Make yourselves ready!

Each day my heart is becoming more fully convinced that the lifestyle modeled here at the House of Prayer and other similar places around the world is the foundational stages of what the church will look like at the end of the age. Setting a base of 4 hours a day, 6 days a week of prayer and study, regular fasting of a couple of days a week, living a simple lifestyle, and extravagant giving will prepare our hearts to stand in the power of God in the days to come and make our lives that which will provoke those around us to deeper longing for the heart of the King.

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.

A Heart Longing

Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling… (2 Cor 5:2)

OK, the Lord gave me a real litmus test for my heart this week. He asked if I was longing for Him to return… today! After thinking about this (couldn’t stop myself from posting the picture of deep thinking) for probably much longer than should be the case for a believer of, let’s say… quite a few years, I decided I was longing for His return… after I checked off my list of things to do.

I mean, come on, there’s a reason you don’t see a whole lot of bands traveling with harp players- they’re just not that exciting. And floating on a cloud would be really cool… for about 30 minutes. I really want to know what streets of gold look like, but I don’t see me staring at a road for the next zillion years. So I find myself more often intrigued with the “here and now” rather than the “hereafter”. So how do I find myself where Paul was in groaning and longing for His return- today?

I believe the key is in making an educated decision. I feel confident in choosing between a Yugo or Ferrarri; sickness or health; rain or shine. But between this age and the age to come? Hmm.

The reality of not having sufficient knowledge of the age to come has hit me recently. I spend altogether too little time meditating and pondering on the realities of what the Lord has prepared for us. We know the verse in 1 Cor. 2:9- “No eye has seen, no ear heard, no mind conceived…”, but we rarely grab ahold of verse 10- “but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.”

I’m provoked I need only to look at scripture and begin to ponder for the Holy Spirit to shift the scales a little in my comparisons. For instance:

How about Rev. 5:11-12. The most conservative number here has to be 100 million angels around the throne- singing in a loud voice! For perspective the largest stadium in the world is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which seats 250,000. That would be at least 400 sold out stadiums all singing at the same time in a loud voice! Can we even begin to imagine what this must look like! what it must sound like!

How about the New Jerusalem in Rev. 21 that will eventually rest on the earth. It is 1380 miles wide and high. The entire city is made out of pure, clear gold and 12 precious stones. It has 12 gates (that must be huge) that are each made of a single pearl. For a little fun, think about just the aspect of the dimensions alone:

The tallest building in the world is the Taipei 101. It is 1671 ft. tall, which is less than 1/3 of a mile. The tallest mountain- Everest, 29,028 ft., 5.5 miles. The common height of where the earth’s atmosphere becomes outer space- 62 miles! That is only 1,318 miles short of the New Jerusalem, which by the way would stretch from approx. San Francisco to St. Louis.

What about the 200 million horsemen? Or the radiance of Jesus in Rev. 1? Or the living creatures with 6 wings and eyes all over? Or the demonic locusts?

Can we even imagine these things? Not really. But the Spirit will begin to unlock the hearts and spiritual imaginations of those who meditate on the truths of His word to such a degree we can speak as Paul, and David as he said the one thing I want is to gaze on your beauty. It brings a new understanding of the counsel to think upon “that which is lovely”. In comparison to the age to come, what on the fallen earth is lovely that would warrant any thought at all?

This doesn’t mean not to appreciate, or even enjoy this present time. And this doesn’t invalidate my desires, or even diminish  them. I am still praying for the fulfilment of those things. It just brings a little perspective. And if we begin to take the scripture and fill our minds with thinking about what God has in store, and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the sights and sounds and smells of those days, I believe our hearts will begin to long and groan for those days of being forever in His presence. And as a side item of no small account, the trivial things of our day to day lives won’t illicit quite the same anxiety in our hearts in light of His coming.

The revelation that we can experience when we gaze on the beauty of Jeusus will cause our hearts to come fully alive at the expectation of His coming. Is this not what we were told Christianity was supposed to be? Well, it is! And God is anxiously awaiting one who will set his gaze on this One who is the Resurrection and the Life. Selah, His blessings roll on…

Cloud by day, Fire by night

Prep rooms are one of the things on the Intro to IHOP schedule internship. Our small groups would do these on either Tuesday or Thursday of each week. We would be in one of the side rooms of the Global Prayer room for a one hour slot. There would be a short time of prayer direction for the day, then we would pray in the spirit for about 45 minutes. Then we would share anything the Lord may have spoken or shown people during that time.

This was a challenge for many people, but it was a great place of building in us a pattern of praying in the spirit like the apostle Paul. I am not one who typically get’s a lot of visions or pictures in the Spirit, but one day in the Prep rooms the Lord showed me a picture of Himself that was a great blessing to my heart. It was after about 30 minutes or so that I saw the Lord in a picture. I believe this is a message that He longs to give each one of us as this is His heart for all His children.

