Longing For The Heavenly Country

 
I just got back from seeing the Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The movie was really good and I do indeed recommend that you see it if you have a chance. But it was the final scene, at the end of the world of Narnia-the beginning of Aslan's Country, that really tugged on my heart. I won't give away any details for those who haven't seen it but, let it suffice to say, it left an ache in me to go Home. It also reignited a fire in me to devote all I have to getting myself and others ready for this Country. This world has nothing for me. How I long to be with my Lord and my friend. I echo Paul's heart as he says in Phil. 1:23-24, "I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body." I want to go Home. I am starting to feel the ache. But it is being matched by an ache as I see a world of brokenness, filled with people who, as of now, will never see this great Land. I want to see them all there with me. I am torn. My heart hurts. I think it's good though, or at least, necessary.

Praise God today for the birth of the Gate into this heavenly country.

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one" (Heb. 11:13-16)

A few songs to listen to about this:
Soul Cry by Misty Edwards
Faithful To the End by Cory Asbury
Worth It All by Laura Hackett

To Clearify...

I feel like since some who read this i don't know or don't see often, I should clarify just so everyone who reads knows where I am coming from. In regards to the previous post, I am not one of those people who is against, having a house, full-time job, a car, or going to college, etc...But the question I am asking is why? It all comes down to your motives for doing or having anything. Why are you going to college? Is it because that is what everyone does and thus you assume you should too? Or is because you feel God calling you there? If you have a house is it just for you? Or do you have a house so that you can house others, take people in who don't have much, host times of fellowship and worship for the body? Or a car so that you can share it with others? Do you have a full-time job? Why? Is it out of obedience so you can support others who God has not called into full-time jobs, missionaries, the homeless,etc.. or because you need money to buy stuff to live comfortably yourself and collect more stuff over time and stock pile resource in a 'barn'. "Stuff" isn't bad, in and of itself but...

The bottom line is, we are blessed to be a blessing.

Everything we have we are given by God, not to horde but to distribute, to bless others. Learn to live with open hands.(See past blog entitled, "Economy of the Kingdom" for more on this idea.)

Fear is a big reason most people don't open up there homes or give freely of what they have. Fear of getting a bit uncomfortable. Fear of what others will think if they see a homeless person living in their nice beautiful home. Fear that it could be risky to let others use their car...what if they crash it? Fear that they may not have enough if they keep giving away and thus turn inward and have a 'fend for yourself' attitude while Jesus only had a 'fend for others' attitude. Fear that it could put your kids in jeopardy...but even your kids are not your own. They are just on loan from God. Stop thinking that you own anything!

The list could go on and on. But here is where intimacy with Jesus is so important to have saturating your life through prayer, worship, fellowship, Bible, etc...

The closer you get to Jesus the less fear you will have, because Jesus is Perfect Love...

...and Perfect Love casts out fear.(1 John 4:18)

Reverse the Rivers Flow: Revival and Reformation

At a prayer house in Grand Rapids on Thursday, a group of us were discussing our desire to live every moment for Christ and to bring his kingdom every place we went. Then one of us commented that it was great that we had this passion but how come it is so hard to carry this out long term in our lives. We will have bursts of zeal and passion but then just end up going back to 'life as usual'. As we were thinking about that another of us gave this image of a rushing river. As long as you are going with the flow of the river it is very easy because the river carries you. But if you had the audacity to try to go against the flow of the river that force of water would all but sweep you away. We realized that the river we were fighting against was the culture that we grew up in. The 'way things have always been' kind of mentality. Things like getting a job to by a house, a few cars, a vacation or two a year, the latest gadget, etc... The kind of stuff that when you question why we do what we do it gets people uncomfortable because this is what they have been taught their who lives. This is what a person does. They finish high school, if they are lucky get a college degree and maybe a Masters degree, then get a job to pay off debt, get a wife some where along the way and then settle down and do the 9-5 to make money to get more stuff and support your family in a comfortable life-style, etc...Basically, the American Dream....and unfortunately those in the church are caught in the same flow and most don't even know it. The river has been rushing for a long time building up strength and speed and to go against it you have decades of culture pushing against you. Sometimes we think just by turning around against the rivers flow and bracing ourselves, arms outstretched with zeal, will change the course of the river of our time and culture, but in our fading strength we will eventually be swept back into the 'norms' of society.



