What makes me question this outside of the obvious beauty of the Lord that we know He holds? Song of Solomon 6:5 reads “Turn your eyes from me- they overwhelm me.” This is the lover (Jesus) speaking to his beloved (the church, the bride of Christ). Have you ever considered that God was unable to look intently on you the same as the Israelites as they looked at Moses? I have seen a measure of this before. I saw the glory of God shining on someone, not a visible shining, but something on them that caused me to have to look away  because it was just too much to take in. It was an exhilarating experience that ruins your appetite to live with anything less.

Question: In catching a glimpse of the awe inspiring scenes of nature have you ever had to turn away your gaze because it was too much to behold?… No? Because as beautiful as nature can be it can never come close to holding the glory that God intends for a human. So why does nature seem to outshine us so easily? For we have forgotten much more than nature who made us!

God created us to be more than just messengers of his gospel. He created us to carry his glory as a demonstration of the preaching of his gospel. Yes, to release signs and wonders. Yes, to heal the sick. Yes, to raise the dead. But what is more of a demonstration than to carry a part of his very being! We are invited in 2 Peter 3:4 to “become partakers of (his) divine nature”. Now, that is a demonstration!

In pondering this the Holy Spirit provoked me with Acts 3:4 when the lame man asked Peter and John for money as they were entering the temple. Instead of money he received much more- he was completely healed! But I missed something. Three seemingly insignificant words Peter spoke before all this took place. “Look at us!” Exclamation point!

Here sits a man before them who has forgotten. More important than healing, this man needs to remember. Peter has remembered and he invites this lame man to gaze upon the glory that rests on he and John. I can see Peter standing there silent as he allowed this man to take in what he may have seen for the first time in his life- Glory on a man! In this short moment that must have seemed to this man more years than he has lived, I can hear the Spirit gently speaking “This is the glory that you were created to walk in as well”.

What led this man to sitting beside the road asking for leftovers? What has led some of us to do the same? Accepting whatever is left over after everyone else has picked over the good stuff. Because we often see ourselves like the Great Oz. Afraid if we take too big a risk then everyone will discover the man behind the curtain. The one who doesn’t quite measure up to his reputation. But take heart, glorious child of God. This is not your glory, it is His! And his glory never comes short.

You were made as a messenger. But more than that, you were made to carry glory! A partaker of his divine nature.  So set your heart on studying the nature of God. Watch the glory of God begin to stir in you. And then don’t be afraid to let it shine. It’s not just you behind the curtain. God is standing there with you.

And others have forgotten as well. They need to be reminded.

This is my 6th internship serving on staff with Intro to IHOP, 3rd one as a core leader- which is such a blessing! Though I see the same thing every 3 months I am still amazed at the transformation that happens in these interns.

Our team prophesied over a girl in my group 2 internships ago that though she was very nervous about sharing her testimony for the first time, God was going to use it powerfully. Before the internship was even over she shared it on stage at a major women’s conference. She is right now in New York at a United Nations conference for Women’s rights sharing the gospel to ambassadors and diplomats from all over the world.

A guy from the last internship is working with Exodus Cry, a ministry here at IHOP that reaches out to those in the human trafficking industry. One family left a ministry they pioneered and led for 8years, as well as a very prominent medical practice, to spend 3 months as a  intern. They just gave their ministry and business away because they knew there was more God was offering to them. God is already opening doors for them here on this missions base.

Three guys on my team right now have all been saved from suicide or murder. Their schedule is more than 50 hours a week, plus homework. In their “off time” they are going out on the streets to minister to those in prostitution. I am amazed at their hearts to bring freedom to others.

As for me, God has been very good. Jesus has kept me fed and with a  place to live for 19 months now, at times when it didn’t seem possible in the natural. Just over the Christmas holiday a family was led of the Lord to rent me a house-3 bdr, 2 1/2 bath, basement, 2 car garage, nice fenced in yard, right behind IHOPU- for $500 a month. It is the nicest house I have lived in… and that as a missionary making around $700 a month!

