Bob Jones is a father to many, and an extraordinary prophet. He gave an incredible word about the upcoming year, which starts this week. The Jewish new year starts this week, and he says they borrowed Gods calendar. He says the new year is the year of the lion. 2009 was the year of the ox, when we plowed our seed. 2010 was the year of the eagle, so we could see where to put our seed. And 2011 will be when mothers and fathers arise to roar to take our land back. I mean, that just makes me giddy. I definitely receive that word! I have a lot of things I want back that was originally mine, so I wrote a few of them down. If you want me to pray for you because something has been stolen, write a comment or send me an email. I would appreciate your prayers as well. It’s time for justice to be brought. Father we receive your word, bring a new level of authority as we roar!
I want to continually fall more in love with Jesus.
I want to walk.
I want justice for my parents to come NOW! I want them to be able to sleep all night, go on vacations, have dates, and I want them to be able to pursue each other to the fullest.
I want to see Laura walk, run, dance, and sing.
I want to pursue my future wife, and love her as a daughter of the King.
I want my generation to fall head over heels in love with Daddy! I want us to honor our mothers and fathers. I want us to know the heartbeat of our Daddy, and to go after it as laid down lovers.
I want us to know and remember what holds us together. Family holds us together. We must be willing to do whatever it takes to protect that.
It’s time for the economy to stop ruling the hearts and minds of so many people. Lets take authority. We need to stop listening to fear, and stop looking to our government. It’s not their job. We break this with generosity. Our Daddy is the richest guy in the world!!!!!!!!!
I want fire and revival to fall on this generation. We must take a stand against ALL sin, disease, and torment. On earth as in Heaven.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
a lover first
“God is a lover, looking for a lover… so He fashioned me…”
I was worshiping once, and suddenly I had a vision of me sitting in a chair. Right in front of me was Jesus sitting in another chair. We were basically just hanging out like friends. This vision was very profound to me. I immediately began to cry. Sometimes it’s really hard to imagine being friends with Jesus. As Christians we constantly are trying to honor Him, to carry out His righteousness and justice, and to love others well. It’s so easy to go to church, do Bible study, have a small group, heal the sick, serve the poor, and feel like we are loving God well. But are we? He absolutely commands us to do those things. But we should do those things from love, not for love. As much as possible I always try to make my friends happy. I like doing activities that will please them. Lets take my Dad for example, we both enjoy talking politics because it’s a mutual interest. But my Mom hates politics, so we talk about cooking, or what it will be like when I get off this ventilator and out of my wheelchair. Therefore it’s important to know what pleases our Father. But that’s only half of any friendship. Father is first and foremost a lover, and so are we. As Christians we need to seek His very face. What does it mean to love someone? It means we would do anything for the person we love, take a bullet, fight for their heart, make them their favorite meal, and give them everything we have and everything we are. But so often we don’t say to love someone means that we want to be with them. And with Holy Spirit sometimes it’s hard to just be with Him. He is a person, and has real emotions.
I challenge all of us to seek His face, to be His friend.
I was worshiping once, and suddenly I had a vision of me sitting in a chair. Right in front of me was Jesus sitting in another chair. We were basically just hanging out like friends. This vision was very profound to me. I immediately began to cry. Sometimes it’s really hard to imagine being friends with Jesus. As Christians we constantly are trying to honor Him, to carry out His righteousness and justice, and to love others well. It’s so easy to go to church, do Bible study, have a small group, heal the sick, serve the poor, and feel like we are loving God well. But are we? He absolutely commands us to do those things. But we should do those things from love, not for love. As much as possible I always try to make my friends happy. I like doing activities that will please them. Lets take my Dad for example, we both enjoy talking politics because it’s a mutual interest. But my Mom hates politics, so we talk about cooking, or what it will be like when I get off this ventilator and out of my wheelchair. Therefore it’s important to know what pleases our Father. But that’s only half of any friendship. Father is first and foremost a lover, and so are we. As Christians we need to seek His very face. What does it mean to love someone? It means we would do anything for the person we love, take a bullet, fight for their heart, make them their favorite meal, and give them everything we have and everything we are. But so often we don’t say to love someone means that we want to be with them. And with Holy Spirit sometimes it’s hard to just be with Him. He is a person, and has real emotions.
