At about 2:30 this morning I was getting ready for my quiet time when the doorbell rang. This isn't the first time this has happened late at night. So I put on some slippers and went to see who was at the door, figuring it'd be someone for the other apartment. I opened the door to an empty stoop and empty porch. As I locked the door and walked back upstairs I pondered this. I thought about two different verses: Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and teh door will be opened to you." and Revelation 3:20 "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will com in and eat with him, and he with me."
Should I be asking, seeking and knocking, or is Christ knocking and I need to pay better attention?
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Comfort and Battle
Last night as the evening wound down I was really putting off my quiet time. I felt like I was about to be broken by the Spirit, which, surprisingly I wasn't up for. In fact, just earlier in the day (or Friday maybe?) I was thinking about how it had been a while (okay, only since last weekend) since I had been broken by the Spirit. And as I was thinking that God took me to Hebrews 5 about (spiritual) milk versus solid food. It was a reminder that I'm growing and He won't always present Himself in the same way. My faith will increase and the Spirit doesn't need to guide me with baby steps.
Anyways, I find myself last night on the verge of breaking down but then at that point not wanting to be broken. After delaying I eventually gave in to some prayer, meditation and scripture. The Spirit did not break me. Instead, He led me to Luke 1:57-66, the Birth of John the Baptist (or "baptizer" as I prefer). From this I was reminded that obedience to God is rewarded and that the Lord's hand is on me; He has great plans for me as long as I obey Him. Quite comforting after expecting to be broken.
Earlier this evening I was talking with Elektra about some of the things God has been doing. She mentioned how He is strengthening me and pointed me to Ephesians 6:10-17:
Anyways, I find myself last night on the verge of breaking down but then at that point not wanting to be broken. After delaying I eventually gave in to some prayer, meditation and scripture. The Spirit did not break me. Instead, He led me to Luke 1:57-66, the Birth of John the Baptist (or "baptizer" as I prefer). From this I was reminded that obedience to God is rewarded and that the Lord's hand is on me; He has great plans for me as long as I obey Him. Quite comforting after expecting to be broken.
Earlier this evening I was talking with Elektra about some of the things God has been doing. She mentioned how He is strengthening me and pointed me to Ephesians 6:10-17:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
I've come across this passage several times this week already. A bit eerie. Thankfully God is always faithful, and whatever battles are to come He has won. I just have to stand and He will fight. He is preparing me. It does leave me wondering what battles are ahead, though...
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Decline and Fall of Christian America
That was the cover of Newsweek this past Monday. The 4-page article shared many alarming statistics, including: The number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has risen from 8 to 15 percent since 1990; the number of self-identified Christians has fallen from 86 to 76 percent in that same time; the number of Americans describing themselves as athiest or agnostic has increased from 1 million to 3.6 million (perspective: this is double the number of Episcopalians in the US).
Most intriguing is that the Northeast has taken the lead (over the Pacific Northwest) in religiously unidentified. The article concludes with "what comes next here, with the rands of professing Christians in decline, is going to be different, too." The author, however doesn't realize a revival is underway. Yet to me, seeing everything that is lining up, hearing stories of other Christians who experienced revival this weekend, seeing more prayer rise up and finding this article exposing just how big the need for Jesus is, it's quite clear.
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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Most intriguing is that the Northeast has taken the lead (over the Pacific Northwest) in religiously unidentified. The article concludes with "what comes next here, with the rands of professing Christians in decline, is going to be different, too." The author, however doesn't realize a revival is underway. Yet to me, seeing everything that is lining up, hearing stories of other Christians who experienced revival this weekend, seeing more prayer rise up and finding this article exposing just how big the need for Jesus is, it's quite clear.
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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Doing Life Together
One of the things I particularly enjoy about lifegroup is the approach of "we're all here to learn and grow", not "we're coming to get preached at". Yesterday I had the blessing of leading the guys lifegroup, though not a trivial task. I prefer to think of it as 'facilitating' instead.
I planned to facilitate a conversation about Galations 5:16-26, which includes the fruit of the Spirit. Interestingly, it relates to the message at the very first CityWide I attended. The message there was that it isn't enough to just not do bad, but rather replace the bad with good. One example given was: "If I say don't think about pink elephants, what are you thinking about?". It doesn't work to say "I won't think about pink elephants", but instead thinking about blue elephants is much more effective.
This passage in Galations starts by giving a roadmap (hm, maybe my writing professors were onto something...) of life by the Spirit. It then proceeds to list acts of the sinful nature. Immediately following is "But the fruit of the Spirit is:". I'd say that's probably the 2nd biggest but in the Bible. It immediately follows the bad with the good, letting us know that our old sinful ways must be replaced.
As I read this passage at lifegroup, two of the guys were goofing off and I'm thinking "great, so much for a fruitful discussion". (Hence the difficulty in facilitating sometimes.) But God had a better plan. As always.
I opened up for discussion and while we didn't stay focused on the fruit of the Spirit, the conversation ended back up there after branching into several other areas. I was able to learn more about where each of the guys is Spiritually, too! It was also a nice reminder from God that it's not about what I can do, but rather what He can (and did) do with that conversation when I submit to Him. Praise God!
I planned to facilitate a conversation about Galations 5:16-26, which includes the fruit of the Spirit. Interestingly, it relates to the message at the very first CityWide I attended. The message there was that it isn't enough to just not do bad, but rather replace the bad with good. One example given was: "If I say don't think about pink elephants, what are you thinking about?". It doesn't work to say "I won't think about pink elephants", but instead thinking about blue elephants is much more effective.
