Electric

Yesterday, I was imagining what it would be like in the great multitude of people worshiping before God's Throne (Rev 7:9). I'm sure I'll be very joyful, full of praise and thanksgiving, but I just felt that I would miss that secret, intimate connection with God we have when I am alone with Him. Then, I imagined that as Jesus looks over the crowd, His eyes meet mine and, suddenly, I know that I am known by Him. All those little moments I spent praying, all my meager longings, weak obediences, frail lovings, frantic seekings, small sacrifices—recognized and remembered and counted precious by Jesus! What a feeling! It's like when someone very famous goes in front of a stage or on TV and mentions, in front of the whole crowd, your name in gratitude and everyone turns to you and gives you that look: O, so you are the reason! But this is infinitely better because you are not praised in front of a faceless crowd by a passing celebrity, you're praised by Almighty God before His angels and saints! O, to be called, "Good and faithful servant" by JESUS CHRIST THE LORD!

How blessed are those who do all things in secret, who pray in secret, fast in secret and who give in secret so that their left hand doesn't know what their right hand is doing (Matt 6) because that Great Day is going to reveal everything! It's going to bring everything to light! Everything that was done in secret, whether good or bad, for God or for self, is going to be read, nay, shouted, from the book of your life! Everyone's going to have to face the truth of their hearts:

When it's all been said, when it's all been done, when the race is run,
Well it all comes to down love,

"Did you learn to love?" is what You will ask me,
"Did you learn to love?" it's not about my ministry,
"Did you learn to love?" it's not about my money,
"Did you learn to love?" — Misty Edwards, Measure of a Man (linked)

That Great Day is going to reveal everything, so its better to get honest with God now instead of later. That's why it says, "God desires [and delights] in truth in the inward being" (Ps 51:6a). It's no good to try to be good on your own and only go to God when you feel "worthy" enough; just go to God as you are because that's what He wants! He wants TRUTH in your heart! And when you go to Him in this truth, in this trust, He will "make [you] know wisdom" (6b); He'll teach you the right way to go. Not only that, He will give you all the desire and strength you need to obey!

The desire and strength crucial for true obedience comes from two things: love and joy.

It is truly only for the joy set before us that we will be able to run this race to its very end. Whenever I get into disagreements with Evangel (my honey, thank God for him) my flesh just wants to grumble and quarrel! No matter how much I tell myself, "Do the right thing, you changed Christian! Rah!" I still end up following my flesh, or else I "suppress" my flesh by not arguing with my mouth though my heart rages on dramatically in such a self seeking spirit. But when I just even begin to think about the joy set before me, the joy of losing self and having Christ, the joy of dying for His life in me, the joy of winning His heart...O WHAT STRENGTH I HAVE! The scowl on my face is chased down by the joy overflowing from my heart, the thought of that day when Jesus looks into my eyes with His eyes of fire, eyes that will burn away the cheap, showy, surface things of wood, straw and hay and leaves the deep, precious, secret things of silver, gold and precious stones. I want to be able to say on that Day, "Lord, I loved you with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, with all my strength. I poured my love on You...

"Like oil upon Your feet
Like wine for You to drink
Like water from my heart
I pour my love on You

If praise is like perfume
I'll lavish mine on You
Til every drop is gone
I'll pour my love on You" — Misty Edwards, Pour My Love on You (linked)

Indeed, the joy of the Lord gives us strength, but it is love that will give us sufficient desire to follow Him wherever He goes and love not our lives even unto death. It is all about love! Don't let the devil trick you into thinking it is about doing something. No, no, no, it is about being something: being in love! Out of this being will come all the necessary doing. Doing proves the being (works prove faith, obedience proves love) but doing is not the being! Did Jesus clothe himself with the humble garment of flesh because it was the "right thing to do?" Surely, it was a righteous thing to do, but he did it for love! Are we to offer not only our hearts but our bodies as living sacrifices because it is the "right thing to do?" Yes, it is also a righteous thing to do but it means nothing unless it is done for love.

