Houston, We have a PROBLEM!!!

The second largest abortion clinic in the world is being built at this present moment in Houston, Texas. This six-story Planned Parenthood abortion "Super Center" is right in the middle of four (4) minority neighborhoods. Three average to 85% Latino in population and the other is 85% Black American. Planned Parenthood is targeting these minority pro-family communities, both for their finances and the restriction of their populations. But, there is a voice rising out of Houston and out of Texas, declaring, "We don't want this in our neighborhoods!"

On Martin Luther King Jr.'s holiday, January 18th, 2010, thousands are gathering to march against this Goliath to pray, fast, and peacefully siege this massive injustice in the spirit of that great liberator Martin Luther King Jr. This is a great hour for the Hispanic pro-LIFE people, Catholic and Evangelical, to raise their voices against abortion and for adoption. Public opinion over abortion is shifting radically in America to pro-LIFE at the same time this facility is exalting itself above the humble and oppressed.

We are entering into the 37th anniversary of the "Roe V. Wade" abortion decree of 1973 on January 22, 2010. We are in a '73/'37 window to reverse that decree.. It started in Texas, now let it begin to reverse there. We are calling for the pro-LIFE people of Houston, Texas, and America to gather Sunday night, January 17th, 2010 for four hours of prayer for spiritual awakening and justice, from 6:00pm to 10:00pm at Grace Community Church. On this evening, 1/17, we will be unifying with one voice before God to pray for the Luke 1:17 answer to the killing of our babies and the wounding of our women - "And he will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the rebellious to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

On January 18th, at 9:00am on Martin Luther King Jr.'s holiday, we will gather by the thousands to launch a silent prayer march through the streets to the abortion "Super Center" for a nationwide press conference and prayer stand. As Martin Luther King Jr. would proclaim it - It is time to "subpoena the conscience" of the nation from the flashpoint of Houston, TX.

To LEARN MORE and see the VIDEO of how Planned Parenthood is targeting the minority families of Houston go to Bound4LIFE.com/Houston

Maybe Houston could become the Birmingham of our day to let the unborn go free and spare the pregnant mother the agony of guilt. Maybe out of Houston a great demonstration of compassion could be launched through pregnant mother care with a mass movement of adoption. Martin Luther King Jr. cried, "I have a dream." Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King Jr., has eloquently stated, "How can the dream live as long as we kill our children?" God has a dream. He has a dream for America and He has a dream for every mother and every child and a six-story massive abortion facility has never been a part of that dream. Let's end the nightmare and let the dream live.

On the road to Houston,

Matt Lockett
Director of Bound4LIFE

I'M MARRIED....AND WITH CHILD!

It has been a loooong time since my last post and ALOT has transpired since the last post. One thing has remained the same....God's passionate and consistent love. As you may know by the title of this blog, as of October 25 I am a married man...and have a child on the way. Most people have the obvious questions, "when? where? why wasn't I invited?" and so on. To answer all of your questions, Esther and I have created a blog where the last 2-3 months of our lives are laid bare. We know that this blog will minister to thousands and expect nothing less. Over the course of the next week there will be 3-4 posts on that blog giving you behind the scenes access to what culminated on October 25th. Please take the time to read the blogs and pass them along.

www.emmanuelandesther.blogspot.com

I will post a personal blog here in the next week, as I won't forsake my personal blog for this one. God bless!!

Unchanging Love

“Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.” Song of Songs 8:7

As I was waking up this morning, I kept hearing, “utterly scorned”. Even as I went through the usual drifting back to sleep before finally getting up, I kept hearing, “utterly scorned”. When I got up, I knew the passage of scripture that this phrase came from so I went to the word and read that scripture in its entirety. Although the last part of the scripture is what I heard this morning, it was the first part that caught my attention as I read it. “many waters cannot quench love” As I meditated on that phrase, God began to remind me of the characteristics of water, one being its instability.

God showed me this morning that no matter how unstable I may be at times, I cannot stop his love. As inconsistent, cold, hot, lukewarm I may be some times it cannot quench his love for me. Even in long stretches of me being unstable, I cannot wash his love away or make him love me any less.

We all have our moments of instability in life but I want to encourage you and let you know that our instability does not change God’s faithful love towards us. We can try to earn his love through works, which would be utterly scorned or we can simply receive his love.

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.” Isaiah 30:18-19

Stop moving, stop running, stop trying, and just receive the love of Abba.

It's ok to be Weak....A Word to the Fellas

As a young man, it has been blatantly emphasized that men are suppose to be strong and not show weakness; that’s the culture we live in. Life isn’t always peachy-cream and sometimes it’s extremely difficult to be strong but we can’t show weakness because somehow we have associated weakness with loss of respect. I’m reminded of King David, when his son Absalom was killed. Yes, Absalom stole the hearts of the people away from King David but that was still his beloved son, so it hurt when he heard of Absalom’s death.

The king covered his face and cried aloud, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!” 2 Samuel 19:4

The king is hurting and vulnerable, in a weak state. Instead of those around him allowing him to mourn the loss of his son, they basically told him to suck it up or he’ll lose the respect of his men.

Today you have humiliated all your men…now go out and encourage your men. I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out, not a man will be left with you by nightfall.” 2 Samuel 19:5, 7

This is a sad mindset that has not only taken over the minds of men in the world but also men in the church; that the men cannot show weakness or emotion. In working with teenage young men, I hear it all the time. Any male that shows affection, emotion or makes themselves vulnerable are called “gay”, “soft”, “punk” and other words that are no longer in my vocabulary.

In staying with the example of David, look at his life he had no problem showing his emotions. Read through the book of Psalms and listen to how David expresses himself. Christ did not die on the cross for us to keep trying to be strong; he died so we don’t have to try to be strong anymore. I don’t remember what movie it was that I was watching but I remember a scene where the wife had tried for so long to be strong and finally the husband told her she doesn’t have to be strong anymore and there she broke and became weak. I think we as men have a hard time showing others that we are weak. I can personally attest to this because there have been numerous times where I would do things just to prove my “manhood”, knowing that I didn’t agree with or didn’t want to do it.

Fellas, we are the bride of Christ! We must remember where we stand in this relationship; it is a marriage relationship after all. We are the weak one in this relationship. We strive so hard to be strong when on the inside we’re dying for help and Christ is saying, “you don’t have to be strong anymore”... It’s time for a divine exchange!

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

We can never tap into the power of Christ until we first become weak. If we’re always trying to be strong then His strength can never invade our lives but the moment we say, “I can’t do it” then His strength is made perfect. 1 Corinthians 1 says that His weakness is stronger than our strength! So can you imagine his strength!! Paul said that he boasts about his weaknesses, he rejoices in the fact that there are some things he does not have the power to do. He does so, not as an excuse but as an open door for Christ to come in and show his strength. When I first learned this I began to confess that I boast about my struggle with pornography because I knew that I did not contain the power to stop watching it but there was one greater in me that was ready to fight for me if I would move out of the way. There are things in our lives that we don’t have the power to change or stop but as long as we keep trying to will it then it’ll never change but when we throw our hands up and say, “God I can’t do it, I need your help!” then he’ll gladly step in.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16

An example that I use in the book that I’m writing is that of tag team wrestling. I used to love watching growing up. When you’ve been in the ring fighting for a while and you’re exhausted, what’s the best thing to do? You look to the corner and see your partner, Jesus, reaching for you to tag him but you say no I want to win it. So you continue to take a pounding until you can take it no longer and crawl to the corner and with all the strength left you reach up and tag Jesus. (How long will you take the beating before allowing him to jump in?) He’s been ready to get in so he jumps in the ring and bounces off the ropes to close line the opponent and quickly pins him. Victory! Jesus is standing just outside the ring, stretching, waiting for you to tag him so he can give you the victory. What are you waiting for?!

Taken For Granted...

