Money and Babies

I was listening to Glen Beck this morning and had a wakeup call. He was talking about the state of America's financial system. He forecasted an imminent crisis and went on to say something shocking. He explained that when inflation happens, and it will happen, our president might be tempted to turn to the UN for aid. If Obama does this, the UN will surely ask America to give up some of our sovereignty in return for that aid.
I am blogging on this issue because I can't understand why God would ask me to return to college in this season. I am taking out college loans and my profession won't guarantee an instant pay back. The current atmosphere isn’t the best for a poor college student.
I am starting to doubt my decision to return to college. I went to Fort Wayne and the entire school closed. Maybe that was God warning me. Maybe the huge bump in the road was God trying to thwart my ill conceived plans.
But there is a bigger issue here.
Many Christians have been screaming that America's shedding of innocent blood would not go unpunished. I have always felt America deserved judgment for the murder of millions of babies. I realize I am oscillating between two decisions. However, I really believe my college education is also preparing me to be a voice for the unborn. Recently, my desire is growing to speak out and write about this atrocity. Although my plans and future are hazy, my desire to be a voice for millions of babies is only increasing.

Allen's Echo

Allen Hood gave a sermon that rattled an ideology I believed. In this sermon, he revealed that personal revivial doesn't protect a nation from judgement. He shared how Noah and his family were protected while all the other inhabitants of the world were destroyed. Then he shared how Lot and his family were rescued when Sodom and Gommorah were irradicated.

Recently, I have been experiencing God's love at new levels. My spiritual ears are alert and my devotion to God is at an all time high. I made the mistake of thinking that my mountain top experience would protect America. As I heard Allen speaking, I realized I should be in sack cloth and ashes. I may be expereincing the power and beauty of God, but my nation is in apostasy.

Suddenly, I realized God needs intercessors! We need to cry out for revival and repentance. My personal quiet time doesn't reflect the atmosphere around me. We need to pray! We need to repent! We need to wake up!

Moses's Mother

I just realized something that just made my heart jump. I was studying the story of Moses for a devotional I have to write for my Freelance class. Moses's mother is a Levite! Not only that, her name is never mentioned. That means she is a nameless, faceless Levite! Anyone who is an IHOP junky might just think that is pretty cool!

Newsletter

I have been compiling newsletters for my young adult's group for a couple years now. I thought I would post the website where this newsletter is featured. You simply go to the First Assembly Young Adult website by clicking HERE! Then simply click the link "Check out our Newsletter." The newsletter is updated each month!

Grisham Twins

There are twin girls who sometimes lead worship for the International House of Prayer in Fort Wayne. They have recently formed a band and are performing at various venues. I knew from the moment I heard them sing together that God was going to use them. Listen to their music by following this LINK!

Tongues

There are varying thoughts regarding the issue of speaking in tongues. I try to avoid debating, if I can. When someone talks about speaking in tongues, it is bound to stir emotions in the Christian body. For some strange reason, the subject is contrivesial.
My personal experience with tongues has convinced me of this supernatural reality. When I speak in tongues, I feel edified and I gain insight and wisdom. I don't plan on writing a huge dissertation on tongues in this post. I just wanted to share a recent occurance in my own spiritual language that has blessed me.
I am speaking in Hebrew! You might wonder how I know I am speaking in Hebrew. Well I will try to explain. Without prior meditation or effort, I start speaking in tongues. Then without any effort or thought I say Hebrew words I already know. For instance, I say Yeshua, Adonai, or Shalom. Now I really can't prove that any of the other words are Hebrew because I don't know Hebrew. But, I know how Hebrew sounds and many of the sounds I make are similar to the Hebrew tone. Take it or leave it. I know I am blessed by it.

Missional

I don't believe morality can be dictated to anyone by government coercion or bias lobbying. Abortion will end when Christians STOP yelling at the supreme court and START loving teenage mothers. Homosexuality will end when dads become fathers and jocks stop bullying the tenors. If there is sin in our nation, whose fault is it? It is the church's fault! It is MY fault.

Recently, I have been listening to some sermons about being missional. For the purpose of this blog, I will describe missional with one sentence. Evangelism is not about preaching the gospel, but about reaching out to other's with the love of Christ.