When did we take devotion to Jesus and turn it into "devotions"? Surely, out of a heart's devotion will come daily "devotions", but we must never think that praying or reading the Bible every morning ever replaces a true love for Jesus and a zeal for His Name. We must have love, desire, passion! If you call your girlfriend every day for 15 minutes it may seem like you are dedicated to her, but unless you actually have love in your heart it will mean nothing and she will know (girls can tell). Also, we all know that there is something wrong when a marriage is characterized by cold tolerance rather than by the warmth of love! What makes our Betrothal to the Eternal Bridegroom something that deserves less than what we believe should occur between in human relationships? Absolutely nothing! Again, the wonderful thing is that God knows us. He knows our level of love; He knows its frailty, its weakness, its lack. All we must do is acknowledge this truth before Him (this is commonly called "confession") and He will supply all our need! 

His supply is what enables our sacrifice: because He satisfies us every morning according to his unfailing love, we can pour our own love on Him and His people without any thought to ourselves. God has given His eternal promise: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want" (Ps 23:1). What a Word of freedom: a freedom to give without reserve, to obey without hesitation, to die without fretting or fear! What a freedom to LOVE!

When you really love someone, all you want is to give to them. The greatest gift you can give anyone is your very life. Lovers proclaim to each other, "I love you so much, I would do anything for you, I would even die for you!" When we love Jesus with all our hearts, we will want to even die for Him. The wonderful thing is that WE CAN! Earthly lovers can only die for each other once, but for us blessed Christians, we can die for our beloved Jesus every single day! What a privilege to die for the One who died for us! What a privilege to not only die once, but to die daily!

What a life, what a life! Seeing every day, every moment, every opportunity to humble ourselves and serve others, as a chance to die for the One we love. A life like a cup that runneth over. O that was a good thing to write: all we need to do is be like cups. What do cups do? They sit there and get poured into. Wake up! Be a cup! Be like Mary: save up all your love, all your passion, all your affections and put them in a bottle and when you see Jesus break it all at His feet! What a worthy, worthy Man! I feel like worshiping!

Beloved Church, O Bride of Christ: the Day is fast approaching! Quick, stock up on your oil of intimacy; hurry, store up your treasures in Heaven! Do not delay confessing everything to God until tomorrow: DO IT RIGHT NOW. All your fears, worries, doubts, hesitations and hardness, simply confess them before the God who already sees! You can trust Him! He will take care of you! No one, not even you, is going to be able to accuse Him of bad leadership on that Last Day! Oh! Quickly let go so you can come! Come and know Him! Come and be known by Him! Let Him fill you with all the miraculous strength of His joy and the zeal of His love that will allow you to live before Him alone every single day. His promises are true everyday. Do not let yesterday's passion hinder you from today's passion. Instead, say, "Yesterday's depth is feeling really shallow! I've got to go deeper, deeper, deeper still!" (Misty Edwards, Soul Cry)

Church, Beloved, He loves you. He loves you. He loves you.

"O won't you let me love You more? This is all that I desire,
Won't you let me love You more? This is all that I require,
Won't you let me love You more? This is my deepest heart's desire,
Won't you let me love You more? Still more and more!" — Misty Edwards

All is for Your glory
All is for Your name
All is for Your glory
That in all things You may have the first place
That in all things You may have preeminence

There’s just one chief end to man’s purpose
And one main reason for existence
All man’s vain and high ambitions
Will one day be brought low

To treasure You above all others
To love You like we love no other
Your greatness soon will be uncovered
And all the earth will then know  

For You alone will be exalted in that day
Worthless goals will be exposed as idols that we’ve made
For You alone will be exalted in that day
You’ll be seen as rightful King
And from our hearts we’ll sing

All is for Your glory
All is for Your name 
All is for Your glory 
That in all things You may have the first place 
That in all things You may have preeminence

Put me anywhere
Just put Your glory in me
I’ll serve anywhere
Just let me see Your beauty

Catch me up in Your story
All my life for Your glory
My God, my joy, my delight!

