every friday and saturday in October, IHOP's evangelism ministry does outreach at haunted houses downtown. apparently, kansas city is famous for its haunted houses - not the best thing to be famous for. whoever wants to come is welcome, i went last weekend both nights. there are 2 haunted houses in this one section of the city called "The Beast" and "The Edge of Hell" (I shudder at the names, especially the beast as this is one of the names for the anti-Christ). it was the creepiest section of any city i have ever seen. not scary like in a bad-part-of-town way, just creepy. all the stores and buildings looked abandoned and closed, there were these railroad tracks and this huge stone bridge and it all just looked creepy and spiritually dark. the lines at these haunted houses were huge, people waiting for 2 hours to get in in 40 degree cold. we went and stood in line with people and talked to them about Jesus, and would get out of line when done and go to the back and talk to a new group. it was probably the easiest evangelism i have ever done. i've always understood the connection between prayer and evangelism - that prayer makes evangelism more effective, really makes everything more effective. but for the first time it became very clear how having a house of prayer in a city impacts that city's spiritual climate and i understood why a house of prayer is necessary. ihop has been praying in kansas city for 25 years (the past 10 of which have been 24/7) and the spiritual climate of the city has really been altered to where people are much more open to the gospel. This is one of the things prayer does - it softens hearts to Jesus and prepares the heart to receive Him when He is preached. I evangelized for about 2 hours both nights and I have never experienced people being so genuinely interested in Jesus. People engaged me in conversation, asked questions, sincerely wanting to know the truth and understand, not just for purpose of debate. Several people were getting convicted of their sin and the words I spoke about the love of Christ were hitting their hearts, I could see it in their eyes and countenances. 2 people actually thanked me for talking to them! that is very rare. i found myself able to be very truthful and honest - how Jesus is the only way, heaven and hell are real, and the cost of following Christ. And people actually received it! There were only 2 groups of people that got mad and were volatile, and we just blessed them. Most of my times evangelizing, it has been 2 people that have been open and the rest angry and belligerent.
it makes a lot of sense now why there must be continual prayer and worship in every city on the earth. if this is the fruit of 25 years of prayer in kansas city, give it another 10 years, and believers will be able to preach the simple gospel in the streets and people will be convicted and repent and mourn for their sins on the spot. this is the explosion of power and anointing that is coming upon the end-time church, the Holy Spirit outpouring that we're all waiting for, the Great Harvest. and it is birthed out of night and day prayer.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
psalm 22 - following the Lamb
i was reading psalm 22, it's one of the many psalms that clearly prophesies the Christ and undeniably portrays Him. it's the psalm that Jesus quotes the first 2 verses of on the cross - "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Verses 6-8 hit me hard today:
"But I am a worm, and no man;
a reproach of men, and despised by
the people.
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, the shake the
head, saying,
'He trusted in the Lord, let Him
rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He
delights in Him!'"
This is Jesus speaking. This is how He felt, the beloved of Son of God, so glorious and beautiful, felt like a worm, ridiculed, ridiculous. He did not have to feel this way; He could have stayed in heaven and been worshiped as He deserves to be, but He chose to put on flesh and be treated as less-than-human, looked upon as crazy, a criminal. Wow, if you really meditate on this passage and visualize all this, it takes Christ's humility to a whole new level.
If this is what the Son of God went through for us, why are we so hesitant and resistant to going through the same for Him? What's more, why do we expect otherwise in our own lives and are surprised, even offended at God, when we suffer? Peter said "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you [speaking of persecution],...but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings.." (1 Peter 4:12-13). Jesus Himself said, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Will we follow the Lamb and do as He did, look as He looked...?
"But I am a worm, and no man;
a reproach of men, and despised by
the people.
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, the shake the
head, saying,
'He trusted in the Lord, let Him
rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He
delights in Him!'"
This is Jesus speaking. This is how He felt, the beloved of Son of God, so glorious and beautiful, felt like a worm, ridiculed, ridiculous. He did not have to feel this way; He could have stayed in heaven and been worshiped as He deserves to be, but He chose to put on flesh and be treated as less-than-human, looked upon as crazy, a criminal. Wow, if you really meditate on this passage and visualize all this, it takes Christ's humility to a whole new level.
