"To Choose A Standard Greeting...Press 1"

As some of you know, for the past few weeks I have been experiencing "unusual" things in my body as a result of an increase in the Holy Spirit's presence. Due to that manifest presence, I have begun to encounter things like the feeling of "fire" on my skin, "electricity" shooting through my muscles and what the apostle Paul might describe as "groans that word's can not express" when I encounter a lying spirit, or the Spirit of Truth.

They have been a great encouragement to me and have increased my faith to pray for healing and deliverance.

For the most part these encounters/manifestations have occurred in the privacy of my home and among friends, but on a few occasion they have surprised me in very unexpected locations, and this past Monday was one of those days!

I won't go into the details of how or why it happened, suffice to say that it was a very obvious and extended manifestation that occurred in the presence of my extended family, whom I might add is very conservative by nature, and that it took us all by surprise.

The following morning my dad was sitting at the table trying to make sense of what had happened the night before and expressed his concern to me that this manifestation could have seriously frightened my young nephews! "What if they had been in the room? How would you have explained it to them?", he asked. They were great questions and led us into a conversation about who God is, how He operates and what happens when an All-Powerful God, resident inside of us, decides to expresses Himself through our mortal bodies!

We spent a long time discussing these things, and yet, after our lengthy conversation I was still left with his question "Why would a Gentle and Kind God express Himself so violently?

As I drove home I pondered my dad's question, and there, in the midst of all the Christmas hoopla, found what I believe to be a most seasonably suitable answer!

So what is this timely answer? It was the common greeting encountered by those involved in the miraculous events surrounding the birth of Jesus. For there, in the midst of "Emmanuel, God with us", we find a study on this divine collision, and the perfect context for us to understand what happens when earth encounters heaven!

As God prepares to enter humanity we find two simple, yet profoundly revelatory words..."Fear Not!"

"Fear Not!", said the Angel Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:30)
"Fear Not!", said the Angel to Joseph (Matt 1:20)
"Fear Not!", said the Angel Gabriel to Zacharias (Luke 1:12-13)
"Fear Not!", said the heavenly chorus to the Shepherds. (Luke 2:9-10)

These two simple words are heaven's "standard greeting", and are found throughout Scripture when mere mortals like you and I encounter the heavenly reality.

Gideon (Judges 6:23), Abram (Gen 15:1), Daniel (10:12), Ezekiel (2:6), Paul (Acts 27:24), John (Rev 1:17), and Mary (Matt 28:5) all experienced the exact same heavenly greeting!

Have you ever wondered why so many angelic encounters start out with those two words?

Is it because it's Angelic lingo for "Hello", What's Up?" or "How's it going?". Or is it primarily due to the fact that the person this angel has just revealed themselves to is freaking out, and God, in His infinite wisdom, has faithfully instructed His angelic messengers to start their earthly encounter by getting us to calm down!?

I haven't actually checked the Amplified Bible's translation of "fear not", but I wouldn't be surprised if it read... "Beloved. Don't freak out! Once you understand that this encounter is from your Abba Father, whom I might remind you is Love, and Who only gives perfect gifts, and is always Good, you will be able to stop shaking long enough to get up on your feet, and eventually come to appreciate this encounter, possibly even considering yourself to be among the most blessed of all creation!"

Let's face it, the bible is a giant historical account of what happens when heaven touches earth! It demonstrates the great collision which takes place between the Holy and the common, often resulting in truly awesome and terrifying things taking place (one of which is that we humans get scared out of our whits!)

Ever since Adam & Eve got themselves kicked out of the Garden of Eden we have trembled with fear under the weight of our fallen nature when encountering the presence of our Holy God. So much so, that when God descended upon Mount Sinai in order to speak with His people, the people begged Moses to speak with God on their behalf, forfeiting their direct line of communication with God and surrendering that honor to but a mere few...

Exodus 20:18-20

"When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” 

The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was"  (NIV)

I am struck by that phrase, "The people remained at a distance".

In my humble observation, it would appear that this same fear continues to rob many in the Church today of experiencing God in greater fullness. Many have chosen to "prudently" guard themselves from encountering the Holy Spirit's power (and unpredictability), yet continue to boldly declare to weary sinners that there is "no fear in love for perfect love drives out all fear." (1 John 4:18), and that "God has not given to us a Spirit of Fear, but one of power, love and soundness of mind." (2 Tim 1:7).

If God is Love, and there is no fear in Love, yet we live in fear of what Love will do to us if we say "yes" to experiencing the fullness of His Spirit, then might I suggest that we have a gaping hole in the bottom of our vessel of faith!

We need not feel bad that fear strikes our hearts while in His presence! God wants to use that "fear of the Lord" to keep us from sinning (Ex 20:19). But if we have fear about entering His presence then we desperately need a fresh revelation of His true nature.

Beloved, as you wrestle through the validity of my testimony and these manifestations of the Holy Spirit, let me encourage you to walk by faith, not by sight, and to search the Scriptures  free from unbelief, remembering always the words of Jesus...

I tell you the truth: It is better that I go away. Unless I go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you....when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. (John 16)

"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32)

Let The Kingdom Come!

Jon

Loving Righteousness (Pleasure Based Obedience)

This morning I was struck by a sobering thought - God is looking for lovers of righteousness, not simply those who do righteously.

What do I mean by that?

The idea that we can live in "unhappy" holiness and still enter into God's eternal presence seems completely non-biblical.

Can I be holy apart from loving the One who is holy? Can I accept Christ's righteousness, made available through the cross, the ultimate demonstration of love, and still do His commands with a stubborn heart? Is that love? Is that acceptable worship?

We know that love does not obey because it has to - it obeys because it wants to, because it brings pleasure to the heart of the one offering up their obedience!

So why do we speak so poorly of radical holy living? Is it because we have lost sight of the God who rewards those who diligently seek Him? (Heb 11:6)

The truth of the word is this, there is a great reward for those who live a life of loving obedience!

Jesus said, "if anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him and We will come and make Our home with him." John 13:23

But let us be clear about what Jesus is saying, or rather NOT saying!

He does not say "if you obey My word I will count your good works as love." (that would be salvation through works, which we know is a deception), but rather, that the overflow of our affection for Jesus will result in a desire to keep His word, and that the reward of this affection based obedience is this; that God will come to us at the end of the age and make His home with us. (Rev 21:3)

John 3:16 demonstrates that God has always been motivated by love, and He insists that His children reflect His unmistakable and non-replicable nature - one's motivated by love!

To help paint a more complete picture of this pleasure based obedience I think it's good to look at 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.

Paul is describing the great falling away at the end of the age and states that "those who perish" (from the breath of Jesus mouth and the brightness of His coming) will be the ones who "did not receive the love of the truth...and who...had pleasure in unrighteousness".

Implying the converse reality, that "If you love the truth and take pleasure in righteousness you will be saved."

Paul not only defines those who are being saved as lovers of righteousness, but also as ones who take pleasure in it. Why? Because God is not after the righteous, He is after those who love Him, and HE is righteous!

"You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." Psalm 45:18 / Heb 1:9

To enter into this kind of pleasurable obedience we must embrace God's definition of love, and that is this - to love Him first and imitate Him second. For we can not love that which we do not know, nor imitate that which we have not encountered.

It sobers me to think about how little I have truly enjoyed righteousness over the past 20 years. I suppose that is a reflection of how little I had encountered the person of God and His transforming heart of mercy, gentleness, affection and pleasure. But thanks be to God that He is still in the business of redeeming willing hearts!

May you be blessed today by an encounter with the Living God.

Thanks for reading!

Jon

It's Not the End of the World!

Yesterday, I found Emma doing something that Rhonda had asked her not to do (which was to write her own name on the side of her new backpack). I felt bad for Emma and in my effort to console her I said "Don't worry, it's not the end of the world!"

As soon as I said it I laughed as myself and thought "I need to come up with a new expression!".

What I was saying was this - what you did was not a good thing to do, but in the end it will be OK. But what I was also implying was that the end of the world was not a good thing but in the end it would all be OK!

The truth is that God's leadership is perfect, and His end time plan, with all of it's fire, hail, desolation and judgments is the perfect way to bring Jesus back to the earth to rule and to reign. It is the manifestation of His goodness, mercy and love. I am actually quite excited about the end of the world and the doing away of sin, disease and suffering.

So I have decided that I need to find a new expression to replace "It's not the end of the world!" and I am open to your suggestions.

Jon

Back In Altona

Hey Everyone! We drove through the night on Saturday and re-entered Canada at 7:30 AM yesterday morning.

We headed straight to my mom & dad's in Steinbach for a day of rest, good food and some much needed sleep. The girls played with their cousins and Granny & Grandpa spent the day loving on their 3 princesses.

We arrived in Altona around 8pm Sunday night and walked into a perfectly clean house. I was so excited about seeing our house clean that I told Rhonda that she couldn't bring bags into the house before I had taken pictures of what our house!

This morning we will start unpacking, doing laundry and opening up 3 months worth of mail.

