Worship on the Quad

This past April at the Furious Love Conference, I felt challenged by Jesus to start worshiping him outside of the normal venues, like church, small group, etc.  Specifically, I think he wanted me to go to the Quad on campus.  I don’t know if this happens to you, but sometimes I say yes to words, then my life gets busy and I can rationalize that the things I am doing trump everything else.  After all, this is all for Jesus, right?  Ha.  Yeah, well, the Holy Spirit is good, faithful, and I’m grateful that he continues to nudge me toward his plans.

As I mentioned in a previous note, my mini group is going through Power Evangelism.  Let me tell you, this book is challenging, great, practical, and actionable.  Read it.  Do it.

Last night, we decided to go out to the Quad and just begin to worship, and see what else Jesus wanted to do.  If you’ve seen any of us worship, then you know that at a level, this is risky in itself.  I many times lift my hands, dance, clap, shout out to Jesus.  Lately, I’ve tended to laugh, overcome with joy.

When we began to worship, it was like you could feel something shift.  At first, I couldn’t lift my hands because I was playing.  But Tim did.  You go boy!  The worship was authentic, Jesus’ presence was thick.  It was a pretty amazing time.  There was something about us not being ashamed to worship Jesus, to sing to him in public.  To worship him above everything else. To declare his name!

On a side note, there was an ironic type of sacrifice as I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  I guess literally blood, sweat and tears.   I think I have 3 bites on my face alone.  Nice.

But you know, it didn’t matter.  We were actually worshiping him, unashamed, with abandon.  I sensed that we were sowing things into the foundation there.  Kind of weird and mystic sounding, but that’s what I think was happening.

As we were walking away, we were just talking about how much bolder we felt.  Like, this is what we were made for.  We’re going to continue to worship on the Quad and invite others to join.  I know we will go and pray for people too!  Can’t wait to see what Jesus wants to do!  Come Holy Spirit!  Can’t wait!

Most People Like and Want Prayer (Praying at the Union)

Yesterday, me and Chris Colon went to the Illini Union to pray for people.  This came out of a conversation we had had the previous night about learning to be bold with our faith and what our role as a disciple actually is.  As we had this conversation I said, well let’s just go do it…so we did.

Chris Colon’s excitement impresses me.  He got there a little early and texted me saying, I’m here early prepping the place with prayer.  I love it!

We began to walk around the Union just asking the Holy Spirit what he wanted us to do.  I actually prayed out loud while we were walking.  Sometimes I think, maybe someone will hear me praying and just want prayer.   That didn’t happen. Ha.

Sometimes you don’t know who to pray for, how to approach people, etc.  The interesting thing is, I find I’m much bolder when I’m with other people doing this.  When I went out to pray alone last week, it wasn’t the same or as fun.  I do think Jesus broke something off me last week too cause I feel much freer now.

Prayer #1

We passed this one guy and I thought, that’s who we should pray for.  It was just a thought, but I went with it.  I said, “Hey, How’s it going?  We’re out praying for people and you were just highlighted to me.  Would you like prayer for anything?”  Sometimes, you just have to get right to the point.   He said, “Ummm, sure, like right now?”  I said, yup.  He was said he was really stressed about his research.  And then he stood up to receive prayer.  When he stood up he said, “I’m Muslim, is that ok?”  I said, sure, that’s fine with me.  As soon as I said that, I heard Jesus say to me, “A-hem, what about me, I’m the way to the Father.”  So I said to the guy…”Actually, we like to pray to Jesus, is it ok if we pray to him?” (There’s a back story to this question).  He was like, “Sure!”  Awesome.   So I prayed a simple prayer, that Jesus would relieve his stress, give him insight and wisdom.  In the middle of the prayer I asked the Holy Spirit to bring him peace, and he jolted a little an opened his eyes.  I think he was shocked that I mentioned the Holy Spirit.  Oooops. Maybe he got a little jolt from Jesus.  I can see it now, Free Jolts from Jesus!

It was a great prayer encounter and it was cool that he was open to receiving Jesus’ love for him.