So what can we do? The apostles "turned the world upside-down" (Acts 17:6) just by devoting themselves to the "apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." (Acts 2:42) This is not for the spiritually elite. We are ordinary broken people just like they were. But Jesus said to them and to us, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12)

We will do greater things than Jesus! What a promise!

So how can we reverse the flow of this mighty river of our culture? How can we "turn it upside-down"? We can't. But the one who is in us can! Thus, our only hope is a supernatural one. I believe that the only thing that can the turn a mighty river of our time around (or tell a mountain to be thrown in the sea, for that matter) is prayer and worship that we pour out on God, and as we pour out on him, he pours back on us his supernatural love for him and for people that keeps us praying and worshiping, and then drives us out to the street to be his hands and feet.  
Prayer: Crying out to our God for mercy and interceding on behalf of our family, church, city, nation, or world. (This is not all prayer is by the way, just some examples)
Worship: Psalm 22:3 says, "Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel". God inhabits the place of our praise. As we send worship up, he sends his presence down and his presence drives back the darkness!


This is nothing new. Intimacy with Jesus drives people out in love to be his hands and feet. Basically, Love God and you won't be able to help but love people. 

Let me be clear.
I am not for rebellion. But what I am for is revival and reformation*.

Rebellion is birthed out of anger and hatred. 
Reformation and revival is birthed out of love and compassion.

We don't turn around the river in anger, but out of a love and compassion for the people caught in it's flow. As God uses us to pour out his love on people, people fall in love with God and then they start to become conformed to his image and are slowly turned around and start joining the others praying to turn the flow around! It is all about love. God's love not human love. God's love hates evil and clings to what is good. (Rom. 12:9)

Isaiah 2:2 says, "It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,  and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,  to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.""

Last time I checked, nothing flowed up hill. But in this passage it says that the nations were going to! The natural flow of a river is down from the mountain. This flow is strong and can't be stopped (easily), but to turn the flow around...impossible..yet nothing is impossible for God. A flow up a mountain is supernatural. It is a supernatural thing for the LORD to draw us to himself! Thus, to change the flow of the river of culture we need a supernatural solution...and that's where prayer and worship come in! Prayer and worship, basically, intimacy with Jesus, is both to be done individually and corporately. I believe that as communities of people who are tired of the status quo and who want to see the kingdom come saturate our way of life start to pray and worship, we will start to see whole cities transform. In fact, it is already happening all over the world! (See books: Red Moon Rising, Fire & Fragrance, or God on Campus for lots of stories)

* Revival and reformation in the form of a change of way of life toward God within a group of people or people group that has long term, lasting fruit in the day to day experience. Not just an event whose fruit stops after the event stops. (Please also not I am not against event-type revivals or emotions. I do believe the Spirit can and does just 'drop' on events from time to time in some powerful felt ways. I just want to see lasting fruit, people bearing fruit in keeping with repentance.          (Matt. 3:8))

Two great song on my heart while writing this: 
Revival by Robin Mark
Likeness of Jesus by Jonathan David Helser

Heaven and Earth (Part III)

In between west and east, heaven and earth.

The fullness of heaven and earth came together in the man Christ Jesus and culminated on the cross.

  Heaven                         Earth
Fully God                      Fully Man
Born of Spirit                Born of Flesh

There were also 2 times in life where Jesus was literally suspended between heaven and earth.
1) In the womb.
2) On the cross

Both are places of birth for us. We are physically born from the womb (with the head coming out first followed by the body) and we are born again from the cross (with the 'head' Jesus, coming first and the 'body' us, following)

Once born again we remain in this tension, living our lives in between heaven and earth.

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us...raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-6)

This verb tense in the Greek for the word 'seated' is in the aorist active tense which is used to specify a past event that has ongoing implications.

If you are in Christ and Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, then where are you?...Right now?

