Nearly everyone I know in the church is on the brink of something big, including myself. Cambellsville, KY is in the midst of revival, North Park University in Chicago is about to break out in revival. Vineyard Franklin feels on the verge of something huge. Even North West Church of the Nazarene in Columbus is about to see revival. All it takes is one major move of God and His manifest presence to blow the tops off of these things and we could see an out pouring of his spirit. Healings, signs and wonders, glory all of it!
The earth is being shaken. The economy plummeting is a sign of that shaking. Natural disasters are a sign of that shaking. War is a sign of that shaking. Disease is a sign of that shaking. More and more churches falling because of corruption is a sign of that shaking.
I feel like in this time God is about to do something huge with his people. His chosen ones. I think this revival that seems to be spreading is just the start of it. If we are nearing the end of times then it will be the churches darkest hour and the churches greatest hour as we see many horrible things happening across our land and within the body but also many people will come to the Lord and his glory will be made known to all.
I don't know for sure if we are nearing the day of the Lord, but it seems probable to me. In Joel 2:28 it says in that day..." I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." Now more than ever, I hear of these things happening daily as well as other signs that the end may be near...
This isn't a doom and gloom post. I just feel that as the body of Christ we need to be prepared. We need to be prepared to come together as believers united and not divided. We need to be prepared to fight for souls in the great harvest that is upon us. We need to be prepared to fight against the forces of evil in the supernatural realm that are become more and more prevalent with each passing day. The time is urgent. The time is now. Be strong and courageous. Keep the faith. The Lord good, he is with us, and we know who wins.
10.27.2008
10.25.2008
Milkshakes
Tonight was a good night. It consisted of reading by my "WoodWick" candle, which gives off the sound of a crackling fireplace. Then going to church and then to a great restaurant with called Genghis Grill where we all piled high bowls of "stir fry" type food and stuffing our selves. Then we came home and made milkshakes.
It was interesting the flavors of milk shakes that everyone chose to make. I stuck with a classic Peanut Butter Chocolate shake. It was thick and rich and beautiful. Jo wanted the same thing, but more Chocolate than Peanut Butter.
The boys both made weird concoctions... Of course. They had to add spices and weird chunks of things to their shakes. Josh added truffles and cinnamon to his...He ended up finishing mine and regretting his weird decision. Nate started with a base of Peanut Butter and added cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramel. This one actually turned out really good! Very "fally"
Tonight was a perfect night spent with friends and drinking shakes. Nothing too deep about it. Just good times!
It was interesting the flavors of milk shakes that everyone chose to make. I stuck with a classic Peanut Butter Chocolate shake. It was thick and rich and beautiful. Jo wanted the same thing, but more Chocolate than Peanut Butter.
The boys both made weird concoctions... Of course. They had to add spices and weird chunks of things to their shakes. Josh added truffles and cinnamon to his...He ended up finishing mine and regretting his weird decision. Nate started with a base of Peanut Butter and added cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramel. This one actually turned out really good! Very "fally"
Tonight was a perfect night spent with friends and drinking shakes. Nothing too deep about it. Just good times!
10.23.2008
The Two Sides
For Halloween, my work is having a costume competition/party. This year I am dressing up with a group of girls as the iPod silhouette people who dance in the commercials. The costume is pretty awesome. Basically we will be wearing all black clothes/hats/shoes and we will strap onto our backs large pieces of cardboard covered in neon poster board. Each of us will have bright sparkly makeup that matches our posters and we will dance around to JET. Fun stuff. My favorite part is that it is unique and you can make it your self without having to buy something that you will only wear once and then try and sell on e-bay.
During lunch today the group of girls I am doing the costume with and I all went out to a costume shop to see if they had any fun makeup that could supplement our outfits. I had a strange experience.
Now, this has never happened to me before but, the second I stepped into that shop I felt physically ill. All the awful, dark and evil things that were in that place made my stomach turn. I couldn't look anywhere except the floor. I could feel a heavy, evil presence sifting throughout the room. My friends didn't seem phased.
