Why We Will Always Have The Poor

We have all heard the story of when Mary of Bethany poured costly perfume on Jesus' feet the week before passover. Then those in the room mocked and scorned Mary because the perfume she poured out was worth a year's wages and that money could have been given to the poor. Jesus' response in Mary's defense has always stuck out to me:

"But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always." - John 12:7-8, Matthew 26:11, Mark 14:7

What did Jesus mean by "For the poor you have with you always"? 

Right now we live in a time of more charities, initiatives and ideologies towards solving social injustices and serving the poor than any other time in history. Never before in history have we been subject to so much marketing from nonprofit groups serving the poor around the world. Everywhere I go I hear of new initiatives for solving world hunger or this or that, or about injustices against the poor, and various ways I can donate with just the touch of a button. It is almost as if these nonprofits have become a type of fad, yet they are evidence of a growing justice movement across the earth that, as you'll read, will not succeed alone. 

There is only one way to solve world hunger and bring justice to the poor, and it doesn't happen by clicking 'like' on facebook or a donation at the checkout of your corner store. In fact I don't think it is possible to solve world hunger or eliminate poverty apart from one solution, the return of Jesus. As Christians, we know that the only true freedom is found in relationship with Jesus, and no other solution can really produce true freedom or justice.

It helps to look at how Jesus defines the poor, and where the root of poverty lies. Why will there always be poor people until the return of Jesus? The root of poverty is not just a social justice issue, but a sin issue. Poverty exists as a result of sin, the fallenness of man, and it will always exist apart form the leadership of Jesus. In fact Jesus uses poverty as a tool; 1 Samuel 2:7 says the Lord makes people rich and poor, allowing poverty to exist for a reason.

The book of Proverbs is full of verses about the immorality at the root of poverty, and what makes a man poor. In some cases it is the pride and actions of a man that make him poor. In other cases poverty is forced upon people by corrupt rulers. Whatever the case, the root of the issue cannot be made right apart from Jesus. Sure, we can bandaid the issue, but it cannot be solved apart addressing sin.

Jesus cares deeply about the poor! This is not to say "don't help the poor," because Yahweh is the God of justice for the poor! There is no other god who has given so many promises to the poor of the earth! There are dozens of Bible passages about the Lord's kindness towards the poor. BUT, every one of those passages also deals with redemption from sin. There cannot be any justice for the poor without Jesus. 

I am a big advocate of helping the poor. Giving to the poor of the earth not only helps them, it makes us more like Christ. I would find it very hard to be a Christian and not care about the poor, but I would find it even harder to be a Christian and care for the poor while excluding Jesus from the solution.

Jesus defines "poor" very differently than we often do. There are many verses about helping those who are financial poor and oppressed, but there are also many verses giving us insight into what Jesus calls "poor." Many rich men are poor in the eyes of Jesus, and to Him many poor people are rich. To Jesus, the definition of rich or poor is directly connected to the condition of our hearts. That is why Jesus said the 2 copper coins of the poor widow were a greater offering than the large sums of the rich (Mark 12:41-43). Jesus cares about the physical needs of the poor as well as the condition of their hearts. 

In the years ahead, there will be two great justice movements on the earth. One will seek to serve the poor without Jesus and will actually serve to enslave humanity in greater sin, while the other will declare the message of the cross and will serve the poor in the name of Jesus. Watch where your money goes and which justice movement you serve. Sow your money into organizations that meet both the physical need and the heart need.

My Post Election Thoughts

There is a lot to be said about tonight's election results. Paying attention to Bible verses like Proverbs 21:1, 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Daniel 2:21 and Hosea 8:4 are very telling verses, but I am again drawn to one particular passage that I feel says it best:

"If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you. . . But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king." - 1 Samuel 12:14-15,25

This was the prophet Samuel's address to the people of Israel as he appointed their very first king, Saul. This marked a pivotal political shift for Israel, which had to that point in history been a strict theocracy. Samuel gave the people of Israel the responsibility of honoring the commands of the Lord and reflecting those beliefs in their leadership. His charge was clear. Do not rebel against the commands of the Lord, lest the Lord turn against you and sweep you away - a terrifying standard.

To my eye, change has come to America, and it is not a change that honors the Lord's commands. Statistics have said for many years that the younger generations are greatly departing for traditional moral values, and as those generations become of voting age, this change has become clear among young voters.

I have great hope for President Obama. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 and Proverbs 21:1 give me great hope for his salvation. Whether he will be an instrument of judgement or of redemption, only God knows (the same could have been said about Romney). My urgency turns more toward the worldview of the youth of America. The Barna Research Group released a study in 2009 that showed that less than one half of one percent of those born after 1984 agree with a traditionally Biblical worldview, compared to 9% of adults. America's abortion policies are not the issue but rather the symptom of America's moral decay. America needs to return to the Lord regardless of who was elected.

My hope for America was never in one candidate. Our great hope is always in the mercy of God and the leadership of Jesus. As believers, we belong to higher government, and while we vote to participate in democracy, we pray to participate in God's government. According to Samuel, we desperately need a culture shift in America, but that change can't come from the white house. That change only comes from the Lord through his church. The responsibility falls to us to pray, to do justly and walk humbly before the Lord. 

Be encouraged to pray by Paul's instruction in 1 Timothy 2:1-4:

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly anddignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desiresall people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

God bless President Obama, and God bless America.

UPDATE: I've added this video on November 14th from Daniel Lim, the CEO of the International House of Prayer. His video communicates my conclusion very well.

The Mercy of God's Judgement

I would have titled this article "When Revival Becomes Judgement," but as you'll read, that would have been very misleading. Recently I have spent a lot of time studying the effects of revival versus judgement on the human heart, and I wanted to share some of my conclusions with you. These conclusions break many false ideas we have about revival and God's judgement in the nations as we explore some plain Biblical texts.