I have some insight into why this new style of outreach is both helpful and detrimental. I will list the positives and the negatives.

POSITIVES:
1. Loving someone in the midst of their unique struggle is exactly what Jesus did. God spoke to the Samaritan at the well with concepts she understood. If Jesus would have given her a lecture in Torah law, the Samaritan would be at a loss.

2. Every person has a unique make-up. A blank statement like "Jesus loves you, He even died for you" will be perceived in various forms. By building a relationship with someone, before you start preaching to them, you will have a better understanding of their perceptions and needs.

3. Some people view the Bible as archaic. It is troubling that many view the scriptures as irrelevant. The scriptures are not archaic, in fact, they are extremely relevant. But, if you approach a stranger with the gospel, they may just tune you out automatically.

NEGATIVES
1. Those who want to be missional are ashamed of the gospel. They think scriptures are ineffective, and this is a lie.
2. Christians who become missional often lack moral convictions.
3. Missional Christians downplay the authority of the organized church. They see no need for elders or deacons...the Bible is clear these offices are mandated.

I am still debating with myself on what my convictions actually are. Do I want to be missional or a scholar of God's word.

My Song

This songs is absolutely amazing. I have decided to make it the theme song for this blog. I might prattle on about God and my relationship with Him, but overall I don't know Him.

Predestination

If you want to rattle people’s cages, simply talk about predestination. I appreciate beliefs that differ from my own, but I am a strong believer in predestination. I don’t think we choose to follow Christ of our own free will. I believe God saves us by His grace, and nothing we do, even our fabricated faith, can save us from Hell. If anyone is saved, it is because God has drawn and chosen them.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. ~Ephesians 2:8-9

You must admit that, if you think God did not predestine anyone, than our salvation is in our hands, not God’s hands. I don’t want to trust myself to my own decision. There is more comfort and security knowing God predestines who will go to heaven and hell. I pray every day, “God take away my free will!”

I wrestled with this concept myself. I asked, “If God predestined who would be sent to hell, wouldn’t that make Him mean and evil? Then I reminded myself that all God’s judgments are righteous and true. If He predestines who would follow Him, than this act was holy and perfect. We must trust Him.

Here is a fictional encounter with God that brings the situation into perspective.

“God, did you predestine people to go to Hell?” I asked.
“If I did, would you be offended by me?” He countered.
“I must admit, it doesn’t seem fair. Shouldn’t you give people a choice?” I asked.
“Fair? You want a choice. You want free will. I want my choice. I want to choose just as you wish to choose. Don't you trust my choice more than you own choice?"

Some supportive scriptures.
Romans 8:29-30, Ephesians 1:5-12, John 12:40.

Please comment and discuss. I love hearing what other people think.

Comfortable Altar

I clean a church every weekend. Today as I was vacuuming, I noticed something peculiar. Towards the front of this church’s sanctuary were two altars. They were wooden altars with carpeted cushions on top. It made me chuckle that these altars were cushioned. An altar is a place of sacrifice, humility, and repentance. It seemed strange to me that these altars were cushioned for the worshipper’s comfort.
Now I am aware that staying at an altar for a prolonged period of time becomes uncomfortable. Your feet go numb, your back gets sore, and your comfortable pew is beckoning you to return. But, isn’t that the point! An altar’s main job should be to make your flesh hurt.
This is simply a funny anecdote. I am not disapproving of the church’s décor. I am confident the congregation knows about sacrifice, humility, and repentance. I only found it somewhat odd and felt compelled to blog.

Sound the Alarm

I had a dream. It was a very short dream, but it was also intense. In an instance, I saw many IHOP leaders sounding prophetic alarms. Corey Russell was telling everyone to watch and see the obvious signs. He said, "Look! Watch! It has already begun. The church is asking for evangelism and persecuting anyone who wants to live a lifestyle of prayer. Everyone in my dream had a sense of urgency and they were asking others to sound the alarm. They were wailing and their cries were almost panicked.
When I woke up, I wanted to fall back asleep. However, Rita Springer's song "Holy Visitation" was in my head. I felt I needed to share this dream and pray NOW!