Conference speakers

"Open up the Earth" was the name of the conference in Holland that I attended, and these two pictures show two of the main speakers and their translators. In the first picture, the translator is on the left and Craig Kinsley is teaching on the right. In the second, James Lavesque is on the left and his translator, who was also the main organizer of the entire event and leader of Tabernacle Ministries, is on the right.
Some thoughts from each of their teachings for people to ponder....

"The beginning and end of a supernatural culture is LOVE."

"The key to a supernatural culture is getting full of love!"

"Another key to a supernatural culture is getting with people who are pursuing the love of God!"

"In the culture of God, there is only ONE culture---and that's Jesus' culture."

"There are many admirers of Jesus, but not many followers of Christ...Followers of Christ live the song."

"If you've been going through a shaking in the last 2 years, know that God is shaking so that every fruit from the hands of men will be destroyed."

Food for thought....

More Conference thoughts

Here are some pictures from the conference I attended in the Netherlands last week. The first is a picture of the sweet little cottage I stayed in the first two nights! The second are some really fun and wonderful people I met...the couple on the right I met on the first day and they invited me to stay with them at their house the second two nights, which I happily accepted! They are precious people and tears were in all of our eyes when we said goodbye on Friday morning! The third and fourth pictures show the "stage" and part of the conference worship venue. Mike Smith and band are a truly annointed group from Connecticut and ushered everyone into worship! More to come!

Holland conference

I arrived last Monday at Schipol airport in Holland, got my rental car, and drove 2 hours to a tiny little town of about 6000 people where this conference, "Open up the Earth" would begin on Tuesday.

I found my accomodations...quite miraculously as the bed and breakfast was on a side, side, side road way out in the countryside...so far out, it was actually a working farm, with cows and all! My wonderful hostess showed me my "cottage"...it had sounded so quaint from the phone call, and now I realized why the price was so reasonable...the cottage was a tiny thing that could hold a bed and my bags and me...yep, the bathroom was in the main house, about 100 yards away. I was not looking forward to my nightly 3 a.m. potty run and quickly began to consider changing accomodations for the second night.

I dropped my things in my cottage and then went into the small town of Gorrekjik to have a look around as it was "open market" day. Found where the conference would be held, enjoyed some food, did some Christmas shopping, and then went back to my cottage to settle in for the evening.

Remember I said it was a working farm with cows? Well, when I arrived there was a HUGE bull cow in one stall and a momma cow and her baby in another stall about 50 yards from my cottage. When I arrived that late afternoon, the baby cow had been "taken" from its momma...NOT a pleasant thing to witness or hear...so, even through my very good earplugs, I "enjoyed" the mournful cries of the momma cow weeping over the loss of her baby calf...calling, calling, calling out, no kidding, ALL night long. In the morning, as I walked to the bathroom in the main house, I looked at the momma cow, who was breathing heavily, after having pulled an all-nighter mourning session, and she had spittle dripping from her mouth and literally LOOKED sad. Ok, this sounds strange, but my heart really broke for her. As has become a custom for me, I asked the Lord to show me something through this situation.

What made me weep inside is the reality of her pain---while I've never given birth, I can imagine the tearing, the heart-ache a mom must feel when a child is taken from her---it struck me that a cow can FEEL so deeply and stay up ALL night calling out for her calf---she knows her calf knows her voice because she or he has come running to it before---and so, with everything within her, she cries out, in desperation, in hope, that maybe her baby will come back to her---there's a love there that some would simply call animal instinct, but I believe it is a real love---and separation is devastating---it's like a death---for the mom. I can only imagine for the baby calf as well---who is gonna care for me? I'm all alone in a new place and everything I've ever known has changed, and the unknown is terrifying because "mom" is not here.

