21 Days of Prayer

December 11th through December 31st, we are inviting students to dedicate time to prayer for the Gospel Night outreach and revelation concerning our high school campus ministries. At the time I am writing this, December 11th has already passed, but I want to encourage anyone who would like to take part in this focused season of prayer to participate even if you are just now starting!

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:10

This is our theme verse focusing on the Gospel Night outreach. The Gospel Night is a student-led evangelistic outreach scheduled to happen in February 2012 in the auditorium of Blue Valley Northwest High School, sponsored by their local FCA. We're currently in the process of developing the leadership team and schedule for this outreach and have launched this 21 Days of Prayer to ask the Lord for guidance and favor in our schools. Our goal is to expand this event into more schools and school districts in future semesters and grow it into a thriving evangelistic outreach in our schools. 

You are invited to pray every day whenever your clock says 10:10 (wherever you are) for revelation and favor regarding outreach and revival in our schools. We are asking the Lord for new vision and ideas for reaching our high school campuses. From now until New Years Day, please pray with us for favor and divine revelation from the Lord as we seek to see Jesus glorified in our schools in Kansas City! You can share testimonies either in the comments section of this blog post or by contacting me or Angela Tsang via Facebook! Thank you!

About the Gospel Night:

The Gospel Night outreach is an evangelistic event in the visionary stages right now. It is a student-led, student initiated event that includes a student-led worship team, testimonies shared by students, a skit/drama performed by students, and an invitation to salvation to be given by a student or connected youth pastor. We are also inviting the partnership of area youth groups to encourage and attend the event to counsel and minister to the new believers that we hope will come out of this event. 

Don't Miss Today

It has been a little while since I was a senior in high school, only 5 years, but I remember the feeling of having missed so many opportunities. It wasn't until my senior year that I actually realized that I could make a difference in the eternity of my classmates, and I had only one school year to make an impact. I was grieved in my heart that I had not been a witness for Jesus in my earlier years, grieved that I had wasted so much time and so many relationships along the way. 

I see many high school students today in the same place, struggling to survive as Christians in a spiritually hostile culture, called to shine the light of Jesus yet dormant out of fear and insecurity. Years go by and souls remain unsaved because the laborers are few (Luke 10:2), and the Lord is calling a generation like he called John the Baptist:

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.  He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. - John 1:6-8

I encourage you to not miss today. Our high schools are America's greatest mission field, and any high school student can become America's greatest missionary by reaching out to their friends. Any given day, one student has the opportunity to reach hundreds of their peers if they would answer the call of the Lord to be a witness.

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the example... - 1 Timothy 4:12

Numbers In Student-Led Ministry

I've noticed a very simple principle related to numbers in high school campus ministry. For the most part, the schools with large numbers at their gatherings have a much more difficult time motivating their members to seek the Lord. In large groups, unless the leader is particularly gifted, the culture of the group is set by the overwhelming majority, and when that majority is filled with peer pressure and uncertainty and plain dullness, so the culture goes. 


Small groups, however, have a much better chance of taking action and seeking the Lord because there is less peer pressure to squelch the fire. Teens feel more comfortable and open in smaller groups and are much more likely to participate actively, and are much more easily motivated to do radical things. 


Large groups have an increased difficulty maintaining their focus, as the voices of so many opinions dilute their clarity of vision. Large groups also require much more pastoral leadership to maintain unity and community. In many cases of student-led gatherings, the pastoral burden alone causes the group to disintegrate.


However, when the majority of a large group is passionate and already motivated to seek the Lord, then the culture follows that majority. The difficulty is fostering that culture into existence when it does not exist. It is much easier to start small with an established vision and passion and grow at a rate where the majority remains motivated. 


If a student leader has a large group of high school students where the majority is largely unmotivated, then I would pray hard for the group and actually consider downsizing...


Case Study: Olathe South High School students once held weekly gatherings in the high school gym for Christian students. They had a full worship team, portable sound system, hot breakfast, and over 100 students attending every week. Sounds amazing, right? Over time, the fruit of the group was not what you would expect. Leaders became offended at each other, students attended and socialized but the offense among the leaders began to cause nonbelievers to criticize Christianity. As hard and sincerely as the leaders tried, the group began to fall apart. 


That winter the Lord spoke to several of the leaders calling them to try high school ministry His way, through prayer for breakthrough (out of Acts 1-2). At the start of the spring semester the leaders announced that the group was going to focus primarily on prayer on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and they were no longer going to use the gym or the sound system or the full worship team or the hot meals. Guess how many members they had after that announcement? Ten. This shift revealed how many students (and leaders) were attending out of genuine desire for God and how many attended as a social club.


But in the end, the group began to see breakthrough! The social club ended and students began to focus on God, which was supposed to be the focus of the group, and now (5 years later) students at Olathe South pray EVERY DAY before school as a group and they are seeing their prayers answered in miraculous ways! Now Jesus is actually being exalted!


Why? God uses the weak things to confound the wisdom of this world.

Consecrated Musicianship

Music is such a huge part of all of our lives. Have you ever met a person that doesn't like music? We can debate certain types of music, but everyone loves at least some kind of music. The real glory of music is found in its Creator.

Music was invented by the Lord for His worship. Angels participated in music long before humanity ever existed (Job 38:7). Before Satan fell, he was the highest musician and worship leader in heaven. Studying Satan before his fall reveals how he was created to lead creation in worship through music. Satan is a musician (parts of his body were designed as beautiful instruments), and scripture actually references the Lord being Lucifer's source of inspiration and music (pre-fall). But Satan fell, launching his own worship movement for his own glory, as the chief musician, to deceive humanity. 

Side note: Part of Satan's war against humanity is that we have replaced him as the chief worshipers of heaven. Satan was created to lead us in worship of Yahweh, but he fell, and God granted that humanity would take his place as the chief worshipers of heaven. There are lots of references and studies behind these statements, but I don't want to unpack the entire background right here.

