Flying out Monday

Trisha and myself are in the cities, spending the last two days with each other before my flight leaves Monday. These last number of days of preparation have been laced with anxiousness for both of us. Our worlds have been turned on their heads. For Trisha, she has to move to the cities by herself in May, where she'll continue her education in a foreign world. The only people she knows are my brother, and her father (they have just recently been connecting for real for the first time!) I'm convinced that God is going to do a tremendous work in her life, but that doesn't mean it's going to be an easy ride.

I said my goodbyes to the wonderful people up in Duluth. When my section of the Prayer Walk is over I'll be moving into the cities with my beautiful wife. Then what's going to happen? Where is God going to bring us next? I don't have a single idea, but what I do know is that wherever He guides us, it's going to be filled with excitement and adventure.

So these are the two feelings that have been with me, anxiousness and thrill. The anxiety comes from not knowing what's around the corner, and the thrill comes from loving every minute of the adventures of life. In the Song of Solomon God compares Himself to a stag that is gallivanting over the mountains, and He is calling His bride (His followers) to come with Him! He wants us to experience the thrill of recklessly following Him with abandon (yeah, yeah, while never leaving behind wisdom :-)

I think in order for Him to truly hold the reigns of our lives that we need to let go. It's so easy to take them up out of fear. It's so easy to control our futures by laying out a long term 5, 10, 15, and 20 year plan that is filled with our goals, ambitions, and desires. What's hard to do, is during our petitions and requests (which are generally a good idea) to keep our ear next to His lips in order to hear His plans for us. What is He saying? Where is He leading? What vision does He have for us? Then, in my experience, the hardest part of all comes next; and that's to lay down our vision in order to fully embrace His. After all, His ways aren't always our ways (this has been more true than not with me).

It's hard, very hard, to obey; but it's worth every ounce of blood, tears, and sweat, because the affiliated joy that comes on the heels of obedience is simply surreal.

As Wise as Serpents

Wisdom is one of those themes that is never put to rest in the Bible. It is prevalent in both the New and Old Testaments. God's call for us to be 'as wise as a serpent' has strong implications, considering the Biblical representation of a serpent. The serpent was the creature that singlehandedly dethroned Adam and Eve, who were the most glorious creations that God had ever created. Satan himself is referred to as a serpent in numerous places. So why would God call on us to be like a serpent?

Because in the Bible the serpent symbolizes a creature that has potent wisdom. The serpent is affiliated with a powerful 'gift'. The gift of wisdom can be used for sordid gain, as is revealed by the serpent; but the second part of the verse calls us to be as innocent as doves. So God desires for us to have an uncanny perception that coincides with righteous motives and a pure heart. He clearly wants us to possess the ability to devastate the principalities of darkness by our ability to wisely discern between destruction and liberty, darkness and light, and foolishness and good judgement. For the purpose of expanding His kingdom, not our own.

James promises that anyone who diligently asks will receive this invaluable gift. He goes on to say that without this 'gift' that people are in danger of being tossed to and fro with every deceitful doctrine. It apparently is not good enough to simply be 'innocent', but God is calling us to acquire this sharpened ability to wisely discern. Why?

I think that the answer is simple; God is preparing His bride's defenses in order to withstand dark attacks. God is passionate about His bride, and He wants us to realize when we should keep our hand off the burner. He wants to inject wisdom into our DNA, and in order to do this He is requiring us to pursue it through our prayers and meditations. During these last days the 'gift of wisdom' will be like diamonds compared to rubble. Wisdom is not just a good idea, but rather a prerequisite for being effective during trying times.

Pure Priority

Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves, every day, no matter what major project is in front of us, regardless if we feel like it or not, this is the second most important command that Jesus has given us.