Emma is getting ready for her first day of school tomorrow and Rhonda goes back to work on Wednesday.

As far as blogging goes, I think we are going to continue with it - so keep watching!

Jon

Hey Buddy, Lighten Up!

I was reading Ephesians 5 this morning where Paul calls us to be children who imitate our Father by walking in love.

What a great invitation! Walk in love just as your Father in heaven walks in love! So what does "walking in love" look like? How do I imitate God?

Paul defines "walking in love" as this; having nothing to do with things like "filthiness, foolish talk, nor coarse jesting" (v4) and warns us to "let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience" (v6), and concludes his exposition of "walking in love" by saying "therefore, do not be partakers with them." (v7)

Not exactly what one might expect when getting a dissertation on how to walk in love!

But I like where Paul goes with it, he begins to explain not only how love "walks", but Love's very nature! The nature of love is that love is light, and therefore the children of love are also children of light, and light has nothing to do with darkness!

In fact, the true test of whether or not we are children of light/love is whether or not we expose the unfruitful works of darkness (v11-13). Paul describes it like this:

"all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest IS light." (v13)

To "manifest" simply means to make hidden things known. So verse 13 could also be written like this: "for whatever makes hidden things known is by definition light". (It is where we get the the expression '...bringing things to light'.)

Paul is stating that those who are children of God, a God who is by nature Love and Light, will imitate their Father and as an act of love will bring things into the light. They will be easily identified in this world because they will be the ones bringing the unfruitful deeds of darkness into the open - not merely avoiding them but being active in exposing them.

Unfortunately I think that as a modern church we have grown weary in being light in a dark world and have chosen the path of less resistance by turning a blind eye to the sin both within ourselves and around us.

We have chosen not to "judge" because we do not want to be "judged" in our own sin. Oh what a great benefit we have forfeited by not speaking out on sin! For in not calling others to righteousness we have hidden our own hearts from the light of God's love - a light designed  to purify not only the hearer, but both the hearer and messenger within the same light.

When we shine the light of God's love on others it will invariably shine upon us; and unless we see that as a good thing we will forever be hindered from becoming the bright and shining lamps that God intended us to be. Being light bearers requires that we become adept at effectively dealing with our own depravity at the foot of the Cross. We must become those who willingly run to the blood of Jesus at the first sign of our own sinfulness. It we can not run to the cross in confidence we will never have the confidence to call others to repentance, and we will forever struggle with the fear of doing evangelism.

Yest it is the Holy Spirits mandate to convict people of sin and call them to righteousness through Christ, but have we ever considered that the Holy Spirit dwells within us? We are His dwelling place! We are now the manifest (the visible) presence of Jesus on the earth! We have been given the Holy Spirit for the express purpose of producing His fruit within the world - to make Him manifest - to make the hidden Spirit visible!

And yet many of us tremble with the fear of having our own sin exposed, even though Christ has declared that His beloved will no longer be condemned for any of her sins. Romans declares it "Therefore, there is no longer any condemnation for those who are Christ Jesus!"

We are light! We are the light of the world!!

So I got this picture while I was writing in my journal this morning;

Imagine you were walking through the forest in the dead of night with a flashlight in your hand. Suddenly in the midst of the trees your small beam of light comes to rest upon the eyes of a ravenous wolf! Looking around you soon realize that you can not find your way out of the woods and begin to fear that there might be more wolves hiding in the trees?

What do you do?

a) Turn off your flashlight and pretend the wolves are not there?
b) Grab a bigger flashlight from your bag?
c) Pray that the sun would rise so that you could find a way out?

I don't know about you but I'm going with 'C'!

The idea of turning off our lights because we fear what is hidden in the dark seems foolish to me. It also demonstrates that we lack understanding of our true spiritual condition. We have been delivered from the power of sin and darkness! We have been given authority over sin, demons and everything that would set itself up against the knowledge of Christ. We are more than conquerors!!

We do not need to fear standing up and shining our light into the darkness, and we do not need to live in fear of having that same light shining upon our own hearts. YES we will expose sin within ourselves whenever we shine a light on others, but is that not God's desire?! To purify us from all unrighteousness while we call the world into that same righteousness! God is intent on removing everything that hinders love within us, and the more we shine our lights upon the deeds of darkness the more that light will shine upon us and purify us from all unrighteousness.

We are light! We are the light of the world!! It's time for the children of light to stand up and let their lights shine or God is going to remove our lampstands from among the churches. (Rev 2)

Well that got a lot more intense then I was expecting when I started this post, but I think that's ok! In closing I will leave you with these whimsical words of encouragement..."hey buddy, lighten up!!"

Jon :\

Space Chalk

Last night Emma and Rhonda come in from grocery shopping and I immediately proclaimed in horror... "WHAT IS THAT SMELL!?!". To which Rhonda says, "I don't know? I think it's from the van!"

As Emma comes closer to me I realize that she is the one that stinks!

She had been playing outside with her friends earlier that evening so I asked her what they had gotten in to? She says "Nothing!"

Then I see her playing with something in her pocket.

Jon: "Emma, what's in your pocket?"

Rhonda: "Oh, that's her 'space chalk'!"

Jon: "Her what?!?"

Rhonda: "See calls it her space chalk. They found it outside in the rocks."

Jon: "Emma, show me what's in your hand!.....THAT ISN'T SPACE CHALK! THOSE ARE MOTH BALLS!!!!"

Yes, my child had been convinced by her friend Elliot that these round white balls were pieces of chalk from outer space and that she should keep them!

Needless to say, the "space chalk" was quickly discarded of and Rhonda finally found the answer to her question "where is that smell coming from and why does it keep following us wherever we go?"

Jon

A.W. Tozer

A.W. Tozer in his book, "Knowledge of the Holy" writes:

"Only the Spirit of the Holy One can impart to the human spirit the knowledge of the holy. Yet as electric power flows only through a conductor, so the Spirit flows through truth and must find some measure of truth in the mind before He can illuminate the heart.


Faith wakes at the voice of truth but responds to no other sound. 

'Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God'


Theological knowledge is the medium through which the Spirit flows into the human heart, yet there must be humble penitence in the heart before truth can produce faith.


The Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth.


It is possible to have some truth in the mind without having the Spirit in the heart, but it is never possible to have the Spirit apart from truth."


(page 104, Knowledge of the Holy)

I found his statement about faith responding to no other sound very profound! If we are saved by grace through faith, and faith only comes from hearing the word of God, then why are we so reluctant to share scripture with our friends, neighbors and those who darken the door of our church?

It seems that we are more gripped by the fear of man than the fear of the Almighty God (or at least I am!), and those fears are being challenged on a regular basis as we hang around this community of faith! Since getting here I have been challenged on my fear of man, fear of rejection, fear of lack (lack of spiritual power to heal, lack of money, lack of knowledge, lack of vision), and the fear of mockery.

I am encourage by God's truth when He spoke these words through the apostle John - "Perfect love drives out all fear!"

How ironic! I'm using the word of truth to overcome my fear of speaking the word of truth!?!

Anyways, I was reading this book and thought I'd share it with you all today.

Blessings,
Jon

The Repo Man and the Ministry of Reconciliation

Have you ever experienced the sickening feeling caused a brightly colored pink letter with the words "past due" stamped upon it? If you have, then this post might be right up your alley!

This morning I was reading 2 Corinthians 5 :

"Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation...Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God!"

As I read it I suddenly had this picture of the end of the age - Jesus was the Divine Repo Man and I was one of His collection agents! (But it was a fun picture, not scary or terrifying!) He was sending out "final notices" to the earth, giving them fair warning that soon it would be time to settle accounts and that if anyone wanted their accounts marked "PAID IN FULL" He would gladly do that for them! They had been pre-approved for Divine Financing.

It was a good reminder for me of the truth that EVERYTHING is God's! He owns it all!! (even the stuff that I think is mine is actually His.)

It was a sobering thought to look around and realize that He made it all and holds it all together by the word of His power. If He were to hold His breath for even a moment, everything that we know, both the material and the spiritual realms, would cease to exist!

Beloved, I am more convinced than ever that God is preparing pink envelopes marked "Final Notice!" designed to prepare our hearts for His return. And like any good owner, He is going to settle accounts for how we have managed His possession while they were in our care.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

If that thought puts a shiver in your bones, you don't need to sweat it!

He is merciful, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. Willing to forgive and desiring that not would be found lacking on that day! He is able to overcome every shortcoming and meet every requirement on our behalf.

That is good news! In fact, it is THE Good News!!

"Therefore" (to use one of my favorite biblical phrases!), since we have been set free from the fear of that judgment through the blood of Jesus, who will enable us to be found righteous and worthy and that day, and give to us great rewards; I want to invite you to join (or re-join) the growing team of "ambassadors" who are sending out "first notices" of the return of the Divine Repo Man; declaring to friends, neighbors and strangers that He is coming soon and that their debts can be marked "Paid in Full".

Jon

Where is the bakery table?

Just a quick cute Emma-ism.