Right now, we are seated in Christ at the right hand of the Father. When are born again (whether over time or in a moment) we get caught up into eternity. Jesus' reality and experience becomes ours. That is why it can be said by Paul in Galatians 2:20 that "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me". When Jesus died on that cross, we were in him! It is really OK if this is beyond what you can imagine. His ways are higher than our ways and he often gives us more than we can ask or imagine!

We are both here on the earth in time and space AND seated in Christ outside of time and space!

In between heaven and earth.

We are the temple of God and his throne is in the midst of his temple. (Ezk. 43) His throne is in heaven. So are we.  But we are also his temple here on the earth!

God uses us to be priests, mediators of his kingdom. We pray that his kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven, then Jesus uses us (his hands and feet) to carry it out!

We can even feel this tension, this conflict between the domain of darkness and the kingdom of his beloved Son (Col. 1:13), within ourselves. Paul writes about this in Rom. 7:21-24:
"So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?"

Praise God he has already told us who will rescue us in the next verse!
"Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

There is a battle raging even though the battle has already been won.

We are called to be warrior priests with our 'tents pitched' in between:
                                 
                                     West and East
                                     Bethel and Ai
                                  Heaven and Earth

East and West (Part II)

Out of the four cardinal directions these two in particular have a prevalent place in the scriptures. 'East' is first introduced in describing the location of Eden (Gen. 2:8). A little later in we find it in Genesis 3:24 right after the Fall.

"After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life."

Next, we see 'East' again in relation to sin and judgment with Adam's son, Cain:

"So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden." (Gen. 4:16)

(Note: I don't think we can flee the Lord's presence anymore than Jonah could, but it's more a spiritual picture)


As people multiplied on the earth they continued eastward, away from God.  


"As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there." (Gen. 11:2) 

The plain of Shinar is the location of the tower of Babel. People are moving further from God. And it continues all throughout Scripture. I counted well over 150 other passages that deal with this and to go over each would be more fitting for a dissertation than a blog. So with that said, let this be enough to show you that east seems to represent sin, judgment, distance from God, etc...

Redemption:

"Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory." (Ezk. 43:1-2, Emphasis mine)

Jesus stepped down from eternal communion with the Father and Spirit, gave up the glory he had and became incarnate in flesh and blood, suffering everything this life had to through at a person, just so he could sympathize with all of our weakness (Heb.4:15), and took all of our sin upon himself, become a curse for us, and was forsaken by his Father. He went farther east than anyone has ever gone so that we could come back west, back to the Garden, back to God. 

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:11-12)

As the Son rose in the east, the light of his glory traced its way through the heavens, back to the temple and filled it.


"The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple." (Ezk. 43:4-5)


"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." (Rev. 21:3)

God has come to dwell with us and has made us his hands and feet, kings and priests. We are now the hands of Jesus that reach out to those in the east while joined hand in hand to the body of Christ firmly planted in the west. It was the job of the priests to be mediators between God and people. Jesus is the only mediator between men and God, but he lives in us and he uses broken people to carry out his purposes on the earth. Thus we, as priests and kings, we are called to be mediators between the broken places in the world and the house of God. God called Abraham to pitched his tent in between Ai (Hebrew: העי‎; "heap of ruins") in the east and Bethel (Hebrew: בֵּית אֵל‎; "house of God") in the west (Gen 12:8). We too are called to pitch our tent in between the east and west. In between Heaven and earth. (Ps. 103:11-12)

The Source of the River (Part I)

(This is the first in a 3 part blog series)


"The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east)...
...Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing." (Ezk. 47:1,12)

Today we are the temple and according to the Gospel of John, the river that flows from within is the Holy Spirit.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive."(John. 7:38-39)


This is a good reminder that we are not the scource but the vessel, even though it is flowing out of us, out of the body of Christ, both individually and corporately we are not the source. The key words in this passage are 'from within him', not 'from him'. There is a Source that dwells within us that this water of the Spirit issues from.

The Source:
"The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east.  Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.   While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple.  He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever." (Ezk. 43:4-7)

The Source within the temple, within us, is a throne. It is THE throne. It is this throne and, more importantly, the One who sits on that throne that is the Source of the River (the Spirit).