It is hard to begin speaking about how God has encounted those who went to Onething down in Kansas City this Christmas. I experienced and saw my friends experience miraculous healings, receive giftings and feast on rich teachings. We also had truly refreshing times of confession, fellowship, prayer and worship.

It would take much too long to tell about everything! Please ask me in person, I would love to share to God's glory of how rich He is towards His children. But, here are some things that I want to thank my Heavenly Father for doing for me:

- Causing me to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 3:18). This verse is so wonderful! The only way we can grow in anything is by growing in grace - grace being our capacity to receive from God. That is why those who are poor, or are hungry, or mourn are blessed and happy because they are able to receive more from God! Evangel uses the analogy of breathing: when we receive grace we inhale. But instead of breathing out, letting go, and inhaling more, we tend to hold our breath until we turn blue and pass out. The funny thing is that when we pass out, we automatically start breathing again! It seems that we overthink how much we "deserve" God's grace (oxymoron) instead of just receiving His grace by faith and obeying His command to rejoice in Him always! In any case, in the faith-filled environment of Onething, God has caused me to grow in grace. Despite how I feel, what I am thinking, more and more I am able to ignore all that and by faith receive grace, love and blessing from God! This feels like what Paul calls the "freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Rom 8:21).

- Giving me more songs to worship God to! I highly recommend (if-you-were-here-I-would-take-your-shoulders-and-gently-shake-you type of recommendation) just listening and worshiping to the hour-long sets that are posted on http://www.ihop.org/onething/. My favourite sets are from Misty Edwards, Jon Thurlow and Justin Rizzo, although all of them are very good! Also, you can stream the "simpledevotion" cd for free (click here) I highly recommend track 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12. Moreover, Misty Edwards' new ep can be streamed here (click here).

- Changing my emotional chemistry. I am a very emotional person, specializing in the areas of discouragement and despair. Yes, I've heard that "a joyful heart is good medicine" (Prov 17:22) and that I should "rejoice in the Lord always" (Phil 4:4). But how do I, when I feel so down? The solution is so simple, and found two verses later, "in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." I know you've read this verse before, but wait! Read it again! I used to think it just said "prayer and supplication"; I would make my anxious thoughts known to God, and, to no avail, peace did not fill my heart. However, I was missing a key ingredient: thanksgiving! I have discovered that when I am discouraged and I begin to thank God, faith ebbs into my heart, and is quickly followed by peace and joy that erupts into praise! Yes, thank Him for the things that seem good, but also thank Him for the things that seem bad - yes, even the things that are discouraging you - and even for your own feeling of discouragement! Why? Because "[His] power is perfected in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9). This is what we should pray, "Dear God, I thank You and praise You because of this horrible situation. I thank You and praise You that I feel discouraged. I thank You and praise You because in this weakness of situation and in my own weakness, You show Yourself to be powerful! I realize that You put mountains in our paths so that little lambs with little faith can, in Jesus' name and authority, command them to move and they will move to Your glory! You are so good, God!" and after giving yourself to thanksgiving for a while, you will begin to feel encouraged and should proceed to praise Him for however long the Holy Spirit leads you. I am serious, this works every time! The only time it doesn't work is when I don't begin or don't persevere in thanksgiving. In that case, I rebuke myself (out loud, of course) and tell myself to start thanking God because He is worthy of it! We don't have to be subject to our thoughts or emotions anymore - we subject them to Christ in us! He is Saviour! He is LORD! "Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright" (Ps 33:1)!

- Allowing me to fellowship with such beloved brothers and sisters. We drove down to and back from Kansas city, each drive about 24 hours. That meant a full day of non-stop fellowship with the same 4 people! It was truly beautiful; especially when we left the conference. God convicted my spirit of sinning against my sister by judging her in my mind, so I confessed to her and asked her for forgiveness. In moments, confession erupted in the whole car! 1 Peter 1:22 says, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently" (KJV). I believe this unfeigned love will be manifest when we begin to open our hearts to one another! It doesn't mean confessing every specific detail (e.g., "I lusted after you") but it does mean confessing out of a truly repentent heart, "O my dear sister, I sinned against you with my mind! Please forgive me!" I understand more now that it is only in such a place of truth and love that revival is birthed - what revival in history did not begin because the brethren confessed to each other and prayed together with oneness of heart? And it was truly after this confession that us 5 were able to intercede for God's will in our families, fellowships and universities with such unity - blessed unity!