Like usual Emma was singing in the van yesterday. And this is what I heard...

"He brought me to the bakery table, He brought me to the bakery table and his blahblah over me is LOVE"

I could barely contain my laughter. It just goes to prove what we already know, as a kid we never get the words right to songs. And how would she know what a BANQUETING table is anyway?

Rhonda

Kate the cutie

So to continue the updates I've left Kate for last.

My blue eyed beauty has really enjoyed making friends here.  Unlike Madison, Kate is always right behind Emma doing whatever she's doing when they are running around outside.  They now have a "gang" of kids 10 and younger who run around outside doing who knows what, but having a grand old time.

At home Kate had started noticing "K's" in writing or words and would be excited saying "K, just like my name"  Then she started to include E for Emma's R for mine J for Jon's and M for Madison.   This past 2 weeks she's been interested in learning how to write some letters.  And has done amazing.  She's only 3 1/2 and in true Kate fashion she seems to be a self learner teaching herself things before I think she's ready.

So last week for Lydia's memorial I got the kids to decorate home made cards they had made for Lydia with a little message on them from me.  Emma signed hers and then Kate wanted to sign hers.  Well she signed it.  KEAT.  And all of her letters were legible.  Unbelievable. 
I just bought her a dollar store book to help her practice her letters.  Maybe she'll be reading by the time we're home.  (December 1 by the way)

I don't know what this means since Madison is the one with the obsessive "favorite" things.  But Kate has been saving a little cheetos bag (a chip bag) that she got (full of cheetos) for a treat on Saturday.  So it's empty of course and she took due diligence to wash it out thoroughly with soap and water in the bathroom.  And the other night I found her in the bathroom with the bag full of water and her trying to figure out how to "tie" it.  So I figured something out and refused to let her sleep with it as was her request.  Instead we left if between the taps at the sink standing up.  And that's where it still stays.  I forgot to mention that I had tried to throw this bag out on numerous occasions because it was "lying around"  However Katelyn noticed and was terribly upset.  I believe she initially kept it in her drawer to keep it safe.  So, not sure what this says about her personality.  And I'm wondering where we'll have to store this bag on the way back to Winnipeg !!

Emma, the beautiful

Emma, Emma, Emma

Just where do I start?
This little one does so many funny things every day, I just can't keep track of them all.

Jon and I were talking about the speakers we'd heard and things we were learning from them. Emma pipes up nonchalantly saying "Mike Bickle is MY FAVORITE speaker"
"Oh?" I say "What do you like about him"

"Oh" says Emma "I like the way he sounds" and on further prompting "WHAT exactly do you like about the way he sounds" she further confirmed this truth by saying
"I don't know, I just like the way he sounds"

Her class had been listening to Mike talk about the history of IHOP during the 10th anniversary and I just figured it was lost on her.  Her class includes kids age 6-12 so it's quite the spread.  Even if she doesn't remember the stories, his voice will forever stay in her memory.

Emma is also encouraged to keep a Dream Journal through her class, and it's always interesting to get her answers.  Some of them have been Truly Profound for a 6 year old.
The other day we were talking about her dreams and she began to relay one she'd had recently.  She had had it while she was praying

She said "I was in the throne room of God and around his whole throne was water.  From that water a HUGE waterfall was falling to earth to water the oceans, seas, and rivers.  Then when it became daylight the waters stopped."

Another friend of ours whose son is in Emma's class told me a cute story yesterday.

She was in the kitchen when her son came home and called out to her a few times.  When she was able to respond to him she said jokingly "Were you afraid I was raptured  because you couldn't find me?"  To which he replied instantly "Of course not mom, we have to have the seals, the trumpets and the bowls first and THEN comes the rapture"
They've been learning about the End times in Revelation in class.  Can you tell?

Even funnier was that the mom told her husband, (who is a pastor) this story about their son to which he replied "Bowls? They aren't any bowls in Revelation!!"  To which he was proven wrong by their 10 year old son.

I love the impact that Emma's class is having on her spiritual growth.  She continues to sing constantly making up her own lyrics as she desires.  The other day I overheard her singing the following...

I want to be free
I want to be free from chains
I want to be free from homework

I guess to a 6 year old homework is bondage.

In her class they also learn alot about prayer and praying for others.  One day she was in the kitchen complaining that her ear hurt.  I kinda shrugged it off and went about my business.  The next thing I notice is her putting her hand over her ear and prayer out loud "Jesus please heal my ear, it hurts"  And then she just went about her day.  Wow, heh?

Since this outpouring of the holy spirit, i've felt it was important to have my children experience it and be exposed to the environment.  After one evening, both Jon and I had been prayed for by others after putting up our hands in response to requests from the speaker.  On leaving Emma was visibly sad.  I asked her what was the matter and she said "Nobody prayed for me"  I explained to her that the only reason people prayed for us was because we had put up our hands for something.  And we took her right up to the front in the middle of the stage with Jon and I laying our hands on her and praying for her.

The other night, she was with us again as we were praying for people around us.  After a little while she was elbowing me saying "I want to pray for somebody else" meaning not the person I was praying for.  So I told her to pick out someone to pray for.  So she walked up the stairs and looked out on the crowd and found someone with "blonde hair and a blue shirt".  So she proceeds to lead me thru the crowd to this person.  All the while I'm looking and can't find the one with this description.  So I ask her again ?Where is she?  At which point she stops by a girl with brown hair and a black shirt.  Of course she's too shy to ask if she can pray for this girl so I explain how emma had picked her out and wanted to pray for her.  The girl was so sweet and said, "wow, I came tonight wishing someone would pray for me, but I don't really need prayer for the things that they are talking about from the front"  So Emma and I prayed for this 20 something gal and then she prayed for Emma that what she's learning would be sealed in her as she returns home.

Lastly, Emma spends the afternoon in the prayer room with her class every Friday.  The other day I took her and shortly after we came, she asked if she could take communion.  "That's what we do when we come on Fridays."  I asked if she understood what it meant and she said "Of course I know, it's the Body and Blood"  so we took communion together and as I was standing beside her speaking to God in my heart she pipes up "You have to pray mom"  At which point I did.

can you tell that I'm smiling?  this has been such a fabulous experience, what a treasure to have had this time with our kids.

Rhonda

Madison, the saga continues...

Heh, finally here at the coffee shop relaxing using their FREE wifi.  What could be better?

Jon has been going the last few evenings to the Holy Spirit prayer time (which is CRAZY)  so he kindly let me take his morning spot at the prayer room.  Usually my time is in the evening but that has been usurped by the "unusual move of the holy spirit" (this is on the sign that redirects people to the larger auditorium)

Anyway, the last few weeks with the girls have been a hoot.

I'll start with Madison in continuation of my last post regarding the "BABY FOOD"... dunh,dunh,dunh.....

So yesterday, after the umpteenth warning that IF Madison would STEAL gum from either daddy or me without asking she would be required to walk the plank and ingest the
"GREEN POOPY STUFF"  as she describes is or my way "THE GREEN GOOP"

Needless to say, yesterday evening, low and behold Emma alerts me to the incident by screaming "MOM MADI'S CHEWING GUM!!!!!!"  At which point I come around the corner, see my beautiful angelic little girl smiling cutely, chewing away, unashamedly.  I ask her where she got it and she says "I don't know"  then on more prompting the truth comes out.... She took it from my bag.  And not one piece but 3-4 pieces based on the size of the wad in her mouth and the wrappers I found surrounding my bag.  So I make her spit it out which entails me sticking my finger into her mouth to get out the wad.  Did I mention, last week she got gum stuck in her hair and I had to cut it out?  (thankfully in the back)  Anyway I digresss.

So she starts crying which for Madison is like the cry of an animal in a fury.  I take her into the kitchen, where the "GREEN POOPY STUFF" is kept, kick all the little watching eyes out of the room and proceed to get the baby food.  (Peas if you must know)  Then I hold her down as I get a teaspoon of it onto her tongue and I had to hold back my laughter at how loud Madison was crying, actually worse than a spanking.  Did I mention I think I am officially the smartest parent in the world?

She grabbed a kleenex and started wiping off her tongue crying all the way.  I think the most effective part of this technique is that the other 2 girls HEARD it and it sounded much worse than it really was.  Emma is quite concerned now, wondering if they have Baby Food in Altona.

She is still a delight and really enjoys her class every afternoon.  She piped up yesterday at the table that she had a favorite song too (as Emma had mentioned hers)  It was
"Poor out Yur Pirit on Yur son and dowter".  Later in the day I noticed her talking to her imaginary class teaching them her favorite song.  So cute.

Yesterday the girls wanted to dance so they made themselves a little track around the living room to follow.  Consisting of pillows and obstacles of which to jump on.  So before I know it Madison has changed into her "dancing clothes".  Basically she just took off her pj's and put on black pants and bottoms.  However she had to empty out her drawer to find these black tights and she told me about the "Big mess" she had made.  This may be lost on some of you but when I saw her, she had her black cat shirt tucked into her black pants and her pants of course were pulled up to her mid chest.    Just like Ed Grimley from Saturday Night Live.