Not only did God invent music and create Lucifer as a chief musician, He also designed our spirit and emotions to respond to music. All music is rooted in spiritual inspiration, whether good or bad, based on who (or what) we worship. Our spirits are directly effected by what we listen to. Our emotions are knit to the music that we submit ourselves to. Many have found freedom from deep depression after changing the music that they listen to. Many who have struggled with the spirit of fear have found deliverance after removing certain music from their library. And not only that, but many have found freedom from demonic oppression related to what they listen to.

The call to be a musician is indeed a crucial calling in the kingdom of heaven. There is real power in music, rooted in who (or what) we worship. There is real power that the Lord wants to give to the church in the area of music that we can only receive if we ask him for it. Music isn't just about sounding good, music can release the power of God to all who hear. Music can deliver or enslave. And musicians will be judged based on what they worshiped with their talents.

I've heard many fantastic musicians, real geniuses with God-given creativity who use their talents to openly worship demons, and their albums are iTunes bestsellers, hardening the hearts of those who hear their music.

I think a lot of Christian musicians need to wake up. Music isn't just sound, there is real power in music. We need to get over our sound and start pressing into the power of Jesus and what He says about our music. We need to stop drinking from the cup of demons (1 Cor 10:21) and actually dedicate our music and inspiration to the Lord. How can we lead anyone in the worship of Yahweh if we're listening to demon worship? And we worship the one who invented music! How is it that secular music dominates the industry when all of their music is based on a counterfeit without revelation or divine inspiration?

I believe that no music can compare to the music of anointed worship. There comes a point where the sound falls away and the power and presence of God overtakes the music and suddenly your song becomes an encounter with the living God. Where is that music? Where is the music that breaks the chains of bondage that the secular music industry enslaves us with? Where is the music that causes our faces to shine and the glory to manifest as in 2 Chronicles 5:11-14? There is more to be had for those who are hungry.

I encourage you, if you are a musician or a singer, to consecrate your music to the Lord and set aside secular music from your life. You are called to distinguish between what is holy and what is common, especially as a musician or singer. Whether or not you feel called to lead worship, or write music, play shows and tour, or just rock out, as a believer, your music has a higher calling to release the power of God on the earth. Seek the Lord about how He would use your music, and seek His inspiration.

Onething 2011

The 2011 onething conference is just around the corner! Last year we had well over 20,000 students and young adults attend in downtown KC for 4 days of amazing worship and teaching! This year's theme is transforming hearts and cities with God's justice through encountering Jesus, our magnificent obsession! Check it out online at www.ihop.org!

Watch the promo video!

Mark your calendars! This is going to be good! Join us in person or online at www.ihop.org for live streaming!

My Opinion on the "Gift of Singleness"

Lately I have heard several teachings on the spiritual "gift of singleness" from various places and I thought I'd share a few of my thoughts about the season of singleness that we all face at some time in our lives. To begin, there has been a growing cultural pressure to validate singleness. Many of our young churchgoers are finding it increasingly difficult to find a suitable spouse in a culture of such wickedness so they are finding themselves single for an extended period of time. Rather than praising their Biblical standards, we are over-glorifying their singleness and misrepresenting marriage entirely. 

My opinion is directed primarily towards men, since I am a male.

First of all, it is unbiblical to relate the season of singleness that we all face in our youth to celibacy. Celibacy is a serious, lifelong vow that very few are called to make before the Lord (fewer than you think). Let us not confuse this serious vow with the seasonal trial of a 20-something. Matthew 19:11-12

Secondly, it is okay to desire marriage. Where did we get the idea that marriage is some kind of burden (Hollywood)? It is not bad to be married. You are not less holy if you are married. It is less holy to be single when you are called to marriage, and I guarantee there are many more of those out there than those genuinely called to celibacy...

Thirdly, many of those who are single are so because they are filled with selfishness. Marriage is a tutor in humility, a tutor many are not willing to accept. Many men are unwilling to put the needs of another before themselves and therefore wait for someone who will put them first. They are so focused on their own lack that they don't yield to the needs of others and are therefore waiting for someone who fulfills all of their needs. Man's pride has bound them and they are unwilling to put on Christ, therefore God has spared the poor woman who would have been their wife and suffered their pride. Their glorified singleness is Their fault. Matthew 19:8.

Fourthly, many are waiting for a spouse that does not exist. This is not to say that our standards are bad, because our values are very real and necessary. I am talking about the fantasy woman many have thought up in their mind who is without fault. Many of us are waiting for a flawless woman who fulfills all of our desires and makes us the hero, but again, this desire is also rooted in pride. They again fail to put someone else's needs before themselves and embrace the faults of another, as Christ loved us in our sin. Many women have passed them over because of the same pride.

Fifthly, marriage predates sin. Married is not some fix to a sin issue (namely our physical passions). God established marriage in paradise. We were designed to marry, rather than to be single. Jesus designed marriage! He was at the first wedding! He loves it! Gen 2:18, Pro 18:22, 31:10, Luke 20:34, Eph 5:31.

Finally, we must not distort the scriptures. Singleness is not a gift, for the overwhelming majority it is a season. There are those that are called to celibacy, but again this is a very small percentage of people who are purposefully called by the Lord. Many are confused by various teachings on 1 Corinthians 7, but Paul says "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches (1 Cor 7:17)." For most, this call is to marriage. Therefore it is okay to desire marriage. God put that desire in you because you are called to marriage, and you will not fulfill all of your calling as you are single. That is just the truth. You need to get married to fulfill you calling as a husband and father, and I do not want to deny you the angst of this desire because it is God's desire for you.

Many teachers need to repent for allowing those who are called to marriage to stay single. We have lifted the God-given burden of our desire for marriage and called it holiness. Marriage is an awesome calling, and it is the holiest thing to pursue it as your calling. Being single does not make you more holy (especially if you are called to marriage). What makes you holy is to pursue God's will for your life, and in most cases, that is marriage. So please feel free to desire marriage! It is a most amazing calling!

