"Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday." -The Impressive Clergyman from The Princess Bride (1987)

Recently I received an email from my mom that said,

Praying about your wife and keep asking the question in my spirit, “Why do you want to get married?” Sex?  Companionship?  Why?

My mom being someone who is a prophetic voice in my life, I definitely want to take this question seriously. It’s no secret that I want to be married and have a family, but why? What is my motivation? My friend Brian Williams once said

The two main questions young Christians always ask are ‘Who’s my wife/husband?’ and ‘What’s my calling or ministry?’

That’s so true of my generation! Process with me for second as I explore the reasons most Christians my age want to be married…

Sex

It’s no secret men are very sexually driven (yes, even Jesus-Loving men). I don’t know how many Christian men I’ve met that just want to get married and have sex so they’re no longer tempted with things like porn/masturbation, parties, thirsty girls, etc. It’s probably no surprise that I would say this, but that’s dumbest reason for marriage I’ve ever heard and it’s a complete lie from the Enemy. A marriage built on the rocky bed of lust will crumble!

In Matthew 5:28 Jesus said ,

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

How many people have you or I had sex with in our hearts? Men, if you’re dealing with a porn addiction or even just constant lust, take the time to address it in your heart. You can’t pull that into your relationship because it’s not fair to the other person, you and especially not fair to Jesus who paid for you to be free.

One thing God had to address with me this past summer was heart ties. In case any of you are wondering, no, I’m not a virgin. Because I’m not I needed to deal with the tie I had made to another person spiritually and physically. God not only took me to that relationship but others also that weren’t pure and/or emotional ties had been established in the past. I CAN’T STRESS HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS!!! Deal with all past hurts, betrayals, commitments, and relationships (casual or serious) before God prior to ever looking at being in a relationship aimed at marriage!

Finally, when you’ve had a sexual relationship and you are trying to keep your purity before the Lord it is easy to subliminally have sex as your motivation for marriage because your body craves that physical intimacy again. Check your motivation to be married with God and make sure that’s not the reason you desire it so much.

Sex will be wonderful in marriage and will be beautiful. Hopefully this doesn’t offend anyone, but think about this for a second… Man and woman come together in marriage and “make Love” they will soon produce a child. The product of making Love is a child, the beautiful essence of the two people that joined together. That child then holds and is raised into the best qualities of each person. How amazing is that?! Starting a family one day will be incredible!

Job 31:1,

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.”

Family

For those of us that want a spouse and children, family can be a huge motivator for getting marriage. Is there anything wrong with that? No, I don’t think so. As a man that wants to be a father I am looking forward to the chance of getting to experience more of God’s heart. If you think about it, being a father is one of the greatest ways to be like God. Husbands get to Love their wives as Christ Loves the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33) and fathers get to Love and discipline their children as Father God Loves and disciplines us (Proverbs 3:11-12). What an honor!

We have to ask ourselves, what’s the rush? We tend to want to rush the blessings of God not realizing some blesses have to come in a certain order. What if God’s about to send you on a 2 year missions trip working in sex trade rehab in India, but you want kids? How would that work? You can’t raise children in that environment. We have to put His plan before our own. Hold to what it says in Jeremiah 29:11,

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Trust Him.

Ministry

I’ve heard it said that we should stay single until the point we can only better advance the Kingdom married. I would agree, but I’d add that sometimes marriage wouldn’t hinder Kingdom work but merely change the work you’re doing. I think the importance is knowing what season you’re in.

In my case, God’s got me in full-time ministry and full-time school. It would be great to have someone by my side partnering with me to accomplish the task the Lord’s given me. Think about this with me, the woman was taken from the side of man, the rib (Genesis 2:22). The rib protects the heart. I love the symbolism God setup. Man is complete when his woman is standing by his side guarding his heart (not behind him like many controlling men have made it seem). A man is typically more of a visionary and the woman more detail oriented. When the man fails the wife is there to help protect his heart and encourage him to keep going (not say “I told you so!”). So many times in ministry I’ve experienced attack from people, accusing spirits and even my own mind. I’ve failed time and time again. Often I wonder how it would be to have an encouraging wife by my side in those times.

Another thing is it would help to have a wife for her to talk to all the women in my ministry. There’s only so much a young, single male can do to help women.

So if this is a piece I need in ministry, it puts a healthy demand on God that He will supply in the right timing.