If this is what the Son of God went through for us, why are we so hesitant and resistant to going through the same for Him? What's more, why do we expect otherwise in our own lives and are surprised, even offended at God, when we suffer? Peter said "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you [speaking of persecution],...but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings.." (1 Peter 4:12-13). Jesus Himself said, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Will we follow the Lamb and do as He did, look as He looked...?
Saturday, October 24, 2009
loving God in tragedy
A friend of mine emailed this little story a while ago. I wept when I first read it. It's about the devotion of Sudanese women to Jesus in the midst of horrible, unimaginable suffering:
Baroness Caroline Cox has been described as "the Mother Teresa of the war-torn poor." A nurse, scientist, and deputy speaker of Britain's House of Lords, she has, to many of the world's helpless, become "love in action" in human form and a powerful voice on behalf of the forgotten.
When asked to relate both her worst moment and her best during all her journeys of mercy. The worst was entering a Dinka village after Sudanese government-backed soldiers had left, laden with human loot.
The stench of death was overpowering. More than a hundred corpses lay where they had been savagely butchered. Men, women, children, even cattle, had been cut down or herded into captivity to be carried north as slaves. Straw huts were ablaze, crops had been razed, and devastation and death confronted the eyes everywhere. Worst of all was the knowledge that the militia would return with their gunships and rifles, and the area's villages would once again lie naked before the ferocity and bloodlust of the Muslim fundamentalists form the North. "Genocide is an overworked word," Lady Cox said, "and one I never use without meaning it. But I mean it."
And her best moment? It came, she said, right after the worst. With the raiders gone and the results of their cruelty all around, the few women still alive - husbands slain, children kidnapped into slavery, homes ruined, and they themselves brutally raped - were pulling themselves together. Their first instinctive act was to make tiny crosses out of sticks lying on the ground and to push them into the earth.
What were they doing? Fashioning instant memorials to those they had lost? No, Lady Cox explained. The crudely formed crosses were not grave markers, but symbols. The rossed sticks, pressed into the ground at the moment when their bodies reeled and their hearts bled, were acts of faith. As followers of Jesus of Nazareth in the Horn of Africa, they served a God whom they believed knew pain as they knew pain. Blinded by pain and grief themselves, horribly aware that the world would neither know nor care about their plight, they still staked their lives on the conviction that there was one who knew and cared. They were not alone.
Baroness Caroline Cox has been described as "the Mother Teresa of the war-torn poor." A nurse, scientist, and deputy speaker of Britain's House of Lords, she has, to many of the world's helpless, become "love in action" in human form and a powerful voice on behalf of the forgotten.
When asked to relate both her worst moment and her best during all her journeys of mercy. The worst was entering a Dinka village after Sudanese government-backed soldiers had left, laden with human loot.
The stench of death was overpowering. More than a hundred corpses lay where they had been savagely butchered. Men, women, children, even cattle, had been cut down or herded into captivity to be carried north as slaves. Straw huts were ablaze, crops had been razed, and devastation and death confronted the eyes everywhere. Worst of all was the knowledge that the militia would return with their gunships and rifles, and the area's villages would once again lie naked before the ferocity and bloodlust of the Muslim fundamentalists form the North. "Genocide is an overworked word," Lady Cox said, "and one I never use without meaning it. But I mean it."
And her best moment? It came, she said, right after the worst. With the raiders gone and the results of their cruelty all around, the few women still alive - husbands slain, children kidnapped into slavery, homes ruined, and they themselves brutally raped - were pulling themselves together. Their first instinctive act was to make tiny crosses out of sticks lying on the ground and to push them into the earth.