The season of singleness does present great opportunities for ministry, but so does marriage. Paul does say in 1 Corinthians 7 that the married man's interested are divided between how to please his wife and how to please the Lord (v. 33-44), but isn't being a good husband pleasing to the Lord (especially if marriage and fatherhood are your calling)? I think we're reading a little to far outside of the context of Paul's instruction to the Corinthians, forgetting what the rest of the Bible says about marriage and concluding that marriage is a hinderance to ministry. If that were true, Paul would not encourage all church leaders to be married in 1 Timothy 3. I conclude that God intends marriage to make us more like Christ as a wonderful benefit to our ministry. I conclude that marriage is excellent for ministry, forcing me to face my pride, tutoring me in humility, fulfilling me in my relationship with my wife and calling as a father, and conforming me more to the image of Christ. Do not be deceived into thinking that singleness actually makes you a more effective minister when you have yet to realize your calling and face your pride. 

God bless those who are in search of a Godly spouse and those who are called purposefully to celibacy.

Here are a few other notes I have written concerning the value of marriage... I'm sure there are more to come:

The Value of Marriage

Marriage Counseling

Knowing Your Moment In History

A major part of understanding the call of the Lord for your life has to do with understanding the moment of history into which you were born. We have to recognize the days we live in, lest we live our life oblivious to the opportunity God has given us in our present day. When entering into any type of calling, in any sphere, the proper understanding of the history of that sphere is crucial. Understanding the history knit to your calling is crucial in gaining the right perspective. 

For teenagers seeking to minister on their school campuses, there are some very important dates you should know. One is the Supreme Court decision of Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962), not only because this was the decision that removed prayer from school, but because it is a clear example of the effect that prayer (or lack-thereof) can have on our schools. It is extremely insightful to know that the removal of prayer effected the youth culture of the entire nation, from test scores to teen pregnancy - prayer made a difference.

Another reason that decision is insightful is because of all of the other court cases that immediately followed it. Why was prayer the primary battle? And why were so many other things outlawed after prayer was removed? What is it about prayer that the enemy sought to eliminate first? And if the removal of prayer sparked such a downfall, what could the return of student-led prayer spark?

Despite all of our most sincere efforts, no one has been able to "crack" the youth culture "code." We can spend so much time trying to be relevant and inclusive that we actually lose the proper perspective. While relevance and inclusiveness are important, history helps uncover what is actually relevant to our ministry. After 49 since the decision of Engel v. Vitale, youth ministry is worse than ever.

Maybe, just maybe, we need to return to the start and get some perspective on our moment in history. Maybe, we were born into this ministry for such a time as this to reverse the drought of prayer in our schools and raise up a student-led prayer movement across our nation. The harvest is ripe, but the laborers aren't praying...

School Stats

Here are just a few helpful statistics I have used to get perspective on the crisis facing this generation, even more particularly, our schools:

In the history of America, the concept of a wall between church and state is a very recent concept and was never used but twice in the history of America up until the late 1940s, but in the last 50 years there have been countless cases citing this concept. Beginning in 1962, with the removal of prayer from schools, a host of other decisions were made removing God from our generation:

- 1962: A verbal prayer offered in a school is unconstitutional, even if that prayer is both voluntary and denominationally neutral (Engel v. Vitale).

- 1965: Freedom of speech and press are guaranteed to students and teachers – unless the topic is religious, at which time such speech becomes unconstitutional (Stein v. Oshinky).

- 1965: If a student prays over his lunch, it is unconstitutional for him to pray aloud (Reed v. Van Hoven).

- 1979: It is unconstitutional for a kindergarten class to ask whose birthday is celebrated by Christmas [Jesus] (Florey v. Sioux Falls School District).

- 1980: It is unconstitutional for students to see the Ten Commandments in school because they might read, meditate upon, respect or obey them (Stone v. Graham).

- 1990: It is unconstitutional for a classroom library to contain books which deal with Christianity, or for a teacher to be seen with a personal copy of the Bible at school (Roberts v. Madigan).

- 1993: Artwork may not be displayed in schools if it depicts something religious – even if that artwork is considered a historical classic (Washegic v. Bloomingdale Public Schools).

Barna Worldview Survey from March 2009

For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.

The research data showed that one pattern emerged loud and clear: young adults rarely possess a biblical worldview. The current study found that less than one-half of one percent of adults in the Mosaic generation – i.e., after ’84, those aged 18 to 23 – have a biblical worldview, compared to about one out of every nine older adults. 

50 Year Teacher Question

In 1940, teachers were asked to identify the top problems in public schools. They answered, “talking out of turn, chewing gum, making noise.” In 1990 teachers were asked the same question, their responses were, “drug and alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery and assault.”

Bible-Based Believer Percentages: 

Builders (born 1927-1945) 65% Bible-based believers
Boomers (born 1946-1964) 35% Bible-based believers
Busters (born 1965-1983) 16% Bible-based believers
Bridgers (born after 1984) 4% Bible-based believers

Over 80% of churchgoers become Christian before the age of 18. Once a person reaches 20 years of age, the odds of reaching that person falls to 10%. The Southern Baptist Convention’s Family Life Council found that 88% of Christian youth fall away in college in 2002. LifeWay conducted a similar study in 2007 and found that 70% of Christian youth fall away in college, and only 35% ever return.

Engel v. Vitale

June 25th of next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of to remove prayer from school in Engel v. Vitale (370 U.S. 421). Looking back on the history of our nation, this court decision in 1962 marks a clear turning point in our culture. Lots of people ask me about the importance of prayer in school. What are the effects? What is its significance to us today? History is perhaps the best teacher...

The issues surrounding the establishment of school-sanctioned and facilitated prayer in school centralize around the First Amendment religious freedoms given to students. A public school district in New York recited a simple, voluntary, nondenominational prayer each morning before school reading, "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country. Amen."

The issue came when a group of parents contested the prayer as unconstitutional on the grounds that the government cannot establish a religion based on the belief system of the majority - that this prayer imposed on their freedom of religion as atheists and non-believers. while the validity of their case was largely debated and ultimately favored, student-led prayer remained possible.

This court decision actually did much more than many people realized. There is something significant about how the laws of the land act as a statement before heaven, and heaven sees the laws and grieves the gradual decay of the generation.