The picture was this: I was sitting in a chair and the Father was circling around me slowly and leaning in real close as he gently spoke to me with a sweet, loving voice. He was repeating over and over things such as “I love you so much. You are so amazing. I am so pleased with you.”

As the Father was doing this I looked and there was before me a ferocious lion that was circling me as well in a little bigger circle. I knew it was Jesus, the Lion of Judah. He was alive with rage and had fire in his eyes as he was furiously protecting me. When he roared it was like a thousand thunders and the hair would stand up on his back. It would have been too much to bear normally, but I was not scared at all.

Occasionally the Father would turn his gaze from me and look at the Lion. When he turned to look at the lion his expression would change to one of intensity. When he looked at the lion, the lion would come alive with such fury that it seemed he could not contain it without exploding. I knew that when the Father looked at the lion he was saying “protect this one”, which caused the lion to rage with power.

Then I was reminded of the cloud by day and fire by night as the Israelites were in the desert. I didn’t know what this had to do with the picture I saw. Then the Lord showed me that he was my covering like the cloud by day. He covered me with the truth of His word. The lion was the fire by night which was my protection. The same way you light a fire to keep the animals away at night, the lion was my protection in the darkness.

This was such a picture of God’s intense love for us and the furious rage he extends to protect us from the enemy. It reminds us also of how we need to stay so connected to the heart of God through prayer and meditating on his word as the enemy is relentless in his accusations and attacks against us. I was blessed to have the Father show me this vision and confirm in my heart his deep love for me.

Pressing into the heart of God through prayer will positon us to hear his voice and establish us in the assurance of his nearness.

Blessed be the name of the Lord

OK, this post is long overdue. I have to share some praise reports since I arrived in KC.

I rented my house in Georgia. It took about 4 months for me to sign a lease with some tenants, which happened 2 weeks before the internship here in KC was starting. It made for a quick time of packing and preparation to get everything settled in time, but I was thankful the Lord provided a renter as I would not have been able to come here without it.

After I was here only about a month my tenant sent an e-mail saying she was turning in her notice and moving out at the end of the month due to some circumstances that had come up. As difficult as it was to rent my house before, now I was 800 miles away and following a very busy schedule, with 2 months left in the internship and didn’t have the money to pay for the mortgage there and rent here at the same time. Not good!

I had some pray for the situation and sent an e-mail sharing some thoughts. About a week later she responded and said she would love to fulfill the remainder of the lease. She was thankful I had sent the e-mail and asked her to consider staying. She has been on time with every payment so far. Thank you Lord, and those who prayed, for your wonderful faithfulness!!

During the internship I received a $50 gift certificate for Payless shoes that was anonymously placed on my truck window. At the end of the internship someone anonymously gave envelopes of cash to every intern, every staff leader, and every worship leader that had lead worship for us even one time in the mornings before our classes. Each was at least $50, and some were a few hundred dollars. This amounted to several thousand dollars- incredible! I received $50 by the way- thank you Lord! This past Monday night I received the always wonderful “hallelujah handshake”. When I walked into our monthly all-staff meeting someone shook my hand with a $50 bill in it. You’re awesome God.

And this last week I received my first official support check. This was so exciting as I took it as a confirmation from God that He has brought me here for this season with a divine purpose and He will sustain me during this time. It was $100 (Bless you two- you know who you are. I pray great increase on your finances.) I still need to raise just a little more- haha, but God is so faithful and so merciful.

So God, you are great. Faithful and True is your name. Merciful and good are your ways. Rightly do we love you, oh Lord.

His leadership is perfect!

“Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16) The theological gymnastics involved in understanding Jesus as God is beyond comprehension. But as big a question as this is, this is just the starting point for the enormous question that follows. ”Why do you call me good?” (Luke 18)

To declare that Jesus is good is to say He is perfect in His leadership. Then how do we respond when he tells us things like the rich, young ruler -to sell everything we have and give it to the poor? How do we answer the question of how a loving God would send people to hell? How will we react when we recognize that God will destroy in excess of 4 billion people on the earth in the matter of a couple of years during the tribulation? (there is currently 6.7 billion people on the entire planet!)

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways” (Isaiah 55) How do you trust all the decisions of your life to someone who moves in a way that is often completely irreconcilable with our understanding? He doesn’t think like me. He doesn’t act like me. If I let Him lead my life, what does that look like? If we say He is good, then we must trust Him, even when He moves in a way we don’t understand.

If the above questions are difficult to answer now, then what will be our answer in the last days, should we see them in our lifetime? It will be the Anti-Christ who seemingly ushers in a time of worldwide peace, prosperity and unity during the first part of the tribulation and will deceive countless millions of people. Oddly it will be the Christians who the world sees as fighting against peace- the signs of which we are already starting to see as Christianity is being attacked on many fronts around the world. Matthew 24 says even the believers would be deceived if the Lord did not keep us.

