Isiah 62 Pt1

Hey readers!

One of my favorite parts of scripture is found in Isiah 62. It's all about revival and God's plan for the church. Fun stuff!

Isiah 62:1-3:

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,    for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,    her salvation like a blazing torch.The nations will see your righteousness,    and all kings your glory;you will be called by a new name    that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand,    a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

Zion was the promised land, the place where God's people called home. Jerusalem was where the ark of the covenant, the Glory of God, resided. Everywhere where Christians are, God has a divine destiny or 'default mode' called Revival for that place. The dawn is the rebirth of light and it happens everyday, wherever you are in the world. All nations know what a dawn is. That's what the church is going to be like! We are going to be the light that causes a universal awakening! Our righteousness will be so evident that all nations will experience the impact of it! Non-christian kinds will "see our glory and our inability to keep quiet will change the world! We will be God's precious treasure and he will never let us go! That's how present God is going to be in our lives.

This passage is not about 'some other guy', it's about US! We are called to make an impact on a culture and change the course of history! If You are a Christian then then your town is God's town! Your city is God's city! Your home is God's playground! What is Revival if not a mess for Jesus?

Jesus had to resort to walking on water to get away from the multitudes. He never had to go looking for the people, they would just follow him wherever he went! If we are accurately representing Jesus then we won't have to strive for Revival, Revival will follow us around! The Church is Jesus' hands and feet. When the Church is being the Church, Revival is inevitable.

Jack, the church kid.

The God Chasers

Hey peoples!

I have had a very eventful day recently and I just want to share with you guys what God did in my heart. I finally finished a book that I've been reading for a while but I haven't been able to find the time to finish it. The Book is called 'The God Chasers' by Tommy Tenney. It's a really great book but I've read great books before... This was the first book, however, that has made me cry. It's not a sappy romance novel and I am not a sappy kinda guy, but something in this book stirred me to the point of tears! It's all about a passionate pursuit of God's Glory and the revival that will follow such a mission. I wept as Tenney wrote of the lack of 'fresh bread' that haunts many churches today. The body of Christ was never meant to live off of crumbs! He spoke of past revivals and what the glory of God looks like when it becomes so present, so manifested, that it breaks out of the church building and flows out onto the streets!

When I finished the book I felt the God speak to me and tell me to fast lunch, my first fast. I had been meaning to go on a fast for a while but I wasn't really sure what to pray for... That day though, I listened to worship music for a while and sang along; and then prayed hard for God's glory to fall! I have never felt that kind of conviction before, I couldn't go on unless God showed up! He did. I was weeping and shaking and crying out to God to birth a fire in a generation. This was something I had never done before but will definitely do again! God broke me, that's the only way I can describe it.

Reinhard Bonnke said it this way:

"Intercession without evangelism is like an explosive without a detonator. Evangelism without intercession is like a detonator without an explosive."

I'm not going to pretend like I'm some bible scholar or a world class preacher. I'm just a kid who loves God and want to see his kingdom come! I don't really understand what God did in my heart that day but I did learn this: the greater the hunger that God births in your heart and the more broken you are, the more powerfully he will show up! I've never been so desperate for God's presence and he has never showed up like he did that day. I would encourage you to take the time to pray hard to God and ask him to birth a hunger in you. You won't regret it!

Jack, the church kid.

A heart issue pt 2: Jesus in, Jesus out!

Hey church kidz!

Ok, in part one of this post I talked about how what we put into our hearts is a big deal. We need to "guard our hearts" because "everything you do flows from it!" (If you didn't read my last post you can scroll back on the home page and take a look!)

One of the dilemmas that many church kids face is that we like good music but we also want to guard our hearts. So, do we listen to good music or christian music? Is it too much to ask for both? I like the R&B and Pop sound but I don't necessarily like what they're singing about (got to stress though, I really do like some popular music! Not against the Black Eyed Peas!) A good compromise is to listen to good christian artists in the same genre! Here is a list of some of my favorites along with some awesome, hardcore worship:

R&B and Hip-hop:

1. Applejaxx
2. 116 Clique
3. Viktory
4. Toby Mac
5. The Ambasador
6. DC Talk
7. Tedashii

Pop:

1. Audio Adrenaline
2. Plus One
3. Barlow Girl
4. Kerrie Roberts
5. Casting Crowns

Worship:

1. Planet Shakers
2. Jesus Culture
3. Bethel
4. Hillsong United
5. Jake Hamilton
6. Daniel Bashta
7. Passion

You can find any of these guys on spotify or itunes. This is good sounding music and it's also good 'heart food!' Hey... What's not to love?

Jack the church kid

A heart issue pt.1: Trash in, trash out!

Hey peoples!

Your heart is precious! What you put in your heart is a big deal to God and it affects how you act, how you speak and what you do with your life! That's huge!

Proverbs 4:23 says:

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

What does it mean to "guard your heart?" We've all heard the phrase "trash in, trash out" right? If you eat like a pig then you will put on weight! God takes it up a notch and says that you become like the things that have influence over your heart! if you feed on the world then that's what you are going to look like. This is a big dilemma for many church kids. 

