Word.

I have moved on...

2009-06-01T07:12:00.002-05:00

Goodbye Blogger. You have served me well.

Hello Tumblr.

Also, hit me up on Twitter, to leave comments.

Our Hope

2009-05-13T06:47:00.001-05:00

Here's some notes I made up for my message at Peoria -- the notes are more generic, my message was a bit more personal.

The topic is on our hope; God's active hand in preparing the Bride of Christ. It was a very personal message for me, and for Peoria, as God is very active in preparing that city. What I saw in Peoria last year gave me much hope for the global Church, not because they were so awesome, but because God is, and they were just letting him work.

Peoria Report

2009-05-05T09:19:00.000-05:00

Peoria Report:

This weekend, most of IHOPU (Including FSM and FMA, the music academy) went to Peoria, Ill. This is the fifth year that IHOP has sent teams there, and the second year that the school has sent teams to locations city-wide. Last year I went, and served at Bradley Epworth United Methodist Church, and this year I had the privilege of returning.

God moved mightily in Peoria this weekend, let me give you a few highlights.

Thursday, we arrived, and gathered at Northwoods, the largest church in the city. There we were blessed by the leaders of a number of churches and ministries, and were released to minister.

Friday Morning we helped out at Bradley Epworth's food pantry, where we gave out food and prayed for people. One woman was presented with the gospel and gave her life to Jesus. Later that night, she was baptized.

We also set up a prayer room, and many of those visiting the food pantry were ministered to by that.

In the afternoon we set up prophecy rooms and healing rooms, and prayed for over 100 people.

Friday night, I spoke on the Bride Who Makes Herself Ready (notes, and possibly audio to be posted later).

After that, we went out and did some evangelism on the streets. Many seeds were sown that night, but I'm not sure if anyone was led the Lord.

The FMA students and a few FSM students kept the prayer room going from 8AM til midnight, with only a break for the message.

On Saturday morning we lead the men's and women's small groups, and presented the purity covenant. It had a huge impact on them, and it will be exciting to hear how they walk it out.

The rest of the day was mostly spent with prophecy rooms and the prayer room going full force. Brandon Long spoke that night on the necessity of knowing Jesus personally through the Holy Spirit to avoid being deceived. If it was a possibility for the disciples to be deceived, who walked with Him on this earth, how much more should we need to pursue a relationship with Him?

That night we closed down the prayer room at 11PM in order to get some much needed sleep.

On Sunday Michael Cho spoke again on Longing for His Return. Many were deeply moved by this message, and most of the congregation came up for prayer afterwards.

I was able to pray for a young woman and her four year old daughter. Afterwards and older woman came up and said, "Thank you so much for praying for my daughter and granddaughter!" I said, "No, thank you for praying for her, your prayers were heard!"

The trip ended with a meeting at the Gateway - a park down by the river. All the different teams gathered there and we heard some of the testimonies and prayed over the city.

Much more happened, and if I get some good testimonies, I will put them up here.

Evolution is still broken.

2009-04-23T19:22:00.004-05:00

** Geek Post **

No, it's not another creationism vs evolution post (Almighty Creator FTW!), it's a geek thread.

Today was the launch of Ubuntu 9.04, a Linux-based operating system (alternative to MacOS or Windows for you noobs). I was a little excited, because they were bragging about the addition of Microsoft Exchange Email support, one of the major holes still left in Linux. This is made possible through the mail program, Evolution.

I've tried Evolution before, and even used a beta version, but found it to be very buggy. It crashed constantly, and didn't load my mail half the time. This might be due to the fact that I have 6,000+ messages in my inbox, but still...

The full release version, unfortunately, isn't much better. I installed Xubuntu, a smaller version of Ubuntu (runs XFCE instead of Gnome), and was surprised to find it doesn't come with Evolution pre-installed. So I installed it, no big. Then I found that it didn't have exchange support by default, so I installed the plugin. Still no problems. I added my account, but had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't work since it still asked for the OWA info.

So I loaded it all in, gave it a generous 30 minutes to download my mail over wi-fi, and then dug in. And...... it crashed. And now I can't even launch it, as it crashes when it asks for my password. Ugh.

I'm ready to go back to my mac... or maybe even windows xp, rather than deal with this. The only thing that's helping me survive is Citrix, but that's another story.

For the geeks:

OS: Xubuntu 9.04
Packages: Evolution 2.26.1-0ubuntu1, evolution-exchange 2.26.0-0ubuntu2
Machine: Dell Vostro 1000 (AMD Turion64 x2)

Anyone interested in donating a mac?

*EDIT*

Found the MAPI plugin as well, but guess what? It's not enabled on our server... Plus it crashes when I try to set it up. BAH!

*EDIT #2*

Got it to work by disabling SMB (move the smb.conf)... but guess what? After I set it up with MAPI, it started loadin!g my mail, then it broke my mailbox! It deleted all my 6,500 email messages! Not sure why it deleted mail on an exchange server.

Acts Journal #3

2009-04-20T20:51:00.002-05:00

Acts 3

Observation/Revelation + Interpretation:

v1. They follow a schedule of prayer, joining in with other Jews at the temple. They have a discipline of prayer, and are connected to the Jewish community... they do not see themselves as starting a new religion, but as we will see in Stephen's speech in chapter 7, they see themselves as the faithful ones among Israel, those who responded rightly to the hour of visitation.

v2-11 Here we see the prophetic (notice Peter fixing his eyes on him in verse 4), healing (v6-7), and evangelism (v6), all working together.

v12 He does not claim it in his own authority, and actually rebukes them for being greatly amazed and holding on to him.

v13 He starts off by connecting Jesus with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, after he had just referred to them as Men of Israel, and then ties them to his crucifixion. IN ONE VERSE.

v16 He connects the healing of this man to the name of Jesus and faith in the name.

v19 He pulls out the R-word, and the C-word. Repent, Convert! Bold words to Jews in the temple who consider themselves righteous. He has just proven their guilt crucifying the Servant of God, but offers them a blotting out of their sins, and actual entrance into the presence of the Lord.

v20-21 If/When they respond, God will send Jesus back, which will occur along with the restoration of all things. Remember Peter is speaking to a crowd which includes the priests and the Sadducees, the rulers of Jerusalem, of whom Jesus said, "You will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,'" (Matthew 23:39).

v22-23 Fearless. "Every soul who will not hear that Prophet shal be utterly destroyed from among the people." Brutal, especially to these Jews who love the law of Moses.

v24-25 Peter makes a clear path for them to respond, by tying them into the lineage of the prophets, and the covenant of God to Abraham.

v26 They have the seat of privelage, of being the first to be blessed by the opportunity of repentance.

Application:

Apostolic Qualities:

Prayer
Prophetic
Healing
Humility as a Vessel
Accurate Witness of Jesus Christ
Connected to OT Covenant and Prophesies of Israel and Humanity
Connected to Eschatological Prophesies of Israel and Humanity
Personal Application to Audience with Distinct Call to "Repent, or Else."

Acts Journal #2

2009-04-18T18:51:00.002-05:00

Characteristics of Apostolic Community

Acts 2

Revelation:

v1. Seven days after the ascension of Jesus, they are still all together in one place. From 1:14 we know that this was a gathering focused on prayer.

v2-4. A sound comes from heaven, then tongues of fire appear upon each of them, then they are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in other tongues.

v5-13. As the sound of this is heard in the streets, the masses who had gathered reacted. These masses were "devout," and had spent their personal finances in order to come to Jerusalem from distant places. Many of them had an interest in the things of God, and came here to seek him. We can tell when they hear them speaking in their tongues, they recognize worship, described as"the wonderful works of God." Others who did not have this recognition of worship mocked them.

v14-15 Peter has boldness in addressing the crowd, but is also unified with the other 11 who stand with him.

v16-21 Quote from Joel.

Connection to eschatology
Release of the Spirit on all (men and women, young and old)
Spirit releases prophetic ministry
Signs and Wonders from Heaven
Salvation of all who call on the name of the Lord

v22-36 The witness of Jesus Christ 110:1

He addresses the crowd as "men of Israel," and testifies to them of their great King, Jesus.

Includes Ps 16:8-11 and Ps 110:1, and references to Ps 16:10 and 68:18. These are to support the superiority of Jesus over King David:

Not allowed to see corruption, for He knows the ways of life.
Raised up by God to sit upon the throne of David
Exalted to the right hand of God
Received the Holy Spirit, and poured it out upon His followers.
He will sit at the right hand of God until God makes His enemies His footstool.
God has made him both Lord (supreme authority, master) and Christ (the anointed one).

The release of the Holy Spirit is directly tied to the life of Jesus, His Resurrection, and His future rule.

v37 - The crowd is cut to the heart, recognizing the truth of the identity of Jesus, and that they are the ones who killed him.

v38-39 - Peter extends to them the mercy of Jesus, that they must Repent, be baptized for the cleansing of their sins, and then they too may receive the Holy Spirit.

v40 - They must be saved from among the generation, which is wicked. Those visiting Jerusalem probably did not consider their generation perverse before the preaching of Peter revealed their sin.

v41 - Multitudes were converted, and were baptized.

v42 - They continued in:

the apostles doctrine,
in fellowship,
in breaking of bread,
and in prayers.

v43 - Many signs and wonders accompanied them

v44-45 - They shared, and were unified in their economy.

v46-47 Descriptions of the church:

Continued in the temple as Jewish believers.
Broke bread from house to house
Were glad, and simple in heart
Praised God
Had favor with all the people
Evangelism

Interpretation:
Apostolic Christianity:

Carries a bold witness of Jesus, from OT Prophesies, NT Life of Christ, Current manifestation of the Spirit, and looks to His future reign.
Seeks to win the lost through repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit
Does signs and wonders
Has a common doctrine
Breaks bread together
Generosity and taking care of others needs
Filled with gladness and simplicity of Heart
Has favor among the people, but also regarded with fear.

Book of Acts Journal #1

2009-04-13T20:43:00.004-05:00

Picking this back up -- not for you, the readers, but for myself.

Current assignment: Keep a journal about my "meditation and learning based upon the book of Acts" from April 13th to April 30th, 2009. Each journal entry should have three parts: revelation, interpretation, application. On the days that I have no significant revelation, there will be no post. The journal will be kept here.

I will attempt to use this journal to help prepare for the 1,000 word paper I will be writing, entitled, "Essential Characteristics of Apostolic Christianity."

--------------

Journal #1

Acts 1.

Revelation:

v2 "through the Holy Spirit [Jesus] had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen."

Jesus/Holy Spirit gives commandments to Apostles
He chooses Apostles

v3 "He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

He presented Himself to them
He spoke of the Kingdom of God

v4-5 "He commanded them... to wait for the Promise of the Father... you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit..."

Waiting was an important step, required to receive the Promise of the Holy Spirit.

v8 "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The Holy Spirit gives power to witness.

v11 "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

They received a promise of His return.

v13 "And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room... [The 11 Apostles] all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."

They were unified
They prayed together
They allowed women to join them
They embraced the physical family of Jesus

v20-22 "Let another take his office... Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out from among us, beginning from the baptism of John, to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."

Replacement was present when Jesus was baptized
Replacement was present at the resurrection

John 1:33-34 "Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit."

The replacement would be ready to receive the Spirit at Pentecost.
The replacement would be living a life in light of the power of the resurrection, and thus would not fear death.
The replacement would know of the coming kingdom of God, and Christ's return

The purpose of the replacement was to join them as a witness, to fulfill a role. Apostleship is a large task, best accomplished with a group. Jesus chose 12 for a reason...

v24 "And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship... and they cast lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles."

Apostles are chosen by God, thus prayer was employed in the decision, and lots were used to complete the decision.

----------

Interpretation:

1. God chooses Apostles, and marks them by giving them His commandments.
2. He reveals the ways of His kingdom to them so that they may operate in it effectively.
3. God releases power of the Holy Spirit to those who wait upon Him and seek Him in prayer.
4. The power is used to be a witness, a major role of an Apostle.
5. The Apostles are concerned with His Return, and the coming of His earthly reign.
6. The Apostles embrace the rest of the brethren, and join with all of them in prayer. They do not consider themselves elite in a way that would exclude women or family.
7. The Apostles were prepared for the release of the Holy Spirit.
8. The Apostles did not fear death.
9. The Apostles were not one-man-shows, they were unified, and worked as a group.
10. It was not decided by the favoritism of men, or a "vote." Casting of lots, and leaving it to chance may seem risky, but probably less risky than human decision making, as Jesus did not judge on the outward appearance.

------------

Application:

Essential Characteristics of Apostolic Christianity:

Intimate knowledge of the Ministry of Jesus and the Holy Spirit
Living for a future kingdom
Receiving the commands of the kingdom
Humility
Patience
Prayer

Amen! God, I pray that you would teach me of your kingdom, and that my lifestyle would match your word.

Pray with us for the elections

2008-11-04T11:59:00.002-06:00

Here's a video link, so you can join with us today in praying for the elections.

http://webstreaming.ihop.org/GBF

Eyes wide open.

2008-06-23T20:55:00.003-05:00

As the wedding day approaches (46 days!), we are also entering a 40 day fast. The focus of the fast is based on Exodus 33.

18 And he (Moses) said, "Please, show me Your glory." 19 He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and have compassion on whom I have compassion." (Ex. 33:18-19)

I had not really “signed up,” for this one in my heart. My heart had actually grown a bit distant from the Lord, not out of lack of desire, but out of lack of vision. I recognized my downward spiral, and I was not okay with it, but I did not know what to do. Over the past couple days I have realized that it was for this lack of vision that I was perishing (Hosea 4:6, 14). True vision is not something that comes from within; it’s not something I can just drum up. True vision comes from gazing upon God and receiving from Him.

As I came into the prayer room tonight, they were focusing on this cry to see the face of God. I had already been seeking His wisdom for my circumstances, and for finances (getting married is expensive!), and had cried out of my desperation, but I had been unable to get a fill of what I really needed -- Him.

As I cried out during this time, screaming, “Let me see your face!” I was lead to Ezekiel 8. God has a weird way of directing me to certain scriptures that most others would shy away from. This is a particularly painful point in the Bible, but God spoke to me through it.

It starts:

1 ...As I was sitting in my house [with the leaders of Judah], the hand of Adonai Elohim [The Lord my God] fell on me. 2 I looked and saw what seemed like a man made of fire... 3 The form of a hand was put out, which took me by a lock of my hair; and a spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me, in these visions from God, to Jerusalem... (Ezekiel 8:1-3)

Intense, right? First off, I want to address a weakness in my heart. I love these things, but my faith for it to happen to me is weak. I believe it happened to Ezekiel, I even believe that others have experiences like this, and that theoretically, I could too. But I often doubt that it will, and I don’t live like it could, or should. But the reality is that I need to see Him, to obtain vision through the spirit. Otherwise I will be misguided and my life will be wasted, as it has been the past few weeks.

Continuing on:

3b There stood the idol that which arouses God’s jealousy and provokes his zealous indignation. 4 There before me was the glory of the God of Israel... 5 Then he said to me, “Human being, raise your eyes toward the north.” I raised my eyes toward the north and saw... this image that arouses God’s jealousy... 6 He asked me, “Human being, do you see what they are doing, the horribly disgusting practices that the house of Israel is committing here, so that I must distance myself from my own sanctuary? But you will see even worse abominations.” (8:3b-6)

This might seem to be going in a different direction than you expect, but this really lines up with the message God is saying to me. Personally, God is taking on areas of sin in my personal life, especially areas like pride and lust, which truly do not belong in my body, or in His body. I hate looking at this, in my life or in others. I would rather simply hide it, or pretend that it doesn’t exist. But God is asking me to look upon it, and also to look upon Him, that I might choose righteousness and receive His grace to obtain it.

Later on (verse 12), we see that the common thought in Israel at the time was that “Adonai can’t see us, Adonai has left the land.” But in actuality God’s eyes are upon His people (verse 18). This is why we must see His face, we must know His eyes are upon us. If we ignore His eyes, His eyes will have not pity upon us. We must look our Judge in the eye, so that we can see the mercy that is His desire. [The intercessory on the mic just asked that “We might see the mercy in His eyes.” Incredible timing!

