jaeson's journal

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING - PRAY FOR THE HOMELESS

2008-12-30T00:42:00.000-08:00

This past weekend after Christmas, I went with my sister to West Oakland to pass out food, clothes and prayers to the homeless. We went to Wal-mart the day before and bought a bunch of warm sleeping bags, got warm clothes from Goodwill and loaded up our car to do what we could the next morning. When I got out to the streets, my heart was shocked and broken at the same time. People were lined up waiting for us to give them any kind of help they could get.

As I opened up my bag full of clothes the homeless swarmed quickly to take what was best for themselves. All the clothes disappeared in a matter of minutes. I was sad, because I wish I had more clothes to give but I only had so much.

I met a grandmother “Franky” who had 7 grandchildren to take care of. Zara and Kimothy were precious young girls whom I met. One wanted to be a doctor, the other wanted to be a dancer and I only prayed in my heart that they would be given the opportunity to pursue their God given dreams. Every child deserves a chance in this life, no matter what their parents did, no matter what un-fair circumstances they are given, we must do what we can to give every child a reason and purpose to live out their destinies. They are all precious in God’s sight.

We also met beautiful Athena. She was such a sweet heart. On Christmas day, our friend Lee who has been going every Saturday out to West Oakland to feed and clothe the homeless - heard God’s voice to go out there on Christmas morning. He didn’t know if anyone would be out there, but he went anyways with hot cooked meals. When he got to the streets it was pouring rain, no one was around, except Athena who was standing on the corner shivering w/ hypothermia. He got out the car, embraced her and got her to a warm shelter. She had been mugged the other night and everything she had (food, sleeping bag, clothes, etc) were stolen. Yet, God knew her needs and sent a Good Samaritan “Lee” to help her that Christmas day. We were able to buy her new clothes, a new sturdy sleeping bag and other necessities. She said, “You are angels!” I responded, “No, you are the ANGEL!” She truly blessed my heart. Even what we gave to her, she immediately shared it with others on the street who needed what she had, even though it was a sacrifice for her. God bless Athena. Her son was murdered just last year on the streets. We must care for the orphans and the widows, this is true and undefiled religion. Pray for Athena, she will RISE UP again one day, I have faith for her!

Cool Whip Miracle

After hanging out with the homeless for the afternoon, we all prayed and went to eat lunch at a local Mexican joint. It was good food and fellowship. Lee the leader of this homeless ministry in Oakland told us one of the many miracle stories from ministering to the homeless. He said, “This past thanksgiving we fed over 400 homeless a full Thanksgiving meal. I heard Papa say, “Only the best for My children!” So, we bought over 25 big turkeys, cooked up mash potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and we had 25 pumpkin pies. But on the way to the park, I heard Papa tell me, “Go back and buy whip cream for them!” I told Papa, “I’m not going back to the super market I’m already on my way, the best I can do is buy what they have at 7-11 it’s on the way!” So at 7-11 Lee bought only 4 cans of “cool whip” thinking others might bring some more. When he got to the park, no one else had brought cool whip but him. They only had 4 cans of cool whip for 25 pies. Lee told the volunteers, “Once the 4 cans of cool whip are used, that’s it, no one gets anymore!” After 4 pies, 3 cans were already used up. But for some miraculous reason, the 4th can of “Cool Whip” never stopped giving whip cream! He told us, “Everyone was shocked, we just kept scooping from this one can of cool whip the same normal scoops and every time we looked in the can there was more cool whip!” He said, the 13 year old who was scooping from the can shouted to her mother, “Mom, I just read how Jesus fed the 5,000

with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, but NOW I SEE IT WITH MY OWN EYES!” WOW! I could only praise God when I heard this miracle story, not only because it was an amazing miracle, but because even our PAPA in heaven cares that every one of His children gets COOL WHIP on their pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving!

We all need to count our blessings. We all need to remember that we are blessed to be a blessing. Let us give to others in need, help those who can’t help themselves or those who need encouragement to get back on their two feet. Let us be Jesus hands and feet to a world that needs to know the Love of God for real.

the blind see, the lame walk… the wretched of the earth learn that GOD IS ON THEIR SIDE. — Matthew 11:5

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

2008-12-26T13:16:00.000-08:00

"The message of Jesus Christ is a message of hope, a message of mercy, a message of life in a dark world."

Two years ago, I wrote a song called "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL" on my first album. I was listening to this song again this morning, and I was reminded of how life is not perfect, but life is definitely worth living. Many of us go through hard times, struggles and suffering. Many of us have had hopes that were shattered, dreams that never became a reality, and situations in life that never turned out the way we expected. Maybe our health failed, our relationships were broken, our finances tanked, our dreams slipped away, or we were wronged unfairly. Whatever the case, life never seems to turn out the way we think, but life can still be beautiful.

My Personal 9-11

7 years ago, I had what I call a "personal 9-11" where everything in my life that seemed to be going great, went wrong. I was 20 years old at the time and soaring with God as a new Christ-follower. I had it all. At the age of 20 I had a successful TV and Radio ministry, a great job at a Silicon Valley Media/Tech company, I was the top student at my Christian University, everyone at my local church loved me and I had my first girlfriend ~ the love of my life. It was sweet to be a Jesus lover at that moment, but I soon realized that I loved these other things more than Jesus Himself.

One day, something went wrong on our TV shoot and I lost my cool. I started getting angry at our production team and threw a fit. I caught myself in the midst of my anger tantrum and recognized I had gotten out of hand. The next day, I spent time praying in a church chapel and I heard God speak to me. He said, "Jaeson, what truly makes your life beautiful? Is it the blessings in your life or is it Me? I realized at that moment that many other things in my life satisfied my heart more than Jesus Christ Himself. When my circumstances were going great, I felt great. But if my circumstances around me went wrong, I would lose my peace. I was convicted by the Spirit that my hope was not in God, but it was in the things of this world. That day I prayed a very dangerous prayer...

I prayed, "Jesus be my only satisfaction."

I knew by praying this prayer, that I was going to give God complete access to strip away anything in my heart that satisfied me more than Him. It was a scary prayer, but I knew I had to do it. God answered this prayer immediately...

The next day was my 21st birthday and that night my girlfriend, the very love of my life, broke up with me with no explanation. My heart was crushed and I had no answers. The day after my birthday I had all my semester finals tests at the university, I nearly failed them all. I then got a phone call during the same week that the media company I was working at had to lay me off. I was devastated because I looked up to the CEO so much, I felt he had also failed me. A few days later I discover that my elders at the local church who used to praise me so much, were questioning my motives with the new TV and Radio ministry I had started. It seemed everyone had turned against me. To make things worst, when I got home I found out from my mom that there were violent threats made towards my family because of my father's past mistakes. The world had fallen apart all around me in a span of two weeks. I was devastated, depressed and without hope.

For the next year, I was completely depressed, angry at God and deeply hurting inside. I couldn't understand why things had happened the way they did. I would throw a pity party everyday, complaining towards God (mainly about my ex-girlfriend) about how my life was so horrible. I wanted God to take me away to heaven. Then something tragic happened that I couldn't explain.

One of my best friends, she was like a little sister to me, suddenly died in a car accident. Hanh was one of the most beautiful, hopeful, bright and optimistic 19 year olds you would ever meet. The night before she died, we talked briefly at a hospital. She said, "Jaeson so where have you been? Are you too busy to hang out with your little sister?" I told her, "I'm sorry, I've been out of it lately but we should definitely get together soon." She joked and said, "Sure, yeah right" knowing how self absorbed and busy I was. The next day she got in a freak car accident and died on impact. I was so shocked when I heard the news, I wouldn't believe it. I went with some friends to pray over her dead body, asking God to raise it back to life for 3 straight days. It didn't happen. I felt so guilty for not being a better brother to her, because I was so self absorbed with my own problems.

The night after her funeral, I had dream. In this dream, I was in front of the pearly gates of heaven. As the gates opened, Hanh was there to greet me. When I saw her I was so ashamed. I couldn't even look her in the face. All I could say was sorry for being a horrible friend. She looked back at me and said, "Jaeson, I've already forgiven you, just remember what is really important in your life. It's not the things of this world, but its your relationships. Don't worry about me, I'm doing fine, just look at heaven behind me!" She then waived her hand and I saw all of heaven filled with green hills, rainbows, bright shining sun rays and little animals running around freely everywhere. Hanh hopped, skipped and jumped into God's radiant love and I knew in my heart she was happy and going to be OKAY.

When I woke up, I knew I had a second chance to live my life in a different way. Interestingly, that next weekend I had an interview with a rock band called "Switchfoot" for our TV show. The band had just released their first cross over secular album called "The Beautiful Letdown". When I interviewed the lead singer Jon Foreman I asked him a simple question, "Jon, why did you guys title this new album The Beautiful Letdown?" He responded, "Jaeson, that is a good question. You see, everything in this life can let you down. Right now, the chair I am sitting in could break and fail me. In a few minutes I can go up and sing on that stage to thousands of people, but when I get off the stage my health could fail and I could lose my voice forever and never be able to sing again. I have a beautiful wife, but I could go home and find out she has been unfaithful. You see, everything in this life can fail you. Everything in this life is finite, meaning it doesn't last, but only one thing is truly infinite and will last forever. Yes, everything in this life can and will let you down, but the beautiful thing about it is this, when everything lets you down in this world it leads you to the one thing that is truly beautiful..... the unfailing love of Jesus Christ."

God was speaking to my heart. The next day, I went back to the chapel where I prayed, I wept and I repented before God for my selfishness. At that moment, as I was weeping before the Lord and starring at the Cross I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, "Jaeson, everything that you have suffered, I have suffered and a million times over. My love for you is true and it will never leave you. Be satisfied in My love."

Peace came back into my heart. I finally understood what it meant to make Jesus my only satisfaction. I finally understood what makes life truly beautiful. It's not what we achieve, what we have, who we know, or whether or not our dreams are fulfilled that makes this life beautiful. Rather, life is beautiful because God is beautiful. His love is unfailing and His love is the only thing that we can count on. When all else fails, His love is still there. What really matters, is that we have a "relationship with our Creator" and the love He gives to us, we are to cherish and give to others. Our success is not in what we achieve in this life, our success is in knowing Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. I love Him, He loves me, I am successful!

Hard times will come. Struggles will always be there. Life will never be perfect. But God's loves will always be faithful. If we want to live a life that is truly beautiful remember the following...

1. The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God's love - Don't put your trust in the world's happiness, but put your hope in God's love. He loves us no matter what we do right or what we do wrong.

2. God loves you with an unearthly love. You can't win it by being winsome. You can't lose it by being a loser - We often think that God will loves us more if we do more for Him. This is not the case, God loves us not because we are perfect, He loves us because we are His children. Whether or not things are going great, or whether you feel like all is lost, know that God's love for you will never change.

3. God can turn tragedy into a triumph, if only you will wait and watch - We don't understand why things happen the way they do, but we can put our hope in God that He can make all things beautiful. Even what the enemy intends for our evil, God can turn for our good.

4. Love God for God. Life is not perfect, but life is Worth living - We are promised nothing in this world. The things of this world are passing away, but the love of Christ last forever. Put your hope in God and God alone. Love God not for what He can do for you, but love God simply because He is worthy of our affection. When Jesus becomes our only satisfaction, nothing else matters. We can't fail in this life, because His love is unfailing. Yet, when we know His unfailing love, it makes everything else in this life, good or bad that much more beautiful and meaningful.

5. Does your self-esteem ever sag? When it does, remember what you are worth - Max Lucado

YOU WERE BOUGHT, NOT WITH SOMETHING THAT RUINS LIKE GOLD OR SILVER, BUT WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, WHO WAS LIKE A PURE AND PERFECT LAMB. 1 PETER 1:18-19

click on this link LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL to download the song...

A CHRISTMAS PRAYER

2008-12-24T13:06:00.000-08:00

23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us." Matthew 1:23 - He was born to die, so we can live.

Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds and the wisdom of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world.

Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clean hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy children
and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with
grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake. Amen

URBAN ARCHANGEL

2008-12-22T16:51:00.001-08:00

URBAN ARCHANGEL - THIS IS HOW I LIVE MY LIFE EVERY DAY

CREATED BY MY NEW BROTHA IN CHRIST - WWW.JA-HAN.COM

CHANGE

2008-12-21T14:17:00.000-08:00

We all desire change in our lives. Whether that is to change something about ourselves change our habits, or even change the world. There are a lot of things that we can’t change, but there are other things that we constantly try to change with success or to no avail. With 2009 before us, the word “change” keeps coming to my mind. I desire change, but what will it take to see this change happen?

10 years ago I had an encounter with a Higher Power that led me to change many things in my life. 10 years later, I realized I am changing yet once again. When I was 16 years old I thought I had everything a teenager could want. I had it all: money, drugs, power, friends, influence and everything the world could have offered a MTV adolescent. Yet, it’s when it seems we have achieved everything, at that moment, we feel that we actually have nothing at all. That’s how I felt. I had everything, but in my heart I had nothing.

