Thursday, May 31, 2007

Day Four

This . . .
I seem to have nothing to say today. Normally this would be when I would post something ridiculous.
That . . .
I could probably say this or that, but today . . . that would be ridiculous.
This is that . . .
Nothing to say. Praying for a double dose tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

I set my face toward the Lord God

.
Day 3 . . . Daniel 9.
3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
This . . .
WOW. I am having trouble finding words. I just sat down to read Daniel 9 and my Spirit became instantly alive with the love and purposes of God. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications.
That . . .
It is a good thing to set your face toward God. He truely is great and awesome and keeps his promises with those who love Him. Forgive me God of every iniquity. Breathe on me, oh breath of God. Fog me over and then wipe me clean and make me a mirror that would be a clear reflection of who you are.
This is that . . .
Here I am God. The one who loves you . . . the one you love.
Here I come God. Setting my face toward you with love and adoration.
Forgive me. Guide me. Empower me. Teach me your ways.
.
My feet are back on the ground now.
Rats.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

On the day that I do this

.
Day 2 . . . Malachi 4.
2 But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

This . . .
What does it mean to fear the name of the Lord?
God is all powerful. He goes head on with semi-trucks and wins. If you have ever been swimming in an ocean, you know how powerful it is. An ocean demands respect. How wonderful it is that God is good. He is great, and very terrible. And so He desires that we run to Him with open arms, and tremble. He is a jealous God. He loves us with serious love and demands we take that love seriously.
That . . .
"On the day that I do this" suggests that a DAY is coming when God is going to do some serious good stuff. I wake up each morning and everything seems the same. Could it be that "one day" things will never be the same?
"The Sun of Righteousness shall arise" again suggests that one day the sun will come up and healing will break forth. Righteousness will arise and who will trample the wicked?
We will.
This is that . . .
God, I pray for that Day.
.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Rain

Day 1 . . . I Kings 18.
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”
So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’”
45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain.

This . . .
Listen.
That . . .
Listen.
Can you hear the sound of an abundance of rain?
It's the sound of rain, coming to America again.
This is that . . .
There is a cloud on the horizon. God has declared that the rain is coming.
Just like Elijah, as we pray . . . the rain will come.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Rend Your Heart

.
This . . .
Today was the "Global Day of Prayer" and this is the eve of "The Call" for 40 days of fasting and intercession. The call to cry out for God to break in with his strong right arm, to show himself strong, to forgive our sin and heal our land.
.
That . . .
.
God is calling us to seek his face and pray.
.
This is That . . .
.
As 100's of thousands join together to rend their hearts and posture themselves in purity and obedience before the Lord with humble spirits, I know that God will hear from heaven and answer. Where there is sin and unbelief, let us cry out for forgiveness and salvation. Where there is brokeness, let us cry out for restoration. Where there is sickness, let us cry out for healing. Let us cry out for forgiveness for the shedding of innocent blood as millions of babies have been killed and ask God to end abortion. Let us cry out for unity among believers everywhere. Let us cry out for peace and safety in Jerusalem. And let the Spirit and the bride cry out,
"Come, Lord Jesus, come!"
.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

This . . .
.
Boy do I ever need Jesus.
.
That . . .
Here's some stuff I have been meditating on.
God doesn’t want us to “tip toe thru the tulips”, he wants us to charge up the mountain.
He doesn’t want us to “tap, tap, tap” on the window of His throne room, he wants us to storm the gates.
He doesn’t want us to “dangle our toes in the water” he wants us to cannonball right into the middle of his river of power, mercy and grace.
He wants us to be HOT.
The fervent prayers of righteous men and women availeth much.
I’m in.
.
This is That . . .
Matthew 11:12
Some translations portray "violence" in a good way.
New International Version
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
The Amplified
12And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize. [a]share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].
World Wide English Bible
12From the time of John until now, people try hard to break into the kingdom of heaven. And strong people take hold of it.
.
Some translations portray "violence" in a bad way.
The Message
For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God's kingdom.
Living Bible
12 And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing,[a] and violent people are attacking it.
.
In my mind, not being what the Bible calls "violent" in this season would involve tip toeing, tapping, and dangling.
.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Blow The Trumpet In Zion

.
This . . .
The God Channel is only available on Direct TV, channel 365.
If you don't have Direct TV, find someone who does and tune in Saturday night to get clued in to what this "the call in Nashville" thing is all about. Join in with 100's of thousands other believers in forty days of fasting and prayer leading up to a gathering in Nashville for a corporate outcry to God.