In chapter 9, God’s glory and his judgment are present in Israel. In verse 4 Adonai says to his angelic scribe:

4 “Go throughout the city, through all Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who are sighing and crying over all the disgusting practices that are being committed in it.” To the others I heard him say, “Go through the city after him and strike! Don’t let your eye spare; have no pity! ...Slaughter them all! But don’t go near anyone with the mark. Begin at my sanctuary. (9:4-6)

Often when I encounter sin in my own life, or in others, I feel like it is so hopeless. I’d rather just look away than to deal with the reality of it. Or even if I try to do something, I get discouraged when it doesn’t get better immediately. But here we see the response that God really wants -- repentance and intercession. He does not want us to consider it a casual matter (8:17). He wants us to rend our hearts, which is painful, so that we can be wholehearted.

This world is so full of sin, it’s overwhelming. How can it ever change? We think that it will always be this way, and that the promises and prophecies of God will never come to pass. Will He really judge the earth? Will He really set the captives free? Will He really return to reign? It was a common saying in that time in Israel, “Time keeps passing, and none of the visions are fulfilled.” (12:22). But the truth is that not one of His words will be unfulfilled. He is Lord, and He will accomplish all that He has said. And He wants us to take part in it, but we must see Him!

I recently watched a program on Wired: Science that featured a facial recognition software to help those with Asberger’s disease overcome their difficulties understanding emotion in human faces. How can we understand God’s heart and His plans without seeing His face?

God! Forgive me! Give me eyes to see! Show me your glory!

Proverbs 1

2008-06-16T19:23:00.002-05:00

I'm going to skim over my long absence and just use this excuse, "I'm getting married." The countdown is at 52 days. So what's on my mind right now? Too many things... More important, what's the Spirit saying?

Humility. I'm realizing right now just how much of a sinner I really am. I am unfaithful, I am proud, and I like to please my own desires. And I hate it.

As I am attempting to switch my prayer room hours to mornings, I find I am unable to even control my own sleep schedule. I'm not even really attempting it, to be honest. I want to, but I have no follow-through. I stay up late browsing the web (mostly tech stuff), doing pointless things because I'm bored. So I stay up late, and then cannot get up early in the morning, so I miss my prayer room hours, which throws off my whole day, and the next night I am disappointed in myself, and bored, and so it starts all over again.

So what do I do? I call for help. God, I hate my lack of faithfulness, my boredom, my sin. And I can't seem to do anything about it, but you can! He's pointing me to Proverbs 1, and it's really touching me. I'll break it down a little...

Proverbs 1:1-4 contains the purpose for the rest of Proverbs -- all things that I really need in my life right now.

1. They are for learning about wisdom and discipline. Through proverbs we access the words of the spirit of wisdom and revelation (Eph 1:17), which teaches us about the ways of life (Ps 119).

2. They are for understanding words expressing deep insight. God often speaks through parables, proverbs, but sometimes he also is straightforward. The deep insight of God is tough to understand, but these proverbs bring understanding to God’s ways.

3. They are for gaining an intelligently disciplined life. By putting into practice the understanding gained by these proverbs, we obtain a life that is ordered by God. God knows his creation and knows what is the best way to live, and by living according to his blueprint, we can have life to the fullest.

4. They are for doing what is right, just, and fair. These words teach of justice, and are practical for moral decision making.

5. They are for endowing with caution those who don’t think, and the young person with knowledge and discretion. Mankind is not automatically endowed with wisdom, and without caution a life can be wasted. These proverbs will bring a thoughtful caution to life. It is ideal to take on these things as early in life as possible, but they are important for anyone.

And most of all, verse 7 is hitting me... "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

God, help me to fear you, help me to listen to your wisdom, strengthen me to obey!

And verse 23 is the promise he's giving me as I turn to Him -- "Repent when I reprove-- I will pour out my spirit to you, I will make my words known to you."

Hello from Peoria

2008-05-03T00:57:00.002-05:00

I'm in Peoria. What am I doing here? Technically it's a missions trip, and I suppose it is, but it is far different from any other I have been on. There is the beginnings of a revival happening in Peoria, and I don't say that lightly. Our mission here is not to "make" anything happen, for only God can do what needs to be done. Our job is simply to fan the flames of revival here.

More pictures and details later... I'll be back to KC on Monday.

Music: Braille - The IV

2008-04-21T22:52:00.002-05:00

Not many people would guess it, but I love hip hop. I spent my teenage years listening to Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Naughty By Nature, and the like. I also listened to Christian hip hop a little, but to honest, it was really lame, with a few exceptions. In college I jumped on the filesharing bandwagon and increased my music collection to somewhere around 50GB of mp3s (around 20,000 songs). And I actually listened to most of it, I didn't get it just to get it. Then when I got serious about my relationship with the Almighty God, He quickly put His finger on an area of my life which grieved Him -- the vulgar music I listened to. I found I had foul language in my mind quite often, and I was angry, although I rarely expressed it outwardly. So I dumped it all, which cut my collection more than in half. So I jumped hard onto Christian hip hop, found a lot of junk, but also found some really fresh stuff.

One of the artists I latched onto was Braille. I would go for long walks, talking to God while bumping his album Shades of Gray in my fatty headphones. Many of those tracks became anthems for me, and I loved how you could actually tell that he has a life in God. He became a comrade to me. I had a hard time listening to other artists who couldn't keep up musically, but Braille had hot beats and content to match.

So all that to give context for my latest music purchase, his new album, The IV. Due to my tight missionary budget, I haven't bought an album for myself in over a year. I really wasn't planning on buying this album either, until I heard the track "Blessed Man" on his myspace (http://myspace.com/braillebrizzy). I felt the reality of that track in my spirit. So when I scrapped together a few bucks I went over to the Sphere and purchased it.

This album is probably the best album I've ever owned. No lie. Each track is a hit in my mind. I can dance to them, sing to them, rap to them, and pray to them. I feel God in them. God is glorified in his music. And if God is glorified, that automatically makes it good.

Tracks that I love already include the already mentioned "Blessed Man," which features some angelic background singing and a catchy hook that makes me feel good, "And when they ask who I am, I'm will stand up and say, 'I'm a blessed man!'" The third track, "Calculated Risk" featuring Mr. J of the Procussions and Manchild of MarsIll is so fresh I don't even know how to react yet, except to nod my head. A track that will probably be overlooked because it's buried at track 14 is titled "Get it Right." I don't care too much for the vocals on the hook, but the content is so good. It is all about walking in the light. Braille really gets his emotions out on this track. He lets out his cry for God, his need for mercy, and for righteousness. "This time I will get it right, now's the time, for me, to step into the light." So good. Plus some sweet piano in the bg.

So if you like hip hop at all, or love God, or both, GET THIS ALBUM.

Sorry for the mess...

2008-04-16T20:07:00.003-05:00

Above: Me flying a kite about a month ago!

Below: Something totally unrelated!

Ok, coming sometime *soon* is some context for those posts on accountability. My friend Pete noticed that they were a little bit out of the blue, and I agree. I'll tell you why they're their soon, and also give a review of my favorite so far, CovenantEyes. But basically your choice of accountability/blocking software will be based on your need. They're all good products.

But first, I have to catch up on my reading for class in Daniel, and my Bible reading plan. Also, did I mention I'm engaged? Yeah, that takes a bit of my time, too. August 8th people, save the date... More to come!

Accountability Software, Part 2: SafeEyes

2008-04-10T14:28:00.003-05:00

Safe Eyes - http://www.internetsafety.com/safe-eyes/
$49.95 Regular Price Mac/PC

Safe eyes is an all-in-one package that is suitable for family use. It does web-blocking, instant message blocking and monitoring, time limits, email blocking, social networking monitoring, program blocking, usage reporting, and instant alerts. It can be set up with multiple users, with separate settings for each. It is highly customizable, which can be both good and bad.

The standard settings will not work for everyone, and so it must be tweaked, which can be time consuming and confusing. To make changes, one must have the administrator password. If you forget the administrator password, you can reset it:

“If you forget your password, there is a security protocol that includes calling the Safe Eyes office and answering a set of security questions. (Yes, we go a long way to ensure that this is the safest filtering software available).”

Right out of the box the web blocking feature is set to a pretty high level, blocking common sites such as youTube, mySpace, and the like. It does let some slightly questionable content through if you are creative, but it will also show up in the usage logs. The logs can be stored on the local computer, or for maximum security, they can be stored on the SafeEyes server. It has a threshold for attempts to visit banned sites as well, and will notify the administrator when the user tries too many times to get to one place.

Because it monitors more than just web surfing, it is a better solution for family use. It monitors instant messaging and email, and can block programs as well.

The biggest drawback for SafeEyes is that it uses a lot of resources. Nearly 23MB of ram without use, and I’ve seen it use a bit of cpu resource as well. Could present some issues for older or slower machines.

Sensitivity: Adjustable
Blocking: Yes
Difficulty: Medium
Invasiveness: High
Bugginess: Low
Browser Compatibility: All
Reporting: Instant

Conclusion:

It can be overly aggressive in it’s blocking, and it has blocked hardware routers and wireless access point configuration that do not need to be blocked. Also, without access to an administrator password, it can be very difficult to reset or circumvent in case of an emergency. Because of this, it can be very good for curious teens who would easily circumvent X3 Watch. I would highly recommend it for family use, or if web blocking features are necessary.

Accountability Software, Part 1: X3 Watch

2008-04-07T14:24:00.004-05:00

X3 Watch - Free

“This free version of X3Watch gets you the basics. It records the possible objectionable sites with the date and time they were visited. Reports only go to the chosen accountability partners and information is not stored or used by XXXchurch or any other organization.”

Very basic protection. Mac version runs as the root user, uses your administrator password, and does not offer an option to use a separate password, so your administrator always has the ability to turn it off, although your partners are notified of changes. It is not ideal for anyone who needs to have administrator privileges for other reasons, but is also tempted to uninstall or disable the software. Also, its sensitivity to questionable material is a bit dull -- it doesn’t always recognize things that are mildly inappropriate.

The PC version does not require any sort of password for install/uninstall, which means it can be disabled/enabled at any time with no consequences. This is not ideal for anyone who might be tempted to uninstall/disable it.

X3 watch is very unobtrusive. It is easy to install and uninstall, it just requires the root password. Many of the other software solutions block things they shouldn’t, and always remind you that they are watching you. Depending on your computer usage this could be good or bad.

The upgraded version ($20) offers Myspace monitoring, 3 accountability partners, tech support, weekly or bi-weekly reports, multi-user options, full detailed reports, and built in help.

Sensitivity: Low
Blocking: None
Difficulty: Low
Invasiveness: Low
Bugginess: Low
Reporting: Weekly

Conclusion: This is the software that I use personally for lack of anything better. It doesn't do a lot of the things I would want (more sensitive reporting, adjustable web blocking), but it uses very little resources and doesn't get in my way, which is perfect for me because I have such a diverse use of my computer for my IT work, and I cannot be slowed down because some software incorrectly blocks websites I need to go to.

Construction

2008-04-05T15:05:00.002-05:00

I'm doing some heavy construction on the site if you haven't noticed... be patient, it's getting better.

Provoking...

2008-04-05T14:08:00.002-05:00

I just walked past two little Korean boys in the prayer room, probably around 7 and 9 years old, and they are studying the scriptures. These guys don't have those picture Bibles, and they're not just looking up funny verses and giggling like I did when I was that age. These two are intensely reading and highlighting scriptures! It blows my mind!

Raising the dead...

2008-03-31T21:32:00.009-05:00

I am hesitant to make this post, but I did promise an exciting story... So here goes...
Last week, I raised the dead. Well, of course, it wasn't really me, it was God... and it wasn't a person, but a computer.

Let me start at the beginning.

Steven Beauchamp, who is currently teaching my class on Cultivating the Gifts, brought in a Apple Powerbook G4 to the IT Help Desk where I work. Someone had given it to him, but it was broken. He had been praying for a laptop for a while, and had actually purchased a laptop bag in faith that God would provide one. Since it was broken, he brought it to the Apple Store, but they said they would have to ship it off for repairs which would cost hundreds of dollars. He chose instead to bring it to the IHOP-IT Help Desk.

He told me that the hard drive was broken, and there was evidence that the laptop had been dropped, and the previous owner had tried to replace it. So we ordered a new hard drive, since I figured it would be easy to replace. I was wrong.

When I opened it up (which required removing like 20 tiny screws), I found that there was still a hard drive inside (drive #1), in addition to the one he gave me in a plastic bag (drive #2) which I had thought was the broken one, but now I found was an extra. I tried booting it up with the original hard drive, but it just came up with the "sad-faced-mac" which means it cannot boot off the hard drive. So I put in the MacOS X Leopard disk and to see if I could repair the disk. But when I opened up Disk Utility, there was no hard drive detected at all! Bad news, maybe this hard drive is totally broken after all!

So I put in the second drive with the Leopard disk in, and it doesn't detect that one either! What's going on? So I used an external IDE->USB adapter, and hooked up the original drive to my mac. It works, but Disk Utility found errors which it repaired. All the original data was there too! Then I hooked up the second disk, and found that it had nothing on it, and was also fully functional with no errors. So both drives seem to work, but the the Powerbook G4 did not recognize either one. I tried disk #2 one more time with no success.

At this point, I concluded that it must be a problem with the motherboard, or with the IDE cable, neither one of which would be easy to replace. So I put drive #1 back in, closed it back up, 20 screws and all, and put it back in the bag. I called up Stephen and told him that our best bet was to sell it on eBay for parts. I figured we could get a couple hundred for it, because the display still worked and so did the power. Someone would want it, I thought.

Then I went on vacation for a week to Minnesota where I got engaged. A week after I came back, Stephen stopped by the office just to say hi. We talked about class, and about his laptop. He told me the story of the laptop bag, and we prayed, believing that God would still provide a laptop for him.

The next day I took out his laptop to take pictures of it so I could make up a good eBay ad. I turned it on just so I could show that the display still worked. As I took pictures of it, I was shocked to see that it booted up fully! I stood there, dumbfounded, and realized a miracle just took place right in front of my eyes. I had done everything I knew to be possible to fix that laptop and was unsuccessful. And now, with no work of my own, it works? Who knew that God, who can raise humans from the dead, not only can, but does raise technology from the dead?

I called up Stephen and got his voicemail, "You're not going to believe this, but your laptop is working. God raised it from the dead."

Praise Him!

In closing, in case you are wondering, I am not a miracle worker. Don't bring all your old sick laptops to me, but rather, bring all things to prayer, and believe. See what God will do!

I see you!

2008-03-26T22:23:00.002-05:00

I'm sure it's probably due in part to the engagement, but I have noticed I have a few more visitors than normal this week. In order to keep your attention, I guess I need a new post.

As an update, Leah and I are working on wedding plans. We're shooting for August, probably the 8th, but we need to lock down a location. There's so many things for us to be thinking about regarding this, it's a bit crazy. Also I am ridiculously busy, and so we don't get enough time together which makes things tough.

My class on cultivating the gifts of the Spirit is super cool, I'll go into some details later, but just let me tell you that my faith is growing by leaps and bounds! I'm excited to see God move through us, and I'm looking forward to going out and doing some evangelism sometime soon!

Next post will be exciting, I promise, and it will include pictures!

I'm engaged.

2008-03-18T00:50:00.001-05:00

I'm engaged to the beautiful, talented, and charming miss Leah Robinson.

Here's a slideshow for all of you wondering how I did it.

A series of unfortunate events...

2008-03-08T17:00:00.002-06:00

So, yeah. We're not on our way to Minnesota right now. Instead, we're still here in KC. My car had problems this week, and it couldn't be repaired in time. Also we attempted to get a rental car, but things didn't work out. There's a lot more details behind this story, but at this point it's clear... Our plans have been thwarted. May God's plans prevail!

More details on our plans coming soon.

Regarding Our Trip to Minnesota

2008-03-06T20:19:00.002-06:00

Enjoy my first vlog, in which Leah and I discuss our upcoming trip to Minnesota.

