4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice DVD Package

Recently I had the privilege of facilitating a group from our church through the 4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice DVD set by Mark Virkler.  Nearly 20 people from our church signed up to go through the class.  We took 13 weeks to go through this 10 DVD set.

The first week we met we spent the time getting to know each other, passing out handbooks and journals, answering 10 questions about their current ability to hear God's voice.  Next we watched 1 DVD a week for 5 weeks.  During week 7 – the midpoint of out class, we spent the time practicing hearing God's voice for ourselves – and each other.  This was a great opportunity to practice what we had been learning.  The next 5 weeks we continued watching 1 DVD per week.  The final week we spent going over our initial 10 questions that we had answered during the first weeks class.

The reasoning behind the 10 questions was simple, to give us a basis for understanding where we where before the class, as well as how much we had grown during the class.  Our group all experience impressive growth in our ability to hear God's voice through Mark Virkler's teaching.  At the beginning of the class  most of the people in the group described their ability to hear God's voice as a 1 or 2 on the scale of 1-10.  However, by the end of the class most group participants would describe their ability to hear God's voice as a 8-10 on a 10 point scale.

Mark Virkler does an excellent job of teaching everyone how to hear God's voice through the 4 Keys, which are:

1. Stillness Yourself Down
2. Looking for Vision
3. Tuning to Flow
4. And Journal

However, in my opinion, the thing that Mark Virkler does better than anything else, is to help you break out of the things that prevent you from hearing God's voice.  Many times we hear God's without recognizing it, however, it's the fear and doubt that prevent us from acting on what we believe God is speaking to us.  I would highly recommend this teaching to anyone who want's to be able to hear God's voice, it will change your life!

4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice

Price: $11.55

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36 used & new available from $10.15

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The thoughts of a renowned Philosopher…
Who is only renowned unto himself…

Sometimes these thoughts are really provoking or challenging, sometimes they are just something to chew on…

A while back I was on Lance Walnau's web site, LanceLearning.com, and he was promoting a free download if you registered for his free newsletter.  Since I was interested in his site, I was considering the newsletter anyway, but what really got my attention was what he was offering.  It was a PDF download of the 50 Commands of Christ.  This sounded pretty interesting to me, so I went ahead and signed up for his newsletter (which I would suggest you do as well).

To be honest, I have had the download for a while now, but I never got around to reading it.  It was one of those things that I knew I wanted to sit down and really take the time to look at it, but that sometime wasn't now.  However, recently I saw it again and it caught my eye.

One of the things that I really appreciated about this PDF was that Lance starts off by giving 9 Promises that Jesus gives to those who obey His commands.  These nine things that Lance mentions are all very good things that we all want in our life.  Every one of the promises Lance mentions also has a Bible verses next to it.  As I looked through these promises, things like God's Love, peace, true joy, purification,  answers to prayer, I knew, I wanted to know more about what Christ's commands were.

 The first command that Lance mentions is to be reconciled to others.  The second command is to not commit adultery, the third is to keep your word.  If you thought you were keeping Christ's commands, it get's a little tricky around number six, which is to be perfect.  This is when it hits me, I can never fulfill all of Christ's commands.  

In all of the entire New Testament, Jesus gives us 50 simple commands, He doesn't say what music to listen to, what to wear, what to drive, Jesus never tells us not to drink or do drugs.  As a matter of fact, Scripture doesn't tell us who to marry, where to live, or even what job we should have.  Now I know that 50 commands may seem like a lot to think about, but if we had to list all of the rules and commands of our Christian sub-culture, I can assure you we could come up with more than 50.  To be honest I stopped reading after number 6.  I need more time to reflect on each command as I read them.

What I cannot get out of my head though, is that I can't even get past number 6 on the list.  As a matter of fact, if we were to measure ourselves according to the measurement that Jesus will use against us, how many of us can get past number 1?  If I can't keep the first one, is there any use trying to keep all 50 at once?  Of course we can accomplish all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13), but it gives us perspective of what Christ is actually asking of us, as Christians.  He doesn't want a half hearted effort.  He want's all of us.

I would highly encourage you to all go out and sign up for Lance's newsletter so that you can download the PDF as well.  Yes, I did link to the PDF, but why not support the guy who put it together?  If you don't like it you can unsubscribe later.  After downloading the PDF and taking a look at it, come back and leave a comment.  How well are you keeping the commands of Christ?

Related posts:

1. Matthew’s Mind: A Good Name is More Desirable Than Great Riches

In Revelation 1:4 John writes (through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) to the seven churches in the province of Asia.  In October of 2010, there were 25+ authors who presented their own letters (the 8th letter) to the Church in North America.  The event was hosted by Andy Crouch, Sr. Editor at Christianity Today and the author of Culture Making.  In addition, Rachel Evans created a synchroblog where you can read letters from many other bloggers.

I found this project several months late.  After taking some time to read some of the contributions, I have decided that I would like to submit my own eighth letter.  After much reflection, this is what I believe Jesus would say to the church in America today.

And to the Church of North America, I have this to say to you: I know your works.  I know how you give generously to missions and to church building projects.  I know how you feed the hungry and counsel those in need. I know how you study the scriptures and vote for righteousness in government.  Yet I still have this against you: as a Body, you have allowed yourselves to become divided (1 Cor. 12:12).  You argue and bicker over small doctrinal differences, yet you don't love.  You spend time debated carpet color and which translation of My Word is true, but you neglect actually carrying out My Word.  "And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand." (Mark 3:25).  If you are to walk like I walked, you have to walk in unity.  When you are focused on Me you are over-comers, this is your destiny, it's who I have called you to be.

