are embracing a foreboding change. The greater the change, the harder it is to take the first step.

Even if the status quo is not working very well, or is completely bankrupt, change can be threatening. Familiar routines, habits, and predictable outcomes are appealing. In fact, many people opt for the familiar even though it is broken. Covey has noted that doing again today, what you did yesterday, while believing you will get a different outcome tomorrow is a form of insanity. I don’t think he literally means “insane,” but when you sit down to think about it, such behavior is irrational at best.

Everywhere I look there is change occurring in the Believing community, and not just a little bit. The changes occurring are disruptive. Disruptive change is change that is so fundamental that returning to the status quo will never occur.

While there are convulsive reactions to these spiritual changes, I believe the disruption is a good thing. In fact, I think it is quite possible the disruption in the status quo is being driven by God.

All the indicators point to stagnation inside the church. Anecdotally, committed Believers are longing for their faith to be more relevant in their daily lives and are frustrated that they are not finding the organized church more facilitative of this desire. The disruption has already begun.

God wants to take us to a new place—His place. He wants to refocus us. He wants to disrupt the abnormalcy of spiritual apathy and return us to what Nee called the normal Christian life—a life of heart-to-heart connection with God that disrupts the status quo and propels us toward our spiritual desire to walk with God in His light.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? It’s the first step that is the hardest.

And what does the first step look like?

It is a prayer: “Father, take me where you are going. Tell me about yourself. I want to walk in the light.”

Here is a story about a man who stepped into the light.

Envision two rivers: one is moderately fast, the other flows fast and furious. In both instances, envision yourself standing on the bank, studying the flow rate, weighing the risk of crossing to the other side, but knowing that if you opt to do nothing—to stay on your side of the river—you will die a pitiable death.

Crossing the river is a visual image conveying the disruption involved in changing.

The first river, the one with the moderate current, represents those changes that require you to adjust. Entering the river will most certainly change you, but in time, you will cope and manage, and regain your footing on the other side. You can see it, and can imagine what crossing will mean to you.

The second river, the torrent, represents disruptive change. Crossing this river will revolutionize your life, and this sounds really cool. The trick is, the revolution and its risks are uncertain. You can wade into the raging current, swim for all you’re worth, believe you will survive the experience, but there is no guarantee where you will land on the other side. Crossing could be ruinous or glorious. Your life will most certainly be transformed radically, so profoundly you will never be able to return to the status quo of the river bank where you stand now.

Staying where you are—on this side of the river—is an option, but a poor one. This side of the river is heart-degree dissatisfaction. Either quickly, or after a passage of time, you will suffer the loss of courage, possibility, honor, and determination. All these are things your soul needs to live a robust life.

This parable applies to all change. But with the portrayal of the second river, I’m specifically thinking about spiritual change. Revolution. Return to a fiery heart-disposition akin to your Heavenly Father’s fiery heart-passion.

God’s intent is evident, but there is a torrent between where you are and what can be. Where do you begin?

To read a story about the journey–and adventure–of crossing over, click here.

In nature seasons change. Here we are at the beginning of Fall. In the course of our journey as a Prayer Tribe we are entering a new season as well. What has not changed is the importance of what we do.

Father is shaping a sequel to No Mercy in Preston’s heart and Preston is gearing to put it on paper. Please spend time with Father and fellowship about this. Writing a book is akin to carrying a child and giving birth. There is pain, there is fatigue, there is a continual discomfort, there is a long list of tasks. There is need for space, strength and diligence.

In addition, Preston began posting weekly blogs. These are designed to mentor, encourage, teach those who have read the book and want to continue walking in what they have learned. Please continue to pray for the readers that they may read the book, appropriate the truths and share the book with their networks.

On the marketing front, the team is battling increased life and work responsibilities. Some days I wonder if satan’s strategy is to avalanche us with “good” things so that we miss the “excellent” ones. Please pray against this.

Our Tribe of about 90 people is strong and a force to be reckoned with. We are trusting not in our wisdom, strength or ingenuity but we are looking to Father. We have joined Him and I am excited to see where He would take us this Fall.

Be blessed in the new season,

Reny Madjarska
Head Prayer Tribeswoman