As the Middle East trip looms larger in my vision, the Lord seems to be quickening this truth to me. There is so much preparation, physically, spiritually, and logistically that needs to happen to effectively prepare. Yet amidst the sea of preparation He is showing me to never forget to show love to the sheep that are around me 'today'. What comes to me is that if we persistently dream of feeding the Lord's sheep tomorrow, with excuses of, 'when I have more funds; when I have more time; or when I'm in a healthy state of mind then I'll be able to give to others', that tomorrow may never come. The result could very well be that some of Jesus' sheep are left hungry. Perhaps our divine purpose for that particular chapter in our lives was to be a provider for a lonely sheep that no one else loved?

Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. He then said each time, 'then feed My sheep'. Regardless of where we are at in life, I think that this is a beneficial truth to meditate on. When it comes down to it, what is Jesus mostly concerned about? Our jobs, ministries, pleasures; or the lonely, forgotten, unloved, and lost sheep out there who are bleating to Him in their own way, asking for a miracle. I think Jesus' heart is to send them a miracle, and that 'gift' frequently takes the shape of a man or woman who has been equipped to share His manifest love with those who are in dire need.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do, I'm speaking for myself, is to look outside of ourselves in order to bring genuine love to those who are around us every day. They are out there, in groves of hundreds and thousands; and whether they know it or not, their inner beings are crying out for healing and deliverance and saving from anyone that will listen.

Understanding is Never a Prerequisite

I've been reading through Job, and for the first time I've really felt for what he went through. The man was truly righteous; this is apparent in chapter 31. He did everything that he knew to live a holy life before God. Then everything was taken away, leaving him in a pool of unanswered questions.

I think our inability to understand some of God's ways can tempt us to sin. If we don't understand we can be tempted to proclaim that He would never 'behave' in such a way. A number of times I've heard it said that, ' A loving God would never do that.' or, 'I would never be able to worship a God who would do that.' This is dangerous ground to tread on. I think that it's important to remember that God wasn't created in our image. Just because we would never conceive of certain things (the nature of judgement, discipline, hell...) doesn't mean that He doesn't. It's refreshing to meditate on the reality that we were created in His image, and that because of our propensity to indulge in sin that our inner mechanics are tainted as the result. This means that it isn't possible for us to fully 'understand' God. I believe with everything in me that our fallible minds are not capable to grasp the 'higher order' of His complex ways.

There are so many questions that I personally don't have the answers to. And when I think about them it causes my head to hurt. For me, what it boils down to is that He is love, and He loved me first; therefor I rest assured knowing that even in the case of my complete lack of understanding that His ways are good, and needed, and better, and beneficial. The heart of Job, where he worshiped God throughout his torture, is a wonderful concept to meditate on during these times of uncertainty. Even though our lives may be required while on this Earth, and we may never grasp an understanding of why things are the way they are, He asks us to obey and follow Him throughout. Because after we enter into the afterlife in the days or years to come, all of the 'unanswered' will be made known.

Embracing our Family

Today, I was meditating on Matthew 12: 47-50. Jesus said that whoever obeys His Father is His brother, sister, and mother. There is truly quite a bit of significance here. If you think about a healthy family dynamic, you understand that the camaraderie runs deep, real deep. Forgiveness is readily given, lots of consideration, love, understanding, and offenses are placed to the side to leave room for healing. When absorbing all of this I can't help but desire greater levels of cohesiveness and love with our Christian brothers and sisters and mothers.
One of the results of the prophetic dream that I posted a few days ago was that I became increasingly aware for the need of Christian community. I believe that in order to effectively battle the 'end time deception' that will only strengthen in the upcoming days, will be for believers to unite with one another with unheard of extents. I'm not just referring to the various ministries collaborating at an increased level, but for the camaraderie inside of the respective clusters of believers to solidify into genuine bonds of love. Where, when someone is wronged by their church that they love their brothers, sisters, and mothers at such an intense level that that love will indeed cover the multitude of sins. I suppose in order for this to truly happen we will need substantial amounts of commitment.
I believe that the trials we have undergone will drastically intensify in the days to come. If we can somehow achieve a lot of this groundwork before we are neck deep, than it will be much more manageable in the near future. So, when I pray, the message I have been receiving lately is that today is the day to prepare. And one of the ways to fill our oil lamps is to remain connected to our family, the 'body'.

