Simple Truths about the Gospel: "Punisher or Savior?"

For most of my early Christian life, something that has always bothered me was this idea that God the Father was punishing Jesus on the Cross. To be honest, it made me fearful of God in the sense that if He could do that to Jesus, what will He do to me? Ever have that thought?

Ever read Romans 8:32? This verse used to always rub me the wrong way. I mean if God could give up Jesus, then what chance did I have because who am I compared to Jesus? 

Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 

I read it (as I think most do) as God abandoning Jesus. But, I've begun to see this passage a bit differently. Something that I've come to understand during my time on this earth so far is that we live in a broken world with broken systems filled with internally broken people who are influenced by evil principalities and powers that are doing all they can to confuse us and blind us from knowing the true loving nature of God. And because of all these things, our understanding of the heart and character of God becomes distorted, so we end up seeing God wrongly and attributing actions to God which aren't really God at all.

What I have come to understand is that on the Cross, the Father never actually left Jesus because Scripture says that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself..." (2 Corinthians 5:19). Today, in my renewed thinking, what I've come to see is that the Father didn't abandon Jesus in anger, but with a sad and grieving heart "gave Jesus up/over" to the consequences of Sin which included at the time all the people who were being influenced by evil principalities and powers who were more then ready and eager to deliver unto Jesus the "wages of sin which is death" (Romans 6:23).

You may be thinking to yourself, "well, isn't that still abandoning someone?" Not if that was the plan all along. I don't believe the Father ever abandoned Jesus because before Jesus became a human being, the Godhead (Father, Son and Spirit) agreed upon the events of the Cross, that Jesus would become "Sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21) and "our Curse" (Galatians 3:13) and take the "punishment for Sin" (Romans 3:25). This means there could be no "so called" abandonment because this was the plan from the very beginning. You could I guess, if you are so inclined, call it a planned agreed upon abandonment. But, I believe that's a stretch because though the Father handed Jesus over, He was essentially still with Him.

1 Peter 1:19-20 "but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake."

To expand on this further, I would add that 1) Jesus went to the Cross of His own free will and 2) Jesus was/is equal to the Father. Though the terminology Father and Son does bring to mind specific images, the way that God the Father and Jesus the Son relate to one another is far far different than how we do in our earthly parent/child relationships because there is an equality and unity between them that is so perfect that even in our best and most brilliant moments have a hard time grasping.

To take this yet another step, I would even go so far as to say (as I alluded to earlier) that I don't believe it was the Father who was exacting out His anger and wrath upon Jesus. Because if that were the case then Jesus actually came to save us from God which is kind of messed up if you really think about it. This creates some pretty inconsistent thinking in terms of the character and unity of God. It also makes the Father as the Punisher and the Son as the Savior which at best creates a fragmented Godhead. 

Jesus wasn't saving us from the Father, but was saving us from Sin.

This is the Gospel. Sin is punishment enough. God knew this and it was His plan from the very beginning to save us from Sin (Genesis 3:15), period.

Something I've been hearing around these days is this "If you don't see it in the Son, don't call it the Father." What this statement is inferring is that in the person of Jesus Christ we find perfect theology about God, because as Hebrews 1:3-4 says:

"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs."

The Father and the Son are one (John 10:30) to the point that the Son only does what He sees the Father doing (John 5:19). So, if what we believe about God does not match up with the life and ministry of Jesus, then we need to question that belief and ask Holy Spirit to give us clearer revelation and breakthrough in our understanding.

One example would be to attribute sickness to God, now when I read the Gospels what I read is Jesus establishing His Kingdom by healing all sickness, yet if we attribute sickness as a vehicle that the Father uses in people's lives for whatever reason we end up with a fragmented Godhead where the Father is actually working against the Son? Do you see where I'm going with this?

Jesus never caused sickness, pain, suffering and death to people, He actually did the opposite and brought healing, comfort, relief, redemption, restoration and life to people. And remember, Jesus is only doing what He sees the Father doing. Is it clicking yet? More Holy Spirit.

It's Sin, Evil and the Enemies of God that are very eager, ready and able to mete out sickness, pain, suffering and death. This is the line in the sand so to speak that separates Good from Evil, Life from Death, God from Satan.

Along these same lines, I don't see how the Father could be the Punisher of Sin while Jesus is the Savior from Sin because Scripture says that they are always in perfect unity. This means that as One does, so the Other. So how could the Father be Punisher and Jesus Savior? No at the Cross we must accept that Father, Son and Spirit are unified as Savior. We must always understand that God has gone through great lengths to save us from Sin, not from Himself.

Something which has helped me along the way has been starting from the understanding that God is love (1 John 4:16). Love being a noun as in who God is, rather than a verb in which God does.