I had everything a young man could want. At the same time, I felt more lost than ever. It wasn’t till that fateful day when I was faced with being arrested by the police for grand theft that I finally woke up. I had everything, yet I wanted more because of my greed. But when is enough truly enough? Sometimes, it takes a moment of “humbling” to bring us back to our senses. With the police on my tail, my Christian mother weeping over my wrong doings, I came to my senses and decided I needed to change. With my future on the line, with all odds against me, I made a decision to do what was right, take responsibility for my actions and turn myself into the police and confess the truth to the crime I had committed. It was a scary decision, but it was a decision that had to be made. Looking back, it was the best decision I had ever made, to put my trust in God and to change my old ways. By the grace of God, I was given something I didn’t deserve. Six months after turning myself into the police, the court let me go free with no charges, no record or jail sentence.

I always tell people when they hear my impossible story of how a convicted felon was let go with no charges that, “Justice is getting what you deserve, Mercy is getting what you don’t deserve, but Grace is getting what you definitely don’t deserve.” We all need grace in our lives. We need grace from God, grace for our own selves and grace for others. No one is perfect; we all make mistakes, because we are all human. If we desire to change in 2009 we can learn from my own story…

1. Change starts with you – don’t try to change others or your circumstances around before you first learn to change yourself. Judge not or you will be judged. Before we try to change what is around us, let us look within us, with an honest heart and see what needs to be changed in our own lives.

2. Change requires humility – humility is being honest to yourself and others with who you really are. No need to justify your shortcomings or wrong actions, simply own up to your mistakes and recognize that you need help in changing them.

3. Change moves us to action – if we are really going to change, we must make a commitment to change followed with action. Change is not just talk, but it is walk. If you want to quit smoking cigarettes, or change a bad habit, stop eating so much, spending on what you don’t need, or change your own understanding of yourself you need to take the necessary actions to see the change become a reality.

The day I turned myself into the police for grand theft, I could have just told God and my mother “sorry I will never do it again”, but saying sorry wasn’t enough. I had to do what was right, turn myself in, own up to my wrong doings and walk out my repentance.

In the same way, if we want real change we must not just talk about it, but be about it. Change doesn’t start tomorrow, it starts with doing what you know is right today.

4. Change is not easy, so give yourself grace – We also need to understand that change is a process. It doesn’t happen over night, it happens with time. Just as it takes years for a child to grow to an adolescent and from an adolescent to a young adult and so forth, so it takes time for anyone and everyone to change for the better. Give yourself grace when you make mistakes, fall into temptation, or keep doing things you don’t want to do. God forgives you, so you must learn to forgive yourself. With grace, nothing is impossible to overcome. Pick yourself back up, let go of the past, don’t be so hard on yourself and keep moving forward. With a little grace, we can all change for the better.

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Blessings,

JMA

Finding Our Center

2008-12-20T00:57:00.000-08:00

We all need to find our center in life. The holidays is a time to get away and remember what life is all about. Life is more than work, life is more than doing, life is meant to be cherished, remembered, and enjoyed for every moment we are given.

I'm currently in Oregon having some down time in a retreat home with my second family the "Ainslie family" (Alisan & Karen above) they are a major blessing to me. Every Christmas for the past 3 years, they've invited me to come out with their family into the big mountains of Sun River Oregon and get away.

Man, do I need the time away. Things have been amazing lately, at the same time so many miracles and things have happened in the last few months I really need these next few days to simply reflect, wind down, find my center, have some good laughs, eat some great food, catch some fresh slopes, catch up with some wonderful family friends and have some sweet walks w/ Jesus in the beautiful snow :)

It's when we are away from the noise, that we can hear His voice and find our center. We all need time away to find our true selves. Don't be afraid to stop, be silent, reflect and listen. I'm looking forward to these next few days...

Brotha from Anotha Motha

2008-12-17T00:38:00.000-08:00

There are a few people in life that you will actually die for, Carl for me is one of them. We've only known each other for about 1 year now, but our chemistry, calling and commitment to one another is something that only heaven could have brought together. It's almost like we both walked the same paths in life, but finally found each other in our late 20's. Together, I feel like we are unstoppable and able to take over the world for Christ. He's only been a born again Christ follower now for 1 year, but homeboy is ON FIRE, carries the WISDOM of GOD and truly LOVES and LIVES LIKE JESUS.

Carl and I have been demon busting Hollywood into Holy-wood in the last year daily. He's the man with the rolodex, I'm the man who goes in for the spiritual kill.... since we've partnered up we've seen so many industry people come to know God in a radical way. We started a simple church in Hollywood & it's grown every week, touching lives, changing hearts and saving souls. We've now started more of these (GBS ~ Greatest Bible Study on Earth) in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea and the revolution in media & entertainment continues. It's FUN to be able to go on adventure with the Holy Spirit, seeing miracles everyday happen with a comrade, a brother, a team.... for two is always better than one!

I'm thankful for my brother Carl, he has made me a better man. We all need a brotha or sista from another motha. Life is a journey, don't walk it alone.

ON THE SET

2008-12-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

ON THE SET FOR OUR NEW MUSIC VIDEO "THANK YOU" W/ JIN THE MC AND MYSELF PREACHING ON BEATZ...WORD.

Student CPX CONCENTRATE - GO!!!

2008-12-02T06:16:00.001-08:00

Dear Campus Leaders and Student Missionaries,

I want to personally invite everyone of you reading this letter to seriously pray and seek God's will in attending our national student church planting gathering "STUDENT CPX CONCENTRATE" at UNLV in Las Vegas Jan 16-19th. This will be a strategic and prophetic gathering of campus leaders and student missionaries who have a passion to establish houses of prayer & simple church movements to bring revival, reformation and revolution to their college and universities. This is a clarion call to those apostolic and prophetic forerunners on our campuses today, to those of you reading this who have a strong call to raising up 24-7 prayer rooms and a passion for starting new missional communities to reach this generation.

We need REVIVAL. We need CHANGE. We need a REVOLUTION of JESUS CHRIST on our universities today. The campus is the most strategic mission field. It has and always will be, because if you can change the campus today, you can reach the world tomorrow. The future of our nation and the future of the nations are on our university door steps. The current body of Christ on most campuses is asleep, having fellowship & fun, but not contending for HEAVEN ON EARTH as turning our campuses upside down with the power of the Holy Spirit and the anointed preaching of the holy Gospel as we should. We need to RISE UP! Now is the time, 2009 will be a year of MIGHTY HARVEST and we need to come together as campus leaders & student missionaries who are willing to lose our lives for the sake of our generation to be saved. We need to start PRAYER ROOMS, be equipped in POWER EVANGELISM and be launched to PLANT SIMPLE CHURCHES to fulfill the Great Commandment and Great Commission.

At Student CPX CONCENTRATE our new National Team Leader "ERIK FISH" and other national leaders will not only be used by God to equip you for the task, but will give you the ongoing spiritual support to succeed with other like minded student church planters. I highly encourage each of you to go, bring a new disciple and change history for God.

I support and ask each of you to support the new national team in putting on this strategic gathering to believe God for a new student missionary movement!

For His namesake,

Jaeson Ma

The hour has come for a new student movement to sweep college campuses across America and spread to be a blessing to the nations of the world. College students are:

Demonstrating the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit
Loving each other and living out the gospel daily
Baptizing other students in university dormitories
Preaching the gospel and healing the sick on campus
Starting simple churches on universities across America

God has placed a treasure inside YOU that is waiting to be released on your campus and in the world. Are you ready to live the adventure? Are you willing to love the lost with supernatural passion? Are you willing to give your life to see Jesus glorified in all the earth? Are you an adventurer with a heart to run to the darkness and see evil overcome with the power of love?

The adventure you've been longing for is here. We are calling for a student church planting movement to reach every college campus in America over the next five years.

"Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"
"Here am I, Lord. Send me."

You may feel small. You may feel weak. You may feel insignificant.

We say, "You are just the right person for God to use."

Will you go?

Register asap at: www.studentchurch.org & www.campuschurch.net

Apostolic Mission #2 - Transformation in Korea & HK Media & Entertainment Fields

2008-12-01T01:50:00.001-08:00

Dear Prayer Team,

Today I leave for South Korea, Seoul to preach and minister to a few thousand artist & entertainers. I will be going with a strategic mission team (Carl and Pastor Sam Lee). We need your dedicated prayers! This mission is heavy on my heart for a few reasons...

New Revival Spirit in South Korea: When I preached in South Korea in September the power of the Holy Spirit was evident in a special way. There was a new spirit of revival and the hearts of both old and new were hungry for a new expression of church and revival. I believe a new wine is going to be poured out on this mission and a movement of new churches will be birthed in Korea to reach a new generation...
Celebrity Suicides Heightened: There have been 2 major celebrity suicides in Seoul, Korea in the last few months. Celebrity suicide cases have been increasing in the last few years in the Korea media/entertainment industry. My heart is deeply saddened by these occurrences & on Dec 3rd we will be gathering 200-300 actors/artists for a solemn assembly of repentance and prayer to ask God to remove this spirit of death over celebrities/youth.
Transformation in Korean Media & Pop Culture: Korean media and pop culture has now become an international phenomenon. On Dec 5th I will be speaking to over 2500 actors, producers, directors and entertainers to call them forth to radical passion and devotion to Jesus Christ and to release a vision to transform Korean media/entertainment for the Lord Jesus Christ before His imminent return. Pray that a spirit of holiness, supernatural faith, increasing hope and unconditional love is released amongst this community that will ultimately touch the world w/ new, holy, creative and positive films, TV shows, music, publications and most of all changed lives.
Simple Church Training: Since we started our Hollywood Simple Church (GBS) we have seen other GBS churches started in HK, Taiwan and on this trip we will train our ministry partners there in Seoul Korea to start a simple church movement reaching out to artists in that city. Pray the training is effective, new souls are saved, disciples are made and a new church movement begins to reform pop culture in Korea. God's grace be in abundance!

Hong Kong Media Mission #2

Since we were in Hong Kong last, we have heard testimony after testimony of what the Lord has been doing in the lives of many artist in the media/entertainment field. We started a Artist Simple Church called the "LIGHT CLUB" and saw 6 new baptisms the first night. Different newspapers and magazines have reported that God is truly at work amongst artists in HK and many artists are giving testimonies of what amazing things the Lord has done in their lives to transform and bless others in the media industry. God is good!

I will be with our brother MC JIN shooting our new music video for our song "THANK YOU" in HK Dec 7-10th. Pray that God uses this music video to touch lives, change hearts towards abortion, and save countless destinies in Hong Kong and Asia. Read and pray below...

Pop Icon - Sammi Cheng blog post & testimony on Nov 16th outreach in HK
Pray that during our time in HK during those days that God will use us to encourage the believers in the entertainment industry
Pray for revival to continue to spread in the HK media/entertainment changing lives from darkness to light
Pray for favor with God and man, for protection from the enemy, for breakthrough in every meeting and encounter to further God's kingdom there

It is always an honor, a blessing and privilege to partner with each of you praying for this ministry. I'm reminded of how thankful I am to be on this adventure of God everyday when I wake up to another sunrise. Let's make this world a more beautiful place, by sharing the light and the life of Christ with all those we know each day. There is a time for everything under the sun. This weekend I had the blessing of enjoying time with family and old friends in the Bay Area with gratitude and thanks, tomorrow morning it will be a time of spiritual war and mission to contend for heaven on earth in Asia, specifically for the transformation of media/entertainment field. God be with us all, His mercy endures forever!

Blessings,

JMA

slumgdog millionaire - a masterpiece

2008-11-22T15:38:00.000-08:00

seldom do you get to see a good film, even more seldom a great film, but this afternoon I saw a "masterpiece" ... "slumdog millionaire" is hands down the best film I've seen all year. It had every element of a perfect movie. It made me feel every fiber of my being, it exuded within me every emotion, it made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me hold my breath, it made me fall in love, it made me mad, it made me want to scream, it made me everything I could think of in a span of 120 minutes...it was simply breathtaking.

if you have not been able to yet see this movie, I would encourage you to watch it and bring a friend. this movie is what film making is about. it's about uplifting human dignity, expressing life as it is and finding beauty in the broken.

I give it up to Danny Boyle for directing this film, he truly is a genius to be able to capture incredible cinematography for so many different genres of film. who ever wrote the script, I have nothing but applause.

I hope and pray that I can be a part of films like these, ones that personify truth and exemplify love. truly a masterpiece. a must see. two BIG thumbs up for "slumdog millionaire"

DOR JEA (THANK YOU)

2008-11-18T23:20:00.000-08:00

download the track, pray for a minute, give thanks & pass it on to as many peeps here

"THANK YOU" MC JIN & JMA (FREE DOWNLOAD)

2008-11-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

SO THE "THANK YOU" TRACK W/ MC JIN feat. JAESON MA & CORINA IS HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD @ BELOW LINK....

"THANK YOU" DOWNLOAD

THIS SONG IS AN OFFERING SONG TO GOD. IF YOU ARE IN HONG KONG, SPEAK CANTONESE SOMEWHERE ON EARTH...DOWNLOAD THIS BEAUTIFUL LIFE GIVING TRACK AND PASS IT ON TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE. WE WANT THE MESSAGE IN THIS SONG TO SPREAD ALL OVER THE WORLD...GOD BLESS AND THANK GOD FOR LIFE! PRAY FOR THIS SONG TO INSPIRE CHANGE, SAVE THE LIVES OF THE UNBORN, AND PUT A SMILE ON FACES FOR YEARS TO COME.