What is Christian?

After Jesus had told His disciples that He was going to die Peter tried to persuade Him that this didn't need to happen. Jesus then said to Peter, 'Get behind Me Satan. You don't value the things of God, but the things of man.' Jesus then went on to say that in order to be one of His disciples a person needs to 'pick up their cross and follow Him.' and, 'Whoever will save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Him will save it.' Wow!!! This is hard to digest with all the promptings of the prosperity movement. So what does it mean to pick up your cross?
I think it means that we need to place God's plans ahead of our own. We need to live for Him, and not for ourselves. After all, His ways aren't always our ways. We need to keep our finger on His pulse by continually asking Him where He wants to take us. Then we need to obey, even if it goes against our desires (and I don't think that picking up one's cross is usually desirable).
God asked me one Sunday if I would give Him the reigns of control over the service (I was speaking that day). I believe that He has given us the choice to either touch the nations with His power and glory, or to place ourselves as the godlike figure over our destinies. The problem with following our own voice is that we automatically search after self preservation (just like Peter was doing with Jesus, when Peter was under the influence of Satan). But Jesus is asking us to follow His lead by dying to ourselves so that we can achieve greater glory in Him, and by His ways.
He is showing me that it is sooooo important to obey Him in all things, even if I don't understand His logic. After all, the concept of 'faith' sometimes defies logic. And to walk out our faith we need to rely on Him, not our own fallible and limited abilities.

Relaxing During the Raging Storm

Jesus wanted to be alone. He had spent the majority of the day ministering to the multitudes and must have felt physically, emotionally, and spiritually spent. He had been bombarded throughout the day on every angle. They just wanted to touch Him. That was all they needed for deliverance and healing, and He graciously let them. Thousands upon thousands of needy hands and sweating bodies pressing in on Him without stop. No brake, no breathing room, human mayhem, He was their Savior, Healer, God; He was all of this, but also a human.
And as He finally sent them away He was in desperate need of alone time with His Father, so much so that He also sent His disciples away too. More than anything, He needed to be alone with the Father so that He could recover from the strenuous day of labor. He told His disciples that He would catch up with them, and that they were to go to the other side of the lake in the mean time. They obediently left, and He distanced Himself from the remaining crowd by climbing the mountain.
Once reaching the summit He strengthened Himself by His Father. His Spirit was rejuvenated, albeit His physical body was probably still exhausted. After resting in His Father's embrace He decided to join His disciples. And His Father decided to create a thunderstorm, and as Jesus glanced at the lake He noticed that the surface was choppy, and that the winds were picking up major speed. Then the Father told Him to walk on the water, toward the disciples' rocking boat.
Jesus didn't hesitate to obey. He lived to obey His Father. I'm sure the thought of walking on the surface of the tumultuous waves was exhilarating for Him to think about. He made His way down the mountain side and as He stood on the shore He stared wide eyed at the looming tempest.
Then He took His first step. The lake's texture was soft, yet hard enough to support His weight. As He progressed further into the lake I can imagine that He was overwhelmed with the elation of the adventure. The waves rose to tower in front of Him before swooping down to bow at His feet, and then lifting Him high over their heads to exalt Him above the earth. He probably laughed out loud; after all, He had never experienced this while on Earth. He was walking on the storm ridden water!
He loves His Father, and His Father's adventurous heart. His Father is anything but tame. As Jesus obeys He knows that He can relax during the crazy happenings. He knows that His Father will always protect Him, and shield Him from harm as long as He listens and follows. At this time He most likely remembers what His ancestor had written in the scriptures. David wrote, 'Though I walk in the shadow of the valley of death I will fear no evil.' Perhaps He smiles to Himself, and perhaps He nods His head at how right David was. Perhaps He takes this time to praise His Father for creating such buoyant life on the Earth, and the opportunity to be thrilled to the core while living a life of worship and obedience.
Lightning strikes close by, and Jesus raises His voice to match His Father's. He laughs as the rain pelts down. He rejoices as the thunder breaks the sky, and as the waves swell high over His head before lifting Him into the ink filled heavens. He loves His Father. He loves His Father even more than His own life.
As God takes us into the mystery of the unknown, let's lift our voices and our hearts in praise and adoration, because He has created us to live life to the max! We can do all things in Christ who strengthens us. He gives us a strong mind. He gives us authority and power. He is good, and He promises to take care of our every need. Praise His name!