This passage in Galations starts by giving a roadmap (hm, maybe my writing professors were onto something...) of life by the Spirit. It then proceeds to list acts of the sinful nature. Immediately following is "But the fruit of the Spirit is:". I'd say that's probably the 2nd biggest but in the Bible. It immediately follows the bad with the good, letting us know that our old sinful ways must be replaced.
As I read this passage at lifegroup, two of the guys were goofing off and I'm thinking "great, so much for a fruitful discussion". (Hence the difficulty in facilitating sometimes.) But God had a better plan. As always.
I opened up for discussion and while we didn't stay focused on the fruit of the Spirit, the conversation ended back up there after branching into several other areas. I was able to learn more about where each of the guys is Spiritually, too! It was also a nice reminder from God that it's not about what I can do, but rather what He can (and did) do with that conversation when I submit to Him. Praise God!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Beginnings of Something Great
I have started this blog to track what the Holy Spirit is doing in my life. Names have been changed to protect the innocent, and because I want to give the people in these stories names which have meaning representing something about who they are to me. All of the names are of Greek origin. They track through the stories; the only time someone's name will change is when a non-believer is saved by grace.
I encourage you to start at the bottom of the page to fully appreciate the account I have given of my Easter weekend.
The name Fly in a Cathedral was penned by my friend Alalcomeneus. It is a metaphor for me living in God's grace.
Understand that the Holy Spirit can work in these ways in your life too if you let Him. If you're curious about this or have other questions relating to faith or posts on here, please ask me!
I pray you are encouraged by God's power every time you read an account here.
Praise be to God!
I encourage you to start at the bottom of the page to fully appreciate the account I have given of my Easter weekend.
The name Fly in a Cathedral was penned by my friend Alalcomeneus. It is a metaphor for me living in God's grace.
Understand that the Holy Spirit can work in these ways in your life too if you let Him. If you're curious about this or have other questions relating to faith or posts on here, please ask me!
I pray you are encouraged by God's power every time you read an account here.
Praise be to God!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Resurrection Sunday
I woke at five o’clock this morning on two hours of sleep to go a sunrise service. I felt the power of the Spirit alive this morning, but I had no idea what was in store for the rest of the day. At all.
I met Alalcomeneus and Philathea in a subway station at 6:30am to go to the service. On the way I told them of the previous night’s events. Alalcomeneus said, “That sounds like a normal night at Glafira’s. The Spirit is always there.” Wow. Sunrise service was on the waterfront in 30 some odd degree weather with a strong wind. It lasted 20 minutes. The choir pianist delivered a message entitled “Shattered Expectations”. She talked about the expectations Mary and Mary Magdalene had when they went to Jesus’ grave on Easter morning. They expected the stone to be in front of the tomb, they expected the stench of death and decay, and they expected the dead body to be there. All of these expectations were shattered.
Little did I know this was foreshadowing the remainder of my day. I expected to enjoy a few services, celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, get my homework done, and go to bed early so as to catch up on sleep.
After the sunrise service, Alalcomeneus took me back to his church (who had hosted the service) for breakfast. On our way to breakfast we stopped in the sanctuary. The lights were not on, but it was a beautiful room. Immense, probably seating around 1500 with two balconies, a carved ceiling, a pipe organ, gold leafed architecture, and so much more; I stood in awe of God. “This is His house, and He is here.” I thought to myself. Alalcomeneus told me they usually had 50-60 people show up on any given Sunday. I told him I could see that place being full. We went on to breakfast and then afterwards I returned to the sanctuary. By this point there were people there decorating and rehearsing; I picked a seat in the second balcony to sit in. I meditated on some scripture. God led me to Titus, which is about leadership, something He has laid on my heart recently. I spent some time praying and dozed off for a while.
Now the second balcony has not been redone like the one below it and the main level. It still had old wood, old unpadded chairs. As I sat and looked at this I first had an image of that balcony bustling with people long ago therefore making it look so worn now. The next image I thought about was from Phantom of the Opera, where the old dusty chandelier is raised up to re-illuminate the theatre. After more mediation I left to go to Park Street church for the 11 o’clock service, as my friend Rhoda was being baptized there. I hoped to arrive early so as to spend a little more quiet time with God; the sanctuary I had been in was filled with beautiful music and I wanted a few moments to just listen to God.
I arrived to a packed corner outside Park Street Church. The previous service had just finished and there was a large line for the next service. No peace and quiet. The service was filled with wonderful music including “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” and “Hallelujah Chorus”. It was exciting and inspiring to hear Rhoda’s testimony and see her be baptized.
Upon leaving the service at Park Street, I met Alalcomeneus in the subway station and we decided to go to Fenway Church. He shared with me about a lady in the choir speaking in tongues. No one translated, so we looked up the verses regarding this (1 Corinthians 14:1-25). I needed to eat, so we made a quick stop by McDonald’s with not much time to spare. My burger got fixed with pickles and onions, but neither of them turned out to be a problem for my stomach. We arrived at the bar/club called Church for the 1pm service. We had no idea what we were walking into. (This is a theme.)
Praise and worship began and the Spirit was present. Kalista gave her testimony again for those who didn’t attend the baptism, even more powerful than before. Ezequias prayed, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Then he preached. Or rather, the Spirit preached through him. He spoke about only 5% of his generation acknowledging Christ and challenged us to be a part of the crowd who acknowledges, believes in and lives for Christ every day.
