Ok. Sparing all the details, this is just a phenomenal testimony of the Lord's goodness. Last year I bought this 2000 Mitsubishi Galant. It died on the highway back in early August:

I prayed and asked the Lord to give me reliable transportation - either the funds and knowledge to fix the dead car or another vehicle altogether. Through a series of ridiculous circumstances with provision and offerings from many people, some totally unexpected and others absolutely extravagant, the Lord gave me this new car:  read more »

One of my best friends here at IHOP and a prophetic musician with me here on Justin Rizzo's worship team, Jordan Vanderplate, finally has an awesome looking website.

Check it out at http://jordanvanderplate.com

He is committed to being a watchman on the wall just like I am here at IHOP for many years to come. The Lord has anointed him with dreams and desires to prophesy with his music, and he has set his heart to learn from the Holy Spirit as he grows as a musician. Plus he is one of the funniest guys you will ever meet. Send him your love, prayers, and support!

In the Christian music arena, the phrase “before an audience of One” is used liberally by almost every church worship leader, Nashville recording artist, and youth group musician. I absolutely love the concept – we don’t play to impress 300 in church on Sunday morning or 50,000 people in a stadium. We play to impress the Lord Himself, because, even though it may seem weak, we truly believe that He is pleased as we play and sing before Him.

But do we really believe that? Can we honestly say, without hesitation, that if absolutely nobody showed up to the show or worship service, that we would still play and sing the same way as if the stadium had 50,000 screaming worshippers in it or the church building was packed and overflowing to the street?

I want to provoke our hearts to really think about this for a little bit. When we say that we sincerely play and sing for an audience of One, can we remember the last time we went into our secret place with our instrument or voice and played and sang to the Lord with the same passion and zeal as we do before the stadium crowd or before our churches on Sunday morning?  read more »

Dana Candler made this post on her blog a few days ago that you should check out. It's really caused me to think deeper about Jesus as the "Man of sorrows", as Isaiah 53 describes Him.

Isaiah didn't mean he was a "sad" Man walking around day by day depressed by the condition of humanity or by the pain of the cross He would have to endure, but rather a Man who felt the pain of being misunderstood, rejected, and despised to its fullest. Jesus did not use pride and self-exaltation as a "defense mechanism" against all of the accusations against Him. Dana puts it so well - she said:

Perhaps the most potent part of this deep rejection lies in the fact that this most discarded Man did nothing to shield Himself from such profuse rejection. He did nothing to protect His heart from the hate, nothing to guard His person from the rage. In His sinlessness—free from pride and arrogance—He lacked the “self-centered” means found in the proud heart that so readily protects itself. The nature of compassion, that quality most attributed to Jesus, stands in direct opposition to the nature of pride. Only arrogance can forge walls and instigate “safe distances” from fellow human hearts. Only pride knows how to offer indifference and coldness to another. But Love knows no such response. Love bears all things and embraces every person in its path. Love so cherishes the individual heart that it always hears every word spoken without covering its ears, always sees every deed done without uncaringly looking away and always opens to every response offered without closing its heart.

Knowing Jesus bore every emotional pain, hurt, and rejection to its fullest for the sake of love gives me courage to approach Him as my Brother in my worst moments. He truly showed us what His Father is like as One full of compassion. He is not so far off, but is closer to us than we can possibly imagine. God came so low and so near so as to bring me close to Himself!

This is what makes me love Him!

This week I'm visiting my old home state of New Hampshire to see old friends, visit family, and meet new friends as I raise prayer and financial support to keep me set as a watchman on the wall in Kansas City. I usually come back here at least once per year to stay connected to what the Lord is doing in my old home church and what He's stirring among the young adults in the region.

Last night, I had the opportunity to speak in Rindge, NH at Monadnock Full Gospel Church for their evening Sunday service and prayer meeting. It was such an encouraging time for me and for the folks who attended. What the Lord is stirring in this hour related to prayer and worship all across the globe is unprecedented - apart from any organization or franchise, the Holy Spirit is stirring hearts to pray and worship like never before. I spoke on this topic and how it relates to the coming global exaltation of God, and how the earth will come to know that He alone is the living God through the open display of Jesus Christ to the nations.  read more »

I believe the greatest point of contention that men will wrestle with at the end of the age is the identity of Jesus. Is he just a good man that lived a few thousand years ago or is He fully God?

I’ve been studying Christology lately, and even just yesterday my roommate Tim spoke to some Jehovah’s Witnesses at our door. As we were talking last night, we both quickly made the point that the root of the problem in their faith is their misunderstanding of the person of Jesus. They believe He was just a mediator for a super-spiritual class of believers throughout history, the 144,000 “spiritual Jews”. They don’t believe He is God, and they believe He is still dead and was never resurrected, contrary to the belief of all of the New Testament writers.

I’ve been studying a bit on how Christology and the identity of the human being named Jesus as fully God fits in with the global prayer and worship movement being raised up all over the earth today. I’ll post more on that later…  read more »

About a week and a half ago, I was in Scottsdale, Arizona for a wedding. Weddings have taken on an entirely different meaning for me since moving to IHOP 5 years ago. They are such a dim but beautiful snapshot into the heart of the Father to prepare a bride for His Son. I was so honored to be a groomsman for such a good friend and brother in the Lord, Shawn Zajas. Shawn was married to Kellie Hubbell, his best friend for the past several years, on August 23, 2008 in the presence of God, family, and so many loving friends. It was truly a special moment!

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