Watching this video truly made me realize how much we take for granted as Christians. How can we be lukewarm and passive about our relationship with Christ when there are young people who are willing to lose their life just to pray or worship in public. Burn us up Lord!

What do you think about your sister?

“Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” 1 Timothy 5:1-2

Paul is teaching young Timothy how he is to treat others and as I was reading this scripture the last line stood out, “and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity”. As I sit and think about my and other young men’s’ dealings with the opposite sex I have to ask if we have truly been treating our sisters with absolute purity. We often try to limit purity to an outward thing such as sex, conversations, physical touching, etc but it goes far beyond that. Purity must be a part of the core of our being. Our thoughts and motives must be just as pure as not touching someone inappropriately.

I wonder if God posted our thoughts, concerning our brothers and sisters, on a movie screen would people be able to sit through and watch it? We may never make a pass at our brother or sister in Christ but what thoughts do we entertain about them? Do we have lustful thoughts about them? When we hug is it out of a heart of purity or hormones? Love or lust?

In the previous chapter, Paul told Timothy that he must not only not allow people to look down upon him because of his age but also to be an example to other believers. One of the ways to which he is to be an example is in purity. We, too, are called to be an example to other believers in purity. If we truly desire to take on the character of Christ then our purity must extend beyond being outwardly pure. We must ensure that we are treating each other with absolute purity; that our motives are pure.

Search our hearts O God! Reveal those places of impurity in us that we may repent. Help us to regard our brothers and sister with absolute purity, in our actions, thoughts, and motives. Grant us your grace to cover our past mindsets. Invade our hearts, O God, with your love that we may seek to love sincerely and honor one another above ourselves. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Work in Process

I know the last 2 blogs were quite sombering but I did want to thank those who contacted me to make sure I was doing alright. All is well! God is still great! In the midst of adversity vision and drive burst forth. As you can tell by now, I love to write and it's been a joy since childhood. As I ended my college years, I had a desire to write a book, at the time it was a book of poetry. Since then, that desire has come and gone. Well.....last month it came back and while it was here I jumped on it! So I am in the process of writing my 1st book! I won't disclose the title of the book because I don't want to get title-jacked! LOL But the book will be about my journey in overcoming my addiction to pornography, a must read that hasn't been fully written yet! :) For many years I was ashamed and embarassed to even mention it so for God to bring a book out of it is nothing less than God! We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. The plan is to have it out by the year's end so PLEASE keep me in your prayers.

The current word for my life is AGGRESSIVE. I considered myself a "laid back" person which excused my passive behavior in pursuing life. Being passive lead to me being inconsistent which lead to compromise and God gave me a quote a few weeks ago that says, "a life of compromise is no life at all". This won't be overnight, nor will it be easy but if my motto for life is "living everyday on purpose with purpose" then I must begin to live life Wide Awake. With many other changes occuring in my life that will come to light in due time, I must remain in a place of total nothingness that God might become everything. I place myself back on the Potter's wheel that I might be broken down and made again.

I'm currently a work in process...

Jeremiah 18:4 "But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him."

Who's at fault?

“Come on brah! Come on brah! Come back!!” These are the cries of a brother as he stands by while his brother took his final breaths before dying to a gunshot wound to the neck. Out of all the voices that I heard this week, this voice spoke louder than any other. At the time of hearing, they were just words but as this week is sinking in I hear the cry and desperation behind them. As I rode around this evening, I kept hearing that young man crying out for his brother not to die and it nearly brought me to tears. What pain he must have been feeling in that moment of complete helplessness, knowing there was nothing he could do to help his brother.

What unfolded next was not a surprise, his pain turned to rage. He began lashing out vocally to all who were in ear shot, blaming them for his brother’s death. Retaliation became his focus. Two days later the neighborhood was rattled by another flurry of gunfire but no one shot this time. (By no means am I saying he is responsible for this)When we lose someone or something we care about we want the cause of the loss to feel the pain that we felt; usually through retaliation.

As I reflected on these things, Daddy (God) began to speak to me.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” John 10:10a

We must see the bigger picture and what God is saying through this moment. We have all experienced loss or pain even if not through death of a loved one. We must first understand that God only gives us good things, not bad but he does allow bad to happen. Look at Job and all of the terrible things that happen, none of them were allowed until God gave the ok to do so. It seems that when we go through things the first one we blame is God. I can be honest and say that I have done this and at the time I felt so right in doing so. And because I felt it was his fault (maybe not all of it) it drove me from him instead of to him. My retaliation was to withdraw from His presence.

Brothers and sisters, I tell you that your adversary is not God!

“I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10b

It is natural to want revenge on the one who caused you pain or loss but that enemy is Satan. This is the most important thing we can realize. Satan knows his end and he wants as many people with him in that end. He comes ONLY to steal, kill, and destroy, that’s his only purpose, nothing good. For every loss or pain that you have had in life it is the devil attempting to steal, kill, and destroy you that you might end up with him. *Let me make this disclaimer: Yes, the Lord can bring pain to our lives to get us back to him but death, sickness, etc are not from God.*

Romans 8:28 says, “that in all things God works for the good…”, not some but all things. At the same time, if we let them, those same things that were meant to work for our good can be used to take us out of that verse by placing bitterness and unforgiveness in our hearts. Satan knows that God can take a bad situation and bring something good out of it so he works extremely hard to distort our view so we will not see as God sees.

In my relationship with Esther, there have been times where we found ourselves in compromise/sin. The guilt lead to repentance…

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10

But along with Godly sorrow (guilt) comes Satan’s sorrow (condemnation). Condemnation blinds us to the grace of God therefore holding us hostage to the weight of our sin instead of the liberty through repentance from the blood of Jesus. God did not cause Esther and I to walk in compromise but as we yielded it to him, he was able to work it together for our good; drawing us closer to Him.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

If we let it, the things that happen that should draw us closer to God will push us away from him. God created us to have emotions, to feel. When painful things happen we hurt, we feel. Just as that young man was hurting as he saw his brother die was real, the pain you’ve felt is real. God knows that and Satan knows that. In that moment they are both battling for your attention; which one will you allow to give you a response? Satan says lash out, retaliate, make them hurt like you hurt. But God says,

“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay’, says the Lord.” Romans 12:19

“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

Whether your pain was self inflicted i.e. sin or from the outside let God avenge and fight for you. If it is sin, walk in the grace provided by the cross; if it is from the outside allow the Holy Spirit to comfort you. If you want revenge on Satan, love harder, bless those who hate you, pursue God with greater passion. When you fall into sin, repent, accept the Father’s forgiveness and immediately be about Kingdom business, go bring someone into the Kingdom.
Job faced more pain and hurt in one day than many face in a lifetime. Many would have stood by him if he would have cursed God or blamed God; his wife even encouraged him to do so. But the Bible says, “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” Job 1:27

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

Be encouraged, we have a Father who does not change like shifting shadows!

Humble awakening...

Today, I witnessed as a young man (16) took his final breaths and pass as a result of a shooting just outside of my job. Being responsible first for my children, I had to put them first so I was not able to think about what I had seen until an hour or two later. When it did hit me, I honestly did/do not know how to process it. I am usually outside in the very area everyday with my kids but this day we decided to go out earlier than usual, so we were back inside prior to the shooting. If I had pulled up in my car just 5 minutes earlier I would have been in the middle of everything. There are so many what if’s but God reminded of the I Am. When I woke up this morning, Psalms 135:5 was the scripture in my heart:

“I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.”

As I wind down my day, this verse still stands. I know my Lord is greater than all gods. The definition one of my teens gave tonight of “gods” is anything you give your attention to. There are often moments in life where things hit us unexpectedly and we don’t know exactly how to handle them; today was that type of day but God is greater. There is a verse in Psalms 119 that reads, “You are good, and what you do is good”. In the end, I stand on the word God gave me this morning, He’s great! In the midst of adversity, trial, uncertainty, pain, loss, our God is great.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2

“Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth and it endures.” Psalms 119:89-90

I don’t have any profound words to give, I only believe that God’s word is my comfort. It stands firm and I believe just as it upheld those who held fast to it were sustained, I too will find rest in it.