That . . .
If I had some kind of a "Blog Shofar", I would blow it, jump up and down and wave my arms, shout out a big waaahoo, and cry out to believers everywhere, "It is time to fast and pray".
.
This is That . . .
But I believe that God is calling out even louder that in this moment in time, if we respond in repentance, we could release a great revival of confession of sin and a cleansing by the blood of Jesus that could draw us back into marital faithfulness with our Bridegroom, God.
I believe a great spiritual awakening could be at hand.

God's Holy Prescription--Fasting and Prayer

What must we do? God's holy prescription for our diseased state in times of national crisis and moral collapse is in Joel 2, which is a solemn assembly of united fasting and prayer:

"Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.

Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from His chamber, and the bride from her dressing room.

Then the Lord will be zealous for His land...And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions."

.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

www.thecall.com

.
I am sorry that this post is so long. It just is.
.
This . . .
It is easy to view disasters here, there or yonder as something that always happens to the other guy. The truth is, any of us can have our "world" turned upside down in a moment.
.
A nurse in New Orleans has everything in order. She , lives in a very comfortable air conditioned home; she works in a great hospital with all of the latest modern equipment; she is able to help numerous people as she nurses them back to health; she attends church on Sunday and enjoys the fellowship of the people there. She has her life pretty well planned out and under control.
KATRINA HAPPENS.
Her home is destroyed. Her church is destroyed. She makes it to the hospital to try and help the people there, and finds no electricity, no air-conditioning, no lights, no water, no working bathrooms, sick and dying people everywhere. It is 120 degrees and the stench is overwhelming. Unable to go home, she eventually ends up at the Super Dome where the situation is even worse. She finds a corner to lie down in, and thinking of God she asks, "How could this be happening to me?"
Columbine
9/11
Virginia Tech
Divorce
Earthquakes
McGehee
Tsunami
Fires on the West Coast
Fires on the East Coast
Greensburg, Kansas
Floods in Missouri
.
There are two main choices that people make when trouble comes.
1. Run away from God.
2. Run to God.
The correct response is ALWAYS to say "yes" and run TO God. ALWAYS.
.
That . . .
I believe a time is coming when God is going to shake everything that can be shaken. In fact, the shaking has already begun.
My purpose here is not to bring anyone down, but to blow the trumpet and awaken the body of Christ. When trouble comes, we need to understand what is happening, and we need to have answers for all those around who don't have a clue.
Along side the trouble is an outpouring of God's Spirit on his people that is coming as well, to equip us to stand and endure. It is the "This is That" of Acts chapter two and the heart of this blog.
Acts 2:16-17
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughers shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
.
This is that . . .
1. A great outpouring of power from on high is coming. The Moses stuff. The Elijah stuff. The Jesus stuff. God has not changed, and he didn't do the best stuff first and then peter out at the end. The best is yet to come.
2. Trouble is coming. Enough said.
3. God is VERY kind, VERY loving, and VERY merciful in all his ways . . . in the power, and in the trouble. He intends to use the least amount of trouble, for the shortest amount of time, to bring the greatest number of people possible, to the deepest level of love, WITHOUT violating their free will.
4. Wholeheartedness is required. Say "yes" to God. Go hard after Him in the trouble and in the outpouring of His Spirit. He loves us. He wants our obedience, our worship, our hearts, our time. It all matters to him. He LOVES us. He WANTS us. He wants us to LOVE him.
5. Prayer changes things, so pray.
.
Read Joel chapter two.
.
“ Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
.
Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
16 Gather the people,
Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
.
Weep between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,