The cool kid at school is watching movies and listening to music that reflect the culture that those fatty foods were birthed out of and some of that junk is really bad for you! I like a lot of popular music and when my friends are playing it I will happily listen to it, I just don't want to be feeding on that stuff 24/7 and other music I just steer clear of altogether! When I go home I often listen to christian music that none of those friends will of ever heard of! A balanced diet will prevent us from getting fat on the world's junk!

I am not against good music, kinda like a dietitian  is not against McDonald's. The key phrase is balanced diet! That doesn't mean you can't enjoy some One Direction sometimes!

We need to protect our hearts though, because our lives will reflect the state of our hearts! if our heart are cluttered full of lust, insecurity, distrust and unforgiveness then that's what's gonna show in our lives but if our hearts are full of God then we will be unstoppable, fearless, lovers! A pure heart is a flammable heart, and the Jesus fire is better than anything the world will ever come up with!

Jack the church kid.

P.s. pt 2 to come ;)

A good day to pray HARD

Heya reader!

When I saw the latest die hard movie I was on a plane. I was tired, hungry and quiet bored... until Bruce Willis started blowing stuff up. It got me thinking though, isn't every day a good day to pray hard? I'm not talking about a nice sounding, sugar-coated prayer before dinner, I'm not even talking about a faith filled prayer, I'm talking about PASSION!

James 5:16 says: 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth (helps) much.

A fervent prayer is really helpful. Its not all about who can shout the loudest or who sounds more like Shakespeare. The definition of fervently is this:

1. Having or displaying a passionate intensity
2. Hot; burning; glowing.

This is the kind of prayer that God answers! What if our prayers are not lacking faith but passion? Maybe, if we aren't seeing our prayers answered, what we need isn't a greater faith but a heart transplant? Are our heart ready to welcome in the next generation of revivalists that we are praying for?

I'm not against faith, it's key in the kingdom. I just don't think that the cause of revival is faith, but a universal,  passionate pursuit of Jesus! Jesus himself was a passionate person! He upturned the tables, was filled with compassion, rebuked the pharisees, hung out with sinners, loved tax collectors, touched the lepers and died on a cross! How much more passionate can you get! Lets follow Jesus' example, and pray for a fire to be birthed in our nation that would only be matched by our own! Here is the challenge... Will we be a passionate people?

Jack the church kid.

Peace, the perfect fertilizer

Hello again!

Today I want to talk about peace. Peace is one of the fruits of the spirit and it's really useful! 

Philippians 4:6-7 says: 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul says to "present your requests to God." When we live in a state of being fully dependent on God then we open up the door for supernatural peace to enter our lives. That can be a scary place to be... Like a trust fall... blind folded... off of a cliff. It doesn't make sense to our minds but God's peace is a peace "that transcends all understanding." If you thought about it, it wouldn't make sense but God's peace totally bypasses all reasoning and deals direct with the soil of our heart. The perfect fertilizer!

So often we go to receive from God and our minds get in the way. Human instinct tells us to stay away from things that we don't understand. We like to be in control. The problem with receiving all these amazing things from God is that when we are doing business with God we are not in control! He is! When we are in pain we take a pain killer, but when these worries start to threaten your receiving healing or deliverance, you need to take a chill pill and receive God's peace!

Jack the church kid

A poem

Hiya readers!

Everyone's got their own nerdy secret right? Well, mine is poetry. Every now and again I'll just grab a computer and type something up... I wrote this a while back and wanted to share it on here. Hope you guys like it!

Among the whispers

Audible silence 

all falls deathly still 

dreams are awaking 

they are whispering still.

Heroes are born 

and burned at the stake 

in the eerie silence 

that none dare break.

But from among the whispers 

one stands tall 

one still, small voice 

to challenge them all!

To tear down the walls 

and rattle the gates 

to shake the ground 

with mighty earthquakes.

A vision is born 

in the dead of night 

a passion ignited 

it is burning bright.

A pillar of fire 

on top of the mount 

as bright as the sun 

it will never burn out.

Should I long for this whisper

and chase after this flame?

For those not yet born

to remember its name?

The time has now come

for my destiny

you’ll find me in the desert 

in pursuit of glory!

Jack the church kid.

Love till it hurts

Hey peoples!
I wanna talk about love. People have basic needs like food, water and oxygen but did you know that you also need love. The media today has perverted love itself and now a battle rages in the hearts and minds of young people everywhere! What is love? Where is it? How will I find it if I don't know what it looks like?

Philippians 3:18-21 says this:
18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

The world is led by their flesh (or stomach) but they are following the wrong guide! The church follows after the spirit because the spirit leads us in all truth! The spirit look to God for love, acceptance and identity but the flesh wears a mask of insecurity and dabbles in sin in order to earn the affection of other, like-minded mask wearers. The thing that we have in common is that, once upon a time, we were all love seeking orphans.

We were once where they were! Now WE must demonstrate to the lost the true definition of love and show them the way to adoption. We have been adopted by daddy God and they can be too! We have the brother hood that the gang members are looking for, the peace of God that the drunk is seeking and the family that the outcast is desperately looking for!

I want to challenge you guys... Love till it hurts! Don't compromise, don't wait, don't hesitate, just love. I believe that out of the ashes of this broken culture with arise an army of lovers such as the world has never seen! Will you join it's ranks?

Jack the church kid