TheCall DC 2008

I just got back last night from TheCall DC. I met up with a church group taking a bus to DC from Dallas last Thursday, and after 30 hours on the road (whew!), we arrived at DC. After a couple hours of late sightseeing, I headed back to the hotel for some z’s before the big day.

The Call was awesome, and there were many times when I was just gripped with intercession, to the point of crying out in groaning and tears. I also loved breaking into the small prayer groups… It’s awesome to pray with some zealous intercessors! There was much needed repentance and rending of hearts there. I pray that those who went (especially myself) are marked forever, and will never again succumb to “walking as men.” (spiritual mediocrity and slumber)

I really wish that more went, but I am thankful for 70,000… I believe that number means more in the heart of God than 500,000, 1,000,000 or 1,500,000 would mean to me.

The busload of people I went with were some of the most awesome believers I have ever met. I really fell in love with that group, and their love for one another (and others) and their culture of prayer was absolutely breathtaking.

On the way back, God decided to really mess us up. Just a few hours into our trip back, our bus broke down in Lexington, Virginia. At first, the fact that we were stuck in this small city frazzled us (we weren’t sure if we were anywhere near civilization at first), but as we started rolling with the punches, God’s plan unfurled. We did some sightseeing of Stonewall Jackson’s grave, and we all sat down to pray and discuss the prophetic meaning of “stone wall.”

That night, we had a prayer meeting that I won’t soon forget. The bus company put us up in a hotel owned and operated by an awesome christian family. They let us use the back room after they closed down for our prayer meeting. One of the members of our party was a paralytic, who was confined to a wheelchair. After several minutes of intense and prevailing prayer, she regained feeling in one of her legs and was able to stand with help, but not walk yet. I went back to the hotel, and on the way up to my floor, someone shouted that she was now walking! We all lost it and started worshipping Jesus at the top of our lungs, screaming “Hallelujah!!” as we ran back downstairs. I saw this sister who had been confined to a wheelchair with incurable paralysis walk, run, dance and worship Jesus with no physical limitations… we were all beside ourselves, and several people were kneeling in the grass, weeping and praising God.

The next day really ministered to me as well, as several believers prayed for my healing, physically and emotionally. I really met the Lord there and my heart was really refreshed. Oh, the glory of a prophetic company!

On the bus ride back, I was literally weeping… All I could think about is coming back to a barren environment in my city and my church, and other situations in my life that seemed to have a lot of death. I dreaded it, but the Lord is still meeting me as I set aside time to talk to Him.

I sure miss the fellowship, though.

I hope to have links to some of my videos of The Call posted soon.

Consistency

The Lord has been speaking to me about consistency…

So many times, my walk with God is up and down. Recently, He’s been smoothing out the curve a lot, and I’m very thankful for that. A lot of that has had to do with me coming into a sold understanding of my identity in Him.

A simple encouragement the Lord gave me today was:

Don’t fret about how soon you feel like you’ve cooled off of a high from a conference or encounter. Just press into Me.

So, I am endeavoring to pursue Him more consistently. I am so thankful for His wonderful presence which rushes to meet me every time I draw near to Him. I am carving out a place on my desk where I an just seek Him out in His word, with prayer. I feel like I’ve been well trained (by Him) in how to seek Him at church, in prayer meetings, in worship services, and out in the field when He calls on me to go somewhere to intercede. But I have been very lax in my pursuit of Him in the simplicity of my prayer closet. I’m thankful for the grace to be able to remedy that.

Mary of Bethany

Mark 14:3-9

3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. 4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.
6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. 7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 8 She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. 9 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

That is what life (here on earth or in eternity) is all about. It’s about worship. Real worship, which we see infrequently on sunday mornings (it’s NOT about singing songs, it’s about pouring out what you are at the feet of Jesus).

Mary gave her all for Jesus. She sat at his feet instead of worrying about preparing a meal like her sister Martha. In today’s churches, Martha would be a hero, and Mary would be criticized to no end. I truly feel sorry for so many christians who’s only concept of a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus is some fuzzy and distant theology, and doing a bunch of things for “church.” It also said that she was one of the women who followed Jesus, taking care of His practical needs. She got one good look at who He is, and she threw everything she had and everything she was at His feet.

She was a small and insignificant creature (like us all), but she gave a whole burnt offering… she gave her whole life to Jesus. This is what make the whole DaVinci Code so maddeningly stupid. To take the relationship Mary had with Jesus (which is an good example for us all) and make it into a physical thing cheapens it beyond recognition.

Mary of Bethany is my hero. Not Paul, not Peter, not any apostle. I like Paul and John because of the quality of relationship they had with Jesus. I like David for the same reason. I like Mary so much because that’s ALL SHE HAD. She didn’t do any great exploits. She didn’t conquer the nations. She never preached. Yet she had something greater than any other women who ever lived, possibly even Mary, the Lord’s mother. She worshipped Jesus and had a life of devotion like no other. She sat at His feet, and that was the thing she esteemed the most.
Wow.

Prayer for wisdom

Father, give me wisdom and help me to order my life, so that I may stand before the Son of Man. I do not want to waste my life on useless frivolity. I do not want to spend the rest of my life making excuses for myself. 

 

Luke 21:34-36

34 “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, 35 like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. 36 Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”

Awaken Love

…I am listening to Sean Feucht’s “Awaken Love” song on the Burn website here at work…

…and my heart is ready to throw off all its chains.

God, it’s time… set us all free… free from the useless distractions that catch our eyes from day to day.

