So, I started a podcast...

Somehow, I figured it out and now I have a podcast to share even more of my ramblings and musings with you. It's entitled "the VO!CE" and it currently only contains one episode of a sermon I preached recently called "John's Cry: The Desire for Fire."

http://www.lovealoud.mypodcast.com/

To give some background, I was asked to preach by my grandfather (the man introducing me at the very beginning). I had outlined and planned a sermon about wisdom and revelation, which I had even set up an illustration for in the sanctuary of the church. God does love messing up human plans however. If I sound nervous, it's because I had no notes and no preparation time for this sermon. Still, God anointed me for it and it went well.

Ep. 02 "Philanthropist's Curse!"

Vlog #01

Prayer for Nepal!!!

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come." -John 16:13

So, I asked quite simply, "what have You heard, Spirit?"

"A rustling in the bushes in the East. There's a stirring there of Revival. The groaning is becoming heavier." I saw a heart as He spoke that was on fire, and it burned up into a pile of ashes that fell to the ground. Lying there in the ashes was a new heart. This new heart was aflame in blue, and two hands picked it up off the ground. As the heart was lifted up, I saw that an asian man was holding it. Before Him stood Jesus. He walked toward Jesus and handed the heart to Him.

"Bullets will not be able to pierce this heart, and they will be so hungry for me that bread cannot satisfy their stomachs."

I sense God shifting the heart of a nation in the east. I wasn't sure which nation, but I met up with Brock and Tracie last night at the House of Prayer in Little Rock.I told them about it, and Tracie mentioned that the Burn 24-7 is going to the country of Nepal soon. I'm still waiting for a response from the Burn in regards to when this will be happening. Until then, I would like to ask those of you reading this to search your heart, and see if you sense any desire to see something come of this that God has spoken. If so, I would like to ask you to join me in prayer and fasting for this. It's pretty awesome to think that God can save an entire nation. He saved an entire city when He saved Ninevah. A country is no great task for Him.

If you're curious about the Burn 24-7 and what they do, I have a link HERE for you to follow.

An Atlas Moment: I Was Just Playing with Marbles and This Is What Happened.

Gift or curse? Sensitivity.

Right now, my heart wants to pray, "Lord, deliver me from Your people." The weight of our desperate need for repentance and repair has me so bogged down right now. If we could only understand the depth and mystery called grace, would we as the Church conduct ourselves any differently? Would we stop becoming so provoked? I speak as one under the burden of this conviction myself. It is because of this "wounded animal" aggression that I see in others that drives me to be provoked myself. The only difference is that I am provoked by the very people of God at times instead of the world. And I ask, "God, is THIS the bride You've called me to be a part of?"

Of course it is. I may just be blowing off some steam right now, but I love the Bride of Christ so much. She is just so far from where she needs to be for the return of Jesus. Man-imposed standards have superseded the work of the Holy Spirit in people's lives.

I'm not saying there isn't a standard, but the standard should be enforced fearfully. What I mean is that we should realize who the standard of righteousness comes from and examine where we stand in accordance with it. Remember when Jesus told us to not touch the splinter in our brother's eye until we've removed the plank from our own?

It is a splinter to have a young lady who has never been taught better wearing some sort of revealing clothing. It is a plank for a child of God to neglect their own relationship with God and then enforce "God's law." Rules without relationship equal rebellion. And people wonder what's wrong with their kids.

Here's the thing about righteousness. It's a journey. Holiness comes the moment we surrender our hearts to Christ. He has made us holy. Righteousness is the outward appearance of inward holiness. Will that girl be wearing clothes like that forever? No, and God doesn't want her to be, but if WE do our part in counseling her and leading her toward HIS heart, then HE will take care of things. The moment OUR hands touch the clay, we risk a soul. I've seen it happen more than once in my life. The Bible does give us a complete picture of righteousness, but we become that picture little-by-little. God enjoys putting the puzzle together, and none of us are the complete picture. When one incomplete person tries to complete another, the one they are trying to complete will be the one to pay the price.

Reproducing ourselves in others instead of reproducing Christ leads to one big problem. We still have our own curse that we risk reproducing in others. Just think about it.

None of this is referring to any particular person or situation. This is the issue on my heart, however, and I have to express what is in there.

"The heart has its reasons which reason knows not of." ~Blaise Pascal

Let me just add that I am so very open to questions or comments. Please reply, so we can discuss. Discussion brings light to situations.

"The Scientist"- Coldplay

This song captures my journey with God over the last year.

Come up to meet you,
tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are.
I had to find you,
tell you I need you,
Tell you I set you apart. 

Tell me your secrets
and ask me your questions,
Oh lets go back to the start.
Running in circles,
Comin' in tails
Heads on a science apart. 

Nobody said it was easy,
It's such a shame for us to part.
Nobody said it was easy,
No one ever said it would be this hard. 
Oh take me back to the start. 

I was just guessin' at numbers and figures,
Pulling the puzzles apart.
Questions of science,
science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart. 

And tell me you love me,
come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start.
Runnin' in circles,
Chasin' tails
Comin' back as we are 

Nobody said it was easy,
Oh it's such a shame for us to part.
Nobody said it was easy,
No one ever said it would be so hard. 
I'm goin' back to the start. 
Do you have an anthem?  Comment and tell me about it.  Send lyrics if you can!

Michael Jackson: Loved or Despised?

So, We saw the tragic end of Michael Jackson's life. I really want some feedback. Tell me what you guys think. Whether it's about Jackson himself, the media, or all the hype surrounding his death. I WANT to hear from you.

The day it happened, I remember my mom telling some people at a restaurant we were eating at. One of the employees saying, "Whatever. That's just one less freak in the world." I couldn't help but feel uneasy about such an offhanded remark. THAT very moment takes me to the previous post I made about love and logic. Logic saw a freak. But what does love see?

Now, I'm not going to play the advocate of either side in the debate about whether or not Michael "did it." I'm just afraid we (even Christians) have let this logical mindset of modern culture seep into and poison our hearts toward human beings.

We reacted with hostility when we heard the accusations about him molesting children, but how did our hearts react when we listened to the stories about how he was abused and verbally berated by his father? Did we even flinch when we realized that his was a scarred childhood with little to no good memories? Some would say that a childhood filled with money and fame couldn't be so bad. What care do children have for money or a platinum record? It's just ridiculous.

I remember hearing one of the most heartbreaking things. In an interview, Michael recalled watching children playing near where he and his brothers were recording in his younger years. Of course, the business came first in his family, and he wished he could play with them. He never did.

And he longed for that lost childhood until he suffered death from cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009.