Dancing With the Holy Spirit

As the Holy Spirit led the Israelites by fire and smoke during their exodus from Egypt, so He wants to do today. What a crazy life to have lived! When the smoke by day or the fire by night stopped, then His people would put up camp; and when the Holy Spirit traveled they wouldn't hesitate to pick up their belongings to follow His leadership. They were totally dependent on Him for every form of guidance as well as sustenance. He wasn't just their tour guide, He also provided food and water. In the morning they would awake to find manna flittering down from the heavens and coating the ground. Can you believe the thrill of it all? When He would take them far from any source of water He would cause rivers of water to flow from rocks!
If any one of them at any point in time decided to go their separate way I can't imagine they would have lived for long before either dying or trembling back to their people and God. As I meditate on the deep significance of this chapter I can't help but think that in God's perspective it must have been more glorious than even the entrance into the promised land. When they arrived they were still dedicated to God, but only for a short time until the subsequent generations became wayward with other gods and values. At least in the wilderness He was their 'true' God, and they leaned on Him with more sincerity than they had at other times.
I find my spirit and soul crying out to God on a regular basis, 'Lord, teach me to be this intimate with Your Spirit. Where I only go when You go, and I stay when You stay. When I only do as I see You doing.' In the Middle East we are going to be 100% dependant on God for our every need. What this means is that we check our own senses of control at the door in order to fully embrace the Holy Spirit as our guide, protector, sustainer, and only God (instead of ourselves). I can imagine that God is greatly anticipating the moments that we will have together where He can say, 'These are my sons and daughters, and I am their God,' and where we can say, 'Dude, You rock above anything else!'
I find myself embracing all opportunities, I view trials as opportunities, as avenues that can instill the only foundation that will be needed to achieve victory in these 'last days'. To be totally dependent on the Holy Spirit, in tune with His voice, and enraptured with His ways (even when they're offensive) I believe is a prerequisite to being effective in the days to come. It can be like dancing. Where we need to know His mannerisms, signals, and heart in order to follow. It can be hard at first, and exasperating, but committing to learn His every way, and how He generally relates to us, will pay off big time!

Dream

The following is a prophetic dream that I had on 02/19/2009. The dream is in reference to the 'end time deception' that will be sweeping across the land. I remember that when I had woken my first thought was that a spirit of deception was at our doorstep, and my second thought was that we need to prepare ourselves by UNITING with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
A few months ago God gave me Malachi chapter 4: vs 5,6 as one of the scriptures that the Middle East trip is founded on. Basically, the spirit of Elijah will enter into the land in order to restore relationships with the inhabitants. I'm certain that the significance of the verses extends beyond what I currently know, but what is coming to me is that God is yearning for a unified bride before His return. The spirit of Elijah signifies a forerunner that will prepare the way for Christ (as Elijah was for Elisha; and as John was for Christ; so it will happen again for His second coming).
Unity (restoration of relationship) will assist in dispelling deception!



02/19/09
Halvorsen, David

Deception
In the morning of 02/19/09 right before I awoke God blessed me with this prophetic dream.