Recently I was at a Christian youth retreat, and as usual there was a great ministry time on the final night of the retreat. The Lord was revealing his love to many teenagers in a fresh way and breaking off the lies that the devil had spoken over their identity. Truly, it was an amazing evening that brought everyone in the room to tears. Of course, there I was, in tears, and about 15 minutes into the ministry time I felt the strangest emotion come over me. The tears went away and all of the sudden I was burdened to pray that the students who were being touched would respond by living holy from that day forward. Suddenly I was praying for modern day Nazirites to come out of this meeting! I became obsessed with how the students would choose to live from that day forward. It was clear this was a pivotal experience for many lives, but all I could think about was, "How will this effect the way they live? Will it change them or will they fall back to the same old things once they get home?" It felt so random and out of touch with what was clearly happening in the room that I pondered this strange emotion for days on end.

It became clear to me that the only way to sustain breakthrough in our hearts is to live holy. None of us deserved what the Lord did that night. In fact most of the people that were touched that night were not living 'holy' before the Lord, but seemed pretty dull spiritually. Yet, we serve the God who calls for the things that are not as though they are (Romans 4:17), and He visited everyone in that room as an act of mercy, breaking through the dullness of our hearts. The fatal mistake comes when Christians live from breakthrough to breakthrough, relying on these rare occasions as the basis of their faith but never actually letting them effect how they live. Like I said, the only way to sustain the breakthrough, to actually live in it continually like we all imagine, is to let it effect the way we live. When God visited us in his mercy, he set a decision before us: how then will we live? I realized that for those who would relish in this rare event but not change the way they lived would actually have their hearts hardened. Thus the decision isn't just about how we will live but rather will we respond with a tender heart or will our heart grow harder as we deny the call to holiness.

You see, each time we experience breakthrough is different, and each time we can respond in a way that tenderizes our heart towards the Lord (by letting it effect how we live) or we can actually harden our heart by choosing sin again despite the encounter. Each time we respond with apathy, it becomes more and more difficult to respond with tenderness the next time. At the same time I reached this conclusion, I stumbled upon this verse...

"And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life." - 2 Peter 2:20-21 (NLT)

I see this played out frequently in the prayer room at IHOPKC. For some people, the prayer room may be the very worst place they could be. It starts small, just a few times each week one might show up and work from the prayer room, disengaging their heart in the midst of worship. Every time we disengage our spirit in the midst of God's presence, it gets easier and easier. Pretty soon, that person has forgotten how to engage in the prayer room, and suddenly the prayer room becomes trivial. I know people like this, to whom the requirement of the prayer room is their least favorite thing about IHOPKC. Well I have news for you, you're at a place where 24/7 prayer and worship is the center of what we do! Yet sometimes we become so overfamiliar with God's presence, fail to engage our hearts for so long, that it becomes a burden and we don't even realize it. Nothing could be more dangerous to the human heart. Of course then you see the visitors rush into the prayer room, having traveled thousands of miles just to sit in the very same presence we take for granted... I tell you Jesus has strong emotions about that level of arrogance and apathy.

The same thing happens with revival! God could send an outstanding revival and outpouring of his Spirit, and yet believers still respond in apathy and, as Peter says, are worse off because of the new level of dullness in their heart. I think God withholds revival in his mercy because he sees the depths of our hearts, and knows about our hidden levels of apathy. God purposefully withholds revival until the church is ready, because he knows because of the reality of 2 Peter 2:20-21 that revival could actually send more to hell than to heaven. It all comes down to how we are willing to respond.

I think we have romanticized revival to an extent in our minds. We imagine that if God would just send revival, everything would click, society would change, there'd be a culture shift, and everyone would get saved, but when the revival leaves our apathy could leave us even worse than before! The dullness of the church is the very reason God withholds revival, giving us a window of mercy to get our act together. What makes us think we would respond rightly to revival when we routinely respond with apathy to His daily whispers?

So then what? What wakes up the rebellious nation with an apathetic church? You guessed it, judgement. Judgement can accomplish the objective of revival when revival is not the answer. We often immediately associate judgement with a negative emotion, but even judgement can be God's mercy, giving us another chance to respond. Scripture says God chastens us in love (Pro 3:12, Heb 12:6), desiring that we would respond with what? Repentance. Tenderness. Holiness - the same objective of revival. Holiness makes us compatible with the Holy. The blood of Jesus saves us, but holiness makes us participants in the divine nature. But if we're so dull that revival won't wake us, so asleep spiritually that we don't even realize our apathy towards the Lord, a great shaking is our best hope to lead us back into partnership with God. At that moment, God's merciful judgement becomes our best friend.

Why else do you think Isaiah wrote "In the path of your judgements, oh Lord, we wait for you. . . for when your judgements are in the earth, the inhabitance of the world learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:8-9). The time comes when the church needs a shaking to wake it up! If we really want to live in partnership with the Lord, we ought to welcome the little shakings in our lives that show us our hidden pride. We can avoid those shakings by regularly dialoging with the Lord about how we live. Go ahead and just give God his desired response! Talk to him! Wage war against the dullness of the human heart and get a spirit that is alive! Listen for the whispers and start responding in tenderness towards the Lord's presence and leadership now! If the church would do that, God would have sent revival years ago! Instead we've responded with apathy for so long that we aren't even compatible with the revival he wants to pour out!

But in all honesty, given what we've just learned about the mercy of God's judgement, I feel better about the Bible verses that talk about the judgements of God being released on the earth at the sound of the church's prayers. America needs to turn, and revival could produce that result, but God knows our hearts better than we do and judgement may actually produce the better result. It's a hard thing to determine, but we can make sure we are responding to the Lord in tenderness at every opportunity. That produces the heart that is alive.