Where the story really begins to unfold is in the years immediately following this decision. Once this decision was made, and the legal principal was established, everything changed. The removal of prayer from school was the decision that served as the tipping point for countless other cases. Soon after 1962, other decision were made further removing God from our schools, including the removal of the ten commandments from display in public schools.

Not only were more court decision made, but the youth culture drastically changed. Starting in 1963, there was a rapid acceleration in the rate of teen violence cases, teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections among teens, and even the family unite in America began to decay more rapidly as national divorce rates actually began to rise. Academics also showed signs of change. The steady national average SAT score fell sharply between 1963 and 1964 and national academics also began to decline. 

In short, there was a clear shift in the history of America related to the removal of prayer from schools. This raises the question, if the removal of prayer can have such  drastic negative effect on our youth, what could the return of prayer (through student-led gatherings) accomplish in our nation? Could we see the divorce rate recover? Could we see teen pregnancy recover? Could we see teen drug use and violence begin to fall? Could we even see national test scores begin to rise?

More than any of that, could we begin to see the ever growing percentage of unsaved teens begin to receive salvation and exalt Jesus? It is said that over 80% of people who get saved do so before the age of 18, and over 80% of those fall away in college. At this rate, less than 4% of this young generation are actually showing solid church involvement, and less than 1/2 of a percent actually have a clear Biblical worldview. An entire generation is going to hell on our watch, youth ministry in America is broken, but what if the prayers of the saints turned heaven's gaze as in 2 Chronicles 7:14:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

What if?

As Supreme Court Justice Stewart dissented, 

I think that to deny the wish of these school children to join in reciting this prayer is to deny them the opportunity of sharing in the spiritual heritage of our Nation. (http://vftonline.org/EndTheWall/Engel-Stewart.htm)

Perspectives On Prayer

I recently had a thought provoking conversation with a friend of mine that I thought my be good to share on this blog, check it out and tell me what you think!

As a general synopsis of my studies in prayer, I have been captivated by the testimony of the church's prayer warriors throughout history. Dating all the way back to passages where the prayers and repentance of God's people brought healing their nation (2 Chronicles 7:14 or Joel 2) or where the prayers of one man effected the destiny of nations that didn't even exist yet (Daniel 9 - 10), and then Luke 18:7 - 8 and confounding verses such as when Jesus tells us our prayers can effect the timing of His return (Matthew 24:20 or 2 Peter 3:12). Then you have the Tabernacle of David where David employed 4,000 musicians and singers and 24,000 supervisors and intercessors to pray night and day as the governmental center of Israel. The Tabernacle of David became a theme of history following David's vow to establish a dwelling place for the Lord on the earth (Psalm 132), and we see many more kings of Israel establish similar realities based on David's Tabernacle. Then at the end of all of that you have the throne of God described in Revelation 4 - 5 where there is constant prayer and worship surrounding His throne! There is something about prayer, even specifically 24/7 prayer that God seems to establish over and over throughout history.

Really my conclusion is that God established prayer as both the primary means of intimate relationship between us and God as well as the governmental center of His Kingdom. The way that Scripture reveals God's Kingdom, all of it is moved by the prayers of the saints, and history shows us how prayer can indeed effect the turning of events, but even more than that prayer is meant to align our hearts with God's heart. When done rightly, prayer releases God's will on the earth by aligning us with His will. People wonder about fasting and if people should participate in fasting today, and even then fasting seems no different than a diet, but in Daniel 10 and Joel 2 you see fasting that is prompted by and inward desire to be reunited with the desires of God's heart.

And the best part of being united with the desires of God's heart is that WE are His desire! The sparks fly when our hearts are turned towards a God who's heart is already turned towards us, but the judgement comes when our hearts are turned away and we 'scorn' His love. That why in Isaiah 59, the Lord releases judgement on Israel because there was no one who wanted to partner with Him! No one shared His desires (Isaiah 59:4,16)! In fact Isaiah 30 says that God, filled with desire, actually waits to visit a nation with blessing until the nation shares His desire. That's why He will not return until Revelation 22:17 is fulfilled when both the Spirit and the bride (being the church) say "Come, Lord Jesus!"

The greatest way to approach prayer is with the desire to encounter God, because that is already His desire. Prayer is a two way conversation that doesn't always get answered immediately, but it is always answered. Many people approach prayer as if they get to define the terms of their relationship with God. Many people even get saved, pray a prayer, but never align with God's terms of relationship. We don't pray in order to "get" anything, we pray primarily to encounter His heart. Truthfully probably less than half of my prayers are actual requests, and I pray a lot (compared to the average western Christian). A prayer life focused on making requests ends in disappointment because we never aligned ourself with God's desires or gained any depth in the conversation. But a prayer life that is based on love and a desire to know God is sustainable for eternity. Requests are very important, however, as God said "You have not because you ask not" (James 4:2-3), but God sets an example by particularly establishing the prayers of the righteous (those who share his motives and desires).

There is a theme woven throughout many of the Scriptures regarding prayer. When I'm teaching someone how to pray, my focus is never based on requests, because God loves to throw curveballs to test our motives. My focus is much more on getting the student fascinated by the beauty of Jesus. The real goal is not results, but a heart that is alive with love for God, in a living relationship and swirl of desire back and forth between us and God until we can't handle it anymore and we actually pray for His return because we miss Him so much! This is a totally foreign concept to most western Christians because God seems so detached and distant, but a life of prayer will reveal just how near He is!

Mac Midi Clock App Request

Dear world of Apple developers and musicians,

I have an external device (guitar pedal) that I wish to sync the tempo with my mac via a midi clock sync, yet the program I have used for years became obsolete when I upgraded to OS X Lion because PowerPC applications are no longer supported. I used a wonderful MidiClock app (http://download.cnet.com/MidiClock/3000-2025_4-32211.html?tag=mncol;1) that served one simple purpose: generated a midi clock signal that I could output to my guitar pedal. This free app solved my problem without causing me to spend big bucks on a music application suite.

So far I have found no way to do this with Garage Band...