The connection to our relationship with God is obvious---He cries out and cried out from the cross---"Father, forgive them!" and "It is finished!"---and His voice continues to cry out today around the world, to His BABIES---to those whom He created, whom He knew since the foundation of time---His heart is broken but not because His children have been ripped from Him, but because we've chosen to leave---we've decided that life without "poppa" is much better---we can do it on our own. God wants us right by His side so He can provide everything for us...and even as I grow up in You, You still want me close to You; You don't need me there, but You know that I need to BE there with You. May the mourning cries of this cow be a reminder to each of us of how MUCH or heavenly DADDY cries out for us to come home and crawl up into His lap and just rest in Him.

Life changing conference

In the next few days, I'll be writing some thoughts about the conference I just attended in Holland. Yes, life-changing...yes, cannot even put into words...yes, we love a GOOD GOD who loves us passionately and in abundance, beyond what we could ever imagine or comprehend on our own. Here's one quote from one of the speakers you can ponder: "If your life in Christ is boring, then you don't have a life in Christ."

Two entries in one

I went swimming today and felt so good that I decided to swim some extra meters...200 to be exact. As I began my extra meters, the verses from the Bible came racing into my head about going the extra mile. Jesus is teaching and essentially says that if someone asks you to go one mile, go with him two; if he asks you for your shirt, give him your cloak as well. Every day I turn around and I'm seeing or hearing or reading from various sources about unity in the Body of Christ and how it is under attack, and how we need to stand firm, in unity in Christ. Part of that is "going the extra mile"....swimming the extra 200 meters was such a tangible example of this lesson from Jesus and the questions that came to my mind in the pool were: do we have people in our lives who are willing to go the extra mile with us, when we need it? More importantly, are WE someone who is willing to go the extra mile with someone when THEY need it? We are to rest in God and strive for unity in His Spirit!

Well, I arrived home from swimming to find that my key would not work in my door....it's been sort of "grinding" for about 4 months, and finally, I guess, the lock is/was shot, I was rather frustrated. So, after trying for about 30 minutes, I called a dear friend who helps me with EVERYTHING, and he dropped EVERYTHING on his Sunday afternoon to come and help...which was a LOT more work than either of us expected. After much careful trying, we realized the only way the door would open is for us to physically KICK it open...thus, obviously destroying the lock, and the door frame. Well, Zoli being the "go the extra TEN miles with someone" kind of friend that he is went home and got glue and tools to fix the door frame and then went and bought a whole new lock and installed what he could today. He'll be back to finish this week.

It's like God gave me a TANGIBLE example of the pool lesson...Zoli will go the extra mile; he has numerous times, and often I've been the recipient of his amazing servants' heart. Of course he refuses to accept anything in return...that's the heart he has. I too want to be that person that will go the extra mile for those who need it.

God showed me too, though, that the broken lock, and the broken door frame, are tangible examples of what God sometimes has to do in us. Things are "working ok", but some things are needing attention or change, and finally, if not taken care of or attended to, they break, or sometimes God comes in and breaks stuff open. It's at those times that's it's not enough to fix the lock, but the entire thing needs to be replaced with something new. Healing needs to happen...my door frame got reglued, and Zoli cranked down the braces to secure the glue and the frame...God's pressure is not always fun, and it's sometimes really painful, but what comes out in the end is something that functions even better. How good is our God?

Oswald Chambers

I simply cannot seem to get away from the truths God is speaking to me through this guy!

"The challenge to the missionary...comes from the perspective of the missionaries' own personal relationship with Jesus Christ---'Do you believe that I am able to do this?' (Matthew 9:28) Our Lord unwaveringly asks us that question, and it confronts us in every individual situation we encounter. The one great challenge to us is---do I know my risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? Am I wise enough in God's sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus Christ has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God's only call for a missionary? If I follow any other method, I depart altogether from the methods prescribed by our Lord---'All authority has been given to Me....Go therefore...' (Matt. 28:18-19)"

Do I really believe, truly, with all my heart, that Jesus is able to do "this". Whatever "this" is...heal, work out a difficult situation, restore a friendship, bring a person to Himself, change my mourning into dancing?

In John 4 is a verse that ties in with this: "If you knew the gift of God and who it is who speaks with you now...." when we stop seeing things from our limited, natural perspectives, and instead, put on the Spirit-eyes, every situation will take on a new dimmension beyond what we could ever ask or imagine because it will uncover for us the very gift of God which is Jesus Himself.