An Important Prayer Request

At this time Molly is in the middle of her first trimester and she is facing worse nausea and debilitating weakness than her first pregnancy. No form of anit-nausea medication has been able to help, and the issue is not only 24/7 nausea and frequent vomiting, but the danger of dehydration. There just seems to be no relief regardless of the time of day, and it has left her completely unable to care for Samuel on her own.

We've sought all kinds of counsel. Medication has had no effect, but where medication fails, God is still able. I am asking that you would consider adding Molly to your prayer list over the duration of her pregnancy. We desperately need relief in Molly's body or some divine wisdom to strike our doctors. The last pregnancy became a matter of life and death, and Molly's case is in a class of its own. Yet amazingly Samuel was always healthy and continues to be healthy!

Please pray for Molly during her pregnancy. Pray for strength in her body, protection over the baby, provision for the medical bills, and any form of relief and medical wisdom.

Your healing shall spring forth speedily - Isaiah 58:8

After Five Years This One Thing Holds True

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain." - Psalm 127:1

Of all places this verse applies, none may be so clear as in the work of ministry. I have definitely seen this verse to be true in my own work in youth ministry. It's been 7 years that I have paid attention to this, 5 years since I started 456, and I have seen class after class of students come and go. I remember in my earlier days (although these days are still 'early days'), I was very eager to build my own vision. I had my own naive ideas that were founded on legitimate desires that the Lord had put in my heart. But who could blame me for trying in my youth?

That is one of the great perils of youth ministry, particularly when students are put in leadership. Many students often don't have the spiritual or emotional maturity to lead diligently before the Lord. But the Lord chooses the youth anyway! Really, youth pastors are stewarding the Lord's calling over the younger generation, teaching them to lead and live rightly according to the hour they live in. Sadly, many youth pastors do not empower their teens with this vision because the youth pastors themselves don't know the Lord's calling over their students. As youth leaders, we have to get with the program. The Lord is calling our youth, and are we contributing to that calling or distracting our youth away from their eternal destiny in the name of entertainment?

Back to the verse, in my earlier days, we envisioned great evangelistic outreaches in the auditoriums of high schools. We wanted to take a full worship team, get some skits and students to give their testimony and put it all in the high school auditorium and get all of our friends saved! We just never could seem to get it together years ago, but just last year Angela Tsang from Blue Valley Southwest showed up and put together The Point Of Life Outreach in the Blue Valley Northwest auditorium! Students were saved and now we're doing it again in February 2013!

Four years ago we put together a rally called the Heal Our Land Project to unite all of the school's campus ministries and spread the vision of revival in our schools. We held these rallies in almost every youth group in Olathe, but hardly anyone showed up for an entire year! Now all of the sudden a new group of student leaders approached me with the exact same idea and now we have the "Night To Unite" this Saturday where FCA groups and prayer groups from schools all over Kansas City will be uniting in an evening worship and prayer at a local church, again years later.

Four years ago we also launched theWall, which for a season was a 6-hour prayer meeting to unite students in prayer every other week (or sometimes monthly) for an entire year. We had full worship teams, traveled from church to church until we landed at a prime location on Metcalf Ave., yet hardly anyone showed up. Those who did show up were some of the most faithful and dedicated students I will ever know, yet I knew the Lord told me that we were in a season of preparation, learning how to worship and pray without numbers so that we wouldn't be distracted when the numbers came.

Those earlier days, even though I tried many things perhaps in my own strength, trying to build the ministry myself, served to prepare me for these days of out-of-control expansion. Now when a student shows up with an idea, chances are I've done it before and can help them make it much better than when I did it.

It is clear to me now that we are in the season of the Lord building the house. The landscape of the high schools in Kansas City just changed in one summer. The freshmen that are coming into our schools are serious leaders that are hungry for a move of God. I wouldn't say that my labors in the earlier days were "in vain," but they definitely did not have the momentum that the Lord has given us today.

I sometimes feel like Isaiah who said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God" (Isaiah 49:4). It is never in vain, but it sure is nice to have the Lord's help!

After See Your At The Pole Ends

SYATP 2012 at Olathe South High School

See You At The Pole (SYATP), which birthed the Global Student Day Of Prayer, started in 1990 with a group of students in Texas who had the idea to meet at the flag pole for prayer before school. As the vision spread, and more schools caught the vision, they coordinated to meet on the same day, and quickly the idea gained national attention and became an annual occurrence that has spread to schools around the world! 

SYATP was one of the first nationally successful attempts to rally students to pray at their school. After several Supreme Court cases continually removed God and prayer from school, this was the first real attempt to return prayer to America's schools that took root. Once a year, all of the Christians in school gather to unite in prayer before school, but the vision can't end there...

The devil's rage has all but totally removed God and prayer from our schools. With the growing sentiment towards tolerance and equality, student's religious rights are shrinking. Most schools would rather remove all religious student activities than have to navigate opposing religions. Back in January, 2012, I posted a blog where I outlined the reasons why religious equality really is impossible. It is a farce to think that all faiths can be treated equally, and it is foolish to assume that Christian students will continue to have the privileges they have now with the current course of our nation. Something has to change.

Scripture outlines a prophetic timeline that describes very well the hour we live in today. As we continue to approach the return of Jesus, both wickedness and righteousness will increase across the earth (Matthew 13:30). We can see this very clearly in the culture we live in today. On one hand, you have the 'religious tolerance' groups silencing the church, but on the other hand the Lord is raising up a movement of prayer for revival among students around the world! Satan is raging against this generation, I believe, because he sees the potential in this student movement to turn America back to God! Yet the wickedness increases.