This means that everything that God does is from a place of love because God's very nature is love and He cannot do anything contrary to His nature.

Now of course God is much more than only Love, He has more attributes that make Him who He is, but I would argue that these attributes (Holy, Just, Good, Gracious and Merciful to name a few) all flow from His nature of Love. This means He isn't Just or Holy apart from Love, but His justice and holiness flows out of His Love. Dare I say that they are expressions of His Love. Where I think people get off track is when they compartmentalize the attributes of God, rather then seeing them deeply interconnected. But, most tragically when they see the attribute of Love as just one of the many, rather than seeing Love as the one in which all flow.

Are you tracking with me?

Without going into great detail here, there is this theological term called "progressive revelation" which is best described in Hebrews 1:1-2 "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds"

Wikipedia defines it as: 

Progressive revelation in Christianity is the concept that the sections of the Bible that were written later contain a fuller revelation of God compared to the earlier sections. For instance, the theologian Charles Hodge wrote, "The progressive character of divine revelation is recognized in relation to all the great doctrines of the Bible... What at first is only obscurely intimated is gradually unfolded in subsequent parts of the sacred volume, until the truth is revealed in its fullness."^[1] The ultimate revelation of God is understood to be found in Jesus Christ as revealed in the Gospels. For example, the New Testament is to be used to better understand and interpret the Old Testament. 

What this means for us is that when we read through the Old Testament what we need to accept is that God was progressively revealing Himself to His people. Which means that what we may read at times may not be the clearest picture or portrait of God. What this also means is that Jesus Christ is the clearest and greatest revelation of God and so we must use His life and ministry as the filter in which we read the Bible. This means His whole life from His birth to His ministry to His passion that lead Him to His death to His resurrection and His ascension and then ultimately to His return.

So, back to the beginning of this post, my misunderstanding of the heart and character of God led to the sowing of an unbiblical seed of fearing God into my heart. And with it came a religious spirit who poked and prodded this fear whispering to me, "You'd better watch out, God is just waiting to get you." And so this unbiblical fear grew in power and influence and I became a dutiful Christian. Trying my best to do everything a Christian was supposed to do (read the bible, go to church, pray, serve in church, etc). Don't get me wrong I believe I was still genuine in most of what I was doing, but inwardly I had this lurking distorted lie about the heart and character of God. 

You may be thinking to yourself, yeah so what, don't we all have distorted views about God? This maybe true, but it doesn't make these distortions harmless. On the contrary, I would argue that it is probably these distorted lies that are hindering our faith from growing and stunting the growth of our relationship with God because in a very real sense these beliefs influence how we approach and interact (or don't interact) with God. What I've come to understand is that these lies (including this one) make our relationship with the Father shaky and unstable. But, in all of this I believe the most dangerous place to be is in a place of blindness where we are oblivious and unaware of the distorted views and lies that we hold. 

To be fair to myself, I was pretty messed up and broken when I came to the Lord (see a short video of my testimony). So, this unbiblical fear of God only added more fuel to my already intact inferiority complex. Ever feel like that, when someone in authority contacts you, and you immediately think to yourself "uh oh, what have I done wrong?" There is freedom from this. Come Holy Spirit! 

For a long time, deep within my heart I just couldn't shake this underlying sense that I was always some how in trouble with God. There was always this underlying insecurity that never allowed me to feel fully secure in God's love for me. So, I become more and more religious (following God out of the fear of being punished). Again, don't get me wrong I still loved God very much, the problem was not giving God love, but receiving His love. So, our relationship was more like a master/slave type, rather than a healthy father/child one. 

Now, Jesus does tell us that we shouldn't fear man who can only kill our body, but not our soul. Rather, we should only fear God, who can kill both body and soul (Matthew 10:28). Now I believe Jesus is not saying that we need to be in fear of God killing us (which I don't believe He ever would, I know there are passage in the Old Testament that may describe this, but I believe there maybe something else happening there... I will probably end up writing a much longer post on this).

Rather, He is pointing out that God and not Man is ultimately in control over what happens to His disciples. This is His point. He is helping His disciples see that when they are on mission for Him, we will come up against resistance, opposition and hostility. But, we need not fear because God loves us and values us which is why He says a couple verses later "...the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrow" (Matthew 10:31). 

We mustn't allow our brokenness define who God is, rather we must allow the Word of God to do that, and I would add that we must do our very best while asking Holy Spirit to help us grow in greater clarity on the heart and character of God. And when we come across Scripture that is in contradiction with the revelation we have in Jesus Christ, then we need to all the more press into the Holy Spirit and ask Him to bring the clarity and revelation we need.