I challenge all of us to seek His face, to be His friend.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
family
Families are supposed to be free and powerful. They are supposed to be filled with love, joy, compassion, and the presence of God. Heaven is all about relationships. Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit set the standard very high for healthy relationships. Unfortunately so many have relationships that are not healthy, even in families. Family means a lot more than dad, mom, son, and daughter. But lets start here. I believe there is not one wasted word in the Bible. Every word has a purpose and is an invitation to an encounter with the person of Jesus. Throughout the Bible God is constantly bringing up genealogies. He takes the time to write generation after generation. I'll be honest, I skipped a lot of these when reading the Word. But a few days ago I purposely read them, and then I had a revelation of His goodness. God cares more about our families than we do. Whoa! Most families are crippled with sin, disease, torment, poverty, and death. Is that okay with you? Because it's not okay with God. Lets say a Grandfather and Grandmother have twelve grandchildren. They have raised them to be lovers of Jesus. They are blessed by two more, a set of twins. But when they are born they have a heart defect, and they only have days to live. What does this mean? We can blame God and get bitter, but if we really knew Jesus we would know how good He is. We could also thank God, thinking He's teaching a lesson. How many times did Jesus give a disease and tell someone to learn character? Oh right, never. We need to realize disease is sent to destroy family. The Grandma realizes this and heads to her prayer closet. She praises God for His goodness and love, not the disease. This is an attack on her family and generational line. Her grandchildren are her inheritance. She agrees with God, saying this is not allowed. Within hours the doctors are clueless because they are totally healed. Families are destroyed through many other ways. How many times do we hear of a son and dad not talking? And how often do we become passive and take our family for granted? The closer we are to people the greater capacity we have of hurting them.
Danny and Sheri Silk are some of my biggest heroes ever. They devote themselves to see the restoration of all families. Families are made to represent Jesus and His love. There is nothing more powerful than a family that are laid down lovers. There is hope. There is no unforgivable sin. Divorce, adultery, physical or verbal abuse, sexual immorality, and betrayal, are all very hurtful. But as Christians we must always forgive and not stay bitter. We are powerful and free, we always have the choice not to forgive and walk away. But how's that going to work out for you?
Danny and Sheri Silk are some of my biggest heroes ever. They devote themselves to see the restoration of all families. Families are made to represent Jesus and His love. There is nothing more powerful than a family that are laid down lovers. There is hope. There is no unforgivable sin. Divorce, adultery, physical or verbal abuse, sexual immorality, and betrayal, are all very hurtful. But as Christians we must always forgive and not stay bitter. We are powerful and free, we always have the choice not to forgive and walk away. But how's that going to work out for you?
Saturday, April 24, 2010
a little renaissance to stir the soul
I was on facebook the other day and I saw a great quote. It said, “I learned everything I need to know from Disney movies.” This made me laugh. I love the classics, they are my most favorite movies. The “Disney Renaissance” is a celebrated time of high quality animated motion pictures. Some would argue how long it lasted, but the general time is 1989-1999. Which is the prime of my youth. These movies were a creative explosion of minds and hearts coming together. They literally helped shape a generation. Movies are powerful, they impart whatever was in the hearts of their maker. Four movies in particular left an imprint on my heart. I've never seen a better movie because I've never received such a strong impartation from other movies.
The Little Mermaid (1989): The part of the movie I want to talk about is when Ariel sings "Part of Your World." Whether the song writer knew it or not, the message of this song is right out of the Bible. Every time I hear it I get tears in my eyes. She starts out the song with how thankful she is for her home and all the things she has. But she quickly moves into how she wants more, she isn't satisfied. She wants to dance and walk on her feet! When I hear that I feel warmth in my soul. I want to dance and walk on my feet! Banning Liebscher, a pastor at Bethel, taught me that I must always stay thankful, and at the same time never be satisfied with what I have. The two go hand in hand. In God there is always more. He values thankfulness, and wants us to stay grounded in that. But He never sets limits for us, we set our own limits.