Her shirt looked like a pirate shirt because it was puffed out at the mid chest where the pants met it.  And she danced.

Now I must thank my in-laws for the beautiful cat shirt that they brought the girls from South America.  Madison is now wearing the black one which is adorned with jewels (quite cute) and in her usual fashion, has claimed this as her favorite one at the moment.  This means that she has worn it both during the day and to sleep in at night for the last 3 days.  Every night we talk about it and she agrees that she can sleep in it BUT has to change out of it the next day.  She seems to show a pattern in keeping her promises.  We'll see how this morning goes.  And really, it's not the fact that she's wearing it again, it's that it's DIRTY.  That's the problem.

This is not her first favorite clothing item.  But I've gotten smarter and seperated out all the clothing that I didn't like now so as to prevent further heartache on my part.

She is truly a darling.  I'm somewhat perplexed as to what her personality will be like when she grows up.  She's often shy and wanting to be carried, yet is the loudest most passionate emotionally than all the girls.  She's not shy to be heard in this way.  She loves taking care of little kids and of all the three makes every toy a baby and walks around shushing it, covering it with towels for blankets and putting them to sleep in the laundry hamper.

One more quick story.  So yesterday Madi was awake later than her sisters as she'd had an afternoon nap and had ALOT of energy.  Well she had put her babies to bed and covered them head to toe with their "blankets" (kinda like corpes in a mortuary).  I leave the room and come back unable to find her.  No noise, no giggling, no nothing.  Well it actually took me a while to realize she had climbed into the laundry basket with her "baby", covered herself with the towel and pretended to be asleep.  And she didn't move and it was a great hiding spot.  After I found her, she refused to get out and spent about 1/2 an hour sitting in there, watching a movie. 

The best part about this kid is that when she's ready for bed she says "I'm tired, I'm going to bed"  Aren't those some of the best words a parent can hear?

Rhonda

The family

Heh guys,

Rhonda here FINALLY getting onto a computer.

So the countdown is on.  2 weeks until we're planning on leaving.
Our last day of class is Wed Nov 25.  And then I'd like to spend a few days having a more relaxed time at the prayer room and with our friends.

The weather has been awesome lately.  Still wearing flip flops and today is raining hard, but it's been a few weeks since it last rained all day.

Yesterday I made it out with the twins to do some christmas shopping/looking for gift ideas.  The new trick to having a happy shopping experience is giving the twins a drink and chips while we ride in the cart.  We had fun.

I haven't had a chance to read many of Jon's posts so I'm not sure what he's written.

Baby Lydia passed away last monday and her memorial was this friday.  I had a chance to hold her after she died and it was a really emotional moment.  For whatever reason this little girl had touched my heart and her death was so sad even though it was expected.

They now have family in visiting and I hope it's part of their healing time.  It's kind of crazy that we have made such dear friends in such a short time.  It's only been 3 months but having other's in the same stage of life, with the same heart longings for God and ROOM in their life for new friends has been awesome.

I feel like I live on Sesame Street.  Where everyone is friendly.  The kids are just playing around outside running from one house to another.  And the adults are hanging out having fun.  The only thing missing are the puppets and the breaking out in song.

So, the last few days have been lots of fun as there has been some healing and freedom for alot of people down here.  They are having testimonies of people being delivered from their eating disorders, being freed from the shame and self hatred related to being raped or abused as children.  One young 20 something said that through the touch of God she has received more healing in the last few days than all the years of counseling had given her.

The atmosphere is truly electric.  And the joy in the place is awesome.  Yesterday one of the worship songs was hopping and at least half of the auditiorium was jumping (literally dancing)  It was so fun to see.  And participate in.  The only problem is that you have to get to the auditorium one and 1/2 hours early to ensure you get a seat.  It's absolutely packed and no preaching, just testimonies, prayer for people around you and worship.  A much different environment than the regular prayer room.  It's usually much more controlled, calm and organized.  What an amazing experience to have been able to be here while this is breaking out.  The fun thing is they don't know how long it will be happening.

Anyway, on to the kids.  Madison has developed an addiction to bubble gum.  She has woken up and asked for it before her breakfast.  She has now stooped to the level of stealing it from anywhere she can get it.  And then smiles coyly when we confront her about it.

We have stumbled upon a fabulous parenting technique.  It is the use of baby food as punishment for the kids.  Initially it was for Emma because she was sometimes being rude or whatever and we were wanting her to make better choices.  It has worked like a charm.  So much so that she hid the first bottle (and I still can't find it) and has said that she's been watching her words the last week (and she had).  Now we have started to use it for Madison and the gum problem.  We'll see if it holds the same power.

Katelyn is great.  She loves to walk very seriously in the prayer room.  I'm not sure if she knows why, but everyone around her is doing it so she does to.

I'm on the cafe's free computer and there is now someone waiting so I'll have to cut this short.

Until the next computer access......

Rhonda

Quick Update - Everythings Closed and God's Open for Business!

It's been a few days since I last posted but things have been kinda crazy over the past week!

So here are some quick updates:

1) On monday at around 4:30, our friends daughter Lydia died. She was just over 3 months old and went peacefully to Jesus while being prayed for in the Global Prayer Room here at IHOP. Yesterday (Fri) we had the memorial service and Rhonda, the girls and I all attended. Lydia was not expected to live very long because of a degenerative disease and had suffered a lot during her short stay with us. Everyone expressed their sorrow in seeing her go, but we are very grateful that the Lord has shown her this mercy. It was an answer to our prayers that He would deliver her from her suffering.

2) Monday also saw another answer to prayer! For the past few months the IHOP community has been asking the Lord to bring an outpouring of His Spirit to the students at IHOP University. Well Monday that prayer was answered in a dramatic way!

Through a testimony of healing/deliverance that was given by one of the students at a mid-week chapel, faith began to stir in the first semester students. Over the course of a few days that stiffing could be experienced within the prayer room environment. If you've read my "I'm getting old" post then you will understand a bit of the first fruits of that chapel.

God's presence has continued to get stronger and stronger and by Wednesday afternoon they had to close down the main prayer room because everyone was going over to IHOPU to receive prayer and worship the Lord! An impromptu ministry time had started during class that morning and it continued until 6 am the next day, when they sent everyone back to the main prayer room!!

On Thursday when classes started up again at IHOPU, the Spirit broke out again with healing, deliverance and worship. As a result, all of our classes have been canceled until at least Monday and we are having special services every night from 6pm - midnight. (If anyone is interested in watching them online you can watch them for FREE by visiting www.ihop.org)

The sign on the coffee shop on Wednesday night read: "Due to Holy Spirit we will be closing at 7:30. Go Get Some!"

It's been totally awesome to worship and minister with the Holy Spirit being so evident. It is not hard to have faith for healing when you put your hands on someone to pray for them and you feel the literal fire of the Holy Spirit burning on your hands or His power causing your whole body tremble!

Needless to say we are all enjoying His nearness to us and hoping that it remains tangible for a long time.

But now I must go because our house has not been cleaned all week and I'm not sure that I have enough faith to believe for "Divine house cleaning".

Wish you were all here,

Jon

Join Me in My Wrestle!

So this morning I have been thrown into a deep internal tension. Over the past few weeks the Lord has been leading me in a study of what scripture teaches about the subject of "judging". It has led me through the gospels, Acts, Romans and this morning I landed in 1 Corinthians 5!

(I'd invite to read it if you have a moment)

This passage raises a common objection in the human heart - "expel the immoral brother?!", What? If I am a "good" Christian I will not judge others! And yet, Paul clearly states that we are to judge them, and should not even engage in the lowest form of social interaction with such a brother, the act of fellowship over food.


After meditating on this for a few minutes I decided I needed to read a few commentaries on the matter and they all came back saying the exact same thing - we must rid ourselves of the immoral brother! Who are the "immoral"? Those who commit sexual immorality, drunkenness and fornication.

What is fornication? One commentary defined "fornication & covetousness" as this:  

"the fierce and ever fiercer longing of the creature...to fill itself with the inferior objects of sense".

What does he mean by "inferior objects of sense"? Our senses! The unsatisfiable hunger of sensory pleasures (eating, watching, touching, smelling, listening) that become a substitute for feeding on the pleasure of loving God.


Don't worry, this is not going to be a blog about the theological basis of judging - I will let you wrestle that out yourself in the place of prayer! What I'm bumping up against today is my present family experience and the difficulty of trying to make sense of how this command has been walked out over the past 15 years.

You see, I have one family member who has experienced this kind of "putting out" from the congregation a number of years ago. I know that it has caused him great hurt and resulted in much anger against the church that lasted for many years (and my still linger to this day). However, I also know that God has once again won his heart and transformed him into a person who understands mercy and repentance. He has been "restored" into fellowship and is a blessing to God and the local church!

Ironically enough, one of the things that preceded this season of his life was an encounter with his in-laws church, a church who refused to "put out" a member who was unrepentant of sexual sin! His own family refused to expel this man from fellowship and it grieved my brother and his marriage deeply.