There is much more to share, including meeting, blessing and being blessed by other beautiful believers, so please ask me in person!

Also, please go to Onething with us the next time we go, God willing - I know many people do not appreciate conferences too much, especially in our time where there is an excess of conferences and a lack of personal devotion. HOWEVER, a conference does make a big difference when there is a set time to worship God intensely 4 hours per day, to listen to 6 hours of delicious and filling teaching and when you have the chance to fellowship in an atmosphere of faith with 25,000 other believers (or less, since not everyone there is a believer but many become believers! :P). Iron sharpens iron! Evangel's friend said, "The teachings and impartation from last year's Onething lasted me until this year's Onething." What she meant was that at the conference, you literally stuff your spiritual mouth with food (like a squirrel) and it takes a whole year to really digest everything into your spiritual system!

I also want to elaborate that some may have wrong conceptions of the teachings at Onething, thinking it will all be about prophecies, dreams, angels or something of that sort (though these are good things)! I want to say that their focus was not on those peripheral things, but on the ONETHING: JESUS! Almost all their teachings were based on the revelation of the person of Jesus - our Bridegroom, King and Judge; otherwise it consisted of exhortations to seek, know or love Him more! I really recommend listening to all the sermons, especially the morning or the night ones. You can watch the video or scroll down and download the mp3 here (click here).

I think this video sums up my experience of Onething:

A person's new birth is as precious to God as the creation of the entire world. He work is as meticulous in a soul as in the formation of the earth's foundations. "Let there be light!" and the light of his glory shone on you. He divided the turbulent waters of your double-minded soul and planted a firm foundation of land - the Solid Rock. He caused a blinding source of light - the Spirit of His Beloved Son - to guide you by day and by night, and he caused the other saints to be to you as stars in the universe, brightening the darkest skies. He is, even now, cultivating your heart and mind and making you fruitful as the vines of Eden. He is molding you like clay into His own image and likeness - and until it is "very good" i.e. you are glorified and with Him in glory, he will not sleep, nor slumber, nor rest from His work in you.

Be blessed, brothers and sisters, you are more precious than all of the world: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" (Matthew 16:26).

We always sing, "Lord, you are more precious than silver! Lord, you are more costly than gold! Lord, you are more beautiful than diamonds! And nothing I desire compares with you!" We always believe that the man who sold his fields is us, and the Lord and His Kingdom are the treasure (Matthew 13:44-45), but we must realize that it was CHRIST who emptied his treasury, CHRIST who began poor, and for what reason? Because he found precious pearls of great price - worth His very life!

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9).

O,
Lord, we are more precious than silver!
Lord, we are more costly than gold!
Lord, we are more beautiful than diamonds!
And nothing you desired more than us!

Stop hurting the Lord by refusing to believe that He loves you! 

This recalls the story of Joseph and his brothers after Joseph was sold into slavery but was glorified by God until he was in Egypt second only to Pharaoh: "When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!" So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father charged before he died, saying, 'Thus you shall say to Joseph, "Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong."' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him." (Genesis 50:15-17).

Oh the brothers could not see that Joseph forgave them and loved them so much, even after he gave them the best of Egypt's land and clothed them with beautiful garments. "Do you not trust me?" Joseph weeps. Are we not the same? Do we not approach Jesus again and again with our refusal to believe in His forgiveness and love?

Do not take the love of the Lord lightly, for it cost him greatly and the best thing we can do is not languish in our guilt, but receive his gracious gift with thanksgiving and love Him in return through our hearts' worship and surrender and the offering up our bodies in trust and obedience!