What were they doing? Fashioning instant memorials to those they had lost? No, Lady Cox explained. The crudely formed crosses were not grave markers, but symbols. The rossed sticks, pressed into the ground at the moment when their bodies reeled and their hearts bled, were acts of faith. As followers of Jesus of Nazareth in the Horn of Africa, they served a God whom they believed knew pain as they knew pain. Blinded by pain and grief themselves, horribly aware that the world would neither know nor care about their plight, they still staked their lives on the conviction that there was one who knew and cared. They were not alone.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
intercession = crucifixion
first of all, i made it to ihop, kansas city! and i love it. the prayer room is amazing. i strongly encourage everyone to come here for a season, whether it be a month or 2 years. it's incredible what spending hours a day in focused prayer will do for your heart.
i was in the prayer room during intercession today, and the worship team was singing a song that goes, "Great Intercessor, always living to intercede. Why are You crying, heavily sighing, share Your heart with me." i got the revelation that intercession crucifixion go hand in hand. Intercession is the act of laying down your life, being crucified and dying. The ultimate intercession was Jesus hanging between heaven and earth, reconciling the 2 worlds. His plea "Father, I desire that they would be with Me where I am" cost Him His life, a price He was glad to pay. And so, when He tells us to take up our cross, part of what this means is to become an intercessor and partner with Him in His act of intercession. To lay down our burdens and take up His IS to tarry with Him, as even now He is our Great High Priest ever living to intercede (Hebrews 7). Prayer is the act of reconciling men to God, as Jesus did on the cross. So when we pray, we are entering into His burden and becoming crucified with Christ - dying to ourselves, our ambitions, and caring about another...stretching out our hands to heaven and saying "God, save their soul."
i was in the prayer room during intercession today, and the worship team was singing a song that goes, "Great Intercessor, always living to intercede. Why are You crying, heavily sighing, share Your heart with me." i got the revelation that intercession crucifixion go hand in hand. Intercession is the act of laying down your life, being crucified and dying. The ultimate intercession was Jesus hanging between heaven and earth, reconciling the 2 worlds. His plea "Father, I desire that they would be with Me where I am" cost Him His life, a price He was glad to pay. And so, when He tells us to take up our cross, part of what this means is to become an intercessor and partner with Him in His act of intercession. To lay down our burdens and take up His IS to tarry with Him, as even now He is our Great High Priest ever living to intercede (Hebrews 7). Prayer is the act of reconciling men to God, as Jesus did on the cross. So when we pray, we are entering into His burden and becoming crucified with Christ - dying to ourselves, our ambitions, and caring about another...stretching out our hands to heaven and saying "God, save their soul."
Friday, October 16, 2009
spirit of criticism
when i first came to the house of prayer, God sternly convicted me about the spirit of criticism. i realized how judgmental i am, critical, easily perceiving fault in others and viewing them through the lens of their weaknesses and issues versus through the eyes of Jesus. i realized how i do not bridle my tongue, and the tongue is a small member but steers the whole body, and is set on fire by hell (James 3), so it is so important to learn to restrain yourself, to not speak evil, complain, speak negatively. this pollutes your heart and clouds your discernment. since this initial realization, i've been fighting against this spirit and wrestling to get this criticism out of me. i've asked God to purify my heart, to convict me the moment i think/say a critical thought/word, to give me His heart and help me see through His eyes. God truly is able to change our hearts, because i have noticed my heart slowly transforming, where i am truly beginning to see people as Jesus sees them - with all their issues, He says they're lovely. as i've been awakened to my own critical spirit, i've become sensitive to it and aware of it around me. i've realized how much of our conversation (i'm talking about Christians talking to Christians) is completely unedifying to the Body and saturated with criticism and disdain. how we criticize this church or that church, point out the flaws in this person, pick that person apart. this is what the Bible calls "evil speaking". if we are the Body of Christ, and each person a different member, then doing this is liken to me taking a knife and just slashing my leg or my arm constantly, or gouging my eye out. graphic, i know, but that's the truth. i would never do that to my body. so why do we as His Body do that to ourselves? anything you say that does not build the Body does not contribute to the increase of His Kingdom. it hinders it, slows it down, even tears it down and destroys the work of God among us.
someone at IHOP (i forget who now) had an encounter in the spirit where they went to heaven and met Enoch, the man who walked with God and was not, for God took him (Genesis 5:24). this person asked Enoch, "How do you walk so near to God that you don't die, you just get taken away?" Enoch's response is so riveting and convicting that it doesn't matter if you don't believe this happened, you can't deny the validity of his statement. Enoch said, "When you learn to not hurt people with your words or with your thoughts, you will walk in God's presence." WHOA! That is one of the most simple yet profound statements i have ever heard, and i think about it every day.