It is clear that youth ministry as it is is not working. Statistically, we're losing an entire generation. We cannot assume that See You At The Pole will even be allowed next year and go on coasting through our teenage years. The Lord is calling students to wake up and pray not just one day a year, but to get lives of prayer like Daniel!

Allow me to make a prediction, according to my own observations. I think that very soon gatherings like See You At The Pole will face the threat of this antichrist religious tolerance deception and will actually no longer allowed at most schools. Did you know that already Christian groups on college campuses are being ordered to allow students from other religious to join their leadership team or be forced to shut down? Exclusivity is quickly becoming a reason to shut religious groups down on school campuses! BUT, I also predict that while See You At The Pole may be forced to end, daily prayer meetings for revival will spring up all across the nation! What is the loss of one day of prayer at the flag pole when students on that campus are praying daily for revival. It's already happening!

My prayer is that the church would wake up and answer 2 Chronicles 7:14, that students everywhere would mobilize into prayer groups and become missionaries in their schools that we would see America turn back to righteousness! I believe there is still great hope for America, if we pray, and if we act.

Is it so impossible to think that at age 15 your prayers are effecting what school will be like for your children? What will school be like 20 years from now? The answer to that question is in your prayers...

High School Missions Night To Unite!

David Sliker on Gay Marriage

David Sliker recently posted this statement to his Facebook page concerning the issue of gay marriage. This is perhaps the most clear and concise statement concerning the issue of gay marriage that I have ever seen. I fully agree with Sliker's statements on this issue and am sharing it for the benefit of believers who may not have clarity on this issue.

The following is taken from David Sliker's facebook page. 

Here's the problem with gay marriage: there is no such thing. It doesn't exist. 

How could I say such a thing? I am by no means attempting to be inflammatory or sensational. Simply truthful: marriage is not a man-made institution; thus man has no right to define, redefine, or transform what God has ordained and established sovereignly. Marriage is from God, belongs to God, and is a prophetic 

declaration that He wants to make to the human race about His relationship with us. Therefore, we need to tread carefully and fearfully around this subject. It is precious to Him.

Hear me now: I don't want to talk about civil unions, and the rights that homosexuals can receive from our government related to cohabitation and life together. It's an entirely different issue that merits healthy discussion, as it relates to the subject of what our government should, or should not, sanction and promote within American society. In that arena, a discussion on the issue of basic human "rights" and privileges granted by our society is very appropriate to discuss and debate. These civil issues of American governance fall within our God-given "sphere" to work through together as a nation.

Marriage, however, falls outside of the boundaries of debate and human "rights". No one has a intrinsic "right" to redraw boundaries that God Himself has drawn and defined. The subject of marriage, why it exists, and what it was originally intended to display is not something we get to speak into or shape; it is a part of a storyline that God Himself jealously guards. It is as immutable a truth as grace itself, or mercy, or love. We are not allowed to define any of those truths - we must encounter them by the power of the Holy Spirit and be instructed. In the same manner, we must encounter the Bridegroom God to truly understand marriage and what it shouts to the nations of the earth.

The secondary issue related to a gay man's "right" to marry is the cry, "How can true love be denied?" Again, both the issue of "rights" and "true love" are beside the point. Outside of intimate relationship with Him, the Father has given men the freedom of choice and the freedom to walk in a manner contrary to His will. However, calling that free expression of the heart "love" does not mean that God now approves, sanctions, or desires to fill the earth with homosexual relationships. His opinions do not evolve, and His boundaries for men and women are clear.

Therein, however, lies the heart of the matter. If this was truly only a fight for "civil rights" within a free society, then the issues at hand could be contained within a political, or legal, debate. If rights within a free society are being denied to men, then citizens must work together to see that all men and women are treated equitably, charitably, and honorably. However, it is not really about what is ethically, politically, or legally permissible. This debate is about - and has always been about - what is morally and spiritually permissible.

What lies at the core of the debate is not the right of men to live with other men and enjoy civil and political rights and privileges; it is about men being able to engage together in intimacy and have that union considered as holy and sacred as the union between a man and a woman in "holy matrimony." In other words, the ultimate desire in redefining marriage is the redefinition of morality itself, what is sin and what is not, and what is shameful - and what is not.

That is the ultimate problem with the "gay marriage debate". We conduct the discussion from within a man-centered arena as we look to present the most compassionate arguments for our "side". Beloved, God is NOT on "our side" of the debate. The plumb line and ultimate test - in the fear of the Lord - is whether or not we are on His side.

"What do you think, Father?" This must be the primary question on our hearts and minds - we must work to align ourselves with His heart rather than bolstering our wise-sounding opinions. We must not succumb to wisdom that is not from above - wisdom that is "earthly, sensual," and, ultimately...."demonic" in nature. This kind of wisdom breeds confusion and "every evil thing". This kind of wisdom destroys the very lives compassionate, well-meaning folks are trying to save, and help.

I know this - the church cannot be passive on this issue. We can be loving, we can express love, and we can treat men and women struggling with immorality (homosexual AND heterosexual) with compassion, tenderness, and kindness. What we cannot do is redraw God's boundaries in the name of compassion. That is not compassion. That is compromise. It is not loving. It is fearful.

This is not the hour to be fearful, but to be loving as God is loving and declare the wisdom of the boundaries He has drawn - in relationships, in marriage, and in love. To do this is the only true way to serve, love, and honor those who are hurting, broken, and trapped in the shame of immorality. To be faithful to declare the truth of God's word, God's heart, and God's plan is to participate in His means to true freedom and joy for all who turn to Him.

A Year of Fatherhood

I remember one night, just over a year ago, that little face desperately needed to sleep but he couldn't quite get there on his own. Weighing just over 7 pounds, I held him in my arms deep into the night, pacing back and forth in the bedroom, trying to comfort him to sleep. At times I even fell asleep in the rocking chair with Samuel in my arms. I remember looking at him, so small, in such a large world, looking back at me as he fell asleep. Those late nights were the beginning of a brand new season in my life.

