Don't Let Your Serving Him Replace Your Knowing Him

Before Nick starts the piano intro for the song 'Missing You,' He almost always tells the same story:

"This next song comes from a few years ago when I was doing a lot of things for the Lord. I was leading worship weekly for about a thousand college students in Norman at the largest church, for the largest college ministry at that time. I was doing so many good things.

"Then one of my pastors came up to me and told me, 'NIck, don't ever let your serving God replace your knowing God.'

"I realized I had been doing things for the Lord, but that He didn't need me to. He didn't even want me to. He wanted to be close to me. To know me. I realized I'd been missing the most important thing in life. To know God."

Brett and I sat with Shane yesterday (our grandfather in the prophetic) and discussed this new year. We talked about all the healings, the prophetic words, the dreams; so many of these things have been happening in the last five or six weeks. One week, 24 people were healed. Multiple deaf ears popped open, a woman's breast cancer vanished, eczema faded before the eyes of onlookers, and backs were healed. People have been having dreams before things happen and others are being prayed over and encouraged with words that could only have come from the Lord.

But stop. Stop the harvest. I know it seems like a sweet momentum is here. It is, but stop. As soon as you feel yourself rolling in a great prophetic flow, stop. I don't mean stop it in the moment. I mean stop as soon as you can. Yes, the Lord loves momentum. Yes the Lord loves revival. But the only reason He loves it is because hearts are being brought closer to Him. If you feel yourself doing things more than you are being alone with the Alone, stop right there. God doesn't need your work. He wants your heart. This is always true. I'm not talking about a clock that marks the amount of time you're doing ministry versus the amount of time you are spending alone. I'm talking about your heart. You can feel it. Good indicators are fatigue, pride, laziness, a loss of passion, etc.

Then, finally, do the one thing God actually wants from you. BE with Him. Let Him physically hold you. Get out of the workzone and keep the Sabbath holy. Rest.

Just Sayin...

Brett and I are about to meet up with our prophetic grandfather. First time for us to schedule something like that officially. I'm pretty excited. I know pops is too. 'Stoked' was the word he used, though.

I sat down to spend time in the Presence earlier and the clock said 11:11. Luke 11 really charged up my time with the Lord today, speaking about the Lord's Prayer (specifically '... your kingdom come...') and 'the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.'

I stood up to go back to class and the clock read : 1:11.

Just now I got on facebook to upload an old video of Ira and I, and noticed that as of today, I have 1,111 'friends' on facebook.

11 is the number of the prophetic.

It all just hit me a few moments ago.

Just sayin.

Rebirth

I love the people the Lord has put in my life.

.. especially this year so far.

I've been on the road with Nick a lot. Definitely more than any other school month. And the next month is looking about the same.

Normally, this would cause me to lose touch with people in Norman, hibernating once again through another season. But this year is different. This month is different. This season is different.

The rules have changed. The atmosphere is not normal.

Just yesterday, Brett prophesied over me that this season is a season of an armor shift, where I'm stripped of the bulky gear of the past years and given new, slimline, more energy efficient equipment from the Lord. This word was powerfully accurate and gave words to the unexplainable change of years to 2009.

I sat in a group of four guys at house church yesterday and all of us had stories of encouragement that this new year/semester/season/month is incredibly significant, holding breakthrough after breakthrough in our own lives and those of the people in our communities of friends. All the breakthroughs for all of us could be explained as the Lord drawing us into more intimacy by redeeming, reconciling, healing, and rebirthing us in various ways.

I've shared with you about some of these things for me (victories in the lives of my close friends and the marriage of my prophetic father to name a couple), but along with these things has come a rebirth and igniting in the realm of relationships. I can almost tangibly feel myself being moved deeper into friendships with several people in my community, my new roommate (who I just met a month ago) is resonating with the heart of NormComm, I'm leading worship for a late night prayer meeting for our house church, Charlsey (a living, walking, breathing testimony of true intimacy with and redemption by Jesus) is allowing the Lord to mold her in beautiful ways, Madison's roommate is seeing and experiencing Jesus physically (and in many other ways) for the first time...    

much more.

I guess I'm saying all this to let you know you're invited to trust the goodness of God. Apparently, He's in the 'mood' to give His Holy Spirit to His children, redemption to the lost, the oil of gladness to the mourning, and deliverance to the afflicted. If I were you, I'd capitalize on that opportunity... Every moment I've been with Him I've received more than I had bargained for.