Prayer #2

We continued to walk around the Union, asking the Holy Spirit was else he wanted to do.  I actually wanted to pray for physical healing, but there was no one around with any visible ailments.  Chris had actually saw a picture of someone with an earring and had been looking for someone that matched that description.  He did mention he saw someone in a wheelchair, but no earring.   He thought about praying, but decided no.

When we went outside, we saw the guy in the wheel chair.  Again, I just had a feeling or sense to pray for him.  So as we were walking over, I said let’s ask him what he would like prayer for, and not assume that he wants prayer to be healed and able to walk.  Jesus would often ask people what they want, even if it was obvious.

I used the same approach…Hey, we’re praying for people and you were highlighted to us.  Would you like pray for anything?  He actually smirked when I said highlighted; I’m sure thinking we wanted to pray because he was in a wheelchair.  But he said yes!  He wanted prayer for a job.  He also laughed and said he wanted to find his soul mate.  I was like, cool, we’d love to pray for that.  This time we asked if we could put our hands on his shoulder, and he agreed.  Again, a simple prayer, asking for provision, that Jesus would reveal himself, that he would be filled with Spirit.  Chris shared a picture he got for him.  It was a very simple, but cool encounter. He said he was really grateful for the prayer!

It’s amazing to me that people just so readily accept prayer when you ask, even someone who is Muslim.  I love it!  I’ve asked Jesus for more prophetic words during these prayer times.  I want to be able to really speak into their life, call out what God made them for, that they would be really encouraged and know that Jesus loves them and sees them.

Insights I’ve learned:

• People like and want prayer
• Just asked directly: We’re praying for people, would you like prayer?
• Don’t assume: Share the words you got, but also don’t assume they want what you think they want.  Ask them… Jesus did it that way many times.
• Go in twos.  So far, this is the best for me.  Jesus sent people out in twos also.   It’s also a great way to train and equip others.

Looking forward to more!

Encouraging Waiter at Applebees

Katie and I went on a little date to Applebees on Thursday.  We decided to see if we could get some encouraging words for the waiter.  Katie got something she called simple.  I thought, simple is great!  When she told me the word, I thought it was really good.

So we had our dinner and just chilled, waiting for a time to encourage him.  Throughout the evening we chatted with him a bit, asking him about his life.  Then toward the end, Katie said something like, Hey, I feel like God wants you to know that he has great plans for you, and will really help you succeed.  There’s more coming.  You could tell he was really receiving it well.  Who wouldn’t, really?

He said thank you and that it was really uplifting, and then paused for a moment.  You know those times where you sense…Oh, there’s openness to more here.  I was sensing that.  I thought, we should pray for him.  Katie was like, thanks for letting us share and then he walked away.

I thought it was a good and naturally supernatural encounter.  Proud of my wife!   I’m looking forward to us doing more of this together. 

I do know the next time, I will jump in and ask to pray when I sense there’s more.

The Meat is in the Street

I just came back from going out to pray for people for first time in a long time by myself.  I much prefer going in groups and I’m understanding why Jesus sent people out in twos.   More on this later.  Right now, my mini-group is going through Power Evangelism by John Wimber and Kevin Springer (not Jerry Springer).  It’s a great book and very challenging.  We’re using the study guide that gives us challenges every week, most with people we know that we want to give God’s love to.  I highly encourage you to read it!

Today, I went to the Illini Union.  I really felt I was supposed to go the coffee shop.  The word I got was about a family or friend situation that Jesus wants to guide the person through.  When I got there, the coffee shop was packed.  I saw the guy that I think I was supposed to share with but it was so busy I didn’t really get any chance to share.  So I walked around thinking maybe Jesus wanted to do something else with someone else.  Nope.  Finally I waited for the place to die down a little.  That place is really busy.

It’s interesting what I was experiencing while waiting.  Am I made for this stuff?  Do I really have a word for this guy?  Doubts, fears.  I haven’t experienced that in while in these situations.  But when your by yourself, no encouragement, just you and what you think is Jesus.   The verse that’s highlighted for both me and my wife this week was 2 Tim 1:7 — “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”  At first this was mostly speaking into Katie’s situations.  But today, it’s speaking to me.    Sometimes I’m bold, sometimes I’m not.  I could tell the fear was starting to grip me today.  Crazy!