A Quote from Stephen Venable

2008-03-02T16:55:00.003-06:00

As I'm studying for my take-home exam, I found a particularly good quote by Stephen Venable (my professor) on pursuing the knowledge of God.

“Someone ardently pursuing the Lord over the course of several decades will have to forge ahead virtually on their own unless they are somehow exposed to the writings of antiquity (and a few sparse works from the modern era).

Specifically lacking is the perspective on interior pain and even anguish experienced when pursuing the knowledge of God. Within mystical theology there is a clear witness to both the normalcy and purpose of these seasons.”

This is something I can testify to, on both sides. I have often had to forge ahead, virtually on my own. But now that I have found both a family at IHOP to forge ahead with, as well as a wealth of writing from Church History, and of course the scriptures, I feel much more equipped to go after the knowledge of God. Also I more clearly understand the importance of the interior pain necessary to go deeper.

Mystical Life of Communion (notes) VII

2008-02-26T22:37:00.002-06:00

The focus and goal of contemplation is communion with Jesus. Pure and simple, it’s the power of his incarnation, his death, his resurrection, and ascension, and of his return. The purpose of all meditation is to become united with Him in all those things, as His goal in all those things is to become united to us.

And of Christ, the focus is the Cross.

“In many ways the Cross is the greatest revelation of His heart. It is the apex of the self-disclosure of God. Hanging naked on a Roman Cros He is in essence crying, “see what kind of God I am.” Creation offers us hints, the prophets whisper, the Incarnation trumpets, the Cross thunders.” -Stephen V.

---- continued, somewhat...

The Centrality of Beauty

Heaven is a created place. It doesn’t have to be the way it is, but from creation God chose it to be that way because it pleases him. He chose to make it a place of continual worship. There has always been those in heaven worshipping him, from the very beginning. This is his desire. The reason they worship is because they are caught up with his beauty. They cry, “Holy! Holy! Holy!” They have been there since the beginning and they choose to stay there, because they are burning with love for their creator.

Night and day prayer does not exist because there is so much need. Before anyone was lost, there existed night and day prayer in the form of worship. After judgment day when we have received our eternal rewards and there is nothing left to intercede for, there will still be night and day prayer, because he deserves it, because it pleases him, and because it will please us. This must be our motivation even now. Without a passion for seeing God and declaring him holy we will easily burn out waiting for breakthrough. Our hope is not in breakthrough, it is in a God who delights himself in us now, and who loves our weak worship. Though it is right for us to mingle in intercession now, as Christ himself does, our primary desire must be to gaze upon the breathtaking beauty of the Lord. It is He who will sustain us, with Himself. He is our reward.

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord that will I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.

We must posture ourselves to gaze at his beauty, “for when we behold, we love.” -Stephen V.

It is because of this gaze that God calls his intercessors “watchmen on the wall.” They watch for the Lord to move, they gaze at his beauty.

It’s a funny thought, but God loves to look at himself. His eyes roam the earth, looking for something... Himself! He sees Himself in those who have Him alive inside of Him through the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus dwelling in their hearts. He looks for those who live like He does, who have His Life. He looks for that reflection on earth, where heaven and earth look similar. It is his plan to unite heaven and earth through Jesus (Eph 1:9,10).

Coming to Minnesota! Details

2008-02-26T16:41:00.002-06:00

I'm coming to Minnesota during my Spring Break. It will be March 9th-16th.

As I'm trying to plan my trip out, please contact me if you would like to schedule some time.

I plan on being in Brainerd from the 9th-13th, and in Duluth 13th-16th. This is adjustable, but the two set plans I have so far are to speak on Monday night at a Bible study in Brainerd, and to go to Church in Duluth on the 16th.

I would love to hear from all of you and schedule some time to get some coffee, talk, pray, etc.

Mystical Life of Communion (notes) VI

2008-02-20T23:30:00.002-06:00

Here’s where it gets good... I skipped a session, so a little review is in order.

Contemplation has two distinct definitions.
1. Posture:
“I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts , and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.” Psalm 119:14-16 (NKJV)
In this, we see a posture of contemplation that is active. A person actively contemplates God’s ways. This is the definition of contemplation that we will make usage of in the course.

2. Experience
This is the usage of the mystics, it is a communion in which God infuses (or pours in) revelation of Himself directly to the spirit. This is passive, as a person merely receives of it. It is initiated and withdrawn by God himself.

Object of Contemplation
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness.” (Psalms 145:3-6 NKJV)
In this verse we see clearly the two focuses of contemplation: God’s majesty (God himself), and God’s works.

“Communion is ultimately the question of intimacy, and the substance of intimacy is living knowledge. The way in which we acquire knowledge of God is through His self-revelation. By directing our attention to the ways in which God has graciously manifested Himself and spoken to us, we encounter the truth concerning Him. Contemplation (the posture of hearing and beholding) is the act of attentiveness on our part to Divine self-disclosure. This is why meditation is the doorway into communion and also the one needful thing.” -Steven V.

Jesus is the premier object of contemplation. He is God incarnate, the “authoritative and exhaustive revelation.” He is the living encounter of God, rather than a stale doctrine, or a veiled revelation. He is the personhood of God, through who we can know the Father.

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2 NKJV)

Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God, and we need look no further than to him to seek out the deepest things of God. He is the center point of revelation, the whole purpose of the scriptures. All things point to him. He answers the questions, “Who is God?” and “What is he like?”

“Lacking this foundational understanding, countless Christians relate to God as though the Incarnation has not happened and seek to know God in a manner more reminiscent of the Old Covenant than new Testament reality.” -Steven V.

How often have I done this? Overlooking Jesus and His Spirit within, and looking for some other form of revelation, or seeking to find out who he is through other means? It’s so simple just to look to Jesus, and yet I rarely seem to do it! How blessed am I that He loves me enough to rebuke me as He did the Pharisees. Truly, the greatest question was the one He asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” How well do I really know Him?

Jesus is revealed as the Living Word of God, the Wisdom of God, and the Light of God.
John 1:1-2,14, Colossians 2:2-3, 1 Corinthians 1:23-24,30, Isaiah 11:2, Matthew 12:42, 2 Corinthians 4:6, etc.

This is just the doorway to contemplation... much, much more in the notes... Now if I could just clear up some time to do this... maybe I should just go out and become a hermit... hm, I wonder if you have to support raise to do that?

Mystical Life of Communion (notes) V

2008-02-18T23:32:00.002-06:00

Today Stephen broke into discussing Mysticism. This was mostly new ground for me, although I had read a little on the Desert Fathers and a few of the more modern mystics like David Brainerd. Stephen put forth very thorough disclaimers on Mysticism, while also stressing the value of studying them. He helped dispel many of the misconceptions and skepticisms that are common to protestants concerning believers who lived prior to 1500. He did an amazing job of giving history and context for the mystics.

On mysticism Stephen said, “it is almost impossible for one with a belief in an orthodox witness to truth to say, “I embrace mysticism.” He followed that up by saying with confidence, “I embrace the insights mysticism offers concerning the Biblical reality of communion with God.”

On the significance of mysticism he pointed out that mysticism (mystical theology within Christianity) as well as monasticism (which relied heavily on mystical theology) have been very influential in the ideological history of IHOP.

So, to answer all your questions, “Yes, I am becoming a monk. Or at least monkish.”

Notes:

There are three ways in which mysticism can be defined:

1. Part or Element of Religion
Almost all mystics considered themselves Christians in the normal sense, while embracing “mystical theology and exercises in order to further their practice of Christianity.”

2. Process or Way of Life
“While the goal... of mysticism may be a specific kind of encounter with God, the whole way of life leading up to that encounter falls beneath the banner of mysticism.” “Practice and theology are both shaped and altered by that attainment of certain experience.” -- Encounter God, and your theology and practices will be changed.

3. Effort to Express the Direct Consciousness of God
Mysticism is all about preparing for and reacting to the immediate or direct presence of God.
Much of the goal in the writings of the mystics about their experiences were not to brag, but rather to spur others on to attainment. They expressed their encounters as beyond normal, and out of their own control, thus not promoting themselves to a place of elitism, but rather rightly giving the credit to God for the encounter.

The benefit of looking at the mystics is to learn from Church History so that we do not have to reinvent the wheel, in a sense, on pursuing communion with God. Many wise men have gone before us, and it is wise for us to glean from their experience while keeping our reference of the Word of God, as they did themselves. They also spur us on, and show us what can be possible. They disprove cessationism by their lives and testimonies. God is still very active in this world, especially towards those who seek his presence.

Mystics were those who took Mathew 22:1-2’s invitation to love seriously. They gave all they had to encounter the love of God.

Mystics often used a hermaneutic that was heavily allegorical and typological. This is often bad, as we don’t believe most scripture to be allegorical or typological, although some of it is. On the portions that are, the mystics have incredible insight as they meditated on them heavily. This is especially true of the Song of Songs.

Union with God is one of the most consistent themes in mystical writings. This is often attacked, as it occasionally became extreme (deification, divinization).

Another notable theme is apophatic theology, in which they believed God to be altogether unknowable. While it is true that scripture does not promise exhaustive knowledge of God, it does exhort us to seek knowledge of Him, and God does reveal significant parts of himself so that mankind can know him. Our belief that God is knowable is known as cataphatic theology.

Mystics focused much on the eternal, but also took that hope into their daily lives. They talked much of the journey of life toward eternity. They saw life as an opportunity for purification to arrive at perfection in eternity.

Origen, the first major mystic, had a huge amount of writings, and is foundational. His influence is everywhere!

The Desert Fathers & Monasticism.

Healing, miracles, visions, etc.

Gregory the Great, Rule of Benedict (RB).

Vocab:
Coenobitical, practice of community
Eremitical, practice of solitude, hermitism.
Mellifluous, sweet, pleasant
epigrammatic, clever, precise
Mendicants, men like Francis of Assisi, who possessed nothing, later to be associated with beggars.
Benguines, women like Francis, under Saint Clare.

Mystical Life of Communion (notes) IV

2008-02-16T23:18:00.000-06:00

Inter-Indwelling.

“Our union to Christ is one rich reality comprised of two distinct but inseparable facets.”

We are in Christ, and His Spirit is in us.

“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

(2Corinthians 1:21-22 NKJV)

We are in Christ. This is found throughout the NT.

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1John 5:20 NKJV)

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, is in us. This is for true for all believers, all those who make up the body of Christ. All who are in Christ have Christ within.

This is a personal presence, the presence of the person of Jesus, in Spirit, within us. We are one with him in Spirit.

Not all believers may recognize this, or take advantage of this glorious reality, but it is still true. They may neglect, or wall-off the spirit within them, but it is still present. It is for this reason we are to be careful of what we do, so as to not grieve the Holy Spirit within us.

God’s common presence, or omnipresence, is different from his manifest presence, or the union of his spirit with ours. His “common presence” is expressed as:

1. Creative & Sustaining (all things are created and sustained by him, so he must be everywhere)

2. Knowledge (he is everywhere because he sees everything)

3. Providence (he has his hands in everything, he is sovereign)

With Israel, his presence was with them, but never in them as a whole. He often put his spirit on individuals, and as a rarity put his spirit within them, but it was a functional union, not designed to be a permanent relational dwelling, as it is after Jesus sent His Spirit.

God’s nearness to us can only be expressed in the relational sense, his “personal presence,” not in the sense of his “common presence.”

“In the Old Testament the Lord was revealed as near to the humble and righteous, hearing their prayer and considering their plight.”

Psalm 145:17-20

Psalm 146:8-10

Spirit “upon” vs “in” -- very different.

Promises of the New Covenant -- Spirit “within you” -- Ezekiel 36:26

This is in the context of covenant with God. (Matt 26:27-29)

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away...“ John 16:7

Jesus says it’s better for him to leave! We are better off with His Spirit within us, than to have his flesh beside us.

The Holy Spirit is a person, not a vague force. Things that the person of the Holy Spirit does:

Makes intercession, testifies, wills, strives, speaks, searches, grieves, yearns, and loves.

He teaches, raised Christ from the dead, anoints, and inspires scripture and prophecy.

Romans 8 is so clear!

Various terms referring to the Holy Spirit:

the Spirit of God,

the Spirit of Christ,

Christ in you

The Spirit

The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead

His Spirit

New Layout

2008-02-13T22:27:00.002-06:00

Check out the new layout.

If you're reading from an outside feed, make sure to check out the real blog. Maybe you would even be so nice as to leave a comment?

Mystical Life of Communion (notes) III

2008-02-13T22:22:00.002-06:00

Renewing our Mind

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Obstacles to Communion
1. Our fear of the unknown
2. Lies about our relation to God (false sense of God’s distance)
3. Lies about God’s desire (If he loves me, why isn’t he showing it?)

The first step to communion is removing the lies about our relationship with Jesus.

It is our hope and faith that brings us into communion. Without hope or faith in Jesus as our bridegroom, it is unlikely that we will experience him as such. There is also a lie that this hope or faith is never supposed to be fulfilled, or that it would not be faith if it was. The truth is that our faith is what brings our hope into reality. Through faith we enter into communion with Jesus that is seemingly impossible.

We have to actually believe what the bible says about communion and not stop short due to our lack of experiencing it in full. “We must cling to the testimony of Scripture until it is birthed in our experience.”

It is pride to think that our experience outweighs scripture. Because we have not experienced the depths of God does not mean that those depths do not exist, or that they are unavailable to us.

“It is important to emphasize that the renewal of our mind is a process that requires significant time and effort on our part.”

We must feed ourselves on the truths of the written word and then incorporate them into our prayer lives consistently over time.

Nearness. We must think of our nearness in terms of relationship, rather than distance. God is everywhere at once, there is nowhere we can go to get away from him positionally. It is in our relation that we “draw near.”

Also, relationally, those that are born again are “in Christ.” It doesn’t get much closer than that. Also, Christ is in us! A good way to refer to this is an inter-indwelling. The Spirit of Christ lives inside of us, and we are hidden in Christ. We are one with him! He must be much closer than we think.

Verses referring to being “In Christ”
1 Cor 1:30, Romans 16:7 (refers to being “In Christ” in a way similar to how we refer to being “saved”), II Cor 1:20-21, II Cor 12:2, Eph 1:1 (Faithful in Christ), Phil 1:1, Phil 4:21, Col 1:2, I Thes 2:14, I Peter 5:14

Verses referring to “In Him”
Eph 1:4, I John 2:5

Verses referring to “In the Lord”
Romans 16:8,13 (Chosen in the Lord)
Eph 5:8 (light in the Lord)
Phil 1:13-14 (Brethren in the Lord)
Col 4:7 (Servant in the Lord)
Rev 14:13 (Dying in the Lord)

Also of note, many many verses referring to “In the Spirit” or “With Him” as well as the obvious John 17.

1 Cor 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

We are one spirit with Christ! The spirit that dwells within us, the Holy Spirit, is HIS SPIRIT and OUR SPIRIT. Heresy? Or glorious reality that we need to experience?

We are joined to Christ, and become one with him. We are joined to Him in His Life, His Death, and His Resurrection.

Gal 2:20, Rom 6:11, John 14:19

“Union with Christ is not adequately viewed as a union of comrades in shared moral endeavor or of business partners in a coalition of interests or as that between teacher an student. Nor does Christ dwell in us in the way that a parent influences a child or a therapist is close to a client. Rather the union is conceived under organic analogies: cellular members of a living, functioning body, living branches of a living vine... Consequently union with Christ is by definition a living union, not a conflation of separable objects. “ -Thomas Oden, Life in the Spirit.

It is not as important to figure out all the specifics of how this works, but rather to believe it is so, and to walk in that reality, learning as we go with the assistance of the word. There is not a mechanic to this relationship, as it is organic. It must be experienced.

This is not a side issue, or a thing reserved for “those crazy monks.” This is central doctrine to Christianity that all those who wish to be saved must experience. There is no salvation without union with Christ. It is through union with him, in his Life, Death, and Resurrection that we also have those things. Salvation is not a one-time experience, it is an ongoing relationship with a living savior. Because he is full of life, and we are in union with him, we are full of life. Because he lives forever, we live forever! There is no power than can break that bond of love between God and Man.

In union with Him we receive all the blessings that he has: fullness of joy, hope, strength, faith, love, comfort, triumph, and liberty.

