Over the past several weeks many people, myself included have expressed interest in fasting.  the International House of Prayer has some excellent resources beginning with the book Rewards of Fasting.  Below you will find links to this information.  I believe now, more than ever it is important for Christians to fast.  Fasting is a discipline we as Christians MUST do regularly.  It is a lifestyle and not an option.  Period.

Rewards of Fasting
http://ihop.org/Publisher/File.aspx?ID=1000010083

Statement of Fasting
http://ihop.org/Publisher/File.aspx?ID=1000011224

Fasting Guidelines

http://ihop.org/Publisher/File.aspx?ID=1000011223

Lovesick Heart of the Fasted Lifestyle Msg.

http://media.ihop.org.s3.amazonaws.com/14469e85-e587-4e1c-bcab-381613151a73.mp3

 

The Brotherhood of the Unashamed

Here is a poem that was read this Sunday at church.  May the Lord speak to and provoke you through it.  Author unknown:

I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit’s power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made…I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean in His presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and I labor with power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And, when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me….my banner will be clear!

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THE APOSTOLIC WOUND by Allen Hood

Please download the message above an listen to it.  This was given by Allen Hood in October of 2005.  Rachel and I were attending he Onething Leadership Summit and checking out IHOP-KC for the first time ever.  This message was as incredible then as it is now.  In many ways, my life has come full circle back to this message.

Take a listen, and leave a comment.

PS.  If anyone knows how to upload files better than this cheesy way I used, PLEASE email me or let me know.  I am a rookie at this stuff.

 

For the Men Out There-Ladies, Tell Your Man!

 

BH

 

I have to give credit for the B.O.H. which stands for Band of Heroes, to a group of men that met regularly to pray over each other and their families. We sought to go deep in god and spur each other on in a deeper relationship with Jesus. The “General” of the group was/is Nathan Stogsdill, a man I aspire to be like, and a man that is after God’s own heart. I miss you brother!

In a book I am reading, I came across a line that pierced my heart instantly.

    ”Be bold. Cowardice keeps man double minded, hesitating between two worlds. True faith abandons one opinion for the other. Hesitation is the death of faith.”

In my reading of the Word the past several weeks, I keep being reminded of a couple passages they are:

Ephesians 5:12-17

“12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
   ”Wake up, O sleeper,
      rise from the dead,
   and Christ will shine on you.”

 15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

 

Malachi 4:5-6

“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers…”

So how does all of this tie together?

As men in the house of God, our homes, and our community, we need to have the FAITH to hold each other accountable in all areas of life. The faith to speak boldly as the Lord leads and to move out/into what His good and pleasing will is for our lives individually and corporately.

Across the Body of Christ, and even here in our church and town, men are dying spiritually. There are many reasons why, but largely it is from division and being conquered by the enemy. It is time to WAKE UP, O Sleeper, and take back what is ours. The time has come to draw a line in the sand and decree that THIS SPOT is as close as darkness creeps in around us. We must make the MOST of every opportunity the Lord gives us, because the days are evil. The consequences of inaction are too severe. So how/what do we do?

We make a covenant. We raise the bar of excellence in our lives and help those around us do the same.

We Fast-starting small, not seeking God’s hand, but His face. Asking for wisdom and revelation in our lives, for our leaders, for our bosses etc.

We Pray-joining in prayer meetings like the one Wednesday night. Prayer is the key!

We Read the Word-Sharing what the Holy Spirit tells us to groups like these and cell. It edifies the body!

We Cover Each Other’s Back and Families in DAILY focused prayer. This is a battle, we cannot succeed alone.

 

It is Hard to Believe!

It is hard to believe that Keira Keinwyn Jane Pleasants turned 1 year old yesterday.  Keira means, dark and Keinwyn means lovely.  We named her this after “Dark yet lovely oh daughters of Jerusalem…”.  Keira has a sweet disposition and loves to raise her hands in the air whenever she hears “Praise the Lord!”.

This pictures shows you what it looks like for a baby in Alaska at -40.  Life is a lot of fun at these temps, and I really wish they would go away.  I hear the midwest is looking for some more cold and snow, perhaps I can arrange this for all my friends in KC

I am writiing feverishly on some posts from messages I have been listening to so stay tuned.

 

The Times Are Changing!

Over the past few weeks, my life and that of my family has taken a sharp turn. Beginning with this post I hope to lay out a few points that will give you reason to stop and think for half a second. I am fortunate that in my job, when I work nights I can do what I wish for the majority of the time. I used to spend that time watching videos or playing games on my laptop, but ever since hearing Mike Bickle’s Power of a Focused Life message, I have provoked to a higher level in life. I am challenged to attain greater things than just idly wasting away being entertained by all the world has to offer. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying what all is out there is bad, in fact some is good, but it is not best. I want the best there is for my family. This is a daunting task and one that I am struggling to get my head around, but the cool part is that there are many people around me both geographically and spiritually that are of like mind for themselves and their families. It is interesting to me how many people have come along with me on this journey even though they began it from various starting points.