But it gets worse. For while one body refused to expel their own immoral brother, my own brother, living with a wife bound by ungodly forces as a result of the sins of this immoral man, found himself in a season in which his faith was tested in the crucible of fire, and during that season of testing entered into sin. But unlike his in-laws congregation, his own church walked the difficult road of expelling him from the congregation!

One man, caught between two churches, both believing that they were demonstrating the nature of God's grace and mercy, but having it expressed in radically contradicting ways.

So I am left to ask myself this question. Which of the two men do you think was shown love? Which congregation was cleansed of it's immorality? The one that swept it under the carpet and allowed their sexually immoral brother to continue in his sin, and left him to face the coming judgment of God's wrath. (1 Cor 6:7-10), or the one that gave their immoral brother over to sin so that it could be burned away in this age, and in doing so saved my brothers soul for eternity? (James 5:20)

I'm left asking myself this question today. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Or as I would paraphrase it - what does it profit a man to keep his Christian community and lose his eternal fellowship with Christ?

But that is not my wrestle! No, that is merely the warm up!!

My wrestle is the fact that I am about to go home and celebrate Christmas in a few weeks with my extended family, one of whom has left his family to pursue a life of "sensory indulgence", and it is growing with an ever increasing fury. And yet, the family (who are all believers) will not "put him out" of fellowship because we are all "loving" people and want to show him "grace"! We have prayed for him fervently for many years, but continue to have fellowship with him!?






Is that grace? Is grace not the power of God in us to work righteousness?! (and NOT the power to feel good while we sin)

Don't get me wrong, I don't like the idea of putting him out. It doesn't feel loving or kind, but there are lots of things that God commands me to do that don't feel good to my sinful body - but they produce righteousness in me! I don't like the idea, but what I have encountered in Gods word over the past few weeks shouts a resounding "AMEN" to the wisdom of this command.

So welcome to my wrestle! Do I walk the difficult road of shaming my brother, or do I walk the road of un-sanctifide grace? I don't have any resolution on it, although I wish I could say I did! And I'm sure it has stirred up as many things in you as it has in me and for that I'd like to say that I am sorry (but I'm not sure I am...if that's ok?)

In closing I will say this - it seems that this is a huge question for the church in this day and age. We live in a time when the Church is embarrassed with it's own weakness and scandalous reputation, and yet, we are unwilling to hold ourselves to the very standard of righteousness that we profess, and put ourselves under the power of grace to live in holiness.

What are we going to allow ourselves to become? Ever increasingly weak people, with a weak testimony of God's saving power to transform and sanctify us? Or people who live by the power of God's spirit in us (grace) to do the goods works He set forth for us to do!

It is sobering for me when I read these words to the church at the end of the age...

Jesus said, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." (Rev 3:19-20)

"Jesus, I want to be found faithful to your words. Teach me Your ways and grant me the strength to do rightly by You. Amen."

Jon

I'm getting old!

Thursday morning I arrived at the prayer room and the team had just started singing an energetic song of praise (I don't actually remember what it was). Usually at 6 am things are not to energetic, but this particular morning it was very different. People were very engaged and soon the sound of singing began to rise louder and louder within the room. The worship team continued to sing and flow into song after song of praise.

Now to put this into context, from 6-8 am is scheduled as an "intercession" set, which means that people are on the microphone leading the room into corporate prayers. Normally the team would do about 15-25 minutes of worship and then the first call to prayer would go out.

On Thursday, amidst the joyous shouts of praise, I saw the first guy standing up at the podium waiting his opportunity to start the intercession time. He waited.....He waited some more.....and then after about 10 minutes of waiting decided that he would just sit down and wait for the celebration to end. Well it never ended!

The songs of praise kept going and going for the entire 2 hour set!

So what does this have to do with me getting old? In my joy and celebration I got up and started "dancing" (which may be a very generous assessment of my lack of abilities), and I proceeded to celebrate for the next 45 minutes without ceasing.

I was a wonderful time of praise, but when I woke up yesterday morning I realized just how much of a "sacrifice" of praise I had given! I could hardly walk!!! My calves are both as hard as rocks and it is nearly impossible to go down hill in this condition.

Last night as I would waddle back and forth between the bedroom and the kitchen, Rhonda (who was sitting on the couch watching this pain filled journey) would just sit and laugh at me and my stone locked legs.

God declared through the prophet Isaiah - "I will bring them to my Holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer" (Is 56:7). So I guess I better start getting in better physical condition otherwise that joy may bump up against a few more sore muscles!

I think I'll go sit in the warm sun and try and sooth my aches and pains - it's 24C outside!

Jon

What the #$@!

The word is actually Hell.  Sorry  couldn't think of a different "catchy" title.

(I feel like I'm apologizing really only to my mom)  Wait a second, didn't I just turn 35? 

So I heard a message on Hell.  And it was very interesting and made me want to research exactly what the bible says about it.

So here's what I have so far....

It's outer darkness
Sodom and Gomorrah wasn't as bad as it
Your soul and body will be destroyed
It's in the heart of the earth
You'll be thrown into a fiery furnace
Hell has gates
It's eternal fire
There is no escape, you are "sentenced" to hell
You are put into, cast into, thrown into it
It's eternal punishment
You are a cursed person
You are told to depart from God

I was talking to a young girl this past week about Hell and she said she thought if you went to Hell you'd get burned and then die.  And then it would be like sleep forever.  I don't think that's it.  But it's hard to believe there is a different reality really awaiting those who do not receive Jesus as the one to pay the price for sin.

Yes another feel good blog from Rhonda

The Word

I was filing away some of my notes from the past month of teaching and came across a comment that really struck me....

"Any change we make because we have had a revelation of who Jesus is will produce His nature within us; any changes made without a revelation of Jesus will almost always result in a religious nature."

It is a message that has been coming through over and over again - this is about a person not an idea! God is a person, not an idea. The bible is not a bunch of rules, it is the biography of God's nature.

When we invite people into a "personal relationship" with Jesus, I think that sometimes we limit that phrase to mean that we can know God personally as our "individual" God. But it's more than Him being an individual God (and that our own personal experience/ideas governs who He is and what He is like), He is a person, and therefore He wants to relate to all of us like a person, through regular dialogue and interaction. Dialogue in the form of the Word, prayer, adoring worship and the praise of our lips (to name just a few).

So it has raised some righteous jealousy in me. If Jesus is the revelation of the Invisible God, and His words/teachings are our spiritual food and apart from Him we can do NOTHING and having a revelation of His nature is the starting point to everything good - WHY do we spend so much time preaching and teaching our own "creative" ideas and imaginations, and so little time eating the Word of Truth?!

We labor SO hard in our fields, working the soil, building barns, training laborers and looking to the sky for rain and yet in all of our toiling we have forgotten that the MOST IMPORTANT THING needed is SEED!

What is seed? Jesus defines "seed" as being the Word of God!

God's word is powerful! It was His word that created everything out of nothing. It is His word that is sharper than any two-edged sword, suitable for separating soul and spirit. Hebrews says that all things are held together by the word of His power. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God and the Word was with God. Jesus is that Word and He is the visible image of the invisible God!

Seeing the worthiness of Jesus is the beginning of worship
Seeing the holiness of Jesus is the beginning of confession
Seeing the resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of hope
Seeing the generosity of God is the beginning of sacrifice
Seeing the mercy of God is the beginning of giving mercy
Seeing the reconciliation of Christ is the beginning of peace

Apart of a revelation of Him we can not enter into anything of the Spirit, for everything of the spirit is produced by tasting and eating of the goodness of God made manifest in Christ.

We possess the most powerful weapon in all of the created universe, it is called the Word of God, the Bible, and it is the only thing that can conquer our fear, our sin, our weakness, our enemies, our addictions, our punishment and our feelings of just not measuring up.

Ask anyone who has heard God speak to them tenderly through the pages of scripture, it is the most incredible encounter you can possibly imagine. Simple letters and phrases suddenly empowered by the Spirit of the Living God!!

Rhonda and I have had the pleasure of spending the past 9 weeks doing nothing but reading, praying and meditating on the Words of God, and with every passing day our hearts grow more and more in love with the Uncreated God! Never before have I been able to proclaim with an ever increasing joy "come and kiss me with the kisses of your word."(song of songs 1).

I want to invite you to taste of the Lord's goodness today by picking up a bible and setting your heart on discovering the personality of God visible in His written word. Remembering that the Jesus you are reading about is a real man, sitting on a real throne and He is really coming back to the earth as a real Bridegroom, King and Judge - and HE LOVES YOU!

My prayer today is 1 Thesselonians 3:1 "May the word of the Lord run swiftly and be glorified"

Bless You

Jon

Being a Pharisee is easy

So another story that got me thinking was in Matthew 15 as well.  It's verses 1-20

So basically here's the story

A bunch of religious leaders come to Jesus and ask him why his disciples break the tradition of their elders by not washing their hands before they eat.