You have also neglected your first love.  You have neglected spending time alone listening to my voice.  You are caught up in ministry and you try to do this yourself.  Many of you are neither hot nor cold, you have become lukewarm and I am about to spit you out of my mouth! (Revelation 3:16)  Beloved, you are not strong enough or gifted enough to do ministry on your own.  You spend time praying and asking for My direction, but you don't listen so that you can hear it.  Some of you even reject my authority and power to carry out the tasks that I have given you!  Oh Beloved! I am your source, I am you rock, your fortress, you must come back to your first love, you must come back to Me!  In the quite place you will find comfort, acceptance, love, and grace.  My dear child, I long for you to spend time in my presence, for there you will find your strength!

Finally, I have seen who you are, I have seen what you will be.  You will face troubles and persecution like you have not known before, but take heed.  for '…behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' (Matthew 28:20).

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The thoughts of a renowned Philosopher…
Who is only renowned unto himself…

Sometimes these thoughts are really provoking or challenging, sometimes they are just something to chew on…

While watching the Brennan Manning video below, I was thinking about a particular story he told.  He talked about having the opportunity to pray over someone and anointing that person with oil.  Many times as Christians we want a minister or pastor to pray over us and anoint us.

The reason we want other ministers to pray for us is simple, we think that minister will have more favor with God or has some gift that will have a positive impact on our life.  The reality is, this very well may be true, that God may bless that particular person.  The Lord wants to move through that ministers life.  The fact that the minister is praying for you may mean that God will meet whatever need you were pursuing at that time.  God may chose to bless the ministers prayer for you simply because of the favor He has for the person praying for you.  However, this is not because God loves that person more than you, but because the minister has sought out God's presence and a relationship with Him.

The reality is, the Lord is inviting you to this same relationship that He has with the minister.  By seeking out the Lord, spending time in His presence, and getting to know Him, we have the same access to God that any other minister or preacher has.  As a matter of fact, this is the very relationship that the Lord is calling us to.  He wants to pour His anointing and presence all over us.  When the Lord does this, we will see answers to prayers for those we are praying for.

Will you allow yourself to seek God and pursue Him for the sake of receiving Him?  This is what He is asking of us today. 

Related posts:

1. Matthew’s Mind: Who do You Think God is?
2. Matthew’s Mind: Waiting on God
3. Matthew’s Mind: God’s View of You

Recently, DiscipleshipGuy joined the Christian Financial Alliance.  This alliance is focused on  defining a set of core beliefs regarding biblical finance and holding ourselves accountable to it.  The great part about this is simple:  There are many bloggers in the blog-o-sper who claim to base their financial principals on sound Christian advice / doctrine.  However, how can we know what they are basing their beliefs on?  The Christian Financial Alliance gives us a guideline on 20 Core Beliefs that we can keep bloggers accountable to (all who join the alliance that is).

I was just thinking about this issue of how can we know if someone is really offering sound, Christian, Biblical, financial advice, when I found this alliance.  Rob Kuban is the founder of the Christian Financial Alliance, and one of the things I have really appreciated about these Core Beliefs is the overall balance in these Beliefs.  Here are the 20 Core Beliefs of the Christian Financial Alliance:

1. I believe Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). My heart, soul, mind, and strength seek to glorify God through the pursuit of Christ, and it is my hope that my life and financial management will reflect this fundamental purpose (Luke 10:27).
2. I believe the Bible is the supreme authority and source of truth and instruction for Christians; therefore, I seek to root my financial teaching in the truth of God’s word (2 Tim. 3:14-17).
3. I believe stewardship does not equal salvation (Acts 8:20). We are saved by grace alone through faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9). No financial action can save a soul (Matt 16:24-26).
4. I believe God owns everything (Ps. 89:11) and I am merely a steward of His resources for His purposes (Luke 12:42).
5. I believe the heart is the focus of the New Testament’s instruction regarding money (2 Cor. 9:7). This does not make obedience contingent upon our feelings, but calls our attention to focus on the intentions of our heart (Prov. 21:2).
6. I strive to be rich towards God (Luke 12:21) and not place my hope or trust in riches (Rev. 3:17-19).
7. I seek to serve God as my master, not money (Matt. 6:24).
8. I believe how we spend our money reveals what our heart treasures; therefore, if God’s kingdom has its rightful place in our hearts, it should show up in our budget (Matt. 6:21).
9. I believe prosperity is not the purpose of Christianity (John 6:29). It is a gift that God may or may not choose to give (1 Sam. 2:7), and should be handled with generosity and humility recognizing that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48).
10. I believe Christians are called to be content in all circumstances (Phil. 4:11) because God has given us everything we need in Christ (2 Pet. 1:3).
11. I believe we are called to be wise stewards of resources (Luke 12:42) but not consumed with a love of money (1 Tim. 6:10).
12. I believe stewardship, generosity, and contentment are fruits of a deeper walk with Christ, not ends in themselves (1 John 5:21). I seek first His kingdom and wait for the rest to be added (Matt. 6:33).
13. I believe the Bible does not speak highly of the bondage caused by debt (Prov. 22:7); therefore, it should-if nothing else-be approached with extreme caution (Prov. 22:26-27).
14. I believe Christians are called to be generous (Acts 20:35) to their family (1 Tim. 5:8), God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 9:14), and those in need (1 John 3:17). After these things, we are free to spend money on ourselves (Prov. 10:22).
15. I believe heavenly reward awaits those who choose to invest in God’s kingdom (Luke 12:33), and whether or not God chooses to bestow earthly reward is up to Him (Job 1:21).
16. I believe integrity is more important than financial gain (Prov. 10:2).
17. I believe money can be a blessing and a curse depending on the heart of its holder (Luke 6:44-45).
18. I believe that the way we handle our money should be a testimony of our devotion to God not a distraction from Him (Col. 3:17).
19. I believe there are many things in life that are more important than money (Prov. 23:4-5).
20. I believe true riches are found in Christ alone (Eph. 3:8).