As time went by and Samuel grew, he grew a little less snuggly towards me. One day he would fall asleep on my chest and the next day he just wanted his blanket and bassinet. I missed those earlier snuggly days now and again, regardless of the sleep I lost.

It just so happened tonight, Samuel is just about 13 months old, and he was having trouble sleeping. It seemed like the kind of situation where he just couldn't quite get there on his own, though he is often a great sleeper. So, I ventured into his sleepy room to find my little buddy sitting up and upset. I picked him up and took a seat with him in our rocking chair. It took a few minutes for him to collect himself, but after a little bit he laid back in my lap, rested his head on my arm, clasped his blankie and just stared at me with a constant grin. Suddenly it was like we were back in the first weeks of his life, those same eyes locked with mine. We stared at each other until he eventually began to doze off, slowly closing his eyes and opening them again to make sure I was still looking at him. Finally, he fell asleep again in my arms.

It's been a year of fatherhood, and I've only experienced the first year of my child's life, but I know that this will be a night I will never forget, like those nights when he was first born, that little face at peace in my arms. I know one day he'll go off to school, work, start a family, and go wherever the Lord takes him, but nothing defines our lives quite like our childhood. No matter where Samuel goes to school or what he does with his life, he is my son.

It is encouraging for me to remember, as a believer, I am first and foremost God's son. No matter what I've done, or whatever my assignment on earth may be, I am a son of God. My love for Samuel is primarily rooted in the fact that he is my son (secondarily that he's just so darn cute), and I can't image loving him any more or any less. It blows my mind to think that God loves me same way, with all of his heart, not because of what I do, but simply because I'm His son, and no lie of the devil can take that away.

Why We Do What We Do

When looking at the percentage of Bible-based believers in America from one generation to the next, researchers have found some very alarming trends.

- "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

Historically, when the percentage of Bible-based believers drops to 2%, a nation is beyond recovery. When researchers studied the percentage of the American population that agreed with a "Biblical Worldview," they found that historiclaly 9% of adults agree with all of the Bible's teachings, but less than 0.5% of those born after 1984 agree. 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.

These statistics reveal the greatest mission field in America, our high schools and universities. High schools are of specific importance because of the large percentage of believers who are saved before the age of 18. If high schools are America's greatest mission field, then students are America's greatest missionary!

The Lord is raising up a nationwide prayer movement in the schools of America. All over the nation, students are answering the call to prayer in their schools like never before! There is a sovereign move of God happening before our eyes. It was in December, 2007, that the Lord challenged me saying, "Can you raise up a prayer movement in the schools of Kansas City that contends with the plans of the enemy for their generation?" Since then, we've learned through history of the profound importance of prayer in school, from its removal to its present return, prayer in school changes the nation.

This is why we have dedicated our lives in this season to respond to this crisis. While destructive trends in our youth culture are ever increasing, God is raising up a holy rebellion. The Lord has always called the Nazirite messengers out of the youth of the nation, and He is doing it again today in America. We live in a historic hour, and while the crisis is unprecidented we're seeing a return to prayer that is transforming schools like no other time in history. God's promises prevail: "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).


I want to encourage you to listen to a message given by Allen Hood, the President of the International House of Prayer University, at the Fasciante youth conference this summer on the urgency of the hour and the call to form a prayer culture in our schools. 


It is our hope that you would be encouraged to go before the Lord in prayer on our behalf as we believe for a historic shift in our nation. Your prayers do not go unheard! If you would like more information on our ministry and how to partner with us, visit our website at www.loganbloom.com.
  
For His Glory,
Logan Bloom
Director of High School Missions at IHOPKC

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Only A Shadow

"Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!" - Psalm 39:6

I wanted to point out a word in this verse that I often overlook. David says "Surely for nothing..." The Hebrew translation of this word is actually describing a picture of a vanishing breeze, impossible to catch, but easy to chase. These are kind of harsh words from David, when you really think about it. David is exposing the truth of the human condition apart from its Creator. Everything amounts to nothing apart from God.

David's conclusion, based on Moses' psalm (Psalm 90), is that God is the only source of our hope and satisfaction. Every other source is empty. We can spend decades building a career, building a reputation, building a social status, even a family, but none of it matters apart from eternity. David says that all of those accomplishments amount to simply chasing a breeze!

Then David uses another picture, the symbolism of heaping and gathering. For David, and Moses, there is only one thing worth pursuing, one thing we ourselves can benefit from for all eternity, and that is a heart overcome with love for God. It is in this context that David writes, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you," and Moses writes, "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." Every worldly accomplishment we can pursue will not transfer into eternity, and the theme of Psalm 39 and Psalm 90 is that eternity is the only thing pursuing in this life! Everything we do only counts if it is sowing into eternity.

There are many ways to live for eternity. David and Moses' clearest example in this case is to cultivate a heart that is lovesick for Jesus, overcome with desire to be united with our Creator and see Him glorified in all the earth. This heart posture can apply to many different callings and vocations. Whether a plumber or a politician, all of it us have the chance to love God with all of our heart, all of our mind and all of our strength. This is the first and greatest commandment.

Lessons From Daniel About Living At The End

I have been reading a lot from Daniel recently and looking at the parallels with the book of Revelation, and Daniel's visions point out some amazing truths given by the angel Gabriel. Look at the role of the church in this passage:

"So he [the Antichrist] shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices,and place there the abomination of desolation. Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. And those of the people who understand shall instruct many." - Daniel 11:30-33

Now look at Daniel's response. Daniel hears of the rise of the Antichrist empire and of the time of the Great Tribulation, and look at Daniel's fretful question and Gabriel's response:

I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand." - Daniel 12:8-10

As I read this, Gabriel is not just giving information for Daniel to passing along. Daniel hears of a remnant who consecrate themselves to the Lord and who are wise. The wicked shall act wickedly, but there is a group of radical believers who set themselves apart to live holy just like Daniel did in Babylon. It's an invitation into consecration at the end of the age, abandon the "permissible" to radically pursue wisdom from heaven. These are the people who will do great exploits and who will instruct many. These are the ones the Antichrist will fear most.

