When Unprofitable Servants are Served

If you read this blog, I imagine you have been keeping up with the awakening meetings taking place at IHOP-KC. If by some remarkable chance you haven’t heard, the Holy Spirit has been moving on us (especially on our student body) in an unusual way lately. You can watch live meetings Wednesday-Sunday, starting at 6pm (Central), as well as watch some amazing archives and testimonies, at www.ihop.org/watch.

You can read the explanation of what is going on at the IHOP website. Plus, you can go read a couple of great posts by Zack Hensley and Randy Bohlender  with some further thoughts on the meetings. As I consider what has already been said, along with what could be said, and how much I’m still trying to get my own bearings on things right now, it is hard to decide how to write about this. At one level, I have to say something — we are having healings, deliverances, and salvations breaking out after all — but at another level, what can I say? (Except for: “Seriously folks, if you haven’t tuned in to any of it yet, get on www.ihop.org/watch sometime this Wed-Sunday.”)

This has something to do with the pronounced lack of blog posts so far this month.

Yet as I was reading through the book of Luke recently, I was struck with two passages that exactly speak to what I’ve been feeling about this season of awakening.

 

Unintentional Clarity

So have you ever had one of those times where the Lord highlighted something to you totally out of the blue? You know… you’re minding your own business, tending to some task, and then something pops out at you in that task which answers a question you have, but weren’t even actively asking.

I’m probably not making sense. ANYWAY, the point is that I think I had one of those moments tonight.

 

Ark! Ark! Ark!

Great. First she drops off the face of the earth for two weeks, now she comes back talking like a seal.

Okay, so let me introduce this post with three points:

1) Schedule-wise, this has been one of my most insane months ever. I apologize for the lack of posting (which, for the record, I was about to call “postage”. Then I realized that meant something else).

2) I will finish writing my thoughts on my previous post (yes, I have in fact started). Hopefully that will be done soon.

3) “Ark”, although it is an effective seal noise, actually means something else in this context. I invite you to read on.

 

Sin, pleasure, and really ugly shoes

I saw an ad on the Internet the other day that was promoting some website that sells shoes. There it was in the sidebar, in all its tacky marketing glory. A pair of platform heels was featured in the picture, with this caption beneath: “Sinfully Unique.”

I had to do a double-take to be sure I read it correctly.

Um. When did uniqueness become a sin? I’m pretty sure “Thou shalt be bland and indistinguishable from thy neighbor” is nowhere in the Ten Commandments. Leaving aside the fact that the shoes were hideous, which might persuade me to say that there was something fundamentally wrong with them, “sinfully unique” is a laughably confusing description. 

 

Forty Days – Looking Back

A funny thing, this fasting business. Forty days, come and gone, and I find myself to be a collection of mixed emotions.

Forty days is quite a long time. But I can’t believe it’s over already. Part of me feels like I should still have, say, a week left to go. But I’m glad I don’t have a week left. If you’re not tracking with me, don’t worry; I’m not entirely sure what I’m talking about, either.

 

12 Reasons I Love the Book of Daniel

1. It says a great deal about the End Times.
2. Daniel’s example shows us how to live godly lives in the midst of great ungodliness — especially key for the End Times.
3. It teaches us a lot about intercession and how radically God responds to it.
4. It teaches us to trust in the sovereignty of God.
5. It teaches us to fear God alone, not transient, mortal humans.
6. It demonstrates that God is a deliverer and vindicator.
7. It casts vision for a long-term journey in God (Daniel walked steadily with the Lord for more than seventy years).
8. It gives us hope for the age and the kingdom to come.
9. It trumpets the value of humility and the foolishness of pride.
10. It confirms future prophecy with tons of historically fulfilled events.
11. It’s the first place to call Jesus “Son of Man” — which was His favorite title for Himself.
12. It will provoke you to fast and pray.

 

“Dangerous” Prayers?

Most of us have probably prayed them. Most of the “most of us” have probably also laughed about them in terms of what a silly idea it was. Most of that “most of us” consequently made decisions to think twice before we prayed them ever again.

I’m talking about dangerous prayers. You know the kind I mean.

 

I hate the spirit of this age.

I’ve held back on blogging about this for a couple of days, because the title is so incredibly negative… but some things are worth being incredibly negative towards. I’m stirred up enough today to just let it out. Pardon me if I preach.

I hate the spirit of this age.

 

Harmless Entertainment… or not

I can’t quite place why, but this is weighing on me tonight and I thought it was worth sharing. In short, this is what’s on my heart: we have got to be vigilant about guarding what we let into our lives as entertainment.

My desire is not to create a list of do’s and don’ts as far as what one may or may not watch or listen to. Rather, I’m thinking of the words of the Apostle Paul: “…’Everything is permissible for me’—but I will not be mastered by anything” (1Cor 6:12, NIV). Within our systems of entertainment lie all sorts of subtle traps that try to master us. We let down our guard in order to be entertained, and don’t notice the strings attached to the things we allow inside our souls.

 

Overcoming Loneliness

Okay. Can I just say that Stuart Greaves kicked my tail in FCF this Sunday. Perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I definitely had a couple moments of feeling like he was preaching the sermon straight at me. The rest of the room just thought it was a general message. Except that, come to think of it, what I just said is part of the problem he addressed. “Overcoming loneliness.”

Loneliness is something I’ve struggled with off and on throughout my life. Sometimes I couldn’t help it (like the years-long stretch of my childhood where — long story — I literally had no friends). Sometimes I definitely could have helped it, but didn’t (like the years I spent being too blasted timid to speak to anyone). Lately, it’s been more of a nuisance than a real-deal slump. I’ve had semi-regular bouts with it, but it hasn’t been totally messing up my life like it used to.

But since God seems to be in the mood of bringing a lot of my emotional junk up to the surface lately, the timing on this sermon couldn’t have been more priceless.