More than that, the Lord has brought me into a relationship with a woman of God of whom I could not come close to listing the blessing she is in her wisdom, encouragement, and passion for God and love for people. She is one who is truly worth the wait! Thank you, Lord for being better than we deserve.

Oh, what an amazing time! But… life has a way of tarnishing such seasons. The newness wears off. We run into some tough times. We get disappointed by our leaders. Our quality time with the Lord diminishes. We don’t feel God quite the same way. Finally, living for Christ just becomes a schedule, something we do. It’s just normal, right? I mean, how many people do you know still having glorious encounters years after they gave their hearts to God?

Were we tricked with that exhilarating touch on the front end, thinking it was the starting point for what was to come? I mean, is this what we signed up for when we committed to serve God forever? Was there some fine print in the contract that we didn’t see? Forget living in awe and wonder today, is what we’re experiencing right now even enough to keep us walking with the Lord for the next 40 years? Is this what the apostles were beheaded; sawed in two; crucified upside down for?

Well, take heart! For what you experienced during those first months as a new believer is indeed the starting point for what is to come. We want to be fascinated anew every day for a reason- God created us that way! That desire will be met when Jesus returns to the earth, but what about now? I know we have read about it, but how about a living, breathing model in front of us who is living out the kind of Christian experience we are longing for?

This is the invitation of 1 John 1- This is what we proclaim to you… what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and our hands have touched… 1:2 we have seen and testify and announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us 1:3 What we have seen and heard we announce to you too, so that you may have fellowship with us (and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ). 1:4 Thus we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Walking in relationship with Jesus, when you feel every day you’re slipping more and more into eternity. Now that is what we expected! Becoming knit together with Christ was never meant to be more of the same. It was never meant to be just a different expression of what we already know- Church service instead of a bar; same music- different lyrics; different speech- same lifestyle. We were made to live forever! We were made to taste eternity,and taste it in part now. John just gave us permission to be unsatisfied. If you want to be a living, breathing dilemma for those who say the miraculous is not for our day,you just received permission to live with one foot in eternity!

As you know I have been serving on staff here at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City since I finished the Intro to IHOP internship in September of 2009. I have been serving with the Intro internship since then, first as an Associate Core leader, and since July of this year, as a Core leader.

Since then I have gotten to help shepherd almost 500 people and work in a small group context with about 70 people. I have seen many fall in love with God all over again, have deep heart wounds healed, 10 months of Awakening services 3-4 nights a week where I have seen nearly every form of healing I could think of outside of a limb growing or being raised from the dead, and dozens of people sent back to their churches or out as missionaries with fresh revelation and renewed intimacy with Jesus.

Holy given to prayer and fasting…

The current internship will be ending December 19 and in January we are expecting around 100 more interns to lay down jobs, move across the country (or around the world), and give their lives for 3- 6 months (50+ hours a week) to experience hours a day of prayer and teaching, fasting, inner healing classes and 1 on 1 prayer and counseling.

It is exciting to see the hunger in the hearts of these people to become Jesus’ messengers on the earth. God is starting to raise up apostolic believers right here in America.

Thank you so much for your prayer and support that has helped me serve here as a missionary in Kansas city. It is hard to believe, but I just finished the Summer Internship, my fourth one on staff. Serving as a Core Leader for the first time, I felt an increased weight of responsibility in playing a part in what this team would receive from the Lord during those 3 months. I felt I grew as much as any one of the interns this season in learning how to shepherd people so they don’t miss anything the Lord wants to do in their hearts. I am amazed at how significantly God touches hearts during these 3 month internships.

Connecting Our Hearts to Jesus

I was blessed with an amazing small group for my first time as Core Leader. We had one person who was nervous about sharing their testimony for the first time in front of a group, as they didn’t know how people would receive them after hearing about their past. After sharing their story during small group, one of the other interns washed their feet and we prayed over them. I felt the Lord saying He was going to use their testimony to free a lot of people from shame. They left the internship a couple days early to attend a major Christian conference and through an acquaintance they ended up being called on stage and sharing their testimony in front of the whole conference! Wow, God works quickly sometimes!