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him." (Rev. 22:1-3, emphasis mine.)

This River rushes to the lowest places. It flows one direction...West to East.

Two Poems

 My buddies Marcus Regan  and Brian Holda wrote these poems and they blessed me so I thought I would pass it on...

Untitled

by Marcus Regan

Does the creation know that it worships its maker?
I wonder

In the Spring the wild flowers put on their best dresses
The dresses they have waited all winter just to wear again
So that they might dance as the bloom before Beauty

For Beauty evokes beauty

In the Fall, trees scream bold praises of red and gold
In a language I sometimes wish I spoke
And then lay down their colorful crowns

For a Crown begets a crown

Deafening is the sound of a forest alive
Doing what it does just to bless your eyes
It is no decision of the stream's to dance
And the needles took no counsel to cover the earth
And give off their sweet fragrance of pine

A response your presence evoked
An unstoppable hallelujah
Because you are near

Great is your gravity.

It made the prophets fall down as though dead
The trees turn colors of red
The wild flowers dance in their beds
The sun lay down and raise
A daily display of new colors
Like a poem that is new each time it is read

We cannot help but praise you
When your beauty is on display
Set it before my eyes Lord
Set it before my eyes
And I will adore you

Like the flowers and the trees
Like the sunrise and the sunset
like the honeycomb and the stream

Yes they all worship
But do they know?

Only Beauty can make that which is beautiful
A sweet smell that tells only of the sweeter
A bright color that tells only of the brighter
A strong wind that speaks only of the stronger

I want to blossom like the flower
Dance like the stream
Be fragrant like the pine
Set like the sun and raise the same
All for you, before you, in you, oh King

By Marcus Regan
Inspired by My Romance by Rick Pino


The Lonely One
by Brian Holda
Inspired from Mark 14:27-32


His heart is fire;
His gaze a sword.
His arms are open.
And He says, "Come."
But, "We all like sheep have turned away."
We said with Peter,

"'Til death!  We'll be faithful!"

Because we looked at Him and thought,

How can we not?

He smiled.
He looked away.
He knew.
We didn't.
The light would grow dark.
The night, cold.
We would forget.
We would fall.
One by one -
Everyone.
He would stay standing,
Alone.
And He'd remember everything,
And would see us later,
With our eyes laying on the floor,
While His eyes never left us.
And through shared tears,
He would say:
"Love keeps no record of wrongs."

Cherubim No Longer Guard the Way

The Garden:
In the garden God dwelt with people, Adam and Eve were perfect, and walked with God.

Then sin entered the world and because imperfect cannot exist where there is perfection i.e. the immediate presence of God. They had to be where his immediate presence wasn't, "east of Eden" (Gen. 4:16)


"After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." (Gen. 3:24)

The Tabernacle:
When God again came down to dwell amongst his people he first called Moses up to the top of the mountain to give him instructions on how to prepare the way for him to come down and dwell. He gave him the instructions for the tabernacle so that he could dwell with us.

Heaven was coming to earth.

But not in its fullness yet. A piece of heaven would find it's dwelling place behind a curtain that blocked the way into the Most Holy Place, the way into the very presence of the Living God.


The interesting thing about the instructions for the curtain was that they were required to embroider cherubim on the curtain: "Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman. Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place." (Ex. 26:31-33)


The Temple:
When Solomon built the temple "He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim worked into it." (2 Chron. 3:14) God again dwelt in the midst his people but the way into his presence was still being guarded by cherubim.


In all three places, Eden, the tabernacle, and the temple, God dwelt, but in all three places Cherubim were put to guard the way into his presence from those who weren't perfect. (The high priest did enter once a year but was symbolically perfect and was a type for Christ, just as Moses was a shadow of Christ, being a mediator between God and people).

 "These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. (Heb. 9:6-10)


The Cross:
As Jesus hung in agony on the bloody tree, he cried out, "It is finished!". "And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split." (Matt. 27:49-51)

The curtain bearing the cherubim was torn away. They could no more guard the way. By his death Jesus bought our way back to God.