Daddy, you do all things well. You are good and what you do is good. I do not question what you allow to happen. I know there is a season, time, and purpose for everything let your will be done. Father, I ask that you would open your word to me that I may find comfort and understanding. Your word is eternal and does not change so I believe this day will work together for good. I pray that your word would speak to every heart that is not at peace and we would believe your ear is attentive to our cry. And as we lay our cares upon you that you would lay upon us your peace that passes all understanding. Lord, you are great! Let us encounter a greater measure of your love and grace in our times of adversity and pain. You have sent us your precious Holy Spirit as a comforter, let us never forget that!

Father, I thank you for life. I thank you for the little things that I often take for granted. I thank you for friends and family and even for foes. May I live every day of my life. May your love shine through me like never before as I realize your grace and mercy and love towards me. I repent for being ungrateful and unthankful for the many things you have given me, have mercy upon me! Baptize my heart with a fresh revelation of your love. I have never seen the righteous forsaken and know that you uphold your own. Strengthen us in our times of weakness. When we willingly boast of our inadequacies and inability to do anything on our own, may your grace and power break in. I love you, Daddy. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Amen.

May you find encouragement in the word of God.

Humble or Be Humbled...

Yesterday was a humbling day, to say the least. I received an extended text message from a brother in Christ prior to going to work that read:

“…in a place where two ways met-Mark 11:4-lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations…-2 Corinthians 12:7. The Lord said to ask you ‘what are you praying?’ it is a rhetorical question that you need to answer-Matthew 5:20-to brush it off is to be arrogant-1 Peter 5:6. Do as the Word says and follow the Spirit and your way shall be made well.”

As I meditated on the scriptures and asked the Holy Spirit to makes all things clear, the picture that was painted was not a pretty one. God began to show where I have been arrogant in my thoughts and actions and how I “thought more highly of myself than I ought”. I did not have time to get quiet before the Lord and deal with these things due to work but it never left my mind. I still had to teach the youth that evening and I had most of the message together. As I went through the day one line from Jason Upton’s Dying Star kept repeating in my head, “you’re full of pride”.

After getting off work, I stopped by the house and then headed straight to the church to pray and prepare. As I laid on the altar, it was extremely difficult to pray and found myself laying in mostly silence. As service began, I felt partially confident in the word I was to deliver to the youth. (that’s how I feel every Tuesday and rely on the Spirit to teach through me) but tonight was different. My demeanor was quiet most of the day due to the above text and what God had revealed so far but it was like I just cut on a switch prior to teaching and I was able to teach as if nothing was going on. In my mind the message went well, I hit my points, had good examples, good conclusion. At one point in my message I was listening to myself teach and realized there was no life my word. It was like Sampson in his assumption that he would just shake off the ropes as before but this time didn’t realize the Spirit had departed.

“He awoke from his sleep and thought, ‘I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” Judges 16:20

So there I was teaching a message that could only makes sense when backed by the Holy Spirit and He was not there.

We rarely finish before the adults but on this night we did so I was able to catch the end of pastor’s message and that service. As he was concluding his message the atmosphere began to shift. During this shift I clearly heard the Lord speak to me and say, “I don’t need you.” Then what happened next was his sign. In the recent past I had thought of everything that wasn’t going on that I thought should be going on and thought I might be the one to bring those things. Well God confirmed his word that He doesn’t need me by manifesting ALL of those things in that one moment, from the prophetic word, prophetic song, deliverance, to liberty in the atmosphere. It was all manifested right before me and He assured me that I had nothing to do with it.

“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12

“Now I, Emmanuel, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” Daniel 4:37

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

God desires to use us to have a Jesus-like impact in this earth but know and understand that he doesn’t HAVE to use YOU. Just as King Saul was replaced because he began to care more about the praise of men and God, we too can be replaced if we lose focus of what truly matters. Let my lesson be your lesson. Humble yourself before God so that he does not have to and then he will exalt you in due time. Although no one else knew what was going on, I choose to expose it because I believe that I’m not the only one who has overlooked the issue of pride, no matter how subtle it may seem.

Prophetic Evangelism

The Lord has a broken heart for the lost but many don’t have His heart. Honestly, for a long time I did not have his heart either.

Matthew 9:36 (Message) “When he [Jesus] looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd.”

I was comfortable just working inside the church and being a “good” person outside of church but that’s not what he has called us to do. As we honestly pursue his will and his kingdom its impossible not to have a heart for the lost that compels us to go.

Matthew 28:19 “therefore GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Matthew 5:10 “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 26:39 “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

2 Corinthians 5:14 “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”

Last Sunday the Lord placed it on my heart to take a team out to evangelize in the city on Friday. He didn’t tell me where we were going up about 6:45p when we were to leave at 7p. I have done prophetic evangelism a few times before but this would be my first venture in Greensboro. Prophetic Evangelism is partnering with the Holy Spirit to reach the lost in love and power. There are so many biblical examples (John 4, Acts 8, Acts 16, John 9, John 11). I gave those that were going out a brief understanding of what it is and some practical things to keep in mind. Then before I told them where we were going we took a few minutes to be quiet before the Lord and asked him for clues to our divine assignments and then we wrote those things down. Some things on our lists were yellow dress, wallet chain, butterfly, thick glasses, and David. After that I told them we were going to the mall and off we headed.
One of the things on my list was the chain wallet, so I’m walking around the mall looking for someone with a chain wallet. (It’s a treasure hunt!) So Aundrea and I are on the third level and I look down to the second level and see a young lady with the chain wallet so we head down after her. We finally catch up to her on the first floor and I tell her that we’re doing a treasure hunt and she had the chain from my list. So I’m able to minister to her and pray with her and her cousin right there in the mall.

One of my favorite was Jay’na and the yellow dress from her list. A young lady walked by and she had a huge dragon tattoo on her back and I made a joke that it was the butterfly we were looking for and completely missed the fact that she had on the yellow dress. She got about 25ft away when I realized it and told Jay’na to go after her because that was the yellow dress. So we head after her and she is heading out of the mall to her car, I’m speed walking trying to catch her with Jay’na coming behind me. She is about 10ft from her car and I yell out “excuse me!”. And she turns around and we approach her and tell her that we’re out doing a treasure hunt and one thing on our list was a yellow dress and she was the only one in the mall that had one on. We then tell her the purpose of what we’re doing and she’s like this is so weird. It was weird because she didn’t believe in God and she recently had a conversation with her line sisters about it and they said that God was going to give her a sign. Aha!! It was not by chance that she was the only one in the mall with a yellow dress! We end up ministering to her and Jay’na got a word of knowledge concerning some things from her past. As Jay’na was talking about that after something she said two bolts of lighting lit up the sky and thunder shook everything. Talk about a sign from God! LOL She did not give her heart to the Lord but we believe that she will in the very near future.

Aundrea had a similar experience at the same time with her butterfly. They found a young lady with a butterfly tattoo and shared the gospel with them. Everything that they shared was a confirmation to what God had already been dealing with them about! Partnering with the Holy Spirit is the only way to do it! We had so much fun!!!

One thing on my list was the name David, I actually got the name on Thursday and God so pressed it upon my heart of how much he was after this person. I had no idea who it was but I was intent on finding a David. In the vision I saw him in a group of guys so when I was walking through the mall, if I saw a group of guys I would ask if one of them was David and none of them were. So we leave the mall without finding David, so I was like I guessed I missed that one. Then as we pull into the church my phone rings….its my little brother David. It doesn’t register yet that he is the David from my list. I tell him what we had just been doing and then as I go through my list with him it clicks. You’re the David on my list! I had no idea what God wanted to say to him so I just began to minister to him and let God speak through me. I hadn’t talked to my brother in a few weeks and had no idea where he was in his relationship with God but every word spoken was exactly on point! God blew my mind with this one because he knows how much I love my little brother and the fact that he would use me to speak through! I was too through once I prayed for him and we got off the phone.