So, could a kind-hearted developer/musician please point me in the direction of another option for midi clock syncing between my mac and external device??? Or please develop an app in the App Store (or wherever) that could solve this woe?

Thank you,

Logan Bloom

New Online Photography Store!

This week I put together an all new photography website that allows anyone to browse and purchase customized print orders of my photographs completely online! I am using an online service called Zenfolio, which allows me to use my favorite professional print lab! All of the products are top-notch, and I have always been impressed with their results. Zenfolio features a wonderful set of options for my prints, from Canvas Wraps to even letting you select your favorite frame for an image. All of the profits from these sales go to support our ministry at the International House of Prayer! So you can be confident in your product and that your money is going to a good cause!

A few tips, I always encourage my users to "Styrene" mounting option when ordering prints. This is a very durable plastic surface that is not effected by humidity or changes in temperature and is not subject to typical wear and tear and can greatly increase the lifespan of your print. I do not receive any profit from this option, I have just noticed a massive benefit from using it on my own prints. Make sure to at least give it a look under the "Preview and Configure" menu option before checkout.

Another tip would be to really consider ordering the "Fine Art" version of my prints. These "Fine Art" prints, while more expensive, are of a much better quality, especially at larger print sizes. These prints provide a much better viewing experience as both the paper and the ink are specialized for fine art photography. Try one and you'll see the difference.

Well what are you waiting for?

Visit photography.loganbloom.com

Calling a Generation in the Right Direction

These days everyone is calling this generation to something, both inside the church and outside the church. Whether it is a style, brand, environmental or compassion initiative, music, or church program, this generation is pulled at all sides. Has it ever been easier for a teenager to find a 'bigger picture' to commit themselves to? In such a fast paced technological revolution, how do we navigate the many voices calling to our teenagers?

It is very easy in all of these things to forget what matters most, and this is a mark that our youth are missing. Amidst countless compassion initiatives around the world, secular motivators are seeking to define "justice" around humanistic unity. We often forget that true justice is oriented by the truth of scripture, and where there is no truth of scripture, there is no justice.

In Matthew 22, Jesus sets the record straight about what each generation is called to give themselves to:

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

These two commandments are so easily mixed up that it happens all the time, but the effects of missing this order are detrimental to a generation. If you fulfill the second commandment without the first commandment, you will only love someone to hell. There is no salvation apart from intimacy with Jesus. Jesus is God. Jesus defines truth, justice and righteousness, and apart from Him we will be destroyed.

Every call to this generation is for nothing unless we get this right. Every intent of our heart is wicked apart from Jesus. So my plea is that we call a generation into what really brings everlasting life. No amount of helping the poor will pay for your sins. Each time we focus on the second commandment without the first, we are preparing to receive the Antichrist, because this will be the movement on which he will capitalizes. There is no good apart from Jesus (Psalm 16:2).

We must be a generation that pursues the first commandment, that we would love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind! Imagine how that would effect our lives, our music, our ministries. Even in the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10), Martha is working to serve, and yet Jesus says that Mary chose the 'one thing that is needed,' to sit at his feet. She chose intimacy over service. We must have intimacy with Jesus, especially for the days ahead.

One of my favorite teachers on the earth said, "If you don't enjoy Jesus, what makes you think you'll enjoy heaven?" We've got to call our generation to the first commandment, and the second commandment will come naturally. Get intimacy with Jesus, like oil in your lamp.

Samuel's First Week

Well, Samuel is now 1 week old!!! He is asleep next to me after a feeding (yes, at 2:30 AM), and I thought I'd share some thoughts! So far, Samuel has been such an amazing baby, and Molly has been such an amazing mother!

Both Molly and I are realizing more and more that Samuel really is an amazing child. We've prayed for him throughout the entire pregnancy, and now that he is here it is cool to see some of the answers to our prayers. Samuel is perfectly healthy, but more than that he is pure, innocent, and very well tempered. Samuel carries no curse from his parents. The greatest interactions of his life have been between him and his Creator.

As we look back on the pregnancy, particularly Molly's 3 hospital visits, culminating in the 4 night stay for salmonella poisoning, we're reminded of a few similar stories. I've seen for many years the stories of history where Satan would rage against a generation in order to wipe out the deliverer about to be born. Moses is a prime example. Every Israelite child was being killed as 'population control,' but truly Satan knew the hour and raged against the generation to try and catch Moses, but God was faithful and rescued Moses. Jesus was another deliverer born under the rage of Satan, where an entire generation was being wiped out in an attempt by Herod to catch Jesus as a child. This generation, too, is begin born under the rage of abortion, again because Satan knows the hour and we're raising the generation that will experience the return of Jesus.

As for Samuel, Molly became deathly ill in her 39th week of pregnancy. She was ill for a full 5 days without recovery, spiking a 103 degree fever at a heart rate will into the 140's. We feared for Molly's life as her dehydration approached a fatal limit. Her entire internal system shut down where she could not eat or drink or take any medication but through an injection. Had Molly died, Samuel's life, although likely saved, would have been changed forever (not to mention mine). I remember pacing in her hospital room for hours crying out to God, "Let me have my wife!" I think I rebuked every evil spirit I had ever heard of, and probably a few I made up.

Yet, Molly lived! She is so strong! She received antibiotics once the diagnosis was made and she began to recover only 3 days from her due date! There was still a chance that Samuel could have been infected but Molly's recovery was quick and she was soon well enough to deliver by the time Samuel actually arrived.

Looking back on the story, I am reminded of this verse: "By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict" (Hebrews 11:23). Moses' parents recognized something in their child, not fully, but at least in part, and they parented according to the call of God on his life. Imagine Zachariah in Luke 1, told by an angel of his son's birth and destiny (John the Baptist), and think about how that effected his parenting. So much so that it's written in the Bible! The faith of Moses' parents actually contributed to his destiny, and gets included in the story of our 'heroes of faith' in Hebrews 11!

I want to be that kind of parent. I do not know the full purposes of God for my son, but the fact that Satan raged against his birth is evidence of the call of God over Samuel's (and Molly's) life! So here we are, one week into it. Molly is still recovering from the weakness she sustained from her illness, and from delivery, but she gets better each day. Samuel is healthy as could be, and I am ever more aware of something stirring in my spirit over his life. I pray each day for the full purposes of God to come to pass in his life, and I am ever thankful to have him and Molly in my life!