After the message we got to worship again. It was so wonderful to spend time in God’s presence praising him. Alalcomeneus and I didn’t leave until 3pm. It was such a blessing and joy to have been there and I’ll be going back. God also laid it on my heart to reach out to the owner of the club they meet at who is not following Christ.
Before Alalcomeneus and I left, Ezequias had mentioned Heidi Baker speaking at MIT tonight. Heidi had seeded several thousand churches and done some work in Africa. It’s not something I would normally think of going to, but for some reason I felt compelled to. In fact, I also wanted to go to the evening contemporary service at Park Street too. I told Alalcomeneus this and he said if I went, he’d go. I called Xena who works at the computer lab with me to see if she wanted to work my hours. No answer. I prayed God would work out something, trusting if He wanted me to be at work instead that He had a better plan. I walked into the lab. Normally there are 2 people who work Sunday mornings and 2 who work Sunday evenings. These are the only 4 employees I usually see there on Sundays. When I walk in, there are 4 guys sitting behind the desk just hanging out. I said, “Who wants my hours, 4 to 10?” Immediately one guy claimed them and I left for the next church service.
Alalcomeneus and I took seats in the front center of the sanctuary, and I saw my friend Ovelia from all night prayer sitting on the left side of the sanctuary. She came over to sit with us. Two of her friends showed up shortly thereafter and joined us. I thought I recognized one of them. She introduced herself and sure enough it was Leto, who I had last seen in middle school. I had no idea she was in Boston, much less attending the same church I do. As the evening went on, she thought she recognized Alalcomeneus. Turns out they were on a People to People trip around the summer when I last saw her. Small world. No co-incidence; God-incidence.
The service began with praise and worship. Once again it was incredible to be in the presence of God just to worship. His Spirit is alive and was moving there! The minister gave a captivating message about not being ashamed of Christ the Risen King. He also talked about how Mark’s account of the resurrection ends with Mary and Mary Magdalene fleeing and not telling anyone what they had seen. This is not what God has called us to do. It was good to be reminded of that. For this reason, the minister mentioned, Mark is often not chosen for Easter services. Every service I attended today used Mark’s story.
After the message, there was more praise and worship. Absolutely fabulous.
Fast forward to 7:30pm when Ovelia, Leto, Alalcomeneus and I arrive on MIT’s campus. There was a large crowd outside the auditorium; I wondered if we would get in. As we approach the building we run into Elektra, who is waiting in the (very short) student line. All of the adults were being held outside so students got first dibs on seats. We got seats pretty quickly and met up with Kalista and Agave. Turns out the event didn’t start until 8. Most of us had no idea what we were in for. It began with praise and worship. The first song we sang called for the Holy Spirit’s fire to rain down on us, and that it did. The Holy Spirit was alive in that room and moving even more so than any other encounter I had today. In this moment God made sure I had my priorities straight. He reminded me that Jesus could be coming back today; I should not be preoccupied with tomorrow.
Heidi was introduced and she came up on stage. She knelt and said, “will you all pray with me.” Wow; a woman of God, humbling herself before Him and this entire audience. I felt connected and captivated. Heidi told amazing stories to the glory of God. She talked about falling in love with God. Those words spoke to me; I don’t need to be concerned with falling in love with anyone but God right now. She told of her work in Mozambique including healing the blind. And one time when she prayed for healing of a blind woman, the Spirit broke her down. God said to her, “you’re blind”. She said, “no I’m not”. She tussled with God back and forth three times until she finally surrendered and said “Okay, I’m blind. Let me see.” She saw the western world and how God’s love needs to be shown to all of His children here. She talked about how full surrendering to God allows Him to extraordinary things. She told of her vision of large crowds of lovers laying down their lives for Jesus. She first offered an invitation for anyone who didn’t know Jesus to accept him. But then, she gave an altar call for those wanting to completely lay down their lives for Him. As a crowd began to come forward, I joined them.
I fell to my knees, bowing down in tears and sweat. I was pressing into the floor trying to bow farther. I cried out for God to show me His dream for me. As I continued crying out, my body was overtaken with an extreme tingling sensation. The closest thing I can relate this to was last year when I sliced into a live wire with one hand and felt the electricity flow through both arms and across my chest to be grounded. This time the feeling was all over, there were no live wires and I couldn’t make it stop, yet it wasn’t torture. It was the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Hands were laid on me by various religious leaders who were at this event for that purpose. The first few hands I never heard anything spoken, but then a man came and prayed for me, while I was still experiencing this consuming sensation of the Spirit. He prayed for peace, rest, and a clear vision. After he left I received these. My body trembled less and I saw myself as a leader in some regard of either a new revival movement similar to that of Billy Graham, or as a part of that one. Two things became clear: leadership and evangelism.
As I sat there pondering this, wondering how God was going to use me another man came by to pray for me. I do not remember what he prayed, but when he finished praying he told me what he saw. He saw gift boxes being unwrapped and within each one, another gift box. He said I needed to continue unwrapping and discovering gifts until I get to the heart.