Beauty and the Beast (1991): Whoa! A movie that moves the heart. This movie shows the power of a curse, and more importantly, the power of love. There was a dream in my spirit for a long time that my soul didn’t really know was there. David had to command his soul to rejoice because it wasn’t as quick as his spirit. I know that to be true in many ways. At the end of Beauty and the Beast there is an amazing scene where Beast is pulled up into the air and is transformed into the prince. At last love conquered the curse and his dream became reality. As a young boy my spirit captured that image and God set it in me. My soul never realized it was there. I never talked of it. I believe the reason why God gave it to me is because God wanted to show my spirit who I am, how He actually views me, and what He wants to do with me. I am that prince and love has conquered this disease. My King conquered every curse. It will be reality on earth. The scene was implanted in my spirit and has never let me go.
Aladdin (1992): This movie showed that I knew I wanted a princess. I believe that Aladdin is one of the most romantic movies ever. I knew I wanted to love well. To love every girl as a beautiful princess. Women are free and powerful. In the movie Jasmine is on the streets and she is trying to stay hidden, she has a hood on. She sees the palace guards capturing Aladdin, and she commands them to let him go. They push her and laugh, saying by who's orders? She stands and removes her veil and says, “by the orders of the princess!” Whoa! The princesses of the world must be unveiled. Creation and mankind are waiting for their orders. Aladdin makes a transformation from pauper to prince. Like most of us he tries to become someone he's not. It's what we do when we don't know our identity. He realizes Prince Ali is just not him, and he gives up hope. He betrays Jasmine's trust by not being himself. Unfortunately like most of us, he sees himself as a pauper and unworthy of love. But he finds out he was born to be a prince. He breaks old mindsets. He is worthy of love and the princess. It's a journey in the depths of his heart.
The Lion King (1994): Mufasa is power. He is so big and strong. He is usurped by Scar in an act of violent love. He gives his life for his son. Scar releases shame and condemnation to Simba. He runs away like so many of us do. He becomes careless and apathetic. He reunites with Nala, and he tells her bad things happen and there's nothing you can do. She responds, “it's your responsibility!” We like to take the responsibility off ourselves. But in fact God left us in charge. We cry out to God for help. I love the secret place, it's a great time to yell, scream, cry, and rejoice. We make an exchange, our stuff for His heart. But we must understand Jesus already defeated everything we face. It's our responsibility to enforce His victory. Mufasa appears to Simba and tells him, “remember who you are.” Simba goes to defeat Scar, taking back his throne. His kingdom is restored.
The Little Mermaid (1989): The part of the movie I want to talk about is when Ariel sings "Part of Your World." Whether the song writer knew it or not, the message of this song is right out of the Bible. Every time I hear it I get tears in my eyes. She starts out the song with how thankful she is for her home and all the things she has. But she quickly moves into how she wants more, she isn't satisfied. She wants to dance and walk on her feet! When I hear that I feel warmth in my soul. I want to dance and walk on my feet! Banning Liebscher, a pastor at Bethel, taught me that I must always stay thankful, and at the same time never be satisfied with what I have. The two go hand in hand. In God there is always more. He values thankfulness, and wants us to stay grounded in that. But He never sets limits for us, we set our own limits.
Beauty and the Beast (1991): Whoa! A movie that moves the heart. This movie shows the power of a curse, and more importantly, the power of love. There was a dream in my spirit for a long time that my soul didn’t really know was there. David had to command his soul to rejoice because it wasn’t as quick as his spirit. I know that to be true in many ways. At the end of Beauty and the Beast there is an amazing scene where Beast is pulled up into the air and is transformed into the prince. At last love conquered the curse and his dream became reality. As a young boy my spirit captured that image and God set it in me. My soul never realized it was there. I never talked of it. I believe the reason why God gave it to me is because God wanted to show my spirit who I am, how He actually views me, and what He wants to do with me. I am that prince and love has conquered this disease. My King conquered every curse. It will be reality on earth. The scene was implanted in my spirit and has never let me go.