God is raising up young people today who have purposed in their heart to live holy. They are rare, but they are there. As the global drama of the end time scenario continues to unfold, as wickedness comes to full maturity, don't forget Daniel's invitation into holiness. Those who set themselves apart will do great exploits. 

Missing Molly

Well, this week Molly is in Arkansas with her family while I am working a few days before driving down to meet her and spend Memorial Day weekend with her family! I've been revisiting many of these verses that remind me of the blessing she is to my life!

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. - Proverbs 18

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.  - 1 Peter 3

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. - 1 Peter 3

As I read these verses, and spend more time as a married man, I notice a little more of God's glorious design for marriage. Marriage is built in to God's design for our existence! God said from the beginning that man was never meant to be alone (Gen 2:18), so God created woman to complete His grand design (and spruce up the place). Without woman, man was incomplete, even in paradise.

Thus, the Lord tied special blessings to marriage, other than sex, that unlock new facets of our identity and calling before the Lord. Marriage isn't only about personal happiness, although a marriage submitted to the leadership of Jesus will result in personal happiness. There are special attributes of our calling and relationship with God that are only unlocked through the experience of marriage. This is the favor of the Lord mentioned in Proverbs 18.

Why else would God make our prayers dependent on such an intricate and intimate relationship? Peter's address in 1 Peter 3 was not just to husbands and wives because the actual Greek words are intended for men and women of marriageable age, whether married or not. Peter is not just giving an address to married couples, he is giving a generation an invitation... He is describing the inter-dependent relationship of marriage and defining who we are called to be. 

Marriage is a glorious design. It reveals the nature of God in a very unique way so much so that Peter says that if men neglect it then our prayers aren't the same! I see this in my own life! I have never felt nearer to the Lord or more encouraged in my calling than in the days since I married Molly. And even now with just a few days apart, I feel the difference she makes in my life. I am so thankful for her!

God's 'Avengers' (The Nazirites Are Coming)

I, like most of America, just saw the Avengers movie that has been a big hit in the theaters worldwide. In fact the Avengers set record sales for both opening weekend and its second weekend, previously set by Avatar in 2009. There has been great interest in the theme of the Avenger heroes, a group of unlikely people who unite in a time of crisis and then disappear again after the crisis has ended. After seeing this movie I recognized a clear parallel between this story and a Bible story that has great application to today!

God has a group of Avengers called Nazirites. The Nazirites were a group of people found in the Old Testament called by God only in times of extreme crisis. In fact, some Nazirites even had forms of superpowers, such as Samson (Judges 13) and many of the major prophets in the Old Testament who performed great signs and wonders. The purpose of the Nazirites was not about superpowers, however, it was about the message they carried. These were messengers that God raised up in times of crisis to turn the nation of Israel back to the Lord.

You can find the Nazirite Vow defined in Numbers 6, "If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazirite. . . Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the Lord." There were three distinctions to this vow: those dedicated could not cut their hair, not eat or drink anything related to grapes, and they could not be around death. So whenever you look throughout scripture and see the prophets who dedicated themselves in this way, they are referring to the Nazirite Vow (Samuel, Elijah/Elisha, John the Baptist, etc...).

Scripture also makes it clear that the Lord called Nazirites from the youth of the nation in Amos 2: "I also raised up prophets from among your children and Nazirites from among your youths." The scary part of Amos 2 is that the Lord was preparing to crush Israel for rejecting the Nazirites that the Lord had called! 

When Israel was in crisis, the Lord called a special group of people out of the youth of the nation to a high calling of consecration and holiness. This was not a calling of consecration from sin, but to abstain even from permissible pleasures in order to pursue the Lord in a dedicated way. These Nazirites became symbols, icons in a generation of the message they carried, the message of repentance. And these Nazirites were the Lord's anointed messengers with power on their words and their actions, endorsed by heaven.

While the literal Nazirite Vow no longer exists in the New Testament and present day, the principle of the Vow endures through all generations. Even today the Lord is calling a group of people out of the youth of America to radical consecration and to carry a message. 

Right now our nation is the crisis of impending judgement from the Lord for our iniquities. I remember 6 years ago I sat at an Acquire the Fire conference and listened as Ron Luce declared clearly the urgency of the hour, calling hundreds of thousands of youth to be messengers in their generation. 6 years ago, Ron Luce declared the statistics that exposed the destructive trends of our nation's youth culture, warning the church of what would happen if we failed to respond. Now the youth documented in those statistics are of voting age, and the polls taken of the young voters are revealing devastating moral decline. Since then Ron Luce has traveled the nation repenting on behalf of the previous generation that failed to act in the youth's time of need. That was the first time I had ever heard of this call from the Lord to be a messenger in my generation.

Since then I have seen clearly how the Lord is calling modern day Nazirites to arise. It's not about growing long hair or not eating grapes or going around cemeteries. It's about standing for truth in a day when truth is slain in the streets like in Isaiah 59. The Lord is calling out of the youth of America a group of radically devoted prayer warriors who carry a message burning in their bones like Jeremiah. We have a window of mercy to respond to this call from the Lord as He gives us every opportunity to turn back to him. The Lord is raising up musicians and artists out of the youth of America who carry the message of the cross and who refuse to bow their talents to the gods of this age or the praises of man. The Lord is raising up students who are committed to praying every morning at their school for revival, teenagers that defeat darkness as they prepare the way for an open heaven over their school.