I meditated a bit on this and then my thoughts wandered a bit. How will God accomplish this vision? How will I tell my friends and family about this? What will they say? Is this even possible to do? A lady came to pray for me. She prayed for encouragement, freedom from doubt and strengthening of faith. I’d been asking for strengthening of faith, and by golly I was getting it. It’s amazing she knew exactly what to pray for. She did not pray in English the entire time, but whenever she spoke in tongues she also translated. She then told me I need to read more of God’s Word, that He would reveal himself to me through that.
Heidi also came by and laid a hand on me. After she had gone on and I was thinking about all of this, she said we should ask for more. More dreams, more love. I cried out for God to show me and to show me more. More love and more of His vision. After a while my cries turned to worship. I worshipped on the ground and then eventually standing. I worshipped, filled with the Spirit.
Eventually I returned back to my friends in the row where I had been sitting. To my knowledge none of them came forward, they had been worshipping right there. (There was music from the time the first invitation was given.) After sitting with arms around each other for a while, we left. Agave offered to drive us all home.
When it was just Kalista, Agave and I in the car they asked about my vision, so I gave them a short synopsis. After Kalista was dropped off, Agave and I enjoyed worshipping together with a few CD tracks.
Upon arriving home I realized that I needed to document this and I needed to share it. I didn’t need to worry right now about writing my story of coming to faith, but rather about my experience this weekend. I started this blog for that purpose, as a testament to the work the Spirit is doing in my life.
1 Corinthians 2:9 “However as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’”.
I met Alalcomeneus and Philathea in a subway station at 6:30am to go to the service. On the way I told them of the previous night’s events. Alalcomeneus said, “That sounds like a normal night at Glafira’s. The Spirit is always there.” Wow. Sunrise service was on the waterfront in 30 some odd degree weather with a strong wind. It lasted 20 minutes. The choir pianist delivered a message entitled “Shattered Expectations”. She talked about the expectations Mary and Mary Magdalene had when they went to Jesus’ grave on Easter morning. They expected the stone to be in front of the tomb, they expected the stench of death and decay, and they expected the dead body to be there. All of these expectations were shattered.
Little did I know this was foreshadowing the remainder of my day. I expected to enjoy a few services, celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, get my homework done, and go to bed early so as to catch up on sleep.
After the sunrise service, Alalcomeneus took me back to his church (who had hosted the service) for breakfast. On our way to breakfast we stopped in the sanctuary. The lights were not on, but it was a beautiful room. Immense, probably seating around 1500 with two balconies, a carved ceiling, a pipe organ, gold leafed architecture, and so much more; I stood in awe of God. “This is His house, and He is here.” I thought to myself. Alalcomeneus told me they usually had 50-60 people show up on any given Sunday. I told him I could see that place being full. We went on to breakfast and then afterwards I returned to the sanctuary. By this point there were people there decorating and rehearsing; I picked a seat in the second balcony to sit in. I meditated on some scripture. God led me to Titus, which is about leadership, something He has laid on my heart recently. I spent some time praying and dozed off for a while.
Now the second balcony has not been redone like the one below it and the main level. It still had old wood, old unpadded chairs. As I sat and looked at this I first had an image of that balcony bustling with people long ago therefore making it look so worn now. The next image I thought about was from Phantom of the Opera, where the old dusty chandelier is raised up to re-illuminate the theatre. After more mediation I left to go to Park Street church for the 11 o’clock service, as my friend Rhoda was being baptized there. I hoped to arrive early so as to spend a little more quiet time with God; the sanctuary I had been in was filled with beautiful music and I wanted a few moments to just listen to God.
I arrived to a packed corner outside Park Street Church. The previous service had just finished and there was a large line for the next service. No peace and quiet. The service was filled with wonderful music including “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” and “Hallelujah Chorus”. It was exciting and inspiring to hear Rhoda’s testimony and see her be baptized.
Upon leaving the service at Park Street, I met Alalcomeneus in the subway station and we decided to go to Fenway Church. He shared with me about a lady in the choir speaking in tongues. No one translated, so we looked up the verses regarding this (1 Corinthians 14:1-25). I needed to eat, so we made a quick stop by McDonald’s with not much time to spare. My burger got fixed with pickles and onions, but neither of them turned out to be a problem for my stomach. We arrived at the bar/club called Church for the 1pm service. We had no idea what we were walking into. (This is a theme.)
Praise and worship began and the Spirit was present. Kalista gave her testimony again for those who didn’t attend the baptism, even more powerful than before. Ezequias prayed, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Then he preached. Or rather, the Spirit preached through him. He spoke about only 5% of his generation acknowledging Christ and challenged us to be a part of the crowd who acknowledges, believes in and lives for Christ every day.
After the message we got to worship again. It was so wonderful to spend time in God’s presence praising him. Alalcomeneus and I didn’t leave until 3pm. It was such a blessing and joy to have been there and I’ll be going back. God also laid it on my heart to reach out to the owner of the club they meet at who is not following Christ.
Before Alalcomeneus and I left, Ezequias had mentioned Heidi Baker speaking at MIT tonight. Heidi had seeded several thousand churches and done some work in Africa. It’s not something I would normally think of going to, but for some reason I felt compelled to. In fact, I also wanted to go to the evening contemporary service at Park Street too. I told Alalcomeneus this and he said if I went, he’d go. I called Xena who works at the computer lab with me to see if she wanted to work my hours. No answer. I prayed God would work out something, trusting if He wanted me to be at work instead that He had a better plan. I walked into the lab. Normally there are 2 people who work Sunday mornings and 2 who work Sunday evenings. These are the only 4 employees I usually see there on Sundays. When I walk in, there are 4 guys sitting behind the desk just hanging out. I said, “Who wants my hours, 4 to 10?” Immediately one guy claimed them and I left for the next church service.