God sees people through the blood of the Son, that means fully cleansed, 100% pure. not to say that He doesn't see their faults and weaknesses. He knows these better than anyone, and is constantly putting men through fire and discipline to purify them. but when He sees the faults, He says, "That's not who you are. All fair you are my darling; there is no flaw in you" (Song of Songs 4:7). this is how He views EVERY believer. no matter what you think about the church next door, THIS is how Jesus views that church. and this is what it means to see through His eyes. if you don't see other Christians, churches, ministries in this way, you do not have His heart, and you do not see as He sees. (of course there's a place for correction and rebuke, i'm not talking about that. i'm talking about criticism). back to Enoch's statement - we want God's presence, to be near Him, but there is a huge role we play in this reality. we decide how close we want to be, and a big part of this is having a pure heart. and a big part of having a pure heart is taking very practical steps to loving people: When you think a negative thought...#1) don't say it, #2) repent for it and ask God to change your heart, #3) purposely and verbally say 3 positive things about that person, #4) thank God for that person/church. that's the essence of it.
this is what God is doing in me, wanted to share with everyone and hopefully inspire :)
someone at IHOP (i forget who now) had an encounter in the spirit where they went to heaven and met Enoch, the man who walked with God and was not, for God took him (Genesis 5:24). this person asked Enoch, "How do you walk so near to God that you don't die, you just get taken away?" Enoch's response is so riveting and convicting that it doesn't matter if you don't believe this happened, you can't deny the validity of his statement. Enoch said, "When you learn to not hurt people with your words or with your thoughts, you will walk in God's presence." WHOA! That is one of the most simple yet profound statements i have ever heard, and i think about it every day.
God sees people through the blood of the Son, that means fully cleansed, 100% pure. not to say that He doesn't see their faults and weaknesses. He knows these better than anyone, and is constantly putting men through fire and discipline to purify them. but when He sees the faults, He says, "That's not who you are. All fair you are my darling; there is no flaw in you" (Song of Songs 4:7). this is how He views EVERY believer. no matter what you think about the church next door, THIS is how Jesus views that church. and this is what it means to see through His eyes. if you don't see other Christians, churches, ministries in this way, you do not have His heart, and you do not see as He sees. (of course there's a place for correction and rebuke, i'm not talking about that. i'm talking about criticism). back to Enoch's statement - we want God's presence, to be near Him, but there is a huge role we play in this reality. we decide how close we want to be, and a big part of this is having a pure heart. and a big part of having a pure heart is taking very practical steps to loving people: When you think a negative thought...#1) don't say it, #2) repent for it and ask God to change your heart, #3) purposely and verbally say 3 positive things about that person, #4) thank God for that person/church. that's the essence of it.
this is what God is doing in me, wanted to share with everyone and hopefully inspire :)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Jesus WEEPS
My friend sent me a text with this quote: "A Christian is someone who shares the sufferings of God in the world" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer). He was a German pastor under Hitler's regime and one of very few Christians who condemned the dictator's persecution of the Jews. He died in prison for attempting to assassinate Hitler, something he felt the Lord call him to and wrestled with as he was a pacifist and peacemaker. He eventually drew the analogy of a shooter walking into a classroom saying he was going to kill all the students. Wouldn't you as the teacher shoot the shooter? All that to say, Bonhoeffer knew what he was talking about in terms of suffering.
