May 2013 Newsletter

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“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to Him day & night?  Will He keep putting them off?  I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.  However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”–Luke 18:7-8

This verse is written on the wall at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.  It continues to serve as a reminder that God hears prayer and answers.  In 1999 a little band of Us 2intercessors gathered together with prophetic promises that thousands would be gathered to Kansas City and that it would lead to a worldwide mission’s movement that prepared the way for Jesus’ 2nd coming.  Now 14 years later the House of Prayer has over 2,000 believers (staff, students, and interns) serving full-time, investing fifty hours per week, as they go from the prayer room to the classroom and then to ministry outreaches and works of service.  The Prayer Room is broadcast to over 100 nations and is connected with some of the top evangelical mission’s organizations in the world.  We are so grateful to be a part of this ministry!

Loretta & I celebrated IHOPKC’s 14th anniversary this week by gathering together with all the staff members and hearing the rich, prophetic history of the house of prayer.  God moved in extraordinary ways to establish this House of Prayer!  Of course every ministry & church is dear to the Lord’s heart and has it’s own history.   IHOPKC is just one expression of what the Lord is doing in the earth but it has been an encouragement & catalyst for thousands all around the world.  Loretta first came to the House of Prayer in 2007 with her family & I joined it in 2005.  Looking back over the years I can truly say that the teachings and community here have transformed my life and given me a solid foundation for the future.  By God’s grace we have committed to give ourselves to full-time mission’s work all the days of our lives.  That will look different through different seasons but we want to remain steady until the Lord returns.

As I think upon all the wonderful (& challenging) things about this mission’s base one of my favorite things is the humility in its leaders.  The leadership staff could make a fortune but they continue to give money away & choose simplicity in their personal lives.  They have weaknesses just like everyone but they live what they preach.  We are continually provoked to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, & strength by this community!

Before celebrating IHOPKC’s 14th anniversary Loretta & I had the opportunity to travel to Wisconsin and celebrate my parents 40th anniversary.  The church they attend surprised them on Sunday with some flowers and a big cake.  The speaker didn’t plan it but he just happened to preach about the beauty of marriage that week!  My parents were thrilled.  After the service we visited some family and went to a fancy restaurant where my parents had their first date.

Loretta & I also just celebrated our ihopkc1-year anniversary this past month!  With all these anniversaries it has really caused me to reminisce, thinking on the past things the Lord’s done and on the future things ahead of us.  The Bible is filled with exhortations to do that.  There are certain things the Lord wants us to remember and there are certain things the Lord wants us to forget.  It’s important to remember His story through our lives.  He’s been so gentle & patient with our weaknesses & His leadership has always been perfect.  He is joining the prayer movement and mission’s movement all over the earth & we’re praying for strength to finish the part He’s given us.

Christians, Movies, & The Glory Of God

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A few months ago I was online & happened to see a link to some production videos on how they made the famous movie, The Hobbit. Generally I don’t spend time looking at stuff like that but it seemed intriguing so I clicked the link and watched it for a few Moviesminutes.  It was the premiere showing for the film in New Zealand.  Thousands of people were screaming, clapping, and even crying as the different cast members came onto stage. As I continued to watch, a man got up in the crowd and said he spent all that he had to come & see the premiere showing for the film & to see the cast members in real life.

This was a perfect example right before my eyes of men worshiping men, even sacrificing what was dear to them so that they could do so. The crowd worshiped them as though they were gods.  It’s exactly what Romans 1 talks about, “exchanging the truth of God for the lie, and worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator.”

I’m not against The Hobbit movie and I actually saw it.  But we must guard ourselves from being “dazzled” by the same things the world is.  In heaven only God is worshipped. There is no angel, man, or being that is even slightly elevated, so as to detract attention from God.  Worship belongs to Him alone.  Yet here in this fallen world men are constantly looking for something to worship besides their Creator.

This shouldn’t be the case for believers in Jesus.  Everything we find pleasure in should be traced back to God and everything we do should be done for His glory.  Enjoying food, a good movie, or a person that we admire obviously isn’t wrong in itself but these secondary pleasures should always direct our attention back to God. He is the one who made the food that we enjoy therefore it is an expression of His goodness. He is the one who made our spouse that attracts us and brings us such joy, therefore they also are a manifestation of His goodness.  But if the root of the pleasure we’re partaking of can’t be traced back to God then should we really be praising it?