Alalcomeneus and I took seats in the front center of the sanctuary, and I saw my friend Ovelia from all night prayer sitting on the left side of the sanctuary. She came over to sit with us. Two of her friends showed up shortly thereafter and joined us. I thought I recognized one of them. She introduced herself and sure enough it was Leto, who I had last seen in middle school. I had no idea she was in Boston, much less attending the same church I do. As the evening went on, she thought she recognized Alalcomeneus. Turns out they were on a People to People trip around the summer when I last saw her. Small world. No co-incidence; God-incidence.
The service began with praise and worship. Once again it was incredible to be in the presence of God just to worship. His Spirit is alive and was moving there! The minister gave a captivating message about not being ashamed of Christ the Risen King. He also talked about how Mark’s account of the resurrection ends with Mary and Mary Magdalene fleeing and not telling anyone what they had seen. This is not what God has called us to do. It was good to be reminded of that. For this reason, the minister mentioned, Mark is often not chosen for Easter services. Every service I attended today used Mark’s story.
After the message, there was more praise and worship. Absolutely fabulous.
Fast forward to 7:30pm when Ovelia, Leto, Alalcomeneus and I arrive on MIT’s campus. There was a large crowd outside the auditorium; I wondered if we would get in. As we approach the building we run into Elektra, who is waiting in the (very short) student line. All of the adults were being held outside so students got first dibs on seats. We got seats pretty quickly and met up with Kalista and Agave. Turns out the event didn’t start until 8. Most of us had no idea what we were in for. It began with praise and worship. The first song we sang called for the Holy Spirit’s fire to rain down on us, and that it did. The Holy Spirit was alive in that room and moving even more so than any other encounter I had today. In this moment God made sure I had my priorities straight. He reminded me that Jesus could be coming back today; I should not be preoccupied with tomorrow.
Heidi was introduced and she came up on stage. She knelt and said, “will you all pray with me.” Wow; a woman of God, humbling herself before Him and this entire audience. I felt connected and captivated. Heidi told amazing stories to the glory of God. She talked about falling in love with God. Those words spoke to me; I don’t need to be concerned with falling in love with anyone but God right now. She told of her work in Mozambique including healing the blind. And one time when she prayed for healing of a blind woman, the Spirit broke her down. God said to her, “you’re blind”. She said, “no I’m not”. She tussled with God back and forth three times until she finally surrendered and said “Okay, I’m blind. Let me see.” She saw the western world and how God’s love needs to be shown to all of His children here. She talked about how full surrendering to God allows Him to extraordinary things. She told of her vision of large crowds of lovers laying down their lives for Jesus. She first offered an invitation for anyone who didn’t know Jesus to accept him. But then, she gave an altar call for those wanting to completely lay down their lives for Him. As a crowd began to come forward, I joined them.
I fell to my knees, bowing down in tears and sweat. I was pressing into the floor trying to bow farther. I cried out for God to show me His dream for me. As I continued crying out, my body was overtaken with an extreme tingling sensation. The closest thing I can relate this to was last year when I sliced into a live wire with one hand and felt the electricity flow through both arms and across my chest to be grounded. This time the feeling was all over, there were no live wires and I couldn’t make it stop, yet it wasn’t torture. It was the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Hands were laid on me by various religious leaders who were at this event for that purpose. The first few hands I never heard anything spoken, but then a man came and prayed for me, while I was still experiencing this consuming sensation of the Spirit. He prayed for peace, rest, and a clear vision. After he left I received these. My body trembled less and I saw myself as a leader in some regard of either a new revival movement similar to that of Billy Graham, or as a part of that one. Two things became clear: leadership and evangelism.
As I sat there pondering this, wondering how God was going to use me another man came by to pray for me. I do not remember what he prayed, but when he finished praying he told me what he saw. He saw gift boxes being unwrapped and within each one, another gift box. He said I needed to continue unwrapping and discovering gifts until I get to the heart.
I meditated a bit on this and then my thoughts wandered a bit. How will God accomplish this vision? How will I tell my friends and family about this? What will they say? Is this even possible to do? A lady came to pray for me. She prayed for encouragement, freedom from doubt and strengthening of faith. I’d been asking for strengthening of faith, and by golly I was getting it. It’s amazing she knew exactly what to pray for. She did not pray in English the entire time, but whenever she spoke in tongues she also translated. She then told me I need to read more of God’s Word, that He would reveal himself to me through that.
Heidi also came by and laid a hand on me. After she had gone on and I was thinking about all of this, she said we should ask for more. More dreams, more love. I cried out for God to show me and to show me more. More love and more of His vision. After a while my cries turned to worship. I worshipped on the ground and then eventually standing. I worshipped, filled with the Spirit.
Eventually I returned back to my friends in the row where I had been sitting. To my knowledge none of them came forward, they had been worshipping right there. (There was music from the time the first invitation was given.) After sitting with arms around each other for a while, we left. Agave offered to drive us all home.
When it was just Kalista, Agave and I in the car they asked about my vision, so I gave them a short synopsis. After Kalista was dropped off, Agave and I enjoyed worshipping together with a few CD tracks.