Awaken love. It pleases. Please.
 
 
 
It’s all about the Relationship
 
 
 
How dare we get caught up in our petty agendas, doctrinal disputes, and the anointing we think we have… Someday soon someone with a very simple mind and a totally pure heart is going to pick up a bible and start praying… and will shake the nations… with a purity that we cannot fathom, while we are so busy justifying our incessant quests for self-gratification and entertainment. There is no shortcut to intimacy with the Bridegroom.

God, awaken love! Put an end to the charade… the show…

“You’re rising up like the morning sun
Shining down salvation
Let Your Spirit awaken
Awaken Love”

Burn Oklahoma City (again!)

I had the pleasure of spending around 17 of the last 24 hours in worship, prayer, intercession, and contending for my city and nation…

The amazing thing is that even after it was all was said and done, I went by myself to IHOP to break my fast and get some dinner down… I sat there and I felt like my heart was still so hungry for Him. I had some great times of worship and loving Him in sweet little ways, but I think the intercession itself (even though it is necessary and important) distracted me from the one thing He wants me to concentrate on: loving Him and knowing Him as the priority of my life.

A Simple Prayer

Father,

Come into me

    Bring Your fire

    Bring Your desire

    Bring the yearnings and groans of Your heart

and

    Bring me into the knowledge of You

 

WAKE ME UP

 

Pushing through disappointment

I had an interesting thing happen today. I was at a coffee house, sipping some green tea and reading the Word while worshipping to some music on my mp3 player. I have been dealing with disappointment a lot lately — there are a lot of things in my life that aren’t the way that I want them to be.

As I kept the reading and listening, the discontent in my heart eventually rose to the surface, and I just couldn’t continue. So, I packed up my books, etc. and went to my car. I didn’t feel like driving directly home, so I just kinda drove around aimlessly, and listened to worship music in the car. As I was driving, I could feel the Lord begin to direct me to drive towards a poorer part of town. I really didn’t want to do this — I was already nursing an aching soul, and that part of town is not a pretty sight. Nevertheless, I could hear the Lord saying, “I want you to see the reproach of your people,” so off I went. I drove through some rougher (not terribly bad) looking neighborhoods, and interceded for the people I saw there, and especially for buildings. The Lord gave me knowledge of issues and prayer needs for the people and buildings I saw. As I prayed, I could see layers of sin in peoples lives slowly being stripped away (it made me think of the ablative heat shielding on the Mercury space capsules, but that’s just me ;), and I could see the glory of God filling different buildings like an explosion.

Now at this point, you’d think my heart was totally revived because I was experiencing God in a very real way, and serving others in intercession.

Nah.

I still had an aching heart, frustrated with life, etc. I pressed through as long as I could, and drove to many different buildings, praying for them as I passed by. It was honestly really incredible what He led me to discover, things and places I had never been to in a city that I’ve lived in for eight years, nor even knew existed. Eventually, I had to stop and go home, because I was getting really upset (because of aforementioned issues), even though God was working through me. I felt His grace that I could stop and go home, although I know He wanted me to stay at one particular building and pray for breakthrough, but I just couldn’t handle it.

This only confirmed to me what I already knew, that our hearts are refreshed by spending time in the secret place of intimacy with Jesus, and not by our multitude of pursuits and ministry efforts.

Selah.

Hunger through Suffering

As I was communing with the Lord tonight, He spoke to me concerning the things which I am suffering, namely, having a full time job while my heart yearns to be with Him full time in intercession and discovering the Heart of God. A couple hours a day is awesome, but it isn’t always enough.

So often I leave work simply desperate to be with Him — this is someone who used to be lukewarm, cold, and indifferent. I have prayed for hunger.

The Lord told me that He is teaching me to hunger through these (extremely minor in an absolute sense, yet still very real on the heart level) sufferings. And through my hunger, He is teaching me obedience:

I will prompt you and lead you to find the place of rest and refreshing that I have set up for you. But if you ignore My promptings, you will miss the time of visitation and will not be able to find that place. Be alert, and have your heart open to enter in to My presence.

And little things like that. So,

Suffering -> Hunger -> Obedience

Which takes us to the scripture:

Hebrews 5:8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

The Simplicity of Yearning

Gentle reader, please slow down.

In the frantic pace of life, it is often difficult to hear the still small voice of the Father. Count the cost, establish your priorities, and spend some time with Him.

Simplify.

In Psalm 42, the sons of Korah write:

Psa 42:1
To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation (Maschil) of the sons of Korah.
AS the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
Psa 42:2
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?

So often when I read the Psalms, I assumed that the writers were only crying out to God to fix their circumstances. Now I realize that the adverse circumstances in life cause our hunger to intensify (if we have developed hunger), and cry out to God… so that we may see Him, touch Him, and drink Him in.

We must enter into the holy of holies of yearning… not for stuff (outer courts), not just for sign/wonders/anointing/ministry (the holy place), but for the Most Holy Place… Jesus Himself. We must long for Him because of who He is, simply and fundamentally.

If you have Misty Edwards’ Relentless CD, I suggest you pop it in, and play “Dove’s Eyes” a few times while you consider these things… It’s what I was listening to (on repeat) while I was thinking about writing this post.

For those who don’t have the cd yet, here’s the words:

I don’t want to talk about You like You’re not in the room
I want to look right at You I want to sing right to You

I believe that You are listening
I believe that You move at the sound of my voice

Give me dove’s eyes

Give me undistracted devotion for only You