THEME SONG FOR...

WWW.BELLAMOVIE.COM.HK

"THANK YOU" MC JIN AND JAESON MA HK TIME SQUARE

2008-11-13T08:45:00.000-08:00

WE ALL NEED TO BE THANKFUL FOR LIFE.
MC JIN, MYSELF AND CORRINA RECORDED
A VERY SPECIAL SONG CALLED "THANK YOU"
TO BE THE THEME SONG FOR THE MOVIE BELLA
IN HONG KONG. THIS SONG TALKS ABOUT BEING
THANKFUL TO GOD FOR HIS LOVE, CONSTANT
FORGIVENESS AND THE PRECIOUS LIFE WE HAVE
EACH BEEN GIVEN. WE PERFORMED THIS SONG IN
HK TIME SQUARE FOR THE BELLA PREMIERE.
MY PRAYER IS THAT EVERY YOUNG PERSON THAT
LISTENS TO THIS SONG IN HONG KONG AND AROUND
THE WORLD WOULD VALUE THE LIFE THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN,
AND ALSO VALUE EVERY LIFE THAT IS IN THE WOMB, HOPEFULLY
EVERY YOUNG WOMAN WHO IS THINKING ABOUT ABORTING THEIR CHILD,
WOULD RECONSIDER AND GIVE LIFE A CHANCE. I KNOW MY MOM DID FOR ME,
THAT'S WHY I AM ALIVE TODAY AND I THANK GOD FOR THAT.

WE WILL BE RELEASING "THANK YOU" AS A SPECIAL TRACK ONLINE FOR
THE HOLIDAYS...STAY TUNED AND THE SONG WILL BE AVAILABLE TO
DOWNLOAD ON MY BLOG SHO NUFF. GOD BLESS AND KEEP PROMOTING
THE CAUSE OF LIFE IN OUR GENERATION. THANK YOU GOD!

Apostolic Mission to Hong Kong Media & Entertainment

2008-11-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

Dear Prayer Team,

In a few hours I will be leaving on a flight to Hong Kong. For the last 4 years the Holy Spirit has led me and others to help pioneer a work of campus revival in that great city. We have seen a mighty move of His Spirit touching the lives of countless young people in Hong Kong. God moved from campus to campus from 2004-2007, spurring students on to seek one thing in Jesus, to pray and fast for campus & citywide revival, to share the Gospel in the supernatural power of the Spirit and receive a mighty vision to bring the Gospel from East Asia back to Jerusalem.

As many of you know, our passion and vision is "Every campus, Every City, Every Nation for Christ." If we can reach the campus today, we can change the world tomorrow. Transformation starts on the campus, but it doesn't end there. In the past year the Holy Spirit has been silently and strategically transitioning and leading me to take the Gospel from the campus into society, specifically the media and entertainment field in Hollywood and Asia. I always believed the greatest tool we have at our disposal to reach the next generation for Christ is MEDIA. As they say, "As Hollywood goes, so goes the world!" Media has been used by Satan to poison and transform the minds, beliefs, values and philosophy of this current MTV generation. Yet, I am believing God that in this destined moment in history, in this time of great global shifts, economic turmoil, political struggles and a world at war that God is putting a cry in the heart of young people every where to make a difference and to be set apart in holiness. This is not an MTV generation, it never was and it will never be, it is a Jesus generation that will not just talk Jesus, but walk Jesus in every continent of the earth.

In the last months, nearly every week I have seen lost souls in the media and entertainment world repent and return radically to our Lord Jesus Christ. It has not been by accident, but has been happening for such a time as this. I started a simple church network in Hollywood nearly 6 months ago and we have seen lives changed, hearts turn to Jesus, new disciples being baptized continually and a light shine out of the darkness. I'm believing for "HOLY-wood" not "Holywood." At the same time, in the last months doors have flung open in Asia and many from the media and entertainment world have been encountering the love of God in a fresh new way. I asked the Lord "Why so many, so quickly and at this moment?" The Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart that He is sovereignly bridging the East and West for a massive harvest that will awaken all of North America and Asia for the greatest revival in these end days. I am humbled, I am praying, but I am prepared.

Hong Kong Mission: Bella the Movie
This week in Hong Kong Nov 10-18 I and our team will need your daily prayers and fervent intercessions for protection and God's purpose to be accomplished. Our mission team, myself, Carl, Jin, Peter Gent, Eduardo Verastegui and our local leaders in Hong Kong will be campaigning for the release of the movie Bella in Hong Kong, China. This movie as you know has impacted lives all over America with the message of LIFE. Many babies have not been aborted after young women have watched this movie. God has opened a door of mercy to Hong Kong to be saved as Hong Kong is the number one industrialized city for the number of abortions, literally 1 out of 3 babies in HK are aborted each year. We are praying that this movie will be watched by every family in Hong Kong and Asia so their hearts will be convicted, touched and changed so that they will consider keeping the destined lives in their wombs and others would rise up to adopt many unwanted children, who are completely desired and wanted by our Father in heaven. Eduardo the lead actor in Bella and myself will be going from church to church and holding press conferences to promote this beautiful film all over HK during the next 10 days.

The movie gala premiere will be Nov 10th evening. That night MC JIN and myself will perform a new song we recorded called "THANK YOU" which tells the story and message of being thankful for the precious life that has been given to us by God. Pray that this song goes all over every radio station in Hong Kong to inspire and change hearts in youth and old alike.

www.bellamovie.com.hk

Hong Kong Mission: Media & Entertainment Artist Outreach
On November 16th we will be holding an Gospel outreach to a few hundred artists in the Hong Kong media/entertainment industry. The story behind how this opportunity has come about is a God story in itself. By His grace, we will be able to share personal testimonies and a clear Gospel message to those who are coming to seek and know God more. It is my prayer, that the many who come would encounter the undeniable presence of the Holy Spirit and receive a powerful revelation of Jesus Christ' unconditional love for them. Please pray that every actor, actress, director, producer, and every person in the entertainment industry in Hong Kong would come to know the love of Jesus Christ. Please pray the HK film industry which is the Hollywood of East Asia will be transformed with God's glory from the inside out and bring worship to our Father in heaven. Pray that God would raise up another Golden Era of film making in Hong Kong once again, but this time not for it's own glory but for the glory of God producing media, music, film and entertainment that would inspire and change the billions in Asia and around the world with Truth and Light!

In between these mission assignments, I will be challenging and praying with out university student leaders to get behind mobilizing young people all over HK to watch Bella, pray for the ending of abortion and to believe God for their campuses, their city and their nation to be transformed w/ the teachings of Jesus Christ, specifically through media. We will also be holding a Vision and Sharing night for our ministry Campus Church Networks on Dec 12th so we pray that God would bring forth His faithful and obedient servants to partner with this growing ministry and movement around the world to reach every campus, city and nation for Christ.

Prayer Focus:

Daily pray for our team members protection from the evil one (Carl, Jin, Peter, Lois, Cindy, Gary and others) & that we would stay close to Jesus and one another
For great favor with the Bella movie campaign to gain secular and mass media coverage all over Hong Kong and the Church
Pray for many souls to be saved and disciples to be made in the HK media and entertainment industry
Pray for great doors for the Gospel to be preached to strategic people God has chosen to use
Continually pray for the Hong Kong Universities and campuses to rise up, contend for revival and spread the message of LIFE
Pray that God would grant us grace to find strategic partners to support CCN on Nov 12th Vision and Sharing Night
For signs, wonders and miracles to break out all over the city of Hong Kong and the entire entertainment industry to be shaken with the power of God & transformed for His purposes, that doors would stay open and His Church would be established in this mission field of media, the greater Church to continually unite and for a new generation to be raised up for God's mission in HK and Asia
Pray for the Asia media and entertainment industries and all those in it to TURN TO GOD and FIND JESUS CHRIST!

Also, in early Dec 2-6 our team will be heading to Seoul Korea, to share the Gospel with a few thousand artists in media and entertainment there. Start praying now, because there have been many celebrity suicides in just the last months and we are asking God to turn Korea's entertainment industry from falsehood, to truth, from rejection to acceptance, from lies to LOVE. God is shifting and shaking at this moment and we must be PREPARED IN PRAYER. No Prayer, No Power, Much Prayer, Much Power. Let us PRAY!

Personal Transition:
As some of you know, I will share more later. But in October I have begun a 1 year sabbatical from campus church ministry in order to focus on media and entertainment, but most importantly my own personal devotion to Jesus. I will not be speaking at campus or church revival conferences for the next year in order to spend more time daily with God, my family and friends and making disciples in the media/entertainment mission field. God has graciously raised up new international and national leadership for Campus Church Networks during my time of rest. I will send out another email soon about this leadership transition.

All in all, I am feeling ALIVE in my heart and soul again. I'm so excited to spend more time at home developing my love for Jesus daily. I am equally excited that I am able to pursue my child hood passions of making music, doing acting and being able to creatively preach the Gospel through media and entertainment. I feel at home, at one with God and myself and feeling every day that the best is yet to come...I was born for this moment. It's a great feeling!

I will continually need your prayers. Please pray I personally stay humble, abide daily in the Vine of His presence, am kept from temptation and evil and stay faithful to the call of preaching the Gospel to all nations in this generation!

Under the mercy,

JMA

A HISTORIC & HEALING MOMENT FOR AMERICA

2008-11-04T21:30:00.000-08:00

A historic and healing moment indeed for the United States of America...what it will bring only time will tell. My thoughts after tonights elections...

As I watched John Mccain concede his speech tonight with grace, I was smiling in my heart with a sense of pride. Not because he lost, but because of the character that shined through his gracious words. He is a true hero, a great leader and a man who truly loves his country.

As I watched next president elect Barak Obama inspire millions of American's to believe & hope for change I could only think what a historic and healing moment this must mean for so many African American's and immigrants in this country. Even for myself, as a Chinese American it was a healing and touching moment. "Yes we can!"

As I sat back, thought for a moment and prayed to God I simply said, "God you are sovereign and my trust is in You, thank You for the healing that is taking place in this nation...God bless America."

The United States of America is a great country. Our democratic process allows us the freedom of choice to choose our leaders, shape our society and believe for change. Politics can be a touchy issue for most American's, it can divide us, but tonight I felt like it united us.

John Mccain could have made a concession speech on the why not and what should've, instead he chose to share words of grace towards his opponent, acknowledged the historic moment and how we need to now support our next president elect and reach across party lines to make this country and world a better place to live in. There was such a deep sense of honor, courage, character and grace that was shown in his words...it made me feel like a true American.

"This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight. I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to visit -- to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now -- let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth." Listen and read the rest of his inspiring speech John Mccain Speech

At the same time, Barak Obama gave a powerful acceptance speech explaining that we are not democrats or republicans, white or black, hispanic or asian, male nor female, straight or gay, but we are American's bonded together as one nation under God, we are not blue America or red America, but we are the United States of America and we all need to do this together to rise above our challenges and change the world for the better.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you -- we as a people will get there," Obama said in Chicago, Illinois. Read Obama's Speech

I have friends Christian and non-Christian who voted for Obama and others for Mccain. I personally voted for Mccain because he aligned more with my values and beliefs. As for Obama, although I don't agree with many of the policies, values and approach to politics he holds for America, I nonetheless applaud him for his love for America and give great due respect to his leadership. I believe in times like these, we who trust in Christ must be able to agree to disagree.

We need to pray for our newly president elect daily and pray for God's will to be done in this great nation in these critical times. We have great challenges ahead of us: worldwide economic turmoil, war on terrorism, global warming, eradicating systemic poverty, the protection of life and family, spiritual lostness and the list goes on. How will we do this? We can only do this if we do this "together" we must pray together, act together and believe together for a better tomorrow starting today.

Today is a new day for America. We live in a new millennial generation that is believing and acting towards a new America and a new world. It was no doubt that what made the difference in the election this year were the young twenty somethings who rallied voters on colleges, universities and communities to vote for the first time in swing states. In my heart, I believe after this election we are moving more and more towards a bi-partisan Washington D.C., a generation that will bridge the gaps and marry righteousness and justice together to flow like a mighty river through the nations.

As I finished my time of prayer tonight, in my spirit I saw a picture of a "bridge" and that is my prayer for America and this new generation, "Lord, I pray that you would bless America, bless Barak Obama and the leaders of our nation to lead this country in righteousness and justice. Your will be done and Your kingdom come. Bridge the gaps, reconcile our differences, make us one country under God, keep us humble, give us strength, and instill in us courage to overcome our differences and to rise up to the challenges that face us, may this be our greatest moment and may You have Your way in all things. We repent for any sins committed in the past, and the sins that will be committed as a nation in the future we ask for mercy and grace to do what is right. Whether we agree or disagree with those who lead in office, Lord we pray for our nations leaders and ask that You speak to them daily, guide them in your righteous right paths and let America be a shining light in the darkness of this world. In Jesus name Amen."