LORD, SEARCH MY HEART…

I have considered for several months now doing the Pure Heart course that is now a required course for the internship. Just a few hours before it was to start for this internship someone sent me a text and said they had signed me up and paid for my tuition- praise God! It is an eight week class that meets once a week dealing with several areas of our lives where many of us have been affected, including father and mother wounds, unforgiveness, confession, etc. I have been amazed at the level these areas impact our view of God and ability to receive his love and expect the blessings of God. God not only did much in my heart, but I learned much about how to recognize issues and help lead others through healing.

At the end of the internship we had a rapid fire prayer of thanksgiving for all Jesus did during the 3 months. It was amazing to hear so many people share about having their bodies healed, their hearts restored and being filled with the joy of the Lord. People are being significantly touched during this internship. While some feel called to remain here after the internship, many are going home to their churches and jobs and releasing faith for miracles and salvations.

What would you say are the aspects of a ‘normal’ Christian life? How often do they encounter the deep, abiding presence of the Lord? What measure of signs and wonders do they operate in? Are they free from offence and walking in joy? To what degree is the love of Christ revealed in their hearts?

Think about this in the terms of what affects the heart of an unbeliever. What really impacts them when they meet a Christian? It is when they are confronted with something wholly different. The same lifestyle, with just a different focus, does not provoke people to redefine their entire lives. What then is different about us? …faithful in our marriages? …don’t abuse drugs or alcohol? …lend a hand to those in need? …a joyful spirit? These are certainly good, but many unbelievers may claim this as well. It is rather those things which are totally in-congruent with the natural laws of this present world.

Seeing sickness and disease leave someone’s body by simply praying for them. Receiving words of wisdom and words of knowledge for someone that there is no way we should know. Continually exalting others above ourselves without concern of our own reward. And the big one- having true love and forgiveness for someone who has hurt us deeply. These are the marks of a believer, one born of a different seed. They are elements of a different nature. They garner the attention of unbelievers. They cause the crowds to say as they did in Acts 2 “What does this mean?” These things make us “aliens and strangers in this land”.

There is something that happens when heaven invades earth. There is a God-placed appetite for the eternal He has put within every soul. While we may be astounded in one sense, there is something that connects when touching the eternal. It was what we were created for. We were created to participate with the divine nature of God. We not only connect with God, but there is something natural about operating in the eternal.

Our flesh may work to redefine our current level of experiencing God as ‘normal’ so that our hearts are not wearied with unmet expectations when we fail to experience the fullness of what God intends for His saints. This is not condemnation, but rather this is Jesus’ invitation to stir our appetites for the glory we were made to carry. So what does “normal” Christianity look like? It is deep rooted revelation of son-ship with God. It is continual (not occasional) intimate encounters with the loving presence of God. It is the power of Jesus to forgive and be healed, becoming completely whole-hearted, and walking in compassion. It is the active Spirit of prophecy. It is signs and wonders. It is a man hearing from God in a coffee shop. It is a woman being healed at the grocery store. It is a prayer meeting breaking out in the workplace. It is wholly different. And for believers, it is to be wholly normal.

So Lord, redefine our language. Set again for us the lofty expectations of living in fellowship with the Un-Created One. We live in an age we were not fashioned for, seemingly restrained by it’s laws. But that eternal longing within our hearts compels us to engage with that which is to come, and experience it now. Jesus, help us to become normal Christians!

Lifetime of Depression Lifted
I was writing in my journal in preparation for the broadcast of the awakening service. I was asking God for deliverance in specific areas: depression, self-hatred, despair, worthlessness, etc. During worship a testimony was given about depression. I had sent a message to my pastor on Facebook that I wanted to be baptized, so he and his wife came over and baptized me in the hot tub. A joy now fills my heart instead of sadness and a lifetime of depression. Deep places in me are healing: from verbal and sexual abuse from my childhood, and pain and abandonment from my parents now getting divorced after 30 years of marriage. Even as I sit alone, I feel a peace and a joy instead of deep sorrow and depression. Praise God!