Greensboro is not safe. LOL This was just the first time with a group who had never done this before. What happens when we grow…. Anyone else in the area who wants to join us please contact me.

It's Gonna Be Worth It All

Instead of allowing my words to speak to you for this blog, I will allow this video to speak. I have been speaking about surrrendering and yielding to God and I just want to encourage you that it's gonna be worth it all. There's a greater purpose to you surrendering than what you can imagine. Allow this drama to minister to you (exuse the commercials)...

Follow the Chain...

Greetings to all of my followers! The Lord has opened the door for me to be the guest writer two weeks in a row on Elder Byron's website. Please follow the link to chainoffire and check out my latest blog! There is a song at the end of the blog that I strongly encourage everyone to listen to and pay careful attention to the lyrics. Please leave your comments, either on his site or here on mine. God Bless! Remember no discipline is fun at the time but it always proves beneficial!

Christ's Ambassador

True Love Pursues

After reading Esther’s blog, I was quickly consumed with meditating and desiring the love of Abba Father. As I went through my Monday, I kept His love at the front of my mind and felt it all day. It’s my desire but more importantly His desire that all encounter his love. This blog came from a heart that has felt the love of the Father…

Ephesians 1:17-18 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…”

Hosea 11:7-8 “My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them. How can I give up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.”

In the verses preceding God was showing how much he loved his people. How he chose them from the beginning of time and kept them safe as they grew up even when they didn’t realize it. He helped them out of countless situations but they were determined to turn from him. And because he is God, pure, holy, and righteous, he can’t stand sin and was ready to destroy them in their mess. But his heart was changed within and all his compassion was aroused.

God can’t stand to sit by and watch us destroy ourselves. He is longing to show us his passionate love because he’s jealous for us. Not the human jealousy that carries a negative connotation but the purest jealousy that does whatever it takes to get your attention so he can shower you with his love. He’s been with us from the beginning of our lives, teaching us to walk and healing our wounds. Think about it in the natural, would you want someone loving you that don’t care if you continually give yourself to others without regard to their feelings? Or would you want someone who longs for you, can’t wait to spend time with you?

Isaiah 62:1 “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, til her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.”

God loves you too much to remain silent while you continue to destroy yourself. Whether its through wrong pursuits, physical mutilation, multiple sexual relationships, drugs, these are all destroying you and he can’t stand to see his creation being destroyed.

Verse 3 & 4 “You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God….for the Lord will take delight in you”

He won’t stop trying to get your gaze and your heart until you yield to him. Then he’ll take us in and transform what looks like a desolate and dry life into a crown of splendor and a royal diadem in his hand. Why? Because he delights in you, finds deep pleasure in you.

Verse 5 “As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.”

He longs for his bride to feel his love; it’s not enough to just have knowledge of his love. Oh! How He loves us! Think about the joy, passion, and excitement a groom has towards his bride…that’s how God feels towards you! This isn’t a love that changes like the winds. His love doesn’t change when we mess up or when we do “good works”. His love is…

Song of Songs 8:6-7 “as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.”

Read those two verses again. Death and the grave don’t change. “Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.” There is nothing that you could ever do to make him stop loving you. Even when you refused to yield to him and rejected him, he was still loving you with this passion; the passion of a blazing fire and mighty flame.

1 John 4:10 “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

John 3:16 (Amp) “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”

The Father desperately longs for you, to show you his unfailing love. He gave up his prized possession for the chance to show you his love. He doesn’t want you to end in destruction and remain lost and he won’t relent until his has all of you. Will you yield to His love that desires you? You are worthy.

He had to have you- Jason Upton

Follow Me

I pray all is well with all of my readers. The Kingdom is constantly expanding its reach and one way is through the internet. A co-laborer in the ministry, Byron, has recently launched a new website and I am the featured guest writer in this week's blog section. So instead of posting my blog here, I direct you to his website: http://www.chainoffire.com/chain/blog/ Feel free to leave comments on his website and browse through the different areas.

God Bless!
Christ's Ambassador

Emptied or Empowered?

Any time there is an increase in darkness or demonic influence there is always a greater increase of light and God’s power (available). The problem we face is that with the current increase in darkness is that the light and power that God wants to break-in with is not being tapped in to adequately.

As I awoke this morning I was met with two messages; one was 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 and the other was a shooting at the park of my job last night, light and darkness. Today’s word is putting focus on the right things.

1 Cor. 1:17 “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel-not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

1 Cor. 2:4-5 “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”

When we focus on people, big names, and ministries we empty the cross of its power, handcuffing God and handicapping the people. But when we focus on Christ and the cross we empower the people through Christ because they’re putting their faith in God’s power. Change does not come, demons do not tremble at the name of some man or ministry but when the cross is centered and embraced. If we hope to combat the darkness that is prevelant in this region and country we must put our focus back on the cross of Christ.

Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Flesh is no match for spirit. The rebellion and sexual immorality and everything else that we see in this young generation are spirits not flesh. We fight a losing battle when we try to combat those things with programs and personalities. I was guilty of that very thing and I saw the fruit of it; young people with no desire for God once the programs stopped and once the personalities were gone. As I was in prayer this morning, the Lord told me to, “let go of what’s popular and grab on to what’s powerful. Programs and personalities may be popular but prayer is what’s powerful.”

2 Cor. 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but might through God to the pulling down of strong holds”

Our weapons are mighty through God. Programs in themselves are not bad; preachers in themselves are not bad but separate from God they are no match for the warfare we are up against. Let us let go of what brings no power and join together in prayer that the power of God may be released like never before in this region.

Acts 4:31 “After they prayed, the placed where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

See you tomorrow night at The Prayer Cave, 8-10pm. God Bless!

God has need of you!

Tonight at prayer, God said, “The world needs God but God needs bodies to work through.” We ask where God is in all that is going on. He is waiting for a vessel to become available.

Ezekiel 22:30 “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”

God desperately wants to break-in this darkness that is hitting this generation but he must first find one that will stand in the gap. This is not a call to be a big name preacher or worship leader. This is not a call to build the hottest youth ministry. This is a call to much prayer and fasting. This is a call to surrender everything to God and say, “use me as you see fit”.

God has never used the strongest or most popular to do mighty works in his kingdom. Look through the Bible at people like David (the illegitimate child), Moses (stuttering Moses), Abraham (beyond old), Gideon (the least in his family) just to name a few.

1 Corinthians 1:27-31 “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him…let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

As I prepare for Friday night, I continue to ask God to search my heart and reveal any impure motives. I don’t seek any recognition or promotion for what happens; I simply want to be a catalyst to take this region in to a lifestyle prayer and intercession. It has nothing to do with me or The Embassy Church but everything to do with God. I want to see salvation come to Greensboro and the surrounding areas like never before. If it was going to come through concerts, programs, and the like then it would have already happened. This is only going to come through committing our hearts back to the Father and crying out for his mercy and grace.

Proverbs 3:34 “He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.”

2 Chronicles 7:14-15 “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”

If we want this generation to awaken to righteousness and the love of Christ then their must first be humility and repentance. God has need of you. Will you deny yourself that someone else may live?

Who Will Go For Us?