Mystical Life of Communion (notes) II

2008-02-12T22:50:00.003-06:00

Before I post my notes, I just want to mention that this stuff is hitting my heart pretty hard. I feel like this in most of my classes here, but this TRULY is what I want to be all about. Intimacy with God begets everything I do, and is also the end-goal of everything I do.

NOTES:

The crisis on a personal level is whether we can turn away from the temptations before us and cultivate an interior reality of pleasure...

Corporately, the crisis is a war for this generation on the battlefield of love and beauty and the church is silent.

Typically our inner ache is medicated in one of three ways:
1. Inferior pleasures (defilement)
2. Suppression (bitterness)
3. Ignoring (frustration and anger)

Communion is the way to “know” God deeply through encounter.

His desire is for us to know him now, as well as in the age to come.

We have greater relationship with God now through his spirit alive inside of us than Adam in the garden.

Communion is initiated by Him. Colossians 1.16

We must get a higher vision to drink deeply of Him in order to feed our insatiable thirst. We must fill our infinite, God-created, ache with the one who is infinite pleasure. “

“The vast majority of believers have never even come near the ceiling on the human experience of divine ecstasy.”

Psalm 63:3 Because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you.
Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good.
Psalm 36:8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
“that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.” (1Peter 1:7-9 NKJV)

Communion is in the context of relationship with Jesus.

You can have relationship without experience, but you cannot have experience without relationship.

God’s love is voluntary, out of desire. His desire is not like ours, it is a desire birthed out of abundance, not lack. God does what he pleases. It pleased him to create us, to love us, and to die for us. It pleases him to redeem us and bring us near to him.

He is relentless in his pursuit of us.

Mystical Life of Communion (notes) I

2008-02-11T23:19:00.001-06:00

Mystical Life of Communion - Day 1

Vision for Communion - the Relevance of Intimacy

Notes by Stephen Venable with my thoughts thrown in.

I. Charting our Course

Title: Mystical Life of Communion

The title of this course could throw some people off. The word “mystical” produces thought-pictures of wizards, magic, and all sorts of occultism, or at the very least, it sounds weird and non-mainstream. It also gives off a vibe of inaccessibility, that even if it were good, it would be very hard to obtain.

Quoting Stephen Venable:
“In actuality the subject matter is fundamental to the Christian journey, though it is in truth quite unfamiliar to the vast majority...”

“We must recognize from the outset that this disparity between importance and acquaintance creates a stigma, for we are naturally skeptical of that which we do not know, particularly when the assertion is made that we will languish without it.”

A life of communion with Christ is mystical yet supremely relevant to all who seek to follow him. It is rare, however the we’ve had the guide-book for it all along in our Bibles.

Quoting Stephen Venable:
“For the present it can be understood as a certain approach toward relationship with God that emphasizes an awareness, or knowledge of His presence.”

Other words to describe this that may be more friendly include “fellowship” and “intimacy.”

The fact that this is biblical removes much of the fear that it is something bad. The Bible truly is the instruction manual to knowing God in a personal way.

Quoting Stephen Venable:
“Perhaps the chief charge posed by critics of mysticism throughout the ages has been its dependence upon subjectivity, and thus vulnerability to delusion.”

By using the Bible as our guide and by evaluating personal experience through it helps to free it from the weakness of subjectivity and protects from delusion.

“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast of restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18 ESV

Without a vision of God, without knowing his heart and his desires for our lives, we easily shrug off restraint and fall into apathy or go off and pursue our own fleshly desires.

To journey into a life of communion with God we must have our minds renewed. We must be shown by God who He Is, and who we are so that we can have right relationship with him. With this understanding we can rightly evaluate personal experience and recognize God’s hand and his purposes.

II. Incarnate Thirst

All humanity has need and desire of things outside itself. This need and desire is actually planted by God, and can only be fulfilled by God. There are three primary areas in which this desire is seen: Love, Beauty, and Significance.

We attempt to satisfy this infinite hunger within ourselves by more and more finite things. This doesn’t work, although it does distract us temporarily from our condition. In our age we have an incredibly vast amount of things to distract us, more than ever before. Yet our hunger is still unfed, and is, if possible, more veracious than ever before. Everyone goes from thing to thing looking for fulfillment and finding emptiness. Yet most do not recognize the cycle or even their condition.

What’s interesting is that these desires are not bad, they were made by God. And God alone can meet those desires. He alone can love us with an unending love. He alone can fascinate us with an infinite beauty and infinite knowledge. He alone can give us purpose and context for our lives as our creator. Yet we have difficulty recognizing this because we do not want to recognize anything larger than ourselves, even while our inner-desire is for just that.

An update.

2008-02-11T22:12:00.000-06:00

I haven’t had time or energy to write lately, due to all areas of my life bombarding me at once, demanding my attention. On top of that I haven’t been sleeping well, or eating well (due to the lack of time more than anything). But I did make some ground on all those areas, including finishing my first class at the Forerunner School of Ministry.

Before I comment on that or anything else, I want to mention that going to FSM is something I’ve been dreaming of
for a few years. Ever since God made it plain to me that I was going to be in full time ministry, I knew that I needed to get well prepared. I regard serving God as a weighty matter, and I know there is a huge price to pay to follow Christ. With that said, my heart is fully committed to playing my part in God’s plan to make the earth a dwelling place, and there’s nothing else I would rather do.

When looking for places to get prepared for ministry, there were a few criteria I was looking for in a school/seminary (I already had a college degree). One was that there had to be a heavy focus on the word of God with sound, doctrinal teaching. This could be expected from most places. The next thing I was looking for was life in the spirit. Not just speaking in tongues, or a ‘charismatic’ environment, but a real cultivating of a life in God that is not purely intellectual. Those two things alone helped me narrow it down to about three choices. The thing that won me over to FSM was their vision for fullness in the Church and their active faith in God’s plan to bring it about. There are a number of other factors that I am really impressed with at FSM, but these three things were what sold me.

So I bit the bullet and moved down here to do an internship in January ’07. In the internship I attended the first semester of FSM and it completely overhauled my belief in God and gave me an even greater hunger to see him change me and my generation. It wasn’t a change of direction, but more like switching from a tricycle to a bicycle. It’s the same concept, but a whole new world.

Then Summer hit and I was not able to attend the summer classes for financial reasons. This was a huge setback to me at first, but God had a plan. I started working in the tech department and quickly found my place there while also spending long hours in the prayer room. Through my job, I now have my classes paid for, with a little bit on the side to help with bills. I’m still living on a very meagre missionary budget, but it’s do-able.

Now I’m back in school, and it’s great! There’s still a bit of my flesh that says, “School? Boring...” But at the same time it’s very exciting, and very refreshing. My first class was on the Attributes of God, which I may post on sometime soon, but now I’m in a class called Mystical Life of Communion. I am required to spend time in meditation and journaling, so you may see some of that come through here.

Thanks for reading, I’m praying for you all, and hope to hear from you all soon! More updates on the way with exciting news as it breaks!

Excerpts from Infinitude

2008-01-21T22:44:00.000-06:00

Here's some quotes from my paper I wrote last week for Attributes of God class with Stuart Greaves.

I. God is Exclusive in His Infinity
1. Conceptually, there can only be one infinity. Let’s look at a geometric example. If a one-dimensional line is infinitely long in both directions, there cannot be a separate line that is also infinitely long in both directions in the same dimension. It would be the same line. The same could be said for infinite area in two dimensions, infinite volume in three dimensions, or for infinite dimensions.

I love thinking about God's infinity, because it simultaneously makes God Big in my mind, and makes me small. Then when I think about how big He is, I think of how GOOD He is, and how JOYFUL he is. Then spending eternity with Him sounds pretty good.

EX. Again, let’s take this to a practical conceptual level. God has always existed as infinite. Yet we were created. If God were to create a being whose purpose was to count beans, while God held infinite beans that God had possessed forever, and this creature never died, never became tired, never lost it’s count or gave up, he would count forever and never count them all. This is a description of the knowledge of God. Fortunately our task to know God and to love Him is much more pleasurable than counting beans. Of course, if you were paying attention, you would realize that there cannot be infinite beans to count, but there can be infinite knowledge of God to explore.
“And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,  who was and is and is to come!”  Revelation 4:8 (ESV)

Sounds good to me!

2. It is his desire for us to grow more like Him in all these attributes for eternity. We will forever explore and delight in him! If He was not infinite, eternity would be boring. Thank God for his Infinitude!

Amen.

A different approach.

2008-01-14T23:19:00.000-06:00

I'm just jotting down an idea here for posterity's sake. If anyone would like to quote it, go ahead. It sounds very profound to me right now, but maybe I'm just a bit out of it... maybe I've read too much Charnock.

"God cannot be found out. Only God can reveal God, and he does so only to those who ask in humility. God cannot be figured out, or solved. He himself is the solution, and we are the problem. God cannot be mastered, he must be the master."

The First GBN of the New Year

2008-01-12T22:20:00.000-06:00

It's only the first week for the next batch of Onething Interns, and I already caught the first GBN'er!

The GBN or Global Bridegroom Nap is similar to the GBF or Global Bridegroom Fast that IHOP and many others participate in once per month. We fast the first Monday through Wednesday of the month in anticipation of the Lord's return (Luke 5:35). The Global Bridegroom Nap is not quite as scriptural (unless you count Matthew 26:45), but I like to think that it's the bride getting her beauty rest. The GBN is also much more spontaneous, although it often occurs on Saturdays for some reason.

There were many GBNs during my internship. I myself have dozed off on occasion, although I never was a hardcore GBN participant. I never laid out on the floor, or anything like that. But I loved to catch those who did, or those who unwittingly fell asleep with their mouth open and head back like the poor fellow in the prayer room tonight.

I didn't wake him up, in case you're wondering. I thought about it, and even looked around for a free core-leader to do it for me. Not finding one, I sat back down to write this and to pray for him from a distance. He woke up for a short while, and then settled back down again.

Here's to you, first GBN of the year!

2008-01-12T20:35:00.000-06:00

Ok, so things are starting to get a little more normal now. Unfortunately, normal for me is still super busy. Behold! My schedule!

Approximate hourly totals:

Work: 25

FSM: 19

Sacred Trust (Prayer Room, Sunday Service): 28

Home / Eat: 20.5

Sleep: 56

Secret Project: 3

Free / Leah / Friends: 16.5

Total: 168

Unfortunately almost all my free time is on the weekend... It's a 15 hour grind M-F.

Ok, I was wrong...

2008-01-10T15:14:00.000-06:00

I know I was saying, "After the Onething Conference..." but it's actually still pretty bad. All the things that I had to push off for the conference are now hitting me, wave after wave. Also, I am starting my classes at the Bible School next week and cutting back hours at work to accommodate.

So I'm still really busy. Maybe next month it will calm down? Maybe when Jesus returns? Maybe after the Millenial Reign?

I think of Jesus, who often took breaks to commune with the Father. I believe the pressures upon him were huge, as he encountered multitudes of needy people. Those times are necessary, and in fact, I bet more got done when he spoke to the Father than when he spoke to the people.

Just a little bit of perspective for me...

My favorite phrase right now is...

2007-12-15T18:55:00.000-06:00

"After the Onething Conference..."

The Weather

2007-12-12T13:01:00.001-06:00

As much as I hate small-talk about the weather, I also hate constantly being asked if I'm still alive.

Contrary to the media coverage, we have barely gotten any ice here in Kansas City. I know other parts of the midwest are hit hard, but we are doing just fine.

So stop asking!

I will wait on God.

2007-12-04T22:38:00.000-06:00

From the IHOP-KC Prayer Room

Worship with the Word

by Misty Edwards

Transcribed as experienced by David Andrew Gagne

Holy Spirit, come into our hearts. We want to agree with the prayers of Jesus.
----
Psalms 17:1-2
1Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2From your presence let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!

I know that you will vindicate me. I know that you will answer me,
I know that you will vindicate me, with your presence.

For you judge in righteousness, you are mighty to save.
You are mighty to save, those who call on your name.

I believe wisdom will be justified.
I believe wisdom will be justified in your time.
No matter what it looks like, whatever it feels like, I will wait for you.
I will wait for the one who judges righteously.

I refuse to put up defense for myself, I won’t do this, no I won’t do this.
I’ll put my mouth to the dust and I’ll wait for you. I’ll my mouth to the dust and I’ll wait for you.
I’ll put my mouth to the dust and I’ll pour out my soul.
I know that you will vindicate me. I know that you will answer me,
I know that you will vindicate me, with your presence.

Into your hands, Into your hands, I commit my spirit.
I trust in you!

You are mighty to save all those who call on your name.
Into your hands I give everything.
I will not rise in defense of myself.

I’ll put my mouth to the dust and I’ll pour out my soul.
I’ll put my mouth to the dust and I’ll wait on God.

Knowledge of the Infinite

2007-12-01T21:01:00.000-06:00

A somewhat strange, a bit off-topical -

A little nerdy, pure philosophical -

it's colossal, so impossible -

to know all things that ever were possible!

---

My brain kicked into motion during a worship set by Emily Russell. She was singing, "Who is this? Who sits above the circle of the heavens?" I love thinking of the attributes of God, and how he is so beyond us. A.W. Tozer's Knowledge of the Holy is one of my favorite books.

Tonight I started thinking of knowledge. We are in the information age, and a part of this is a huge move to record and catalogue as much knowledge as we can. It is amazing how much information is available to the masses, far beyond any other time in history. We have become information pack-rats, archiving as much data as we can.

We have also begun modeling real world events, trying to recreate them as accurately as possible, and even to simulate future possibilities. With exponentially* increasing digital storage capacity and processing power, it seems as if we could eventually know everything there is to know. *(I think it's really closer to linear growth, or sigmoidal, or some other function)

But this is an impossibility. It is something it seems we are striving for, and moving towards, but we will never get there. Consider this: If one attempts to build a computer that has the capacity to hold all the information describing our universe down to an atomic level, it would have to use a storage device that stores information at an atomic level. You cannot compress atoms, as there is nothing smaller than atoms. So at the end of the experiment, you would end up having a device that can hold no more atoms than it itself is made of. And that would only hold the "current state" of the universe, not the past or the future.

Conclusion: You would need a storage device LARGER THAN the universe to contain all the information IN the universe. The only one that can know everything is the one who is greater than everything.

And who can know Him perfectly? Only Him himself.

Good God Almighty.

The Minnesota Trip

2007-11-25T09:25:00.000-06:00

Wow. What a long week it's been. During my week, someone asked me, "Do you miss the prayer room?" I answered, "Yes, of course!" but really it was kind of nice to have a change of pace. But now, after a week, I just want to get back to it.

Most of my trip was pretty normal for a Thanksgiving trip. Family, food, football. Friends, food, feelings. Duluth is awesome, but it's not my home anymore. Sad. Brainerd is still Brainerd, but people are slowly changing.

I've met with a lot of people this week. Lots of old friends, good friends, that I haven't seen for 6 months or more. Before each meeting, I would talk to God about them. I told my Father about them, and then he responded by telling me more about them. Sometimes it was good, sometimes not so good. Even during my meetings, my spiritual discernment level was pretty high.

At first this was pretty cool, but after a week of it, I am totally drained emotionally. I feel like I had a full cup of living water when I left, and now I have given it all away. My cup gets replenished pretty quickly, but my arm is sore from helping people drink out of it.

It is cool to see my six months of prayer having effect though. I've been praying for these people for so long, and the Lord is moving. Also because I've not been here I can see his work from a more objective position. But there's still so much to be done... it's almost overwhelming. This is why I am pumped to get back to the prayer room.

Good God Almighty

2007-11-14T21:09:00.000-06:00

I thought you might enjoy this:

Good God Almighty I'm Free At Last

2 Samuel 7

2007-11-10T21:32:00.000-06:00

2 Samuel 7 is intense.

That is all.

The Middle East Conflict Discussion

2007-10-19T20:23:00.000-05:00

The topic of the current conflict in the Middle East was brought up by Brenna, one of my Onething Intern buddies. She had an assignment for one of her college classes to write an opinion paper on the ongoing conflict between Israel and the nearby Arab peoples.