.
I don't really like to be so serious, but this is serious stuff.
The disasters that are increasing around us demand a response of gathering the people together and praying.
That is what God wants us to do.
"The Call" in Nashville on July 7, 2007 is not a conference, but a sacred assembly, where 100,000 or more intercessors will gather to turn their hearts towards God in prayer, with fasting, weeping and mourning.
Titan Stadium was built for such a time as this.
.
I intend to be there . . . come on.
www.thecall.com

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Bananas

.
This . . .
I ate a banana this morning on the way to work and I couldn't help but think how totally cool a banana is. I mean that whole peel deal is amazing, and who doesn't like a banana? Babies like 'em, monkey's like 'em, and I like 'em. The guy in front of me in the checkout line at Walmart was buying four bananas and he paid 86 cents. I'm telling you, you need to eat more bananas.
.
That . . .
Here is how my day went. I would be working on something and before I could finish it, the person would come in to pick it up.
I would say, "It will be about another twenty minutes".
They would say, "That's fine, I'll just wait".
So I would hurry to finish and then be happy to finish and deliver the job to the customer patiently waiting at the counter.
.
Then, I would start working on something else and before I could finish it, the person would come in to pick it up.
I would say, "It will be about another twenty minutes".
They would say, "That's fine, I'll just wait".
So I would hurry to finish and then be happy to finish and deliver the job to the customer patiently waiting at the counter.
.
Then, I would start working on something else and before I could finish it, the person would come in to pick it up.
I would say, "It will be about another twenty minutes".
They would say, "That's fine, I'll just wait".
So I would hurry to finish and then be happy to finish and deliver the job to the customer patiently waiting at the counter.
.
Then, I would start working on something else and before I could finish it, the person would come in to pick it up.
I would say, "It will be about another twenty minutes".
They would say, "That's fine, I'll just wait".
So I would hurry to finish and then be happy to finish and deliver the job to the customer patiently waiting at the counter.
.
Then, I would start working on something else and before I could finish it, the person would come in to pick it up.
I would say, "It will be about another twenty minutes".
They would say, "That's fine, I'll just wait".
So I would hurry to finish and then be happy to finish and deliver the job to the customer patiently waiting at the counter.
.
Yep. That's what happened.
.
This is That . . .
“The extreme edge of the holiness movement said, ‘before you have fellowship with us, you must totally embrace holiness’; the reaction of the Emerging Church is to say, ‘I’ll love you unconditionally until you choose to be holy.’ What is needed is a more biblical and less sentimental posture towards human nature - that true love does not shrink back from telling one who is in sin the truth about righteousness, yet is willing to love someone freely as they wrestle with truth’s implications."
David Sliker
.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Randy Is Back

.
This . . .
Randy Bohlender posted this today.

Children of the 80's, remember when the writing for Dallas went way off the deep end and they killed off Bobby, the saintly brother to J.R., and then spent an entire season trying to explain it, only to start the next season by having his wife wake up from the dream to find that he was in the shower?
.
Shower's over, baby. I'm back.
.
That . . .
I have always more than enjoyed Randy's blog "Stuff I Think". He has been on an extended period of not posting, and so this was great news to know that he is back.
This is one blog definately worth checking into every day. I hope you will.
.
This is That . . .
.
Joel 2
“ Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
13 So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.
14 Who knows if He will turn and relent,
And leave a blessing behind Him—
A grain offering and a drink offering
For the LORD your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
16 Gather the people,
Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
17 Let the priests, who minister to the LORD,
Weep between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them.
Why should they say among the peoples,

‘ Where is their God?’”

.
www.thecall.com
.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Bow Down Low

.
.