Source: DollarsandDoctrine.com

Related posts:

1. CFA July Question: Defining Biblical Generosity

The thoughts of a renowned Philosopher…
Who is only renowned unto himself…

Sometimes these thoughts are really provoking or challenging, sometimes they are just something to chew on…

I have had a frightening thought that I have struggled with for as long as I remember.  I have always wondered what the difference was between the Jews that walked the earth during Jesus times vs. present day, largely American, Christians.  I have often wondered about this because growing up I didn't see a lot of difference between the world and Christians.  I constantly battled with this idea that all I had to do to be saved was accept Jesus as my savior and that was it.  That was the difference between me and the unbeliever.  Almost every Christian I knew judged how good they were based on their actions, as if salvation was by our good (or lack of bad) works.

Growing up, Christianity was a works based religion.  No one I knew really knew Jesus personally, we said we did, because we were taught that we had to know Him personally to go to Heaven.  So if we wanted to go to Heaven, we said we knew Jesus personally, but who actually did know Him personally, and is that even really possible?  And when we think about it, what was the difference between our present day pastors and the Pharisees and Sadducees from Biblical times? I struggled with these thoughts constantly. 

Yesterday I watched a YouTube video on the rapture from a highly controversial minister, who said some highly controversial things (Go Figure?).  However, one thing that this man said really stuck out to me.  He said that the only people Jesus ever gave a hard time to where the religious leaders.  He also talked about how Jesus sent Peter to the Gentiles (through the vision on the rooftop), the very people the Jews tended to hate.  I thought a lot about this all of last night.  As I am thinking back on the people Jesus hung out with, it was the tax collectors, the prostitute, He taught on loving your neighbor (the Samaritans – a hated group), the lower level society types (His Disciples), etc.  Who did Jesus condemn? It was the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Religious Leaders of the day.  Jesus called them the broad of vipers, He tore apart the Temple, and constantly exposed holes in their theology through His teaching and debates with them.  However, we never see Jesus doing this with the unbeliever.

All of these thoughts began to bring me right back to where I started growing up.  What makes us different from the people who lived during the Bible times.  As Christians it seems like we are doing the same things that the Jews were doing.  Obviously many of you would disagree with me if I said we hated the following groups, but I will let you chose the words that describe how you feel towards the following groups:

• Liberals
• Homosexuals
• Prostitutes
• Drug Dealers
• Child Abusers
• Sexual Offenders
• Muslims
• Buddhists
• Catholics, Charismatics, Evangelicals, Fundamentalists (which groups don't look like yours?)
• Mormons
• Scientologists
• Jehovah Witnesses
• Illegal Aliens
• Homeless
• Anyone else?

What about if we named names?

• Hitler
• Osama Bin Laden
• Saddam Hussein
• President Obama or Bush?
• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
• Stalin

When I think about a lot of these people / groups, I wonder if these are the people that Jesus would be hanging out with?  These are the kind of people He targeted in His day.  This is why so many Jews had a hard time with Him.  One of the things I thought about a lot last night was this, 'Are we the exact opposite of who Jesus was/is?'  Do I hate who He spent time with and not judge those who He judged?  Do I think that I am ok because I go to church, listen to church pastors who heap us down with legalistic laws that aren't even Biblical?  If you don't think this happens ask yourself this question, 'Where in the Bible does it say not to drink alcohol?  Is there any place in the Bible that tells you directly that you should drink alcohol?  Does this line up with what your taught or what your pastor says?  Isn't this the exact same thing that Jesus criticized the Jews for?

Many may ask, aren't we suppose to refrain from the types of things that the people do in your list?  Sure, we are suppose to refrain from sinning in every way, but we are not to refrain from the people.  I think Christians would be more successful spending time with the people and loving them.  As a result we may get them saved, and then we can show them how to live.  Instead, we tend to tell people how they should live and then we try to convert them when they have more hostile feeling for us.

In a teaching on how to hear God's voice, Mark Virkler (Communion WIth God Ministries) said the the Lord said that he was a Pharisee.  Mark Virkler didn't like that very much and set out to find a book that would tell him what a Pharisee was or how they lived, that way he could prove he was not a Pharisee.  When he went to the local bookstore to find some books, he couldn't find a single book on what it meant to be a Pharisee.  Mark then pointed out that this is a weak point within the Body of Christ that we have thousands of books on systematic theology and every other kind of theology, but we don't have any books that teach us how to avoid becoming a Pharisee.

I think Mark Virkler makes a valid point, if we want to avoid being the kind of people that Jesus rebuked we are going to have to take a long, hard, honest, look at ourselves.  Do you hate the people Jesus spent time with?  Do you view yourself the ways the Jews saw themselves, do you think your safe because of what you do or what you believe?