Here are some foundational Truths that we must believe first and foremost about God:

• that He is good (Mark 10:18)
• that He is love (1 John 4:16)
• that He is for us and not against us (Romans 8:31)
• that He has a good and perfect plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11)
• that He is a good Father who waits for us to return home (Luke 15:10)
• that He is not like any earthly Father (Matthew 7:11; Luke 11:13) 
• that we are safe within His almighty Hands (John 10:28-30).

These are the Truths that the foundation of our faith must rest in and be built on. So when we get tossed about in the storms of life, we must cling to these Truths or we run the risk of any distorted lie or view of God that we hold causing more turbulence, even shipwrecking our faith which is what I believe is the goal and purpose of all lies.

When things don't make sense, I believe we must always start from these Truths about God and work from there. These Truths are like the anchor that will keep us steady in the storm. 

I will pause here. I think I've given you a lot to think about. But know this, you are deeply, deeply, deeply, deeply loved by God. His is our Savior and never our Punisher. Sin, Evil and the Enemies of God already have that covered.

Be Encouraged! Embrace the Truth of the Gospel and Stand Free! 

Do you really believe God will not allow people who are not Christian into heaven?

If you are a Christian for any amount of time, you will undoubtedly be confronted with this question. "Do you really believe God will not allow people who are not Christian into heaven?" Usually most Christians may stumble in giving a loving, compassionate truth-filled answer. Oftentimes, we may dance around the question, even try and dodge the question or we may react with an overly heavy-handed response. Is there a better way? I believe there is. 

First, we need to clearly define the word heaven. What is heaven? Most people believe heaven is a place of happiness, where there is no pain or suffering. A place of bliss and peace. A place where we escape the trouble and heartaches of this world and enter into a place of continual pleasure and endless celebration. All of which do describe some truthful aspects of heaven. 

Some may even go so far as argue that if God truly was a God of love, how could He withhold heaven from people because they failed to believe, trust and follow Jesus. How could this be loving? In all of this, the one crucial thing that people fail to understand and recognize is that what makes heaven, heaven is the presence of God. If we were to boil it all down, we could say that heaven equals forever living and being with God, for all eternity. 

I mean if you really think about it, if those people who don't want anything to do with God here on earth, do you really think they could stand living and being with God for all eternity? I really doubt it. In fact, I think heaven would probably be the last place they would want to be because that is where a holy God lives. And heaven is a place for people who have through Jesus Christ died to sin and have become alive to God (Romans 6:11). 

I've heard it said that, "the fires of heaven may well be hotter than the fires of hell" (Dallas Willard). In heaven there is no sin, and the bible says that "no one can see God's face and live" (Exodus 33:20). There is a great and grand holy purity that permeates all of heaven because it is a holy God's dwelling place. All through the bible whenever a person encounters an angel from heaven, they faint and fall to the floor like they were dead and this is just an angel. Just imagine what being in the presence of the Almighty Creator and Judge of all things would be like. (If it wasn't for Jesus in my life, I would be absolutely terrified.)  

I've also heard it said that "the door to hell is locked from the inside" (C.S. Lewis). Meaning, the people in hell have exiled themselves to be there and in essence what they seek is to lock God out. They've lived there whole life on earth denying God, blaspheming His Name, cursing Him, ignoring Him, etc. because they want nothing to do with Him. You see, what the people who ask the question "Do you really believe God will not allow people who are not Christian into heaven?"  fail to understand is that there is no getting away from God in heaven and if a person hated God here on earth, what would make you think that that would change in heaven? For a person like this to be in heaven would probably be eternal torture. 

Here's a excerpt from a teaching by John Ortberg which has influenced my own thought, but also further expands on this: 

Good Good Father: Chris Tomlin (written by Housefires)

I just can't stop listening to this song over and over and over again. It is such a powerfully true song about who we should understand God to be towards us. If I've learned one thing in the last 15 years of walking with Jesus, it's been that everything in the world both visible and invisible comes against the goodness of God. But, this is nothing new, it is one of the oldest stories every recorded.

After God created the universe and everything in it (Genesis 1-2), we read in Genesis 3 of the exchange between the serpent and the woman:

1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?" 2 "Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden," the woman replied. 3 "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, "You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die." 4 "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman. 5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." (NIV) 

At the heart of this exchange, the serpent is attacking the goodness of God. What the serpent is trying to do is make the woman believe that 1) God has lied to them "did God really say... you won't die!"; that 2) God doesn't have their best interest in mind for them "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as..."; and that 3) He has been holding out on them "you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." All of these come directly against God's goodness towards Adam and Eve.

