40 days and counting

40 days from tomorrow I will be headed to Dallas, Texas to catch a flight to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to catch an even longer flight to Tel Aviv, Israel. I can't believe that the trip is almost here and I know before I know it months will have flown by. I am doing something that I have never done and that is to go abroad. I am going to be traveling to Jerusalem, Israel with 18 other men and women who are absolutely in love with Jesus and we are going to share the love of Christ in the same areas where Jesus walked and taught. I knows time have definitely changed, but God has not. He is the same yesterday, today and forever more.

I am not going to prove a point or anything crazy like that. I am going because the one who gave me life has placed a calling on my life. That calling is to serve Him and to be a minister of the gospel. That calling includes sharing the gospel everywhere across this great world. While I know that I can share the gospel right here in Oklahoma...I can also share it across the world as well. The Word of God says GO! and preach the gospel unto all the ends of the earth...from one corner to the other. It did not say to just stay in my comfort zone and where I live, if it did, that would be too easy. We are to stretch ourselves and see what God wants to do with us. He wants to use us in so many ways, but many times He cannot because we have allowed distractions and our own pride to get in the way of His will.

I am done satisfying my own flesh and my own desires. I am done trying to make everyone else happy. I am done doing what the world wants me to do. I am done. It is no longer about me. It is about Him. I must give up myself in order for Him to rise up in me. I must take up my cross daily and follow Him. I am ready to lay down my pride, my desires and sacrifice everything. In order to gain something from Christ, we must be willing to give up something that means something to us. That is why fasting is so important. Fasting is a way for us to get quiet before the Lord and listen. It is a way to mute the distractions and to silence the voices around us. It is a time for us to lay down ourselves so that Christ might rise up in us. If we want to hear from Him and to have Him do something for us...we must give up something that means something to us.

So for the next 40 days before my trip to Israel I will be fasting from things that take my time away from the Lord. I will be fasting from Facebook, television, video games, a good percentage of the Internet other than what I have to use for job searches, etc. and some food. This is to get my mind off the world and more on Him. I want to hear what He has to say.

Not only do I want to hear what He has to say about Israel and the trip, I want to hear what He says about my future job and where He is taking me. I know there will be several who consider me crazy or insane for going on this trip without a job in place, etc. I have news for them, I am still going. God has confirmed for me to go and I am not letting some challenges keep me from what God has for me. God has begun to orchestrate a new beginning in my life. Where one door closed, another is opening. I no longer see myself apart of the corporate world, but apart of the ministry. Where He leads, only He knows right now, but I am definitely seeking Him and His face.

As I was reading this evening I came across a prayer in Jeremiah 32:17-21 that speaks volumes. Jeremiah is praying for understanding from the Lord, much as I am praying for understanding as well. In a nutshell the prayer states that nothing is too hard for God. We should never sell God out and think He cannot accomplish something. The creator of the universe can do anything He so desires. He wants to see so many powerful blessings flow through us, but we must ask and we must seek. As I continued to read I came across one of my favorite passages and it is Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me and I will answer thee and I will show you great and mighty things you don't yet know." God just wants to hear from His sons and daughters.

Lord, I am calling upon You and seeking You for wisdom and understanding. I don't know it all. Open my eyes so that I may see, open my ears so that I may hear, open my mind so that I may understand the things You have laid before me. I ask that you would show me the things I don't know already and show me a glimpse of your glory. I want more of You and need more of You. I give you all of me and am willing to lay down my life and sacrifice everything for You.

In the name above all other names!

Amen

When you least expect it

I have learned a lot in my walk with God and it is this....when you least expect something, God delivers. When we begin to quit looking for something, He blesses us in a big way. Why? Well when our focus is on other things then it is hard for God to speak to us and for us to hear Him. Our focus and priorities must be right. Last night I was at The Burn in Shawnee, Oklahoma and was worshipping my Lord and Saviour. In the past I haven't come to the Burn's like I should and came away disappointed. Why? Well my focus and my desires were not what they should be. The Burn isn't something that you go to expecting to receive something, it is where we are to go and give back to God. It is a time of intercession and worship. In the past I have gone with the attitude that I wanted to get something out of it and I have never gotten what I was looking for because it was all about me. You will never get anything from God if you are seeking personal gain.

As I was worshipping last night I began to intercede for others. We were having the Burn at the Salvation Army, so I was calling in the hurting, bruised, broken, lost and homeless. I wanted them to come and be ministered to. I want them to realize that God is bigger than the circumstances they are facing. My God is bigger than anything we face. As I was interceding I felt someone lay hands on me and they began praying for me. As soon as I took the focus off myself, God laid it on the heart of someone else to begin praying for me. See how easy that is?
This person began to prophesy things over me and speak things over me and then moved to my feet. I wasn't focusing on what was being said as I was continuing to pray as well. At first I didn't know who this person was, but later I discovered it was someone from my church that I have a lot of respect for and I know that they are not one to just speak something out to just be speaking something. This person allows God to speak through them and waits upon the Lord to speak and is careful when doing so.

They later wrote down what they had prayed and prophesied over me and you know what? It wasn't just words this person wanted to say to sound good. The words that were spoken confirmed many things that I am going through and what God is doing in my life. God is so awesome and answers us. His word states, "Call unto me and I will answer thee and show you great and mighty things that you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3. I often call out to God and ask Him to speak to me and He is always faithful in doing this. He will either speak something to my spirit or He will speak to me through someone I know. Nonetheless...God speaks and we must be willing and able to listen and receive.

While I was writing this I had intended on writing what was spoken over me, but the Holy Spirit told me, "No." It is not meant to be shared with anyone else. Some things are better left unsaid. I will just say again that when we change our focus from ourselves and point them to God, things happen. When we least expect something, God delivers.

Amen!

Be blessed.

Coach