There is a new breed of American teenager emerging who the Lord has put his hand on as they return to Christianity's ancient paths (Jeremiah 6:16), the paths of the Nazirite messengers. They don't care about being "cool" or going with the flow. They care only about the fire in the eyes of their Lord as they gaze upon his beauty and share his jealousy for their generation. Their message will go out to the entire generation, and it starts with the church! Return to the Lord.

Suddenly are they called forth to define the next phase of human history. How will you respond?

Thinking About Music

I've been thinking recently about what motivates my interest in music and musicianship. I have to admit that my journey as a musician has been very long one. I started when I was 12 years old and I've played off and on until I joined IHOP where I really started playing regularly 5 years ago. I'm not all that skilled, although sometimes I surprise myself, there are a lot of musicians at IHOP that blow my mind.

I've been thinking about what motivates my music. Why do I even play guitar at all? What is the purpose behind it? It wasn't until I joined IHOP and met Seth Yates that I heard of Biblical prophetic musicianship or anointed music. I didn't even have a grid for the false worship movements of the earth. In fact I thought I was doing God a favor by using my special musical talent to worship him. I thought music was music for music's own sake. Now I realize that couldn't be further from the truth.

My motivation for music has been wrecked ever since I discovered the passage in Scripture related to God's purpose for prophetic musicianship. I can't settle for music for music's sake anymore. No amount of skill is enough for me. I am only interested in music that moves the heavens, touches God's heart and sets people free. So much of today's music is self-centered, God-hating and enslaving! But Scripture speaks of music that literally changes the spiritual atmosphere over a region, music that dispatches angels into battle and that no demon can stand against. Who would have thought music could do that? God did.

Scripture makes this so clear through the lives of many musicians such as David, Elisha and the Levites. David's music drove demons away from Saul. Elisha needed the music of an anointed musician to receive a prophetic word, and the Levites played their instruments on the front lines of battle while thousands were slain by angels at the sound of their music. WHAT IS THAT?! What kind of music is that?! Psalm 149 speaks of the church having the praises of God on their lips and a two-edged sword in their hand to execute judgement on the nations! Isaiah 30 says that every judgement that is released against the Antichrist in Revelation is actually to the sound of the church's music! How could the defeat of the Antichrist and our music be related?!

We have so little understanding of our calling as worshipers, or of God's intention for music. Suddenly skill level doesn't matter at all and all that matters is heart-posture before the Lord. God designed the power of music to be accessible not to those who have the skill, but to those who have the hunger. I'm wrecked. As a musician, I care about skill only so that I can express what I feel in my spirit (and cooperate with a team). All the skill in the world means nothing without the right heart-posture.

So, honestly, what motivates my music? Skill doesn't, and maybe that's bad because I don't practice enough. But I have a vision and a calling for something greater than skilled musicianship - to drive out darkness with a single note. I honestly don't care that much about how fast my fingers are or how well I understand music theory, although those things do have their place and importance. I can't be satisfied by any music that doesn't encounter God's heart. I just can't.

So, that's what I'm thinking about music right now. I'm a mess until I have all that God will give me as a musician. This is my public statement of my ache to play music that brings heaven and earth together, to encounter God's heart every time I pick up a guitar, and to commit my musicianship to music that sets people free.

5 Years - May 2012 Newsletter!

View our May 2012 Newsletter!

This month's headlines: Logan shares a video celebrating 5 years of ministry, Samuel is nearly crawling and Molly shares about Isaiah 40:11

Sow Your Summer

One of the things I have learned over the years of working with believers on High School campuses is the profound importance that Summer has on the following school year. I wrote in an earlier blog post (Summer Can Be The Shift) about how a summer camp changed my life as a teenager and how it motivated me to impact my high school the following year. I have seen again and again how the Lord touches one person over the summer that changed their school in the following years. My friend Angela, who is organizing The Point Of Life Outreach, got the idea after attending a summer missions trip in Taiwan! Looking at these testimonies, it is easy to see the powerful shift that a summer can have on the following school year. 

This summer is no different. Tens of thousands of high school students are about to enter their summer break here in Kansas City, and thousands of those will be attending summer camps and short-term missions trips. It is my prayer that the Lord would raise up student missionaries out of these summer camps who would return to school next year on a mission. Please pray with me and find ways to spend your summer intentionally sowing into the next generation. You never know who might get impacted by the Lord this summer and return to impact hundreds of students at their school!

My Senior Year at Olathe Northwest

Here's a little glimpse at my Senior Year at Olathe Northwest:

I came into that Senior year really renewed by a summer camp I had attended with my local church youth group. I started out the year viewing my school as a mission field, and since this was my last year, I had nothing to lose.

My friend, Josh, and I were given leadership of the Christian campus ministry at Olathe Northwest, then called Club 121, from the youthfront days. On the very first day of school, Josh and I went early to the prayer room at our church sometime around 5 AM, then bought a bunch of cans of startbucks coffee shots and handed them out to strangers at school as a kind of evangelistic effort. After meeting people, we split up and headed to our first hour of classes. On my way to class, I turned a corner in the hallway to see that a classmate of mine had fallen down a huge flight of stairs and she was unconscious! A group of teachers gathered around her and called for the nurse and said she was unresponsive. As I passed by I prayed silently for her and once I recognized who she was I prayed for her by name and instantly she woke up. At the same time, my chemistry teacher from the previous year, who was one of the teachers tending to the girl, gave me the keys to his classroom and told me to go tell them what had happened and that he would be late. So, I went to his classroom, told them Jesus healed a girl that had fallen down the stairs and that Mr. So-and-So would be late! I heard the report from the school nurse that the student who fell was miraculously okay. No injuries of any kind! That was day one.