The serpent of old has not changed his tactics. I can recall countless times where I have had the same kinds of thoughts float through my mind (maybe you can relate), that:

1. God has lied to me: "Did God really say He loves you?" or "Did God really say that He will never leave nor forsake you?" or "Have you really been forgiven by God?" Each of these questions is trying to get me to not trust God, to doubt His goodness towards me. 
2. God doesn't have my best interest in mind: "God didn't heal you because He wants you to suffer" or "God doesn't think you deserve to be blessed" or "If God really cared about you He won't have let that happen to you." Again, each of these statements is trying to get me to question God's care for me, to again doubt His goodness towards me. 
3. God's been holding out on me: "You see how God helped that person, but not you" or "God loves that person more than you" or "God is intentionally withholding His blessing from you." Each of these accusations are all trying to paint God as a moody and stingy God who doesn't want to bless His creation, to once again get me to doubt His goodness towards me. 

This is why I love this song so much and listen to it over and over and over again, because it reminds of the truth of God's goodness towards me in the midst of a world that would have me believe that God cannot be trusted, that He doesn't care for me, that God is a moody and stingy God who is not good. But, what I've come to know and believe both through the reading of Scripture and from my own encounters with the Living God is that He is good, that He is extremely generous, that He does care for me immensely and that I can trust Him completely. Because He is a Good Good Father.  

This is my prayer: Jesus, You tell us that "no one truly knows that Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him" (Matthew 11:27b NLT), So, Lord reveal the Father to us. In Your Name we ask, Amen. 

Here's the story behind the song:

thankful: Cisco Webex

Today, I am thankful for the on-demand webinars that Cisco Webex hosts. I am currently in the process of compiling some teaching sessions for a church staff retreat and was glad to have these free resources available. I listened to a webinar: "Don't Let Your Ego Hijack Your Career" with David Witt and Randy Conely. The speakers spoke with great insight on the topic. I highly recommend spending an hour listening to this webinar from The Ken Blanchard Companies. 

Here are a few highlights. First, a quote from Ken Blanchard "The human ego gets in the way of people becoming their best selves." So true! Because the ego: 1) distorts relationships; and 2) separates people by getting in the way of people forming mutually beneficial relationships. Secondly, a key solution is increasing "self-awareness" while holding three attitude: 1) humility; 2) curiosity; and 3) veracity. And lastly, it is crucial that you "be kind to yourself while you grow because too little ego is just as bad as too much ego."  

Have you ever though about how your ego may be getting in the way of your growth? To be honest, I haven't ever really directly confronted my own ego. Sure, there are times that I wrestle with certain issues in my personal life or in some interpersonal relationships but I never really directly attributed this to my ego. I used different names like my pride, my selfishness, or even my sinful nature. What I enjoyed about this webinar is that it helped me gain a greater understanding of the place of ego when it comes to leadership and interpersonal relationships while helping me to see that my ego is more complex than I originally thought and most importantly that if you approach your ego honestly and humbly it can be directed (with God's help of course) towards our good. 

We really are fearfully and wonderfully made by God and very complex beings. But, also fallen beings distorted by sin. But, nevertheless God in His mercy still loves us and calls us into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Here is an excerpt from Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV): "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

a new year: engagement

With the passing of the New Year (both Calendar and Chinese), I can't help but to wonder what this coming year may have in store. So far, a lot has happened. The biggest news this year is that I am engaged to a wonderful woman I met last year while in Australia. I proposed to her here in Taiwan. I took her to Kenting, which is one of the most beautiful places in Taiwan. I spent a couple weeks planning the trip. This meant driving down with a friend who knew the area. He showed me the good scenic lookouts, beaches, restaurants and helped me book a hotel. I needed to get a reasonably priced hotel because I needed to book two separate rooms (one for her and one for me). So, I ended up booking two rooms at a "Minzu" which is like a little boutique hotel. The funny thing is, I booked  the nicer suite for her with a nice view while I booked a room down the hall from hers without a view which was half as much. I figured we would spend most of the time talking in her room on the balcony and at the end of the night I would go back to my room which worked out well. 

So onto the night of the proposal. I had a couple options running through my mind which were contingent on the weather. It looked like it might rain or be a but cooler, so I was preparing for this. But, thankfully there was no rain and the temperature was alright. It did end up being a bit windy though. I told her I wanted to dress up a little and go out for dinner. But, before heading out I brought her flowers that I secretly bought earlier in the day and hid in the trunk of the car. Needless to say, she was totally surprised! White flowers are her favorite, specifically lilies which is what I brought. Score!