As I look around, there are some things that have been weighing heavily on me and its time to speak. Over the last 2-3 weeks, the attack on this younger generation has been nothing less than mind boggling. From a senior male being killed in a car accident while trying to get some lunch during a normal school day (less than a month from graduation), to 9 and 10 year old females attempting to perform lesbian acts in a bathroom, to siblings physically fighting each other, to 35 students murdered in Chicago this year alone! The enemy is pulling out all stops to take out this generation. I visited a young man in the hospital on Saturday who was jumped because he chose to stand up for a female that was being disrespected. He wound up with a broken jaw, chin, and needing two plates in his skull. If the enemy cannot literally kill this generation, he wants to have them so messed up that they won’t fight. We understand that as the 2nd coming of Christ draws closer that evil will increase and intensify.

2 Timothy 3:1 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

The picture that Apostle Paul paints, looks a lot like what is going on today, especially with the youth of this nation. Looking at this just on its surface can be disheartening and depressing but we must understand that when darkness increases so does the light! Paul could have ended this passage as is but look what he commanded

Timothy.2 Timothy 4:1, 2, 5 “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction…But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardships, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

This is not the time for us as believers to sit back and be passive but like never before we must press in to the presence of God and be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. The only way to save this generation is that our prayers and our light must overshadow the work of the enemy.

John 19:30 says, “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘it is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Christ said, it is finished. What is the “it”?

1 John 3:8 “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

All of Satan’s works were destroyed through the cross when Christ said, “it is finished”. There is no sin that has not been defeated. There is no kid that is beyond salvation. There is no city that is beyond revival because, IT IS FINISHED. We must stand on Christ’s words and take what’s ours in Christ. There is already a remnant emerging all over the United States of believers, young and old, with a heart for this generation and a blazing love for God. Mighty things happen when agendas are put aside and believers get on one accord, just look at Joshua, Gideon, Esther, the early church in Acts. The Lord is calling all believers to stand in the gap, stand between life and death.

Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!”

This Friday night from 8-10pm I charge each of you to inconvenience yourself and press your way out to the "Prayer Cave" at The Embassy Church Int'l as we intercede for this generation. It has nothing to do with titles, ministries, or numbers. This is a call to those who have a heart for God's people and chose to no longer sit by and let them be sniped out. Any questions, please contact me via e-mail: egaines@embassychurchgso.org More information to come...

Quit Being Stupid!!

Proverbs 12:1 “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid” (NIV)

I was up tonight and found myself at the office reading my word and listening to theramp.org. I wound up reading 2 Chronicles 14-16, three short chapters about the story of King Asa. He was the king of Judah and brought great reformation and revival to the people of Judah. He was just rocking the devil’s head, tearing down all the altars, seeking the Lord, and getting the people to seek the Lord. They even made a wholehearted covenant to seek the Lord and killed those who would not seek the Lord. This guy even kicked his own grandmother out of her position because she had idols set up. It was a drastic reformation and in all of this he sought God. Then in the 36th year of his reign the king of Israel (his enemy) went up against him and actually begin to build a wall around the city of Judah to keep anyone from coming out or going in.

When King Asa found himself being enclosed or put in a restricted place he began to get caught up in fear and flesh instead of faith. He sought to try and solve his problem by seeking help from man instead of God. This was a great reformer, on fire for God and pursued him with everything but he had a lapse. We’ve all had moments like this. We could be going hard for the things of God and then that one thing constricts our movement and we have a lapse. Try to handle it through men instead of going to God. This isn’t where I’m focusing. In chapter 16, God sends a seer to Asa to show him his error and what he should have done. But look at his response, “Asa was angry with the seer because of this (rebuke or correction); he was so enraged that he put him in prison.” (Emphasis added mine) King Asa never recovered from this; he never took the advice and corrected the problem. He continued to seek help from men instead of God, which lead to his demise.

His response was everything. As I read this I immediately thought about Joshua and the battle of Ai. The one time he didn’t seek God and instead sought the answer out in man he failed. He tore his clothes and wept and the Lord came and rebuked Joshua and told him how to fix it. This was Joshua’s response, “Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes and Judah was taken” (Joshua 7:16) Instead of getting mad at God, he took the rebuke and advice and corrected the problem. Because of that we know what happens; he went on to possess the land promised to him.

We all make mistakes, even while going hard after God but how we respond to his correction is critical. God said he chastens or disciplines those he loves (Rev. 3:19). There are numerous passages talking about the benefits of correction, it’s not something to be taken lightly. If we mess up and someone corrects us to get back on the right path, how dare we try to get angry! Sometimes it takes someone on the outside looking in to show us where we messed up and help us get back on track. I leave you with the words of Job,

Job 5:17a “Blessed is the man whom God corrects…”

And he departed...

Have you ever been in a service or been to a conference where you truly encountered Christ? When it was time to leave the moment or place where Christ touched, you didn’t want to let it go? Ever had that happen and before it all started you didn’t really want to go or didn’t know why you were going? As I was sitting in the Prayer Room for the final time in this trip I found myself in Mark 5:1-21. This is the story about a man who was possessed by demons and Christ cast them out. The man had been living among the tombs for quite sometime but chances are before he was possessed he was a resident of that region. This means he had family, friends, and ties to that place but his current condition has isolated him from those things. I want to focus on the before and after.

Verse 10 “And he kept begging Him urgently not to send them [himself and the other demons] away out of that region.”

Even in his current state he didn’t want to leave, even if that meant he had to keep the demons. So it’s safe to say he was strongly tied to this region. Then he has this encounter with Jesus where the demons are cast out and he is clothed and in his right mind. His life has just been forever changed. At this, he forgot about his ties to the region and desperately wanted to go with Jesus.

Verse 18 “And when He (Jesus) had stepped into the boat, the man who had been controlled by the unclean spirits kept begging Him that he might be with Him.”

Paul had similar feelings:

Philippians 1:21-24 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”

Paul said it would be a whole lot better to be with Christ. I know in this instance, he is referring to literal death but its still that desire to go wherever Christ is.

Back to the text in Mark 5. As badly as the man wanted to go with Jesus, He refused to allow the man to go. He told him, instead, to go back to his family and friends and share what God had done for him. Jesus’ knew it would be more profitable if the man stayed and shared Christ with the people than to go along with Him. Paul saw this example, so as bad as he wanted to be with Christ he said, “it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” It’s better that I stay here and spread the gospel, share what Christ has done.

I say all of that to share this…

My time here at IHOP has definitely been life changing, encountering Christ in a whole new way. It was at this place that I saw Him in a new way and it would be easy for me to desire to stay here. The atmosphere is CRAZY! All the things that God has revealed while here, the connections, etc. But I know it is more profitable if I go back to my friends and family and share what God has done. Too often when we have an encounter with God we want to remain in that place or moment but that’s not what the encounter was for. The encounter was to push us to action, to give us a sense of urgency to share it with others. It would be convenient to take on a bunker mentality where we store all this stuff up and try to just stay in that place but God wants us to GO! We have all been guilty of this at some time or another. So the next time you go to a conference or some place where you encounter God in a whole new way let that push you to want to go and share not stay there.

20 “And he departed and began to publicly proclaim in Decapolis [the region of the ten cities] how much Jesus had done for him, and all the people were astonished and marveled.”

To God Be ALL The Glory!!

The Secret...

As I began my final day at IHOP I received a text this morning asking what “the secret” to the kingdom is. Referring to Mark 4:11 “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you..” This answer that I’m about to reveal may seem simple and like a no-brainer but embracing it produces life changing results. Are you ready?

Matthew 22:37 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

We all know this and say this but do we truly understand how life transforming this is? We’re told to love God with everything that we have. Simple? The only problem is we don’t possess the ability to love God in ourselves but yet we try. We try really really hard to love God, through the “blood, sweat, and tears” of ministry. Love isn’t trying really hard but responding to His love for us.