I love this quote because it indicates that God suffers. Jesus Christ is no longer in an earthly body, feeling and seeing what we see and feel. He's no longer on the cross, experiencing the weight of every sin and every pain we've ever had. He is risen. But God still suffers. He still experiences pain over human daily suffering. His heart still cries. A woman named Jennifer Miller had an encounter where God took her to a room in His house called the Weeping Room. He told her He spent most of His time there and asked if she was sure she wanted to go in. She said, "I want to be where You are." The room is furnished with only a chair, where Jesus sits and watches scene after scene of human suffering - children being abused, starvation, poverty, death, disease. She sees tears streaming down the Lord's face. Jesus still weeps.
Do we want to be where He is? Philippians 1:29 says "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake..." To be like Christ, our master, to follow Him, means to sit with the poor, share in their pain, and not turn a blind eye to it because it hurts too much (and when I say "poor," I don't mean just materially, because you can be monetarily rich but very oppressed and depressed, and thereby poor). You are called to feel it, because Christ does...right now. He dwells among the broken. Do you want to be where He is...?
I love this quote because it indicates that God suffers. Jesus Christ is no longer in an earthly body, feeling and seeing what we see and feel. He's no longer on the cross, experiencing the weight of every sin and every pain we've ever had. He is risen. But God still suffers. He still experiences pain over human daily suffering. His heart still cries. A woman named Jennifer Miller had an encounter where God took her to a room in His house called the Weeping Room. He told her He spent most of His time there and asked if she was sure she wanted to go in. She said, "I want to be where You are." The room is furnished with only a chair, where Jesus sits and watches scene after scene of human suffering - children being abused, starvation, poverty, death, disease. She sees tears streaming down the Lord's face. Jesus still weeps.
Do we want to be where He is? Philippians 1:29 says "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake..." To be like Christ, our master, to follow Him, means to sit with the poor, share in their pain, and not turn a blind eye to it because it hurts too much (and when I say "poor," I don't mean just materially, because you can be monetarily rich but very oppressed and depressed, and thereby poor). You are called to feel it, because Christ does...right now. He dwells among the broken. Do you want to be where He is...?
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
tribute to Cambridge
i was in durham this past weekend and got to spend time with some good friends from Cambridge (the ministry i was in in college). like always, i had a wonderful time. like always, i barely slept because christie and i stayed up hours into the night talking and laughing. i encountered generosity, goofiness, sincere encouragement, devotion to Jesus, and real brotherly love...just like old times. new inside jokes were formed, memories revisited. christian payed for dinner thursday night. brennen handed me a $100 dollar bill the same night (which i thought was a $20 until i actually looked at it much later). both touched my heart to the point of tears with their encouraging words about zhop's closure. pastor john and martha atkins payed for breakfast saturday morning, expressing such joy about my move to Sudan it made me more excited. i went to lunch with andrea and was deeply inspired by her strength. rollan gave me the best, most loving hug at church. christie and kenesha drove me everywhere! i cooked rice and burned it (typical) and stunk up christie's place. she looked up remedies to burnt pots online, and we spent the next day boiling salt and baking soda...stinking up the place yet again. i got to laugh heartily, talk about problems and struggles, revel in God's work in us. these are true friendships - where you go from discussing end times to sharing your heart in God to laughing about being gassy from eating too much beans, all in one conversation.
every reunion between 2+ Cambridge folk is just like old times...even though years have passed and so much life and growth has happened, nothing's changed between us. when we're together, we're the same silly kids who were crazy for God in college and did ridiculous things. our stories, testimonies, experiences are written in eternity. maybe we'll sit around the big screen up there and watch the DVD with God. maybe we'll even live in the same neighborhood in heaven.
to all my Cambridge-ites...you know who you are, you are more than friends to me. you are my family, and i look forward to spending eternity with you.
every reunion between 2+ Cambridge folk is just like old times...even though years have passed and so much life and growth has happened, nothing's changed between us. when we're together, we're the same silly kids who were crazy for God in college and did ridiculous things. our stories, testimonies, experiences are written in eternity. maybe we'll sit around the big screen up there and watch the DVD with God. maybe we'll even live in the same neighborhood in heaven.
to all my Cambridge-ites...you know who you are, you are more than friends to me. you are my family, and i look forward to spending eternity with you.
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