Step 1 was being awakened to the Power of a Focused Life. This is all about reclaiming the lost hours of your week, attaining vision, setting goals and laying out action plans to achieve the goals all while keeping the focus on reading and studying the Word, our Daily Bread. If you haven’t done so already, please take the time to click on the link above and go through the 4 part series and notes for this. It will change your life.

These messages simmered in my spirit for a few weeks; meanwhile, a small contingent of frozen headed northerners began the Omega Series journey. This is an introductory study of the End Times presented by Mike Bickle and the International House of Prayer. It is a great conversation starter, and headache inducer, but so far, it has been a fun journey. We hit the half way mark tonight.

As the messages and the series were building on one another, our local church had a series of messages based on the Sermon of the Mount and one a couple weeks ago about achieving goals. One interesting thing spoken that resounded around the church was that if a person wants to be successful at something doing it alone is almost doomed to fail. If you find accountability with someone, to hold you on task and spur you on, the chances at success go up an astounding 85%! Here is a link to this message

Bringing everything to the boiling point was the Onething Conference held in KC, MO the last several days of 2008. This marked the 5^th conference I have either attended or watched or listened to. Mike Bickle had sent an email out saying that he thought this was the most important conference he had ever put on in his 30 or so years of doing conferences. He is not one to overly dramatize anything, and I was eager to hear what was to be said, who was to say it, and how it would hit my heart. You can watch the entire conference still here.

All of this material has my head spinning, my heart burning, my spirit yearning, and my life being changed eternally. I am still working on a series that will have more detail and I will be posting it very soon, but meanwhile, spool up on the material liked above. Download any of the teaching notes you can find and most of all, read the Word and pray! This nation and all of us need it more than ever!

 

A Quick Change

Today I had a comment asking for al ink to the other parts of the Power of  a Focised Life as they couldn’t find all the parts.  Ihave now put up catergories on the right hand side.  If you click on the Category named Power of a Focused Life, that will take you the messages along with the notes.  I will be adding a bit to the these sections over the coming wweeks so stay tuned.

 

Baby It’s Cold Outside

Today, the temperature is -40F or so with no wind.  This makes about 10 days of this weather and I for one am not thrilled.  Thankfully, I am off until Wednesday so I don’t have to venture out into the abyss of ice cold and skin freezing temperatures.  I decided I would take the opportunity to put a couple pictures of the kids up as it is LONG overdue, and while I am formulating a post that is burning within me.

LOOK TO THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN FOR MORE PICS!

 

Onething Wraps Up Tonight

It has been a week or so since I posted my thoughts.  There has been a lot happening in our world with the holidays, and work and the bitter cold we are having.  Right now as I type this, it is -45F, no wind. There is what we in Alaska call ice fog that is so think I told a coworker today that driving requires Instrument Flight Rules certification.  On my way to work tonight I could not see more than about 30 ft. in front of me.

This week, as you can see from the post below, the International House of Prayer has been hosting the annual Onething conference.  I have been doing my best to watch all I can live, and I have to say, I have really enjoyed what I have seen.  The focus this year is going after End Times. It is interesting to me to study End times if for no other reason than the end of the age is coming and I would like to at least have a clue about what to expect.

Mike Bickle has been many years studying the book of Revelation as well as the other books and chapters of the Bible that speak to End Times. When I first heard his approach when I was in KC a couple years ago, I was shocked and totally confused.  I had never heard much preaching on the book of Revelation, and what I had, was not very good or correct. While I am fond of saying that I refuse to drink the kool-aid that Mike or anyone else serves me, I have to admit that there is a lot of interesting, mind-bending information that is presented by Mike’s teachings. 

Currently, myself, Rachel, and two other couples are going through the Omega Series presented by IHOP.  This is an 8 part DVD series that goes through the main points of the end of the age.  It has been fun to dig through the material and debate the points that hang us up.  While we may not all come to agreement, I have to believe that any time spent searching through the word is time well spent.

I will keep this post short, as I am still formulating the thoughts of what all to type here, but suffice it to say, that the compilation of the The Power of a Focused Life, the Onething Conference, and the call that is on my life, everything is being called to a higher, more intense, all-in level and I could not be more excited or happy about where this is leading. The Onething conference will end tonight with a worship set beginning at 10pm CST. You can go to the link below or to God.tv to see it live. You will not be sorry!

 

Onething 2008 Webcast is Free!

WIther of you two readers know that I am attached to the International House of Prayer in KC.  Granted, I live in Alaska now, but our hearts are knitted together and in a strange way, the bond is getting stronger.

RIGHT NOW, Onething 2008 is going on.  This is a gathering of 15-20,000+ people to go deeper in the Word and fast and pray in the New Year.  The conference is being webstreamed for FREE.  Go HERE to sign up for the free broadcast.

There is a ton of free stuff on the IHOP website too.  I am being shaken, stirred, and provoked.  I pray you take the time to tune in to some of the sessions and bring in the New year like you never have before.  Your life will be eternally changed!