"But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God." (Heb. 9:11-14)

Because of the work that Jesus finished on the cross the cherubim on the temple curtain have been torn away, and the cherubim that once guarded the way to the tree of life, the way to the presence of God has also been removed! Praise the Lord!

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." (Heb. 10:19-23)


This is a powerful song on this subject: The Reward by Jonathan David Helser


.

Economy of the Kingdom

 The Short Version:

• God will always provided everything we need to obey his every word.

• We don't give to get blessed, we don't give to get something back, we give out of obedience and love. 

• Depend on God for what you need, not yourself, or others. 

• We are the tithe, lets give all of our self, not just 10% of our money.

• God provides what we need, not always what we want , but sometimes he will give us things we don't need just to bless us! 

The Full Version:

I started to learn about the economy of the Kingdom during my trip to Scotland. I counted all my resources as the Lords and stepped out into obedience and bought a plane ticket and God provided for literally everything else. Lately God has been teaching me to live all of life like this, not just an adventure here and there. Some examples from this last week:

• God told me to buy an iPod for a friend that didn't have one. I hesitated because that would once again drain all my resources. But God reminded me that it wasn't my resources but his. So I agreed and a few days later, the night before I went to get the iPod, a friend walked up to me and told me that God told him to give me some money. He gave me $120! I was able to get the iPod no problem and it really blessed my friend! I was blessed as well to receive and see God's provision and blessed by my friends obedience to the Lord. When we all walk in obedience with open hands, the blessings (not just monetary) just start flowing all around!
•  Jesus told me to drive to Lansing for a friends CD release, then all over Grand Rapids to visit a couple churches and a conference and a Bible study. This takes a toll on gas, and I didn't know how I was going to pay for it, but I felt that I was walking in obedience so I just trusted that there would be a way made to pay for it all or to multiply the gas in the car. At one of the churches a friend handed me $20 and said that God told her to give it to me! 
• This isn't just happening to me it is happening all over! It is starting to become the new normal for Christians who walk by faith in obedience to God's word, and not by sight. One of my friends from Hope College was told by God to by a plane ticket to Zambia. The problem is that he really wanted to go home to visit his family but if he bought the ticket he would not be able to afford the $70 train ticket. He obeyed, even though it seemed crazy, was severely blessed in Zambia by the trip and fellowship he had there. But to top it off, the day after he bought the ticket to Zambia, he got a card from his grandma with $20 in it and another friend walked up and handed him $50 because the he felt the Lord had told him to give the $50. So he had the $70 he needed to go home, the next day! The best part is that the guy who gave the $50 didn't even know my friend needed the $50 to buy the train ticket. He was just obedient. 

These are just a few of the stories! (The more tame ones I might add) 

Now I don't think that everyone or even many are called to sell everything, to give everything away, if so, we would all be poor and no one would be able to help anyone, but we all should be willing to give everything away. If we acknowledge that nothing is ours, and it's all on loan, then we would have no problem putting whatever amount of time, talent, money, etc... wherever God told you to put it.

Tithes: So we don't kill animals for sacrifices or wear pure linen robes to church or do any of the other things that they did in the Law because Christ came to fulfill the Law. So why are we still tithing, and mandating the giving of tithes in churches just like the Law requires. If you are going to live by the Law you have to live by the whole thing, you cannot just pick and choose: "This Law was fulfilled", "This one wasn't". Either all of them were fulfilled in Christ or none of them were. Praise God it is written, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matt. 5:17)

Many churches and Christians live like the tithe wasn't fulfilled, but I believe it was. Col. 2:6-23 talks about Christ being the fulfillment of the Law. Especially verse 17: "These (the laws) are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." So I started looking for the fulfillment of the tithe. The 'shadow' of the tithe is found in Gen. 14:18-20 where Abraham gives 1/10th of everything that he has to Melchizedek, a priest of God Most High. So I started there and dug into the '1/10th' and 'Melchizedek'.

• Melchizedek - In Hebrews 7 it talks about how Melchizedek was a 'shadow' of Jesus!
• 1/10th is found in Luke 17:10-19 where 10 lepers were healed by Jesus but only one came back to thank him, and he threw himself down at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.