1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

“Radical devotion for the Son of Man only comes when we experience His radical devotion to us.” It’s only in encountering his love for us that we can truly live out the first commandment. I grew up in the church and I gave my life to Christ in 2004 but it was in the last 7 days that I truly experienced how much God loves me. It’s out of that place that we can truly begin to “love the Lord our God” with everything. I knew God loved me and He sent His son to die for me but I didn’t really how passionately in love He is with me. He delights in me! The Creator of the universe delights in me, He’s crazy about me. Like a bridegroom longs for and delights in his bride is how much God longs for me. How I’m deeply and passionately in love with Esther is only a glimpse of His awesome love towards me. Beyond my inability to be good, despite the many times I’ve compromised our relationship it never once changed how He sees me.

Have you ever read the Bible? Seriously. It’s full of Him expressing His love for us, look…

Song of Songs 7:6 “How beautiful you are and how pleasing, O love, with your delights!” (read the entire book, it’s God’s love story about you!)

Isaiah 62:5b “as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you” (read the entire chapter!!)

John 17:22-23 “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even (just) as you have loved me.”

These are just a couple but really take a minute and think about how much he delights in you. We think he only likes us when we do the right thing but when we mess up, like a friend, we think He’s upset with us. NO! He’s there with his hand reaching for you encouraging you to get up and try it again. God has a longing desire for you that “is as strong as death..and many waters cannot quench love” There is nothing stronger, more consistent, more dependable than God’s love for you! Nothing we could ever do will cause Him to love us less. Even when we hate him or neglect him, he woos us to experience his love. The deepest desire of God’s heart, the Creator of all things, is to love and be loved.

Heavenly Father, lover of my soul, I love you. Thank you for revealing your love and delight in me. there are many things that have placed their bid for my time and energy but none have given me fulfillment. I repent for making this walk with you harder than it is, it’s all about love. I pray that just as you revealed yourself to me that you would reveal yourself to every reader of this blog. Allow them to experience just how much you delight in them. Give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation that they may know you better; that they would know that you see their heart’s desire more than their sin and inadequacies. Lord, I pray for an awakening in the body of Christ to your love and delight in us. Shake us until nothing remains but you! In Jesus' name, Amen.

A book I strongly recommend, that has changed my life, is "One Thing" by Dwayne Roberts
http://www.amazon.com/One-Thing-Boldly-Pursuing-Matters/dp/0976364255/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240331841&sr=1-2

Moment of Encouragement

As I sit here in the prayer room I realize that everyone is not able to escape the busyness of the world to reconnect their relationship with Christ. In that understanding I just want to encourage you with a passage from Jude

3 “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.”

20, 21 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy

It can be very easy to become frustrated in life and even in our relationship with Jesus Christ which will keep us from praying and walking according to the Spirit. But these things come one to build your faith (James 1:3-4) and two, if we let them, become a distraction. There was a popular gospel song out that said, “nobody told me this road would be easy” and I’ll be the first to say that it’s not easy but its NOT impossible. With man, attempting in our own strength, it is but with God all things are possible (Luke 18:27). Knowing this, we must contend (struggle, battle, fight) for our faith. At times we wonder if its possible or even worth it but God wants to display us as his bride without spot or wrinkle.

With every distraction that this world has to offer how do we contend? “build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit” To build is work at with progression. We must understand that praying in the Holy Spirit strengthens our spirit man. He knows our weaknesses and tendencies so we rely on him to overcome our weaknesses. Next we must “keep ourselves in God’s love”, understand that He is passionately in love with you. He delights in you! When your heart is fixed on pursuing Christ he focuses on that, not every time you mess up. Look at King David, made more mistakes than most yet was considered a man after God’s heart. Why? Because the posture of his heart was one in complete surrenderance to God.

Lastly, give glory to “him who is able to keep you from falling”. Do you understand what that means? That very thing you say you can’t overcome or that attitude of “this is just how I am” becomes obsolete. He has the power and desire to keep you from falling. You’re his bride, he’ll do whatever it takes to present you without fault.

I leave three simple words with you CONTEND, BUILD, AND REMAIN. Contend for your faith, don’t let anything or anyone take what has been entrusted to you. Build yourself up in the most holy faith, don’t allow yourself to become stagnant in your walk with Christ. Remain in his love, all things originate in him. Don’t settle for a counterfeit.

God’s peace & perseverance

Divine Encounters

Another day of divine encounters. This morning Joshua and I sat in on a small group session at the house where we are staying. The small group was good and at the close of it one of the young men asked if they could pray for us. As they did, one of the females began to speak and the things she said were the exact things that were spoken to Joshua and I when we were in the Prophecy Room on Wednesday. I was awed by God’s awesomeness. I told her about my Wal-Mart encounters and asked how does one cultivate operating in the prophetic and among the things she said was to just go out and do it. Sounded like a challenge…

As Joshua and I were in the Café during the day a man walked up to me and said he was suppose to give me this and placed a $20 bill in my hand and walked away. Once again, I was in awe by God’s awesomeness. Then Joshua began to speak what the Lord placed on his heart about how God wanted to show his delight towards me and how he wanted to cultivate that vine and branch relationship (goes along with the others words spoken over me). I then told Joshua about a dream that I had that God just brought clarity on through this man and Joshua. But the part I want to share is when the man came back. He came back and said that he walked into the café and God told him he was supposed to give someone $20 so he stood around until God told him who, me. He then asked if we would pray for his children who were attending IHOPU and as I prayed, God gave Joshua a word of knowledge for the man concerning his relationship with his children. The man said that the word was confirmation to what had been spoken previously. God is so awesome!!!

Before tonight’s service, Joshua and I wanted to walk to get something to eat and we were headed to McDonald’s but because I wanted a slushy we went to Sonic’s. And God just awed me once again with his awesomeness. (I might have to coin that phrase lol) After we ordered our food and began to eat, reflecting on the events that occurred earlier. I was anxious to do it again so I asked Joshua what if we tried it with the waitress that brought our food. He was cool with it so we both asked God what he wanted to tell the waitress. The word I got was “surrender” in terms of her relationship. Then I began to think too much and question it then we couldn’t remember which one was our waitress. Finally after we finished eating we worked up the nerve to stop her.

Joshua stops her and asks her name, Karen, and that was our icebreaker. (We weren’t sure how we were supposed to start it. LOL I then asked her how her relationship with God was and she proceeded to explain how she believed in God but she wasn’t living the life. After listening to her I shared what God gave me about how he wanted her to surrender to him. Joshua also got a word about some family situation which also was on point. So before we prayed for her we asked her if she wanted to give her life to God and truly surrender. And right there in front of Sonic, Karen gave her life to Christ. We talked for about 10-15 minutes and then she had to go back to work. Once again, I was AWED BY GOD’S AWESOMENESS!!!

Stay tuned for the next encounter….

Encounter @ Wal-Mart

Before I talk about today, I want to share what occurred yesterday (Thursday). While in the Prayer Room yesterday morning I heard the Holy Spirit give me three words of knowledge, “female”,” blue shirt (that I would like)”, and “witness”. So I spent most of my morning and day looking for a female with a blue shirt on that I liked. I didn’t know what I was suppose to say to her or why I needed to look for her but I was open to whatever the Holy Spirit wanted to do. So around 5p, Joshua and I, are in the Café on our computers or something. I was talking to Esther on the phone, still looking around for this blue shirt and my signal drops on my phone, so I head outside to call her back. Before I can get half-way across the café this female asks me if I knew Esther….Caught off guard because I’m in Kansas City and never been there before but I say yes and we introduce ourselves. While doing so, I look down and realize she has on a Carolina blue shirt (I’m a Carolina boy so anything Carolina blue, I like!)! At this point, I’m trying to keep my composure because what I heard that morning actually came to pass, 2 out of 3 at that point. So we continue to talk and I found out she is part of the evangelism team here at IHOP (#3 witness) and she invited us to go out with them today (Friday). Still ecstatic that God had given me that word of knowledge I told her yes, which brings me to today…

Joshua and I went with her team to Wal-mart to evangelize and pass out flyers. I, honestly, had not been out to evangelize in quite some time but I was wide open with whatever God wanted to do. It also helped to have a very outspoken and funny group leader, John (great guy!). Prior to us going out, he prayed that we would receive words of knowledge and then off we went. The entire experience was awesome, from what actually took place to the practical things John taught us in evangelizing. But to the good part…The first person we stopped was an older gentleman and he knew the word but was not where he should be in Christ. I stood back as they talked to him and began to pray for him. As I prayed as well, I kept hearing “new” and “unorthodox”, referring to what God wanted to do in his ministry. I wasn’t’ sure if this was me making stuff up or the Holy Spirit actually giving me a word of knowledge (remember all this is new to me, never done it before). As the others prayed for the man, the exact thing I heard from the Holy Spirit was said by two of them so I was like man I did hear it right. And that built my confidence for the next one.