Disclaimers:
Some insights that I have with regard to the dream’s structure are as follow.
Firstly, I don’t believe that the people contained in this dream are meant to be taken as literal, but rather as symbolically representing the people groups that they are comparable with. For example I don’t think that my wife’s involvement indicates her specifically but rather God’s bride.
Secondly, I believe the straight forward answers from the antagonists, to my probing questions, in no way indicates that the deception will be so easily revealed in reality. I think that as the dreamer I was meant to know the truth in order to effectively prophecy.
Thirdly, I have listed some specific contents of the dream; however I think the dream is merely meant to convey a general point and the reader isn’t meant to read into every detail. I listed the details as I saw them, but it will be prudent to receive an overall sense of the dream’s implications rather than to be bogged down with distracting fine detail.

Dream:
It began with an organization that claimed it gave peoples’ donations to charitable causes. It logically had a draw on likeminded individuals, who were concerned with actively participating in good deeds. I was approached (or drawn to, I can’t remember which) by/towards this organization. Their method was that people should simply give to them and they would take care of the rest. You could put your regular, daily/weekly/or monthly, sum of $20 (this was the amount in the dream, but I don’t think it has significance) into a stocking and they would then empty the contents during after hours.
After speaking with one of their representatives and hearing their game plan I was struck with the realization that this was a scam and instead of the money being given to charity it was being pocketed by the organization’s leader. I asked the representative if this was true and he replied that it was. The organization’s leader emptied the money from the stocking on a nightly basis and kept it for his personal gain.
I could then see many people that I knew well that were active participants of this scheme. It so happens that those I knew were all believers. I took it upon myself to warn them of the organization’s deceit so they could see the truth for what it was. However, there seemed to be an oblivious stupor over them and my persuasive attempts had little effect. This is where the dream began to delve into more substance. After the believers were drawn in by the false spirit of goodness it was like a fishing hook was lodged into their mouths and the organization then began to real them in.
They were then put up in a hotel, with all of the pleasurable amenities. They were pampered in the most pleasingly luxurious ways. Massages, food, gifts, comfort, false love, great consideration and consolation, and the list proceeds; they were included/received into a society of likeminded people. The organization took a turn towards a community, a social network of close knit people. It broke my heart to see good people enjoying the company of a deceitful community. Interestingly enough the amount of money that these people paid out for charitable causes was nothing compared to the luxuries bestowed upon them. The cost of their involvement was well worth the care and comfort that was readily and cheerfully given.
After wandering through this community, that was taking place in an atmospherically homey hotel, I was again struck with the knowledge that nothing was as it seemed, and that an intense deceit was at hand. Where I once believed that the organization’s motive was for extortion, I now began to sense that a deeper scheme was at hand. I didn’t know what, but I could sense that something was most assuredly not right. I proceeded to mingle with the leaders of this group, and walking into a room that looked much like a kitchen does, I entered into conversation with a few people that were hanging out. One of these people happened to be the main leader of the community. He was telling a silly story on how he walked into a large hole that was right out the back door. I could see the hole that he was referring to by looking out a window stationed next to me. They were making light of this story, and by all means their mood was jovial and fun-loving. However, I could still sense the pervading spirit of deception clinging to these people. The leader then proceeded to speak of an angel, and it was evident that he was accustomed to visitations from this angel. I can’t remember its name, so we’ll just call it Gloria. Its name was very similar to a peaceful Christian concept, like Gloria is to glory. I then knew that the underlining motive of this group was to draw people into an alternative spiritual belief other than Christ crucified. My father then showed up and continued the questioning of this angel. I could tell that he was concerned and also wanted to get to the bottom of this deception. I found this time to exit the scene because it occurred to me that my wife was in this hotel and that I needed to rescue her from the enemy’s snare.
I began to search for her. I was compelled to do whatever it took to save her from these people. I knew that the deception was so strong that it could very easily begin to sink it claws into a believer’s mind and draw them into an alternative spiritual faith. While searching I came across a few people and was compelled to ask them who they believed that God was? Being that they didn’t readily answer my question I rephrased it and asked them if they believed that Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father were all God. The consistent answer was no. I then asked them if the human race was god, and they answered yes. They said that we are gods. With this they still recognized the presence of the Trinity, but adamantly denied them their deity. Throughout my search I readily saw many believers that I knew wandering around and partaking in the pleasures of this community. The community was comprised of many people that blessed and gave and had a false love towards all that joined them. All the believers that I witnessed were being taken care of, not taking care of. I observed that the believers weren’t asking questions about the different belief system, they were too enraptured with the good deeds that they didn’t feel the necessity of delving deeper into the heart of the matter. The stupor of oblivion was clear. I knew that if they just probed and tested and didn’t blindly receive that they would know the truth for what it was. I also knew that this humanistic approach to life, which was simultaneously submersed in spirituality, would begin to seep into their belief structure. They needed to leave this community before it was too late.
I finally found her. She was surrounded by people that loved her and gave her gifts. They were compassionate and caring; they listened and heard her heart. I barged into the room and told her that we had to leave, and that it had to be now. Taken aback by my demand she began to cry and expressed her desire to stay. She was befriended here and didn’t want to leave. The people around her began to tell her that she should make her own decision. They told her that she didn’t have to leave and that she should stay with them. The pressure was immense; they were transparently distraught over the thought of her leaving. My wife, forlornly looking at them, said.
“I am submitted to my husband. I’m going to go where he leads me.”
They argued with her, but she held fast to her convictions of obeying the scriptural principles. She didn’t understand why, but knew what the Bible said and chose to obey. I took her, and we left.
They gave us a ride, on a small yellow bus, out of the community. However, it soon became apparent that the woman who was driving was not taking us home. Driving up to another hotel she dropped us off and immediately left. This hotel didn’t have any pretension of wearing a ‘good mask’. It was blatantly evil. Even the walls had pictures of grotesquely demonic monsters painted on them. The crowd was anything but pleasant. We could here rowdy and obscene behavior down the halls and in the various rooms. It didn’t take longer than the briefest of moments for me to grab my wife’s arm and run with her out into the open air. We began to run away from the premise, but it occurred to me that we were countless miles away from home and that we would be sitting ducks if we chose to go on foot. Looking around I saw an electric vehicle that somewhat resembled a golf card, and hopping into it we raced off. Some surrounding people saw us take off and immediately gave chase. Throughout the night and into the day we ran for our lives. Dodging, barely escaping their clutch, yet in the end we succeeded! Narrowly escaping the death that began to transpire around us; our enemies began to kill one another, crazed with confusion and hate. They killed one another with their bare hands; with gory intensity they ripped one another’s throats out and smashed their heads in.
We made it out into freedom. Please, listen to my interpretation; because the time for this dream’s fulfillment is knocking on our door.