In light of these I saw that the 1/10th was a whole person who bowed with gratitude at Jesus feet, the 'tithe' is for Jesus. But Jesus said things like 'leave your father and mother', 'you lack one thing, go and sell everything that you own', and other extreme things like that. I think the key words in these are 'your' and 'you own'. Nothing is ours, we don't own anything. It is all on loan from the Lord for the advancement of his Kingdom and the glory of his name. Again, I don't think Jesus is telling everyone to sell everything, but he does want us to get rid of the idea that something, anything is ours. IF something is ours then we can do what we want with it, but if it is God's then we only do what he wants with it. NEWSFLASH: Jesus doesn't need our money. And he is certainly worth more than just 10% of your money! The point is he wants us, EVERY PART OF US! As Christian rap artist Lecrae says in his song 'Don't Waste Your Life', "Your money, your singleness, marriage, talent, and time, they were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is divine!" One of the most used verses in the Bible to 'encourage' tithing is Malachi 3:8-12. But verse 7 right before that says, "Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty." God wants you! And when we don't give everything into his hands, we are robbing him, because we are are not our own.


GOD WANTS US! WE ARE THE TITHE!

** Unfortunately many churches have become dependent on people to keep the church financially afloat, rather than God. Thus they need to push tithing to pay bills that they are behind on or to get money for another program. ** 

Let it be known I am not against offerings, in fact when the offerings go by it is a good chance to ask God how much HE would have you put in if any! God is all about giving but since it is his money lets ask him where he wants it. I just don't like the trying to twist peoples arms/ guilt them into giving or tell them they have to give a certain amount to a certain place: Let God decide that.

Conclusion:
 
When we live within the Kingdom of God we have the resources of heaven at our disposal. We acknowledge that everything is from him. We the more we mature in Christ the more we "come up leaning on our beloved" (Song of Sol. 8:5) as we see more and more our dependency on him. The focus isn't getting or giving stuff, the focus is the person of Jesus Christ, and in him we have all resources we need to walk in obedience to his every word.


This was a lot of info so if you are someone who likes one-liners here are the two that sum up this blog:

• God wants the full tithe...and you are the tithe.

• God will always provided everything we need to obey his every word.

Power of Prayer

This past week I was at my friend Jerome's CD release concert in Lansing. The concert was great, and in the middle of it Jerome started preaching the gospel and gave an alter call...hundreds of youth came forward to declare Jesus as Lord of their lives! Some of them literally ran forward to accept Jesus! I was stunned. Then it hit me, this kind of thing doesn't happen because the music is good, or the speaking is powerful...the only thing that can make a heart turn toward Jesus is the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit moves in response to people's prayers! So I could only conclude that their had to be a bunch of people praying and interceding for the youth at the concert. After the show I asked Jerome who was praying, he smiled and told me that they had a whole ROOM FULL of adults praying throughout the whole show! That makes so much sense. That is why it was as impactful as it was, prayer.

Another incidence, also this past week, was a friend was struggling with severe depression to the point of giving up on life. He confided in me and another friend and we got to work praying and texting other prayer warriors to pray. The result of 4 days of people interceding, (some till 3am!), God moved and he was completely delivered and Jesus completely restored joy in his life! He is a new person! God is sooo good and prayer is soooo powerful!

Be encouraged. keep praying and don't lose heart! Perservere in prayer.

IT IS WRITTEN:

"The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."  (James 5:16)

Provision and Prayer Request

God has put it on my heart not to ask for anything but prayer support in regards to the move to London. He told me that He would stir hearts to give. He is faithful. Already he has stirred hearts to support me with prayer and finances! He is faithful! I am still looking for more people to commit to praying for me. Ask God if this is you. Then if it is please let me know so i can start an email database to keep you all up to date.

Magnify Conference Teachings

Here is a link to some incredible teachings from the conference. And a nice quote I read yesterday in the book Fire & Fragrance 

http://www.24-7prayer.com/magnify2010video

Quote for the yester-day: "Physical children are the fruit of physical intimacy. Spiritual fruitfulness is the result of spiritual intimacy." 