Related posts:

1. Matthew’s Mind: Christian Thoughts
2. Matthew’s Mind: When Someone Becomes Saved…
3. Matthew’s Mind: The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Recently I wrote a post on an event that was held at our church, First Assemblies of God, in TIpton, IN.  Here you can read about 'The Prophetic Conference' and some of the topics we covered.  The reason why I wrote about this is simple, for the first time in my life, I was asked to be one of the speakers.  Since I had never done anything like this before, I wasn't exactly sure on how to approach this.  I spent a lot of time creating an outline for each of the two sessions that I would be speaking at, and then created a handout that correlated with each of the two sessions.  I have put included it below:  

The Seer – Handout

After going through the conference and looking back, there are many things that I learned from.  While I did a good job of going through the handout during the first session, the second session was lacking in this department.  In addition, during the second session I was finally able to connect with the attendee's for the first time.  I was sharing a personal story and I hit on something everyone could relate to and the room erupted in laughter.  From that point on there was a different atmosphere in the room.  However, this wasn't lacking during the first session, it was something I tried hard to do, it just didn't happen.

Another aspect I noticed was that people really embraced the second session in a deeper way, mainly due to the personal stories.  This is obviously an aspect that people really enjoy, but during the first session I was focused on teaching, so in future events I have to find a way to teach better through stories. 

Finally, I would have described myself as dry prophetically for the last several weeks.  I had lost a lot of confidence in myself (probably not such a bad thing, considering what the gift is).  However, I came out of the conference much more confident and secure in who I was, as well as my ability to 'See' accurately.  The Pastor of the church had kind of put me on the spot after the second session on Friday night, as well as Saturday afternoon.  Both times he asked me to ask the Lord to show me things for the people who attended the event.  While this was a very on the spot thing, I was pleasantly pleased with the reactions of the attendee's.  

Overall I am very glad that I had the opportunity to do this event.  I know several ways where I can improve, I have a better grasp of my strengths, and I have a better idea of what it feels like to go through this.  

Related posts:

1. The Prophetic Conference
2. Part 3: The Prophetic Process…

On May 20th and 21st the First Assemblies of God church in Tipton, IN will be hosting a Prophetic Conference.  The focus of this conference will be on the following topics:

• What is Prophecy
• What the 'Seer' gift is
• How to use the 'Seer' gift
• How to use the prophetic
• Why Character is necessary
• And much, much, more!

One of the reasons that I am excited about this conference is because I will be one of the speakers.  This is a new realm for me, I haven't really been the teacher, most of the time I have been the student.  That being said, I am not entirely out of my element by speaking in front of people, I am comfortable with that.  However, I will be teaching 2 45 minute sessions, so that seams a little daunting to me right now.

Something that I find interesting is this, while we still lived in Florida, we knew that OHOP was going to be having a prophetic conference coming up.  As a matter of fact, they where having some of my favorite people coming to OHOP to do the conference.  Guys like Kirk Bennett (personal favorite), Aaron Evans, and a local Dream Interpreter.  This is interesting because if I lived in Orlando I would be going to this conference.  However, since God has us living in Tipton, I will be teaching at a conference on the same topic, the same weekend.  It's amazing how God works!

I am really looking forward to this weekend and if you are local and want to come, I would appreciate it!  

Related posts:

1. The Prophetic Conference: A Look Back
2. Upcoming Events at OHOP…
3. Part 3: The Prophetic Process…

The thoughts of a renowned Philosopher…
Who is only renowned unto himself…

Sometimes these thoughts are really provoking or challenging, sometimes they are just something to chew on…

Just recently I had a situation occur, which had a less than ideal ending.  Something happened that really upset a friend of mine, and he responded by saying to me, 'Matt, it doesn't matter if it was your fault, it still reflects on you.'  Without going into the entire ordeal, I will just say that I didn't do the thing that my friend was upset about.  However, after I got off the phone with my friend I was still pretty upset.  I was sitting on the couch messing around with some apps on my phone, and I was praying about the situation.  I kept arguing with myself and asking God whether or not it really reflected on me or not.

In Proverbs 22:1, it says,

'A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.'

As I kept on thinking about this idea of having a good name, I couldn't help but apply it to my recent conversation with my friend.  As I really pondered this idea of having a good name, I wondered about everything that it could apply to, and what kind of value it had to people and to God.  I can't really explain the revelation that God was giving me, but I started to understand why this was important to God.

There were several things that God did reveal to me about a good name, things I am able to put into words.

1. How I live, greatly effect how others see me.  This should be pretty obvious, but many times we don't think that people will know what really goes on.  Many times we take shortcuts that we don't think people will see, but God sees, and many times, others do as well.
2. For guys who are married, how your family acts and approaches life, reflects on you and your name.  This is why it's important for us to have our house in order.  When our kids act out in public, this reflects not just on the kids, but the parent's also.
3. How we live reflects on God, since we are His children.  At least it shapes how others view God.  This is why many people refuse to become Christians.  People see the way we live, the shortcuts we take, and the way we treat family, and they don't see an answer to the problems in their own lives.

Honestly, we probably all come up with things that we do every day that reflect on our name, but why is a good name more desirable than riches?  I am glad you asked.  This is actually a very easy question to answer when you think about it.  What is there in life that you wouldn't trade for money?  There are several things we should all be able to come up with:

1. Our families
2. Our faith
3. Our friends (we hope)

In addition to the list above, there are many things that a good name can provide for us.  If we maintain a good name, there is a chance that at some point that could provide riches.  We all know of stories or people where the good person was given opportunities that others weren't given because of their reputation.  Many times promotions at work or recognition for outstanding accomplishments go to those who are hard workers and have been diligent.  Money may or may not provide those opportunities for some, but if you have a good name then you don't have to try to buy those things.  A good name also provides trust in relationships – something that can't be bought.  A good name can also provide a clear conscience, something we know money can't buy.

In the end we are left with the realization that a good name can get you riches, but riches can't get you a good name.  It can also provide you with opportunities that you never knew existed.  I think a good way to look at it is this:  if you have riches then you could have money, opportunities, and recognition.  If you have a good name, you can still end up with those things, but you get everything else thrown in.