JMA

WE NEED MORAL CLARITY

2008-11-02T01:09:00.000-07:00

I write this post with deep sobriety, repentance and the fear of the Lord. After spending 12 hours praying for the protection and sanctity of marriage with thousands of believers in Qualcomm stadium today in San Diego, I came to clearly understand not only in my mind, but in my spirit the dire situation we are in.

America is at a critically defining moment, forced to face the most important moral and civic issue of it's history. The question is, "How will we define marriage?" Is it between one man and woman as the Bible states and God commands? Or will it be defined by human definition and be deemed acceptable as normal?

My heart is saddened, because although God's Word is clear, most Christians I know are not clear about this moral issue at all. There are two sides to the coin here and I want to be objective.

On Nov 4th citizens of California will vote either YES on Prop 8 or NO on Prop 8. By voting yes we are voting and stating that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. By voting no on prop 8 we are voting & legitimizing that marriage can be defined in other ways, specifically man and man, or woman and woman (or homosexual marriage). If Prop 8 is rejected, homosexual marriage will be taught as mandatory curriculum to children as young as kindergarten. Teachers will have to teach that marriage is not only man & woman, but between same sex partners.

I've heard both sides of the coin from Christians...

1. View #1 ~ Jesus loves all people and we are to accept everyone as they are. Everyone has a right to choose and we should not infringe upon their choice because that is a personal decision. We as Christians should not judge others, for this would be arrogance and discrimination and not a good witness to those who do not believe.

2. View #2 ~ God's Word is clear that homosexual orientation is wrong (Romans 1, 1 Tim 4) and we are to not to tolerate this behavior. If we legalize same sex marriage it will destroy the moral fabric of our society which is the human family unit which is the base that holds all things together . Ultimately we would be directly disobeying God's commands.

3. View #3 ~ My personal view...I believe as Christians we are to love all sinners (which is everyone of us) but we can not condone or support the practice of sin. Therefore, we are to accept all people (whatever race, sexual orientation, economic class, etc) as God would by not condemning, but showing love in action. At the same time, we are not to agree with what God disagrees with. Sin is sin. No questions asked. We must stand for truth as written plainly in God's Word.

As a Christian believer we must vote Yes on Prop 8 and let me give some Biblical reasons why....

Marriage is defined in the Bible as husband & wife. Marriage for thousands of years has always been between a man and woman, we are not to change it's definition because humans decide to, it is God's decision and He has made clear what His decision and purpose is. (Genesis 1:27, 2:18, 2:24, Matt 19:3-12, 1 Cor 7:1-40, 1 Peter 3:1-7, etc)
Marriage is for pro-creation, Same sex unions can not produce natural life. Marriage was created for the purpose of family. Father, mother and children are given as gifts from God for families to experience love and relationships in God's grace. (Ps 127:3, Prov 17:6)
Prop 8 is not only a political issue, it is a moral issue. We as Christians must give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what belongs to God (Matt 22:21) In other words, we are to fulfill our civic duty as citizens by doing what is right and voting in order to legislate what is in the best interest of society according to God's Word. At the same time, as God's church we are to correct, rebuke, encourage and teach (2 Tim 4:2) believers God's ways & commands without tolerance or compromise.
Voting NO on prop 8 is disagreeing with God's definition of marriage. If we vote NO against Prop 8, we are agreeing that the definition of marriage in the Bible is not legit. The activists advancing the agenda to vote NO on Prop 8 main goal is not human equality, but to legitimize same sex unions to be defined as "traditional marriage" As a Christian and one who believes in God's infallible Word, we can not disagree with what God says marriage is. If we do, then we will be guilty of supporting and condoning the practice of this sin. The Bible is clear that homosexuality is not God's will or purpose for human kind, and we are not to support this practice of sin under any circumstances. For it says in Romans 1: 18-32 (Study specifically the last verse Rom 1:32)
God's Wrath Against Mankind
18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Voting No on Prop 8 would be supporting a false doctrine. Again, God's Word is clear in 1 Timothy 4:1-3a...1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry (in the last days false teachers will be influenced by demons and teach demonic doctrines forbidding people to marry. Many homosexual activists are now saying that if they can't have the right to marry, no one should have the right to marry)
In 2 Tim 4:2-4 it says, "2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
As Christians we are called to disciple nations, not only individual people. Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus commanded us to make disciples of "all nations." The Greek word is panta te ethne which means "every social unit or grouping that makes up a particular society." Our purpose and aim is to "disciple nations" under the Lordship and teachings of Jesus Christ. In other words, we are to pray and to act as God's ambassadors on in the world by bringing the kingdom of heaven into the kingdoms of earth. How do we do this? We pray, "Our Father, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6)." God's goal is to make the kingdoms of men, the kingdoms of our God. This happens when a entire society is obeying the teachings of Christ. For example: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Chairman Mao and others discipled their nations, but not in the ways of God, but in the ways of Nazism and Communism. It was not an individual agenda, it was a national and civic agenda. God has an agenda too, make disciples of ALL NATIONS!
As disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to reform society, not just preach salvation to individuals. Matthew 24:14 says, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." It did not say, "gospel of salvation" which is what most Western Christians think. We believe Christianity is a private and personal faith. It is simply a spiritual matter, not a physical/material or can I say political one? Plato taught dualism which is a division between sacred and secular. Everything spiritual is looked upon as good, whereas everything material is looked upon as waste and secondary. Therefore, western Christianity took this philosophy and believed that only the spiritual was important and everything material/physical was insignificant, evil and rotting away. This gave way to modern thinking that church only happens on Sunday, our purpose as believers is to keep ourselves holy & wait for the rapture to come, because the world is evil and getting worse by the day. What's wrong with this thinking? Did God not create us body, soul and spirit? What happened throughout the last hundred years or so is Christians in the West have forfeited their civic right and responsibility to stand and fight for God's truth in society. We abdicated our authority to rule, and gave the world and all it's power to the Devil. We have let Anti-Christian agendas seep into our government, business and education systems (ex: Supreme Court justices interpreting law according to their personal beliefs, rather than the law itself, unethical business practices from Enron to Wall Street, Darwinism/Evolution theory taught in schools as mandatory & Creationism not being able to be taught at all, abortion made legal and causing 44 million babies aborted since 1973, and now the redefinition of traditional & Biblical marriage? The list goes on) Christians have a responsibility and that is to lead in all areas of society: Government, Business, Education, Media, Arts, Family and Religion by living, acting and teaching others to obey God's commands. Our goal is not just to get saved, go to heaven and live our own personal lives. What we do and how we live has implications not only upon us, but our surroundings and the communities we live in. (Christianity is not just a personal faith, it is a body of believers who unite together as One under the headship of Christ. God does not only judge individuals but He judges nations, cities, kings and authorities ~ ex: Sodom & Gomorah, city of Nineveh, nation of Israel, nation of Babylon, book of Judges, 1 & 2 Kings, all throughout the Old Testament and New Testament when God's people turned away from His laws, they experienced judgment and the curses that came with disobedience, but when they returned to the Lord, repented and obeyed His written commands they were restored and blessed (ex: King Josiah 2 Kings 22). How much more are we to do the same as believers today?
If we disobey God's Commands we will receive a curse upon our land. Deuteronomy 6 states clearly that if we obey God's commands we will be blessed, if we disobey them we will be cursed. This is not punishment from God, it is the natural working out of His created order. God gave us commands to obey, so that we would live life the way it was intended to work. When we break His law, we receive the natural and spiritual implications from breaking them. Laws are there to keep life in order. When disobeyed lives and society will ultimately go into anarchy and chaos. If same sex marriage is legalized, so will everything else. We will no longer have a moral code to rule and govern society. Legalizing same sex marriage will open up Pandora's box and like other nations that have legalized same sex marriage (Canada, parts of Europe, etc) other sins will be permitted as legal and normal. In Canada, EU and even the US (in Boston MA) pastors and parents have been arrested and put in jail for standing against same sex marriage, being indicted for hate crime and discrimination. Lord have mercy.

We also need to understand the real implications of Prop 8 (www.protectmarriage.com)

What is Proposition 8?
Proposition 8 is a simple and straightforward voter initiative. It contains the same 14 words that were previously approved in 2000 by over 61% of California voters: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”
Because four activist judges in San Francisco wrongly overturned the people’s vote, we need to pass this measure as a constitutional amendment to restore the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.
What does a YES vote on Proposition 8 mean?
Voting YES on Proposition 8 does 3 simple things:
1. It restores the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved and human history has understood marriage to be.
2. It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people.
3. It protects our children from being taught in public schools that “same-sex marriage” is the same as traditional marriage.
What does a NO vote on Proposition 8 mean?
If Proposition 8 is defeated, the sanctity of marriage will be destroyed and its powerful influence on the betterment of society will be lost. The defeat of Prop. 8 would result in the very meaning of marriage being transformed into nothing more than a contractual relationship between adults. No longer will the interests of children and families even be a consideration. We will no longer celebrate marriage as a union of husband and wife, but rather a relationship between ‘Party A’ and ‘Party B.’ The marriage of a man and a woman has been at the heart of society since the beginning of time. It promotes the ideal opportunity for children to be raised by a mother and father in a family held together by the legal, communal and spiritual bonds of marriage. And while divorce and death too frequently disrupt the ideal, as a society we should put the best interests of children first, and that is traditional marriage. Voting No on Proposition 8 would destroy marriage as we know it and cause profound harm to society.
Will Proposition 8 take away any rights for gay and lesbian domestic partners?
No. Proposition 8 is about preserving marriage; it’s not an attack on the gay lifestyle. Proposition 8 doesn’t take away any rights or benefits from gays or lesbians in domestic partnerships. Under California law, “domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections and benefits” as married spouses. (Family Code §297.5.) There are no exceptions. Proposition 8 will not change this.
If Proposition 8 passes, what will happen to the same-sex marriages that have already taken place?
Under Proposition 8, the validity and recognition of all marriage in California would be limited to a man and a woman, including past and future marriages, as well as marriages from other states or countries. The rights and obligations of same-sex couples who obtained marriage licenses before Proposition 8 passes will be up to the Courts to decide.
If Proposition 8 does not pass, will my children be forced to learn about gay marriage at school?
Yes. In health education classes, state law requires teachers to instruct children as young as kindergarteners about marriage. (Education Code §51890.) If the same-sex marriage ruling is not overturned, teachers will be required to teach young children that there is no difference between gay marriage and traditional marriage.
Read this shocking and frightening article on the implications of the legalization of same sex marriage had upon Boston, MA - The Real Implications of Legalizing Same Sex Marriage

In conclusion, I want to make it clear that I have nothing against people who live a homosexual lifestyle. I have many close friends who are homosexual or have same sex attraction. They are wonderful people, incredible friends and some of them are Christ followers. In fact, my favorite Christian author Henri Nouwen struggled with SSA (Same Sex Attraction) his whole life. He did not act out on his sexual orientation, but he did come out openly that he had SSA. Do I believe some of them are going to heaven & have a relationship with Jesus Christ, absolutely! Do I treat them differently than other friends, or even myself, I don't believe so. We are all human, we all have sinned and we all fall short of God's glory and each need his mercy. God accepts us for who we are and loves us as we are. When we recognize our sins, repent and turn to His loving kindness He always receives us with open arms. In the same way, we are to love others unconditionally as God does so with us. We are not to condemn others for their sin, for none of us are perfect. I love and respect my friends who are gay or lesbian, I believe they have the freedom to choose the lifestyle they live and what they believe.

Yet, I can not let marriage be defined as "same sex" because God's Word is clear what marriage is and what marriage isn't. It has been this way for thousands of years, as Pastor Rick Warren stated, "For 5,000 years, every culture and every religion - not just Christianity - has defined marriage as a contract between men and women," Warren wrote. "There is no reason to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2% of our population."

So although we love the sinner we can never condone the sin that is practiced. Sin is real and sin causes pain, destruction and degradation. Sin is not cool, it is foolish. Sin does not just hurt yourself, but it hurts other people. Indeed, all men are created equal, have certain rights to pursue life and happiness, but when the rubber meets the road and civil government goes against God's commands, there will be a showdown. I will not stand for what God calls unrighteous because of the negative implications for my future family, future generations & the life of my country. This is why I can not and will not support same sex marriage as a traditional definition of marriage.

I can't let my future children be taught that homosexual marriage is part of God's definition for marriage at the impressionable ages of kindergarten-12
I as a pastor will not marry a homosexual couple because I don't believe that is a definable marriage. If I am arrested for hate crime and discrimination, although this is not so my heart nor intention, there is nothing I can do but stand upon God's Word.
I can't teach others that same sex marriage is acceptable and normal, because the government mandates me/or others to do so. This clearly goes against what the Bible teaches us to teach and if I am to be arrested for stating my right and opinion to believe what I believe, than this is unfortunate, unfair and unjust.
Psalm 94:20 - "Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side - leaders who permit injustice by their laws"

Lord, I cry out for your mercy and justice to roll down like a mighty river in California on Nov 4th. Holy Spirit come upon the hearts of those who vote to understand Your commands, Your ways and Your thoughts that are higher than ours. I pray you awaken Your church and it's leaders to recognize the moral crisis we are in and to stand up for truth, while at the same time let those who say they are Christian show deep love and compassion to those in the homosexual community, may they not feel judged nor condemned, may they feel and know Your unconditional love and acceptance, may they be blessed and filled with Your peace. May they encounter Your power and presence, be healed and saved in Your loving grace just as you saved me in my sin and shame. Lord we all bow before You, for You alone are King of kings, Lord of lords and the Prince of peace. Lord have mercy on California and our nation and protect the sanctity of marriage that You have created for all mankind to live in love for You and one another as godly families under the loving lordship of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Praying for mercy,
JMA

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation

2008-10-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us , Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'One nation under God.' If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends. 'If you don't stand for something, you will fall for everything.'