This . . .
I think I have figured out why fish smell the way they do. It is because the fish food you buy at Walmart smells like fish and of course fish are what they eat, which is fish food that smells like fish.
.
That . . .
Get down,
Run down,
Bow down low.
Take this flesh as low as it can go.
Turn around, run away from everything that holds me down.
.
This is That . . .
It wasn't easy for God to deliver his people out of Egypt and set them free. But despite Pharoh's hard heart, despite physical obsticals such as the Red Sea, despite the doubt and disbelief of the Israelites, despite forty years in the wilderness, despite the people bowing down before a golden calf, in the end God's people crossed the Jordan and entered the promised land.
It is in God's heart for the body of Christ to come forth as a spotless bride for his son, Jesus. Despite numerous obsticles, a wedding day is fast approaching and the Bride of Christ will come forth victorious, and freedom will become an eternal reality.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Dilapidated

This . . .
The "branch" wanted me to thank you for your generous outpouring of comments concerning his return. I mean, WOW, what an overwhelming response. Truely astounding. Completely unbelievable.
.
That . . .
Mom is in the hospital, but doing well. She has a fracture in her sixth vertebrae down her neck, which is expected to heal without problem. In the meantime, she has a head brace on to keep her head from moving while she heals up. She may come home tomorrow, we'll see.
.
This is That . . .
There is a very real battle of humongous proportions going on in the spiritual realm even right now.
.
II Corinthians 10
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

.
This scripture is calling the body of Christ to:
1. Pull down strongholds
2. Cast down anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
3. Bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
4. Stand against all disobedience.
.
The thing is, most of our battle wounds are from friendly fire.
We are a dilapidated army, marching in different directions with toy guns and sling shots without rocks, arguing over who is right and who is wrong, taking pot shots at each other, exalting ourselves one over the other, wanting always to be in control, rejoicing when one of our own falls, being jealous when another experiences victory, pushing our own agendas, quick to judge and slow to forgive, and constantly reining in the Holy Spirit when we should be letting Him reign.
We are hanging out in our places of worship, fussing and fighting over whose shoes are the shiniest, while the enemy organizes, gains ground and enjoys our folly. We can't even get out of the gate to the battle field because we are so engaged in battle with each other.
. . . and heaven is silent.
.
II Chronicles 7
When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.
GOD

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

The Branch Is Back


.
This . . .
The "branch" has been missing for two months. I had really given up on ever seeing it again until this morning when I took the trash down to the street. Quietly, from a distance, I heard a very small, pathetic voice say, "Help me. Pleeze help me."
I looked across the street and saw some very familiar leaves poking up out of the ditch. I approached cautiously and there it was just waiting to be rescued. I gently picked the old stick up and proceeded to "plant" it in the bushes beside the front door where the above photo was taken.
And so, no memorials are necessary, but in honor comments would be appreciated.
.
That . . .
Mom fell down this evening while coming in from the yard. She tripped on the back patio where the grass meets the brick, fell forward and then caught herself on the bbq grill spun around backwards and fell whipping the back of her head on the bricks.
She called me at work to tell me so. When I got home, she was sitting in her rocking chair and mumbling something about how dumb it was to fall and then bleed like a stuck pig. She really was not hurt except for some scrapes and a big knot on the back of her head. I think maybe her neck is going to be pretty sore too.
It is really amazing how many times she has fallen without serious injury.
1. She got hit by a car in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot, completely left the ground and landed on her back and head with both feet straight up in the air. Her injuries were similar as today.
2. She fell at work one day while everyone was gone to lunch, and couldn't get up til after Taylor got back. She was fine.
3. She had my sister's dog Mesa on a leash in the back yard. A cat ran out and Mesa took off, but Mom wouldn't let go, being drug into the riding lawn mower, falling down and bruising stuff, but ok.
.
This is That . . .
Heavenly Father, I thank you and praise you for your watchcare over my mother. I thank you for her strong bones. I speak healing to her head and neck in the name of Jesus. I thank you for her postive spiritual influence on my family and others. Keep her up and going strong as she enters into her older years. Bless and keep her as she keeps her eyes on you.
In the precious name of Jesus,
Amen.