Acceptance into the Bride of Christ
I have been watching your awakening services and before that your ministry’s onething conference. I have to say that I never realized that I didn’t consider myself  part of the Bride of Christ. I have never felt His love to the extent I now do. Thank you for teaching the truth of the Word about how God sees us. He used you to show me how He views me. I always thought of myself as a servant and not a daughter. You presented His love in a way I finally connected with and God has been touching my heart ever since. God has delivered me from the lies about my identity, from lustful thoughts and rejection, and I finally feel His healing and forgiveness. Thank you for all you do.

Physical Healing: Lactose Intolerance and Ears
I praise God for the amazing revival He is pouring out! As I began to watch the awakening services, I was reminded that dealing with issues with digesting lactose was not my inheritance and began to believe the truth that my inheritance was healing. I began contending for my healing and then at a prayer service at my church I asked my pastor and a few friends to pray in agreement for this particular healing. I just knew that I was healed and for the past two weeks I have had no issues whatsoever. Another time that I tuned into the webstream, they were praying for ears. That week I had started losing hearing in my ears—a muffling—because of an ear infection. Throughout the night I just knew that I wasn’t going to be forgotten in this. The next morning I woke up and my ears were perfect. God has been challenging me to believe it when He says He wants to heal me. I’ve always known that He can, but He wants to and I am walking in my inheritance. Thank you, Jesus!

Insomnia Gone, 1/24/10

At onething’09 Wes Hall began praying for healing for people who have trouble sleeping. I have always had a problem sleeping. It would take me hours to fall asleep each night. I’d lay in bed for at least two to three hours before I could actually fall asleep. On bad nights I would cry, because I had been lying in bed for over five hours, just wanting to sleep. When Wes called out healing for this, my roommate came and prayed over me. The rest of the week I slept like a baby, but I was hesitant to fill out a testimony card while at onething’09, because I wanted to make sure my sleep wasn’t just because of exhaustion from the conference. It has been almost a whole month and I am still sleeping like a baby. It hasn’t taken me more than twenty minutes to fall asleep. I cannot explain to you just how much this healing has impacted me. God is good.

Deliverance from Addictions to Pornography and Marijuana, 1/30/10

I have been touched by the power of His love. I stayed up all night watching the awakening testimony archives. I have been set free from years of homosexual pornography and an addiction to marijuana. Since I got back to college about a month and a half ago, I have been testifying to as many people as I can; something I could not do before because of shame. I now know that it is God’s goodness and love that leads us to repentance, because we cannot do it by ourselves. I am so grateful to know that God delights in me and He is well pleased with me, His son. Every day that goes by, I feel condemnation lifting more and more, and I don’t feel less than other men; I don’t feel ashamed. Thank You, Jesus!

Physical Healing: Chronic Migraines
I was visiting IHOP–KC when the awakening started. When I got there, there were many words of knowledge called out. Among those were migraine headaches. I immediately claimed my healing. Another word called out was chronic pain. I immediately claimed that. I did not feel anything physical at the time. However, the very next day for the first time since I can even remember, when I woke up I had NO PAIN IN MY BODY! I have suffered horribly from migraine headaches for about 40 years (since the age of 12) almost every single day. These headaches were debilitating and accompanied by chronic muscular pain in my neck and upper back with very limited range of motion. It has been almost two weeks since I received healing and I’m still walking in complete freedom from pain. Thank you Jesus! Thank you IHOP–KC for allowing the Holy Spirit to minister so freely, as a result I have been delivered from lifelong pain and suffering.

Various Healings (Amarillo, TX)
We’ve been watching via webstream at the House of Prayer in Amarillo, Texas. We’ve had a guy who had hearing loss get healed. An older woman with severe asthma got healed and she was running around our prayer room! Young people have gotten delivered from shame, rejection, fear, worry, stress and depression. Tonight after a young lady had been praying for voices and mentioned stuttering . . . well one of our intercessory missionaries had a bad stuttering problem and he is delivered!