VOTE & PRAY - The US Presidential Elections

2008-10-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

With less than 10 days to the election I wanted to ask all of us who care about this country to seriously pray for our nations leadership, spiritual state and future direction. As a follower of Jesus Christ I do not claim to be a Republican or a Democrat. I am first and foremost an ambassador of God's kingdom. My values and convictions are first established by God's unchanging Word and the commands set forth in it. I vote as a Christian, and I pray for to our Father that His kingdom would come and His will would be done on earth, in America as it is in heaven.

First, I want to make clear that I am not pro-Obama nor am I pro-Mccain, I am pro-Jesus. I respect both candidates (the others also), but I do not necessarily agree with what each believes in or their conduct and behavior in this campaign. Will I vote for one over the other, yes I will. But let me explain why. When I vote I take into consideration both candidates history, background, voting record, character and value system. After long and careful prayer and thought, I am voting for the Mccain/Palin ticket.

Some of the reasons I am voting for Mccain/Palin are as follows...

Mccain's long proven experience versus Obama's short experience as a junior Senator. (Mccain 22 years vs. Obama 173 days in senate)
Mccain's stance on war and terrorism that opposes unconditional diplomatic talks w/ it's militant leaders vs. Obama who is willing to unconditionally talk with anyone (Obama's position in my opinion is very dangerous. With no military background and his current positions on war and negotiations w/ terrorist/nuclear leaders it brings me great concern to America's future military strength and our ability to stand and protect Israel)
Mccain's decision to not add any new taxes and promote a simplified tax system vs. Obama's spread the wealth theory which in my estimation is "socialism" which equates to "communism" and has been proven throughout world history to not work but deteriorate a society. I believe Obama's economic plan will not work by raising capital gains taxes, but hurt the economy more in our current economic recession resulting in less businesses and jobs for the working class and poor.
Mccain pro-life stance to overturn the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision to end abortion vs. Obama who is pro-choice and has the most liberal voting record in the US Senate to date. (Obama - Opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v Wade. Disagreed with Supreme Court ruling to uphold the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act." Did not cast a vote on Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions amendment in 2007.) I can not and will not ever vote for a president who is pro-choice. God created life before the beginning of time and we are not to destroy what He created by aborting it. To date over 40 million babies have been aborted in America since 1973, 4,000 per day are aborted and this is an atrocity. I was almost aborted, but God saved my life 5 minutes before my mother went through with the decision. We must pray and fight for the lives of the unborn & promote a culture of life and a president who upholds the sanctity of life.
Supreme Court Justices - the next president will have the power to appoint 2 more supreme court justices and I personally will vote for Mccain/Palin because of their voting record on traditional moral and family values. Mccain/Palin will more likely put in 2 justices who are conservative rather than liberal. Mccain also would appoint as judges men and women who interpret a law by applying it as written, whereas Obama would appoint as judges those who interpret the law in accordance with their own personal beliefs. The Supreme Court is a lifetime position and it is crucial that we see to it that righteous and just judges are put into place to rule our country according to God's Word for the next decades to come.
Obama's is the most liberal senator on the sentate today, his Biblical values are not clear & in many instances go against the grain of Scripture, his political and spiritual history is questionable, and to me actions speak louder than words. He is in an incredible orator, I believe he loves America, but his voting record on key issues like (abortion, war on terrorism, sanctity of marriage, stem cell research, and his economic views, check his voting record with values voter guide and other links below) lead me to question his character and ability to lead in a time of crisis. (I have also read his autobiography and other books documenting his political ideology, campaign tactics and strategies, and political associates. Many ideas and practices he stated or acted upon in my estimation were unethical, gray, and left me with too many questions. Again, I believe he has a good heart and truly desires change, but his approach is not something I can personally support, Read: Audacity for Hope & Case Against Barak Obama - which I thought the latter was surprisingly objective & well documented). At the same time, no one is perfect, neither is Mccain/Palin but in a time of crisis and having to choose between the two, (I know I can vote for others but I don't believe it will make a major difference), this is why I will vote for Mccain/Palin who align more with my values, convictions and beliefs than Obama/Biden.
I know many will differ in their opinion in who to vote for because of other issues: such as poverty, different opinions on war, environment, health care and issues of social justice and human equality, that are also on God's heart. I am not here to argue, but I am here to encourage each of you to seek understanding, to pray about your decision and to vote according to your convictions. I pray we can all respect each others opinions and beliefs.

Attached is a "Values Voter Guide" that will compare side by side Mccain vs. Obama on traditional Christian values ranging from: stem cell research, immigration, same sex marriage, abortion, interpretation of the constitutional law etc. value%20voters%20guide.pdf & the faith based interview w/ Pastor Rick Warren between Obama and Mccain on the main issues in a final transcript form Certified_Final_Transcript.pdf

Also, follow this link to CNN to see where each candidate stands on the main issues to make an informed and prayerful decision click here

I simply ask that whoever you vote for to: pray, gain understanding, mobilize others to do the same and do your part as a citizen of America and cast your vote. May Gods will be done and His kingdom come to this great country in need of His mercy in this critical hour.

Psalm 94:20 - "Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side - leaders who permit injustice by their laws."

1 Timothy 2: 1-4 -"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

Under His mercy,
JMA

Sharon Stone and Cindy Jacobs: “Prophetic Words About the Current Economic System and POLITICAL CRISIS”

2008-10-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

This prophetic word was given in the summer of 2008 before the economic collapse and Sarah Palin announcement. Keep our economy, our government and most of all our nation in prayer and fasting as we enter into a season of great shaking and shifting. (note: this word is not in opposition to Sarah Palin, she is a devout Christian who stands on Biblical values that I hold to. I also know through trusted friends who know her and pray with her that she is truly seeking God's will and blessing for our nation. Let us pray for the protection of our leaders. I will write more on the elections in the next few days. JMA)

Sharon Stone and Cindy Jacobs: “Prophetic Words About the Current Economic System and POLITICAL CRISIS”

by Sharon Stone and Cindy Jacobs

Dr. Sharon Stone:
“September Will Convince You that You Must Connect to His Economic System”
The following is a prophecy given by Dr. Sharon Stone in Glasgow, Scotland in the summer of 2008. The notations in ITALICS are fulfillment of the word, but are not part of the word given.

September is a Turning Point

“September is a turning point and a sign of the times. It is all about those who have made Godly alignments in this season being blessed with revelation and information in the midst of world crisis.

“I see more banks will suffer: a USA world bank’s shares are in trouble (Lehman Brothers files bankruptcy, September 15, 2008). I see government in the USA bailing out mortgage giants (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - Federal takeover, September 7, 2008) and the government in England cutting house purchase taxes for the sagging housing crisis (Stamp Duty Tax change announced, September 2, 2008) to no avail.

“I see a European airline failing with no notice (XL files bankruptcy, September 12, 2008). I see the eyes of the world looking to see, ‘Who is this coming out of Alaska?’ (Sarah Palin announced as McCain’s running mate, August 29, 2008). And I see smoke coming from the Chunnel (Fire in the Chunnel, September 11, 2008).

“As I see these things, I hear the encouragement of God to His Isaacs in the earth who sow in the times of famine and reap 100 fold in the year. I’m not a prosperity preacher, I’m a prophet. And God is saying that September will convince you that you must connect to His economic system. There are always the few that are greatly blessed when the majority are shaken, threatened and fearful.”

God says, “Have you positioned yourself for THE NEW? Your storehouse is not an earthly bank. Hold on and I will bail you out of your mortgage issues. Am I not better to you than any government? I will not leave you stranded on foreign soil, and I will carry you above the circumstances better than any plane or jet. And your hope is not an Alaskan saviour, but Me.” I know that sounds strange, it does to me also.

“England, the smoke I saw coming out of the Chunnel is a warning for your intercessors to arise and cut off the enemy’s plan to sabotage and siege England’s favour in trade. Let him who has ears hear….

“God, I release an Isaac anointing upon us now!”

Dr. Sharon Stone
Christian International Europe
Email: cieurope@aol.com

About Sharon Stone: Sharon is the founder and senior minister of Christian International Europe. She is widely recognized as an Apostolic Prophet to the nations and has traveled to over thirty nations. By the age of nineteen, Sharon was an Intern Pastor and within twelve years she had pioneered and planted two churches and was the president of a Bible college. In 1996, Sharon and her family relocated to England to pioneer Christian International Europe with the intention of developing and mobilizing prophets and apostles to unlock harvest in the nations. Sharon has three grown children and is married to Greg Black.

Cindy Jacobs:
“In the Midst of the Shaking, God Has Prepared an Intercessory Thrust!”
God Said, “Call Together My People to Pray for the Economy”

During a worship service at the end of January, the Lord spoke to me in a long, ringing voice, “Cindy Jacobs, the strongman over America doesn’t live in Washington D.C. - the strongman that really rules over this nation lives in New York City! Call together My people to pray for the economy.”

I knew then that the economy was going to crash without effective, fervent intercession. The Lord went on to speak to me with the words: “October 29th was Black Tuesday, the day the stock market crashed, and satan wants to do it again!”

Shaken to the core, I pondered what to do. I knew that I must call the people of God to converge in New York City the week of October 29, 2008 - for an emergency prayer rally to cry out against economic collapse because the economy was going to shake!

During that week, we will have some of the finest apostolic prayer leaders from across the country join together for several days of onsite prayer strikes at key locations throughout New York City including: Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, the Federal Reserve and the United Nations.

We are then calling the Body of Believers from around the world to join us on October 31 and November 1 in Brooklyn, New York for Convergence ‘08 - an emergency prayer rally for immediate stabilization of our national and global markets.

October 31st is also Reformation Day in Germany. Some of you know that while my husband Mike and I were in Germany on this day in 2007, as we stood before the Wittenberg Door where Martin Luther tacked the 95 theses, we had four separate dramatic visitations, each of which said it had been 490 years since the last reformation (Daniel 9) and we were to pray for a new reformation to begin.

This was fascinating to me as I had just spent two years of my life writing my new book The Reformation Manifesto on the subject of how to not only be a reformer, but how to reform the arts, media, family, government, education, economic systems, etc.

The political parties within the United States and the United Nations are currently running on a platform of reform, as corruption is being exposed around the world and the citizens are shouting, “We are tired of being used!” One leader in the U.S. said that it was because of the addiction to O.P.M. (other people’s money) that corruption has almost destroyed our economic systems.

Pray to Shift the Economy

I am calling you to come from the ends of the earth to pray to “shift the economy.” What do I mean by “shifting the economy”? Last January, at Chuck Pierce’s Starting the Year off Right conference, God gave a group of us a prophetic word that He was going to “shift the bull and the bear market to become a lion market” and then went on to say, “And I will have enough shares in this market.”

For too long we have known to pray for our nations, but we have not known how to see to it that the Lion of Judah ran the economies of nations. He is the Creator, and believe me, He knows how to heal nations!

The Lord has shown me that He wants to release a “corporate Joseph anointing” into the Body of Christ in 2009 and 2010. If one looks at the history of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, although many suffered, there were those that gained great wealth because they knew what to do in difficult times. This is the manifestation of the Issachar anointing that we are crying out to God for during this time of shaking. God is going to show us what to do.

God Said, “Pray for the Stock Markets and Economic Systems”

Although the word I am going to give is a strong, dire one, think of it as a warning that is merciful. Judgment can be averted and a blessing left behind with economic systems changed in such a way that will eradicate systemic corruption - so that we can eradicate systemic poverty.

For the Lord says, “I am answering your prayers and have begun the cleansing of Wall Street; exposing the wickedness and greed in high places. Pray now and I will begin to give the leaders of the nation wisdom on how to revamp and reverse the debtor system currently in place. This is a course correction.

“If you do not pray at this time, you will miss your day of visitation and the economy will collapse, causing a ripple effect that will sweep the nations with a major tsunami wave. This wave will begin to touch the ground, as even the harvests of the world will be affected. Food shortages, hyper-inflation and other sorrows, especially affecting the poor, will take place.

“However, I say, if My people respond and fall on their face and cry out at this time with a mighty cry, I will hear them and heal their lands.

“Hear, O nations of the earth! Respond with weeping and travail and pray for the stock markets and economic systems. Pray for your leaders as well; for the earth is in the throes of a deep shaking at this moment; for the systems of the earth must be reformed.

“Do not despair and think that I cannot heal; that I will not hear your crying to Me from My throne in Heaven. My ear is carefully listening for your sound, so I will reverse the curse and bring a blessing upon your lands.”