Next, we went to "Smokey Joe's" which is a Tex-Mex type of restaurant. It was nice, I asked the hostess seat us away from people so that we could have some privacy. At this point, I think she knew that I may propose to her (and afterwards she said that she thought I would propose to her in the restaurant), but as I have kidded with her over the previous weeks: "she will not know the time nor the place that I will propose, but it will happen." So needless to say, it wasn't ever in my plan to propose to her in the restaurant. After dinner, we drove to a little beach area down the street and ended up sitting on a blanket while looking at the surf and stars. 
It was a very romantic moment and this is when I popped the question. While we were holding each other I pulled out the ring and asked her in Chinese: 你願意嫁給我嗎？which is "Will you marry me?" She said "yes!" But this special moment didn't last too long because the wind really picked up and started blowing sand everywhere, so we decided to head back to the hotel. This is where we took some more traditional photos of me on my knee. After spending some time talking on the balcony, we said our goodnights and I headed back to my room. All in all, the night was quietly romantic. No big fanfare, just me and her spending a very special moment together. We spent the next day at a white sand beach where we were the only ones on the beach for a couple hours. It was a sweet first moment together as an engaged couple. God truly blessed us throughout the trip. He made it a very, very special time for us. One that will be an endearing keepsake we will both remember for the rest of our lives. We truly are feeling blessed by God to be in each other's lives.
There is a amazing future waiting for us and we are excited to walk into everything God has planned for us as a married couple. But, as my fiance prayed for us just tonight was that we would always be a Presence driven couple that consciously makes room for Jesus to lead and guide us by showing hospitality to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and marriage. Now I don't say this naively like we are going to live some fairy tale life where there will be no trials, testings or trouble. No, I say this understanding that all of these will come but I say this from a place of faith, believing that no matter what happens Jesus will be with us releasing love, grace and faith to us as we go through whatever trials, testings or even trouble that may come our way. This is God's promise to us: that He will never leave us nor forsake us, but will be with us always even to the end of this age.
 Jesus gave up everything to make sure that there is no space, no gap between us and Him. Jesus sacrificed everything so that we could be close to Him. Not close in the sense of being next to Him, but so close that we are literally in Him and He is literally in us. That's why He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within everyone of His followers. I can't tell you how excited we both are to spend the rest of our lives together with Jesus. If you know anything about either of us, you would know that it's a miracle that we are even together. We have both been through quite a lot journeying through this life, but those stories are for another time. 
There's a very special song that has deep meaning for both of us called "Bless the Broken Road" by Selah. You see, we have both spent our fair share of time searching for true love, but ended up only finding heartache and heartbreak. It's only after we found the perfect love of God that our journey ended and a new one began. A journey that has brought us into the very heart of God which is not only where we have found each other but also so much more. Do you think it's time for your current journey to end and for a new one to start?

Mobile Prayer Station: DAY 35

Today, even before setting up the prayer sign, my friend Nate and I spent a few minutes singing "I love You, Lord." It felt right to be standing on a corner in Wicker Park singing to the Lord. After today, I've decided to start each day like this, from a place of worship to the Lord; from a place of love and adoration towards Him. I can't tell you how singing a simply song of love to the Lord can tenderize your heart and draw the presence of God near to you. 

Overall, today was pretty amazing. I was so glad that Nate was by my side. The day started with Harry (see Day 34) and then Jeff, who has become a good friend. In praying for Jeff, I really felt the Holy Spirit's strong leading and hit some things that I was glad to have prayed for because it just seemed exactly what was needed. Even Jeff got pretty excited after the prayer. Next, came Eleven and his girlfriend Susie, who are a couple of traveling kids, looking for some dream interpretation. I was a bit nervous, but reminded myself that God reveals and interprets when we ask Him. The dream was another flying dream, but with a twist. After praying aloud in asking God for interpretation, I felt like God was wanting to bring spiritual breakthrough into their lives, but was also speaking directly against their current belief in astrology and their understanding of the universe as being god (pantheism). Nate felt like God was also going to bring change into their lives. They were very receptive to the interpretation and we ended up talking for a bit, until the rest of the friends came by.


Next, came William, who received prayer on Day 34. My friend Dave and I talked with William for probably a hour and prayed for him on three separate occasion. First, we prayed for some things that he lost, which he came back today to tell us that he got back what he had lost. Praise God! Now, from William's own mouth he said that he is angry with God and his chief complaint was that God wasn't talking to him. William has a faith, but it is distorted. So, the second time we prayed we prayed that God would bring revelation to him and prayed against the curse of addiction over his life. After this prayer time, I saw in my mind's eye a veil being lifted off of William's head. He even said that he felt lighter and more at peace. In this instance I felt like God lifted whatever was keeping him from receiving the blessings of God in his life. Today, when he came back he shared that the day after we prayed for him, he passed out in the park and woke up with a cross necklace around his neck (when we were talking he kept admiring my cross necklace) and was so thrilled that God had given him his own cross necklace while he was sleeping. Also, he woke up with money on his chest that someone had left on him. So amazing! Lastly, I felt like God gave me a word of knowledge about what was hindering William from freedom. So, we prayed for that and I truly feel like in that moment, God set William onto the path of healing and restoration. Go God! 