I'm definitely an INFP

The Idealist : The Dreamer : The Romantic : The Healer

Introverted : iNtuitive : Feeling : Perceiving

As an INFP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit into your personal value system. Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.

INFPs, more than other iNtuitive Feeling types, are focused on making the world a better place for people. Their primary goal is to find out their meaning in life. What is their purpose? How can they best serve humanity in their lives? They are idealists and perfectionists, who drive themselves hard in their quest for achieving the goals they have identified for themselves

INFPs are highly intuitive about people. They rely heavily on their intuitions to guide them, and use their discoveries to constantly search for value in life. They are on a continuous mission to find the truth and meaning underlying things. Every encounter and every piece of knowledge gained gets sifted through the INFP's value system, and is evaluated to see if it has any potential to help the INFP define or refine their own path in life. The goal at the end of the path is always the same - the INFP is driven to help people and make the world a better place.

Generally thoughtful and considerate, INFPs are good listeners and put people at ease. Although they may be reserved in expressing emotion, they have a very deep well of caring and are genuinely interested in understanding people. This sincerity is sensed by others, making the INFP a valued friend and confidante. An INFP can be quite warm with people he or she knows well.

INFPs do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it. If they must face it, they will always approach it from the perspective of their feelings. In conflict situations, INFPs place little importance on who is right and who is wrong. They focus on the way that the conflict makes them feel, and indeed don't really care whether or not they're right. They don't want to feel badly. This trait sometimes makes them appear irrational and illogical in conflict situations. On the other hand, INFPs make very good mediators, and are typically good at solving other people's conflicts, because they intuitively understand people's perspectives and feelings, and genuinely want to help them.

INFPs are flexible and laid-back, until one of their values is violated. In the face of their value system being threatened, INFPs can become aggressive defenders, fighting passionately for their cause. When an INFP has adopted a project or job which they're interested in, it usually becomes a "cause" for them. Although they are not detail-oriented individuals, they will cover every possible detail with determination and vigor when working for their "cause".

When it comes to the mundane details of life maintenance, INFPs are typically completely unaware of such things. They might go for long periods without noticing a stain on the carpet, but carefully and meticulously brush a speck of dust off of their project booklet.

INFPs do not like to deal with hard facts and logic. Their focus on their feelings and the Human Condition makes it difficult for them to deal with impersonal judgment. They don't understand or believe in the validity of impersonal judgment, which makes them naturally rather ineffective at using it. Most INFPs will avoid impersonal analysis, although some have developed this ability and are able to be quite logical. Under stress, it's not uncommon for INFPs to mis-use hard logic in the heat of anger, throwing out fact after (often inaccurate) fact in an emotional outburst.

INFPs have very high standards and are perfectionists. Consequently, they are usually hard on themselves, and don't give themselves enough credit. INFPs may have problems working on a project in a group, because their standards are likely to be higher than other members' of the group. In group situations, they may have a "control" problem. The INFP needs to work on balancing their high ideals with the requirements of every day living. Without resolving this conflict, they will never be happy with themselves, and they may become confused and paralyzed about what to do with their lives.

INFPs are usually talented writers. They may be awkard and uncomfortable with expressing themselves verbally, but have a wonderful ability to define and express what they're feeling on paper. INFPs also appear frequently in social service professions, such as counselling or teaching. They are at their best in situations where they're working towards the public good, and in which they don't need to use hard logic.

INFPs who function in their well-developed sides can accomplish great and wonderful things, which they will rarely give themselves credit for. Some of the great, humanistic catalysts in the world have been INFPs.

Spiritually Full

I just got home.

I need to get up in 7 hours.

Then I'll have to sit for 8 hours in a suburban, pulling a trailer.

All to go to the butt-crack of Texas.

But it's my job, and I love it.

It is late, though.

But this is the best feeling.

Tonight, I experienced you again.

It never gets old.

The spirit of prophecy fell over Ira and I on his kitchen floor.

It's always best when it's beyond our control.

Some things that came out of my mouth felt tingly.

I could feel them come out and touch him.

I know they were from You, though.

And so did he.

It's best when there's no other way to explain it.

You're so beyond what we think we know.

Numbers, twitches, words, themes...

Everything in this life is just affirmation.

Affirmation of your unfailing love.

Go sit with the Lord, the One who made you, and let it ruin you.

It's ruined me.

It ruined Ira.

It will ruin anyone who is willing.