O the bitter shame and sorrow
That a time could ever be
When I let the Saviour's pity
Plead in vain and proudly answered:
"None of you and all of me"

Yet you found me, there I saw you
Dying and in agony
Heard you pray, "Forgive them, Father"
And my wistful heart said faintly:
"Some of you and some of me"

Day by day your tender mercy
Healing, helping, full and free
Firm and strong, with endless patience
Brought me lower while I whispered:
"More of you and less of me"

Higher than the highest heaven
Deeper than the deepest sea
Lord, your love at last has conquered
Grant me now my spirit's longing:
"All of you and none of me!" 

Longing for the New Jerusalem (Matt Gilman)

I'm looking for a city
Not made by human hands
I'm longing for the garden
Where God once walked with man
For eternity is written on my heart
And I’m longing for the day
We will never be apart

I looked and saw a city
Descending down from Heaven
Prepared just like a bride
For the Son of Man
And there's a day of gladness
It's written on his heart
He's longing for the day
When we'll never be apart

Every tear it will be wiped away
There’ll be no sorrow, hurt or pain
There’ll be no more night
Things will be made new
It will be a brand new day
And in righteousness You’ll reign
The Lamb will be the Light

Behold the tabernacle of God will be with man
And He will be our God
And we will be His people
And the Bride she will marry the Lamb
But until that day I'm longing for the new Jerusalem

I love the day of Your appearing
I want to hasten Your return
The Spirit and the Bride say come for your beloved ones

We often hear about the power of the name of Jesus, but this story illustrates one potent fact; knowing the name is not enough…you must know the man behind the name Himself. Paul had power over these evil spirits not because he could use the name of Jesus, like a spell from a book of incantations, but because he had met the Man, Christ Jesus Himself, on the road to Damascus and knew Him personally.

Evangelist Daniel Kolenda, from his blog post.

(http://www.danielkolenda.com/index.php/2010/06/02/jesus-wants-witnesses-not-just-preachers/)

Worth It All (Laura Hackett & Allyson Prior)
Original by Rita Springer (link) 

I don't understand Your ways
Oh but I will give You my song
Give You all of my praise
You hold on to all my pain
With it You are pulling me closer
And pulling me into Your ways

Now around every corner
And up every mountain
I'm not looking for crowns
Or the water from fountains
I'm desperately seeking, frantic believing
That the sight of Your face
Is all that I'm needing
I will say to You

It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it all

I believe it, I believe it
When I see Your face, it's gonna be worth it all
Even through trials and tribulation
When I see Your face, it's gonna be worth it all 

You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it all

WITH GOD. Enoch and Noah walked WITH God (Genesis 5.24, 6.9). This speaks of companionship and intimacy, as friend with friend. When the Hebrides Revival had subsided around 1951, Duncan Campbell was asked if life was now anti-climactic. He replied that nothing compares with the daily walk with God. And what a promise is laid up for us, “But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy” (Revelation 3:4).

BEFORE GOD. Abraham walked BEFORE God (Gen. 17.1). This speaks of consciousness. God’s eye is on us – every step we take, every thought we think. The Christian is continually conscious that it is the living God with whom he has to do.

AFTER GOD. Josiah walked AFTER God (2 Kings 23.3). This speaks of compliance, conformity, obedience, and pursuit. The Lord Jesus is the leader and we walk after Him. He is the shepherd of the sheep and we follow after Him. The Lord Jesus is our example – a hero without fault – and worthy of our imitation. The sheep do indeed follow the shepherd – “My sheep…follow Me” (John 10.27). Talk is not enough. Hell will be filled with talkers – “Many will say to Me on that day…” (Matthew 7:22). The Christian knows there is nothing more important than the walk. This is a great matter for prayer. We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will … so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects (Colossians 1:9, 10).

- Bob Jennings (link)

Jesus, How You Shine (Ashley Prior)

You are holy, beautiful
You are worthy, Jesus

Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, how you shine
You are fairer than