Samuel Is Here!

Our little baby Samuel was born on August 8th at 4:27 PM! 7 pounds, 5 ounces, 20.5 inches long! He is soooo wonderful! Molly is recovering well and is no longer suffering from any symptoms of her food poising (which she had at 39 weeks).

We are about to launch our new online newsletter where we will get to post videos and picture slideshows and all kinds of new interactive content! We are so excited to make this new newsletter available to anyone who is interested in keeping up with our ministry and family. You can sign up online easily to receive a link to our monthly newsletter to your email here:

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When Christianity Becomes Terrorism

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness! - Isaiah 5:20

For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. - Jeremiah 8:11

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, - 1 Timothy 4:1-2

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. - Matthew 24:9-14

Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. - 1 John 4:3

During a time of fasting in 2008 I had two dreams, which at the time, seemed slightly far-fetched in that present day. In one dream I was interviewing a Christian High School student who had his Bible confiscated by his teacher at school. He told me the story of how no Bibles were allowed on campus because of their offensive content, and only one Bible was placed in the administrative office next on a shelf with a copy of every other major religious text.

In the second dream, I was walking through the capital of some state and it was an election year. I watched a TV screen with the news where the political candidates campaigned about what they would do eliminate the "intolerant Christians," as if Christianity had become a form terrorism. This is hard for us to imagine in America, but it happens ALL the time around the world. Back to the dream, it was clear that the church was about to make its final stand. Nationwide, the church decided to launch a final large-scale evangelism outreach where believers took to the streets in groups trying to share the gospel to whomever they could find. It was clear that this was the last chance the church had before the doors were closed. We were about to take our final action as a free religion.

Thus we took to the street, and very quickly riots began to break out across the nation. The evangelism outreach was met by unprecedented opposition. Protestors violently persecuted the groups of believers and the police rushed the scene immediately to arrest the believers for our own safety. I watched in the dream as some of my own friends were hauled off to jail, bleeding from the beatings they had just taken from an angry mob. Again I watched the news about the event and saw that there were a few places in the nation where the evangelism was met with signs and wonders and revivals actually broke out in some places and many were saved, but over all, the church took its last stand. Then I looked at the street where the riot had just taken place and I saw the Bibles that the believers had carried scattered through the street. Cars would purposefully run them over and passers by would step on them purposefully. I picked one up, that had belonged to my friend, and a person walking by said, "Can you believe it? They actually believe that stuff! I'm glad their gone." Then I woke up.

Those dreams seemed a little extreme when I first had them, but in the years since, I've realized a sobering reality that this kind of persecution might come sooner than we think. I recently read some very troubling news articles regarding Governor Perry's call to fasting and prayer. I repeatedly saw the phrase "Christian extremists" and "intolerant Christians," and I suddenly remembered my dreams. These "Chrsitian extremists" written about in the news were some of our more grounded, faithful church leaders, such as James Dobson of Focus on the Family.

The trends in the media are beyond bashing morality but are actually taking a stand against fundamental Christianity. The news articles applauded the efforts of the universalist church pastors who's banner is unity. The nation is actually openly taking a stand against Christianity and Scripture. Now, I'm pretty young, maybe too young, but I see no more time for apathy. Governor Perry's call to prayer and fasting is exactly what we need.

The New York Times did a fairly gentle article on the International House of Prayer where we were criticized for believing that God actually hears our prayers. Of all the things to be criticized for (like that Jesus is the only way to God), we were criticized simply for believing in prayer!

All that to say, we ought to take a serious look at the Scriptures I listed at the top and come to turns with the reality of what we're about to go through. Whether you believe in pre-tribulation rapture or not, this is where our nation is headed apart from a supernatural move of God, and this is the Biblical description of where we're headed, so don't expect to be spared.

I won't get into the doctrine of glory of the church in persecution and participating in the sufferings of Christ (Romans 8:17, 1 Peter 4:13, Matthew 5:11-12, among others), but as Christians this is what the Bible says to expect. The church in America has largely failed her duty as the 'ekklesia,' but the persecution of the church is always accompanied by the spread of the gospel and the power of God being made manifest in our midst, and we could use some of that.

It's The Little Things

Well, Molly has been battling some sort of illness for the last few days (not due to her current pregnancy) and has had a very rough weekend. Poor Molly has had a difficult pregnancy, but thankfully Samuel seems to have been perfect the entire time. Anyway we were at the hospital, getting her checked in just to be monitored because of her spiking fever and poor Molly was as exhausted as could be. We've slept very little in the last 48 hours and although I am a determined servant to my wife, I was certainly feeling the strain that Molly's illness was having on me. No husband wants to see his wife pregnant at 39 weeks be this sick. And after days of prayer and tireless work and pain (on her part), I was looking for a silver lining.

Yet, I have so looked forward to this day, the day(s) when I really get the opportunity to be a servant in greater ways to my wife. I remember on my wedding day thinking of days like this when I made my vows. I wrote my own vows thinking of the days of difficulty and trial. Today is a day of trial, certainly one of our greatest trials thus far, but I am glad to have it because this is why I entered into covenant. Marriage isn't marriage until you get the chance to serve in great trials like these.

In my disparity of the moment, the Lord played a little practical joke on me. When I was young, I collected Hot Wheels cars, and not just any Hot Wheels, I collected Dodge Viper Hot Wheels. Any color or body style, I wanted them all, and I had around 24 of them all in a little carrying case (I still have them to this day). To me, they were special, something I chose to collect for fun, and my favorite of all was the blue Viper with white racing stripes (the classic)!

Every once and while (maybe once every 2 years), I look at Wal-Mart to see if there are any more blue Vipers for sale in the Hot Wheels isle, and I haven't seen one probably since I was 10. Well tonight, we're at the hospital and we were trying to figure out how to extend the couch-bed conversion so that I could sleep (more or less, the thing is so uncomfortable). When we pulled the couch away from the wall, there was a little blue Viper with white racing stripes! OF ALL THINGS, my favorite little Hot Wheels collectable hiding behind the couch!