Upon arriving home I realized that I needed to document this and I needed to share it. I didn’t need to worry right now about writing my story of coming to faith, but rather about my experience this weekend. I started this blog for that purpose, as a testament to the work the Spirit is doing in my life.
1 Corinthians 2:9 “However as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’”.
Baptism and Healing
Today (Saturday), I planned on rising at a moderate hour to complete homework. Instead I slept in and then convinced myself there would be time tomorrow while I was at work plus most of the day Monday. I did laundry and talked with a few friends. My friend Kalista was getting baptized at 5pm, so I went to that. Turns out two other church members were also there to be baptized. (They attend Fenway Church, a relatively new church which meets in a club, so they were borrowing the baptismal pool at a nearby Baptist church.) I didn’t really know what I was walking into.
The pastor Ezequias asked each lady to share their testimony and explain why they wanted to be baptized. It was inspiring and a testament to God’s saving grace to hear each story of how these young women came to faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Ezequias then explained how baptism is a sign of an old life without Christ being washed away to a clean, forgiven life with Him. The laying back in the pool is like being laid in a coffin, representing death to sin, followed by a rising up in new life.
Each of these ladies was baptized on the profession of their faith and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Afterwards we all gathered around them to lay hands on and pray for them. The Spirit was alive, present, and working in that room, though I did not feel Him in me like I had at all night prayer. In this moment I asked God to restore to me His Spirit in such an irresistible way. I was blessed by witnessing the power of God at work in this congregation.
After the baptism ceremony concluded, I went out to dinner with a few friends. Fast forward a bit to after dinner. Glafira invited me and several other friends to her apartment to watch the Passion of the Christ movie. Glafira, her roommate Elektra and myself were the only ones who showed up to watch.
The two hour movie begins with Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane and ends only a few minutes after His death. (Those few minutes do depict His resurrection, though I think that could have been better portrayed…) Glafira and Elektra both cried during the movie as we watched Jesus suffer for our sins. I, however, found it very hard to relate to the character on the screen. I just couldn’t relate to the pain he was feeling or associate that it was because of my sin. I wanted to experience this connection, but it didn’t seem to me as real as it should have. As the credits rolled we all sat in silence. Elektra eventually said, “Do you guys want to pray? I feel like the Lord is here.” The silent answer was a yes.
We gathered closer, and began to pray. When I prayed, I did not feel the Spirit like I had at all night prayer. In fact, I was praying words as I could think them. I felt the Spirit soften my heart. I hadn’t realized it was hard, but He clearly and gently softened it. I realized that even though the words weren’t coming quickly and boldly as they had at all night prayer, this was not the place for that. The Spirit still gave me the words to speak slowly in a much more gentle voice. After some time in prayer, Elektra got out her guitar and we sang a few praise songs. The Spirit continued to fill me and leave me open. The three of us began talking, and in a pause I felt compelled to start speaking about something that seemed random. I shared about the night in Paris where I saw part of Easter vigil in Notre Dame Cathedral. I continued talking, just pouring out various life experiences.
In the next pause Elektra asked me about the chronic stomach problems I had mentioned. I explained how I had been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia and what that meant—the muscle which opens and closes my esophagus at the stomach was stuck open and would be forever. Surgery can only make the opening smaller, but not cause the muscle to work again. Elektra said to me, “Do you want to be healed?”
My response probably sounded like “Sure… YES!”. The thought process accompanying that was “I don’t know that I need to since I’ve dealt with this so long, but why not?” followed by “Of course I want to experience the healing power of The Great Healer!”. Elektra and Glafira gathered around me and laid hands on me as I knelt. Elektra prayed and then spoke directly to my muscle, commanding it to function properly in the name of Jesus. Glafira also prayed and then Elektra prayed more, some in tongues. She then said, “Lincoln, God wants you to know you are His child and this is not a phase.” I was in tears.
I have no doubt I was healed. Medically it would take another endoscopy to see this, but I have my own evidence. I headed home after spending more time talking with Glafira and Elektra about various things including stereotypes and corruption within the Church. I went to the sink to rinse my cup. I put some water in it and said, “Lord, as I drink this water show me I have been healed by allowing me to feel the muscle open and close.” With a large sip I felt it. I thanked God and asked him to let this feeling serve as a reminder so I never forget of His healing power. All I want to do is worship him now, despite needing to wake up in 3 hours for sunrise service. This has been an incredible Easter season.
Oh, the reference to this not being a phase answers my question of whether or not the spiritual renewal I’ve been experiencing over the past few months would fade and I’d fall away again. Hallelujah!
The pastor Ezequias asked each lady to share their testimony and explain why they wanted to be baptized. It was inspiring and a testament to God’s saving grace to hear each story of how these young women came to faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Ezequias then explained how baptism is a sign of an old life without Christ being washed away to a clean, forgiven life with Him. The laying back in the pool is like being laid in a coffin, representing death to sin, followed by a rising up in new life.
Each of these ladies was baptized on the profession of their faith and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Afterwards we all gathered around them to lay hands on and pray for them. The Spirit was alive, present, and working in that room, though I did not feel Him in me like I had at all night prayer. In this moment I asked God to restore to me His Spirit in such an irresistible way. I was blessed by witnessing the power of God at work in this congregation.
After the baptism ceremony concluded, I went out to dinner with a few friends. Fast forward a bit to after dinner. Glafira invited me and several other friends to her apartment to watch the Passion of the Christ movie. Glafira, her roommate Elektra and myself were the only ones who showed up to watch.