How important is a good name to you?

Related posts:

1. Matthew’s Mind: Great People of God suffer much
2. Matthew’s Mind: Are We Pharisees?
3. Matthew’s Mind: The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Back in March, IHOP-KC had two speakers talk on the issue of Holiness and Righteousness.  Both of these video's are phenomenal, I especially like the one by John Melinde.  You can watch both of them at the links below.

The first video is with Dwayne Robertson speaking on the Fear of the Lord.  In order to watch it go to the IHOP-KC Prayer Room, then use the scroll on the right hand side to go to 8 PM March 4th.  It should be called Laura Hackett – EGS.  Then skip to minute mark 14:20.

The second video is by John Melinde.  This is a hard message to hear, even for mature Christians.  John really forces you to take a deep long look at yourself, and then decide how much of God you want.  The end result should push you closer to the Lord.

UPDATE:

Apparently you can download the video by John Melinde from the IHOP-KC blog.  Here is the link to download the John Melinde Video.  From the blog post, you can watch the video, download the video, or you can download it as an MP3.

Related posts:

1. 2011 OHOP ATB and Events Schedule
2. God Won’t Relent
3. ONETHING Orlando – Update

The thoughts of a renowned Philosopher…
Who is only renowned unto himself…

Sometimes these thoughts are really provoking or challenging, sometimes they are just something to chew on…

Recently I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what I want in life, what are my goals, passions, and preferences.  This has been coming up lately specifically because we have been praying and seeking the Lord on what our next step is in life.  I recently completed a ministry internship with the Orlando House of Prayer (OHOP) and now we are praying about what is next.

The two primary options are:

1. Continue living in Orlando, FL.  This would include finding a job and a new place to stay
2. Moving to Indiana to become a part of a church, as well as finding employement and housing

(Click here to read about our decision on Moving to Indiana)

One day as I was driving in the car, I started praying about all the things that I long for and desire.  Things like where I live, where I go to church, what kinds of things I have, where I work, etc.  Basically it was a whole bunch of, 'God, this is what I want.'  And while it was truthful and to some extent I was geniunely pouring out my heart to God, it was also very selfish.  As I started to pray again about what I wanted, the song Boasting by Lecrae, (From the Album Rehab) came on, and it really started to get to me.

Here are some of the lyrics to the song:

If this life has anything to gain at all
I count it lost if I can't hear you, feel you, 'cause I need you
Can't walk this earth alone
I recognize I am not my own, so before I fall
I need to hear you, feel you, as I live to make my boast in you alone

Last part of Verse 1:
And I will boast in the cross, I boast in my pains
I will boast in the sunshine, boast in his reign (rain)
What's my life if it's not praising you
Another dollar in my bank account of vain pursuit, I do
not count my life as any value or precious at all
Let me finish my race, let me answer my call

Bridge:
Glory was solely meant for you
Doing what no one else could do
With all I have to give, (With all I have to give)
I'll use my life, I'll use my lips (My Lips, Yaaa)
I'll only glory in your Word
What gift to me I don't deserve
I'll live in such a way that it reflects to you, my Praise

When those lyrics came on and Lecrae started singing I really felt convicted.  I about started crying right there in the car.  Here I am driving in my car giving God my 'Me List' and Lecrae is singing about boasting in weakness, giving up everything to praise God and give Him glory, and counting everything lost if he can't hear or feel God.  In that moment my mind wondered if I would count everything lost just so I could hear of feel God?

Would I give up my car, house, job, cell phone, computer and internet, just so I could hear and feel God?  I wanted to say Lecrae, take it easy on me man.  Then I remembered what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:30, 'If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.' (ESV).  Paul really talks about boasting for most of chapters 10-12, but 11:30 is specifically what Lecrae was singing about I think.

A day or so later I was at a church service and the pastor started off the evening talking about who the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven is: 

Matthew 18:1-4 'At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said,"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.' (ESV)

The pastor talked a lot about becoming like a child in order to come into the Kingdom of Heaven.  As I pondered what a child is like I thought of it in a different perspective.  When our family decides to move, our children don't really get a vote.  Our children are young, there are four of them between the ages of one to six.  I imagine this age is similar to the age of the children that Jesus was talking about.  When we move none of our kids are going to say, 'But daddy I don't want to move.' or 'Daddy, I really like the weather here.' or anything else.  My oldest may ask why, but overall, they will all just go along with it, not thinking they have a choice or decision to make.  This is primarily because their parents have already made the decision on what is best for the family.  Yet, I don't come to God this way.

Here I am talking about all my stuff, instead of just listening and submitting to what God want's for me and my family.  Which, God's will is better for us than we can comprehend!  Much better than we can do on our own, yet we argue and talk about what we want.  This is when I started to wonder what it would look like if I boasted in moving to Indiana (something that will be very hard for me to do) instead of being in despair about leaving Florida.

What about you?  Are you boasting in your weakness?  Are you content with losing everything for the sake of hearing or feeling God, does He mean that much to you?

Related posts:

1. Matthew’s Mind: God Wants to Give You His Anointing…
2. Matthew’s Mind: Are you a Spectator or Participant?
3. Matthew’s Mind: A Good Name is More Desirable Than Great Riches

I am currently in the process of completing the worksheet, 21 Question To Focus Your Life.  This is a tool that Lance Wallnau (author of The 7 Mountain Mandate: Impacting Culture Discipling Nations) puts together every year to help you focus your life.  