As I was waiting, I read the verse again.  And then the verse after it: “So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.”  Bam!  Talk about the Sword of the Spirit.  Good stuff.  I knew I needed to wait and then I saw my opportunity.

I went up and just shared.  “Hey, this might be kind of strange, but Jesus wants me to share that he really cares about you.  And there may be a family or friend situation in your life right now that he wants to guide you through.  Does that make sense to you at all?”  You could tell the guy was taken aback a little.  Of course, his co-workers were all there watching and listening.  Finally, he said, “Um, well,  I can’t really think of a situation right now, but thanks so much for sharing that.”  I said no problem and walked away.

Of course, not exactly what I was hoping for, but it’s a start.  I always have to remember the goal is not for my word to be right, the goal is to listen to Jesus and share what I hear.  I have to be willing to share, no matter what the result.  If anything, he knows that Jesus loves and cares about him.  That was evident in his response.  I heard the co-workers talking about it afterward.  Interesting how encounters like that begin to stir conversations about God.

I know I want to make this an everyday lifestyle.  But in the future I also want to at least bring one person with me.  This is how Jesus did it.  He sent out the 12 in twos and then the 72 the same way.  I don’t want to just be used by Jesus, but I want to help others step into showing and telling who Jesus is.  This is the only way a naturally supernatural culture will be formed and where we will really see Jesus heal and set the people in our cities free.  Can’t wait to see what Jesus does next!  Jesus, I receive your Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.

Peace,

Daniel

Real Leadership

Jesus’ thoughts on being a true leader. This is really good and challenging!

I’ll probably write more on this later, but right now, I’ll just paste the passage. Jesus, give us wisdom and power to serve and lay down our lives for others.

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10)

what’s in a name?

This year I sensed Jesus saying that I need to “Go Deeper.”  I haven’t been sure what this exactly means, but I’ve sensed it’s something like His presence will influence me more than any other. Or I will be more influenced by who Jesus is and what He thinks, rather than who others are and what they think. Recently, Jesus has been reinforcing this as he’s revealed to me something about my name, Daniel.

Back in the day (say, thousands of years ago , names seemed to mean a lot more.  In the Hebrew culture, it actually pointed to and described someone’s character and possibly their personality. It was kind of a revelation of who they were. It’s very interesting to read the Biblical accounts and see how their name described them and what their role was.

I’ve known for a while that my name, Daniel, is a Hebrew name which means, God is my Judge.  That may seem harsh to some, but actually as Jesus has been showing me, this is really cool; especially if you realize how amazing, merciful, gracious, and loving God really is.  My name means that I don’t need to worry what others think outside of what God thinks.  If I am judged or ridiculed by others, I can still respond with love because God is my Judge, not them.  My identity is not what they say about me, but it’s about what He says about me because God is my Judge.  It’s like my name is marking or stamping me, God is my Judge.  I like that.

To further reinforce this, my name has a little bit of history with it.  Some of you may already know this, but my first name is Robert (which means famed, bright, shining).  I was called Robert for most of my life, but back in 2000/2001, I made a switch to my middle name, Daniel.  This was mainly for performing reasons since there was already a famous person named Robert Goulet.  I was actually pursuing a singing career in Opera/Musical Theater.  The irony in all of this is this was also BC, Before Christ, for me.  Shortly after this name change to Daniel, I began to encounter Jesus and eventually in 2002, I started to follow him pretty intensely.  Crazy huh?  So it’s like I changed my name to Daniel, which means God is my Judge, and then, He became my Judge.

For me, it has reinforced the power behind our names and even how powerful it can be when God calls us by name.  It’s almost as if he’s been using my name to call me into my destiny, what I was made for.  That’s pretty cool.  It seems fitting to end with Isaiah 43:1-7:

¹ But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
² When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;
I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
⁴ Others were given in exchange for you.
I traded their lives for yours
because you are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you.

⁵ “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
I will gather you and your children from east and west.
⁶ I will say to the north and south,
‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel
from the distant corners of the earth.
⁷ Bring all who claim me as their God,
for I have made them for my glory.
It was I who created them.’”