Next, a woman came by who was pushing a cart filled with various things and who also had a street performer permit hanging around her neck. She came by asking if I was a dream interpreter which I told her yes and asked her if she had a dream she wanted interpreted. She said, "No." I then asked her what kind of street performing she did and she said that she was a tarot card reader. When she said this my spirit got excited because this was such an opportunity to show her love and to share Jesus with her. So, I told her that I was also out here praying for people and asked if she needed prayer for anything. She immediately said her marriage was falling apart, but also asked me how I prayed. So, I told her I was a Christian who prayed to God and in Jesus Name. She said that she also was a Christian (but was obviously mixing witchcraft with her Christianity). Regardless, she agreed to me praying for her and so I prayed. It was a powerful moment. The peace and love of God was almost tangible in the air. After the prayer time I asked her how she felt because she was obviously impacted and a little emotional. She just nodded her head and said "Wow" in more of a gasp. But, before I could say anything else she grabbed her cart and started walking down the street. I don't believe it was because she was offended or anything, but because God met her in a very powerful way and left her speechless. Thank You Lord! 


If this wasn't enough, the day ended very sweetly. While I was packing up the prayer sign a very effeminate man came bounding up and blurted out "So you interpret dreams? How very neat. But, are you done for the day?" I told him if he had a dream I had time to interpret. But, he sadly told me, "I never dream, is that bad?" Without really answering his question, I told him that I could pray for him and ask God to give him dreams which he got very excited about. So, I said a very short prayer, asking God to give him dreams of his destiny and reveal to him the purpose he was placed on this earth. It took all of 30 seconds. Afterwards, Justin left just beaming and very excited about the prospect of dreaming and hopefully of being just loved through prayer. From what I gathered this was probably the very first time anyone ever prayed for him because before we prayed he literally said "I've never done this before what do I do?" Seriously, the day couldn't have ended any sweeter. I'm believing that though Justin has long road ahead of him, today his name and image was brought before the throne of God's grace and Jesus has now got His eye on Justin. Thank You Jesus! 

Mobile Prayer Station: DAY 7

The weather today ended up being pretty phenomenal. When I first arrived at the park (4:00pm) it actually started drizzling a little. But, after about 10 minutes it stopped and the sun came out and it was simply gorgeous. Right after I set up, my friend Mat came walking across the street. It was definitely a nice surprise. We talked for a bit and he ended up praying for me. It was very encouraging. If you haven't noticed yet, I love prayer! Even while we were talking, Mat got a sense of something from God and ended up prayerfully walking around the perimeter of the park. I'm telling you, God is in this and if you stop by you will experience His presence.  

Today, was filled with lots of "hellos" and "what's ups." I think people may be getting used to me or maybe I'm just getting used to being on the street or may be God is showing me grace and giving me favor. It's mostly likely all of the above. Regardless, I am beginning to see some familiar faces. I got to pray with Suzanne again, whom I prayed with last week which was really encouraging because I am interested in building bridges and relationships with people in the community. Win. There were also people who remembered me from last week and said he to me with that tone of familiarity. Double win. 

People are getting used to me. I feel like this is due to the fact that I am being more light than heat. What the LORD has been continually impressing on me is that I am here to provide a service for the community. I'm not trying to preach at people or convert people or even force prayer on people (heat), what I'm doing is offering people a prayer service and if they are in need of prayer I am making myself available to pray with them (light). That is all. Now maybe other people have different understandings of what it means to be a light in the world, for me it means serving the world and offering them what I feel is most valuable to me: prayer. Prayer is the opportunity to allow God love on us. And at the end of the day that's my heart's desire that people would be touched by the love of God. If you're in the area, come by and see me! I've been tweeting the times I'm out there, so following me on Twitter. I will be on the corner of Damen and Wicker Park Avenue. You can't miss me, I'll be the one by the sign...

Mobile Prayer Station: DAY 2

Today was more about me than others. I was dragging my feet today because it was pretty chilly out. But then I heard the Lord ask me: "Are you a fair-weather Christian?" Now I know this could have had a variety of meanings, for my situation it seemed to touch on both the physical (the weather) and the spiritual (commitment and obedience). You see, when the Lord first gave me the vision for the Mobile Prayer Station, I had a strong impression that it was to be a daily ministry. At the heart of the ministry is to make prayer available to the lost children of God by going into their midst. Prayer has been described many ways, but I believe the best description of prayer is this: spending time with God and allowing Him to lavish His grace and love upon you. From the beginning that has always been my sense of God's heart in all of this. He wants to touch people through me with His love and grace.