How ’bout movies?  What should a Christian’s stance be?  First, I’ll say that my wife & I probably watch a movie once a week so I’m not against them.  But when it comes to movies it may be helpful to remember reality.  Most of the characters we see are unbelievers who want nothing to do with Jesus. They are under the wrath of God and in desperate need of a Savior. When Jesus returns and establishes His kingdom on earth I doubt that most of the things we’ve watched will have any significance in eternity whatsoever. They will be completely forgotten.

Is God against movies? No, not all of them. The human spirit loves stories and lots of movies simply tell a good story just like books do. Watching them isn’t wrong UNLESS they are glorifying sexual immorality, violence, theft, and sin, & using the name of Jesus as an explicative. The problem is that most of the movies coming out of Hollywood are doing these exact things.

If a movie came out using the name of “Allah” as an explicative the Muslim world would be outraged. Yet thousands of Christians in the Western world continue to numb their conscience on a regular basis by watching movies that use the name of the One they worship as a cuss word. No wonder Muslims don’t take Christians seriously.  We watch the very things that glorify what Jesus hates.

I’m not trying to be harsh or point fingers at anyone but we as Christians really need to reevaluate what our standards are. The gospel has been drastically watered down in our western culture and we must resist the idea that that is normal.

Jesus said the source of light for our whole being is our eyes. That means that what we watch actually enters us and affects the condition of our spirits:eye

“The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” -Matt 6:21-23

We should be extremely careful with what we watch and subject ourselves to.  We may not realize it but all those little compromises really damage our life in God and dull our spirits in the long run.  It’s time to turn it off when we know it’s wrong.

To summarize, there’s nothing wrong with a good, clean movie once in awhile but we must be careful.  Even partaking of good things in excess can become harmful.  As believers we committed our lives to the LORD. We made an agreement to give everything to Him – and that includes what we do with our time and with our eyes.  Let’s be those who love what He loves and hate what He hates.

April 2013 Newsletter

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“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered Him and said ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said ‘Come.’”  -Matt 14:27-29

Awhile back I heard a supposedly true story about a little boy who tried to walk on water. He heard the story about Jesus & Peter on the boat and was convinced that if Peter could do it, then he could do it. So he went for it – He ran off a dock nearby but plunged right into the water. He tried again, but with the same results. Finally after spending hours with his friends trying to walk on the water he tried one last time. With all the faith he could muster he ran off the dock. But this time he didn’t sink right away.  He was running on water! Then after about 4 or 5 steps he fell in.

The thing I love about this story is the walking_on_water_jekelchild-like faith it displays. We too are called to step out of our comfort zone and trust Jesus. Yet often we are overcome with unbelief. We say we trust God & His promises but many times our fears betray our beliefs. The LORD wants to deliver us from these fears by teaching us to trust Him with all our heart. The safest place is always in obedience. It may feel more comfortable in the place of safety but if Jesus isn’t there, then in reality we aren’t safe. It’s safer on the water with Jesus than in the boat without Him.

One reason this has been on our hearts is because of a recent conference held at IHOP-KC a couple weeks ago called “Transform World 2020.” Global Missions Leaders from all over the world came to the Prayer Room from March 24-27 for 70 hours of prayer and strategizing. It’s becoming more & more obvious that the mission’s movement and the prayer movement are one reality. We desperately need each other! A speaker from Asia particularly impressed me.  His words were gentle but powerful.  He told a story about when he raised his brother from the dead when he was 10 yrs old. His reasoning was that Jesus raised people from the dead so if we’re called to be like Jesus then we too should raise people from the dead – what simple faith! The next day I was in the Prayer Room reading the Gospels and I came across the story of Jesus calling Peter out of the boat. As I came to the words Jesus spoke, I felt like He was speaking straight to me “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” I left the Prayer Room that day with a new resolve to be delivered from unbelief. We were made to walk on the water with Jesus no matter what the circumstances around us look like.  Yet even if we stumble He will be there to uphold us.