There was another young man that we stopped and talked to. He said he was a Christian and had a relationship with Christ and John asked him if we could pray for him. While John was praying for him, I got another word of knowledge, “music”. At this point I wasn’t afraid if I was wrong so I asked him if he played music or sang at his church and he said he did. And I just shared what God shared with me and John said he got the same thing. Now I’m really confident and ready for the next one and the last one I got was the greatest.

There were three black young men who had come out and were talking to some others in the group. I was watching the two that were with one of our guys and one of them stood out to me, there was something different in his eyes. So as I stood back I kept watching him and praying, his entire countenance was different then his friends’, I knew something was going on. Two of them gave their life to Christ and the young man I was talking about, Jonathan, was one of them. I continued to pray as they went through the prayer of salvation and got some more words of knowledge, “brother” “leader” “Jacob”. I wasn’t sure what they meant but I knew if he was going to open up I had to pull him away from his boys so after their prayer I pulled him to the side. I began to check to see if the words were accurate. He was the youngest sibling in his family and I felt the leader had to do with the family so I dug deeper, led by the Spirit. I just began to speak what the Spirit put in me, that although he was the youngest they were looking to him, he was a leader. He said he noticed it and that his mom told him the same thing. He then began to tell me that his grandmother was a Jehovah’s Witness as well as his mother who was trying to get him to become one. He said he didn’t feel like that was right which led to the Jacob. The Spirit said this wasn’t the first time he had been approached by God and it was time to wrestle and finally surrender to God. Which also had to do with the leader because once he surrendered he would be the catalyst, leader to bring his family to salvation. It was just crazy how everything God spoke was so on point!

It wasn’t all peachy, we had our share of rejections but MAANNN, they were worth those three and the others who were open. God is so awesome!

Revelation at 10,000 feet

As I was flying out to Kansas City for IHOP, the Lord revealed the following to me. I had a conversation with Esther earlier this week, telling her how I longed to spend quality time with her. I had seen her three out of the last four weekends but it was anything but quality time. (Quality time in this blog is uninterrupted time spent getting to know each other) We did ministry things together, went to services, prayer meetings, etc. but no quality time and it was evident by the longing in my heart. I don’t mind doing those things with Esther but when that consumes all of our time together and we no longer have quality time, I feel as though we’re not getting everything out of the relationship. So at 10,000ft God said, “that’s exactly how I feel.”


We can get so caught up in the work of ministry and serving that we neglect our quality time with God. Simply put, we need to stop being co-laborers and begin to be companions with the Lord. He loves it when we serve and work in his ministry but that should come through our quality time with him, not at the expense of it. We think that by going to church once maybe even twice a week that we've spent quality time with Him. I'll use myself as an example. Like I stated earlier, I had spent time with Esther 3 out of the last 4 weekends but I definately would not have considered that quality time. I don't know about any one else but my quality time with Esther is best spent not around other people. *not to do things that aren't pleasing but its more personal that way* It should be the same in our relationship with Christ, we need quality time away from other people, where its just God and us. After you’ve spent quality time with the Lord, working with him is more fulfilling. He said He would draw near to those who draw near to him. So, before you do another thing for him spend quality time with him. Allow his love and presence to be your source of contentment. He’s longing to spend quality time with you to express his great love towards you.


Psalms 27:8 “My heart says of you, ‘seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek”


It’s not just his longing to spend quality time with us, our heart cries out for quality time with the Lord, but will we respond. Be willing to lay aside work, ministry, cares, responsibilities, everything to fulfill the longing in your heart. We try to fill that longing with more work or relationships or sleep but the only true fulfillment is in God.



Psalms 62:1a “My soul finds rest in God alone”

Psalms 63:1 “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you..”


May your soul find rest in God alone. The longing in your heart cannot be filled or satisfied by any other thing except Christ.

Saturday Devotion

Earlier this week I allowed myself to be led by my flesh and not the spirit which led to fulfilling its desire. Once the sin was committed, I had two choices; repent and walk in condemnation or repent and get back in the battle. I chose to get back in the battle and it made all the difference. As I was reflecting on that today, I was taken to Psalms 40:6-13,

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced, burnt offering and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, ‘here I am, I have come-it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, o my God; your law is within my heart.’ I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, o Lord…”

David had many mistakes in his life and he understood the wages of sin is death. Sin could only be atoned for by death which came from sin offerings and sacrifices but David realized that’s not what God desires. Yes, we must repent of our sins but when God sent his Son, no other sacrifice is necessary to forgive our sins. What he desires is a willing and submitted vessel, your life.

To repent means to turn from. One things I learned from my Pastor was that, in turning from sin you must be turning towards something else. So as you repent from your sin you must in the same turn, turn to doing God’s will. When David realized it wasn’t all about sin offering but self offering, he offered himself to God so that God may fulfill his will. His will is to have a mouthpiece to speak well of him.

As you go through this walk with Christ you will fall or not do all he’s asked of you at times. Once you repent, don’t wallow in condemnation or a sense of feeling unworthy. Turn immediately to what God puts on your heart. It may be do go and share God’s word with someone, he may place someone on your heart to pray for; he may just want you to come and worship and soak in his presence. If you hear his voice, respond accordingly.

So God called you....

Many of us have made the statement, “God called me”, or some variation of that. But just because we have been called by God does not mean that we try to put ourselves on front stage or act as if we are owed something. As I was having Bible study with E, this revelation came from Isaiah 49:1-4.

Yes, we may have been called before we were born to do great things for the Kingdom but we have to understand the process. Verse 2 says, “He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.” There are four points that I want to bring out. First it was God who did it all, it had nothing to do with you, and he gave you the word, hid you, polished you, and concealed you. This call that we have has nothing to do with our own abilities or deservingness. He has been gracious in hiding us in the shadow of his hand while he works out all of our flaws. In the “shadow of his hand” means that he covered us but didn’t restrict us, we are still given the choice to leave his covering. Due to many different reasons (pride, lack of patience, wrong influences) we take ourselves out of his covering before we’re ready.

It then goes on to say that we are made into a polished arrow. Explaining our process. Looking at arrows in biblical days, they were made out of different materials and with different purposes. Some were made of bone, flint, brass, etc and they were made differently; heavier arrows for firing from city walls while lighter arrows were used in open-field fighting. We all have a unique purpose so we will each have a unique process, some need to be heavy to hit harder and some lighter to go further. But we ALL must go through the process of going from raw material to a polished arrow. It takes a lot of grinding and rubbing and heat to get the final product.

So, let’s say we do make it through the process and we’re this polished arrow. “Wait, God! I’m polished and ready, why are you putting me in this quiver, this dark place?” In to the quiver we go, lest we forget verse 3, “You are MY servant, Israel, in whom I will display MY splendor”. It’s not about you. He created you, called you, and cultivated you for his splendor and glory. To keep us from becoming arrogant he places us as polished arrows into his quiver until he is ready to pull us out.

Here comes our complaint (verse 4), “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing”. We made it through the process and then complain when we feel like we’re not being used. That’s a selfish and prideful mindset. “It’s not in man to direct his steps” God said, “I know the plans I have for you”. You may be polished and ready to go out but you must be patient, you have a specific purpose and premature departure from the quiver could be a waste of potential.