Physical and Emotional Healing
I have struggled with my identity as a woman due to sexual abuse as a child–I have suffered from eating disorders and lack of a menstrual cycle for nine years as a result.  The Lord has been healing me and my cycle started again last month. Tonight a lie was broken when a lady shared her testimony: God showed me I am worth having children, that I believed I was sick because I would be a bad mother, but that is not true! He is restoring my identity as a beautiful woman of God. Praise the Lord! Bless you all. Let His healing love flow throughout the nations.

http://www.ihop.org/

INTRO- FIRST SEASON ON STAFF

Finished my first internship serving on staff for Intro to IHOP. I have probably learned more in serving in the internship than I even did while going through it, which was quite a lot! Being on this side of it, my heart comes so alive at watching these new interns receive such healing and revelation right in front of me. Growing into spiritual maturity and freedom is a life journey, but the leadership of the Spirit that has directed this internship is such a launching point into that reality. Combined with the Awakening services that broke out during this internship and are still continuing, there has been such acceleration of growth and healing. I was amazed at how much the Lord did in their hearts in just 3 months.

ONE THING- 2009

We finished the year with the One Thing conference. This is a 4 day annual event IHOP has at Bartle Hall in downtown KC. There was around 20,000 people in attendance plus another 20,000- 30,000 watching the webstream.They have worship, teachings and ministry in the conference center, as well as the prayer room across the street, from 9am until midnight. Intro staff volunteered to serve in the prayer room as ushers and ministry leaders every day from Noon till 5pm. I must say I wasn’t the most excited about this as I didn’t want to miss the teaching sessions and thought everyone would be at the conference.

The first day was pretty good, but as it went on the prayer room was actually electric with the presence of the Lord. There was some great ministry times which culminated on Thursday, New year’s eve. The prayer room was packed with people sitting and standing everywhere. The worship teams were touching heaven in an amazing way. And the people were richly engaged in the presence of the Lord.

Around 4pm, a girl asked me for prayer. I grabbed another of our staff, Jessica, and we prayed for her.The girl was deeply touched and weeping loudly as the Lord was healing her heart. We finished praying and as others were provoked by the moving of the Spirit, they asked for prayer as well. This started what would be 2 and a half hours non stop of moving from person to person in prayer. Sometimes by myself and sometimes grabbing whoever I found to pray with me. The Spirit was so tangible every person was deeply affected by His love. Prophetic words were coming as easily as speaking, people giving confirmations at what the Spirit was speaking to them. I was in awe at what the Lord was doing through us, and realizing this was just a hint of the weight of glory Jesus desires to pour on a human frame, releasing the knowledge of God. It was an atmosphere you just don’t want to leave.

The night ended after midnight with 20,000 people jumping and dancing in worship as the concrete floor was noticeably shaking beneath my feet. The messages of “What is the Spirit saying to the church” and the increase of what the Lord has been doing in our ministry times I believe affected those that were visiting from across the nations and they will carry the new thing the Lord in doing on the earth during this season back to their homes.

INTRO- SECOND SEASON ON STAFF

This internship has grown with around 113 interns, including the first ever Korean group.  Our small group (team #7), led by Chris and assisted by Ashley and I, has 8 girls and 3 guys. I have already fallen in love with this group. They have become so close already and have stepped into what the Lord is doing with hearts ablaze. We had our first testimony last night from one of our team. They spent about 5 years in a cult being terribly abused. Spent many years in drugs and alcohol abuse and relationships within the stripper and pornography community. Then suffered a brutal divorce. They have in just a short time stepped into deep healing and is such a leader in servanthood and shepherding within our group.