Lance starts out by going over the 7 Specific Keys to Hearing God's Voice.  This enables you to re-focus on how to hear God's voice before you start the questions.  Hearing God's voice is vital in completing these questions, without that ability you won't know where God is leading or directing you.

Next, Lance starts in with the questions.  The first half of the questions are geared towards you, your family, and your ministry.  The second half of the questions are geared towards your work.  The questions are divided up as follows:

Questions 1-4 – Yourself
Questions 5-6 – Your Spouse
Questions 7-10 – Your Children
Questions 11 –  Your Ministry
Questions 12-19 Your Work
Questions 20-21 Asking God

The thing that I appreciate most about this tool is that is asks you the hard questions, it forces you to take a long look at yourself, and most of all it guides you on how to keep God in the process.  It really is focused on getting the individual to ask God questions and wait for His answers.  

This guide is not the type of thing where you can just sit down and fill it out.  First you must read the question, then engage with God, then write down what you believe God has spoken to you.  This process is something that will take some time, it will probably have to be done a little bit at a time, and it's something that if you let it, it can change the course of your life.

I would highly recommend checking the 21 Questions to Focus Your Life.  You can view and access it via the link below, as well as print it out to do the questions.  Make this a priority at the beginning of this year so that it set's your course for the rest of the year!

21 Questions for 2010

21 Questions for 2011

Related posts:

1. Slipping…I think.

Today at OHOP we sang one of my favorite songs right now.  The song is called You Won't Relent (Seal) off of the album Relentless.  It was written and sung by Misty Edwards (also featuring Luke Wood) who is a full time worship leader and intercessor out of the IHOP-KC Missions Base.

I have spent a lot of time singing this song when I am alone or in the car, on walks, and many other times, but today something new happened.  As I listened to this song I thought there was a familiar ring to it, I thought that it had to be based on scripture (which it is).  As I did a Google search for 'seal upon your heart' the most prevalent searches were for 'seal upon your heart lyrics' and 'seal upon your heart Misty Edwards', etc.  Eventually I found out that it was out of Song of Songs 8:6-7 (ESV):

6 Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. 7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.

The context of the verse is that Solomon (and figuratively Jesus to His Bride, the Church) is the person being spoken to.  His bride is saying set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, etc.  However, today while the song was being sung I felt a strong anointing with it and I felt like I was singing the guy's part of the song and the Father was singing to me the part that Misty was singing:

'I will set you as a seal upon my heart, as a seal upon my arm, for there is love, that is as strong as death, jealousy demanding as the grave.  And many waters can not quench this love…'

There is a point where Misty and the other singer are singing in unison, during this part of the song I believe God is standing face to face with us and is wanting us to sing to each other in intimacy.  Take a listen to the song for yourself.  While your listening allow yourself to hear God's heart singing this song to you.

Related posts:

1. Matthew’s Mind: Offended Hearts…
2. Matthew’s Mind: Jesus is Alive

This blog post is Part 3 in the series Christmas 2010 on our Christmas experience.

Overall, the experience of giving prophetic words to my family for Christmas went very well I think.  The night before we gave each other gifts I was in a discussion with my brother, sister, and her husband.  As we were talking about what was going on in our lives and what was coming next I started to get excited about what I was hearing.  The very things that we were talking about were the very things that I had gotten prophetically for each of them.  As I started to ask more pointed questions my sister remembered that I had told her about my gift idea a while ago and she was very anxious to hear hers.  Since this seemed like the perfect time to go over some things in a much smaller setting, I decided I would give my sister and her husband, and my brother their gift that night.

Giving a few people their words before everyone else really gave me a confidence boost.  When I was able to share what I had received it really touch my brother, he said that as I read the word to him he could feel the anointing on it!  Then my sister and her husband both said that specific things I had said ministered to them directly!  It was really awesome hearing them say that the words I had gotten for them were accurate AND meaningful to them!  This gave me a lot of confidence going into the next day, to share with the rest of my family who didn't know what was going to happen.

After getting all the kids into bed and reading the background of what I wanted to do (along with scripture verses to go along with it) I was ready to read the rest of the family their prophetic words.  Before I started reading their word out loud, I gave everyone the opportunity to have theirs read privately instead.  As I re-read the 3 from the night before, I could feel the anointing on the words again as well.  However, after the first 3 I was so focused on reading correctly (and in an hurried manor so I could finish before the kids woke up) I became less sensitive to what I was reading.  This went on for the next several people.  However, when I came to the last person, the last prophetic word to read out loud, I stopped and told everyone that the word that I was going to read for my dad was possibly one of the most powerful (even though it was the shortest in length).  

What happened next was difficult to explain, as well as completely unexpected!  As I read the first paragraph of my dad's word it was similar to the first three that I read.  I could feel the anointing, but it wasn't overwhelming.  The next paragraph I read was overwhelming!  I couldn't even get half way through the paragraph without welling up inside with emotion.  I could really feel God's heart for my dad as I read his prophecy to him!  The more I read the more overwhelming it became, to the point were I had to stop reading completely because I couldn't get through it.  I was balling my eyes out and couldn't help it.  As I would attempt to look at a word and start to read the emotions would completely overcome me again.  Every time I tried to read I was overcome.  Finally as I was able to put myself together a little bit, I was able to read quickly through the rest of the second paragraph before losing it again.  Eventually I was able to make it through the third paragraph as well.

Of course the entire time I was reading my dad's prophecy to him I was stammering on about how 'I never do this', 'I don't know what's happening' and so forth.  However, when I got to the end I said, 'WOW, that was really powerful!' and my dad said, 'It was powerful.'.