Embrace the process and the waiting period! He wants to use you to penetrate darkness but will he find you when he reaches into his quiver?

Lust Exposed...Part 2

Lust has been the downfall of many believers and the world makes it no easier. God set the standard so high, that to most it seems impossible to attain. Ephesians 5:3, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” and to show that he meant business, in verse 5 he says that no such person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Do you realize how much a hint is? It’s like putting a pinch of salt into a 200lb container of mashed potatoes, it seems insignificant to most but to God that’s too much! So why do we as believers struggle with lust so much? 3 Reasons:
*Understand that lust has many different forms (sex, pornography, homosexuality, impure thoughts, masturbation, etc.)

1. Acceptable. Just watching television for five minutes you’ll see that everything God says is wrong the world says its alright. Using homosexuality for example, every believer knows (or should know) that this is wrong but the world has painted it as normal and natural. People say things like they were born gay or God accepts me just as I am. (No you weren’t and God accepts you not your sin.) What used to be taboo is now accepted and embraced, even more than Christianity. I was listening to the radio this morning and there is a group home worker who took their kids to the beach and while at the beach there were different bands or music being played and there was some Christian music played in the mix. The group home worker was suspended without pay because she exposed the children to Christian music! He/she in no way tried to convert the children, they were just exposed to it! But all the music talking about sex, guns, and drugs is acceptable….
2. Accessible. It has never been easier to gain access to pornography or even sex for that matter. I was on youtube one time and typed the title of a Christian song and found the song. Then out of curiosity of how far I could go I began to click on different videos in the “suggested videos” box and before long I was at X-rated videos! There are so many free pornographic websites with no way to keep us out. It’s like putting a fat kid in a candy store and say everything is free but you can’t have any. Disaster waiting to happen! I was talking to a college student tonight and he was telling me how easy it is to find someone to have sex with, it’s scary.
3. Attractive. The world has glorified sex outside of marriage. It’s almost taboo to say, “I’m saving myself for marriage.” Looking at music, movies, even commercials they all promote lustful things and make them look soo good. It’s not hard to say no to something that isn’t attractive, but when it looks good, smells good, feels good, its not so easy.

So how do we combat this enemy……leave your response before my next post

Lust Exposed...Part 1

For personal reasons, I have been studying and gathering insight on lust and feel its time to expose the enemy. Part 1 is a small but powerful revelation I recieve last week while battling lust. (please leave your feedback)

A lot of times we feel like our lust or sexual struggles do not affect other people, especially when no one else knows about them but this is farthest from the truth. Last week God showed me just how much it can affect the one closest to me, my future wife. The affect of sexual sins are evident in generational curses but when you don’t have kids or aren’t close to having kids you can procrastinate. So God had to use something that would hit closer to home. When we give ourselves to pornography or multiple sexual partners or sexual fantasies we are hurting our spouse or future spouse. What we’re doing, whether we realize it or not, is creating a standard in our mind that our spouse will never be able to reach. By filling our minds and hearts with these images and expectations, we program ourselves to know what pleases us and as time goes on it takes more to please us. This is one of the dangers of engaging in premarital sex.

Side note: This is also a good reason why you should not be dating or courting when you are nowhere near ready to move toward marriage. I’ve talked about this in a previous blog but when we think of girlfriend/boyfriend and friendships, the only real difference is the physical aspect; the hugging, holding hands, kissing, etc. But when you’re 15 or 16 or even an adult and engaging in this level of physical activity, soon it will no longer satisfy you and you’ll want more. Why open the door when you can’t go all the way in?

But we’re actually setting unrealistic expectations that our spouse or future spouse will never be able to match up to. That scared me, to know that by what I’m giving myself to, I’m placing myself and my future wife in a position to where she will not be able to satisfy me. And it will only be my fault! Whether its multiple partners, pornography, masturbation, or sexual fantasies with every indulgence we’re raising the standard for our spouse. Lust feeds lust, meaning it’s never satisfied so it will take more to satisfy your lust or even in marriage your sex drive.

With this revelation, its blatant selfishness to continue to give oneself to such things.

Lord, your work on the cross has freed us from all sin, including lust. Help us to keep the work of the cross in view in our daily living. We repent for giving ourselves to things that do not honor you and chose this day to turn from them and pursue righteousness. Help us to walk in the knowledge of your grace and know that, “the temptations that come into our life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that we can’t stand up against it. When we are tempted, he will show us a way out so that we will not give in to it.” In Jesus name, Amen.

Preparation for Elevation

This is the first public announcement about my ordination but its not to magnify the event but the God behind it. Yes, I am being ordained as a minister and an elder on February 8. As I entered this final week of preparation the Holy Spirit spoke "service". That is what He wanted me to focus on this week and it was confirmed through an e-mail I recieved that morning. It was a testimony about a young lady who partnered with the Holy Spirit to bless a complete stranger at Food Lion. Also, that morning during my staff meeting at work, because we're a Christian organization we always have prayer and scripture at the start of the meetings. The scripture that was given was 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "give thanks in all circustances". The person giving the scripture also recited the verse before and after "pray continually" and "don't quench the Holy Spirit". The last verse about the Holy Spirit stuck with me the rest of the day. Monday night we were having our "Seed Faith Conference" at church and after service the Holy Spirit told me to say these words to a young lady in the ministry. Immediately I began to ask if this was really God or flesh and asked for confirmation. He confirmed it when he had the young lady approach me to speak and in disobedience I chose not to say what the Spirit spoke. Immediate regret sank in and that moment stayed with me the remainder of the night and into the next day.

I prayed and asked God if the door was still open for me to share that word and it was. The next day as I reflected on the previous night's events the Holy Spirit brough to rememberance the scripture that came yesterday, "don't quench the Holy Spirit". He was showing me that when I walk in disobedience I quench/stop what He desires to do. So as I went to service Tuesday night I was looking to see if she would be there and sure enough she was there. I didn't know why she needed to hear it but because the Holy Spirit spoke it I knew she needed it. So after service I caught up with her. First, I had to apologize to her for my disobedience the previous night and then shared with her what the Spirit spoke to me. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, she began to tear up and cry, telling me how much she needed to hear that.

I was floored as I hugged her again and walked away. God's grace and mercy. How many people have not gotten what they needed because I chose to be selfish and remain in my comfort zone and not speak what the Spirit said! I know how unworthy I am but for that very reason I draw closer to the Father.

As I prepare for this elevation, I can tell you my focus has not been on preaching the gospel (the charisma) but on character. I have spent more time in prayer dealing with my issues and sins then the word to speak to the people. I understand that Sunday's sermon is with purpose and not to be taken lightly but I also understand that my life will be magnified and after reading 1 Timothy, I'm more concerned about character than charisma. I've told many people, "how can anyone desire to be a minister or the title I should say?" Looking at 1 Timothy and throughout the Word where it talks about the standard and attacks and everything else. If God didn't call me, I definately would not have pursued it.

Help this young lady!!

After reading this blog multiple times, it has gripped me and I must spread it as far as possible. Please read the blog, "I'm a believer and I need an abortion" and respond accordingly...

Dream Fulfilled?....I think not

I almost wanted to laugh when people began saying that the events of today have fulfilled the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. To make sure, I went and watched the "Dream" speech and checked if it had truly come to pass. It has not. Even if it had, what would that mean for us? His dream was pointing to return of Christ, "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together". Your thinking is too small if you think that dream was fulfilled. Yes we've made progress on the racial side of his speech but he was speaking about biblical truth. Now let us, with the same excitement and zeal push for the biblical side of the dream. What is it going to take to wake us up spiritually as we were awaken by Obama? We must pray, pray like never before, pray without ceasing, prayer night and day, give yourselves no rest. PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!