He goes off on them about how they've broken God's commandments in favor of tradition.

(this is just a p.s.  I've yet to read a story involving Jesus and the Pharisees in which Jesus doesn't offend them greatly, interesting isnt' it?)

Then basically he goes on to say that it isn't what goes into your mouth that makes you impure but rather what comes out of your mouth.  And since the mouth overflows from the abundance of your heart he's actually talking about what's in our hearts.

And often what's in our hearts is the hardest thing to conquer and deal with.  It's really easy to ritualize the stuff on the outside.  To keep it in order so that we follow "tradition"

Don't drink
Don't smoke
Don't sleep around
Don't speed
Don't beat my children

Check check and check.  See I'm all good....

So see, we are all pharisees in need of the reminder that it's not what we do on the outside that others can see that is of the utmost importance.  But rather the state of our heart which only God can see.

I need to find more funny stuff in my life to write about dont' I.

Rhonda

Questions About Your Future

As many of you know, I am married to Barbara Walters (well at least a Barbara wannabee). Rhonda loves asking questions and loves to find out what kind of life events have gone into forming the person she has just met. She is an inquiring mind and as the saying goes "Inquiring minds want to know!".

So the other day, we began discussing this whole process of asking people questions about their past and it was during that conversation that I realized that we are a culture obsessed with each others history. For instance, what's the first thing you do when you meet someone new? (Something we have done a lot of over the past 2 months), we start into a barrage of questions that are orientated in their past!

"Where are you from?", "What did you do before you came to IHOP?", "What kind of church did you come from?", "What was your family like growing up?", "Have you ever seen/heard things like this before?"

And the list goes on and on...we love asking questions about peoples history because it helps us form a picture in our minds of who they are. But here's the question that has been raised for me; am I defined by my past or by my future?

The Word says that I am a new creation, that the old has passed away and that the new has come! It also says that my sins will be remembered no more and that He has plans for a hope and a future.

To me it seems that God is a lot more future orientated then I am.

He loves me in spite of what I've done and defines me by who I will become. He died for me not because I was righteous but because He knew He would make me righteous. He calls me to endure under trials so that I will obtain the rewards of the future life, but my most favourite is the truth that the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy! He is constantly focusing His speech on the things to come.

So this is my desire, that I would become a person who is more interested in others future than their past. Trading in my backward-facing questions for a future orientated pursuit.

Wouldn't it be fun to have someone ask you questions like "What's the dream of your heart?", "What do you see yourself doing in eternity?", "Who has God said you will be?", "What do you think your emotions will be when Jesus answers your prayers for healing/provision?".

I think that sounds like a lot of fun!

So let's do it! All of my secret blog readers (who are too shy to post a comment!), I would like to know what your future looks like? Who has God promised you will be? What will you be doing in eternity? What do you think you'll do when God gives you that long awaited answer to your prayer?

I'd love to get to know you from a new perspective, in light of your future glory.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Jon

Mom is like

The other day Madi and I were walking to the kitchen.
When we get there she says to me...

"Mommy you look like a mommy duck walking"

I asked her to expand on her observation by showing me
And she did...

She started walking with her hips waddling away side to side, in a very unattractive way...

Sigh

It's a good thing I have a healthy self esteem, as my children seem to have alot of unflattering observations about their mother.  However they still kiss me and run to me when I've been gone.  They still tell me they love me.  And they still seem to like me despite the way I walk.

Rhonda

Divine Epidural

The other day I found myself drowning in a sea of estrogen as we attended an all girl birthday party for our neighbors. Being 1 of 2 men at this party, it didn't take long before I found myself surrounded by excited mothers sharing their birthing stories!  It wasn't anything I hadn't heard before, but I was not prepared for what happened a few hours later!

Later that night, we went to the Encounter God Service (EGS) and the speaker was teaching on the end-times and how we are charged to "watch" so that may discern the season of the Lord's return. Jesus then went on to describe the "signs of the times", something which He called the "birth pangs".

Suddenly I had these two worlds started colliding in my mind like a bizarre metaphorical cocktail that left my head spinning - the young mother birthing experience was crashing against the eschatological revelation of John!
 
We understand that all new life experiences the struggle of birth, and the new heaven and new earth will be no different. They will be birthed in the place of pain and struggle known as the great tribulation. But we must also understand this, we will not be delivered from it, but will go through it!

Unlike the comforts of North American medicine, there will be no cosmic C-section to "rapture" us out of the pains of this new birth - we will go through it, just as God designed birth to be experienced!

(I also highly doubt there will a "Divine epidural" to alleviate the pains of this amazing ordeal)

God in His infinite wisdom Has set this a date for our delivery and only He knows all of the why's behind the whats, but rest assured in this - it will happen just as He has declared in His revelation to John (whether you think you can understand it or not).

So the question becomes this; if I know that new birth is coming, and I will be going through this incredible birthing process, why am I not preparing myself with some form of "spiritual lamas"? Strengthening my spiritual fortitude through fasting and prayer and the study of the word so that I will be able to not only endure this season of transitional shift, but actually be prepared to equip others as that day approaches?

Let's face it, we only get one shot at this one, so my thought is this...I better start having frequent (and lengthy) appointments with the Great Physician so that I trust His hands on the day of my deliverance - that great and terrible day when light breaks forth amidst the cries of children being born into the Kingdom of God.

What's your birth plan?

Jon

Favorite Quotes

So here are a list of some of my favorite quotes that we have heard over the past 2 months:


"I have a Phd...a Prophetic, Healing and Deliverance gifting! - (Graham Walsh, Director of Healing & Deliverance Ministry)


"Just because I live in a garage, it doesn't make me a car!" - (Graham Walsh, speaking of the state of people who attend church.)


"The church is like Noah's ark, it is full of animals who stick to their own kind, BUT it's still the only thing that floats!" - Lou Engle



"We don't combat evil with good, we combat evil with truth; and Truth is a person named Jesus." - (Ian Rutherford, speaking on "Apostolic Authority")



"EVERYTHING is motivated by reward! If God is not your reward you will NOT choose to remain in His word...You will not do right by God." - (Ed Boasso, speaking on "What Hinders Prayer?")


"When we close our eyes, do we see a God of hope? Or do we only see a God who puts up with your sin and weakness? ...The God you see when you close your eyes IS the God you convey to everyone else (your neighbor)." - (Ed Boasso, speaking on "The importance of the first commandment"



"Time is money. Time is destiny. Where you spend your time is what you will become rich in.........You are already giving extravagantly - you're probably just giving it to your credit card!" - (Ian Rutherford, speaking on the "Eternal Treasures")



"The test of liberality (generosity) is not what is given, but what is left." - William Kelly



"Jesus did not preach a gospel of non-violent resistance, His gospel is one of total non-resistance." - (Dale Anderson, speaking on Matt 5 - "Don't resist an evil man")




"It is not the strength of one's faith that saves him, but faith in a strong Saviour." - Dr. Constables Commentary (Matt 9:22)

Jesus and his time...

So I've just read thru the book of Matthew (I won't tell you how long it took me....)
And I've found alot of interesting stuff in it.

The first was out of Matthew 15 where Jesus went up to a mountain and a bunch of people followed bringing all their sick family and friends.

And it says "they put them at his feet and he healed them"

Then it goes on to say that Jesus "has compassion" on the crowd because they had been with him 3 DAYS and were hungry.  Then of course he feeds them with "7 loaves and a few small fish" which is yet another miracle but it's not what caught my attention.

The part that caught my attention was "Those who ate were 4000 men, besides women and children."

And the question's that came to mind were...

1. How many got healed and how long did it take to heal them all?

2. Why didn't he just wave his hands over them all "mass healing" or even a better use of his time organize them into like groups... the deaf over here, the demon possesed at the back, the lame over there. And then they'd have healing within their own groups.

So what came to mind was that Jesus was known for his compassion.  And I totally can't imagine him separating them into groups because he wouldn't have had a personal interaction with them.  And I doubt they would have felt cared for.   HOWEVER he totally could have done the mass healing thing because he was known to heal people in other cities or who weren't in his presence.

But he didn't.

I assume the disciples asked themselves the same questions.  Because they were known for asking questions that frustrated Jesus.  It seems to be in the best use of his time to get these healings over and done with.  There are more than 4000 people.  Why not "fast food" healing.  Oh even better, drive thru healing.  You could just push the wheelchair past him, you wouldn't even have to stop.  (is that sacreligious?)

So I did the math

If he took 5 minutes with each person
And if 20% of the male crowd were seeking healing
Then that would be 800 people
12 people an hour
Over 10 hours - 120 people
It would take 66 hours to heal 800 people.

There are only 72 hours in 3 days.
It didn't state he stopped for coffee breaks, meals or sleep
It says that "Jesus healed them" not Jesus and his disciples

And it also says "many others" were brought to him (meaning not fitting into the lame, blind, crippled or lame categories)

So it made me think again, were there any people who came to Jesus with insignificant things?  Like an ingrown toenail or a broken arm?  Sore throat? Diarrhea?
Was there a limit on what he would heal?  Would he turn anyone away?
Did he say "put a little aloe vera on it, it'll be better in a couple days"

Was he serious when he was healing?  Did he make jokes? Did he get tired?  Did he look at his watch?  Could he even see the end of the line?