Day 3, I found out that I was scheduled to train a classroom of new students on some of the technology at the school. I had an hour every day with them for a week as my students. A few days later we had covered all of the material and I had one day mostly open to do whatever we wanted. The night before I felt strongly impressed by the Lord to share the gospel point blank with the room. So that morning I spoke to the teacher whose classroom I was using for this training and told him my plan. He agreed to stand outside the door and make sure I was undisturbed during my "presentation." I did it, while trembling, and invited every one of them to the dodgeball tournament at my church, and some of them came, but I didn't see any major fruit like an outward decision to follow Christ. But, I was obedient, and it caused a little stir. That was week 2.

A few weeks later, I got a call from my friend early in the morning and he had been strongly impressed by the Lord to share the gospel. The difficult part was that he wanted to share it from the top of a lunch table. I went along with it and we showed up to lunch and he was as nervous as I've ever seen him! He showed me his notes that he had with his Bible and he told me "If I get taken down by the teachers, can you try and finish it for me?" We counted to ten, and up he went. He shared for a good 5 minutes, but then as assistant principal came and asked him to come to the office, but he hadn't finished... As he stepped down, and people clapped, he looked at me and set his Bible with his notes down on the table. I then picked up his notes, stood on my chair and gave a brief (30 second) wrap up of his message as he was escorted to the office. I invited anyone to come to our table with questions or to come to our Bible study... but that was it and no one came.

We did a few other outreaches, invited tons of people to church, shared in front of a few more classrooms, continued to meet every week for Bible study without about 6 other students, but it didn't turn out quite like I expected it to in my mind. I even carried an 8-foot cross into the school on Good Friday, I made it 100 feet before being asked to leave. I thought through our zeal for evangelism that hard hearts would be made soft, and that lots of people would respond to our many outreaches, but we neglected prayer and missed most of the big picture.

My passion for high schools never left, however. I learned a lot from that year! And now I'm fully pursuing my assignment from the Lord to contend for breakthrough until that breakthrough comes. I've learned about the importance of prayer that precedes the move of God, and the big picture of what the Lord is doing on the earth in preparation for the return of Jesus. God has spoken many promises over the Olathe schools to area pastors, youth pastors, teachers and students, and I believe those promises are still to come and that every morning we wake up to pray at our schools is preparing the way for this mighty move of God.

The Measure of Music

I was recently listening to a recording of me playing in the prayer room from about a week ago, and I stopped to ponder the sound of my guitar. The quality of music is measured in so many different ways. From frequencies to personal taste, opinions run wild over what sounds good. I happened to think my guitar sounded pretty good, but I stopped to ask why. There were plenty of times I messed up, plenty of tweaks I would have made to my guitar tone or pedal settings in hindsight, but I had a certain respect for that set because of something that happened to me over a year ago. 

It was at the Onething Conference in 2009. I was playing with Justin Rizzo in the prayer room at Onething and I had been specifically seeking the Lord about my music and praying for 'melodies from heaven.' I remember standing on the stage, playing a simple rhythm and suddenly I felt the Lord's presents all around me, like I was in the grip of his hand. I was so shocked I stopped playing, and I listened as the Lord said "I love you." As obvious as those words seem, they pierced me in a particular way that day because I knew that the Lord was referring to my music. Then I heard Him say to my spirit, "Your melodies are as good as any others. What you play from your heart is what pleases me." I felt His delight so strongly that I started to cry right there on stage! In fact I went back later on the web stream archives and watched it again. I was just standing there as tears fell on my pedalboard. After a few minutes of just soaking the moment, I gathered myself and finished the rest of the set.

From that day on, I measure my music differently when it comes to sets in the prayer room. Of course I'd like to sound good, for the sake of everyone in the room, but even if I don't, I look back on those times with a smile because I know I played from my heart and it moved the heart of God. That revelation from onething 2009 was one of the most tender moments for me as a musician, and it set my perspective for how God sees my music.

Moral of the story: Tone and skill and gear are all secondary to heart posture. Those are all endless pursuits! All music boils down to who/what it worships and the authenticity of the worshipers. 

Crazy story... I'm done unless you want to hear a crazy way the Lord moves through music story. There was a time I was playing bass guitar on a ministry trip to a little church in Illinois. The whole worship team was quite rusty, just me on bass, my friend on drums, and another friend leading the worship from the keyboard. The sound system was awful, the acoustic of the room were awful. It was a sound nightmare, honestly. But, we were playing a little set on this ministry trip and I was filling in on bass. There came a moment during the set when the worship leader had an oracle (a sort of spontaneous song specified for that moment). None of us were doing anything special, I think just holding Bm, a single note. When the worship leader went into the oracle, something crazy happened like nothing I've ever felt before or since. The room, with less than 10 people in it, filled suddenly with the presence of God with a terrifying intensity! The Lord visited that room suddenly as the worship leader sang the oracle so much that I couldn't keep my eyes open or even stand up! I sat on a stool and looked at the drummer, and he could hardly move his arms! The presence of God was so intense I honestly thought I might black out! It was all I could do to keep my finger on the single note we were playing! Then, almost as suddenly as it came, the presence lifted after the worship leader ended the oracle. I remember finally looking up and thinking "What was that?!" When the set was over, we discussed the event in shock because we didn't do anything special! The worship leader was obedient to sing what she felt like God wanted her to sing, and I played a single note and the drummer was barely able to hit the drums, but we all knew God was there. We had all set our hearts on that trip to simply be tools for the Lord to use, empty vessels for the Lord to fill. We didn't care for glory and hardly for how we sounded, we wanted to be used by God, and we were! Turns out that night there was also an evangelism outreach that happened during our set that we prayed for, and lots of people were saved that night throughout the city!

Maybe some music is measured by the number of demons it scares...