We meandered around for a while, me looking at the floor, feeling like I was going to puke. They walked back into this back room and I followed. The room was so full of darkness that I literally ran from the room. They probably thought I was pretty crazy. I didn't care.
This whole experience made me realize just how prevalent the spiritual realm is. Light and Dark. For most people the attack from the dark side is subtle. They don't even realize the evil is around them and the enemy slowly inches his way in. For others the attack is more direct and they are blatantly partaking in the evil. And in a place like that, for someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit, I guess me, the best attack is to make them physically ill and get them out of the area so they don't start talking about Jesus.
I have nothing against trick-or-treating for kids as long as they are going as a princess, pumpkin or pirate. But now, I have everything against the celebration of Halloween. It is OBVIOUS to me that darkness surrounds this holiday.
On October 31st I will be praying and worshiping with friends at my condo. Who's in?
During lunch today the group of girls I am doing the costume with and I all went out to a costume shop to see if they had any fun makeup that could supplement our outfits. I had a strange experience.
Now, this has never happened to me before but, the second I stepped into that shop I felt physically ill. All the awful, dark and evil things that were in that place made my stomach turn. I couldn't look anywhere except the floor. I could feel a heavy, evil presence sifting throughout the room. My friends didn't seem phased.
We meandered around for a while, me looking at the floor, feeling like I was going to puke. They walked back into this back room and I followed. The room was so full of darkness that I literally ran from the room. They probably thought I was pretty crazy. I didn't care.
This whole experience made me realize just how prevalent the spiritual realm is. Light and Dark. For most people the attack from the dark side is subtle. They don't even realize the evil is around them and the enemy slowly inches his way in. For others the attack is more direct and they are blatantly partaking in the evil. And in a place like that, for someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit, I guess me, the best attack is to make them physically ill and get them out of the area so they don't start talking about Jesus.
I have nothing against trick-or-treating for kids as long as they are going as a princess, pumpkin or pirate. But now, I have everything against the celebration of Halloween. It is OBVIOUS to me that darkness surrounds this holiday.
On October 31st I will be praying and worshiping with friends at my condo. Who's in?
10.21.2008
Fighting
I heard a good quote yesterday. It was from Kris Vallotton, one of the associate pastors at Bethel Church in Redding, CA. He said "We are fighting from victory, not for victory...but we are still fighting."
It's pretty awesome that Jesus has already won the battle over death for us and holds the Keys of Hell in his hands. As Christians we know the end of the story. We win! But, that doesn't mean we stop fighting against evil in this world. We can't sit idly by doing nothing till we die or are raptured. Also, we shouldn't panic like the world is going to end when the stock market crashes. It isn't the end of the world, and if it was we should have nothing to fear because we are victorious in the fact that Jesus has paid the debt of our sin on the cross!
Good stuff.
It's pretty awesome that Jesus has already won the battle over death for us and holds the Keys of Hell in his hands. As Christians we know the end of the story. We win! But, that doesn't mean we stop fighting against evil in this world. We can't sit idly by doing nothing till we die or are raptured. Also, we shouldn't panic like the world is going to end when the stock market crashes. It isn't the end of the world, and if it was we should have nothing to fear because we are victorious in the fact that Jesus has paid the debt of our sin on the cross!
Good stuff.
10.20.2008
In the White Room
Over this past weekend I went on a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio for a wedding. The entire Michael family was present. Andrea, my sister-in-law, recently had an incredible encounter with the Lord in a vision where He took her up to Heaven. She told all of us (me, Josh, Nate, and Jo) about this and we were really excited to give it a try. Andrea told us to close our eyes and try to picture Jesus. On the edge of my seat I closed my eyes expecting big things and some elaborate journey through heaven with God. Walking on the golden roads and the seas of glass, flying around and meeting the apostles etc.
Immediately I pictured an empty white room. Nothing around at all. Stark and quiet. Then I tried to picture Jesus. The stereotypical Jesus in Jewish garb popped into the white room and stood there looking at me. I said "Hey" in my head to Him. He said "Hey" back. I asked him, "Are we going to go to heaven now?" and he replied "Not Yet." I said "Well, what do you want to do?" and he responsed "Just wait."