The two hour movie begins with Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane and ends only a few minutes after His death. (Those few minutes do depict His resurrection, though I think that could have been better portrayed…) Glafira and Elektra both cried during the movie as we watched Jesus suffer for our sins. I, however, found it very hard to relate to the character on the screen. I just couldn’t relate to the pain he was feeling or associate that it was because of my sin. I wanted to experience this connection, but it didn’t seem to me as real as it should have. As the credits rolled we all sat in silence. Elektra eventually said, “Do you guys want to pray? I feel like the Lord is here.” The silent answer was a yes.
We gathered closer, and began to pray. When I prayed, I did not feel the Spirit like I had at all night prayer. In fact, I was praying words as I could think them. I felt the Spirit soften my heart. I hadn’t realized it was hard, but He clearly and gently softened it. I realized that even though the words weren’t coming quickly and boldly as they had at all night prayer, this was not the place for that. The Spirit still gave me the words to speak slowly in a much more gentle voice. After some time in prayer, Elektra got out her guitar and we sang a few praise songs. The Spirit continued to fill me and leave me open. The three of us began talking, and in a pause I felt compelled to start speaking about something that seemed random. I shared about the night in Paris where I saw part of Easter vigil in Notre Dame Cathedral. I continued talking, just pouring out various life experiences.
In the next pause Elektra asked me about the chronic stomach problems I had mentioned. I explained how I had been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia and what that meant—the muscle which opens and closes my esophagus at the stomach was stuck open and would be forever. Surgery can only make the opening smaller, but not cause the muscle to work again. Elektra said to me, “Do you want to be healed?”
My response probably sounded like “Sure… YES!”. The thought process accompanying that was “I don’t know that I need to since I’ve dealt with this so long, but why not?” followed by “Of course I want to experience the healing power of The Great Healer!”. Elektra and Glafira gathered around me and laid hands on me as I knelt. Elektra prayed and then spoke directly to my muscle, commanding it to function properly in the name of Jesus. Glafira also prayed and then Elektra prayed more, some in tongues. She then said, “Lincoln, God wants you to know you are His child and this is not a phase.” I was in tears.
I have no doubt I was healed. Medically it would take another endoscopy to see this, but I have my own evidence. I headed home after spending more time talking with Glafira and Elektra about various things including stereotypes and corruption within the Church. I went to the sink to rinse my cup. I put some water in it and said, “Lord, as I drink this water show me I have been healed by allowing me to feel the muscle open and close.” With a large sip I felt it. I thanked God and asked him to let this feeling serve as a reminder so I never forget of His healing power. All I want to do is worship him now, despite needing to wake up in 3 hours for sunrise service. This has been an incredible Easter season.
Oh, the reference to this not being a phase answers my question of whether or not the spiritual renewal I’ve been experiencing over the past few months would fade and I’d fall away again. Hallelujah!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Not on my own Strength
I did not awake this morning when my alarm clock went off, but rather over an hour later. Realizing I would miss class, I rolled back over and slept. I awoke feeling fully refreshed even though I had slept less than six hours. I went to the post office to pickup a package and while walking back I called Dryas. It turns out he was at the hospital with his wife’s grandmother who had a lung embolism. The purpose of the call turned out just to be so I knew to pray for her.
It had been my intention since before spring break to use a different media software (MediaShout) at Real Life’s CityWide, starting today. Having worked with software and live production before (and therefore knowing things always take longer than expected), I made arrangements to access the computer earlier than usual. This way I’d have time to download and install the software, tinker with it a bit as necessary and then prepare the evening’s presentation.
The installation process hit a few snags, but upon overcoming those I was able to put the PowerPoint presentations into the evening’s cue stack. Timing was such that it made sense to wait until arriving on-site to do song lyrics. In theory, MediaShout has a large lyrics database and all I’d have to do is click the song and drag it to a cue. After arriving at CityWide, Craig, who normally does the lyrics discovered that the songs we needed lyrics for were not in the MediaShout library. Nor could MediaShout import from OpenSong, our previous lyric projection software. And adding a new song from scratch wasn’t working well.
At this point I was handed the Passion of the Christ DVD to play a snippet from. Fortunately with MediaShout I can insert a DVD cue with the start and stop times marked; it’ll do the rest. Except when “Key exchange for DVD copy protection failed.” Crunch time. I left lyrics to OpenSong; Craig set up a presentation while I had a bite to eat. I then spent half an hour trying to fix the DVD problem. To no avail I loaded Media Player Classic and cued the DVD to the proper timing as the show started.
Worship went well, though since I was running equipment and stressing about the projections (and had been for a few hours), I couldn’t really worship like I would want to. Alalcomeneus said to me as we started worship and I was stressing, “Give it to God.” Oh yeah, I should do that. So I did; the projections didn’t go too poorly, but certainly worse than I intended. That was my problem—it was what I intended. I had been planning for weeks that I could put in this new software and that I could tie everything together for a smoother presentation. I hadn’t given it to God and I tried to do it on my own strength. God humbled me.
It had been my intention since before spring break to use a different media software (MediaShout) at Real Life’s CityWide, starting today. Having worked with software and live production before (and therefore knowing things always take longer than expected), I made arrangements to access the computer earlier than usual. This way I’d have time to download and install the software, tinker with it a bit as necessary and then prepare the evening’s presentation.