To be honest there weren't many people out today because of the weather. But of the few people I saw, I prayed for, not with but for. I need to confess something, I am sometimes afraid of getting prophetic revelations from God because I'm afraid of the responsibility of stewarding these revelations. But the more I thought this through, the more I begin to see the foolishness of my ways. I felt the Holy Spirit lovingly nudge me through this by asking me "Who are you to reject revelation from God?" Let me tell you, in that moment all of my wishy-washiness about receiving prophetic revelation from God dissipated. The Holy Spirit was right (of course), if the God of the universe desires to reveal things to me, I best listen. So after repenting for my fear and foolishness I begin listening and asking God for prophetic revelation about the people walking by. So for the rest of time, God spoke and I prayed.

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit reminded me of something He spoke to me many years ago. Roughly around 8 years ago, I was stopped at a red light while driving my car. Now, as I was watching this lady walk cross the street, the Spirit of God overwhelmed me with an urgency to pray for this woman and I quote the Spirit's voice in verbatim here: "No one has ever prayed for her, neither her name nor her image has ever been brought before the throne of God." When I heard this, my heart broke. Needless to say, I couldn't begin to pray for her fast enough.

Now even though I didn't get to pray with anyone today. I did get to pray for quite a few people and I am betting that for many of them it may have been the very first time their image was ever brought before the throne of God. Think about this reality as you spend your day, of the many people you will see, even talk to today how many of them do you think have never ever been prayed for? How many of them have never had their name or image brought before God's throne of grace? You could be the first. "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)

Mercy Me: spoken for

This song is in many ways my heart's cry for all people, but specifically for those who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction because they are the ones who are being destroyed by their all-consuming desire for the things of this world (drugs and alcohol) at such an alarming and tragic rate. Whenever I see someone caught in such bondage to their lust for the world, the Spirit of God moves my heart to begin praying that Jesus would set them free into His eternal Kingdom of grace and freedom where they are covered by Divine Love, where God puts His hand upon their life and says to the devil, "No more! This one is mine!" and where their hearts are completely spoken for: sold out for Jesus.

chicane: DAYLIGHT

When God first began moving in my life, letting me know that He was real, that He loved me and that He had an amazing purpose and plan for my life, He used people and music to speak to me. I was pretty deep into the rave and club scene where music, dancing and drugs was my life. When I hear the lyrics, "Is it daylight? I hardly ever notice. I hardly feel the sun. And I never feeling anyone." That was me. I lived for the night, numbed to everything but drugs and music. I used to get completely lost dancing for hours and hours on end: music, drugs and dancing was my escape from reality.

This song reminds me of those times when the light of God's Kingdom began to break into the darkness that was my life. He helped me to feel again. He helped me to come out of the darkness and into His wonderful light. At first it hurt to be exposed, but I slowly began to adjust to the light and my soul started to heal in the light of God's love. Today, I am learning to dance through life, rather than dancing to escape life. God has shown me the way of life and has granted me the joy of being in His presence and the pleasures of living with Him forever (Psalm 16:11). My prayer is that the light of God's Kingdom would begin to break in greater measure in your life and that you would begin to heal in the light of His love. 

daft punk: DIGITAL LOVE

This is another song that just makes me happy when I hear it because it touches the part of my heart that dreams of being in love. Life is always better when you can share it with another. I'm glad that God said that "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him" (Genesis 2:18 NIV). Now, if only God would bring that helper my way already! Do you believe that God divinely orchestrates two people meeting, falling in love and spending the rest of their lives together?

ten shekel shirt: HEALER

I find great comfort in knowing that God is my healer. I personally have experienced healing from Jesus emotionally (the wounds of my heart) and spiritually (freed from the shame and guilt of sin and delivered from demonic torment). Jesus has also used me to bring emotional, spiritual, psychological  and physical healing to people as well. God's heart towards us is goodness, but because we are caught in a war where the enemy is constantly attacking people and trying to destroy them many people confuse this suffering as actually coming from the heart of God.

Today, as I was at the grocery store, I saw this women who was terribly thin. From my perspective it was pretty obvious that she suffered from anorexia nervosa (by the grace of God, I am extra sensitive to addictive types of conditions). I was so moved by the compassion of God that I literally began to pray out loud for Jesus to bring healing to her body and deliver her from any demonic influence over her life. It's in moments like this that God blesses me by revealing to me His heart towards people who are suffering. I fully believe that His heart is to bring healing to us. Have you asked God to become your healer?

Jason Upton: sons and daughters

This is such a profound question: "Do you know that you are a Word from Heaven?" When I really sit down a think through what this question is asking, it blows me away. What this question is saying is that from Heaven, God has spoken that we are His sons and daughters and His Word has come true. Have you recieved the truth that you are a Word from Heaven?