This is no time for business as usual! As per Joel 2, it is time for the Bridegroom to come out of the chamber and fight for the land.

Cindy Jacobs
Generals International
Email: generals@generals.org

ElijahList Publications
310 2nd Ave SE,
Albany, OR 97321
www.elijahlist.com
email: info@elijahlist.net
Phone 1-541-926-3250

PASSION

2008-10-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

an update on the new music project. I've been spending the last few weeks focusing on my new album that is coming out next year. It's been quite a surreal experience to say the least. Last week we recorded a new track called "PASSION" ... this song meant alot to me because if I were to define my life in one word it would be this word "passion" ...for passion is the heart set free to pursue that which is truly worthy. I found what is worthy to pursue in my life and that pursuit is Christ.

we recorded the track that night with DNA, Jin the MC, Kevnish, Proghress (FM) and Catch in K-Town. It was a great time to be with my SOL brothers who encouraged me and stirred up the best in my spirit to release the words that came out of my mouth.

Note: almost every verse spoken on these tracks are freestyles, like a sermon, but on beats. It's CRAZY...no joke, can't wait for yall to hear what is comn. keep it in your prayers!

check out the Far East Movement blog post on the night PASSION

The Call California

2008-10-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

TheCall California - November 1, 2008

Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego

10am - 10pm

A WORD FROM LOU ENGLE:

They came like waves crashing onto the shores of California. Leaving behind a legacy of glory and apostolic influence, great manifestations of the power and love of God broke in on past generations of hungry saints. Waves of God’s great presence cascaded upon her shores in 1906, 1919, 1947, 1948, 1967, 1971, 1980, and 1994. These waves are California’s revivals. In the midst of unspeakable decadence, corporate greed, cultural trend setting, and global pornographic exportation, there lies deposited deeply below California’s crusty surface gold-there’s oil in her hills. Something continually draws God to the scene. Could it be that God is drawn to her pain? Maybe God sees her shores as hosting planet's lost prophets with misplaced passions or maybe he is drawn to the cry of her wandering masses. Whatever be the case, He comes, and when he does, the entire world is changed. The tongues of fire that erupted at Azusa have lit up the world. The revivals sown in Hollywood loosed great evangelists like Bill Bright and Billy Graham. The Jesus Movement gave us Calvary love songs that have kissed the youth of the globe. The new wine of worship and healing came from California’s vineyards. These ancient songs awaken us from our nightmare and remind us something that was and can be again. Hollywood, the “woman at the well”, could become the great evangelist again in these last days.

In 1946, Franklin Hall launched a fasting and prayer movement out of San Diego with a book called Atomic Power With God Through Fasting and Prayer. Thousands were stirred to enter into extended consecration fasts. Shortly after, the great healing revival broke out in 1947, followed by the campus revivals, and the Hollywood revivals in 1948. In the very same year, across the globe in the heart of the middle-east, by God’s divine mandate Israel was again called a nation. Could there be that there was a connection between what God was doing in California and the orchestrating of His divine purposes in the creation of the nation of Israel? Is it possible that the outpouring of God presence and the igniting of prayer in California were in reality connected with God’s heart to birth an entire nation? I believe it was global Joel 2 moment in which the scripture promises that after the fast, God would restore the land and pour out his spirit on all flesh. I hear TheCall again; “Gather the people, call a fast, and afterwards I will pour out my spirit.”

Now 50 years later, California sits within a fog of Jezebel confusion. Recently the Supreme Court of California disregarded the votes of the people and legalized homosexual marriage. The entire world listened attentively as the mayor of San Francisco boasted, “As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. Its inevitable, this door is wide open. It’s going to happen whether you like it or not. This is the future, and its now.” The world is looking to California for moral leadership while California finds herself caught in the snare of idolatry and self-worship. Recently I received an urgent call on behalf of hundreds of pastors admitting that California wouldn’t be saved simply political petitioning and confessed the reality of an ongoing spiritual battle within the state and the need to mobilize for mass fasting and prayer. They asked us to bring TheCall to San Diego, not knowing that we received several powerful directives from the Lord a year ago that TheCall was going to go to the stadium in San Diego.

This bill mentioned is a reflection of how far down the line we have come in removing the very moral foundations that preserve society. The moral levies in America are breaking and once marriage is redefined, it will be a matter of time before the entire structure of morality collapses within our nation. In one sense, this bill mirrors our own inward moral concessions as a church to the prevailing culture, and it is the fruit of a compromising silence that has failed to confront the rising spiritual and political contenders. But it is not too late! This is not a time for hiding in caves. This is a time to resist mightily the spirit of peaceful coexistence and apathetic resignation in the face of this prevailing darkness. We are coming to a Mount Carmel moment, which I believe could be the church’s finest hour where she challenges her own compromise and then gains authority through prayer and action which is her true vocation. Then our light will break forth like the dawn and truth will no longer be trampled under the feet of renegade kings and judges. The church is not at the mercy of political decrees of destruction. Jesus is the Lord of history! Though these decrees stand today, they will not stand forever. God is the one who reverses the edicts of man, using the church as an agent of righteous revolution to displace kings and overthrow their decrees through the weapons of fasting and prayer.

Therefore, we are summoning believers from all across the state of California and the nation to gather for a Joel 2 moment. When there is no remedy, when there is no natural hope, God still has a holy prescription. Blow the trumpet in Zion, gather the people, and call a fast. Let the believers of this great state gather and cry out to God believing that California could become the flash point of real change in America not the open door to societal collapse. Let us return to the fasting praying womb in San Diego and seek the face of God on November 1st, 2008 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA.

LOU ENGLE

www.thecall.com

onething 2008

2008-10-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

Psalm 27:4
4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

Calling forth a generation to pursue onething: JESUS

one word - GO! (onething website)

Crying Out for Mercy in Hong Kong - BELLA

2008-10-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

Bella is coming to Hong Kong. This is a major answer to prayer as Hong Kong sadly is the number one industrialized city in the world for abortions. Nearly 1 out of every 3 babies are aborted in this city. This is an atrocity. We are repenting, praying and promoting Bella in Hong Kong with it's premiere Nov 11, 2008. If you are in Hong Kong I urge you to mobilize every student, on every campus, in every church, in every community to get family and friends to watch this beautiful award winning and life changing film. It will not only inspire you to love, but this movie will literally save destinies.

The main actor Eduardo will be in HK for the premiere and promoting the film to schools, churches and those in the entertainment industry during the premiere week. Pray the Lord opens major doors for the voices of the unborn to be heard, for the church to rise up to stand for righteousness and justice and for the media/entertainment field in Asia to be impacted with the power of the saving Gospel!

Watch the video above. I shared in Hong Kong to students in August the story and inspiration behind this film, why we must get behind it and why I believe in it. Let's do this for the innocent.

http://www.bellamovie.com.hk/
JMA

Romance & Relationships (Part 3 - An Addendum)

2008-10-09T16:57:00.001-07:00

This is the last post from my young but super wise friend Becky Hill on "Romance & Relationships" it's an addendum to the last post on God's Hand & Our Heart. I personally enjoyed this post very much, because it brought so much clarity on God's sovereignty in relationships and our personal response to His leading. I'm realizing more and more how love is free, it is a choice and it completely focused on the other not yourself. May God give us all grace and wisdom to walk out healthy relationships, especially with the opposite sex. Pray. Keep your heart pure. Follow God. Learn to love. Enjoy the journey! :D

Becky's Blog

As I’ve been talking to friends recently about some of the issues of R&R #3 coming up in their lives, I realized that I need to clarify a few things. There are two aspects to the formation of every romantic relationship: 1) the Lord’s sovereignty [God's hand], and 2) our choices [our heart]. You cannot exclusively operate in one or the other if you desire to walk in righteousness and wisdom in a relationship.

SOVEREIGNTY
The Lord is faithful to give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). Though this does not mean that I will be answered if I ask for a Mercedes Benz, it does mean that He is concerned with the welfare and pleasure of His children. He loves to make us happy, but in the ultimate sense of the word instead of the temporary fix we’re used to. The reason there are countless stories of divine “hook ups” is because they’re real. The Lord knows who we are better than we do, and He also knows what will bring us into the greatest measure of love for Him, which are both dynamically apart of choosing a spouse. Though there is no Scripture that says, “I shall give thee thine perfect suite-mate,” there are a multitude of Biblical testimonies of the Lord’s kindness in providinga wife, a husband, or children to those who had lost hope for such things (to name a few: Sarah’s barrenness, Isaac’s loneliness, Jacob’s loneliness, Rachel’s barrenness, both Boaz and Ruth’s loneliness, Hannah’s barrenness, and the list goes on…). In Psalm 68:6, the Lord explicitly promises that He will set the lonely in families, so whatever expression that may take for each individual, it is nevertheless deeply on His heart. The only way forward is to trust, pray, wait, and delight yourself in Him with whatever circumstances He’s put you under. Bottom line–I actually believe that the Lord will provide a spouse to those who ask Him.

The other aspect of sovereignty is that there is a divine aspect to love. Song of Solomon 2:7, 3:5, & 8:4 all speak of not arousing or awakening love until it so desires, and that means that love is not mostly objective. There can be someone in your midst who simply seems perfect for you and everything “lines up” about you two (life calling, communication style, world view, personal interests, etc), but if the Lord doesn’t breathe on both of your hearts, it cannot work. This is what the Romans would call the arrow of Cupid, we modernly refer to it as chemistry, but whatever the case it’s actually valid. If you’ve ever instantly connected with someone and felt like you wanted to know everything about them, then you know what I’m talking about. If both parties don’t have this happen (preferably it’s progressive instead of instantaneous), you will not be able to have a healthy relationship. Do not try to force your heart or manipulate another’s heart to feel this; it is like trying to heat a wood stove from the outside instead of letting the fire burn within.

CHOICE
Many think that the Lord is going to force them to marry someone they don’t like or would never choose, simply to teach them humility or some horrible lesson like it. This is a lie. Though the Lord is sovereign in your life, He will simply put people in your path that He recommends as a future spouse and allows your heart to choose. He is sovereign, but He does not desire to be a dictator of human affection.

One of the reasons Paul commends singleness is to relieve those who feel the pressure of getting married, and to make them understand that it’s a bigger commitment than simple attraction. The choice aspect of relationships is where many Christians either ignore their responsibility to take action upon what the Lord sets before them (for an extended talk on this, see #1 of this series), or they are presumptuous and don’t even bring the person/situation before Him. We each have three basic choices in every possible relationship that should be decided by first asking a question:

1. Is it time for me to move forward into a romantic relationship unto marriage
or am I just lonely?
2. Do I enjoy this person and want to be with them more than another?
3. Do I have the same vision/values as this person and respect the way I’ve seen
them walk that out over the time I’ve known them?

If you’re attracted to someone, based upon how your heart of hearts answers these three questions along with some help and guidance from friends and Holy Spirit, you can actually choose to move forward into relationship unto marriage (here’s a few other tips). This means you then walk it out over time, get to know each other and be open to find that you were wrong about being together, use wisdom and the Sermon on the Mount, and be intentional to have other people in your life who will tell you if the relationship is bad. Your choice in the matter is crucial, for if you don’t choose then you’re not responsible (you can blame-shift your relational issues to the Lord instead of claiming the problems/pain and walking through them in righteousness). The beauty of love is in risk-taking, and risk is only real when you don’t know what the outcome will be. Messy is good for the sake of love, as long as it’s done with the Lord.

I hope this clarifies what I was getting at in my last post in the R&R series: it’s God’s hand that directs our lives and guards/opens our hearts, and it’s our hearts that respond and choose the way forward.

CALL + RESPONSE

2008-10-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

This is a film that must be SEEN and its STORY must be TOLD. My friend worked on this project to expose one of the GREATEST INJUSTICES of our day "HUMAN SEX TRAFFICKING" which now millions around the world are enslaved and exploited in this demonic system. WE CAN END THIS EVIL...but we must RESPOND and uncover this great wrong in our day. I encourage everyone of you reading this post, to support this film by watching it, telling as many others as possible to watch it opening weekend Oct 10th and to request to get this film in a theater in your town. This is more than a movie, this is a CAUSE WORTH FIGHTING FOR. This movie is not for entertainment, it was made to challenge us to TAKE ACTION and make a difference in this world for those who are bound by injustice and Satan's hold. Let FREEDOM ring! Pray. Support. Take Action. JMA

www.callandresponse.com.

The Film

CALL+RESPONSE is a first of its kind feature documentary film that reveals the world’s 27 million dirtiest secrets: there are more slaves today than ever before in human history. CALL+RESPONSE goes deep undercover where slavery is thriving from the child brothels of Cambodia to the slave brick kilns of rural India to reveal that in 2007, Slave Traders made more money than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined.

Luminaries on the issue such as Cornel West, Madeleine Albright, Daryl Hannah, Julia Ormond, Ashley Judd, Nicholas Kristof, and many other prominent political and cultural figures offer first hand account of this 21st century trade. Performances from Grammy-winning and critically acclaimed artists including Moby, Natasha Bedingfield, Cold War Kids, Matisyahu, Imogen Heap, Talib Kweli, Five For Fighting, Switchfoot, members of Nickel Creek and Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, Rocco Deluca move this chilling information into inspiration for stopping it.