And then I wonder, exactly how many people did he heal in total thru his 3 year ministry on earth?  Alot more than 800 I know.  And how is it that people still would not believe he was the savior the prophets spoke of?  When everyone's brother had been healed of something.  It must have been something to be on that mountain for 3 days.

I wonder if that could ever happen again? 

I hope if it ever does that I'm there.

Rhonda

Ruth Graham says...

I found this quote somewhere and it took me off guard...

                                           "If God does not judge America
                                            He must apologize to
                                            Sodom and Gomorrah."

I don't really have anything else to say about that but wow.

Rhonda

Lydia update

fOur friend Jeff just stopped by to let us know that their 2 1/2 month old daughter who has trisomy 18 is not doing well. She's been diagnosed with pneumonia and due to her already existing lung difficulties it will make recovery very difficult

Not to mention the mom Joanelle has pneumonia as well.

Your prayers would be coveted.

We will keep you posted.....

Rhonda

Hope- vs -Denial

I went to see baby Lydia to see how she's doing.  Her cries sound like a muffled cat.  Very unusual for a 2 month old baby.  But usual for her.  She is still so tiny.  5 1/2 pounds

Her mom Joanelle was sharing her interactions with the medical community over the last 24 hours, which I found interesting as a Canadian.

Basically Joanelle went to the emergency to get checked out and after an xray it was determined she has pneumonia.  She had asked the doctor to check out baby Lydia too and was concerned if she had pneumonia too.  The doc's response was "well even if she did, we wouldn't do anything about it."  After Joanelle persisted a bit of a brew-haha occurred.

Lydia had to be discharged from the palliative care/hospice program in order to seek medical attention and care for a condition for her daughter.

They have a more distinct seperation from "palliative care" and "hospice".

That being palliative care allows for interventions other than pain medication and hospice does not.

In Canada we have a "comfort care" stipulation for palliative care.  So if someone has alot of other issues going on, is bedridden, and has pneumonia they would probably recommend to the family not to treat it.  I don't see Lydia fitting into this picture, and neither does her mom.

However the debate over Joanelle being "in denial" (however they don't say it like that to her face) goes on.  They continue to reinforce that her daughter has an untreatable condition that will end in the end of her life within the next 12 months.  They continue to reinforce that she's sick.  That she won't get better.

And I hear Joanelle say, yes but it's my daughter.  If it can be treated without it making it more difficult for her why wouldn't we?  And what about God?? Is he capable of changing this situation???

And there it comes in, the fine line between hope and denial.

Hope for things to be better, the reality of what they are.

If you dont' hold them in balance you will swing into either of the 2 dangerous waters.

Even though I'm not in denial about baby Lydia, I hope that God will break into her little life and her body.  Bringing his hope, his life, his breath.

Love Rhonda

Breath Deep

This morning as I was praying the word, I was drawn to the verse in Acts where Paul proclaims to the philosophers at Athens;

"He gives to all life, breath, and all things...their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:25-27)

So I thanked Jesus for His nearness to me and then asked Him to reveal through the common and natural things just how close He was to me.

As I walked a few steps (I usually pace the isles when I am praying - it helps me stay focused!) I was prompted to take a deep breath, and then another.

As I continued to take deep breathes every few steps I was suddenly was reminded that He is always as close to me as the very breath in my lungs, the wind swirling around my head and the very substance of creation. Not that God is reduced to a piece of matter or substance, but that His creation is the revelation of His Divine Nature, just as Paul was declaring in Acts 17.

Soon I was reminded of Elihu's declaration in the book of Job:

"If it were His intention and He withdrew His spirit and breath,

all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust" 

My very breath, the thing that I rely upon on a moment by moment basis is supplied through the graciousness of the Giver of All Life, who if He held His breath would cause ALL things to return to dust!

What an incredible gift; that in the midst of a dull heart, a dark night or the tribulations of growing into my intended end that all I have to do is take a breath and I am intimately near to the uncreated unchanging God!

It is not only the breath of life, it is the very breath of Life Himself.

Breath deep! Worship deeply!!

Jon

Divine Dominoes

Ever since we have arrived in Kansas City I have been laughing at all of the divine set-ups that God has been doing.

It seems that almost every day I will arrive in class and the speaker for that day will be referencing the exact bible verse or passage that I was led to study that morning in the prayer room! It has almost become a bit of standing joke between Rhonda and I; the speaker says...turn to blah blah blah....and I open my bible to that spot and show Rhonda the verse already highlighted.

Now the thing that makes it even funnier is that I just bought a different bible, specifically for our time at Commission, so I didn't come to KC with anything written or noted in this bible - they are all things that I have encountered since getting here!

So please don't get me wrong, this is not a "wow I'm so awesome!" kind of thing. It has been really cool, but kind of scary at the same time; because many of the things I've been marking have been invitations into things that I don't presently possess.

Well Sunday morning we arrived at church and it happened again! Cory Russel was preaching and touching on a passage that I had just been praying through the day before. However, as he preached his message didn't really touch my heart. I was starting to get a bit disconnected and was ready to go for lunch. Then suddenly, my heart started stirring and within a few minutes I was literally fighting myself from running to the front of the auditorium and throwing myself down at the alter!

Fortunately for me, about 10 minutes later he did call people forward for prayer and I was off like a bullet.

As I'm standing on the prayer line waiting to get prayer for, I am struck by something - the worship team is the same team that usually does the 8 am worship set in the prayer room! What's odd about this is that they never play at the main services!? What's also odd is that they are playing the exact same song that the Lord has been meeting me in week after week in the prayer room. Now to put that in perspective, there have been very few emotional moments in the prayer room over the past 8 weeks, but this song has been a unique event, a place were my emotions are actually activated in a deep way.

They have just finished preaching my morning meditation, and I am being ministered to by my worship team and they are playing my song!

I could go on and list even more things that were divinely set up for that one single event but there are not enough Gigabytes of storage on Blogger to hold a story that long! Needless to say I felt like God was playing Divine Dominoes with my heart on Sunday and with one breath of His Spirit they all came toppling down.

Jon

Mercy

Last week as one of the teachers was teaching on the beatitudes, she gave a beautiful picture of what mercy truly is.

She said that in the original text the word "mercy" was given a symbol as the language was something like hylogryphics. ?how do you spell that?

The symbol was an outline of a graceful bird with it's head looking downward.

What this symbol depicted was that of a stork who had plucked out her own feathers with great pain to herself.  The feathers were used as a ground covering for her chicks who had found themselves in a thorny place.  She put the feathers over the thorns so the chicks would find comfort from their distress.,

Isn't that a beautiful picture?  I don't think I will ever forget it.  And the lord knows I will be needing this ground covering many many times in my life.

Another definition she gave of mercy was....

"The willingness to alleviate the consequences of someone's foolishness"

and another man's thoughts....

"It squanders itself on rogues who have no intention of improving themselves.  All it asks for is that it be received.  The only unforgivable sin is the sin against forgiveness, the sin which directly and immediately refuses forgiveness."

And lastly, God is RECKLESS with his mercy.  He gives to all who will receive it, no matter the crime, the misdemeanor, the horrific.  The hardest part is receiving it since we do not deserve it and can't guarantee we won't be in need of it within the next hour.

What a beautiful God we serve

Rhonda

Moses and Jesus

O.k. you have to know since we are at a christian thingee I'm learning lots of christian kinda things....

Anyway, here there is a man passionate about stopping abortion in this country.  Since of course it is legalized. (As it is in our country)

Apparently there is an "abortion super center" being built in Texas that is funded by the both the state and the country.

I've never really had strong opinions on this topic because I have a hard time saying to someone's face that what they are doing is wrong. I have no problem thinking it... I guess it's the Canadian in me.  Not wanting to offend...

However, he mentioned 2 things that really got me thinking.  And it was in regards to Moses and Jesus.  Firstly the birth surrounding Moses was unusual.  At the time the Israelites were a HUGE nation living in Egypt, and since the Egyptians were afraid the Israelites would overthrow them they made them slaves.  The slaves kept procreating so there were even MORE Israelites.  So, the Pharaoh commanded the country that every son that is born to a Hebrew must be cast into the nile to be killed, but every girl may live.  See no men, no procreating.  And so we pick up the story as baby Moses floating in his basket and being rescued from this horrible fate.  However it makes me wonder if the Israelites were such a huge nation and so proliferative there must have been a whole lot of babies born.  So how many babies were killed.  Murdered actually.  Hundreds? Thousands?  I don't know if there is an estimate in some history text book but it was a whole lot I assume.  And for how long did this "edict" stay?  Was it 1 year?  5 years? 10 years?  I'd like to know.  Would you call this a massacre?