International Christian Fellowship - week 4

What a great and blessed night tonight at ICF! We had about 27 people, 6 of whom were brand new! Gee, if we had everyone together who has come in the last month, we'd have quite a crowd! Bring all of them Lord!

We were blessed to have my "boss", Tom Foley, join us this evening, and the pictures are mostly his doing!

Before the evening began, a 13 year old Hungarian girl named Regina came up to me and handed me a card she had made me. On it she had written a verse in Hungarian and she said this as well: "You have a fire in you from God!" I wanted to CRY...this summer, I was encouraged by someone to pray that God would increase His fire in me...so here is this little girl, telling me she sees His fire in me! Wow, Go God!

Erik gave a great talk from John 1 when John's disciples start following Jesus; very encouraging and challenging.

We continue to pray that Jesus is lifted up and glorified through all that we do and say! The first picture shows prayer time before ICF begins. The secnd picture is before beginning the singing part of worship. The third shows Tom Foley and his good friend Gabor. And finally, Erik, giving his talk.

Bending, breaking and molding

Yep, once again Chambers has hit the mark.

"'I chose you...'(John 15:16). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose---that He may be able to say, 'This is My man, and this is My woman.' We have to be in God's hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.

Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you 'turn aside...to the right or the left...' (Deut. 28:14). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way."

Bird in the house!

My cat Toby is becoming a very good hunter, sometimes much to my chagrin. As I was ironing clothes today, I suddenly realized that there was a small bird flying through my living room with Toby in hot pursuit! I wondered how it could have gotten in, given that my door is closed to the outside...well, Toby had caught this little bird and brought him in, like any good cat, to his food bowl....his eating area...but in the process of coming through his new cat door, the bird had gotten free.

So now I have a bird flying around with a cat in hot pursuit. Toby caught him again, and as I tried, in vain, to shoo them both out the front door...."come on mom, don't you know if I go outside he'll fly away?"...Toby headed again toward his food bowl. Well, the little bird escaped again and again began flying frantically around the living room. I finally grabbed a small towel and tried to capture the terrified bird. Toby caught him one more time, but let him go as I tried to pick Toby up to push him out the door...and the bird ended up on the stairs in the hallway....and Toby didn't see him for a split second, so I was able to gather the bird up in the towel and carry him downstairs and outside. I prayed he would be well enough to fly away, but just in case, I lifted him to the top of the wall...and as I released him, he flew away, seemingly fine!

Toby, of course, was highly disappointed that mom had "stolen" his prize and proceeded to pace around the house, looking for the bird, to no avail.

You know, sometimes it's our "natural instinct" to grab a hold of something; we may even think we've done something really good; we take it to its proper place...we are doing what comes naturally to us, what we think is right and good. However, the time and the place for that are not right...and the Lord intervenes and takes that thing away from us, sometimes temporarily and sometimes permanently...to save it and us, and to keep things from getting really messed up.

Toby is still alive, a bit disappointed, but alive...and the little bird is still alive, a bit bruised and battered, but Lord willing, he will recover. Isn't it such a picture of life and relationships sometimes...we are still alive, a bit disappointed when things don't go quite the way we wanted them to go, even when it seemed perfectly ok; and another may be a bit bruised and battered, but will recover and go on living and, Lord willing, thriving. Lord help me to see that Your interventions on my behalf are ALWAYS for my good and always for Your glory and always for the good of others in my life. Only You can teach me this through Your grace.

Spoiled by technology...and when it doesn't work?