Companionship

Companionship can be a crutch. When we have been hurt we tend to look for comfort and where we find that comfort is wrong if it isn’t Jesus Christ (I’ll explain more in the next section). At the beginning of the last summer I was avoiding dealing with my hurt and instead daydreaming about how marriage could magically fix everything. Obviously God wasn’t going to let that slide so He asked me a question that really shook me back to reality:

How can you take care of someone else’s heart yet you haven’t taken care of your own?

That question hit me hard and made me realize the importance of taking care of my heart. How could I take care of my bride while being broken myself? There’s no way a relationship could be healthy like that.

Many of us (Christian women more so than men) tend to want companionship because we’re lonely. We want to have someone there with us and we’re so impatient in the meantime. And are we wrong??? When God created Adam He recognized it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone (Genesis 2:15-24). Even Paul said it was better to marry if that was a desire you have so you don’t fall into sin (1 Corinthians 7:1-7). What we have to realize is God isn’t just withholding something great for us and laughing, He’s preparing us. He’s letting us fall in Love with Him before we fall in Love with someone else. God wants us to be to be content in Him.

Marriage and Family Can Be A Idol (What?!!)

I know what you’re thinking, how can something God created and loves to bless be an idol? Simply put an idol is anything we place before God.

About a year ago I was riding on a bus back from visiting my best friend David Wade in NYC and I was staring out over the passing scenery of snow covered trees as we trekked across the length of Pennsylvania. At this point God had opened up my dream of traveling and getting to encourage different parts of the Body. I was seeing hearts come alive, bodies healed and the Love of Christ touch the lost, but I was hurting and lonely. As I looked out the window I began to tear up and I prayed,

God, I’m thankful You’ve allowed me to step into my dreams but I’m lonely. Please give me someone to travel with, a companion. I want my wife to be by my side.

God answered me with a question I’ll not soon forget…

What if I called you to never get married for My sake?

That question sent me into a whirlwind of emotions from distress to anger to panic and back to anger. I answered honestly saying,

Then I wouldn’t be able to be obedient.

He answered me simply,

Then marriage is an idol.

Wow… It truly blew my mind. Over the summer when I went through heart healing (Click Here to read my post on heart healing and this summer) God really worked through it with me. He revealed the secrets of my heart so secret I didn’t even realize they were there. See, at this point my relationship with my own family wasn’t that great and I felt like I wasn’t Loved. Therefore, I was wanting someone to Love me and to make a family so I would have that piece of my life. In other words, I was taking everything into my own hands and out of God’s.

Luckily He put a stop to that and I laid all my desires (filmmaking, preaching, family, FIRE) at the foot of the Cross this summer and told Him to only give me back what I was supposed to have. He got me to the point where I could wholeheartedly say I was okay never getting married and that’s when He gave it back. He brought contentment in knowing it’s all in His hands so I no longer have that pressure of making it happen.

Ask yourself if marriage is an idol in your life. If you can’t lay it down before God, chances are it is. As 1 John 5:21 says,

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

What Is My Motivation?

So when it comes down to it, why do I want to get married? Sex isn’t my motivation. I can wait to have a family. Ministry work can happen without a wife. Right now I’m pretty content where I am at and as far as God’s revealed to me my heart is in a good place.

I want to be married because my hearts desire is to…

• Be a husband that Loves, leads and embraces his wife and her dreams as Christ Loves, leads and embraces the Church (Proverbs 12:4, Proverbs 18:22, Proverbs 19:14)
• Be a father that raises up Kingdom kids that change the world by knowing how Loved they are and what it means to have the identity of being sons and daughters of God (Colossians 3:20-21, Ephesians 6:1-4, Psalm 127:3-5)
• Be a man that shows that family comes BEFORE ministry 100% of the time (1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9, Proverbs 20:6-7)
• Be a leader in the Body of Christ that helps restore what marriage and family is supposed to be Biblically. (Joshua 24:14-15, Matthew 19:1-6, Ephesians 5:22-33)

Our lives should ever be increasing into Christ-likeness and marriage reveals a side of Loving like Jesus that you can’t learn any other way. It’s not wrong to desire marriage as long as our desires are behind God’s desires.

How Can We Prepare For Marriage?

One place we Christians tend to drop the ball is preparing for what we are praying for. My friend Tim Walk preached a sermon about this once and it stuck with me. It’s one thing to PLAN to do something, it’s a whole other thing to PREPARE for it. Elijah had to prepare the alter before God rained FIRE (1 King 18:20-40). Prepare for your prayer to be answered. God isn’t going to give one of His beautiful daughters to a childish man and He’s not going to give one of His precious sons to a contentious woman.