Interpretation:
Satan is constructing a community of his followers that will attempt and succeed in luring many of God’s people into his grasp. Drawn in by the false actions of good and of kindness, many will open their hearts to a spirit of deception. That spirit’s goal is to remove God’s children away from His righteousness and into enemy ranks. Through time His principles outlined in His word will be washed away and replaced with a false spirituality that leads to damnation.
My wife resembled God’s Bride. As His Bride we will face the dilemma of obeying His edicts by remaining in submission to His authority over our lives, or forever slipping into the enemies grasp. If His people choose Him, He will rescue them! It won’t necessarily be easy, by all means this time will be filled with hardships beyond comprehension, but He/we will be victorious by the end of this tribulation!

Prophetic insight:
The prophetic insight for now is that God is creating His own community! I believe that He is drawing His people towards Himself. This community of believers will have a draw on the world. Through the rising up of the saints God’s army will be established on this earth, and the war between good and evil will commence in a way never before seen. Our objective will be to stand firm amidst the crashing waves of trials around us. To forever reach out and rescue the floundering people in our lives. To provide God’s true love that no counterfeit can compare with. To unite and remain united inter and intra ministerial. To take a stand against the temptation of division and offense; a house divided against itself cannot prosper. We, together, are His bride and when He comes back, He is coming for His unified Bride that has been refined and cleansed through the fire. When we remain together, in submission to our leadership and to one another, then we will be safe from the enemy’s reaching grasp.
The call is for unity! Come and let us unite!