In other news, it seems more and more like God is connecting us with the nations!  Almost once a week we connect with a new group of people who are building a house of Prayer somewhere.  This past Easter we met a wonderful family from Switzerland who’ve committed to build a house of prayer in France.  We spent the afternoon with them & Loretta’s family while eating some killer Lasagna.  Later that night was our small group, which has been going for about 3 years now.  Every Sunday night we have a meal together followed by a time of worship and bible study. I think one of the most refreshing elements in the group is the diversity of people.  Our group is held at a house that belongs to a mission’s organization which trains and equips missionaries.  That means we have the privilege of having missionaries from different nations visit our group.   We’re so grateful to see what God is doing in the earth & we’re praying for faith to step out of our comfort zone and fulfill the work He’s given us.

10 Useful Tips When Reading Your Bible

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Here’s a few things I’ve found extremely helpful when reading the Word.  Usually when someone is hitting a wall in reading the Scriptures it’s related to one of these things:

Slow Down -  There’s a lot of people out scroll picturethere who read really fast.  That’s not a bad thing as long as we know there’s times the Holy Spirit wants us to slow down. There’s a  place for vigorous study when we’ll read through whole books at a time but sometimes we’ll get more out of reading when we take our time.  This is what the Bible calls “meditating or pondering”.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day & night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth it’s fruit in it’s season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper”  -Psalm 1:1-3

That word “meditate” means “to ponder, mull over, repeat to oneself.”  Often when I’m reading, a verse will stick out to me.  At this point I usually stop reading and begin  talking to the Lord about the verse.  I start asking questions about it.  What?  When?  Where?  Who?  Why?  Sometimes I’ll repeat the verse out loud a few times and ask the Holy Spirit to give me revelation.  And He usually does!  He just wanted me to slow down so that He could talk to me about it.

Pray the Bible - The Word is meant to be a prayer manual for us.  We use it to talk to God and He uses it to talk to us.  The Psalms are wonderful for this.  We can use Biblical language to talk to God about who He is, what we feel, etc.  The apostolic prayers are great for our personal prayer life or when we’re praying for family, friends, & unbelievers. We can take the Gospels and ask Jesus what He was thinking & feeling when He fed the multitude of 5,000.  Every book has different affects on our heart and every one of them can be used for our personal prayer life.

Understand the Context – Some charismatic circles are notorious for spiritualizing the passage they’re reading and taking it completely out context.  Most of the time we don’t have bad intentions but nonetheless, reading the Bible out of context usually leads to places the Lord didn’t intend for us to go.

For example, when God was speaking through the prophet Joel in Chapter 2, He spoke of His “army”.   I’ve heard people use this army as a picture of us, God’s end-time army who will be fearless before the enemy.  But if we look at the passage closer and look at the context, it’s not talking about us at all.   It’s talking about the Babylonian empire that God would use to bring judgment on the people of Israel if they refused to repent!  Of course, the truth of us being God’s “end-time army” is right on.  The Bible uses imagery of the Lord of hosts and of His people being soldiers.  But using Joel 2 to describe that is using the Bible out of context.  There’s nothing wrong with using passages that are talking about Israel or other things and applying them to us.  But the important thing is that we understand  the context of the actual verse before we spiritualize it and apply it differently.

Treasure the Bible – If we read the Word with a dull spirit and treat it lightly we’re much less likely to encounter Jesus in it.  We can’t read it casually like another textbook.  God’s life and heart are being imparted and communicated to us through words!

The Bible is not boring.  We are.  Sin has deceived  us into thinking that the Author of pleasure & His words are kind of dull but in reality we are the ones who are disconnected from what true joy is.  We can be sure that over time as we continue to seek the Lord in His Word,  our mind will be renewed and we’ll encounter God’s love.  When that happens usually the veil begins to lift and we see that God’s Word is better than any treasure we could ever have on earth.

Have a Pure Heart – Jesus said that “the pure in heart would see God”.  This applies the same way when we’re reading the Bible.  If we’re walking in sin and compromise our eyes are blinded from seeing beauty & truth.  To the degree that we are conformed into the image of Jesus and walking in His ways is the level of eyesight we have in the spirit.  The pure in heart who seek to please Jesus and fully obey Him are given revelation.

Turn off your TV – The human mind has only so much capacity to receive information every day.  Our minds have been turned into mush from over stimulating ourselves on media and entertainment so that when we open the Bible we don’t get much out of it.  These things aren’t bad in themselves but if we partake of them too much we are at risk of having a dull spirit.  Maybe for a good jump start, try going on a 3 day media fast and measure the results.  Instead of watching the movie & going on facebook, read the Word.