I've definitely become spoiled by technology, and when it doesn't work like I want it to, well....I become a bit of a brat. You see, I wanted to watch Third Day Worship at Trinity Chapel in Powder Springs, GA....great church by the way: www.trinitychapel.org I've been looking forward to the "relaunch" of 3rd day worship for 7 months; that's the last time they had 3rd day before the major construction project began. All day today, I've been waiting to log on--I basically planned my day around it cuz it is such a great time to worship with friends from home via internet! Anyway, I log on today, and no Third Day Worship being broadcast. I was on skype with a friend from there and had him call the church...nope, no live broadcast today...how SAD am I? Pretty sad...I've become spoiled with the worship at this church via internet and am hungry to join them as they run hard after God, so this "setback" is a very sad thing for me to face as a spoiled technology brat. Oh well, next week I'll be at a rockin' conference for three days, so I'll get LIVE worship!! Yippee!!!

Nothing of the old life

Again from Oswald Chambers. "There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender. When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work His new creation in us...Our old gloomy outlook disappears, as does our old attitude toward things, and 'all things are of God' (2 Cor. 5:18). How are we going to get a life that has no lust, no self-interest, and is not sensitive to the ridicule of others? How will we have the type of love that 'is kind...is not provoked, and thinks no evil'? (1 Cor. 13:4-5). The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God---such a trust that we no longer want God's blessings, but only want God Himself."

And when we want God Himself alone, then He is able to have His will be done in our lives.

Jesus said, "I have much more to say to you...when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you." (John 17:12-14)

To have this kind of intimate communication with God, none of the old life can remain, for the old life is of the flesh and all truth is given through the Holy Spirit of God! May we allow His Spirit to continue His work in us!

Weekend away

I got away for the weekend...drove to Debrecen after teaching on Saturday....yes, sometimes we teach on Saturdays to enable us to have "long weekends" when we have a holiday. Tuesday is a national holiday here in Hungary, October 23, celebrating the 1956 Revolution against the Soviet occupation of Hungary. So, anyway, we taught on Saturday in order to have Monday off.

Debrecen was a real blessing! I got to worship at the International Church of Debrecen Saturday night and then go out to dinner with friends Edith Bond, and Pastor Ed and Sybil Courtney...pictured...to a cool diner called "Route 66". Sunday, I enjoyed sleeping in with no cats to come and tap me to remind me to feed them, and then Edith, Sybil and I went to the thermal baths in Debrecen and enjoyed about 4 hours of lazing around in the hot thermal pools! We were blessed to come home to a wonderful pot of bean soup and then watched funny DVDs and laughed a lot....a true necessity right now!!!

Today I took a long walk and snapped some pictures of trees....I really miss seeing reds on trees here in the fall, so when I saw these, I got excited! The drive home, 1/2 way in the dark and torential rainstorm, was exciting....and wonderful at the same time as I blasted worship music the entire way home. Good to get away, but good to be back in my own place, with my boys!

Friday at 7 - ICF week 3

God really blessed the International Christian Fellowship on Friday with 25 people, 9 of whom were new! Edith gave a great message about Jesus being the Lamb of God and how He would baptize in the Holy Spirit! Erik led worship, and in the middle of "allelujah", a "tangible" presence of the Holy Spirit fell on everyone in the room! Judit shared about two healings God had done in the past week. Thank you for your prayers as we continue to follow God in this, His ministry!

Old friends

Yesterday, I had the wonderful joy and privilege of meeting with Fran and Ed Lambeth, dear friends who lived here in Szeged from 2001-2002. We had a great visit! They are here meeting old friends and working on getting a very good Bible study "into" Hungary...it's called Community Bible Study! Pray for the right Hungarian to head up leading this effort! This picture shows me and Fran outside of Burger King in Szeged, enjoying the crisp fall afternoon!

Oswald Chambers again

"The key to the missionary's devotion is that he is attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself. It does not mean simply being detached from the external things surrounding us. Our Lord was amazingly in touch with the ordinary things of life, but He had an inner detachment except toward God. ....The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people, but people who are controlled by their devotion to him, which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit."

Timeless wisdom.....

Revelation...........