Brian and Jenn Johnson: love came down

God longs to be near us. But, because of the thorns and scars in and on our hearts (our woundedness) there will be times where we will try to keep God at arm's length thinking to ourselves that He would rather be spending time with someone else. I can't tell you how many people I've met that believe that God loves us because He has to and that He actually doesn't really like us. He more or less just puts up with us (which couldn't be further from the Truth). Personally, the day someone told me that God actually really does loves me, that He actually really, really, really likes me as well and can't get enough of me and that He really, really, really, really delights in spending time with me has forever changed me (and I don't feel like I'm being overly dramatic here). I mean think about it, God gave up His one and only Son, Jesus, so that He could be near us and we could be near Him for all eternity (John 3:16). Do you really think that God would do this only to have to "put up" with us forever? Of course not! because He really, really, really does love and like us!!! This song helps to remind me that I belong to God and He loves spending time with me, period. 

Chris Tomlin: this is our God

Everyone has baggage when it comes to God which clouds the way we understand and experience Him. That's why I love this song because it paints a Scripturally accurate picture of Who God is. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this song over and over and over again because I needed to hear over and over and over again Who God is. My baggage, the wounds of my heart, fights against believing in the goodness and love of God. One of the hardest thing for me to do (and I don't think I'm alone in this) was to just receive God's saving grace. Even after coming to faith in Jesus, I still need to make a conscious decision each and everyday to receive the grace He has for me each and everyday. I've noticed that the more I do this the clearer and more accurate my understanding and experience of God grows. Maybe you need to listen to this song over and over and over again to help remind you of Who God is. "God help us to receive more of Your grace, in Jesus Name, Amen."

Bob Lorrimer: SNAIL

Watching God's creation always makes me wonder in awe at the diversity of His incredible creativity!

Effective Stewardship

Are you concerned about the things God is concerned about? Are the things that anger you and make you weep reflect the heart of God? If so, what are you doing about it?

The Franz Family: peace of mind

Though I am not an active listener of country music, this song just pulls at my heart strings because I long for more of God's peace to break into the broken areas of my life. I long for "a miracle for this broken soul." More and more I am realizing just how the fallenness of this world only encourages worry and striving, rather than peace and rest.

Over the past few weeks, the Holy Spirit has been reminding me of Jesus' words: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV). I don't know about you, but I want this promise to become more of a reality in how I live my life. Don't you?

So, this is my prayer for us: Holy Spirit, we pray that You would do what You love to do and make the things of Jesus ours, more specifically, we pray that You would help us to receive this promise of peace and rest into our lives. We submit our schedules, even our lifestyles to You and ask that You do what needs to be done. Help us to take off the yokes we've placed upon ourselves and take up Jesus' yoke which is easy and His burden which is light. In His Name we ask, Amen.

Last Minutes with ODEN

This video touches my heart because when I watch it I see the very heart and hand of God moving and touching lives through His creation. The Bible says that through viewing and experiencing creation people can come to know the invisible qualities of God (Rom 1:20). I believe Jason and Oden's story solidfies the truth to this Scripture. Through Oden, Jason experienced an invisible quality of God: unconditional love. If Jesus says that God can make "stones cry out" in praise to Him (Luke 19:40), then He sure can use animals to embody unconditional love. There are things we can learn about the invisible qualities of God, if we just slowed down and took the time to watch and enjoy His wonderful creation.

The way God brings redemption and restoration into our lives is always amazing. He really can use anyone and any situation to bring healing to our lives. It's no surprise that God used a dog named Oden to bring such healing to Jason. Animals don't argue with God about who they are or how they are to be. A dog will act like a dog, just like a cat will act like a cat or a horse like a horse. Animals don't fight the way God created them to be. They just obey God. There are things we can learn about trusting and obeying God, if we just slowed down and took the time to watch and enjoy His wonderful creation.

My Beloved Prodigal Son

The struggle portrayed in this video is all too familiar. Judging and condemning thoughts are ever present in my life and if I'm not careful they will consume me. But, thankfully God has shown me mercy. The devil, the world, even our own thoughts will try to continually condemn us by refusing to let us be free of our past, but Jesus offers us forgiveness and redemption from our past. When we come to Him, He wipes the slate clean and we get a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. chance. He will hit the delete button everyday if need be. His forgiveness is total and complete. There are no conditions to His forgiveness, we just need to recognize that we need it and then ask for it.

The Bible says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Next time, when you are in the thick of battle with raging thoughts filling your mind, pause for a moment and invite God into the foray and let His peace descend upon you like a dove. Remember Jesus has already overcome the devil and the world. He will even overcome us and our judging and condemning thoughts if we let Him!