And I realize, even now, that these are the moments I am collecting, the moments where I get to serve my wife and give everything I have for her. In the midst of this trial, God is saying "these are the moments you want to collect and even search for, times when you get to give everything you have to serve your wife." Suddenly the great privilege of this trial comes to light and I realize the honor I have to be here with Molly, God's beloved daughter.

Each day the Lord coaches me a little more into becoming to husband Molly deserves, and this little Hot Wheels car will be a reminder for me for years to come. As for Molly, we aren't exactly sure what's causing her illness, it seems like some sort of virus, but Samuel is a-happy and a-kick'n no worries. We'll know more soon but for now we're just monitoring her and relieving some of the symptoms. Right now she's sleeping peacefully in the bed next to my chair and Samuel's heart is pumping at a perfect 145 bpm. Tomorrow is a new day, and that means new mercies. More, Lord!

My Amazing Wife

I would like to take a moment to brag about my amazing wife! We have been married for over a year and half (not so long) and now we're only days away from delivering our firstborn son! I could not be more excited!

She has done so much to make me happy and has been the most loving person I've ever met. The fact that she would uproot herself and move to Kansas City to spend her life with me is a testimony to her ability to love and to her selflessness. God designed us to go perfect together and I am soooooo thankful to have met her and now be together for the rest of our lives. I would be a selfish mess without her.

If I'm old and grey (or even bald), and she goes to heaven first, I have every right to my grumpy old ways because life is unbearable without her. She has a joy and an excitement as well as a peaceful sweetness that I can't live without. My eyes suffer for lack of beauty when we're apart too long. She truly is my joy and my strength in so many situations. When my spirit is weak, she builds me up. Truly he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.

I love her presence, just to have her in the same room puts me at ease. Even the most fleeting eye contact is enough to make my heart skip a beat. Her smile is dangerously addictive and I love to hear her laugh. She has her own unique personality filled with endless discoveries and adventures. Each day I take refuge in the fact that I will eventually be beside her as we sleep.

She has always had a provoking understanding of the significance of living holy to the Lord. She has always desired to serve the Lord with all of her heart, and this is the most attractive thing about her. She has taken the role of a servant in the most extravagant of ways, far more than I am willing to this day. God never fails her.

She is and always will be, the love of my life; the one to whom I have pledged all of my heart as we seek the Lord. I am so blessed to have her as a wife and as the mother of my children. I could not have asked for a more beautiful bride and I thank the Lord for his mercy to have blessed me with such an amazing partner. If you have not met her, you're missing out. She's Molly Bloom, and I am proud to call her my wife. I can only hope to live to be the man she deserves, by God's grace.

Now with Samuel almost here, we're about to start the largest chapter in our earthly ministry; parenthood. Before now I would have been terrified at this concept, but I have found complete confidence in Molly. I am extremely excited about becoming a dad, but I am even more excited to have her as his mother. Molly is going to be an amazing mother, and Samuel is a lucky little boy!

I love you, Molly!

Why Humanity Chooses Hell

As Americanized Christians, we have a hard enough time reconciling the existence of hell. How could a good God send people to eternal punishment? Obviously the instance of this question exposes our utter lack of the knowledge of God, but even more so it exposes our lack of understanding our own propensity to sin against God. The issue of hell is not a God issue, it is a sinful man issue, and to think that we don't deserve hell is the perhaps the greatest lie we can fall into.

Let's look at Romans chapter 7:

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

That was a lot of text, but in it Paul clearly outlines something called the law of sin or the "Mystery of Iniquity" that we all carry as sinful people (see Romans 3:23). The very fact that we have sinned, rejecting the perfect leadership of Jesus, is punishable by eternal damnation. There is no one more holy or perfect or kind or loving who rules any greater than Yahweh, and to reject his leadership is treason against love.

Who would sin in a perfect world? YOU! So would I! Or did Adam and Eve, having been with God, dwelling with Him in the garden, not reject his perfect leadership in paradise? At that moment, the law of sin took effect, infecting the entire human race. That day, humanity chose to reject the perfect leadership of Yahweh... Humanity, knowing the punishment, chose sin! Satan didn't shove anything down anyone's throat, and you cannot say that you would have responded any differently. We are now subject to futility, to the law of sin and this desire of iniquity.

This is true of humanity throughout history! We have a propensity to purposefully reject the leadership of Jesus and choose hell. We do it knowingly! Do you not think that every time you sin you crucify Jesus again choosing the punishment of hell over His promises (Hebrews 6:6)?!

Again and again, humanity chooses hell rather than to subject themselves to the leadership of Yahweh (Psalm 2 is a great Biblical example). And it will continue to happen; at the end of the millennial reign of Jesus after His second coming on earth, the nations reject the leadership of Jesus AGAIN!

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. Revelation 20:7-8

Even after Jesus has been ruling and reigning on the earth with resurrected saints who are without sin, the remaining inhabitance of the earth who are without resurrected bodies (and thus still subject to iniquity) reject His leadership again, choosing the punishment rather than the promise, with the promise right in front of them!

Thus, we cannot place any accusation against the leadership of Jesus. The lake of fire is not a place where "innocent people" spend eternity, because all are guilty. Make no mistake, humanity rejects Jesus (which is made even clearer in the End Time events).The mystery of iniquity is that we continually reject our savior and the promise of salvation. We choose hell, thinking that the immediate pleasure is somehow better than the everlasting.

Thankfully, there is hope. Thus Paul exhorts us in Romans 8, just following his lament about the law of sin, to surrender our lives to Jesus and wage war against this law with the power of the Holy Spirit.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death... For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit... You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you... For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:1-2,5,9,18

Even though we choose hell, God still desires us (1 John 4:19), and offers us salvation through repentance and subjection to the leadership of Jesus. There is no salvation apart from Jesus, He is the way of salvation. Therefore choose life.