A Call To Holiness

A few days ago, I sensed Jesus speaking to me.  In essence he said something like this:

I’m calling you to holiness.  If you want to see and experience my power among you, you must strive for holiness, to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to me.  Because this is not happening among you in all parts of your lives, you are not really seeing my power and what I want to do through you.  You must lead the people in this.

Coincidentally (or not so), I’ve been in the book of Romans and last week in chapter 12 I read this:

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The reality of this has really hit me.  I want to see people restored, healed, and realize how much God loves them and wants to interact with them.  I want people to know that their purpose is to be part of making that happen, that they are part of God’s plan to restore everyone to himself.  I want to see God’s love and power demonstrated.  I don’t just want this, Jesus wants this.  We are ambassadors for Christ, a holy priesthood, set apart for him and his purposes at all times.

I know the basic definition of holy, but when I looked it up in the dictionary, it says this:

1. Set apart to the service or worship of God; hallowed; sacred; reserved from profane or common use; holy vessels; a holy priesthood.
2. Spiritually whole or sound; of unimpaired innocence and virtue; free from sinful affections; pure in heart; godly; pious; irreproachable; guiltless; acceptable to God.

That is challenging, but it’s also our call.

But is the purpose of striving for holiness to say, “Look at me…I’m different than you!”  No.  It’s to be inviters and bridge builders.  It’s to be able to walk into any environment and say look at what’s possible; look at the amazing life that Jesus invites us into; look at the amazing transformational power available to us.  It’s to be able to say yeah, I’ll have some drinks with you, but I’m much more interested in what’s going on spiritually in your life.  This is what drives me.

If you know me, you know that I’m all about a good party.  I believe Jesus is too.  I mean, his first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding party.  But do we just blend in at the party or is something different about us?  Am I over-spiritualizing things?  Yes, I am.  I want my life to be full of the Spirit, overflowing in every part at all times.  I think I read that somewhere…Ephesians 5:18.  Am I being idealistic?  Yes.

It is at some level a sacrifice to strive to live this way that will inevitably look different.  But as I’ve been trying to live this way, I’m actually experiencing something much different than sacrifice…fulfillment.

I was at a party a few months ago and it was more than just fun, it was fulfilling.  At first I was just mingling and then got into a deep conversation with someone, which ended up in some healing prayer.  Shortly after that, I found myself in a circle of conversation about what our purpose in life was and how we get away from the boredom and the mundane.  The evening ended with a smaller group talking about their challenges, struggles, and how to get through them.  I left that evening thinking; this is what life is about.  This is what a party should be like, where you walk away not just having had fun, but being filled and fulfilled.  Jesus seemed to be the center the whole time…that’s cool.

We’re being called to holiness because Jesus wants to do something in these twin cities.  He wants to transform the entire place.  He wants to heal people physically and emotionally.  He wants to eradicate depression and loneliness.  He wants to show us something different than consumerism, materialism, and living for comfort.  Jesus wants to demonstrate his loving power, and he wants to use us to do it.  We are his body, his hands and feet, his conduits of love…let’s live that way, all the time.

Peace,
Daniel

Seeking Jesus

Jesus has really been challenging me lately to seek him more.  For some reason it’s just so easy to keep a steady pace but not really press in for more.  Maybe that’s called the status quo.  The problem for me is that I’m just not satisfied with that.  I feel empty or like something is missing.  The irony is I do spend time with Jesus, and I spend considerable time serving in His name.  But…these aren’t the same thing.  The challenge for me as a pastor is work doesn’t equate with relationship.  I don’t necessarily know Him more just because I’m serving.

I was reading this week in the One Year Bible about King Asa’s rule.  In one scene, Azariah spoke under the power of the Spirit and said…”The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him!  Whenever you seek him, you will find him.”  Later on 2 Chronicles says, ” Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.”

I guess I feel Jesus calling me into a deeper covenant with him…to seek him with all my heart and soul.  It’s like I know this stuff in my mind, but it’s not always translating to action. I know there’s more.  I know there’s a deeper level of intimacy where all of my decisions and actions come out of my intimate relationship with Jesus.  It’s that walk-in-the-garden-with-God, pray-without-ceasing thing.  I just feel discontent without this.  I guess that’s a good thing, right?