Overall this Christmas was really powerful.  In addition to the prophecies, we gave my parents paper's that said how we loved them, what we would give them if we had 1 million dollars, or memories that we had of them.  After we gathered up all the papers we put them in a binder in clear plastic protectors.  Christmas this year was so powerful, and not focused on consumerism and the like, that I don't think it's a Christmas that anyone can ever forget.  I know I won't.

To read more about our Christmas 2010 experience, click on: Part 4 – The Drive

Related posts:

1. Christmas: Part 2 – The Gift
2. Christmas: Part 1 – Christmas Trip 2010!

This blog post is Part 2 in the series Christmas 2010 on our Christmas experience.

This Christmas was a much different Christmas than any other I had ever been a part of.  In October of 2010 I felt like the Lord was asking me to give each of my family members a prophetic word for Christmas.  Below you can find a copy of what I included on the back page of everyone's prophecy.  

Basically this is just a brief intro into what I was going to share and why I was doing what I was doing.

1 Corinthians 14:1-5

1 ‘Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.’ (ESV)

Acts 3:1-6,

1 ‘Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, Look at us. 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’ (ESV)

Back in October, with Christmas approaching, I was wondering what I would be able to give everyone for Christmas, knowing that we didn’t have much money. In that exact moment I felt like God asked me what I had to give them. As I pondered that question for a minute or so, I instantly thought of Acts 3:6 above, ‘But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.’ As I thought about this, one of the things that I felt like I could give was prophecies. God has really been speaking to me lately through the gift of prophecy. Just like Peter had nothing to give the lame except what God had given Peter (the gift of healing – through Faith), all that I had to give people was what God has given me, prophecy – through faith.

As you can see from 1 Corinthians 14, the main purpose of prophecy is to build up, edify, and to encourage. Paul says multiple time that he wishes we all prophesied due to the building up of the Body of Christ. Prophecy has a tendency to leave us feeling encouraged and ready to face new challenges, since it is God speaking to us. Sometimes it gives us that extra something that we need to get through difficult times in our lives. I hope that you find encouragement, edification, and that you are propelled to go deeper in your walk with God as you face the challenges that arise on a daily basis, in your life.

If you have any questions or concerns about what is written, please feel free to discuss it with me, prayerfully consider what God is trying to say, or simply ignore it for a time and come back and visit it later. Many times something that doesn’t make sense in the moment will make sense with time. As an example, the first time Autumn and I went to the prophecy rooms at Voice Ministries, the woman said she saw a picture of Autumn and I holding hands about ready to jump off a cliff. At first I was puzzled and thought it was bad, but the lady explained that she didn’t get that impression and rather it was good and God was going to be with us. Six months later we moved to Florida without permanent housing, without steady income, and to a place we had never been and we didn’t know anyone. We felt very much like we were diving off a cliff. After being here, going through everything we have together, and growing tremendously in our faith, we now understand what the picture was. We didnt’ have a clue what it meant in the moment, but looking back after the fact, it gives me comfort knowing that even then, God knew what He had in store for us.

For each one of my family members I tried to include 2-3 prophetic words.  My goal was to give everyone one full page.  I tried the best I could to include a verse with each word and I had several 'older' prophetic people read over everything I had given my family members.  This was simply a way I could make sure that everything was above reproach and according to scripture, because:

1 Corinthians 14:32 - 'and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.'

There were many concerns I had regarding what I was going to be doing.  I wondered if family would accept the words, if the words would be accurate, if people could discern the difference between my voice and God's voice, and if it would lead to confusion.  Most if not all of my family members (and spouses) were brought up conservative evangelical.  So there isn't a lot of familiarity of the prophetic.  

To read more about our Christmas 2010 experience, click on: Part 3 – The Experience

Related posts:

1. Christmas: Part 3 – The Experience
2. Christmas: Part 1 – Christmas Trip 2010!

At the beginning of this year I made several goals, one of those goals was to read through the entire Bible in one year.  In order to complete this task I found an online One Year Bible Reading Plan that I wanted to follow.  In my opinion, reading through t he entire Bible at least once is absolutely essential, especially for those who claim to believe the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, word of God.  How can you really know unless you have read it for yourself?  The beginning of the year was the perfect time to get started.Month in Review: Throughout the month of February I found out that exactly what I thought was going to happen, happened.  It wasn't so much that I didn't have the time to read, I did, but it didn't always happen.  I ended up reading several days at a time from the New Testament, and several days at a time from the Old Testament, and the same with Proverbs.  This was obviously less than ideal. In an effort to adjust and make up for this I did decide to go through much of the New Testament by listening to it on CD while in my car.  I have many hour plus commutes were I am able to really go through a lot of chapters.  As a result I am way ahead of where I should be in the New Testament.  In addition, since I am no longer reading the New Testament, but instead I am listening to it, I am able to devote much more time to reading the Old Testament.  This really helped me get back on track with my reading.  At one point I was at least ten days behind on my Old Testament reading.  However, with my focus now primarily on Old Testament reading, I am now fully caught up with both my Old Testament reading and my Proverbs. In some ways it may come across as cheating my way through the New Testament by only listening to it on CD, however I find that it's not the case.  Sometimes while driving I will get distracted and not fully listen to the CD, but I can just replay that chapter and I am back into the flow of the CD.  Also, I can get distracted reading also, sometimes I will go a paragraph or two before I realize I am no longer focused and not sure what I am reading anymore.  In these situations I also try to go back and re-focus.   In addition, sometimes hearing the Word as opposed to reading it will trigger different responses.  This happens while reading also, but I find there are many things I have read, but when I hear them, they open my eyes to things I hadn't thought of before.  It's something I would encourage you to do, you can find the Bible on CD here.