In case you don't pay attention to the news, there has been renewed talk of peace between Israel and Palestine, by means of Israel giving Palestine more land, and even possibly by splitting Jerusalem in half. In my eyes, this isn't really news, as it's been the same story since Israel was established in 1947. They even gave back control of some of the land to Palestinians in 1994 in hopes of making peace, but shortly afterwards the Palestinian attacks escalated yet again.

The questions the professor asked Brenna to consider for her assignment were:

1. Why hasn't the situation changed for so long?
2. Why is it so important to bring a resolution to this conflict?
3. How can peace be achieved?

He also asked her to consider these real world issues:

4. Territory: Palestinians want Israel to relinquish all of the West Bank and East Jerusalem to the Palestinians. Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but is reluctant to return the rest of the disputed land.

Q. Should Israel return the land? Why or why not?

5. Jewish settlements: Palestinians believe that all Jewish settlements in the West Bank or Gaza Strip are illegal because they violate UN resolutions and international law. Israel is reluctant to withdraw.

Q. Are Jewish settlements in violation of UN resolutions and international law?

6. U.S. Support: Palestinians argue that the United States has unilaterally supported Israel in this conflict, creating a power imbalance in the conflict. Some believe U.S. support to Israel has promoted hatred among the Arab countries.

Q. Has the U.S. supported Israel? Why?

7. Security issues: Palestinians officially favor peace and disarmament. While the images of kids throwing stones at Israeli tanks are common, Palestinians also have access to arms, and extremists carry out attacks. Meanwhile, Israelis have an impressive armed force that is regularly used aggressively against Palestinians.

Q. How does the military prowess of both countries compare?

8. Jerusalem: In 1947, when the UN voted for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, it designated Jerusalem as an international city. In1949, Israel declared Jerusalem as its capital city. Palestinians say that Israel must return all of East Jerusalem and the Islamic and Christian holy sites in the Old City. Israelis believe that a united Jerusalem must remain under Israeli control.

Q. What could be done to make Jerusalem an international city?

9. Palestinian refugees: Palestinians say that Israel must accept responsibility for Palestinian refugees who fled or were expelled as a result of the creation of Israel. Refugee camps often become semi-permanent and develop their own communities and informal economies, however, the social costs are high.

Q. What are some of the problems encountered by Palestinians in refugee camps? What has been done to alleviate these problems?

10. Water: Palestinians say that Israel must relinquish all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including the Jordan Valley. Israel believes that it must have access to the Jordan Valley. The construction of the wall has also created concerns on the access to water reservoirs.

Q. Are water resources presently allocated based on population size and agricultural use? How water is allocated? How it should be allocated?

These questions actually sparked something new in me, and has forced me to take another look at my biblical ideology regarding Israel in the context of real current events. This is a very difficult thing, and something that is often side-stepped or misunderstood.

It is a subject that it seems nobody has answers to, so I figured the best place to go for answers was to ask God to reveal it to me through the Holy Spirit and through His Word. What I ended up with was something that seemed to make sense, although it is hard to accept, and even hard to believe in and hope for. Yet I there is no other answer. Like most difficult questions, it seems the only right answer is the super simple answer you here so often from the high pitched voices of children in Sunday School.

"Jesus?"

Oh, it seems so foolish, it's almost painful... but it's the only way!

Next time: International Justice and Spiritual Mercy

STAY TUNED>

Song of Songs 1:15

2007-10-12T20:44:00.000-05:00

Have any of you read the Song of Songs?

It’s one of the tougher books of the Bible to get into in a serious way, but it’s so rewarding! Especially when you approach it with the perspective of a love-journey between Jesus and His Bride, meaning you and me!

Tonight I’m stuck on 1:15:

Look at you, my love! How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are doves –”

In this verse, He is affirming his love for her, and how he sees the bride (us) as beautiful. This is still early on in the journey, and she is far from mature in this love. She is easily distracted (see 2:15), yet he says her eyes are like doves eyes.

Doves eyes… What does that mean? Birds have much better vision than humans, and doves in particular have a huge range of vision, up to 300 degrees without moving its head! It’s called monocular vision. The downside is that they have a harder time judging distances.

But in the context of the scripture, of speaking of beauty, I’m sure he was not talking about how effective her eyesight was.

So what was he talking about? Biblically, a dove can be speaking of a few things: hope, like with Noah; purity and peace, like with the sacrificial system, or the Holy Spirit as it descended upon Jesus.

The common interpretation, which I am focusing on tonight, is that a doves eyes are focused and pure.

It’s interesting that He says she is focused and pure, even before she has really achieved that. It’s called a prophetic declaration. He says, “You are pure!” because he sees her future. He looks at her, and sees destiny. He sees maturity, focus, and passion, even where there is only a little. But it is her desire, her internal ‘yes’ that he sees, and says, “You are beautiful.”

Love for Israel: A Jealous Love

2007-10-09T22:13:00.000-05:00

Last time: "Why care about those who have rejected the Messiah?"

I'm continuing on the theme of Romans 9, where Paul is writing of his heart for Israel. He writes, "my grief [for Israel] is so great, the pain in my heart so constant..."

A thought creeps in... "But Paul is Jewish! Of course he is concerned for his people!" But Paul was also an Apostle to us Gentiles, and he is a major model of Christianity. Also, Jesus is Jewish, and wept over lost Israel. If we cannot, even as Gentiles, model ourselves after Christ and Paul, we might as well give up and go follow Zeus or some other pagan god. We are to be in-grafted into the Root of David, this is our identity. The in-grafted branch must not become arrogant.

Ok, so that was a sidetrack. So, this heart for Israel, how does it work? What does it look like to have a heart for Israel? Some say God doesn't love them, because they have rejected Him. Nothing could be further from the truth.

God is jealous for Israel, and he will not give himself rest until he can fully delight himself in them as his people. What is our part in this as Gentiles? We are to be watchmen on their walls, praying for them without ceasing! (Isaiah 62)

We are supposed to remember how we too, were once lost, and without hope, but he has shown us mercy, and extends that same mercy to his people Israel. God has a plan for Israel, and it involves us Gentiles! (Rom 11) This excites me. Maybe I'm odd, but I want to help God get what he desires with such zeal. I think it's a glorious calling, even though it starts with something so mundane and unexciting as prayer.

I might continue on this topic some more, but first, any questions or comments?

Love for Israel: Introduction, continued...

2007-10-06T19:57:00.000-05:00

Previously:

Paul said, (Romans 9)

“I could wish myself actually under God’s curse, and separated from the Messiah,” --

Wait... what the... ?

“...if it would help my brothers, my own flesh and blood, the people of Isra’el!”

Uh, OK, I see you have a heart for your brothers, but really? What if God takes you up on that Paul? Do you really mean that? The Holy Spirit backs him up that he is not lying, so we have to believe that it is his true desire.

If you think about it one way, it seems like Paul loves his brothers more than he loves Jesus. He would give up being with his Lord, to whom he is a bond-servant, for them?

Or, thinking of it in reverse, it sounds like he values them more than his own salvation. He values them, his brothers who have rejected him and hated him, higher than personal relationship with the Father through Christ? He would give it all up, his own eternal destiny, his apostolic ministry, and the love of the Father and a life in Christ, something that he has said is more valuable than anything else he has ever had, for them?

Why? What is so special about them? He has a flourishing ministry among the Gentiles, who love him, and even support him financially, why not just walk away from those 'cold-hearted' Jews? Why care about those who persecute you? Why care about those who have rejected the Messiah, and even played a part in crucifying him?

Next Time: Some Preliminary Answers!

Love for Israel: A Teaser

2007-10-05T19:54:00.000-05:00

The opening paragraph of Romans 9 contains the most brash and reckless statement of Paul recorded in the Bible. It’s simply outrageous. I read it, and part of me wonders, “How could he possibly mean what he said?” Paul knew what he was saying was bizarre, and knowing his readers would question him, he puts a big disclaimer on the front of this thing. He says, “I do not lie,” and claims the Holy Spirit is governing what comes next.

He says,

“I could wish myself actually under God’s curse, and separated from the Messiah,” --

Wait... what the... ?

Parashah 3: Lekh L'kha

2007-09-29T22:12:00.000-05:00

Parashah 3: Lekh L'kha (Get yourself out)
Genesis 12:1-17:27

This portion is all about the patriarch of Israel, Abraham. I love this portion! It contains all of the promises for Israel, as well as some pretty sweet accounts of Abraham, including his run-in with Melchizadek, who some people think was the pre-incarnate Messiah.

Chapter 15 has another awesome encounter, where God comes to him in a vision. Don't take that lightly... when is the last time God came to you in a vision? Do you know what that's like? And even if you do, I doubt yours was like this. As far as visions go, this one is a good one.

God starts it out by saying, "Don't be afraid." He probably had to say that, because whatever it was like to see God in a vision was pretty startling, and he wanted Abraham to catch what he was about to say. He then said, "I am your protector, your reward will be very great."God goes on to tell him of his promises towards him, that he will have a child in his old age, and that he will become a mighty nation.

Later that day, after he sacrificed to God, he had another encounter. He fell into a deep sleep, and in this sleep he experienced horror and great darkness. God created a scene for him, and told him of the future of his people. He says that they will be in captivity for a while, until it is the right time for them to possess the land. The right time will be when the Amorites are ripe for punishment. God could give them the land right now, but because he is just, he cannot wipe out the Amorites until they are wicked enough to deserve it. Interesting...

Another part that I love is in 17:1. He's 99 years old, and God shows up again. He actually appears to him, whatever that means, and says to him, "I am El Shaddai! [God Almighty] Walk in my presence and be pure-hearted!"

Sounds good to me!

Haftarah:

Isaiah 40:27 - 41:16

Weird Words from Deep unto Deep

2007-09-28T18:39:00.000-05:00

Dana Candler is an expert in the English language. Personally, her style is very difficult for me to handle, but I do recognize that she is very good at it. Her style incorporates an incredible vocabulary uncommon in our day.

Here's a couple of examples:

"How do our weak hearts enter the holy torrents of Divine Love?"

"We stand on our tiptoes on the precipice of time, peering into eternity with a steady gaze, ever searching the horizon for the One who lives outside of time."

Uhhg. Beauty, mixed with horror. Like the witch from Narnia, her use of language is both attractive and repulsive.

Why am I bringing this up? Well, I'm re-reading her book. I never thought I would, but God has humbled me, and brought me into a "season" (uhhg) in which I am desperate for intimacy.

But rather than go on and on about me, I thought you, my readers, would enjoy my list of weird words and phrases that I find while reading.

Try saying them slowly a number of times, as gratuitously as you can.

holy torrents of divine love
embrace
deep ache
kindled flame
tangibly
transpiring
ravished
pierce
precipice
cherishes
precious
saturated
discern - "dizzern" as Mike B pronounces it.

-out

Onething Minneapolis is Near.

2007-09-25T11:56:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately, I could not arrange a ride for the Onething Conference in Minneapolis this weekend, but rest assured that I am interceding on their behalf.

If any of you -- my readers, my people -- are in Minnesota, I strongly urge you to go. These conferences have done so much for me personally, and so many others. There is so much prayer behind these things, and I believe that God is using them to fuel a mighty change in this nation.

I personally am praying heavily for this thing. I know many people who will be there; many people who need to hear from God, who need wisdom from heaven, who need to be reminded and strengthened in His love.

If you cannot attend, I ask that you would join me in praying for God to establish his kingdom in the hearts of men and women, and to purify and strengthen his bride in that region.

"My people are destroyed for want of knowledge.
Because you rejected knowledge,
I will also reject you...
Because you forgot the Word of your God
I will also forget your children."
Hosea 4:6

For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character.
I pray that from the treasures of his glory
he will empower you with inner strength by his Spirit,
so that the Messiah may live in your hearts through your trusting.
Also I pray that you will be rooted and founded in love,
so that you, with all God's people, will be given strength to grasp the breadth, length, height, and depth of the Messiah's love.
Eph 3:14-18

Parashah 2: Noach (Noah)

2007-09-22T20:26:00.000-05:00

Parashah 2: Noach (Noah)
Genesis 6:9 - 11:32

From last time:

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
(Genesis 6:5–8 ESV)

I love the Bible. The account of Noah is one that is told to children, because it is so exciting and grandiose. It's got drama, miracles, and a hero. It's got a huge boat made of gofer-wood, a world-wide flood, and a sweet rainbow.

But what if it's not just a child's story, but actually happened? It's an amazing story that captivates, and evokes emotions, way better than Titanic... But what's so cool about this is that it's an amazing story, which is part of a larger story called "History" that we get to take part in.

Let's take another look at Noah, as if it actually happened. (which it actually did)

The earth, and mankind, was still pretty new at this point. The population was booming, but only a small number (one family line) were faithful to God. This line was the line which Noah came from. (Enoch, Methuselah, Lamek, Noah)

Everyone else was completely turning from God, and fully pursuing the depths of sin. God describes their thoughts and desires being "only evil, all the time." Imagine this... a large community, probably in a small geographic area, ONLY doing evil. Imagine the violence, and the danger of living there.

I take comfort in Genesis 6:8, "Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord." Noah was not perfect, but his heart was not evil. He loved the Lord with his heart. Noah was still a sinner, but God loved him, and gave Noah grace to live.

I'm going to fast forward through the building of the ark, the gathering of the animals, and the flood, and look at what happens after.

After, Noah made a sacrifice of the few animals he had, and sacrificed them to God. This part I love. God smelled it. God smells things... Haha! And it pleased him. This might be weird, but I like to think that God has a greater ability to smell than we do. He smells not just the barbecue going on, but also the heart behind the sacrifice. I could bring in a whole bunch of scriptures about aroma's here, but I'll leave it to you to go search it out.

Because of this sacrifice and this pleasing smell, God makes a promise, that he will never again destroy everything, as long as the earth exists. He gives a sign of this promise, which is his rainbow. It's the same rainbow that we see in God's throne room (Revelation 4:3). It symbolizes his promise of mercy and protection and love for living things.

I love how God's personality is shown through this passage, and his way of weaving a dramatic story to save mankind.

See also Matthew 24:36-44.

I'm out of shape.

2007-09-16T20:58:00.000-05:00

Today, during the party celebrating the 8-Year Anniversary of the International House of Prayer, I attempted to play Ultimate Frisbee.

I am by no means a pro at this, but I used to be able to hold my own. Not now. I discovered that I'm old, and out of shape! This is horrible!

I've got to find something fun to do to get myself in shape...

Parashah #1 Part 2

2007-09-15T22:24:00.000-05:00

100th Post! WOO!

Genesis 4

When Eve (or “Havah”) gave birth to her first child, fulfilling God’s word to man to be fruitful and multiply (1:28), she must have been amazed. From what I’ve heard, having a child is amazing, but how amazing it must have been to have the first child ever! Nobody to tell you what’s going on, to walk you through the process. Maybe they had learned from the other creatures what birth was about, but even still it would not have been easy.

It’s interesting that she names him Cain (or “Kayin”), which means acquisition, gotten, or received, saying, “I have acquired a man from Adonai.” The first mother recognized that her child was from God. She was probably amazed, and said, “Look what God has given me, look what I got!” and then named him “got.”

On a personal note, my friends, the Dan and Elisa Jacobson had their first child, Caleb. I got to hold him while he was only one day old! There is definitely something about holding a newborn that is amazing. Maybe it’s the smell... maybe it’s the way they squirm and move on their own... maybe it’s the warmth of their body... in any case, it’s awe inspiring.

Continuing on...

Cain & Abel. We all know the basic story, but as I read it again (and in the CJB) there are a few things that stick out to me.

“Adonai said to Kayin, “Why are you angry? Why are you downcast? If you are doing what is good, shouldn’t you hold your head high? And if you don’t do what is good, sin is crouching at the door - it wants you, but you can rule over it.”
Genesis 4:6-7 CJB

These are God’s words to him after God had rejected Cain’s sacrifice, and accepted Abel’s. Cain had become angry about this, and God gave him a warning. The upcoming sin of Cain was visible in his demeanor. But God gave him hope, saying, “you can rule over it! You can be free!” God gave him the authority to overcome sin.