Aladdin (1992): This movie showed that I knew I wanted a princess. I believe that Aladdin is one of the most romantic movies ever. I knew I wanted to love well. To love every girl as a beautiful princess. Women are free and powerful. In the movie Jasmine is on the streets and she is trying to stay hidden, she has a hood on. She sees the palace guards capturing Aladdin, and she commands them to let him go. They push her and laugh, saying by who's orders? She stands and removes her veil and says, “by the orders of the princess!” Whoa! The princesses of the world must be unveiled. Creation and mankind are waiting for their orders. Aladdin makes a transformation from pauper to prince. Like most of us he tries to become someone he's not. It's what we do when we don't know our identity. He realizes Prince Ali is just not him, and he gives up hope. He betrays Jasmine's trust by not being himself. Unfortunately like most of us, he sees himself as a pauper and unworthy of love. But he finds out he was born to be a prince. He breaks old mindsets. He is worthy of love and the princess. It's a journey in the depths of his heart.
The Lion King (1994): Mufasa is power. He is so big and strong. He is usurped by Scar in an act of violent love. He gives his life for his son. Scar releases shame and condemnation to Simba. He runs away like so many of us do. He becomes careless and apathetic. He reunites with Nala, and he tells her bad things happen and there's nothing you can do. She responds, “it's your responsibility!” We like to take the responsibility off ourselves. But in fact God left us in charge. We cry out to God for help. I love the secret place, it's a great time to yell, scream, cry, and rejoice. We make an exchange, our stuff for His heart. But we must understand Jesus already defeated everything we face. It's our responsibility to enforce His victory. Mufasa appears to Simba and tells him, “remember who you are.” Simba goes to defeat Scar, taking back his throne. His kingdom is restored.
Friday, April 23, 2010
face to face
I really can’t wait to be married. It’s such a huge desire of my heart. When I was in high school I wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, I was looking for a wife. I’m excited to give everything I have to my wife. I’ve never been married, obviously, but I’ve seen many marriages in action. One of the most important things is to give, give, give, and when I’m sick of giving, I give some more. I’m excited to love her as a daughter of the King, and to fight for her heart. I’m excited to fight along her side, displacing darkness for the Kingdom of our Father. I’m excited to start a family and have children. A family after God’s heart is powerful and is dangerous to darkness. They cultivate the very heart of our Father. More than all of that, I want to know my wife. I’m not going to get married to know about her, but to know her intimately. I plan on actually being with her, and liking it. I want to know what makes her heart beat, what she cries out for when no one is looking. I want to partner with her and God to see her dreams fulfilled. I want to know her so well that I’ll know what she thinks without talking. I believe she is a daughter of the King, and she really is royalty. That’s not a theory, it’s a reality. It’s my privilege and responsibility to know her as she is. And to not live as though it’s a theory.
The same goes with my relationship with Father. I talk a lot on this blog about miracles, signs, and wonders. You will get no apology from me. I want my full inheritance as a son of God. I won’t settle for less. But it’s important to keep the main thing, the main thing. I’m alive to know and love my Father deeply. Even deeper than my wife. People throw a lot of phrases out, including me. “Jesus is the lover my soul.” “I’m an abandoned lover and worshiper of Jesus.” Most of my life these truths have been a theory. But I can honestly say it’s now a reality in my life. People don’t know the extravagant love Father has for us. If people really knew Jesus and His love, people would literally RUN to Him. Most Christians settle for religion. Religion says God is distant and impersonal. We settle for knowing about God. What does your heart cry out for more than anything else? Well I really want to walk. We also want money, blessing, peace, and joy. But more than all that, our hearts ache for love. What in the heck tells us God doesn’t want love even more? Oh right, religion. Father is aching for our love. He is the Lover of all lovers. This is not a theory. Jesus is a person, waiting to be known. He’s longing to know us. I want to know what makes His heart beat, what He cries out for when no one is looking. I want to partner with Him and my wife to see His dreams fulfilled. I want to know Him so well that I’ll know what He thinks without talking. Holy Spirit is my best friend. The love of my life. I live to know my Father face to face.
