About a week and a half ago, I was in Scottsdale, Arizona for a wedding. Weddings have taken on an entirely different meaning for me since moving to IHOP 5 years ago. They are such a dim but beautiful snapshot into the heart of the Father to prepare a bride for His Son. I was so honored to be a groomsman for such a good friend and brother in the Lord, Shawn Zajas. Shawn was married to Kellie Hubbell, his best friend for the past several years, on August 23, 2008 in the presence of God, family, and so many loving friends. It was truly a special moment!

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Yesterday I was meditating on and praying through Hebrews 1 with one of the worship teams here in the house of prayer. The whole chapter such an amazing passage, but I got “stuck” on the first two verses:

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,”
(Hebrews 1:1-2 NKJV)

Those thirty words are full of spiritual gold directly from the heart of God, just waiting to be mined by the hungry hearer. I felt like I got yet another small glimpse into them yesterday. Let me tell you, there’s so much power on singing the Word of God, but that’s a subject for another post.

Even the first phrase, which you can sum up as “God speaks”, is a deep expression of His humility. Who is this God who actually opens His heart wide to speak and make Himself known to weak and broken human beings? God is not obliged to speak to men in any way, but it’s something He chose to do. He is so unlike us, yet He chooses to make Himself known by speaking to the ones He created. What is in His heart that He would do such a thing? Surely the accusation that He cannot be known or doesn’t want Himself to be known is a fabrication constructed by the enemy that men have believed from just about the beginning.  read more »

It's been a while since I've posted. I've been busy dealing with some nagging life issues and our 40-day fast is about to come to an end (FOOD! yum...) On this fast, I’ve been listening to some Jack Frost teachings lately, and he has provoked me to think about the heart posture and the attitude I take in my relationship to the Father. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably unknowingly dismissed the words "son or daughter of God" as cool language to use in a conversation or a teaching and imagined the Father as a bright and shining being somewhere “out there”, whom no one has seen and who the angels and the four living creatures bow before continually. But through some of the revelation that God has given Jack, I’ve begun to see our heavenly Father as someone much more.

Everything God created us for was so He could have a home with us. The Father desires His children to live with Him, enjoy Him, and bring pleasure to His heart. His heart and His home is a place of warmth, protection, comfort, security, and identity. It is a place of purpose and destiny, affirmation and encouragement. It is a place to run to.  read more »

IHOP-KC is currently on a corporate 40-day fast crying out for God’s glory in our midst. I’ve been asking myself the question “what does that practically look like for me?” and figured I’d share my heart on it.

I had to ask the basic question - what is the glory of God, and why do I want it? When we think of glory, do we think of a bright and shining sparkly cloud that comes into a room? Do we think His glory comes to give us a good meeting where a bunch of people fall on the floor? When we are asking for glory, what are we asking for?

In Exodus 33, Moses asked God to show him His glory. He was asking for more than a glimpse of God’s frame in sparkling light on a mountaintop experience. Moses was boldly saying “God, tell me who you are and what you’re like!”

We know the story – God came down in the cloud on the mountain, stood with Moses, and proclaimed His name – “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children and to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6)

We have so many biblical examples of God manifesting Himself in the natural realm in a very tangible way. While I greatly desire a tangible expression of God in the natural realm, that alone is not a significant part of what I’m asking the Lord for on this fast. While I want to see angels, feel the weight of God’s glory in a meeting, or see supernatural signs of God’s manifest presence, I want something that lasts beyond a single meeting or even a few years of revival. The children of Israel saw countless supernatural signs and still turned from God. I want something more than a supernatural sign.  read more »

The other day I remembered again that there is such a wealth of history and depth in Christ that the saints of old walked in. My roommate has a book of old Puritan prayers, and one of them, entitled "Spiritus Sanctus" (Latin for something like "Holy Spirit") is really powerful. I've started to pray this one regularly for the past couple of days since reading it. Now don't just read it below - pray it too, focusing on Holy Spirit who lives in you! May the communion and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you today (2 Cor. 13:14).

O Holy Spirit,

As the sun is full of light,
the ocean full of water,
Heaven full of glory,
so may my heart be full of thee.

Vain are all divine purposes of love
and the redemption wrought by Jesus
except thou work within,
regenerating by thy power,
giving me eyes to see Jesus,
showing me the realities of the unseen world.

Give me thyself without measure,
as an unimpaired fountain,
as inexhaustible riches.
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The idea of regret is a powerful motivator.

Mike Bickle stirred me up again when he spoke this Sunday about the issue of regret in the hearts of believers when they stand before the Lord at His return. Paul makes this massive statement that I think many believers (still including myself) have not sufficiently wrestled with (my explanations in brackets added):

“Now if anyone builds on this foundation [Jesus and the gift of righteousness] with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day [when Jesus returns] will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire [among other things, the fire in His eyes]; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss [experience pain and regret]; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
(1 Cor 3:12-15 NKJV)

We've traditionally thought of things differently but Paul makes a statement that should trouble us. There will be real pain and loss for believers at the second coming of Christ.  read more »

Prayer is one of the most foolish things (in the eyes of the world, anyways) that we can give our time and energy to. What is it about closing our eyes and talking to an invisible God that He enjoys so much? It often times seems so dry, so weak, and an utter waste. But in His absolute wisdom, the Lord gave us some mind-blowing promises if we would give ourselves to the place of prayer.

Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:24 NKJV)

Jesus says boldly "Pray, because it is designed to increase the fullness of your joy".  read more »

This post not very well developed but rather a collection of some random thoughts, which I probably will add to later on... I’ve been in discussion with some friends lately and we’ve been really struck by how necessary the revelation of God as our Father is to the body of Christ today. It really is the central revelation of Jesus’ ministry and purpose in coming to the earth. The extravagant expression of love that Christ demonstrated on the cross even points back to the heart of the Father who is longing for a family to spend eternity with. Even above the revelation of Jesus as the bridegroom God, we must understand the revelation of God as our Father.

The “Abba” (Romans 8:15) revelation touches the deepest needs of every human, because it answers the very question about why we were created. We were made to be longed for and enjoyed by our Father. Our lives are broken and unsettled until we know this embrace of our heavenly Father. Human intimacy will never truly satisfy our spirit at the deepest level. Even the revelation of Jesus as the bridegroom God alone will not fully satisfy our spirit. We must know that God our Father enjoys us in our weakness and immaturity.  read more »

... that there is nothing in this life that could ever truly satisfy me. Jesus is the only one. I am a stranger seeking a heavenly homeland.

That is all.

I love the way Jesus set up His kingdom. He makes things easy so that anyone, regardless of position, culture, race, age, or education can pursue Him. But for our fallen, darkened hearts, simplicity is often our worst enemy. The Lord operates His kingdom through principles of such simplicity that very few actually walk them out with consistency. It’s one of these simple principles that is often neglected that I want to talk about briefly. Paul writes:

“…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.”
(Eph 5:18-21 NKJV)

He’s giving us a huge tip-off to the primary ways we release the spirit of God on our hearts. We all want to feel His presence and power on our hearts more and more. Paul is saying that if we do these things repetitively, we are increasingly filled with the Spirit at the heart level. I want to mostly address the first point Paul makes. He says “do you want a heart that’s tender, clean, washed, and receptive to the presence of God? It’s so simple. Sing.”  read more »