Make a “to do” List – Often when we’re trying to focus on encountering Jesus in the Bible all kinds of “to do” stuff will pop in our head – laundry, bills, fixing the car.  A good way to remain undistracted is to keep a piece of paper nearby and write down all the stuff we have to do.  That way you can continue reading the Word without worrying that you’ll forget about the stuff later.

Schedule It – In our busy society if it’s not in our schedule we won’t do it.  Set apart time to seek the Lord in the Scriptures.  The rest of your schedule should revolve around that time since it’s the most important time of the day.

Encounter Jesus - This should always be our primary purpose when we come to the Scriptures.  We don’t just want head knowledge.  We want to grow in the knowledge of who He is and learn of His ways experientially.

Stick With It – I have yet to meet someone who says that they’ve never have had a dry time in the Word.  Even the most “spiritual” among us have times when nothing really seems to be happening.  During those times the key is to stick with it.  If we give up when we’re not feeling anything we probably won’t read the Word a lot.  But if we press onward and continue reading the Scriptures with a hungry heart we will not be denied.  God loves to draw the hungry and ALWAYS gives to the one who refuses to be denied.

Reading the Bible should be like eating meals every day.  Without regular times of feeding our spirits in the Scriptures we will become weak and malnourished in the spirit, which eventually leads to death.  But if we read His Word on a regular basis our spirits will become strong, our minds will be renewed, and our hearts will grow in  love.  God wants to reveal Himself to us!  Our job is to position ourselves to encounter Him.

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.  Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.” -Psalm 19:7-11

March 2013 Newsletter

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“Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great & strong wind tore into the mountains…but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”   -1 Kings 19:11-13Winter Hike'13 revised 2

We had a lot of snow this past February! When it does snow in KC we usually get 4-6 inches but these last 2 weeks were pretty unusual. We got over 25 inches! During that period there was a total of 4 snow days so Loretta & I tried to make the most out of it. We went sledding, enjoyed long hours of reading with tea, & caught up on some projects we’ve wanted to do. But around the 3rd snow day we were both starting to get a little “cabin fever” and were itching to get outside our 1 bedroom apartment.

I actually spent the last snow day alone. Loretta’s office job in the IHOPKC, sacred trust department had opened up the fourth day but the IHOPU office was still closed. As I thought about how I wanted to spend the day I felt like the LORD wanted me to slow down and listen to Him. And so it began. I decided to shut down everything for a few hours. No reading, no facebook, no projects. Just me and God. After 5 minutes I was already getting restless. But as I continued to wait and listen, the LORD began speaking to me about all kinds of stuff! I encountered God at a deep level simply because I decided to turn some things off and just listen to Him. This has led Loretta & I to the following conclusion: if we don’t make time for God, we’re not going to hear from God a lot. It’s true, we’re called to encounter Jesus in everything but if we don’t set apart time to slow down and seek Him we’re in danger of trying to live on our own.

The Holy Spirit is not a drive-thru. In America we are so accustomed to getting what we want right away but that’s not how God works. In order to get clarity and direction from God, sometimes we need to slow down and get quiet. More often than not, God is not in the “wind, earthquake, & fire”. He speaks with a “still, small voice.” How much more direction and clarity would we get if we took the time to stop and listen? The good news is that this isn’t just for the single bachelor with a part-time job. This is for everyone, including moms with kids. God wants to be heard! It will look different depending on the season we’re in, but the principle remains true. We must take the time to listen to Him if we want to walk in the fullness He has for us.

Aside from our 4 snow days, Loretta & I have been starting some new initiatives here on the Missions Base to get into the lives of unbelievers. Our small group has committed to connect with 1 unbeliever a week through the internet, a phone call, or some coffee. Then every week when we get together we’re going to share how it went and pray over them. We’re excited to see what happens! As intercessory missionaries we spend lots of time ministering to the Lord and praying & interceding for the lost but we too are called to go! Every saint’s mandate is to fulfill the great commission and I’ve become confident that the best way to fulfill that mandate is to be faithful with what He’s called us to do. Loretta & I are called to 24/7 prayers for justice along with 24/7 works of justice. If we are constantly comparing ourselves with other people’s callings & assignments we will get confused and Jesus’ great commission will actually be hindered. The best way to fulfill the great commission is to be faithful with what God has given us. No matter what we’re doing or where we are in life we need to set apart time to listen to God and gain insight into what that assignment is.