Chapter 5.

Genealogies, don’t you just love them? Interesting note, did you know that Noah (or “Noach”) means “restful,” because his father said, “This one will comfort us in our labor, in the hard work on the ground that Adonai cursed.”

Chapter 6 (up to verse 8)

After the earth became populated, wickedness abounded. Because of this, God said, “My Spirit will not live in human beings forever, for they too are flesh; therefore their life span is to be 120 years.” God had a plan, in which his Spirit will live in humans forever, but only those who would put their own flesh to death and become righteous through a connection with the spirit of the Messiah. Those that take part in this plan that Paul calls “a mystery,” will live forever with His Spirit.

Noah is a forerunner of this.

“But Noah found grace in the sight of Adonai.”
Genesis 6:8 CJB

I pray that we also will find grace in his sight. Amen.

Parashah #1 Part 1

2007-09-14T19:50:00.000-05:00

It's a new year! Rosh Hashanah! The Jewish New Year!

This also means I start over in my Parashah (weekly portion) readings.

I use my Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) for all my casual bible reading, and it's really convenient how it has the Jewish Parashah clearly marked for reading so I can have a good bible reading plan and also read exactly what many Jewish people hear in synagogue every week.

I plan to post as many of these as I can, but I may break them up for a slightly easier read.

So without further ado...

Parashah 1: B'resheet (In the beginning) Part 1.
Genesis 1:1 - 3:24

Chapter 1

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Creation is one of the most spectacular events that will ever take place, and it is only the beginning of a beautiful story. The first chapter of Genesis leaves so much up to the imagination. God could have written volumes to describe every part of this process, from spiritual to physical, and from ecosystems to atomic levels, and still not cover it. Yet he only gave us one chapter focusing on it, and with a few other verses that hint at it.

I often wish that I could see it, either with the special effects of Hollywood, or preferably, in a vision from God. I guess that I will have to be patient and when I am with the Lord He can show it to me.

Only a dim image of God's beauty is revealed through creation, yet it is awe inspiring to say the least. And what does God say of this process?

"Eh, it's good..." Just kidding God. "It's very good," says God, verse 31.

Chapter 2

On the seventh day, God rested. Verse 3 is interesting in the CJB, a phrase appears in it that I have not seen in any other translation. It says, "God rested... so that it [creation] itself could produce."

I'm don't know Hebrew to know what that phrase could be based upon, or whether it's a translation error or correction. But what are the implications? God enabled creation itself to produce. It's not exactly the same as creation, but think of a crop producing fruit. God of course created the crop, but the crop produced the fruit. That's not to say that it is independent of God, but that God gave it an ability of it's own to produce.

This is how everything works, in righteousness. God plants the seed, and then in partnership with Him and in agreement with his design, the seed produces fruit. Mistranslation or not, it's a biblical thought.

In conjunction with that thought, it is interesting to see how God gives Adam the responsibility to name each creature in verse 19. It is in total partnership with God. God brings the animal that He created to Adam, and gives him the privilege of naming it. He even gets to name his own wife! That's a unique experience!

Chapter 3

The fall. Ouch. Conflict. God is such a good story teller. Or maybe story-creator would be a better term. Well, both, of course.

It's specifically interesting to note how God sets up the story to unfold after the fall:

[To the serpent] "I will put animosity between you and the woman, and between your descendant and her descendant; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel."

[To the woman] "I will greatly increase your pain in childbirth. You will bring forth children in pain. Your desire will be toward your husband, but he will rule over you."

[To Adam] The ground is cursed on your account; for you will work hard to eat it as long as you live. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat field plants. You will eat bread by the sweat of your forehead till you return to the ground - for you were taken out of it; you are dust, and you will return to dust."

God here establishes that there will be a struggle. He tells the serpent, "They're gonna be your enemy now. You better watch out, because one of these days..." Which of course points to Jesus, and eventually to his demise in the lake of fire. He makes it clear to Satan that this is not a permanent victory. Oh no, this is a battle that mankind will win through the incarnation of the Son of Man.

God establishes to the woman that she will struggle because of her weakness she will desire a husband who will protect her. This guardianship was not placed on Adam before the fall (although it could probably be said that it was implied), but now, women will be placed under the authority of men, and men will be responsible for their women.

This sets up what comes next, the repercussions for Adam not being responsible for his woman. Man will have to work hard... ARGH!

10PM Meditations #1

2007-09-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

Thursday night at my small group we are going to be discussing post-modernism, and how it is shaping our culture, and how it may be a part of God's plan for Jesus' second coming.

After doing some research and thinking on the subject, I thought it might be wise to seek some biblical wisdom. A good place to look for that, is of course, the Bible. More specifically, Proverbs.

"Wisdom calls aloud in the open air
and raises her voice in the public places;
she calls out at streetcorners and speaks out at entrances to city gates:
'How long, you whose lives have no purpose, will you love thoughtless living?
How long will scorners find pleasure in mocking?
How long will fools hate knowledge?'"
Psalms 1:20-22 (CJB)

It hurts me, it wounds me deeply, when I talk to random people, or when I read peoples comments on various online "social commentary" sites, like digg, or public forums. It wounds me because they are mostly mocking and scorning everything and anything, while jumping upon the latest idea without hesitation and then mocking it and scorning it when it turns out to be false.

This is a side-track, and doesn't directly address post-modernism, but rather addresses our culture in a general way from my individual and uninformed perspective. So rather than focus on "them," I will choose to instead focus on my own lack of wisdom and truth. Luckily, the bible has the answer.

"Repent when I reprove --
I will pour out my spirit to you,
I will make my words known to you."
Psalms 1:23 (CJB)

Father! I'm sorry for my own lack of wisdom, and my lack of pursuing knowledge of you! Please! Give to me your spirit, for wisdom and understanding! Make your words known to me!

8PM Intercession Report #2

2007-09-10T22:59:00.001-05:00

Phew! Tonight we had some powerful intercession!

We have been praying the ending of human trafficking and the sex slave industry in a focused way for about six months, and have had some small breakthroughs in it (a couple of prostitution rings broken up in Kansas City and in Minneapolis). Now God has led us to intercede for Thailand, which from what I hear is the prostitution capital of the world.

Tonight the room was united in intercession... It's hard to describe, but there was a heavy feeling in the air, and we all cried out to our Heavenly Father for justice and mercy on their behalf.

I define justice as Jesus receiving the reward for his suffering, and mercy as God turning the hearts of men to repent. My heart was deeply moved as I cried out to heaven... Only God has the power to transform lives to righteousness.

"Their hearts cried out to Adonai,
'Wall of the daughter of Tziyon!
Let your tears stream down
like a torrent, day and night!
Give yourself no respite,
give your eyes no rest!

'Get up! Cry out in the night,
at the beginning of every watch!
Pour out heart out like water
before the face of Adonai!
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your babies,
who are fainting away from hunger
at every streetcorner.'"

"For rejection by Adonai
does not last forever.
He may cause grief, but he will take pity,
in keeping with the greatness of his grace.
For he does not arbitrarily torment
or punish human beings.

When anyone tramples underfoot
any of the prisoners of the land;
when anyone deprives a person of justice,
in defiance with the Most High;
when someone is cheated of justice in court --
does Adonai not take notice of such things?

Who can say something and have it happen
without Adonai's commanding it?"
Lamentations 2:18,19, 3:31-37 (CJB)

God, I pray that you would speak!
Send righteousness to Thailand!
Set them free from their own sinfulness which holds them hostage!
Amen.

8PM Intercession Report #1

2007-09-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

In an effort to post more often, to inform my readers, as well as stay engaged in the 8PM intercession myself, I am going to start doing nightly reports.

---- Report #1. ----
Wednesday, September 5th, 8PM.
Focus: Northern Africa, and specifically for 1,000 Muslims in Cairo, Egypt to have a revelation of Jesus as the Son of God. We have reports of large Christian congregations joining with us via the webstream and god.tv in prayer every morning, specifically during our 8PM set (6AM Cairo).

Worship team: Luke Wood, Caleb Culver, and band.

Wes Martin lead the opening prayer for 1,000 Muslims to have powerful experiences with the Lord like Saul of Tarsis.
He followed it up with a massive rapid-fire prayer cycle, with around 40 people praying 5-10 second prayers on the mic.
Molly Mo ripped it up and united the room with a passionate prayer for Casa Blanca.
We also had a time to do small group prayers for healing, which I always love. I missed out on it this time because I was too slow to move and didn't want to join late, because then I never know what to pray for. So I just walked around singing along with the chorus, "demonstrate your power!"

Weird Words: "s-w" words

2007-08-22T21:36:00.000-05:00

Tonights post is dedicated my weird word aficionados, Kelly aka K-Diggy, and Molly Mo.

1. "Swoop" |swoōp|

Daniel 9:21
"...while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gavri'el, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, swooped down on me in full flight..."

2. "Swirl" |swərl|

I feel like I'm caught in a swirl.

3. "Swell" |swel|

verb ( past part. swollen |ˈswōlən|or swelled ) [ intrans. ]
ORIGIN Old English swellan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German schwellen. Current senses of the noun date from the early 16th cent.; the informal adjectival use derives from noun sense 4 (late 18th cent.).

adjective informal dated excellent; very good, super well :
you're looking swell. • archaic smart; fashionable : a swell boulevard.

4. "Swarm" |swôrm|

noun a large or dense group of insects, esp. flying ones.

PHRASAL VERBS swarm up climb (something) rapidly by gripping it with one's hands and feet, alternately hauling and pushing oneself upward : I swarmed up the mast. [ORIGIN: mid 16th cent.: of unknown origin.]
ORIGIN Old English swearm (noun), of Germanic origin; related to German Schwarm, probably also to the base of Sanskrit svarati ‘it sounds.’

5. "Swank" |swa ng k| informal

verb [ intrans. ] display one's wealth, knowledge, or achievements in a way that is intended to impress others : swanking about, playing the dashing young master spy.

6. "Swindle" |ˈswindl|

a fraudulent scheme or action

Put them all together, what do we get?

A swarm of swollen insects swirling around, swooping down, trying to swindle my swank!

PS 23

2007-08-20T20:53:00.001-05:00

Why oh why?

2007-08-18T00:50:00.000-05:00

It's so weird. Why do we do things we know are bad for us?

I'm not talking about sin, I'm talking about eating bad food late at night.

Buffalo Wild Wings (B-Dubs) at 12:30AM when I have to work at 9AM?

Habanero Salsa at 1AM?

Beef Franks at any time of the day?

Seriously, why do I do this? The immediate benefit is far-outweighed by the long-term suffering.

Its my berfday.

2007-08-11T23:19:00.001-05:00

25 years old. woo-hoo!

Well, I'm not five years old anymore, (my ideal age)
but I can look at it positively:

I'm one year closer to resurrection!

I'm saving you $3.

2007-08-10T19:23:00.000-05:00

So remember that Allen Hood message I told you to buy? Well, now it's available for free on the Onething Podcast. Go to the onething page to download or subscribe to the podcast.

If you didn't hear about it, this message is...

I Cry Tonight

2007-08-09T21:25:00.000-05:00

David Gagne
I Cry Tonight
Thursday, August 9, 2007
A Poem Inspired by the Lorica

I cry tonight
for a mighty strength, the power of the trinity,
the fullness of three,
the unity of one,
of Him who makes all things new.

I cry tonight
for the strength of Christ in the clouds to those who pierced Him,
for the strength of Christ riding on a white horse to battle,
for the strength of Christ standing on the Mount of Olives,
for the strength of Christ to slay with the breath of his mouth.

I cry tonight
For the beauty of the vision of Cherubim,
in the company of angels,
in chorus with the archangels,
in faith of resurrection and the promise of reward,
in encounters of patriarchs,
in visions of the prophets,
in revelations of the apostles,
in knowledge of confessors,
in purity of holy virgins,
in works of righteous men.

I cry tonight
For the strength of heaven:
Light of the Son,
Radiance of the Kingdom,
Splendor of His Spirit,
Speed of His Return,
Swiftness of the Gospel,
Depth of His Love,
Stability of The Word,
Firmness of The Rock

I cry tonight
For God’s strength to fill me:
God’s might to dwell in me,
God’s wisdom to enlighten me,
God’s eye to gaze upon me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to humble me,
God’s hand to exalt me,
God’s way to move me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to visit me,
To aid me in battling devils,
To encourage me to perfection,
To supply love for my enemies,
Those now and those to come,
Those weak and those strong.

I summon tonight all these powers joined with me in the fight for mankind,
For the soul of every cruel man abusing a woman,
For the soul of every woman contemplating abortion,
For the soul of every child rebelling against authority,
For the soul of every Hebrew who does not know the God of their fathers,
For the soul of every Gentile who does not know that God has chosen them too,
For the soul of every President, and every King,
For the soul of every beggar, every street person, and every one without a home.

For the Spirit to empower me tonight,
to heal the sick, raise the dead,
to cleanse the lepers, to cast out demons,
and to do greater works than these,
to proclaim good news to the poor,
to proclaim freedom to the captives,
to recover the sight to the blind,
to free those who are oppressed,
and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
to prophesy of his return,
to dream of his throne room,
to envision his earthly reign,
and to sing praise with my spirit.

I cry tonight
for a mighty strength, the power of the trinity,
the fullness of three,
the unity of one,
of Him who makes all things new.

Allen Hood, Psalms 29

2007-08-08T20:04:00.000-05:00

Seriously.

You all need to go and pay $3 to listen to this sermon, by Allen Hood. It's amazing. It's on Psalms 29... Leaves me speechless, just go listen to it!

I pity the fool who doesn't like Allen Hood!

And as long as I'm advertising, the Prayer Room webstream is an awesome way to engage in worship and intercession along with us from anywhere in the world. Check out this picture that I snagged...

The webstream is only $10/month, which is super cheap if you consider it is 24x7... plus it helps to pay for intercessors like me!

Parashah 48 Excerpt: Judges

2007-08-04T18:35:00.000-05:00

Every Shabbat (Saturday) I read a portion out of my Complete Jewish Bible. I look forward to this, and it's an excuse for me to get into the Word in depth.

This week, I just got started, and a very simple section struck me in a profound way. It was so good, I decided to share it with all of you. Enjoy!

*********************
Parashah (portion) 48: Shof'tim (Judges)
D'varim (Deuteronomy) 16:18-21:9
[excerpt, 16:18-20]

Adonai orders them to appoint judges and officers for all the gates in the cities. He establishes a couple of rules for them:

No Favoritism
No Bribes

Sounds simple, but it’s so crucial, and is still a problem in the justice system today. Verse 20 is powerful, and a worthy verse to live by for anyone who is in authority:

“Justice, only justice, you must pursue; so that you will live and inherit the land Adonai your God is giving you.” (CJB)

This was a command and a promise. When you think about it, it almost has to be taken prophetically, because the judges are already in the land, and have already inherited it. he is talking of another Land, the eternal Promised Land of which Israel was a precursor to. It might be the same land geographically, but it was a futuristic promise, of a resurrection inheritance.
Israel will inherit the Land, but only those of Israel that pursue justice.

Those judges who pursue justice, in other words, the Righteous Judge, Yeshua (Jesus), will inherit the land and will judge the world, and angels and demons (1 Corinthians 6:1-3).

This is weighty.

God, help me to judge righteously, to seek your authority, to always appeal to the highest court, the court of heaven, in all my judgments. Help me to not show favoritism, or take bribes, or to be selfish in my judgment, but to serve your people with justice from heaven.

Amen.

Crisis Prayer: Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

2007-08-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

-------------
Breaking News 10:03PM:
From wcco.com

Several pastors and religious leaders are going to the Holiday Inn Metrodome where the families of victims are gathering.

Awesome. I was praying that the Church would respond! Amen. Jesus Get Them!

-------------

Earlier:

Tonight the bridge collapsed on I-35. You can read about it on any major news source.
WCCO has pretty good minute by minute coverage here.
FoxNews has good live coverage here.

It's a pretty big disaster. Just look at this Fox News reporter's reaction:

So how do we respond? We pray.