Yesterday morning I was reading in John when a tiny little verse leapt off the page at me. I'd probably read it 1000 times before, and quickly "overlooked" it because of course I want to get to Jesus' words. John 2:5 says in the NIV, "His mother (Mary) said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'" In the NKJV says, "His mother said to the servants, 'Whatever he says to you, do it.'" I tried to read on, but sensed that the Holy Spirit wanted me to return to this verse...which I did. I read it again and again and then the tears began to flow. Do I do whatever Jesus tells me to do? In this particular story, what follows is Jesus turning the water into the finest wine for the wedding guests...He provided in abundance with the very best. The cross-reference is to the Old Testament story of Joseph when he was head honcho in Egypt during the time of the famine...there too we read, "Do whatever he tells you to do." And the people went to Joseph and he had stored up enough food and provisions to feed the people during the years of the famine...he provided them with "life".

So, as I sat in bed, reading this verse again and again, "Do whatever he tells you," I prayed about a particular situation I am in right now: "Jesus, what do You want me to do in this situation?" His answer came clear as day: "Release it to me!" It was as if a gigantic weight was lifted off my heart immediately as I prayed and released...it was the first day in over two weeks when I had not been completely weighted down by this situation and God's peace and joy filled my heart. Of course in the evening, I tried to "take it back again", and immediately, God's peace left me....but there's more to this story which I won't go in to in detail, but as I released again, the floodgates of God's grace and mercy came flowing as God revealed to me my heart, and my continual desperate need for Him to come and heal! He's so good!

I encourage you: "Whatever he says to you, do it!" Only then can there be healing and freedom!

Thoughts from Oswald Chambers

Today's devotional is excellent. Here are some excerpts:

"The key to the missionaries' difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work---in the natural realm, prayer is not practical, but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolishness from the commonsense point of view. From Jesus Christ's perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person---Jesus Christ? No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ's own, "a servant who is not greater than his master" (John 13:16)....our Lord calls us to no special work---He calls us to Himself."

If this doesn't fly in the face of many people's, many missionaries', ways of thinking...we "know" this, but do we live it? No wonder I hear so many Christians struggling and wrestling over "their call from God"...they want to KNOW what He is calling them to...it's clear, He's calling us to Himself only. When we submit to THAT call, then He can do His work in and through us. That reality is incredibly freeing once you grasp it.

Creflo Dollar

Yesterday's message by Creflo Dollar was part of a wonderful series he's been doing on "Growing Up Spiritually". All of them are excellent, but this one in particular hit me deeply. Creflo talks about people growing up for what purpose? In order to help OTHERS grow up...he asks an excellent question: "Who is YOUR assignment? Who are YOU called to help grow up? Are you too busy to help someone else grow up?" That's our biblical task in the body of Christ...even as we are continuing to grow up, we have the responsibility of helping others grow up too. BUT, what hit me most pointedly is the fact that we need others to help us grow up, even if we have been walking with Jesus for years!!! However, we have to be careful that we are not being taught by "babies"...and even someone who has been walking with God for years may still be in the "baby-stage". Great stuff!!! Go listen to it: http://www.creflodollarministries.org/ October 15, 2007.

Good teaching

I've really enjoyed listening to an excellent series about "Growing up" into spiritual maturity at http://www.creflodollarministries.org

More Jason Upton

Once again, as I was walking around the city today doing errands, I had my music on and this Jason Upton song TOTALLY ministered to me. The lyrics are simple, and it is the MUSIC itself which is so powerful, with piano, flute, drum and guitar....but the lyrics too are wonderful.

"Heal me, come and heal me,
I know that you can do it,
I know that you can do it;
Jesus, heal me, heal me
I'm depending on You, I'm depending on You,
O Jesus.
You come and heal me, Jesus, heal me,
I'm depending on You, I'm trusting in You,
O Jesus.
O Jesus, come and heal me,
I'm depending on You, I'm trusting in you,
I'm calling on you, O Jesus,
Your blood.
I am trusting in You, yea, Jesus,
O Jesus, yea, healer,
I'm trusting in You, all my hope is in You,
O Jesus, O Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!
Jesus, Healer, O I'm depending on you,
I'm hoping in You, Lord, sweet Jesus,
Jesus, come heal us, o we're depending on You,
Our hope is in You, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!
Jesus, Healer, we're depending on You, Hoping in You,
O sweet Jesus."