• SPIRITUALLY
  • Prepare your heart so you are whole and are able to care for another heart.
  • Deal with anything you know you struggle with before you are married. (Ex: poor relationship with God, lust, being quickly angered or annoyed, gluttony, envy, laziness, idols, etc.)
• SOCIALLY
  • Ask yourself what habits need to die (Ex. not keeping a clean room/house, bad hygiene, low work ethic, overspending or careless spending, bad eating habits, etc.)
  • Ask yourself what habits need to be established (Ex. cleanliness, good hygiene, good work ethic, disciplined spending, eat healthy, etc.)
  • Men, step out and grow as leaders in your church, job, classroom, or anywhere else it is possible. Be a man. Be responsible.
• PHYSICALLY
  • Prepare your body for your future spouse (Ex. work out, eat healthy, etc.)
• FINANCIALLY
  • Prepare yourself to support another person (Ex. establish good credit, save money, start paying off any debt, work on getting several sources of income, etc.)
  • Men, be ready to treat your future bride like a princess before she’s your queen by saving up money to take her on nice dates and saving up for an engagement ring.
• EMOTIONALLY
  • Prepare yourself emotionally to be able to tend to another person even when you don’t feel the best.
• MENTALLY
  • Prepare yourself for the changes that come when you are married and are around another person consistently, sometimes even when you really don’t want to be.
  • Our reactions to different situations are typically pre-thought out. Prepare yourself to show grace even when you are hurt.

I know I am a 21 year old single male but wisdom is being able to observe and learn from the good and bad in every situation. I have observed many marriages and have talked to God about this quite a bit. Hopefully this helps all my single friends out there. If it did please leave me a comment and pass it on via Facebook and Twitter. Be blessed!

To God Be All The Glory!

Money/Finances: 

† We are entering a time of great transfer inside and outside the Church. There are those that have had nothing and have remained faithful to God, To those He says “I am proud of you my faithful one. In this year you will know My faithfulness.” Our heart ties to money will be torn as God will call both the wealthy and the poor to give when it seems asinine. We are being called to give until it hurts. We are going to find ourselves funding greater missions trips and even marketplace endeavors as God commands. Be willing to give. He’s bringing the Church back to (Acts 2:44-45) where no one had need because they tended to the needs of one another.

† There will also be several waves of financial outpouring in supernatural ways and from worldly sources to fund Christ centered projects as well as individuals. We are not to focus or depend on this. Be obedient to God and He’ll begin to lay out what to do to cooperate with what He is doing.

Pray into this and pass it on. Be blessed!

“Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” 1 Timothy 6:17-19

To God Be All The Glory!

Where did you disappear to and why?

Many people have asked me why I seemingly abandoned my Facebook, Twitter or this blog. The reason is simple: Heart healing. Last spring quarter at Ohio State we got to be a part of some big things God was doing.

• Our worship nights every friday were drawing in people of the street, including drunks and random families. Jesus was healing many people physically, spiritually and emotionally. The web stream was viewed by nearly 1,000 people overall and people were getting healed behind their computer screens.
• I was invited to speak at the National Day of Prayer. It was such a great opportunity to share with leaders from every denomination all the things God was doing on campus (salvations, healing, etc.) and give a word on what I felt the Lord was speaking to the Church for this season. This one event opened the doors to unity and we now have friendships and support from across the Bride, from Catholics to Pentecostals.
• Our campus group FIRE was starting to make a mark on campus and people were starting to hear about us. We were on track to start a full-fledged campus ministry that I’m sure would’ve have been successful.

Why do we need heart healing?

Heart healing is more than just surrendering yourself to Christ. Often we think that when we give our life to Jesus everything is automatically dealt with and it’s time to start in ministry. The problem with this idea is that the evidence points the opposite way. We are seeing an orphaned Church of broken people that are seeking the blessings of God without knowing His Love. “Famous” Christian leaders, men and women of God, are falling into homosexuality, molesting children, stealing money from their churches or getting caught committing adultery. Why? Our value has been on callings** and not character. We see the Gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12) as a more important than the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25) when Love is one of the fruits and Love is everything (1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 4:7-21)!

What’s the greatest lesson you learned this summer?

This summer I learned the importance of a whole heart. Do you want to be successful in life, family, marriage, ministry, etc.? Let the Holy Spirit heal your heart. Ask Him to show you any place of brokenness within your heart and invite Him to bring the healing. If you are dealing with repeated sin, ask Him what in your hearts causing the sin. Sin is merely a symptom to the deeper heart issue. Sin is not the problem, it’s a sign of the problem. There’s nothing like the freedom you’ll feel when your hearts been made whole!