Tonight in the prayer room we led the nations praying for Minneapolis. We prayed from Matthew 6:9-10

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

We prayed for mercy, healing, for comfort for the victims and families, and that God's love would be revealed in Minneapolis tonight.

Also from Psalms 42:1-6

As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me continually,
Where is your God?
4 These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation 6 and my God.

Amen.

More cool stuff from the ihop website

2007-07-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

I'll give you a brief update on me first, because I feel obligated.

I am a bit worn from a tough week of work, but my time in the prayer room has been great. Sometimes I feel like these things are opposites, and in a way they are, but they work together. One is work, the other is food. I need work to buy food, but I need food to fuel me for work. Weird.

I'm just glad it's the weekend.

So since it's the weekend, here's some stuff for you to enjoy!

***
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Bride of Christ, the Movie! (sort of)

Onething Promo - Free New Years Conference (this is a video, for real)
December 28-31 Bartle Hall, Kansas City, Missouri
*Bonus - Poster & Wallpapers! Woo!

And Last, but not least, the OneThing regionals page.
These regional conferences are also free, and include locations such as:
Minneapolis! September 27-29
Winnipeg! October 26-27
Calgary! November 1-3

They have a promo video for those as well. I highly recommend both the video and the conference.

***
That's the end of our commercial segment, now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Weird Word #1

2007-07-21T21:58:00.001-05:00

It's long overdue, but I am officially starting my list of weird words.

Here's #1:

Partook:

partook |pärˈtoŏk| past of partake .

Partake:
verb ( past -took |-ˈtoŏk|; past part. -taken |-ˈtākən|) [ intrans. ]
( partake in) formal join in (an activity) : visitors can partake in golfing or clay pigeon shooting.
( partake of) be characterized by (a quality) : the birth of twins became an event that partook of the mythic.
( partake of) eat or drink (something) : she had partaken of a cheese sandwich and a cup of coffee.

Analysis:
It's more just the sound and look of the word that is weird, and only in the past tense. Maybe I'm just in that weird tired place where all words sound weird.

"Partook... Par-tuke..." ew.

Ro-ad...

My Techie Fortune

2007-07-20T10:54:00.000-05:00

I went and ate chinese food yesterday. Ching Chings... mmm...

But check out this crazy fortune cookie message!

"Digital circuits are made from analog parts."

So crazy! I understand what that means in the techie universe, but what does it mean as a fortune?

I'll explain digital versus analog here for you nerds, but everyone else can skip to the last paragraph.

From wikipedia:

A digital system is one that uses discrete values (often electrical voltages), representing numbers or non-numeric symbols such as letters or icons, for input, processing, transmission, storage, or display, rather than a continuous spectrum of values (ie, as in an analog system).

The distinction of "digital" versus "analog" can refer to method of input, data storage and transfer, or the internal working of a device. The word comes from the same source as the word digit and digitus: the Latin word for finger (counting on the fingers) as these are used for discrete counting.

Example #1: an analog signal, which may come along and with a power of 1.023 or so, and because it's analog it wouldn't be exactly 1, and it gets chopped into a 1, and made to be a digital "on" signal.

Or think of an analog clock versus a digital one. The analog one might have a non-ticking second hand, where it just smoothly moves, and at any given point it might be "between" seconds. A digital clock has no representation of those "between" seconds. A digital clock could add more precision digits, but it will always be a limited range of numbers. An analog clock has unlimited precision, because it moves smoothly in a circle (perfect analog circles have infinite points).

A personal application of "digital is made of analog" could be to understand that though we often compartmentalize our lives (digitize them), our lives are much more complex than that.

But really, I don't buy into fortune cookies -- even if it's a "real fortune," or predicts the future, but doesn't lead me closer to God, it's a false prophecy. So remember that, next time you get a fortune cookie that seems to help you out -- if it doesn't lead you closer to God, trash it.

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them, 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

New Stuff

2007-07-15T10:54:00.000-05:00

Hey, I added some new stuff, so maybe you geeks will stop in here more often.

I've added the "subscribe" button that lets you subscribe via an RSS reader like google reader. Just click the subscribe button and it will walk you through the process.

I've also added a download area, where I can post my other files and longer writings for anyone who would enjoy them. That will keep my main blog page free from 10 page papers, and leave room for the daily stuff.

Enjoy!

The Call on Demand

2007-07-13T09:02:00.000-05:00

God.tv now has The Call 7.7.7 on Video on Demand on their website, so if you missed it, here's your chance to take part. I recommend fasting for a minimum of one day before watching...

Work

2007-07-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

07.12.07 12:00PM :
It's a bit weird, but I sometimes actually enjoy work. Especially when I get stuff done. The Birchwood center is almost fully done!

Update
07.12.07 4:08PM :
Ok, maybe I don't like work. I just spent 4 hours on a job that should have been done in 1 hour.

Oh well, at least I did get it done...

Onething Minneapolis

2007-07-10T11:49:00.000-05:00

So, while I was snooping around the IHOP website, I stumbled across a very nice promo for Onething Minneapolis. It's September 27-29th, 2007, and it's free. Go to www.ihop.org/onething for more info.

I'm not sure if I'll be there or not. There's a possibility I can hitch a ride with the Onething Crew and help them out -- I'll have to talk to them about it. Maybe I'll see you there!

7.7.7 The Call

2007-07-08T23:37:00.000-05:00

I won't write too much about it, but this was a significant event in history, so I thought you might want to know a little bit about it.

Here's a pretty decent news bit to watch:

http://wkrn.com/nashville/news/the-call-draws-100000-plus-to-lp-field/105951.htm

I'm famous.

2007-07-06T22:02:00.000-05:00

This week six people have told me that they have seen me praying on the webstream. I don't even pray on the mic that often, only during the rapid-fire 10 second prayers and then once or twice a week for the longer 5 minute prayers. Some of them may have also seen me in the room, but most of them said they saw me on the mic.

Also this week we switched the webstream to our new system, and everyone had to re-subscribe. The demand was so high, even at 4AM when we made the switch, that it actually caused problems for our systems. They estimate that there were thousands of people clicking their mice at 4AM to sign up.

Our old clunky webstream had around 6,000 subscribers at $10/month, and we had many, many more use the free-trial that we had for a month. The numbers aren't in yet as to how many we have now, but even though the sign up is online our phones have been off the hook (because of the down-time and glitches).

Oh, and did I forget to mention the 128 MILLION potential god.tv viewers all over the globe that could be watching? I'd guess that at minimum there are 10,000 people who see me, David Andrew Gagne, pray on the mic. Scary.

Many of you didn't know me back then, but as a kid I was shy. I remember taking a public speaking class and wanting to drop out because I was so scared to talk in front of 10 people my own age. After class I would walk through the halls looking for a quiet corner where I didn't have to be around people.

And now? I'm still scared out of my mind, but I still do it. Why? Because I want God to be famous.

I don't really know how to love those 128 Million people, and to be honest, my heart has a hard time loving them. But God loves them. Not only that, He desires them, He wants them to come to Him. He wants to forgive them, He wants them to walk in righteousness, He wants them to walk in His presence.

My most important audience is God. If He hears me, that's all I care about. So I sit in a room and pray 24+ hours/week. I am an intercessor.

Season 2

2007-07-02T22:46:00.001-05:00

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

(James 1:2–4 ESV)

I have a new job, a new address (see below), a new prayer room schedule, and another stage of life that I have started. I am working 40 hours / week in the technology department of the International House of Prayer, and on a 24-30 hour / week prayer room team. My goal is to start up my school at the Forerunner School of Ministry in January, so right now I’m just saving up and trying to raise my support. I am hoping to raise enough support so that I can fully give myself to this prayer thing and not have to work.

I love my new job, I love working, but there is a tearing at my heart because I know that God has something different for me. It’s actually tempting to keep working and rely upon my abilities to provide for myself instead of allowing God to provide. I know it’s always a bit of both, but I know my heart is to be full time in the house of prayer, and that God will provide a way for that sooner or later.

It’s definitely a full load right now, working 9-5, and in the prayer room at a minimum 7:30-12 at night. I choose to do it, because just as working is a necessity for my physical state, and the prayer room is a necessity for my spiritual state. God is doing so much in me right now, I find that if I miss even a few days in a row, I lose my focus.

Am I an over-achiever? I never really have thought of myself as one, even though I often excel beyond others. I always chalked it up to natural gifting. But for once in my life, I can now say that I am driven. I am pushing my own limits until it hurts, finding my weakness, my need for God.

And it’s all worth it.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

(James 1:12 ESV)

My new address is:
4505 E. 114th St.
Kansas City, MO 64137

Send me your love!

Rest

2007-06-27T20:38:00.001-05:00

Standing on the LifeLine tonight, I asked God to reveal to me his thoughts on Life. My thoughts were lead to a phrase I heard from David King today about the "amazing blessing of co-creation" that he experienced with his kids.

From there my mind went to the Creation of the heavens and the earth. Why did he take 6 days to do it, instead of doing it instantly? And why rest on the 7th day?

Many people have told me that He rested as an example to us, so that we know how important the Sabbath is. This is biblical, and I believe it to be true, but tonight, my thoughts went a slightly different direction.

What if He took 6 days so that He could enjoy creating? Like he took his time so that he could savor it. Why rush such a good thing? Creating in six days is still just as mighty a work, but if he had done it instantly, he couldn't have enjoyed the process so much.

And what if He rested on the 7th day, not just as an example, but because He enjoys rest? He obvoiusly didn't need it, but what if He enjoyed it?

And shouldn't it be the same for us? That we don't just rest because we have been physically made to require it, but what if we enjoyed our rest? And by enjoy I don't mean use time off to go DO MORE, but to actually rest, and take satisfaction in it?

That's what I did this afternoon, more because I had to, than because I wanted to, but I think God is encouraging me to rest more, not because I have to, but because it's part of his nature, and it's a good thing.

Tuesdays = Fasting + Israel

2007-06-26T21:18:00.001-05:00

Tuesdays... for all of you not familiar with what we do down here at IHOP on Tuesdays - Tuesdays is fasting day.

Everyone is invited to fast every Tuesday and join us in prayer. It's up to each individual on how they do it, and not everyone does, but most of the staff does. It's kind of a well known fact that many people are a bit slower on Tuesdays, and sometimes we can even get a bit cranky and have to repent. But it also helps us to refocus on the weakness of our flesh and the power of prayer.

The other good part about Tuesdays is that we pray for Israel on Tuesdays. God has been really working in my heart for Israel, and after being here a couple of months, I made it a goal to pray on the mic every Tuesday for Israel.

Here's one of my favorite scriptures to pray out of. I invite you to all pray for Israel as you read this.

For Israel during the Onething Conference, June 28-30.

Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

Jesus, King of Israel, I pray that you would establish yourself as King over every heart in Israel. Reign in righteousness and truth, bring freedom from the darkness of sin in their lives. Save them from themselves! Cause your face to shine and bring salvation to your people! I pray that you would move in every heart during this conference, that they would know their King, their Savior, Yeshua the Messiah. Establish your kingdom in their hearts.

Amen.

Nightly thoughts: Humility

2007-06-20T22:33:00.001-05:00

Here's my thoughts from today and from the prayer room tonight.

Psalm 131:
1 Adonai, my heart isn’t proud;
I don’t set my sight too high,
I don’t take part in great affairs
Or in wonders far beyond me.
2 No, I keep myself calm and quiet,
Like a little child on its mother’s lap -
I keep myself like a little child.
3 Isra’el, put your hope in Adonai
From now on and forever!
(CJB)

This short chapter is a direct challenge to my thoughts today. The road of humility is so long! How quickly my heart gets lifted up with pride, how often my eyes are raised, my sight gets set too high. I love to get involved in the important things, things that are beyond me.

I struggle to calm myself, I struggle to be quiet. A little child on its mother’s lap -- so peaceful, so unconcerned with anything! How great it is to be only 5 years old! Or even better, to be a toddler, content to be in its mothers arms.

I know it’s ungodly to run away from responsibility, (uh, Jonah?), but I think it can be just as bad to run towards it when God is inviting us to rest in his strength, in his power.

The reason it’s bad to set your own sight high is that we normally set our sights high and then place ourselves in that high place, instead of setting our eyes to the highest, the Holy God of heaven, and then recognizing our lowly position. We must recognize our need. And the great part is that as we humble ourselves, God himself will exalt us!

This is a theme throughout the entire Bible, but I especially like how it is put in Proverbs 25:6,7:

6 Don’t put yourself forward in the king’s presence;
Don’t take a place among the great.
7 For it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
Than be degraded in the presence of a nobleman.
(CJB)

The reason I love these verses is that it reminds me of Revelation 4:1, where Jesus himself says to John, “Come up here!” and takes John up to the heavenly throne room. I like to think that humility is the key to encountering God, and exalting God is the key to humility! Put your hope in God, we cannot save ourselves!

So Praise Him!

It's Over.

2007-06-16T19:04:00.001-05:00

6 Months. Roughly 576 hours of prayer, 480 hours of classes and teachings, 4 conferences (I missed the fifth), and 50 days of some-sort of fasting. I'll miss it...

Or will I? Life is just one long internship. Why waste it?

I intend to keep a similarly busy schedule, although it will be filled with slightly different things.

I will be working 9-5 M-F in the tech dept., as well as maintaining a diligent schedule in the prayer room at night. Basically what I'm doing is trading hours I used to waste for hours put to good use. Nationmaster.com statistics show that the average in the US is 28 hours a week watching television. Just removing television and movies from my daily diet gives me a lot of time. Not that I'm boycotting or anything, it's just better for me not to. Cutting down frivolous internet usage, video games, etc., helps too.

Henry Nouwen in his book, Clowning in Rome, describes Celibacy as creating vacancy for God. He uses Celibacy to describe much more than just sexual abstinence, but rather a setting aside of "space" in our life for God. We can abstain from many of the things of this world, but if we don't fill that space with God, there's not much point. I could cut out television and replace it with another false comfort, like eating. The point isn't just total abstinence, but to create a heart alive with God. Many can abstain from things by sheer willpower, but this will not benefit you long term without filling it with something better.

P.S. I changed the layout here, what do you all think?

It's good to be back.

2007-06-11T15:03:00.000-05:00

I had a good trip.

My brother is now married! Crazy! They are now on their honeymoon in California.

I got to see my older sister Anna and her boyfriend Steve. Anna, Steve, Leah and I enjoyed pelican beach on a nice day. We even built a monster sand castle.

This sandcastle brought to you by the number 7.

Don't worry, I wore sunscreen this time.

here's a picture of Leah and I just before I left. sad...

I miss all of you in Minnesota, but I also missed my prayer room. It's good to be back...
The internship is almost over, but I will be staying here. I'll let you know more about that next week when all the details are worked out.

I'm coming home! (to visit)

2007-06-05T23:54:00.000-05:00

I'll be home Thursday-Sunday.

Give me a call people!

Sunburn

2007-06-03T09:24:00.000-05:00

Ouch, I 'm on day 3 of my sunburn, and it still hurts pretty bad. On Friday I was at the pool from 10-12, und my frontside received a mean burn. I should know better and use sunscreen, but I guess being from Minnesota, I normally don't worry about those things until late June.

I'd give pictures, but I don't think you would like them.

The word: may 07

2007-05-23T12:25:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone!

I've got a lot to update you with, since it's been a while, so brace yourselves!

Since many of you will not read the entire thing, I'll just put this first -- I need your support. The Lord is calling me to a life consecrated to Him, and Him alone. He has made that clear to me in the past, and is making that very clear again. What exactly that looks like is not quite certain, but I know the Lord is good, and will provide -- and he chooses to do that through many of you. I praise God for the generosity He has already shown me through all of you, and for all the prayers and emotional support many of you have given me.

My immediate needs are:
$1,000 tuition for FSM summer courses
$700 month for rent, food,etc

I will also be looking for $1,500 for tuition in the fall and winter semesters.

I am really looking for some of you to partner with me long term, and commit to supporting me on a monthly basis.

I want to make it clear, this is not just about my needs, but this is part of something much larger -- a prayer movement throughout the earth, and a chance for revival. The Lord is on the move, calling for one of those major generational changes that we all read about in the old testament (and the new). I know the Lord is calling me to be a part of this, which is a difficult thing, but something that I cannot ignore.