Oh, my God, Thank You Lord.

9:11. Heat. Psalm 27. 11:11. Joel. 12:31. 1:22. Twitch. Father. Peace.

Did I mention this never gets old?

" Ira " - (My 100th Post)

I couldn't have planned this out better.

The thing about allowing the Lord to take His place as your God is that you'll just live the most messed up, crazy life. And you will be left each day feeling like you've actually lived.

The fact that this is the 100th post (that I've written, I'm pretty sure I've left a few offline that had problems) is incredible. The ebb and flow of the blessings and endurances of living in intimacy with the Lord have been exchanging back and forth in a mighty way these past few months, and the shift of the past two days have been timely to say the least.

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Ira : My brother (not biologically) and best friend since 6th grade.

Everyone who is close to me knows who Ira is. Even though we have been out of regular communication for the past few years, it is a mutual agreement that we are equally one of the most important people in each other's lives.

We met in 6th grade, at the depth of my valley of rebellion, defiance, and anger. I remember Ira spending the night all the time, and many times reminding me to take my Zoloft (anti-depressant) due to certain episodes I would get into (fighting with my mom, talking about cutting myself or huffing sprapaint, etc.). Don't get me wrong, we weren't the most angelic teenagers... we definitely treated girls as objects together, helping each other out with what girl to hook up with next (a couple times we exchanged girls we had personally taken advantage of). But God was gracious, and we ended up growing out of that phase into pretty good high school students that ultimately began dating girls seriously (we both dated girls for over 3 years, beginning our senior years of high school.

Ira is contagious. Not only is he attractive physically, but even more potent is his ability to magnetically attract people with his sincere and selfless love. It's not that he's smooth, although to the less discerning he seems to be. It's his ability to sense what people are feeling around him and know how to meet that feeling with edifying words or actions that make them feel like the most important thing in the world. Always full of joy and globally accepted as the one who deserves to be the center of attention, he can entertain any and everyone with his light, encouraging, and life-bringing presence.

We both graduated, and that was about the time some things went crazy for Ira. All out of his control and despite his goodness, the Enemy made it obvious with certain events that he wanted Ira dead. Maybe a little physically, with sickness and other physical ailments that come along with hard times, but most importantly (and most intense), there was a warrant from the kingdom of Hell to kill Ira spiritually.

I won't go into the details, but I will say that over the past 4 or 5 years Ira has endured, withstood, and experienced more warfare, deprivation, and external attacks on his identity, physical body, family life, and spiritual being than anyone I know. The lies of the Enemy oppressed Ira to points of condemnation that have isolated him, leaving him separated from spiritual food and community.

aside - when you are being separated from a community of love and intimacy with Jesus, you are being kidnapped by an Enemy who has no authority to do so.

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as you could have guessed by my enthusiasm, Ira is doing well today.  A couple days ago, the Lord once again (as He has been doing intermittently in the form of big fresh breaths at widely separated times the past few years) brought Ira to a place of peace. There recently was a purging that occurred (as is the style of our jealous lover God), which has allowed for him to be alone with Jesus, discovering what it means to love and be loved by his creator.

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At prayer tonight (Ira couldn't attend), the Lord spoke prophetically through everyone there about Ira. Some people described a man with a huge smile on his face that was full of energy, life and laughter. That is the Ira that the person having the vision does not yet know in the physical, but it is who the Lord sees when he looks at his Beloved.

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Pray. I've seen the Lord redeem some key players in the Kingdom before, and let me just say that this is more than a key player we are contending for. This man has an anointing that is more potent than many people I've ever met, and that's not just my biased, love-drunk emotions talking. This is another step in an intense shift that will bring more of Heaven down to Earth, invading the lives of thousands and redeeming countless hearts to the Lord. It's intense.

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Rejoice. God has already redeemed Ira. He did that years ago. But this is the dawning of a new day for Ira. Thank the Lord for spiritual rebirth and reinstating Ira to a higher level of rank in the authority of Jesus.

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Allow this testimony to invade your life. Learn experientially the jealous, fiery love of the Father, the sweet, intense communion of the Holy Spirit, and the administrative power of Jesus.

Crested Butte

I got to go with some friends to Crested Butte, Colorado from January 2nd to the 7th. It was awesome.

The snow was perfect, the condo was beautiful, the food was some of the best I've ever had, and the people I went with became close friends immediately. Oh yeah, and Bill Murray stayed at the same condo, so we saw him a couple times...