And then fast forward to Jesus time.  Herod is told by the wise men of this new king and he get's jealous and fears for his "kingdom" and thus plans to kill him.  The wise men sneak out of the country and Herod gets furious.  So he sent his soldiers on a mission to kill all the male children 2 years old and under in Bethlehem and in that region.  And he killed them.  How many?  Lots.  Massacre.

Killing young babies and toddlers is not a new idea.  Lots have been killed throughout history.

So I think I've come to believe that abortion is this generations technologically advanced form of a massacre.  How many?  Lots.  And not just in Bethlehem and Egypt but in every single country all over the world.

Is God big enough to end abortion?  I have to believe he is.

Rhonda

(does it sound like I"m becoming an activist? Until now I never thought it was a good thing)

The Pleasure of Boundaries

Over the past while the Lord has been drawing me into what I would call "the pleasure of the center". The enjoyment of having sustained periods of communion with Him as a result of setting my heart to obey His words.

It has been truly enjoyable, and today in my prayer time He brought a new level of understanding in this pursuit; it was the revelation that God's love was founded and manifested in "boundary".

Out of the divine creativity of the Godhead, they chose to use their immeasurable strength, goodness and beauty to create a gift for themselves. It says in Hosea 2 "I will betroth you to Myself.".

God created for Himself a bride! He gave the Bride to Himself as a gift. (Oh how I wish I could have had that ability when I was in my 20's!). Out of His great pleasure, God created the universe and chose to give a physical dimension to His invisible Spirit nature.

Not only that, the Godhead then agreed that it would be the best thing ever for Them to become a part of this new measurable reality. They were going to become limited just like the creation. Why? So that we, the bearers of His image could have intimate fellowship with Him! He would become a man, so that He could marry us!

For God does not unite unlike things together. (He calls that an abomination). He unites them male and female together - animals to animals, fish to fish and man to man. This is the perfect reflection of His holiness!

At the end of the age, God, living under His own laws and heart, will take great pleasure in uniting His flesh to our flesh at the wedding supper of the Lamb. It will be the ultimate pleasure of holiness as the two become united together as one in union of holy marriage forever.

So what does this have to do with "boundary"?

In order for God to unite Himself to us in righteousness, He had to put a boundary on Himself!

Jesus emptied Himself of the ability to be in all places at the same time. He became, and remains to this day, limited to being in one place at one time.

God humbled Himself and took on the body of a man, and it gave Him eternal pleasure to do it! It was not a sacrifice, it was for the purpose of pleasure, for the sake of experiencing love.

Not only did God limit His Son to a human body, He has established walls around the eternal city, with houses to enclose His children. He set the boundaries of the sea, the sky, the stars and planets at creation and then pronounced that it was "good".

Out of God's love, and unsearchable wisdom, have come one of our greatest pleasures - the pleasure of boundaries. God LOVES boundaries!!

In a time when the spirit of this age is proclaiming that true pleasure can only be found in the throwing off of all restraints, the Lord is revealing to me the pleasure of holiness. The extreme joy of living in the center of His will.

The Lord gave me a picture the other day of how I have treated holiness.

It was a picture of a rural homestead that inhabited a large area of grassy meadow and was surrounded by a fence. Inside the fence was His will for me in the form of holiness and on the other side of the fence was the world of selfish unrighteousness.

I was standing within that great meadow, but it was as though I was leaning up against the fence looking out over the surrounding country side. I was living within His will, but my eyes were set gazing upon the old country - I was a border dweller.

Every time the Lord invited me deeper into intimacy (holiness) I would have this wrestle with the fence...How close can I get to the fence before I begin missing out on the pleasure of holiness? Can I get this close? (and I would inch forward)...Can I get this close? (and inch a bit closer).

The Lord has challenged me to no longer live as a border dweller, but has invited me to live within the heartland. He is calling me into the deep place of God's country, the place where He lives. You see, He doesn't live along the border (although He visits there daily looking for people like me!), He dwells in the very middle of this great land known as the "pleasures of His holiness".

Jesus loves boundaries! He demonstrated His delight in dwelling in the center of His Father's will by submitting to the point of death. Not only that but it gave Him such pleasure to dwell in humility that He chose to remain in human flesh even after He rose from the dead!

Beloved, I am discovering great pleasure in the boundaries of God's word!! It's is delighting my heart, bringing me greater joy than I have ever experienced before. Not only that, the deeper I journey into the boundaries of God's heartland, the more freedom I am experiencing.

Once again God is confounding the wisdom of this foolish mind and revealing to me that His kingdom is truly upside-down - that the greatest pleasures are not found near the boundary line but deep within the center of His will.

Jesus, would You come and be the center! Amen

Jon

Rhonda's thoughts on sex trafficking...

If you've read Jon's blog on this subject I assume your heart has been wrenched somewhat.

The session we sat thru was really heart breaking and horriffiying and hard in other ways because now that I know what I know, what am I going to do about it?

There is this verse in Revelation that kinda surprised me... bear with me... read it all

Revelation 18:11-13

"And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold and silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silks, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles or ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls."

Did you know that was in there?  I've NEVER heard of this before.  So basically since Revelation is talking about the end of the age when christ will be returning to earth, this is the time that the merchants are out of work and no one wants to buy their SLAVES anymore.  Meaning at the end of the age slave trading will be a business.

Another statistic that surprised me was in comparing the cost of a slave during the  trans-atlantic slave trade and today.  Due to the cost of "shipping" the slave and paying all the other people involved in getting this slave to it's destination a slave cost $ 40, 000. (in comparing what their dollar would buy to nowadays)  The average cost of a slave today is $90

Isn't that outrageous?  You can barely buy a cool pair of running shoes for that.

I found a book at the bookstore which intrigued me.  It's a fictional story of a 12 year old girl from the mountains of Nepal being sold into the sex industry by her stepfather.  Anyway, there was a mention in passing that struck me.  That being the men who were with her would be charged the amount it would cost to have a Coke.

O.k. I don't know how to transition to a less heavy topic.

Oh one more thing I thought was interesting....

During the session the speaker shared some history with us.

In regards to the Vietnam war, when the U.S. soldiers were on leave they went to ?Thailand?
Anyway, at the time prostitution was illegal in this country, but because of the huge demand for women from the soldiers and the $$ that was involved, they created a law that legalized prostitution somewhat when involving an entertainment business. The business people were rich, the politicians were rich and the women probably weren't.  (I may be alittle off in some of the details...)  But bottom line is the sex industry is HUGE business in these countries now and it was created by the american driven demand.

That's not to say that there isn't demand from non westerners too, but it really all comes down to money and it being a business.

o.k. one more thing...

Did you know that for the Olympics happening in Vancouver this winter, they are bringing in girls from all over the world to service the athletes.  To meet the increased demand that will occur due to this influx.  For more info on this you can google the Salvation Army or Benjamin Perrinn.

I don't have any huge ideas as to how to save the world quite yet.

But I'm still thinking.

Rhonda

Rhonda's life

Emma has been fairly aggressive lately with her sisters and so I decided it was time for a mom and daughter date.  In order for the twins to not feel left out they had special one on one time with daddy making cookies.

We went to the IHOP coffee shop and she ordered a raspberry flavored sprite and super sized brownie.  Did I mention this was 6:30 in the evening??? Anyway....

Friends of mine from our course stopped by the table to chat, and chat we did.

I then saw Emma giving me the "stink eye" and motioning something weird with her hands.

I interrupted my friend to ask Emma what she was trying to say.

So Emma says, in a loud "under her breath sorta way"..... (staring me down)

            " I thought you were here to talk with me!!! "

So with that, I politely excused myself from my side conversation and let the king pin be the king pin.  

And love it she did.  She talked to me about what she's learning in the book of Daniel and wondering about what it would be like to meet God and what he would look like.  And about how hard her school friend Benjamin hit her in the arm and how her teachers said if that EVER happened again then the teachers would "TALK TO THEIR PARENTS" (that being the student's parents, and not the teacher's parents..  :)

It was so great to watch her emphasize how terrible it would be to have the teachers "TALK TO HER PARENTS" and all I could think was "um, so, exactly what would I do about that anyway?"

Now it gets ME scared that Emma's teacher will "TALK TO HER PARENTS" 

Having just one on one time is one of my favorite things with her.  I love hearing what's on her mind and seeing her develop and mature before my eyes.  Having her grow up doesn't make me sad yet because I feel like I still have her little sisters to baby so it's o.k. that she grows up. 

Heaven help me when the "babies" start growing up.  ??Mom do the babies ever grow up??

So, back to the date, Emma needs to go to the bathroom and I ask her if she wants me to come, she deliberates, says no than says, it's o.k. you can come. 

As she is bopping off towards the bathroom she says "Mom, this is fun, we should do this every time daddy makes cookies with the twins!!!" 

And I say, yes this is fun.  We should do this again and again and again.

I sure hope Jon's in the mood for making LOTS of cookies!!!

She is such a great kid. 

I had no idea being a parent would be so incredible.

Rhonda