The same goes with my relationship with Father. I talk a lot on this blog about miracles, signs, and wonders. You will get no apology from me. I want my full inheritance as a son of God. I won’t settle for less. But it’s important to keep the main thing, the main thing. I’m alive to know and love my Father deeply. Even deeper than my wife. People throw a lot of phrases out, including me. “Jesus is the lover my soul.” “I’m an abandoned lover and worshiper of Jesus.” Most of my life these truths have been a theory. But I can honestly say it’s now a reality in my life. People don’t know the extravagant love Father has for us. If people really knew Jesus and His love, people would literally RUN to Him. Most Christians settle for religion. Religion says God is distant and impersonal. We settle for knowing about God. What does your heart cry out for more than anything else? Well I really want to walk. We also want money, blessing, peace, and joy. But more than all that, our hearts ache for love. What in the heck tells us God doesn’t want love even more? Oh right, religion. Father is aching for our love. He is the Lover of all lovers. This is not a theory. Jesus is a person, waiting to be known. He’s longing to know us. I want to know what makes His heart beat, what He cries out for when no one is looking. I want to partner with Him and my wife to see His dreams fulfilled. I want to know Him so well that I’ll know what He thinks without talking. Holy Spirit is my best friend. The love of my life. I live to know my Father face to face.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
a superior reality
I want to finish my story from when I visited California. This story has had a huge impact on me.
Friday was the last day of the conference. It was so awesome. As I said before, the worship is outrageous. Unlike anything else. It literally pulls down Heaven. I got so much prayer that night, from so many different people. David spent a lot of time with me that night. We had a lot of stuff happen in my brain. It was crazy. I’m not sure if it had to do with my SMA, or if it was entirely something else. People kept giving me words about my brain. It felt like electric currents running through my head. David and many other people told me I need to come to the healing rooms bright and early the next day. Healing rooms are a place to go receive your breakthrough. I wanted to go. That night in the hotel was crazy. I was so wired and pumped. I laid down at 2:30 and had to wake up at 6 AM to go to the healing rooms. For three and a half hours I didn’t shut my eyes once. It was wild. Bryan and Steve woke up and we debated going. I was worried because I didn’t sleep at all, I wasn’t sure how I would feel. But I pushed through and went. We got there and Bryan and Steve fell asleep right away. How amazing are they? They gave EVERYTHING to make sure I had the week of my life. I wanted David to pray for me but God put me with a couple I didn’t know. They were incredible. They prayed for the fire of Holy Spirit to come upon me, and I felt it. And then Denise’s sister Amy came and laid hands on me too, and His presence increased on me and in me. The couple told me to close my eyes, and they asked Holy Spirit to show me how He sees me right now. Instantly I saw myself RUNNING in a field, totally healed and free. I just wept. I heard God say, “this is you NOW!” Wow. More than any other time, my miracle became a promise. When people die some say well God just decided not to heal them. How can that be? Jesus bought our healing in His death and resurrection. He put my disease on Him so that I won’t have it. Lets say we buy a truck. We can drive it for ten years, leave it in a garage, burn it, sell it, crash it, or give it away. But we can’t un-buy it. We can’t go back to the dealership and say well I decided I don’t want it. They won’t give us our money back. Just like God can’t take back His payment for our sin, disease, torment, poverty, and death. So many reduce the cross to forgiveness of sin. If that’s all it was, then praise God. Best gift ever! But Jesus told us to repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand. (Matthew 4:17) He also taught us to pray “on earth as in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) Heaven is made up of righteousness, peace, and joy. (Romans 14:17) Peace is one of the most pregnant words in the Bible. One meaning is divine health. Divine health is in my inheritance as a son of God. Not to enjoy just when I go to Heaven in 85 years, but it’s available now. Heaven is my destiny, but my assignment is to bring it to earth. I dare you to dream of God’s goodness. Dream your biggest dream and God will still out dream you.
