Waging War Against Distractions
Posted: February 8, 2012 Filed under: Fasting, Life Blog, Prayer Leave a comment »This is a theme that keeps coming up in my life lately. I have goals that I want to achieve, but it seems like there is something always standing in the way of accomplishing them. Weeks go by and finally you stop what you are doing, and determine that nothing is going to come between you and accomplishing the desire that is in your heart. So, you wage war on distractions and fight for what is important.
For many, the goal is “spending more time with the Lord.” We have an ideal of where we want to be with the Lord but, in reality we are very far from that. We talk about the Lord to our friends and we go to church but, we are not doing the one thing needed which is sitting at His feet. We NEED time with the Lord and He desires time with us. He desires intimacy, friendship, and relationship with us.
During the day we will think, “man I really need time with the Lord, I am running on empty. When I get home from work I am going to definitely spend the evening in the Word.” However, when you get home there is dinner to make, dishes to be cleaned, bills to be paid, and finally you are so tired that you plop down in front of the TV with a bowl of ice cream in one hand and the remote in the other. Before you know it another evening has gone by without doing what was in your heart to do: spending time with the Lord.
John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.” Spending time with the Lord is our lifeline. Our life in God goes beyond just going to church on Sunday, we are to be spending daily time with him. Abiding in the vine through prayer, fasting, and the word. Whenever I feel stuck, I take a look at my life and evaluate how much time I have been spending with the Lord versus other things. Once I get back on track and put the Lord at the top of the list, its amazing the strength and insight I have to accomplish the things that were once weighing me down.
One of the biggest ways to wage war on distractions is by fasting. Take a moment to think about your average day. What takes up your time? Is it the internet, your favorite TV shows, magazines, etc.? Whatever the things that are holding you back, fast from them. Take a week and fast from TV and in its place put on worship music and spend time praying, journaling, and reading the Word. This is called fighting for your heart in God.
Fight for your relationship with the Lord. Wage war on the distractions that keep you from Him. Only you can do this for yourself. Start today and change your life.
Be blessed!
Rebekah
INTRO to IHOP Winter Track
Posted: January 17, 2012 Filed under: Life Blog Leave a comment »This is the opening week of INTRO to IHOP Winter Track. Our staff of twenty-five welcomed 150 new interns this weekend. I am VERY excited for this group. Especially because I have a good friend currently enrolled in Track 1. These next few months will radically shape their ideas about who God is, their identity in Him, and their divine purpose in this generation. What an honor to serve them in this season!
The Start of a New Year
Posted: January 6, 2012 Filed under: Life Blog Leave a comment »The past few months have been a whirlwind. Jumped into INTRO Track 2 and hit the ground… sprinting. We had a group of 60 interns from the U.S, Asia and Eastern Europe. They were an amazing group of people who had a deep hunger for God and courageous hearts. In December I made my way home (Hawaii) to visit family, friends, and ministry partners. It was a wonderful time and place to spend the holidays.
Now, I’m back with 7 days left until the internship picks back up again. The INTRO team and I will be working round the clock in preparation for their arrival. What a blessing it is to serve them in this season of their lives.
A Whole New World
Posted: November 13, 2011 Filed under: Prayer Leave a comment »It’s been several weeks since I’ve transitioned from Track 1 into being the Senior Core Leader of INTRO Track 2. It’s a whole new world! It’s been an intense ride. Hit the ground running and haven’t looked back. Rebekah really believed in this move to Track 2. She felt this was the right move, and would give us the challenging conditions to grow in the ways we needed to- and she was right. Thank you God for the wisdom of my wife! We have an amazing team of leaders in Track 2. Our interns come from all over the world. They have given these 3 months to sow into their spiritual lives and meet God in prayer, and the Word. They steward over 50 hours a week and fill them with study, time in prayer, and Justice Outreaches. I am so proud of them and am honored to serve them in this season.
INTRO to IHOP Track 2
Posted: September 27, 2011 Filed under: Kingdom Life, Life Blog Leave a comment »Exciting (and sobering) news! I have been appointed as the new Senior Core Leader over Track 2 in the INTRO to IHOP training program. For those who may not be familiar with INTRO, it is one of the primary internships here at IHOP-KC. INTRO is broken up into two 3 month tracks. I will be leading the second track, training interns on living a forerunner lifestyle in the context of the end-times, while walking out works of justice. What a new and exciting season.
Worship: Our Primary Mandate
Posted: September 7, 2011 Filed under: Kingdom Life Leave a comment »I’m sitting in the Prayer Room, and meditating on the idea of worship. It really hit me that I’m created for God’s pleasure. I exist for His benefit, His glory, and His delight. I’ve learned (and am continuing to learn) that a life of worship connects me to my purpose in life, and adds deep significance to why “I’m here”. God loves me, and finds me of great value. So much so, that He wants me to be with Him for all of eternity. God likes me so much He wants me around forever! Now I’m not sure about you, but that certainly speaks volumes to me, that God actually likes me. He wants me to be where He is… forever. We were made to worship, and it is as natural as breathing. Mankind has given our worship to many false gods and idols. Be it another religion, material possessions, other people or even the worship of ourselves. These roads only lead to a dead end pursuit of who we are destined to be, and rightly aligning ourselves with that truth. Worship is not just a part of your life. It is a primary basis of your life. In all that you do today… and everyday… be intentional on who you are living for, and who is living through you.