Chapters Covered: In addition to finishing Exodus, I read all of Leviticus, some of Numbers, finished Matthew, and Mark.  One of the things that stood out to me this time around was in Leviticus.  When Leviticus talks about the laws, many times it seems legalistic.  However, this time around I was really struck by some of the laws.  For instance, when someone curses God they were to be stoned to death, the same with the sexually impure, and there are the eye for an eye laws.  It occurred to me in a way that it had never occurred before, that many of these laws were to instill Holiness into the people of God, since God is a Holy God.

Your Progress:  If you have decided to take the One Year Bible Reading Challenge, how are you doing?  Have you been successful in completing all you reading?  If not, what are you doing this month to be more successful?  If you have, what was the biggest key in completing your reading?  And finally, what stood out to you most about the chapters you read?

Related posts:

1. Month 1 – Bible Reading Plan Update
2. Bible Reading Plans

At the beginning of this year I made several goals, one of those goals was to read through the entire Bible in one year.  In order to complete this task I found an online One Year Bible Reading Plan that I wanted to follow.  In my opinion, reading through the entire Bible at least once is absolutely essential, especially for those who claim to believe the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, word of God.  How can you really know unless you have read it for yourself?  The beginning of the year was the perfect time to get started.Month in review: Throughout the month of January I had a decent amount of free time, more so than I can expect throughout the rest of the year.  As a result I was able to complete all the daily assignments – though not all on the specific day.  There were a few days were I forgot or I had other specific activities going on that day.  This was kept to a minimum, I found that for me, the hardest part was making sure I read a Proverb everyday. In addition to the Bible in One Year I committed to reading one chapter in Proverbs every day.  In the months were there are less than 31 days I will be reading the additional chapters at the end of the month.  One of the themes of Proverbs is wisdom and seeking after it.  My goal is that by reading Proverbs everyday, keeping it fresh in my mind, that I will grow in wisdom.  I was able to get through all of Proverbs, but I did find myself reading 2-3 chapters a day, since I would get a little behind.

Chapters Covered: In addition to completing Proverbs, I also completed Genesis and half of Exodus in the Old Testament.  In the New Testament I am about two thirds of the way through Matthew.  One of the things that stuck out to me as I went through the Old Testament was how many plagues there were on Egypt.  Many times when reading the stories we hear  of the plagues, we talk about a couple, but there were 10 plagues in Egypt, 10!

Your Progress:  If you have decided to take the One Year Bible Reading Challenge, how are you doing?  Have you been successful in completing all you reading?  If not, what are you doing this month to be more successful?  If you have, what was the biggest key in completing your reading?  And finally, what stood out to you most about the chapters you read?

Related posts:

1. Month 2 – Bible Reading Plan Update
2. Bible Reading Plans

The sermon at church yesterday was about materialism and the effects that it has on all of us. The pastor brought up several points about how we allow things get a hold of us, and we just feel this overwhelming need to have certain things. The pastor then went on to give several examples of times where he had felt the urge to purchase things, and how they always broke or he just ended up not using the items after a while. One way or another, the things that he purchased in order to fulfill some part of him, always let him down. This led me to reflect on my own life and the times that things that I have bought have always let me down.

Something you must know about me, I love gadgets. I worked in the cell phone industry for almost five years, so I have a weakness for the latest and greatest phones. On several occasions over the last three years I would find out about a new phone coming out and I would have to have it. I would read the reviews, watch the video's, do my own critiques, and many times still, just have to have it. I noticed this was more so when things were going wrong in my life. If work was stressful, family life was full of conflict, or spiritually I was going through a dry time, I would find myself more apt to feel the overwhelming NEED to have the latest and greatest gadget. I just knew that if I could purchase this new thing, it would make my life better. Have you ever had that feeling? I have had this feeling, there have been several instances were I have spent a lot of money on cell phones trying to quench that feeling, have you ever done that?

I can remember the last three phones that I purchased standing there looking at it, still gleaming with that brand new feeling. I remember setting up several of the features that I had looked forward to so much. I remember standing there looking at my phone and thinking 'Now what?' I had the brand new phone, I had integrated all the features that I had wanted to use, and now that I had accomplished everything I had wanted, I still had this empty / un-quenched feeling inside. It was almost as if it was a dark hole inside me, the kind that are in the movies were people fall in to but never land, and I keep trying to fill it up…Have you experienced this?

While the materialism seems to be this desire to solve life's problems through stuff, the effects are many. Materialism can lead us into debt, increased stress in our lives, and more importantly, it can cause havoc on  our relationships and marriages. Materialism can also lead us to become a workaholic, and to constantly try to keep up with the Joneses. One last thing it can do, and possibly the most important, it can determine our self worth, which can be by far the most devastating. As we begin to place value on ourselves based on what we have or don't have, or what someone else has. Once we base our self worth on our things, we find that we can't ever be happy, because once we have our new cell phone, and we are standing in the store playing with it, and it's finally yours, you realize it doesn't mean anything. If your brand new item doesn't mean anything, then you now don't feel like you have much worth.

The answer to materialism may sound obvious, it may sound simple, and it is, both. However, it's not easy, and it's not intended to be. The cure for materialism it total surrender and obedience to Christ. The cure calls for you to surrender your desires, goals, ambitions, and self worth to Him. He asks you to find your worth in Him, your desire for Him, and your surrender to Him. This is not an easy task, because it isn't a task, it's a series of choices that we make for the rest of our life. The only way this works, the only way that we can make these choices, is if we chose to find value in the same things that Christ has called us to, apart from Him, this is impossible. What about you? How have you overcome the effects of materialism in your life?

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