Leaning on His Understanding

It has been a few days, sorry about the tardiness...ENJOY!
Lately the Lord has been working on an area of my heart. He is showing me that I don't know everything. It's crazy, really, when I was fifteen I knew that I knew everything. Then I turned twenty and I realized how wrong I was, because I was presently that much wiser and more knowledgeable (I again knew everything). At twenty six, things have unfortunately not changed much. And this is apparently something that God thinks is necessary to cleanse me of. He is showing me that I don't know squat.
Proverbs chapter 3 is awesome for those of us that are duped into thinking that we've got all of our philosophies under control. Basically, it is only by leaning on His understanding that will see us through the quagmire of life. I'm realizing that in order to fully become dependent on God that I need to embrace this notion of humility (that His wisdom and understanding and strength are what will set my feet on the steadfast ground).
The chapter says that we need to lean on Him, and not ourselves, and that He will guide our step. Perhaps even into the refining fire of discipline, because "For whom the LORD corrects He loves." So I commit to follow Him wherever it is that He plans on taking me. If He takes me into prosperity than I will praise His name for the blessings; and if He takes me into adversity than I will praise His name for loving me to the point of purifying my heart (even though it is usually quite painful) for the purpose of drawing me closer in intimacy with Him.
No matter where He leads, I will follow. 'Though I walk into the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil...' So, my prayer is this: 'Lord, may I lean on Your understanding every day of my life, through the Middle East and beyond, may I cherish both blessings and trials. May I receive your gifts as well as your disciplines. Shape me and refine me. Purify my heart so that I truly lean on Your understanding and wisdom. By Your strength, may I be weak so that You can be revealed as strong. Guide me, Lord, and I will follow!'
It has become apparent to me that the only way we will succeed through the Middle East is if this revelation transforms into a daily reality. The strength and knowledge of man is not, and will never be, sufficient to achieve victory. The Lord will see us through the upcoming countries; in order to do this He is asking for our complete trust and dependence on Him and Him alone. I don’t have any qualms that it won’t be nerve racking at times; but perhaps as I battle through these feelings, and continue to present my actions as a humble sacrifice, that He’ll spit shine this marred vessel into a closer depiction of His image.
During the moments of tribulation it may not seem worth it, but as we choose on a daily basis to stay the course of humility HE WILL SEE US THROUGH to victory!

Peace that Surpasses Understanding

When Stephen was surrounded by a mob of angry, religious zealots he knew what was about to take place. He was standing before the door of death, and it would now only be a matter of minutes before he would be ruthlessly murdered for his crimes. He had openly defied Israel's law. He was persistent in preaching about this Christ fellow, which was heresy. Something akin to a demonic influence grasped at their hearts, and in one accord the crowd pounced on him and began to sink their fingernails and teeth into any open skin that they could find. They were mauling him like beasts would to fresh prey. During this moment Stephen looked up and saw the heavens open up, and he saw Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father; and his countenance was transformed into glorious awe. He wasn't concerned with what was happening to his physical body, because he fully knew that his spirit was immortal, and that it was now only a matter of time before he would enter into the new life with his Master, and Creator.
After they had their taste of his blood they drug him from the city and out into the open; whereby they received Saul's, a religious leader, blessing to slay him. The anger in Stephen's country men’s' eyes was terrifying for him to behold. He saw nothing but hatred in its purest form. Their countenances were morphed into contemplative rage as they purposefully surrounded him for the single purpose of brutally murdering him.
The first stone thrown may have missed, or it may have struck its mark, we don't know for sure. But what we do know is that after he was bloodied, and crushed, while lying on the red stained ground during the last moments of his life he accomplished a humanly impossible feat. He loved the men that hated him in return. They despised him to the point of beating him bloody before hurling stones at him until the entirety of his life forever seeped from his gashes. I can imagine as he looked into their eyes that he saw the smirking faces of demons. But a greater power was at hand! A peace that surpassed even his own understanding had taken root within him, which conceivably began when he had the open vision of his Creator. At that moment of his physical death a river of living water gushed from his belly and flooded into the tyranny surrounding him. The magical power from on high was love. He forgave them as his Father had forgiven him. He loved them as his Father had loved him. He laid down his life so that they could live. He set aside his rights for justice in order for his countrymen to taste the sweetness of forgiveness.
So when do we receive peace that surpasses understanding? I think this story of Stephen’s death (Acts chapter 7) tells us that peace comes from 1) an encounter with God; and 2) when we lay down our lives and rights so that our friends and enemies might live, and have abundant life! When we copy Christ’s example by picking up our crosses in order to follow Him, then, we open up our lives for the rivers of living water to miraculously touch the nations.