Common End-Time Misconception: “The Church will be raptured at any moment”
Posted: August 16, 2011 Filed under: End-Times Leave a comment »1. The popular “pre-tribulation rapture” view teaches that the Church will be “raptured” at any moment, therefore missing the unique dynamics and unusual events of the great end-time drama.
2. The word “rapture” comes from the Latin word ‘raptus’ meaning, “snatching away”. The bible teaches that the Church will be “caught up” (1 Thes. 4:17), however the issue is one of timing. The church will go through the “Great Tribulation” in great victory and power, being “gathered together” at the end, rather than at its beginning (Mt. 24:29-31; 1 Thes. 2:19; 5:10; 2 Thes. 2:1). The “rapture” occurs only after the resurrection of the dead, when the 7th trumpet sounds at Jesus’ second coming (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thes. 4:15-17). This is a serious mistake leaving many unprepared for the future.
1 Thes. 4:16 For the Lord will descend from heaven (second coming)… with the (7th and last) trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first (resurrection). Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (rapture)…
1 Cor. 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall al be changed- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet (7th trumpet). For the trumpet will sound (Jesus’ return), and the dead will be raised incorruptible (resurrection), and we shall be changed (rapture).
Mt. 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days (seals 1-5) the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken (seal 6). Then… all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Rev. 1:7). And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet (7th trumpet), and they will gather together His elect…
Mk. 13:27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the earth (rapture) to the farthest part of heaven (resurrection).
Why Study the Book of Revelation?
Posted: August 1, 2011 Filed under: End-Times Leave a comment »The Book of Revelation gives us one of the greatest revelations of Jesus Christ. The bibles is made up of 66 books, and every book has something to say about who God is, and what He is like. This book contains some of the most descriptive passages of Jesus in all of scripture.
There is a special blessing for those who read, hear and keep the prophecies written in this book (Rev. 1:3). There are eighteen descriptions of Jesus in chapter 1 alone, and six further descriptions in chapter 2-3. I would mention them, but why do the mining for you? This is your opportunity to search it out for yourself. And you’d want to. These descriptions give tremendous insight into the God whom we have given all of our love and lives to- and these descriptions will only serve your heart in deepening that love. Through the “lens” of this book we clearly see Jesus as Bridgeroom, King and Judge. We are able to (in advance) understand God’s character lest we be offended in how He deals with sin, and His process in making all “wrong things right” at His Second Coming. The Book of Revelation reveals the leadership of Christ. How much He hates sin, how He deals with it, and how He fights for the ones He loves- the Church.
This book contains very specific events, in a specific window of time. These events involves you, your children, and should the LORD tarry- your children’s children. It reveals what is coming and how to prepare. It reveals the story line that we all find ourselves in. The Book of Revelation is the end-time Book of Acts and our prayer manual for the coming storm.
The bible was made to be applied to our lives. Let us not waste the understanding and insight we gain through this book. Not only will it strengthen our love for Jesus, but it will give us a roadmap on how we are to live in this transitional generation before the Lord returns.
Loving God is the First Commandment
Posted: July 20, 2011 Filed under: Intimacy with God Leave a comment »And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38
The first commandment found in Matthew 22 is not “the great suggestion”. It is the great commandment. Through it God is telling us what matters most. The great commandment is in reality, an invitation into what we were created for. That is- to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.
God calls us to love Him with all our heart, mind and strength, because that is how God loves us. God loves us with all of His heart, mind, and strength. Can you imagine being loved by the strength of God? When I think of God’s strength, I think of His creative powers-forming the universe, the vast oceans, the earth, and everything in them. And to think of all His strength behind His love and desire toward me! What could hold His love back? What a mind blowing suggestion. That God loves me with all of His heart, mind, and strength. More than a suggestion, it is the truth. If we would only believe and receive this truth concerning His love for us, it would revolutionize our lives.
It is encouraging to know that while I was in sin Christ loved and died for me (Romans 5:8). I pray that nothing will hold me back from responding to His love. That His love would ‘color’ all that I do and see. Oh that I would know the height, length and depth of His love! Come Holy Spirit. Reveal the deep things to me…
Common End-Times Misconception: “Jesus will return at any moment”
Posted: July 20, 2011 Filed under: End-Times Leave a comment »Misconception #1: “Jesus will return at any moment”
Scripture teaches that Jesus will only return a second time for His corporate people (Heb. 9:28) and that His “second coming” occurs during the same period of time as the “gathering of the saints” or “rapture of the church” which occurs at the 7th trumpet (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thes. 4:15-17)
Then… all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Rev. 1:7). And He will send HIs angels with a great sound of a trumpet (7th trumpet), and they will gather together His elect… (Matthew 24:30).
Paul also teaches that it can only occur after the “great falling away” (1 Tim. 4:1-3) and the revealing of the Antichrist (2 Thes. 2:1-4), which coincides with the establishment of the “Abomination of Desolation” spoken of by Daniel, initiating the “Great Tribulation” (Mt. 24:15; Mk. 13:14).
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together (rapture) to Him… Let no one deceive you… for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed… so he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (Abomination of Desolation).” (2 Thessalonians 2:1)
