another great quote

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? -Corrie Ten Boom

my true identity

I'm learning that man's opinion of me does not make me who I am. Whether they think I'm a great Bible scholar or a downright heretic does not matter. Even Jesus had his share of masses of fans (who later turned on him and wanted him dead) and religious critics (who also wanted him dead). I'm reminded that a disciple is not above his teacher, so whatever Jesus went through, we will all go through when we walk in that straight and narrow way and where angels fear to tread.

I'm going to show the "real me". This is who I am. I'm going to reveal my true identity:

-John 1:12 I am God's child.
-John 15:15 As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.
-Romans 5:1 I have been justified.
-1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
-1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ's body.
-Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
-Colossians 113-14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
-Colossians 2:9-10 I am complete in Christ.
-Hebrews 4:14-16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.
-Romans 8:1-2 I am free from condemnation.
-Romans 8:28 I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
-Romans 8:31-39 I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
-2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
-Colossians 3:1-4 I am hidden with Christ in God.
-Phillipians 1:6 I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.
-Phillipians 3:20 I am a citizen of Heaven.
-2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
-1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.
-John 15:5 I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
-John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
-1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God's temple.
-2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
-Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
-Ephesians 2:10 I am God's workmanship.
-Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
-Phillipians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

what does it feel like when Heaven comes down?

"Pray then like this... Your kingdome come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" -Matthew 6:9-10 (ESV)

Growing up Catholic, I was trained to repeat the "Lord's Prayer". To be honest, it felt more like ritual rather than a heart's response.

A couple years ago, however, I heard a sermon by Jaeson Ma at a Campus Crusade Winter Conference. He went off on how the prayer "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" was such a revolutionary prayer. I never knew how radical it was, even after I became a follower of Christ. So I started to think what does His kingdom on earth look like? Why would Jesus even suggest a prayer like this?

To answer the first question, there's Scriptures I found:

"From that time Jesus began to preach, saying 'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'" -Matthew 4:17 (ESV)

"And He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal." -Luke 9:1 (ESV)

"Heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you'" -Luke 10:9 (ESV)

It seems to me that Jesus preached about the kingdom of God. His aim was to bring the kingdom of God here on earth. Don't get me wrong, I believe that the fullness of God's kingdom is a future reality but at the same time it's also a present reality. What does the kingdom on earth look like? This is not an exhaustive list, but I found three characteristics.

First, in God's kingdom, Jesus is Lord and people are subject to His Lordship. That's why Jesus told people to repent. That's why Peter told the Jews in Jerusalem to repent (Acts 2:38). That's why Paul pleaded with people to reconcile their lives to God through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). People need to repent from becoming their own lord of their lives and make Jesus the King, Ruler, Master and Lord! We have to understand that Jesus is King and people of His kingdom are under His Lordship. People who live out radical obedience to the Word of God are people of His kingdom. Are we people who radically obey what was preached on Sunday? Or are we merely satisfied with listening to message and tuck it away on our doctrinal shelves. We need to be doers of the Word and not hearers only, otherwise we are deceived (James 1:22-25). Lord, draw people into radical obedience to Your Word!

Second, demons are driven out. So we have to ask, is there evil and are there demons in Heaven? Of course not! Heaven is God's dwelling place and He will not allow darkness to coexist with Him at all. He is holy. He is pure. The Bible says "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).
When you look through the Gospels and the Book of Acts, Jesus, the apostles, and the early Church constantly drove out demons from people. They understood the message of the kingdom and knew that light will never dwell with darkness.

Third, the sick are healed. Think about it: are there any sicknesses in Heaven? Again, read the Gospels and the Book of Acts. Along with setting demonized people free, Jesus' ministry consisted of healing. His message consisted of the proclamation of the kingdom along with the demonstration of the kingdom- namely, through miraculous healing. When John the Baptist's disciples asked Jesus that if He was the Christ or not, He backed up the credibility of His ministry and He validated that He was the Messiah not by quoting the hundreds of Old Testament scriptures that prophesy His coming, but by the miraculous healing He performed (Matthew 11:2-5). Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:20, "The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power."

Now I pray this prayer different from when I prayed it before.

So in conclusion, if we are to proclaim the kingdom of God and pray for His kingdom to come on this side of eternity, wouldn't our message compromise of these three characteristics? I find that too often, Christians, especially here in America, just settle for good worship services, cool bands, being sermonized week after week, programs, buildings, budgets, board meetings, etc. along with the error that God does not operate today like He did back then because we now have the Bible. To me, that's having a form of godliness but denying its power and we are called to avoid such people (2 Timothy 3:5).

Lord, I pray that You would release a deep groan in our spirits to cry out for Your kingdom to come and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Let us not be satisfied with doing church the way we're used to. Let us long for Your kingdom to be made manifest and for Your glory to be seen by all. Awaken our hearts, Lord. Breathe on Your Church, Holy Spirit. Come all four winds and blow on us once again. Let us desire to build Your kingdom and not to build our own agendas. Release to Your people a passion for the lost to come under Your Lordship, the demonized set free, and the sick healed. Come Holy Spirit and have Your way. In Jesus Name, amen.

Below is an annointed song by Ian Macintosh. It'll bless you so much!

City On Our Knees

I haven't blogged in a while. I've been really digging this new song by TobyMac called "City On Our Knees". I don't know if he realizes this or not but he is prophetically declaring for our cities to be under One King. This is the moment... this is the time.

May Love fall to the earth like a crashing wave...




I'll be blogging once a week from now on... Stay tuned folks!