Later on, King Asa missed it.  He started looking to his own ingenuity and wisdom rather than making decision out of relationship with God.  I don’t want to miss it.  I don’t want to base what I say and do from my experience, but out of my relationship with Jesus.  One verse really stood out to me here: “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chron. 16:9).

Jesus, help me be fully committed to you…to proactively seek you with all of my heart and my soul.

Peace out peeps…

He makes all things work…

It’s amazing sometimes how Jesus shows you that he knows what’s going on. We’re in a lot of transition right now. Sometimes transition makes people go through a fight or flight scenario. There are theories about this. At a basic level I relate to this…do I stay and fight this out or do I go. I think there’s a song that has a lyric like this: “should I stay or should I go…”.

I get this prophecy email almost daily and Jesus seems to really speak to my situations frequently through this email. It’s probably similar to how people view horoscopes, but the source of prophecy is God and will always point me to Him. I have some thoughts on this for a later time. The prophetic email I received recently spoke to me:

Beloved, be flexible as you begin the process of being repositioned. This is also a time when you will have to reorganize to make the best use of your time and resources. The changes you face at this time are for your ultimate benefit. I am with you to bring you to greater perfection in your walk with Me, says the Lord. Draw near to Me and trust Me to give you wisdom and to direct your steps.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Sometimes I’m just amazed how clearly Jesus can speak through a seemingly general email. Wow. Thanks Jesus.

This confirms to me so many things, but I know ultimately, Jesus makes things work for His purposes. At some level I take comfort in that…that as long as I stay connected to him and open to his repositioning, He will work things together for good.

Jesus, help me walk that out.

Maintaining Momentum After a Spiritual High

There are lots of titles I could call this…How to walk out your encounter with God…The low after a spiritual high…Walking out your freedom…

We just got back from a retreat where I saw Jesus release a lot of freedom in people.  They were freer to worship, open up about what’s really going on, freer to give away.  It’s so cool that when you take the time to seek God.  He just loves to reveal Himself in new and powerful ways.  But how do we maintain that kind of encounter?

I’ve been to several conferences and retreats now, and so often you come back really excited and ready to take on the world.  Then things start to happen that tear you down.  You’re attacked.  Maybe a relationship blows up, or you get disappointing news, or you start having trouble hearing God…the list goes on.

Our topic was spiritual warfare and  how we engage in the battle.  I think it’s easy to have a limited view of what spiritual warfare looks like.  It’s many times much more subtle than we expect, and how we engage in the battle is also much more subtle.  Our speakers did a great job meshing together in their pre-planning with each other and giving us challenges to engage.

Some of the main points I recall were:

• Intimacy with God is key to this battle and one the biggest weapons
• The Battle is really for the mind so we need to take each thought captive
• Learning self-control, especially in your discontent, is key.  In short, stop complaining and gossiping…for this opens the door to the enemy.

So we encounter Jesus…he speaks to us, frees us, gives us wisdom and insight, reveals more about who He is and who we are…How do we maintain that momentum and keep growing?

What I’ve experienced is actually a very simple answer.  It’s so simple that I think most of us brush over it and then wonder why it’s so hard to keep momentum.  Most of it is contained in the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray.  And for me, this one line in there is key: Give us today our daily bread (Matthew 6:11).

Give Us Today Our Daily Bread
There’s a reason Jesus said daily.  The enemy’s tactics are often very subtle, and if he can slowly move you away from a daily connection with Jesus, he can keep you in a cycle of ending up in the same place, usually frustrated and discouraged.  Jesus was flexible with when he had his daily connection with God, but the scriptures seem to portray that he always connected.  Whether early in the morning (Mark 1:35) or late at night (Luke 6:12), he knew how crucial receiving his daily bread from the Father was.

Maintaining momentum is coming to Jesus daily and asking him how can I walk this out today.  Where do I need to be empowered?  How can I go deeper?  What’s in the way?  How can I give away what you’ve done in me?  It’s our intimacy, connection, our closeness with Jesus that makes the difference in the battle for our minds and our lives.  Dramatic?  Yes, it is.

After a powerful spiritual encounter, many of us tend to try and just ride on that wave for a while.  I challenge and encourage you to not only ride the wave you may be on now, but to daily prepare yourself to catch the next one.

Peace,
Daniel