At this point on earth, Andrea asked us if we were getting anything. Joanna and I both said yes. Joanna then went on to share what she was seeing and it was this amazing adventure the Holy Spirit was taking her on. My white room started to look pretty boring. When it came my turn to share I said "Well, mine is pretty lame...I am just in a white room with Jesus."
All at once everyone in the room started to laugh. I realized how bad that sounded once the words left my mouth. Hanging out with Jesus is totally lame....(sarcasm). The spirit of diminishment was trying to negate this amazing experience I was having with the Lord. I rebuked that and moved on quickly.
I ended up staying in the white room with Jesus the whole time. I hugged Him. Asked him questions. Walked around the room with him. I held his hand. I talked to him and realized that He wanted me to know that I only needed him and nothing else. He wanted me to know Him more. I spent a while in my vision just studying the lines on His face, the color and emotion in His eyes and the waves of His hair. It was an incredibly intimate encounter with my creator and savior.
I plan on doing this "exercise" (for lack of a better word), often. Encountering God is amazing. We are always trying to do the "right thing" in our Christian walk. Have quiet time. Pray. Give money. Read the Bible. But, as Brennan Manning says in his book Signature of Jesus, "I spent so much time doing the things that would please God that I had no time left just to be with God." Keeping our focus on Him is important. We should not always strive to complete a daily checklist of things that we think will make God happy. Sometimes God just wants to hang out. Just resting in His presence and letting him love on you and you love on Him is one of the greatest things we can "do."
If this post tugged at your heart and you to want to have an experience with Jesus like mine I encourage you to close your eyes right now. Close them and picture Jesus. What is He doing? What does He want to tell you? Where does He want to take you? Let his love and presence go deep and rock you to your core. Trust me...it's not lame.
Immediately I pictured an empty white room. Nothing around at all. Stark and quiet. Then I tried to picture Jesus. The stereotypical Jesus in Jewish garb popped into the white room and stood there looking at me. I said "Hey" in my head to Him. He said "Hey" back. I asked him, "Are we going to go to heaven now?" and he replied "Not Yet." I said "Well, what do you want to do?" and he responsed "Just wait."
At this point on earth, Andrea asked us if we were getting anything. Joanna and I both said yes. Joanna then went on to share what she was seeing and it was this amazing adventure the Holy Spirit was taking her on. My white room started to look pretty boring. When it came my turn to share I said "Well, mine is pretty lame...I am just in a white room with Jesus."
All at once everyone in the room started to laugh. I realized how bad that sounded once the words left my mouth. Hanging out with Jesus is totally lame....(sarcasm). The spirit of diminishment was trying to negate this amazing experience I was having with the Lord. I rebuked that and moved on quickly.
I ended up staying in the white room with Jesus the whole time. I hugged Him. Asked him questions. Walked around the room with him. I held his hand. I talked to him and realized that He wanted me to know that I only needed him and nothing else. He wanted me to know Him more. I spent a while in my vision just studying the lines on His face, the color and emotion in His eyes and the waves of His hair. It was an incredibly intimate encounter with my creator and savior.
I plan on doing this "exercise" (for lack of a better word), often. Encountering God is amazing. We are always trying to do the "right thing" in our Christian walk. Have quiet time. Pray. Give money. Read the Bible. But, as Brennan Manning says in his book Signature of Jesus, "I spent so much time doing the things that would please God that I had no time left just to be with God." Keeping our focus on Him is important. We should not always strive to complete a daily checklist of things that we think will make God happy. Sometimes God just wants to hang out. Just resting in His presence and letting him love on you and you love on Him is one of the greatest things we can "do."
If this post tugged at your heart and you to want to have an experience with Jesus like mine I encourage you to close your eyes right now. Close them and picture Jesus. What is He doing? What does He want to tell you? Where does He want to take you? Let his love and presence go deep and rock you to your core. Trust me...it's not lame.
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