I am humbled that the Lord chose me to be here for such a time as this as the beginnings of revival fire are being stirred. To be able to partner with Jesus in seeing person after person being deeply touched with emotional healing and rekindling holy zeal within their hearts to carry to missions, churches and marketplaces around the globe is intoxicating. Thank you for what many of you have done in prayer and giving to help me fulfill the calling on my life for this season. Your gifts are an altar of worship.

As we become rooted in our identity through understanding the message of the love of the Father in “Song of Songs” and are stirred with urgency by understanding that which is to come in the book of “Revelation” we will progress toward making the “bride” ready for Jesus’ return. We have a long way to go as the body of Christ in order to be ready to stand in the days of Jesus’ return and the deception that will fall on the earth in that time.

It is often difficult to grasp the level of depravity that is even currently on the earth, much less what we will face in the end times. And the need for the church to stand in stark contrast to what the world has to offer is growing in intensity. So there is nothing like a few statistics to help wrap our minds around what we face on the earth today. These are a few of the areas which the bible says will escalate in the last days and where they are currently.

They did not repent of their murders…sorceries…sexual immorality or thefts. (Rev. 9:21)

Pornography: Nearly $100 billion is spent each year on pornography worldwide. There are nearly 5 million pornographic websites on the internet with over 500 million pages containing pornography. Over 30,000 Internet users view pornography every second of every day,

In March of 2002 Rick Warren’s (author of the Purpose Driven life) Pastors.com website conducted a survey on porn use of 1351 pastors: 54% of the pastors had viewed Internet pornography within the last year, and 30% of these had visited within the last 30 days.

Human trafficking: Over 80% of the human trafficking victims are forced into the rapidly growing sex trade that generates over $40 billion per year. Biblical prophecy declares that slavery will be a predominant sin in the end times (Rev. 18:13; Joel 3:3). There are currently 35 million slaves on the earth. It is growing by nearly 5 million/year.

Nearly 50 million abortions occur each year worldwide—about 1 million per week. Over 1.5 million babies are aborted per year in the US- that is over 4,000 babies that are killed every day in the US alone.

There will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences (Lk. 21:11)

Water shortages have reduced the global food supply by 10 percent. The population is growing, yet its agricultural capabilities are diminishing. Over 500 million people do not have enough drinking water. The numbers will increase to 2 billion by 2025 (this will be approx. 1/4 of the earth-greatest famine in history).

Deadly new strains of malaria, tuberculosis, and cholera are becoming resistant to all known antibiotics and are killing millions. Diseases are growing in an unprecedented way globally, especially viral killers like AIDS and Ebola. Over 35 million people are living with AIDS. More than 25 million have died from AIDS since 1981. Africa has over 11 million AIDS orphans. Six million people a year are getting infected- nearly 16,500 every day.

They will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. (Mt. 24:9)

Persecution has increased exponentially in the 20th and 21st centuries, as documented by the Voice of the Martyrs organization. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia (2001) the number of martyrs recorded over 1,900 years of church history equalled 24.6 million. In the 20th century, however, there were 45.4 million martyrs across the earth. Persecution of believers continues to increase in parts of China, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, North Korea, and Sudan, etc. It will reach an all-time high in the generation Jesus returns.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:14)

We are already seeing the beginning of the beginning of a global harvest unlike any other period in history: the Gospel has been preached to four billion people; churches exist in all 251 nations and territories of the earth; and the Bible has been translated into 2,062 languages available to 98 percent of the world’s population. Every Home For Christ reports that their organization is now planting churches at the current rate of 10,000 per month globally.

The Wycliffe Bible Society began the “Vision 2025” project in 1999, attempting to translate the Bible in every known language – and began at a rate of one completed translation every 18 days; now in 2008, this rate has accelerated to one completed translation every five days. In other words, in under a decade they have shortened the completion date from the year 2150 to the year 2038 through current technological advances.

These statistics are simply a hint of that which is to come. The good news is that the church in that day will be in stark contrast to what we are currently experiencing today as well. May we be provoked to question our hearts and seek the revelation of the Lord as to what we can do now to prepare the church to walk in the fullness of His power that it will need to overcome in that day.