We must first examine ourselves to see if we are indeed born again. (2 Cor. 13) Secondly, we must know that all His ways are just. We are to always have an answer for our faith in Christ. How can we give an answer of why someone should follow a God who would destroy billions of lives unless we have deeply encountered His love and been marked with the knowledge of His justice. Those questions won’t be answered by hearing a sermon, but rather by becoming lovesick with the Creator.

The plans of God that we don’t understand should not be viewed so much as His judgement as they should be His immense love for those who have chosen Him, that He would remove anything that hinders Him expressing that love to them in the deepest way. The revelation of this love He has for us is our anchor that holds us to the understanding that whatever action He has taken has to be the most merciful and compassionate act that could be displayed.

In that place of commumion with Him we WILL agree with the army of martyrs coming out of the Great Tribulation in Rev. 15, as the Lord has poured out the seal and trumpet judgements on the earth and and is about to release the bowl judgements with great destruction, as they sing- “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways”- because we will recognize these judgements as His intense love in delivering us from evil.  And we will say “rightly do we love you” (Song of Songs 1)

He longs to speak

Each internship we split our Intro to IHOP leadership into teams of 2 or 3 and speak prophetic words over every intern in the beginning of the internship as we hope to set their course for what the Lord is speaking to them for this season, and then again at the end of the internship to encourage them as they begin the next season of their lives.

They have established boundaries for safety in that we don’t prophesy specific dates, future spouses, or future pregnancies. All words are to exhort, encourage and edify and must align with scripture. The testimonies from the interns were incredible as they were encouraged and many confirmations were given to what the Lord had already spoken to them.

Though the Lord has spoken through me at times with words as I prayed for others, this was the first time I sat down with the intention of prophesying over numerous people in a row. I will say it was a little nerve wracking as you want the Lord to really encounter their hearts. I was blessed to be teamed with 2 staff members, Louisa and Michael, who are incredibly prophetic and encouraged me as I listened to them to trust God to speak out what He was showing me.

As soon as one intern, Elisha, sat down I heard the word “Seer”, which is the Old Testament word for prophet. I thought there is no way I am saying that! But Michael spoke first and began to speak the word prophet over her, so I was given confidence to speak what I saw. Afterwards she said she had felt the calling of prophet over her for a long time, but recently had began to really question whether the Lord had truly spoken this to her. She was thankful that the Lord confirmed his calling over her life.

Pray for these that they will hear the word of the Lord for their life and step into it.

God is still moving!

I am now a couple of weeks into the new internship serving full time. We have 90 incredible interns of all ages from all over the world. We split the group into smaller teams on certain days in order to interact more personally with each person. My team, led by our Core leader Craig, has 11 interns that are amazing in their passion and giftings. I am amazed at the stories of these people. What they have given up to come here to just know more of Jesus. Some coming with just enough money to get here and trusting God to keep them for the next 3 months.

There has already been some incredible testimonies as God has confirmed His love and provision for them. Tuesday morning someone asked me to pass on some money for one of our interns, Ashlei. Wednesday we had prayer for those who desperately needed a move of God in their finances. That afternoon someone passed on a stack of envelopes anonymously to one of our core leaders, Ryan, with money for those that raised their hands. One girl literally gave away all the money she had to one of the missionaries here and received back double what she gave that very afternoon! A girl in my group, Stacie, was healed from migraines. One of the other interns saw a flash of lightning pass through her as she was being prayed for.

I am so excited to be a part of this team and pour into this group who are going deep in God and will carry this message of abandoned love to the nations. They will truly change the expression of Christianity to the world. Pray for them that God would really capture their hearts during this season.

To show the Way

(Christmas – Do You Hear What I Hear?, Paul H. Dunn, 1987, pp 90- 91)

Once upon a time, there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug.

He wasn’t a Scrooge. He was a very kind and decent person, generous to his family, upright in all his dealings with other men. But he didn’t believe all that stuff about an incarnation which churches proclaim at Christmas. And he was too honest to pretend that he did.

“I am truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, who was a faithful churchgoer, “but I simply cannot understand this claim that God became man. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

On Christmas Eve, his wife and children went to church for the midnight service. He declined to accompany them. “I’d feel like a hypocrite,” he explained. “I’d much rather stay at home. But I’ll wait up for you.”

Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window and watched the flurries getting heavier and heavier.

“If we must have a Christmas,” he reflected, “it’s nice to have a white one.”

He went back to his chair by the fireside and began to read his newspaper. A few minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound. It was quickly followed by another, then another. He thought that someone must be throwing snow balls at his living room window.

When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm, and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his window.

I can’t let those poor creatures lie there and freeze, he thought. But how can I help them?