When Joy Comes

As I was walking today I was first filled with an incredible amount of faith that God would provide every provision that I need to embark on this walk. It was awesome, to not have a care in the world. No anxiety, no fear, no concerns, complete knowledge that God is in control, but the best feeling of all was a wonderful joy that filled me despite the fact that I was walking 12 miles.
So it occurred to me that when we obey God, no matter how hard or impossible the task, that He fills us with peace that surpasses understanding. It's amazing, really, to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that whatever may happen on this Middle East trip: imprisonment, abuse, hunger, persecution, and even possibly death, that I am in the Lord's hands doing precisely what I was created to do at this point in time.
The joy that is accompanying the act of obedience is worth all the associated sacrifices, and more. To be truly at peace in life is a state of mind worth savoring. There isn't room for depression, fear, anxiety, or any other negative feeling and emotion when your soul and spirit are brimming to overflowing with rivers of living water!
Come Holy Spirit, come!

The Time for Trust

As I walked today (in preparation for the Middle East) I was filled with a deepened level of trust for God's provision: spiritually, emotionally, and practically. I remembered the story of the disciples boating across the storm ridden lake. The waves must have been substantial enough for them to be afraid for their lives. It must have really been tumultuous because these were seasoned fishermen that were well accustomed to choppy lakes. I can imagine that the waves were crashing over the sides of the boat. Thunder and lightning was probably clashing all around. Gale winds berating from all angles, recklessly throwing anything not tethered down around like sacks of feathers. Perhaps the boat nearly capsized, or was about to when they panicked to the point of crying out to God for their salvation.
It's kind of strange to read about how God told them off for praying to Him. It really seems to go against my belief structure of how we should always be in a mindset of prayer. I suppose the moral of the story is that there is a time for prayer, and a time for trust. So what's the right time for trust, or faith? I guess my thought on this is if God has called an individual to walk a certain path, then there shouldn't be room for fear on that respective mission. Come victory, or even death, if He asks us to do something, or to go somewhere, then He also expects us to fully trust Him for our every provision. At this point maybe instead of exerting our limited energy on asking for something that He has already promised us, we should spend our time being productive in other ways, like focusing on the needs of those around us, or worshiping, or serving, or whatever else He is calling us to do at that given point and time. The disciples knew that they were meant to get to the other side, so they should have believed that it would happen regardless of a life threatening storm.
About prayer then, when is the best time to pray? This is just a thought, but maybe prayer/intercession should happen whenever something has not been directly promised to us. I'm not referring to the general promises in the Bible that are for everyone, but the promises that the Holy Spirit makes to us on an intimate and personal level. If the Holy Spirit has not promised revival for a specific church, country, family... or if the Holy Spirit hasn't promised that someone will get such and such job... Then it's time to pray it up, baby! It's time to pray in the revival that will shape and heal our respective family, church, or city! It's time to pray for whatever it is that God places within our hearts until He either says 'yes', or 'no'. Then if He says 'it is done' to a specific prayer, have faith that it will happen regardless of the seeming impossibilities.
These were just the thoughts that I had today. I'm fully aware that the topics of faith and prayer go well beyond what one simple blog can discuss. Hopefully this will be some food for thought. God bless!