The deeper we go into the heart of Jesus by spending time with him, the more fruitful our lives will (super) naturally be!

If you want it, come and get it!

This is something the Lord has been laying on my heart the past week and culminated tonight at the Bridge Street House of Prayer in Grand Rapids. I was watching a new believer named Caleb worship with all his might. Every chance he gets he is at  prayer houses, worship nights, prayer gathering, Bible studies, and Sunday morning services. He is going all out for the Lord. I was thinking, "That's awesome, I remember when I was a new believer, trying to live every moment for the Lord, spending as much time with him as possible, no matter the cost." Then it struck me. Why am I not living like that?! I sing so many songs of "All to Jesus I surrender" and "You're worth it all" and "My whole life is yours". I am so tired of singing and not doing. These songs are so true but they don't seem to effect me much. We need to go after Jesus with everything, pay any cost, go any distance, he is worth it! "Seek and you will find." If you want it, come and get it! You are not under any obligation to do anything, for we are dead to the law. There is literally nothing left for you to do for God. There is only grace, what God does for us. But with that said, we should be going after him with every resource, time, and talent we have not because we have to but because that it what we were made for. This is reality. We have bought into the lie that life is going through the system that everyone else has done before us.  NO! There is a longing in everyone's heart for something more than the 9-5, more than getting a wife, house, kids, and a dog. Have kids, send them off to college and retire, and look  back on your life and hope you did some good and then die, This is not it! All that can be apart but that is not 'it'!! That is why there is that longing for something more. But we try to fill it with stuff and things that don't satisfy but for a fleeting moment! It was made to be filled with Jesus. Every second, of everyday Jesus! Getting to know him in and through every life circumstance and season.
We make time to eat 2-3 meals a day instead of 1 per week because if we only had 1 a week we would not be able to function like were meant to. But if the Bible is the bread from heaven  and we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, then some of us are only eating once a week from the pastor and wondering why they aren't functioning like, say, the Christians in the Book of Acts. They weren't born 'super-spiritual', or 'a few select people gifted with being able to hear the voice of God'. They were just ordinary people, REALLY, just like you and I. But if you are going to argue that their is a big difference between them and you, ask yourself: 'Are you going after God with everything?' They were, but of course not without a billion mistakes (...remember they are actual people.) But look at what Acts 2:42 says they did. "And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."

Scripture, Prayer, and Fellowship/Eating together/Communion

Let's seriously devote ourselves to these things. If we do, I can guarantee you that we will see the same results as the apostles did, which were: "And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and⁾ having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." (Acts 2:43-47)

Basically to sum up what I am saying. God has put it on my heart to really seek him, to really go after him, just like I did at the start, just like, by his grace, I will continue to do. Once your a Christian a while you feel like you got the hang of this or you get sucked into religion (doing stuff for God). IT DOESN'T MATTER IF WE FEEL IT OR NOT! Lets go after him because HE IS WORTHY to be sought out! And in doing so we will find that fulfillment and satisfaction that can only be found in him.

This is the song that inspired the title of this blog, seriously listen to it! I Love Your Presence

Scotland

While you read you should have this on in the background: Braveheart

Pictures to set the scene:

This trip was a testimony to God's provision, sovereignty, and work throughout the world in our generation.

Provision:
If Jesus calls you to something he will see you through it, he will make it happen. This journey started off a few weeks after God called me to move to London, England in a year. I received an email about the 24/7 Prayer conference called Magnify. Jesus told me I was to go and that he would provide. So I spent my bank account on a ticket in faith that he would indeed do the rest. Here is how he came through:

• A friend of a friend hosted me, got me acquainted with city, and even cook a few meals for me!
• Another friend gave me a ride to Chicago and then to the airport
• I was at a prayer house in Grand Rapids two days before I left, two guys separately came up to me and gave me money saying God told me to give this to you. It totaled $250, it was the exact amount I needed for all the minor expenses with the poor currency exchange. 
• Jesus told me not to buy a train ticket in advance for the trip home from Chicago. Later I found out that I would have missed that train. 
• As I landed in Chicago I asked the Lord if I should buy a train ticket now and said that someone would buy it for me. Right about then my mom called and said that she would buy the train ticket for me.
• I needed a place to stay in Chicago b/c I was too late for the train that day. So my friends offered their house and we had a lovely evening. 
• I needed money for train tickets around Chicago from the airport and to and from my friends house. As I was walking to the train station the wind was blowing and a 10 dollar bill and 5 dollar bill blow and land at my feet. Not past me. They stopped at my feet. 