Music is part of the movement against human slavery. Dr. Cornel West connects the music of the American slave fields to the popular music we listen to today, and offers this connection as a rallying cry for the modern abolitionist movement currently brewing.

The New Model

There is a sea of change happening in human rights activism. The world’s issues cannot be solved alone by governments and non-profits, but require community-based participation. As a feature film, CALL+RESPONSE has the unique position of being not only a ground-breaking genre-bending film, but due to the fact that this project was funded completely through donations, it operates as a powerful movement with 100% of profits going to fund global field projects on the front lines of this issue.

CALL+RESPONSE is creating interactive field projects for each aspect of human slavery: sex slavery, labor slavery, child soldiers and child slavery. All profits from the use of the film, dvd, soundtrack, itunes downloads will be directed, by the viewers, to these projects with clear start and finish points (ie a landrover for a child soldier rehab camp, sewing machines for a after-care training facility). Our goal is to fund and celebrate completed projects together in community. We are closing the loop by allowing viewers to become participants in the solution.

Building My Life...Making God Music

2008-10-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

This next year I am going to be focusing on two things: 1) Building my life in Christ 2) Working on my music/media calling...It's a good feeling to be able to take a break from the itinerant traveling/preaching schedule to focus on my inner life with God and to pursue certain passions of my heart I haven't been able to do in the last years...

Yesterday, I got to spend the day with long time spiritual & business mentor MC Hammer. We were at the historic Bernie Grundman Mastering Studio in Hollywood mastering his new record. It was an amazing experience as I looked on the wall of records that were recorded in that studio that have made history: Michael Jackson, Linkin Park, Alanis Morisette, EMINEM/50 CENT and many others, etc...

I'm excited about my next music project because of the team I am working with most of all. My fellow SOLDIERS OF LIGHT - Kevnish and Proh from Far East Movement and my new covenant brotha Carl Choi are putting together the brains, prayers and strategy behind the launch of my solo music project.

The new style is going to be literally something you have never heard of. It's beyond rap, beyond hip-hop, its something inspired out of the heavens and I am sobered and excited because I believe with all my heart that this was what I was born to do...love God and make GOD MUSIC. It's a good feeling. payce.

check out dis blog post from Kevnish of FM on the project SOLDIER OF LIGHT

In Suffering I Rejoice...

2008-09-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Romans 5:3-7

This past season of life for me has been one of the most trying of times. Through it all, I rejoice, because I know that God is developing endurance in me. You normally don't want to endure anything. The word endurance is usually correlated with suffering and trials. Yet, its only through suffering that we can develop character. I'm learning more and more that character doesn't come over night. It's built over time. I don't know why I'm facing the challenges I have been facing, but I do know one thing I need Jesus more than ever at this moment.

My family has been going through trials. My closest of friends have been going through trials. My ministry has been going through trials. My personal life is being tried as I write this. In all of this, I cling to the above verse knowing that in the midst of problems and trials that God is developing within me endurance, this endurance produces character, and this character cements in my inner man a confident hope in Jesus Christ that can never be shaken by life circumstances.

Who wants to suffer? Not me! But, if suffering comes I rejoice because I know God is getting His way in me. Everything in life that happens, good or bad, is for one purpose: that we may know Christ more (Phil 3:10)

It's in the most trying of times, that I must make the most difficult of decisions. It is in the fiery furnace of trials that I learn to become a man. Because men are not born, they are made. How can a man become a man unless he is faced with challenges that he must overcome? How can a man rise higher if he is not first brought lower? How can a man be proven faithful unless he first has the opportunity to exercise faith? Is life fair? Certainly not. Jesus died without justice. But through His suffering and death injustice was overcome by His great love for us. In the face of unbearable suffering, trial and death on a cross, Jesus rose up to the challenge and made a decision that only a man could make. He faced fear with faith and became the ultimate God and Man, the Savior of the world. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2).

Being a man of God has very little to do with public ministry or recognition. Ministry is easy, living life is a challenge. Preaching on a stage is easy, but preaching with your life is what counts. Being a man of God has everything to do with being faithful in the little things, being obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit with every action big or small, being a man means making the tough decisions you have to make to protect the life of others even when others don't agree. It is about being a man who is faithful to God, his family, and loving others with purity of heart. None of these things can be proven in a man without having to face life problems and trials. So I rejoice!

With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. For it has been in these moments of suffering, that I have felt the closeness of the Holy Spirit more present with me than ever before. I need Him, want Him and desire Him because without Him all would be meaningless. But with Him, everything makes sense and life with all its unpredictability's finds purpose because my hope is in Him. He loves me. That's all that matters. Life is a beautiful struggle that brings us one step every day closer to Him. In this I rejoice! That I may know You more Jesus.

Hanging w/ Pastor Philip

2008-09-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

I've been able to spend some good time with Pastor Philip (my spiritual big bro) and his family these past few days. He is one of the greatest blessings in my life. A man who truly loves God, his wife and his family. He has taught me so much and I never cease to learn from his life wisdom. Thanks for being an incredible inspiration and teaching me in this season "to build my life and not the ministry" dat is da TRUTH!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Romance & Relationships (Part 3)

2008-09-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

Part of the reason I have been posting this series of blogs on "Romance & Relationships" from my friend Becky is because her posts really helped me in gaining right perspective on God's purpose in relationships in general. For most of my life, I came from a Christian charismatic tradition that believed in "the one". Although, this idea is a good notion, I believe it can be dangerous if not understood in the right context. It's not that I don't believe in the one, but I believe God is a God of LOVE and relationships are about love, not obligation. God does not obligate us to love Him, so why do we think He would obligate us to love someone else? Love is a choice, an act of the will, a personal decision that requires choosing to love someone not because you have to, but because you want to. I choose to love God. In the same way, God is a good Father who will in His sovereign love suggest someone to us that would be a great match, but ultimately it is our choice to respond in love to that person.

It would be dangerous to marry someone simply because you received multiple prophecies, dreams, confirmations, and advice from others, but you never actually got to know the person. It would be sad to marry someone only because you were afraid of disobeying the will of God. The foundation of a strong relationship should never be fear, duty or obligation. The foundation of a strong and lasting relationship was and always will be love. The kingdom of God is built upon relationships, not power, miracles or prophecy (1 Cor 13). It is about a love relationship with God and loving relationship with others. Point being ~ don't build a romantic relationship upon prophecy, build all relationships upon love. And trust me, love takes time. Feelings come and go, but love will always remain. God may choose to use prophetic signs to catch your attention towards another, but take time to get to know the person, and ultimately it is your choice in choosing to love him or her. All the best! Read below...

Becky Hill's Blog

As we end this series on romance & relationships, let’s review the three over-generalized keys presented to healthy interpersonal relationships:

1) A free (honest/truthful/pure) motivation is the key
2) Confrontation is necessary and God given
3) It’s God’s hand & our heart

We now come to the place where most Christians try to begin their journey of understanding godly relationships - the Lord’s soveriegnty. Yet, my goal in this post is to clarify what I meant by my statement in my first post that “the one” does not exist. I will grit my teeth and clench my fists to stand firmly by this statement, but it does need to be qualified.

First of all, let me state that I do NOT mean to say: the Lord is not concerned about who we marry, or that there is no chance we will find a spouse that is better for us than any other person in the world, or that we are destined to always question whether the life covenant we make was from the Lord, or that God doesn’t set people up, or that it is solely our choice and Jesus leaves us to figure it out.

There are two main aspects to the Lord’s involvement in our search for a spouse: a) the counsel of the Lord and His intimate commitment to seeing us find the best life partner out there, and b) the real decisions we choose based upon the wisdom that He gives and the desires of our hearts. In every arena of life, there is a felt tension in this because it is messier and more painful than blaming things/putting responsibility on either the Lord’s overpowering force of will or entirely on our own choices, but this is reality. It’s God’s hand and our heart: His sovereignty, our free will; His advice, our decision; His commitment to us, our commitment to Him. Let me break this down a little.

A) We have a good Father who knows us well, and it is His hand that is ruling over our lives. He sees every desire of our heart (both good and bad), which means that He knows more than any other what we want and need in life. He is much more concerned about our welfare than we are. This means that we actually have to seek Him and listen to Him in every arena of our lives before Him, which definitely includes relationships.

We should be talking to Him about that certain person we’re interested in much more than we talk to friends or family. He has set up our lives so that they will not work unless we come to Him. PRAY about your future spouse in a general way (”Lord, this is what I ask for in a spouse”), as well as a specific way (”Father, what do You think about Marcy?”; “Lord, give me wisdom of how to interact with Jack”; “Jesus, I really like Susan, but I don’t know if she likes me - what should I do?”; “Lord, if Jacob would not be right for me, I ask that you would take this attraction towards him out of my heart”). He is so zealous to see you with a good spouse. You do not need to worry that you will never find the right person, as long as you are leaning into Him (prayer/listening) and taking initiative in time and space (active participation and pursuit of a relationship with someone).

Now, it is helpful here to mention a common reality in the body of Christ around the subject of marraige (especially among more charismatic Christians): dreams and inclinations. Personally, I have had several of my guy friends have dreams and words from the Lord about me being their wife, and I too have had dreams and impressions about marrying this person or that. I know of some healthy marriages that have been established through prophetic insight, and I also know of many people who have been significantly hurt and disillusioned by this practice. The best way to understand any prophetic activity around the subject of relationships is that it is the Lord’s counsel, not His command. Just as a good father has an opinion about his daughter’s choice of a husband, so the Lord does as our Good Father. He will give us advice through prophetic activity that we have to then walk out with discernment in the Sermon on the Mount. If you have a dream about Susy, it probably means that your Father in heaven is saying to you, “Susy would be a good option for you. What do you think of her?” Just as He gave Adam the decision of what to name the animals in the Garden and eventually what to call his wife, so He gives us a real decision in the midst of presenting us with good things.

Some practicals with prophetic activity:

1. DON’T tell the person about your dream or word from the Lord - if they don’t love you without prophetic persuasion, they won’t love you with it.
2. Hold your words lightly, just as you would a suggestion from your close friend. Although you may feel the Spirit moving on your heart, you must give room for it to grow into a real decision instead of a momentary passion.
3. Be as wise and godly with the situation as you would if the Lord had not told you about this person. The word of the Lord is no excuse to throw common sense to the wind.
4. Actually act upon it (don’t just ignore it and put it on the shelf). Instead of thinking, “Boy, that was weird that I had a dream about marrying Susy. I should probably stay away from that…” instead, try to be cordial to Susy and see if you could actually be interested in her.
5. Remember that the other person IS A REAL PERSON and not the fulfillment of your prophetic destiny or the answer to all that you’ve been hoping for. Don’t be selfish in your love, and don’t be idealistic in your approach.

B) The second aspect is a little trickier because “the heart is more deceitful than all else.” The Lord truly gives us the privilege of choosing who we will be yoked to in this life. He will not command us to marry someone we think is horrid, just to teach us humility. He desires that we would be lead by love in this life, not by obligation. He wants us to fall in love with someone so madly that we desire to give all for them and serve them willingly (Song of Solomon 8:7).

Marriage is the picture the Lord has given us of the relationship between Christ and His Bride, the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). If our marriage is one that is based upon staunch obedience rather than on ardent desire, we will never be able to express His love for the Bride (Hosea 2:16). He laid down His life willingly for the joy of being with her (John 17:24-26; Hebrews 12:2).

Therefore, just as the Lord Himself will only take love that is freely recieved and freely given, so too we must actually choose to receive and give love with our future spouse. This does not mean that you give love without it being asked for, but it does mean that you will have to give of yourself when you are unsure of things and that you will most likely be hurt at some point. For practicals on this point, please see post #1.

Love Never Fails - Baby Emma a Heroine of our Generation

2008-09-18T11:14:00.001-07:00

Emmanuel Chia Ai Lim

(13 Oct 2007- 17 Sept 2008)

Love Never Fails

I Cor. 13:8

On Sep 16, 2008, she developed a fever and was rushed to a private specialist hospital in Yangon. The Australian and UK trained Pediatric Consultant, recommended baby Emma to be immediately admitted to Yangon Children Hospital ICU for 24 hours monitoring as Emma has been diagnosed with severe pneumonia. Comprehensive treatments were given to Emma in that ICU but she didn't respond to the treatment positively.

In less than 24 hours, Emmanuel Lim (baby Emma) finished her race in Myanmar and went home to be with Jesus.

Many in different nations grieve over the lost of baby Emma's presence with them but her legacy in the grace of God will continue to shine brightly.

During her short and meaningful life, her inspirational story has also inspired the founding of Emmanuel Charity Fund Ltd. in Hong Kong and Emmanuel Foundation Inc. in U.S.A.

Emmanuel travelled to many nations with her parents and her brother Samuel Lim from June 24, 2008 until September 17, 2008.

During those days, she brought joy to people wherever she went. She grew stronger and stronger every moment as she has been nourished by love and care that she needs day by day. The travelled did not tired her instead, stimulated her senses and muscle movement. Since 3 weeks ago, she turned over by her own and could sit up straight with a back support and holding her head up. She has also gained much weight and length and head circumference.