What’s the plan now?

The plan now is simply to Love. Our simple church here in Columbus, OH is focusing on Loving God, Loving our families, Loving one another, and Loving everyone we come in contact with. It’s been incredible to watch God slowly bring healing to each of our families as we Love and pray for them. Also, we are passionate about seeing healing, both heart and physical. God has told us that we are to act as a rehabilitation center for hurting people, believer or unbeliever. There has been a beautiful denominational alignment happening and we’ve been able to see everything from Catholic to Pentecostal come together under the peace of the Holy Spirit and the centrality of Jesus Christ.

Please keep us in your prayers.

*The group of people you follow Jesus with throughout the week as a lifestyle, not just a weekly meeting.
**Graces or anointings depending on denomination

To God Be All The Glory!

Many have backed away from such a fight
No, not him, for he’s a child of the Great Light

Driving the dagger into the heart of the beast
He stands alone, strong, not afraid in the least

Oh, how many have doubted his intention
For he’s sanctified, set apart, called to abstention

This moment in time has finally arrived
For it is now, it is for now that he has strived

Greatness has always been his destination
And the Great Light from above is his restoration.

So as the powers of darkness sweep in
He fights valiantly, determined to see it end

But this is the beginning of a movement
The beginning to perpetual self-improvement

It is the revolution, the fight, his beckoning
It is now, it is time, it is… The Reckoning

Reading this poem again stirred something in me…

Chosen Generation, it is time to choose your side! You’re either for Jesus or you’re against Him (Matthew 12:30). The world doesn’t need a religious version of itself. Let’s turn away from our sin and press forward as sons and daughters of the King! The world needs people who are radical, counterculture and willing to Love selflessly! We’ve missed it by focusing too much on doctrine and/or the power of the Holy Spirit (both wonderful things), when being a Jesus follower is about LOVE.

You want to see the world changed? You want to see REVIVAL? Love the person right in front of you.  We want Revival and even put in the work through prayer, but forsake the people around us who desperately need to know Jesus and His Love. This isn’t about hit and run evangelism, it’s about building relationships that last, no matter how messy or difficult they get. Love makes disciples.

Everyone was created in God’s image so how much more should we Love those around us. Remember when Jesus talked about the Sheep and the Goats? Read Matthew 25:31-46 if you haven’t. Jesus commends the sheep because they tended to His needs and they are perplexed. When did they take care of Jesus??? He replies in verse 40, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” We say we want to go to the nations, but we’re doing a horrible job of Loving the hurting and broken in our own towns and cities. James 1:27 reads, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

Brothers and sisters, we are called to Love outrageously, turn away from sin, pray without ceasing, preach the true Gospel, make disciples, and set nations on FIRE! We are predestined for greatness! We are glorified to walk into darkness and see the light of Love win out! We are chosen to be REVIVAL FIRE! The spark starts with US!

Walk in the peace and Love of our Lord Jesus Christ and be blessed!

“We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to beconformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” -Romans 8:28-31

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  -Ephesians 6:12-13

To God Be All The Glory!

This does not, however, stop us from sharing the testimony through word of mouth. Please continue to share what God is doing with your friends and feel free to ask me in person if you’d like to hear the full story. The point of the story remains the same so here’s an excerpt of the story with the Muslim and the teaching points:

Later That Week…

Thursday of the week following the accident Teresa, Ricardo and I were at the OSU Prayer House watching Furious Love (an amazing documentary about God’s power moving in the darkest places on earth) when the Lord prompted us to go out on High St. Unfortunately Ricardo had to go home, so it was just Teresa and I walking down the street at 1:30am. We prayed for God to highlight someone to us and then we saw a man walking bare foot but holding his shoes about 100 yards ahead of us. That seemed like a pretty good sign we should ask him what was going on.

Once we got up to him we asked him why he was barefoot and he began to explain that he was homeless and had broken his leg 10 months before. He hadn’t had proper medical treatment so it never healed properly and he was in much pain. We asked him if we could pray for him since Jesus Loves to heal people and he said we could. And Jesus did! The pain left and he asked us to walk with him to put his shoes on. As we did we prayed more and his crooked leg straightened up and the limp started to disappear.

This Somalian man that had only been in the States for a year extended his hands without any prompting from us and in his broken accent said “Thank You Jesus!” It was so beautiful! I asked him if he had a relationship with Jesus and he went on to tell us that his people tell him to pray 5 times a day to God. I asked him if he was a muslim and he said he wasn’t anymore, he is going to pray to Jesus! We prayed for him a little longer for blessing and left him sitting there smiling and experiencing the Love of God.