A few months later my friend Denise Gater painted me a picture of my vision. It’s so great. I have it in my room and look at it everyday. Everyone loves it. I would like to suggest to you it’s not just a picture. It came out of an encounter with my loving Daddy, where He spoke to His son. And when Father speaks, His words carry the weight of Heaven. It’s a picture that shows a superior reality of peace invading an inferior reality of disease. In the fall of 2008 the apartments above us burned down. Our ceilings caved in and our home was ruined from water and smoke. But out of the ashes came my picture, untouched and protected by Father. He wanted to remind me that I am His son and we have a good Father. His love never fails.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
layla grace
Tuesday March 9th, 2010 Layla Grace went to Heaven. She has been battling cancer her whole life. A short life of two years. On her parents twitter account they have over 40,000 followers. She has taken this world with her heart. I spent a lot of time genuinely praying for her miracle. But she is dancing with Jesus now.
I want to honor her and her family, so what I’m sharing is from my heart. I will not buy into a theology that says it was Gods will for her to pass today. Cancer is never from God. He hates cancer. He can’t give what He doesn’t have. People often say that God gives cancer to teach people lessons. When did Jesus ever give anyone a disease? He didn’t. Bill Johnson says Jesus Christ is perfect theology. Layla has touched a lot of hearts, including mine. I’m glad she has helped us, she reminds us that our problems aren’t that big compared to the hell they have been through. But God did not put her on this earth to teach us that. She is a daughter of the King. Cancer is illegal. Jesus defeated disease on the cross. Today was not her time to go. I won’t create a theology that says “well it was just Gods plan.” NO! What father among us plans their child’s calamity? Our Heavenly Father only plans our destiny. So why did she die? I don’t know. I do know God is always good. So we wrestle with what we do know, and what we don’t.
God I know you are always good. There is no lack on your part. I will not create a false theology to make myself feel better. I will not give up until all cancer bows to your name. I ask that you would give us grace to go low and serve. I ask that you would fill us with your love. Give us grace to be an extension of your love, a love that heals ALL disease. I ask that as a church you would give us divine justice, a seven times greater authority over cancer. Please give us grace and peace as we grieve her loss, especially Layla’s parents and family. Thank you that she is with you today. You are such a good Daddy. We give it all to you.
I want to honor her and her family, so what I’m sharing is from my heart. I will not buy into a theology that says it was Gods will for her to pass today. Cancer is never from God. He hates cancer. He can’t give what He doesn’t have. People often say that God gives cancer to teach people lessons. When did Jesus ever give anyone a disease? He didn’t. Bill Johnson says Jesus Christ is perfect theology. Layla has touched a lot of hearts, including mine. I’m glad she has helped us, she reminds us that our problems aren’t that big compared to the hell they have been through. But God did not put her on this earth to teach us that. She is a daughter of the King. Cancer is illegal. Jesus defeated disease on the cross. Today was not her time to go. I won’t create a theology that says “well it was just Gods plan.” NO! What father among us plans their child’s calamity? Our Heavenly Father only plans our destiny. So why did she die? I don’t know. I do know God is always good. So we wrestle with what we do know, and what we don’t.
God I know you are always good. There is no lack on your part. I will not create a false theology to make myself feel better. I will not give up until all cancer bows to your name. I ask that you would give us grace to go low and serve. I ask that you would fill us with your love. Give us grace to be an extension of your love, a love that heals ALL disease. I ask that as a church you would give us divine justice, a seven times greater authority over cancer. Please give us grace and peace as we grieve her loss, especially Layla’s parents and family. Thank you that she is with you today. You are such a good Daddy. We give it all to you.
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