The installation process hit a few snags, but upon overcoming those I was able to put the PowerPoint presentations into the evening’s cue stack. Timing was such that it made sense to wait until arriving on-site to do song lyrics. In theory, MediaShout has a large lyrics database and all I’d have to do is click the song and drag it to a cue. After arriving at CityWide, Craig, who normally does the lyrics discovered that the songs we needed lyrics for were not in the MediaShout library. Nor could MediaShout import from OpenSong, our previous lyric projection software. And adding a new song from scratch wasn’t working well.
At this point I was handed the Passion of the Christ DVD to play a snippet from. Fortunately with MediaShout I can insert a DVD cue with the start and stop times marked; it’ll do the rest. Except when “Key exchange for DVD copy protection failed.” Crunch time. I left lyrics to OpenSong; Craig set up a presentation while I had a bite to eat. I then spent half an hour trying to fix the DVD problem. To no avail I loaded Media Player Classic and cued the DVD to the proper timing as the show started.
Worship went well, though since I was running equipment and stressing about the projections (and had been for a few hours), I couldn’t really worship like I would want to. Alalcomeneus said to me as we started worship and I was stressing, “Give it to God.” Oh yeah, I should do that. So I did; the projections didn’t go too poorly, but certainly worse than I intended. That was my problem—it was what I intended. I had been planning for weeks that I could put in this new software and that I could tie everything together for a smoother presentation. I hadn’t given it to God and I tried to do it on my own strength. God humbled me.
All Night Prayer
Real Life hosted its second all night prayer last night, from midnight until six o'clock this morning. Having also attended last time, I knew what to expect...or so I thought. Last time I had been a bit pre-occupied. I couldn't let my mind be completely free and open to the Spirit. Don't get me wrong--it still went well, but this time was even better.
I went into the prayer meeting expecting to be filled with the Spirit to help me stay awake. Despite the lack of sleep through the week, God had already prepared for this. Even though I stayed up late Wednesday night (c. 5:00am), Thursday's morning class was cancelled so I slept until noon, thusly putting me into a better position to stay up late!
To start the meeting, Catarina shared a bit before we started praying; she mentioned how no revival has ever started without large quantities of prayer. We introduced ourselves; there were several new faces in the room, fifteen people total. Catarina also explained how the evening would work: We would break into groups of 3 and pray with a specific focus for 30 minutes, take about 5 minutes to eat and mingle, then repeat with a new group and new focus area. The first group session focused on preparing our hearts for the evening.
My group consisted of Christophoros, Basileios, and myself. I got on my knees, Christophoros began praying. The Spirit was moving in Basileios as he began to speak words of affirmation during Christophoros’ prayer. Almost immediately I also was filled with the Spirit to do likewise. After Christophoros and Basileios lifted up prayers I began to pray without premeditated words, led by the Spirit. The words came quickly and boldly; God prepared my heart. I could not stop moving, in a slow shaking manner. As we arrived at each between-group interval, it seemed like time was flying—I did not want to stop praying; I could not stop moving.
Prayer with each group was a blessing. At 3am, we paused from prayer to spend what amounted to an hour singing praises and reading scripture to glory of God. I did not feel faint or tired but was thrilled to be in the presence of God.
The remaining prayer sessions also went remarkably well, with the last 45 minutes spent in a group prayer. Though I felt less of the Spirit’s presence within me during this time, He kept me awake and spoke through others in the group. Alalcomeneus prayed for a revival, as Catarina had mentioned at the beginning of the meeting.
I returned home to finish my homework before class, still filled with the Spirit. He gave me full awareness as I focused on my work; the problem set I had was completed before 7:30!
I went into the prayer meeting expecting to be filled with the Spirit to help me stay awake. Despite the lack of sleep through the week, God had already prepared for this. Even though I stayed up late Wednesday night (c. 5:00am), Thursday's morning class was cancelled so I slept until noon, thusly putting me into a better position to stay up late!
To start the meeting, Catarina shared a bit before we started praying; she mentioned how no revival has ever started without large quantities of prayer. We introduced ourselves; there were several new faces in the room, fifteen people total. Catarina also explained how the evening would work: We would break into groups of 3 and pray with a specific focus for 30 minutes, take about 5 minutes to eat and mingle, then repeat with a new group and new focus area. The first group session focused on preparing our hearts for the evening.
My group consisted of Christophoros, Basileios, and myself. I got on my knees, Christophoros began praying. The Spirit was moving in Basileios as he began to speak words of affirmation during Christophoros’ prayer. Almost immediately I also was filled with the Spirit to do likewise. After Christophoros and Basileios lifted up prayers I began to pray without premeditated words, led by the Spirit. The words came quickly and boldly; God prepared my heart. I could not stop moving, in a slow shaking manner. As we arrived at each between-group interval, it seemed like time was flying—I did not want to stop praying; I could not stop moving.
Prayer with each group was a blessing. At 3am, we paused from prayer to spend what amounted to an hour singing praises and reading scripture to glory of God. I did not feel faint or tired but was thrilled to be in the presence of God.
The remaining prayer sessions also went remarkably well, with the last 45 minutes spent in a group prayer. Though I felt less of the Spirit’s presence within me during this time, He kept me awake and spoke through others in the group. Alalcomeneus prayed for a revival, as Catarina had mentioned at the beginning of the meeting.
I returned home to finish my homework before class, still filled with the Spirit. He gave me full awareness as I focused on my work; the problem set I had was completed before 7:30!
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