We already are seeing parts of this, with 24/7 prayer movements starting up all over the earth, with people crying out to God for mercy and repenting for their nations.

Another sign of this is in our own nation is The Call, http://thecall.com. The call is a gathering of believers to fast and pray for our nation, to turn our nation back to God. There is a huge event taking place on 7-7-07 in Nashville, you can find more about it on fastandpray.com.

From The Call website:

TheCall Nashville will be the eighth Call in America.
The first Call was held in Washington,DC in 2000 where over 420,000 people gathered to fast and pray for America.
Other events have included TheCall Boston (50,000), TheCall NY (85,000), TheCall San Francisco (40,000), TheCall Los Angeles, (30,000).

So there is a lot going on, but what's my part? I will be praying. This is my primary job, with at least 24 hours per week in the prayer room, here at the International House of Prayer. I am an intercessor, one who will cry out to the Lord on behalf of the people, and one who connects with the Lord's heart in return.

I will also be taking classes at the Forerunner School of Ministry, continuing in a year Apostolic Preaching Program. I will be preparing for what the Lord has in store. I may also work part time, but I am praying to be released to serve the Lord full-time.

Will you help, will you partner with me?

Non-tax deductible checks can be made to:
David Andrew Gagne
3517 E. Red Bridge Rd.
Kansas City, MO 64137

Tax deductible checks can be made to:
IHOP-KC Support
(my name cannot be on it for tax reasons)

Thank you all, I love you!

Psalms 27:4
One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.

Wednesday Night GPR*

2007-04-26T15:12:00.001-05:00

Wow, are you as surprised as I am to see another post so soon? This one is more of a diary entry from last night, nothing major.

Thoughts:

God is merciful!
Our hearts are dull, our ears are hard of hearing, our eyes are closed. (Isaiah 6.9-10)
God, wake us up! open our ears! Soften our hearts! We need you!
How truly lost are the lost!
Praise God for the strength of His arm to save, Yeshua the messiah, the shepherd rescues his sheep

Verses:

Acts 28:26-27
Isaiah 43:8-13
Psalm 6

Quote:

Standing up is intense!
- Bryan Jung about standing up for an entire 2 hour intercession set

*: GPR stands for Global Prayer Room, which now needs the "G" because we soon will have the FPR as well, when the "F "stands for Forerunner; it will be a training prayer room - but our prayers still count!

Mini Update

2007-04-24T12:06:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try to post more often, and more briefly, so that you guys are motivated to come back. Please leave me comments so that I'm motivated to post. I've been praying for a lot of you, let me know what God is doing!

This week, (and somewhat last week), God has been pumping me full of Jeremiah. Which means I've been crying out. So again, another "rough, but good" week. I've been also praying for opportunities to share some of this back in Minnesota, so please pray that God would open the doors for this. At the same time, I'm not sure if I'm ready, so pray that it would all happen in God's way and at His time.

Ah-men.

A hard week,a good week.

2007-04-22T10:56:00.000-05:00

Yes Yes.

Let's see, this week I was quite soft before the Lord, and he of course challenged me, in a few different areas.

One was excellence and humility, meaning, living a life where I please God by doing the small, seemingly unimportant things to the best of my ability as a pleasing offering to God. It was one of those moments when all the things my Mom told me to do flooded back, like cleaning my room, picking up trash, etc.

The thing that really got me was, if I can't do the small things well, how will I ever do the large things well? And what are my motives in the things I invest in? Just to impress others or because they are righteous in God's eyes?

And on the humility side, this has been something I've been working on forever it seems, but there's so much more to it. Like, as Dwayne Roberts pointed out, not putting yourself "out there" to be noticed when it comes time for promotions, or new projects, and not puffing yourself up.

Moses [Moshe] blows my mind. He is truly a servant leader, who was "the most humble man alive." He led a very rebellious people, so rebellious that he asked God is he could just die and not deal with them. God had given him authority over these people, and he could have at any seed of rebellion just have them killed. But instead he actually interceded for them to God, when God was ready to destroy them! He truly put them before himself, and that is why God used him to lead his people.

My thoughts on servant leadership, humility, and excellence are just growing, and I have a lot more than that on my mind, but I'll spare you guys the rest. Be praying with me that God would raise us up to be people that truly live in the teachings and example of the Messiah.

Sometimes it seems so impossible, or not worth it, but then I encounter Adonai, the Almighty One who loves me and has given me his Holy Spirit to help me. Praise him.

Amen.

A crazy day.

2007-04-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

2 crazy things:

my foot got healed. Two weeks ago I hurt it playing soccer (I ran into someone). Tonight I was dancing (real good worship set), and my foot was hurting. I saw my friend that I had run into, and decided to ask him to pray for my foot. We prayed, and my foot got healed! PTL!
It's snowing. In April. Huge flakes.

Life in General

2007-04-13T10:24:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been realizing how unique my life is here at Ihop. How many people get to wake up and spend 2 hours worshiping a real living God? And then get to hear 3+ hours of solid biblical teaching, and studying the movement of the Lord globally? And then get to spend 4 hours praying and meditating on the word of God?

Such a blessing. Thank you God! And thank you to all my supporters!

re: righteous anger pt II

2007-04-08T21:55:00.000-05:00

Part II: Jesus is a lover.

Jesus loves me,
this I know,
for the Bible tells me so...

Continued from part I.

This sounds so basic, but do we really understand his love? Read on...

We have heard that Jesus loves us, from the Bible (John 3:16) and from the pulpit. We maybe have even experienced it a few times, like at salvation, baptism, or a rare church experience. But what do we really know about the Love of Christ? What have we really experienced of this love? Be honest.

Before we can fulfill the greatest commandment, to love the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our understanding, and all our strength, we must first receive His love, more and more. We must receive Him, more and more.

And we have known and believed the love that God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

We love Him because He first loved us.
(1Jn 4:16,19)

Abiding in love... sounds a little romantic? Hah, I should hope so. Jesus is described as the bridegroom throughout the Bible. He loves us beyond measure. But just for a second let's take a look at that infinite love.

Here we are in the midst of the Jewish Pesach, the Passover, which serves as a reminder of how God delivered Israel from Egypt, and also foreshadows of Jesus, the sacrificial lamb (Exodus 12). A great opportunity to ponder the power of Christ.

We're going to skip the incredible mystery of God becoming man, and skip right to the incredible mystery of the God-man dying -- for us!

Christ was not killed. He laid down his life willingly (John 10:18), and suffered the brutality we get a picture of in the movie the Passion. This is God, who needs nothing from anyone, perfect in himself, choosing to become a humble man and suffer at the hands of other men. Why? For love.

This should blow us away. It's beyond understanding. Give yourself a few minutes to just thing about an infinite, perfect God, choosing to love us like this. Craziness.

I could go on and on... so maybe I will!

Creation. God created us for love. He didn't have to. He doesn't need our love, and in fact he could have been quite satisfied loving himself. Yet he desired to create us for love. The fall of man put distance between us, and He has been working a perfect plan to restore that love, and make it complete.

He could have just walked away. He could have started over. But he called his creation "good", and was not about to go back on his word. He is faithful even when we are not.

Every time God comes down from heaven to deal with people and doesn't wipe them out is only by the incredible mercy and meekness of God. I picture a huge, 18 year old, six-foot-six, 240 pound, muscular guy, bending down to play with a cranky, 2 year old girl with a smelly diaper. He could easily walk away, or if he's not careful, step on her and crush her.

It's not out of duty that he bends down to fix her diaper, nobody tells this guy what to do. It's not out of necessity, it's not because it's "what's right", but it's love. He cares!

And this is what inspired God to come to Abram, and make promises to him that He knew he would keep, all the while knowing that Abram would not be capable of perfectly keeping his side of the bargain.

This is what inspired God to make Israel into a people who he would call "Mine", while they would often chase after other gods.

With this love God became a weak, humble man. Jesus had his eyes on the Father, and the Father had in his eyes the future wedding of His beloved Son. This is what makes it all worth it.

Hopefully this gives you a little bit of the picture. These things were on the minds of the apostles. It's why Paul often would change his tone mid-thought and go off about the incredible love of God.

Look at one of his prayers for the Ephesians:

...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, [so] that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to grasp with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; to know the surpassing knowledge and love of Christ; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:16-19, emphasis added)

Let that be your prayer for yourself, and see how it transforms you.

Next time: Jesus, the jealous husband.

Please leave comments, thoughts, etc.

re: righteous anger pt I

2007-03-25T19:08:00.000-05:00

Righteous Anger. This is one of the most difficult topics, but pretty much anytime we try to behold God and his nature, it blows our mind.

Which is good, we need to restore a view of God as other than, far above us, yet he also wants us to take on his nature, and transform us into his image.

...you thought that I was like yourself; but I will rebuke you... (Psa 50:21)

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2Co 3:18)

Most of us have a hard time with a wrathful, jealous God, but I would argue that this is because we also don't understand his love very well, which basically means we don't know Him.

Reactions: true, scary, harsh?

It's ok, as we explore this, you'll see that God knows our weakness better than we do, and is beckoning us to search him out, to discover him, and he will do most of the work by revealing himself through the word and through prayer.

The glory of God is to conceal a thing; but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.
(Pro 25:2)

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; (Luk 10:22-23) Emphasis added.

The good news is that Jesus wants to reveal himself to you, all you need to do is ask.

I am realizing this is a huge topic that will probably take like 4 or 5 posts to even get a good overview.

Maybe this whet your appetite though, if so, post a comment, a question, whatever, and I'll try to get back asap.

Next time: Creation. a divine love story

Coming:

Jesus, the lover
Jesus, the jealous husband
Jesus, the judge
Us, the Bride of Christ
Wrap up and questions

Like all of you, I am figuring this stuff out as I go, and he is really opening my mind to who Jesus really is, and it's surprising.

Homework assignment: read slowly over Revelation 4 and 5. Is this a different view of Jesus than you're used to?

If you enjoy this, make sure you support me. Also check out lookatthesound.com

St. Patrick's Day recap

2007-03-18T20:59:00.000-05:00

<-- this is our group
Image from TheKansasCityChannel.com

We made the news! We were on the front page of atleast one newspaper today, and also online, check it out on TheKansasCityChannel.com. The official number of people attending was 200,000.

We met at IHOP at 7AM on Saturday of St. Patrick's Day, to brief before going out. We all had our green IHOP shirts on. At 8:30 we arrived on the scene, and spent another half hour praying for the event and to prepare ourselves to share God with strangers.

We had a number of teams that went out to do all kinds of evangelism from 9-11, with direct sharing of the gospel, surveys, prayer teams, wandering minstrels, face painting, st. patrick facts with the gospel handouts, and more.

Many people accepted Christ or recommitted their lives to him, some received healing, and it's safe to say that almost everyone was impacted. In the 9-11 pre-parade outreach it was difficult to go anywhere without seeing our people talking to people. Most people were very receptive, and would at least let us pray for them and tell them about God, even if they might not understand or agree.

I prayed with two of the girls in my internship with 3 women in a coffee shop who had 3 close relatives in the hospital and were a bit worried. They had already been praying about it with people in their church, but it was good to pray more and encourage them.

The parade itself was amazing. Since I was in it, I didn't get to see any of the other floats, but that's okay, because ours was the best. We had a giant green mountain with St. Patrick on top, played by Daniel Dunmore, an evangelist from England who had a huge booming voice. He held a giant cross, and looked very authentic (i.e. not a leprechaun). He preached the gospel loudly and boldy in between choruses of Grace Like Rain performed as an Irish Jig from the band on the back of the float. Behind the float were the 400+ singer/dancer/flagwavers you see above. I was one of them.

It was incredibly exciting, especially when we saw the faces of the people in the crowd. Everyone was shocked by the site of St. Patrick 12 feet up, preaching boldy, and the 400 people behind him, who would yell with excitement when he proclaimed "Jesus is alive!" We saw many different reactions, from wonder and awe, to excitement (especially with the kids), to conviction (I saw two separate old women crying softly), to hatred.

After the parade we had the opportunity to go out and talk to more people. I talked to one guy right after the parade who was SO EXCITED by our float and our song, as well as the preaching. I asked him if he knew Jesus. He said "yes," so I asked him "what do you know?" He knew a little, and went to church sometimes, so I just walked him through the gospel real quick and prayed with him. He was still super excited, and even excited about going to church the next day.

It was a fun and exhausting day. It's incredible talking about God with people who often know so little. Many of our fears of being rejected can keep us from sharing our faith, but it's SO GOOD, and most people are so grateful.

I'll try to get more pictures up soon, but for now you can go look at some random pictures that I took.

PTL (Praise the Lord), and leave me some comments!

St. Patrick's Day

2007-03-13T12:05:00.000-05:00

St. Patrick's day is coming up, and for me, that means sharing the gospel!

We have a huge parade here in Kansas City each year (I think it's the 2nd or 3rd largest in the nation), and we expect to see around 200,000-300,000 people. We (IHOP) will have a giant float, with an authentic English evangelist on top, proclaiming the gospel in 45 second intervals interspersed with "Grace like Rain" sung to an Irish Jig, with 500 or so singers and dancers behind the float.

We will also have many different outreach teams, doing various stuff from interviews, to face painting, to street evangelism, and more.

Be in prayer for this event, we have been praying for a huge impact on this city. If we even gather the 1 sheep out of 100 that would be 3,000! How great would it be to bring 3,000 into the Kingdom of God?

And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
[Acts 2:40,41]

the headphones are back.

2007-03-12T10:06:00.000-05:00

Well, the Passion for Jesus conference is over... phew! It was great, but very exhausting. When I get tired, often I don't want to be around anyone, I just want to be alone. Something hard to do here, especially during a conference.

So the headphones are back. For those of you who don't know, I've got some of those big headphones that cover your ears. I went and found some good low-key hip hop instrumentals to jam out to, threw them on my phone (thanks Dad!), put on my birks and went for a walk.

It brings me right back to my Duluth days, going for long walks with the Lord, venting a little, crying a little, praising a little, crip-walking a little...

Good times.

Well, back to reality. Back to classes. The more things change, the more they stay the same...

current

2007-03-09T17:33:00.000-06:00

well, I haven't updated in a while, because I have been so busy! Things have been so great, but there's no way I could keep up with it all here, so instead I have done nothing!

Horrible!

There's also no way to catch up, so instead let's more forward.

Right now we have the Passion for Jesus conference here at IHOP. It's going great so far, Allen Hood had one of the best messages I have ever heard, where he preached about Jesus throughout the entire bible in about an hour! (Luke 24)

Tonight John Bevere is speaking. I'm not sure who he is, but many people are excited.

That's all for now. Bless You all! I wish you all could be here with me!

Quick Question

2007-02-16T20:25:00.000-06:00

Does anyone read this? I have some new thoughts, but I want to make sure it's worth my time.

February

2007-02-01T16:20:00.000-06:00

Well, yesterday was the last day of my first FSM class, The Way of Intimacy. I have finished reading the book, Deep Unto Deep, by Dana Candler (our teacher), and only have one assignment left. The last two sessions of the class were great. One was on fellowshipping with the holy spirit and how the spirit lives inside us, the other was on the life of David. I think I would like entire classes on those two subjects.

My next class starts on Monday, and it's The Excellencies of Christ, with Allen Hood. I think he's my favorite teacher, so I'm really looking forward to this one. Our next book is "A Man After God's Own Heart", by Mike Bickle. I've read it before, but I'm looking forward to reading it again.

Also, we are working through Knowledge of the Holy, by A.W. Tozer on Wednesdays. I've read that a couple times, but Tozer blows me away every time. I should say God blows me away every time.

That's one of the things that's been hitting me a lot while I've been here, how incredibly great our God is. Great and Terrible, you might say. We've been looking at the accounts from the Bible of people who met God. Moses, Ezekiel, Daniel, John, and others... and they couldn't even come close to describing him. I could write a long long post on this right now, but instead I'll just encourage you on your own to go and contemplate:

Who is this God? What is he like? Where does he live? What would I say to him if I met him? Would I be able to say anything? What does he think of me? How does he want me to live?