Then he remembered the barn where the children’s pony was stabled. It would provide a warm shelter. He quickly put on his coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on the light. But the birds didn’t come in.

Food will bring them in, he thought. So he hurried back to the house for bread crumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a trail into the barn. To his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction – except into the warm, lighted barn.

“They find me a strange and terrifying creature,” he said to himself, “and I can’t seem to think of any way to let them know they can trust me. If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety.”

Just at that moment, the church bells began to ring. He stood silently for a while, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. Then he sank to his knees in the snow.

“Now I understand,” he whispered. “Now I see why you had to do it.”

The Invitation

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched… We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and His son, Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:1-3

I love that scripture! Did you catch what it was? It was an invitation. An invitation to enter into relationship with Jesus the same way the disciples experienced Him. This is an invitation, not from John, but from God himself. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “For prophecy (scripture) never had it’s origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”. God himself is inviting you to a relationship with a living man- Jesus! A tangible reality where you can hear His voice, feel the weight of His love, know what He’s feeling, encounter His emotions.

If you have received salvation through repentance, was this not what you signed up for? Surely you didn’t shift the entirety of your whole life for a distant, emotionless relationship with a symbolic “God”! Everything in us- a desire to be loved, all our emotions, a desire to share our life, to feel we are valued- all these things were designed first and foremost to equip us for deep relationship with God. Not fundamental knowledge- but a tangible interaction with Jesus. He is fully God- but he is fully man as well. Thereby He has purchased for us the ability to engage in relationship with Him with our physical senses- to some degree- and emotions.

It may be that we don’t physically encounter Jesus in this life (although since there is biblical precedence in the scriptures of Jesus appearing to men, what is there to hinder us from contending to encounter God physically ourselves?- just something to consider), but God IS calling us to a place of personal encounter with Him as a lifestyle, not just being stirred by a song on occasion. God is not sitting on His throne longing for the day we make it to heaven before He can express His love to us.

Can you consider a God who created man for no other reason than to enjoy relationship with him so much so, that He came as a baby to live and die an unjust brutal death at the hands of the ones He made, just to purchase their love- can you consider this same God waiting thousands of years until Jesus returns in order to express His love toward you?

I can’t fathom that! His heart is so filled with longing for us He couldn’t possibly restrain His affections for us for thousands of years. In Song of Songs ( or Song of Solomon) the Lover is speaking to his bride, which is also figuratively the Lord speaking to His bride, the church. Verse 6:5 says, “Turn your eyes from me; they overwhelm me.” Have you ever considered yourself so beautiful to God that He is absolutely ravished “by one glance of your eyes” (Song of Songs 4:9)? He asks us to look away because He is overcome with desire for us and it is too much. This is how He looks at us! Look it up, it really says that.

Is this not everything that is in your heart? Is this not the kind of relationship you want? Our hearts are designed by God that until we find this love we will never be fulfilled. And the really scary part is if we don’t respond to His love, we will miss the experience of knowing that love for eternity. His invitation is to deep love with Him. In spite of our sin, He still calls. There is a matter of living in holiness, but that is proceeded by responding to the call. Will you come and let Me love you?

Known by the King

In Daniel, chapter 2, king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. As even he knew, his wise men were prone to interpret dreams and visions with a positive slant for fear of offending the king, without ever really hearing what God was saying. So this time the king asked them to tell him the dream first and then he would know they could interpret it correctly, or else all the wise men would be “cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble“. Daniel, with revelation from God, was able to do both and saved all the wise men’s lives.

There is something special about someone calling you by name. It is affirmation that they know you and they want to recognize you as a person.You know you want to be like Norm on the tv show “Cheers”. Whenever he walked in the bar everyone would yell “Norm”! So maybe you don’t want to be known in a bar, but nonetheless, we want to be known.

Even a king like Nebuchadnezzar was tired of hearing that God interacted with man and never once feeling that he mattered one bit to God. Maybe you have felt the same way. This king wanted to be known. The most powerful man around. The most recognized man near and far- wanted to be known. Eventually, being known by man, even lots of men, just isn’t enough.

Tell me accurately what God said or I will have you “cut into pieces and your houses turned into rubble!” If this were the standard for preaching today, I don’t think it would be quite as hard to get together a Thursday night prayer meeting at the church. I believe they may even do away with the list of ready made online sermons. But let us be in agreement that cutting preachers into pieces is not a part of the story we need to emulate.

What we do need to consider is are we pursuing this same place of desperation? Nebuchadnezzar was wise enough, or maybe desperate enough, to call the bluff. “There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.  What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men.” (verses 10-11) Are we asking God for things that “no man can do”? Are we living in such a way that only He can sustain us?

Oh, and by the way, He does live among men! And if you put God to the test like Nebuchadnezzar did, you will find out just what he did- God knows you.

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” Jeremiah 1:5