What Does This Mean To You?

• Firstly, if you Love Jesus with your full heart you serve one amazing God! And His Spirit, the same Spirit that rose Christ from the dead, LIVES IN YOU! Wow…
• Second, Revelation 19:10 says “…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” That means that when one testifies about something God has done, it applies and is possible in your life too. YOU can see the dead raised and the sick healed. In fact, it’s your mandate as a believer (Mark 16:15-18). One of the churches I shared this testimony with during service had a testimony a week later of an 8 year old boy who got killed in a car accident being raised after 20 minutes of being dead!
• We must remember, the greatest miracle of all is one soul coming into a Loving relationship with Jesus. That’s our main purpose as disciples, to make disciples.
• Finally, God’s Love is always on time. How many times has God showed His Love in our lives, yet we didn’t see it because of our perspective, so we thought His Love wasn’t there? Look at the (former) Muslim… He had no idea the Creator of the Universe had set him up that night to be shown Love. That’s incredible! Jesus’ Love always meets us where we are, in our worst situations, and at the right time. Sometimes it’s hard to see, but be comforted in knowing it is there. Just ask him for a new perspective.

I write to you out of deep conviction and a burning in my heart. Right now I’m up, unable to sleep and burdened with the brokeness of this generation. It is time for us to raise up and proclaim the Love of the Gospel boldly!

Let us ask ourselves…

Why are our priorities so messed up? How can we be angered by someone using the “N” word but not get angry about the 4,000 babies being killed every single day in the US? How do we not get angry about the genocide happening in Africa or our Christian brothers and sister being murdered for their faith in China? We got more upset when Lil Wayne got put in prison and we started campaigns saying “Free Weezy.” How about we start a fathers be fathers campaign?  That’d be something worth getting behind.

Why do we get more angry when someone insults our favorite team or politician, yet we see the name of Jesus blasphemed daily and don’t feel anything stir deep within us?  We wear cross necklaces as we lust and curse and sell our souls away to pleasure. Do we know how powerful a symbol the cross is?

Most of us probably don’t because of how much its been perverted and we don’t read our Bibles. Musicians, rappers, athletes, movie stars, and even some pastors are defaming the name of Jesus Christ and mocking His sacrifice by doing everything He hates and then accepting awards for it in His name. He doesn’t want their false glory. These people we make idols have made the cross into a symbol of hypocrisy, not sacrifice and Love.  Jesus didn’t die for us to be able to freely sin. He didn’t have chunks of His flesh torn out so you could look at porn or send naked pics of yourself to your boyfriend . He didn’t die so we could take part in the very things that drove nails through His wrists. I tell you, He didn’t die so that we could sit in a church and pretend. Really, He didn’t even die so we could accept Him and sit in a church. He especially didn’t die so that we could claim His name and then listen to someone like Lady Gaga that openly blasphemes Jesus, even releasing her song Judas right before Easter.

It’s time to repent…

Jesus was murdered as a sacrifice for the sins we’ve committed. He took God’s wrath so we could experience His Love. He saved us so we can lead others to safety. We aren’t to be confined to once a week worship, all week paganism. You and I have both taken His Love for granted. The Jesus I serve, the Jesus of the Bible, doesn’t just overlook sin. He let’s us pick. You cannot serve two masters. That’s what the Jesus said in Matthew 6:24. He let’s you choose. You either repent and He changes your heart or you continue to sin. If you choose sin, regardless of if you claim His name, you have chosen the wrath of God. True repentance is hating the sin you turn away from.

Now ask yourself…

Do you truly hate sin with everything in you and do you Love Jesus with your whole heart? Does your heart burn to see souls saved? Can you attend a concert, go to a sporting event, or even walk down the street without your heart breaking?

When we are passionately in Love with Him, that Love will burn in us for the lost. Ask God to make you hate sin. Ask Him how it makes Him feel to see one of His creations standing on the edge of Hell. Ask Him to break your heart for what breaks His. He will, but be warned you will no longer be able to use not knowing as an excuse. If we truly understand His heart and the reality of Hell, we won’t be able to not do anything.

Let’s be the generation that’s unafraid of presenting the Gospel with selfless abandon, praying without ceasing and walking in the authority of the Holy Spirit! We have been chosen for such a time as this!