Our God is so faithful. 

Sovereignty:

God is so big. He is in control. Nothing can happen without his permission. In Job 1 we see Satan asking God permission to afflict Job. God gave me more revelation on this as I as running frantically through an airport in Brussels, Belgium begging God to stall the plane from taking off without me. All of a sudden it hit me. That plane cannot take off unless God allows it to. If God wants me on that plane, there is nothing that can stop me from getting on it. If he doesn't want me on it, there is nothing I can do to make that flight. But that thought gave me peace know that whatever happened would be what God wanted to happen. Then I was filled with peace knowing that his will would be done....I ended up making the plane even though I really shouldn't have. God is doing the impossible all over the world and the conference was filled with 250ish people from 21 nations testifying to this.


What God is doing in our generation:
In the year 2000 God started rising up the modern prayer movement all around the world through organizations like the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO, 24/7 Prayer in the UK, and The Call, to name a few. These organizations all started in 2000 and for the past 10 years have been setting watchmen on the wall interceding for our world in day and night prayer. 10 years later both IHOP and 24/7 Prayer have begun to team up with the missions movements and justice movements around the world inspiring new movements like Burn 24/7 and Fire & Fragrance. It is a marriage of prayer and missions. It is communities of people coming together in a place of worship and prayer that births missions and justice on the earth. It is a model that was seen quite dramatically with the Moravians in Herrnhut, Germany. God is doing the impossible all over the earth and he wants to use you right where you are to change the world. YOU can change the world, because you carry the Living God inside you, for whom nothing is impossible! But it starts with intimacy with the Most High God. Find a place where you can get away with the Lord by yourself and in community and watch what God does in you!

Books to read on this:
Red Moon Rising by Pete Greig
Fire & Fragrance by Sean Feucht and Andy Byrd

 Here is a song by Ben Cantalon, who lead the worship at the conference with Sean Feucht, that has really been blessing me and pumping me up to change the world: Savior of the World

The River rushes to the lowest place...

The title of this blog was taken from a song by Laura Hackett called "Lowest Place".
I believe that one of the most beautiful and heart wrenching sermons I heard was a synthesis of the Philippians 2:5-11 with John 13:1-20.

v.7-8 "made Himself nothing taking the form of a servant...even death on a cross"
v.4-5 "(Jesus) rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. ⁵Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him."

He returned to the table fellowship

Therefore God has highly exalted Him...  
(God exalted him back to the 'table fellowship' with the Father and Spirit.)

In both passages we are called to be like Christ. In Philippians: to 'have this same mind in us' as Christ had. In John: 'For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.'

Jesus the King. Jesus the Son, Jesus the name that is above every other name...

...became the lowest...

...and now he calls us to follow him...to the lowest place...

...and it is here we see his Kingdom  pour down, from heaven to earth, like a mighty river:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on   my account.  

Finally, I echo the cry of John the Baptist as my prayer: 

"He must increase, but I must decrease."






 Listen to "Lowest Place" by Laura Hackett

The Goal is Christ

I created this blog partially to keep friends and family in touch with with where I am and what I am doing, seeing as God is calling me overseas to London in a years time, but more so to share the things Jesus is teaching me in order that I might testify to and give glory to the Living God.

I am sure that I will go many places and doing many things but the truth that has struck me today is that 'doing stuff' for God is not the goal. The goal isn't at the end of our life. It isn't aspiring to the do's and don'ts of the Scriptures, or to do things for Christ, but it is Christ. Simply Knowing Christ. I want to know him. I echo the prayer of Moses in Exodus 33:13 "...show me now your ways, that I may know you..."



The goal of life and thus this blog, really isn't where I am or what I am doing. It is Christ. Knowing Christ.

(Philippians 3:12)