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Glory Swirl

There is a very simple sentence in Romans 12 that has extreme weight to its meaning:

Outdo one another in showing honor. - Romans 12:10

This is a seemly simple command given from Paul to exhort the church in Rome, even more specifically related to the treatment of Jews to Gentiles and visa versa. Yet, consider the implications as they relate to our relationship with Jesus. We've heard Jesus said "whoever humbles himself will be exalted" in Matthew 23:12, but think about it for a moment...

In our relationship to Jesus, we give Him glory, and in turn He glorifies us, and the more we glorify Him, the more we too are filled with His glory. Look at it this way, you tell Jesus "I love you," and his heart is immediately moved and He responds with a greater "I love you!" and your heart is moved and you respond with an even great "I love you!" and the progression continues until you're utterly undone! Think about Romans 12:10, the Holy Spirit inspired that verse based on a divine swirl of glory not only between the body of Christ but between the Church and Jesus.

You cannot outdo Jesus is giving glory, but I encouraged you to try. Simply sit and tell Jesus how much you love him, and then listen to how he feels about you. So many Christians live their lives without ever knowing how Jesus feels about them! And if you can't tell, look at the Scriptures! The Bible says that we love because Christ first loved us! Think about that! You can't love Jesus first, he loved you first, every time. It is impossible to love Jesus without him loving you long before the thought ever entered your mind.

How about this? You don't deserve your next breath, but because Jesus desires you, you receive it. You're still alive, in this moment, because Jesus desires you. If Jesus didn't desire you, there would be no point. Colossians 1:17 says that all things are currently held together in their place by Jesus, and that includes you because he desires you!

So for a moment, I encourage you, get over yourself and fall in love with Jesus and receive his love for you. Renounce your allegiance with anything that holds you back and give yourself to this one true love. Tell Him how you love him, and receive his love, and try - just try - to outdo Him in showing honor.

Melodies from Heaven

As a musician at IHOP, I hear a lot of talk about the idea of musicians and singers pursuing and receiving melodies from heaven. Of course, heaven is musical! The book of Revelation describes the thrown of God and the music that is constantly surrounding the thrown. Of course, this is amazing, and of course, who wouldn't want to hear the music of heaven!

As I learned more about it, I myself began to seek the Lord regarding the music of heaven. As a musician consecrated to the Lord and using my talents to worship, I began to diligently ask the Lord to impart to me divinely inspired melodies and progressions. For many years I did this, separating myself from demonically inspired (a.k.a. secular) music and committing my music to the Lord.

There is great truth in the fact that all music has a root to its inspiration, whether out of human creativity or spiritual inspiration, every composer has an allegiance. Music is either inspired by the Holy Spirit and the beauty of Jesus or it is inspired by darkness to promote darkness, if even at an incremental level. A perishing composer cannot produce any other kind of music, plain and simple. Therefore, the consecration of our ears is essential, even moreso for worship leaders!

Back to my story, for years I consecrated myself to the Lord and asked earnestly for a melody of heaven. I heard stories of musicians and singers who had received divine melodies that they had no inspiration for, or that had a special power to break strongholds in the spirit. Again and again I've heard of musicians pleading with God to inspire them, but I think in some cases, this process has carried to a fault.

I remember one day I was playing in the prayer room and the Lord was obviously moving in the room and nearly the entire room was engaged in energetic worship. I remember praying "Lord, give me a divine melody from heaven!" And thinking, "If only I had a prophetic melody right now to really take it to the next level." Then I felt a conviction come upon me and the Lord spoke to me. He said, "Why not play from the inspiration of your spirit, which is subject to the Holy Spirit? Are you not worshiping me, and is your worship not as good as any other? Then the greatest melodies are that which are of genuine heart and not what you received from some other source." Suddenly I realized, I had spent so much energy pursuing a 'divine' melody from who-knows-where that I neglected to actually engage my heart in worship before the Lord.

It is not the goal of the musician or worshiper to "tap into" someone else's inspiration, even if that person is an angel or some heavenly being. In truth, Biblically, the role of lead worshipers passed from the angels to humanity after the fall of Lucifer. And since the angels do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in their inner man, in stands to reason that our greatest musical inspiration comes from our own heart cry, of course connected to the Holy Spirit that dwells in us.

I do not see in Scripture any example where a prophetic musician received all of their inspiration from anyone other than their own spirit engaging with the Holy Spirit. The cry of the Spirit and the Bride that say "Come" at the end of the day is a partnership between our own song aligning with the movement of the Holy Spirit on the earth. Psalm 149 where the believers "make melody" rather than "receive melodies," and execute justice on the nations through their worship. And Isaiah 30 where at the end of the age, the worship that arises from the church actually releases the judgements of God, but it says nothing of heavenly melodies being released. Rather, I believe that the church is finally going to learn how to worship in spirit and in truth, with grace and supplication, and that the Lord will anoint their weak worship.

There are two worship movements at the end of the age, an epic spiritual showdown in the realm of music between worshipers of Yahweh and worshipers of the Antichrist and Satan. The key is not restlessly seeking divine melodies in hopes that we will one day be powerful worshipers, but that we rend our hearts to the Lord and engage in a life of the Spirit that results in God placing a divine endorsement on our music. God wants real, genuine worship from the heart of a humble people, not just that we seek and seek and seek for an angel's melody.

And the funny thing is, He'll actually give us divine inspiration with supernatural power once we rend our heart and truly give ourselves to wholehearted worship. Amen.

New Current Need

I've added a new section to the Partnership pages of our web site called Current Needs. These are one-time gift needs to help us overcome obstacles that arise that are outside our normal monthly budget and fundraising. This is also a place that we will post praise reports from when the current need is met, so we can rejoice together!

The latest entry comes from this week:

"A new(er) car. Logan has a 1995 Infiniti that has needed fixing every month this year and has been costing us much needed money and time. Molly drives a wonderfully reliable Hyundai that we are sharing at the moment, but once Samuel is born, we will be hard pressed without 2 cars. If you know of a reliable, economical, affordable used car for sale, or would like to give towards this need, please let us know! All gifts are tax deductable. Thank you! "