Your brother in Jesus,

Ryan M. Rhodes

P.S. Please pass this on to all believers. The term Generation does not necessarily mean a certain age. It means the people alive in this hour. Thanks! Be blessed!

Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶ He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

-Mark 16:15-18

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

-1 Peter 2:9

 ²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. ³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 

-Romans 8:28-31

To God Be All The Glory!

This town is the cemetery of dreams past, birthing grounds of a new hope.
Tombstones, monuments to a dead revolution, shaken yet will not last.
I need it to be swept away, never to return.
I’ve been promised an awakening, but will it ever come?

He was savage, lustful, eyes filled with pain.
In that moment hate was declared for the impostor.
Who was this figure set before me?
I turned my back on the me I met in the darkest hour.

A gracious hand held the gavel of justice.
The angel of love wrapped her wings around a wounded soul.
The unworthy nomadic heart of a broken man.
Such grace comes with great guilt.

But hope breaks like the dawn, just in time.
Light is shed on the city, covering as Christ’s blood over His people.
The wellspring of life erupts from the catacombs of the decayed.
The new me hurts no more, as my guiltless soul rejoices.

Rebirth…

• I am a man.
• I will fail you.
• I am in no way perfect and have never claimed to be perfect.
• I don’t always say the right things.
• I make mistakes.
• I still fall into sin and still need God’s grace.
• I am weak.
• I am impatient.
• I don’t read the Word as much as I should.
• I don’t always walk in Love.
• I am not dependable.

Now you might be asking yourself why I would write a blog like this. First reason is I want to make sure that there is an understanding that in all of my accomplishments, giftings and visions are from God alone. All failures, sins, and let downs are from my failure to follow Jesus. Second reason is to provide Hope since there’s only one hope, Jesus:

• He is God. (John 10:30, Colossians 2:9)
• He won’t fail you. (Philippians 4:19, Deuteronomy 31:6)
• He is perfect. (Psalms 16:2, Habakkuk 1:13)
• He says the right things. (John 16:13, Acts 6:10)
• He makes no mistakes. (Jeremiah 29:11, Psalms 139:14)
• He shows Grace. (Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Corinthians 12:9)
• He is strong. (Psalms 46:1, Proverbs 18:10)
• He is patient. (Psalms 86:15, 2 Peter 3:9)
• He is the Word. (John 1:1, John 1:14)
• He is Love. (1 John 4:8, John 3:16-18)
• He is dependable. (I Corinthians 15:57, Matthew 11:28-30)

In good times, turn to Jesus. In bad times, turn to Jesus. He’s always there and His arms are open. He accepts you as you are and doesn’t base it on your past. Jesus Loves you. If you want to know more please let me know.

To God Be All The Glory!

If you don’t know, a sympathy pain is where the Holy Spirit will put pressure or even let you feel some pain somewhere on your body to point out what He wants to heal in someone. It’s basically Him putting His finger right where the persons pain is occurring. It must be clear God isn’t inflicting you with the same pain or disease that they suffering from. It’s simply a word of knowledge. Sometimes when you pray for someone you will get a sympathetic pain and know what to call out. Many times that shows people how real God is because there’s no way you would know that they just had back surgery, kidney problems or get recurring migraines.

“For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.“

-1 Corinthians 12:8-11

I didn’t know who the Holy Spirit was trying to point out to me so I posted this status…

I than just began to type out the prayer I would pray if I was right there in the room with her…

At this point a lot was running through my mind. Thoughts entered my head like “What if she doesn’t get healed? Maybe I should of done in a message so only she could see it.” And “What if she doesn’t get healed and someone sees it and it becomes proof in their mind God doesn’t exist.” I then realized that the enemy was working against my faith and I said, “NO. She is healed in Jesus name!” That’s when she replied…

We serve the God that answers with FIRE. In 1 Kings 18 where Elijah went up against the prophets of Baal in front of all the children of Israel saying in verse 21,

“How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”

He went on to challenge the prophets to call on Baal to burn the sacrifice in verse 24.

“You call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”

Without preaching a whole sermon on this (which is going to happen in the near future), Baal doesn’t answer them. Elijah mocks them and then has them pour water on the sacrifice. He prayed to God and needless to say God answered with FIRE (verses 38,39).

“Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”

That’s the God we serve. He answers with FIRE and makes Himself known. Be an Elijah. Stand on faith when no one else will. We aren’t called to blind faith. We are called into His Loving arms where He takes care of us. It isn’t a religious chore, it relationship with the Creator of the universe!

“Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame…For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

-Romans 10:11, 13

To God Be All The Glory!