She has called out "papa", "bebe" "tata" and made some melody. Her smile had been the most captivating. She lived her happiest moment while she was in Myanmar surrounded by family and grandparents from both parents.

She was scheduled to travel back to USA with her parent on Sep 24, 2008. It was a much anticipated trip by the family as well as many friends in Kansas City waiting to see her moving, smiling and stronger in so many ways that they had never seen since she travelled.

On September 17, 2008, Emmanuel Chia Ai Lim (baby Emma) finished her race in the grace of God and was received into Jesus' presence. She happily lived her final weeks giving hope, joy and love to many who are needy and sufferings in Myanmar through the charities she inspired to form.

Although, we will always miss baby Emma, her legacy will be with us and many lives will continue to bless through her inspiration stories. We wish to thank Jesus for the gift of baby Emma to us and thank everyone who has care, love and supported baby Emma. During her 340 days on the earth with us, she has been a burning and a shining lamp of the love and the goodness of God.

Baby Emma is a heroin of our generation. Though her life was short, God was with her and her life was lived to the fullest. Her one life has helped begin the discipling of a nation in Myanmar and her sacrifice will inspire many in this generation to lay down their lives for the sake of the Gospel. I applaud you Emma, you are loved, cherished and will be missed, but remembered always in our hearts. God be with you forever. JMA

www.ilovemyanmar.org

To understand more of the pr9phetic significance behind Emma's special life and what it meant to me click here to read previous blog posts on Emma

Romance & Relationships (Part 2)

2008-09-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

I am continuing on the blog series "Romance & Relationships" from my friend Becky's blog. I take no claim to fame with the below nuggets of wisdom on how to approach a romantic relationship in a godly way. These nuggets below are pure gold, so take them to heart and put them into action. As a word of encouragement if you have messed up in your relationships in the past, remember that God's mercies are new every morning. Learn from your mistakes, ask God for a pure heart and seek to do what is honorable and right.

The below post from Becky has helped me think through the necessity of "confrontation" in relationships. If you are a guy or girl pursuing another I pray that you would find the courage to be honest, truthful and clear with your intentions with the opposite sex. Don't play with hearts, it only leads to unnecessary pain. Be mature and think about the others heart, before you think about yours. Love is selfless, not selfish. All the best!

Becky Hill's Blog

1) A free (honest/truthful/pure) motivation is the key
2) Confrontation is necessary and God given
3) It’s God’s hand & our heart

Okay, so if you’re just joining us on this discussion about one of the most pertinent and reoccurring topics to a young adult movement, please take the time to read the previous posts under “Amateur Sociology” and get caught up. We’re now on our second aspect: healthy confrontation. Please note that confrontation does not mean heated or hard interaction, but “communication that deliberately pressures or invites another to self-examine some aspect of behaviour in which there is a discrepancy between self-reported and observed behaviour.”

There is an innate fear in every human heart to embrace that which is painful–it is entirely contrary to our natural instincts. Yet, all relationships are made firm through conflict, whether that be external or internal. I once learned from a very wise man that there are three stages to relationship: discovery, conflict, and partnership. This applies to all kinds of relationships, whether they be familial, friendships, work-related, romantic, or whatever else there is. However, in our context I will examine this principle with a romantic lens.

When you first meet someone you’re interested in (please refer to #1 for more on this), you have a long period of time that you get to discover who they are. This season is crucial for a healthy relationship to come forth, and can be very short or very long, depending on how much time and in what kind of contexts you’re getting to know the person. In this stage, you are simply becoming fascinated with the interests, mannerisms, beliefs, life-processes, etc of the other and may be quite oblivious to anything negative.

This will not and should not last forever. There will inevitably come a point at which there is a breakdown in communication or a misunderstanding or a hard situation that brings in the element of pain into one or both hearts. At this point, the one experiencing the pain has two options–either he/she can choose to leave the issue to work itself out (which is not likely to happen, due to the fact that the only way people can work things out is when they are aware there’s a problem) or bring up the matter in a non-accusatory way to walk through the process of making the relationship grow. The point is, conflict does not have to be something you dread if you learn to walk through it together–it is acutally a much freer way to live if you know that the person you are pursuing a relationship with is going to tell you when there’s a problem.

Let me make this more tangible… Let’s say that you are hanging out with someone of the opposite sex in a consistent and extended way, even possibly sharing with them things that are quite near to your heart. You may realize that you are moving beyond the state of your normal friendships, yet you aren’t sure whether they are actually interested in you as more than a friend. At this point, the issue must be addressed. It is not wise or integrous to continue to advance in intimacy without the safety and boundaries of commitment. As a woman, if you realize you’re at this point, you either need to ask for definition/intention or (if you do not want to advance into a romantic relationship) intentionally withdraw to whatever degree necessary. For guys, you have to man-up at this point and actually clarify the relationship. Whether the clarification is that you are not interested in pursuing a relationship (at which point there would be pain for her and an intentional change of interaction) or that you desire to move forward into a committal relationship (which means that you’re going to have to be willing to be vulnerable to the option that she would say ‘no’), it must be walked out.

But what if you (man or woman) are getting to know someone and find that you’re very interested in having a dating relationship with them, yet you are unsure if you could see yourself marrying them? This should not keep you from doing the aforementioned steps. If a dating relationship comes forth, you must be sure that you let that person know on the front-end the hesitation you’re feeling (though it may be an awkward damper to excited romantic notions). If the cards are laid on the table as the commitment is made, it is much easier to walk things out in reality together. That way, you are not second-guessing yourself nor trying to deny the true issues of your heart that need to be dealt with.

If you’re in a dating relationship, there are so many areas of brokenness that have to be overcome, since we are broken people. I just want to name a few major ones that can really determine the way things turn out (not whether you’ll ‘make it’ or not, but whether it is healthy or not). Physical and emotional boundaries are something that must be addressed and upheld; if you are feeling your boundaries violated it is imperative that you speak out against it, for you will not be able to respect or trust the other person otherwise. Many times, they will not even know that you’re not comfortable with certain things because people have different concepts of what is and isn’t okay to talk about or do. They may or my not be completely innocent in it and it may be very awkward or embarrassing to address, but you must if you desire to move forward in your heart in a healthy manner. On the other side of things, you may feel as though the person is not even pursuing an increase of intimacy with you on those levels and that they simply don’t care, but likely this is not the case. Again, you must talk to the person, letting them know that you do not feel engaged at the level you desire and giving them real tools to move forward. All of this needs to be under the counsel and eyes of the Lord as well as godly friends who can give you sound wisdom.

Our last example would be if you’re in a dating/courting relationship and you realize that it is not the best thing for both of you to move forward into marriage. The questions of how to know this are far bigger and more subjective than can be addressed in this little post, but if that person is not the ultimate choice in your eyes (there’s no one you would rather be with) it is not godly to continue growing closer and more committed. In this situation, you must have the courage to end the relationship. It actually takes strength and much wisdom from the Lord to know how and when to do this and thus prayer is vital. It will hurt you both to follow-through with the breakup, but in the end you both will be very grateful. The other option is dishonorable to both parties, for to string someone along for the sake of avoiding pain is only going to knit your hearts deeper and deeper until the final break is worse than the initial, or until you follow-through with marrying someone that you’re not madly and incandescently in love with.

As we take this journey into relationship with other broken people, it is so crucial that we accept confrontation as a gift instead of a curse, for without it we would not have to grow in humility or lean on the Lord for wisdom and strength. Instead of shying away from issues, we must develop the skill and love to walk through them under the leadership of the Lord.

Romance & Relationships (Part 1)

2008-09-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was able to read a series of blog posts on "Romance & Relationships" from my friend Becky Hill that really helped me think through some practical questions I had in my heart in this area. For most of my life, I have kept my romantic life private and I will continue to do so. I will be quite frank that I haven't had much experience in this arena simply because of the fact that I have been on a 7 year commitment to not date anyone since I was 21 years old. Well, that season has just about ended so I hope these next few posts from my friend Becky will help you as much as it has helped me to seek the Lord's hand and to keep a pure heart when it comes to divine romance...God knows I've made my mistakes in the past. May God have mercy upon us all as we seek His perfect will in choosing a life partner. (ps. my friend Becky may possibly even respond to your comments and questions if you have any hehe)

Becky Hill's Blog

I am finally continuing my Romance & Relationships series. I’ve been caught up in trying to have one, so I haven’t had time to write. ;) As a reminder, the three over-generalized, broad-stroke core principles to healthy relationships are:

1) A free (honest/truthful/pure) motivation is the key
2) Confrontation is necessary and God given
3) It’s God’s hand & our heart

So, let’s start with the first aspect. What do I mean by having a free/honest/truthful/pure motivation? There are many factors that play into this, but the bottom line is simply that when you are attracted to someone or unattracted to someone, you don’t shy away from it but carry yourself with honor in the truth. This means that you are willing to be vulnerable and have an honest approach to relating with the opposite sex. By honest I don’t mean transparent (tell them everything that’s going on in that little heart of yours), but open to real interaction (conversations) and grounded in reality (what’s actually happening between you two, not what’s going on in your fantasy world). The other main point of this is that in order to actually walk this out, you must have your identity and satisfaction fixed upon the Lord before trying to establish a relationship with another. Tall order? Yep, but we’ll talk about it.

Many people (especially in Christian circles) have a tendency to feel as though any kind of romantic inclinations are evil or “worldly.” Thus, to remove this ungodly distraction from themselves, they simply suppress the desires they have inside or ignore that they even exist. Whether it be trying to pretend like you aren’t interested in the person you like or feeling guilty for wanting to look attractive around a certain someone, it springs from a skewed view of the Lord and of relationships. We must understand that the only way we will have strength to walk through a relationship under the leadership of the Lord is by knowing that He is pleased with us in it. Otherwise, if you have a mindset that the Lord is disappointed or angry that you are pursuing a relationship, you will feel as though all that you do in it is unclean and violate your conscience by even doing things that are pleasing to Him, rendering you unable to rather partner with Him to have a godly relationship.

The solution to this is through the renewing of your mind in the Word and in prayer. First of all, it is a part of the command of God to “be fruitful and multiply,” and unlike the somewhat gnostic mindset of the Church, the priests of Israel who ministered before Him were encouraged to have wives (please look at the Old and New Testaments concerning the issue of marriage before claiming that celibacy is holier based upon two passages). Relationships are a part of the blessing of creation, and the curse was a break in that communion between God, man, and woman. Secondly, the Lord has given us an opportunity to grow in maturity and love through relationships (whether friendships, dating, or marriage) if we partner with Him in the midst of it instead of hiding from Him. To partner with Him is to ask His advice, to ask for a wonderful spouse, pray for strength, pray for/with the other person, tell Him your frustrations and fears, obey His commands and the nudges of the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and all in all to just TALK TO HIM. By the way, as a side point, please do not only pray for your spouse or for someone you’re interested in; pray for friends of the opposite sex on a consistent basis as well (it’s not weird or stalkerish, it’s a command of the Lord that will keep you balanced in your view of the relationships).

Then, the hardest part about this is that you actually have to talk to the other person, not just God. When you’re attracted to someone and it seems as though you might work together as equally-yoked partners in life (not after knowing them for two weeks but after some time of interacting with them on a friendship level in different contexts), then you should begin to move forward in a relationship. For a woman, this is a little more tricky and for a man it’s a little more dangerous. Women, I beg you on behalf of every godly man out there, please do not be an enigma. If you like a guy, show him you’re interested. This doesn’t mean that you have to be the “stalker girl” or you should pursue the man or tell him you’re interested in him, but it does mean giving clear signs that you would not be opposed to a relationship (like smiling and saying “hi” when he approaches, talking to him when he’s around, being pleasant with him in a way that you’re not with other guys). Men, let me begin by saying that you are not a woman. You can’t move forward into a relationship by doing the things aforementioned–you have to be more intentional, which is obvious. If you see that a woman may be interested in you or if you’re interested in a woman but aren’t ready to marry her, just make your intentions clear. Chances are, they’re in the same boat. Yet you have to act on it. Now if you want to be friends with her for a while before getting into any kind of official relationship, just know that there is a point at which any honorable woman will close her heart to you if you do not act upon anything for an extended period. If she has any self-respect, she’s not going to wait for you even in her heart. Vulnerability is hard, but attractive if done progressively and honorably.

On the opposite side of the fence, there are some people who are so adamantly seeking to find that special person who will fulfill all of their hopes and dreams, bringing their loneliness to an end and balancing out their weaknesses by having corresponding strengths just in the right areas. This is a lie. Although most people can assert logically that this is a delusion and would never admit that they believe this, their practical life and day to day thoughts betray them. As mentioned before, this entire portion of honest motivation can only be realized through a foundation of being rooted and grounded in the love of the Lord.

Why? Because you can only pursue a relationship with the right motives and mindset if you are not seeking to find yourself in another person. A relationship is about finding the other and serving them, not finding yourself by leaning into the other. This is why it is so important to make sure you are as “equally yoked” to the Lord as the other is–you must both be first partnering with the Lord and leaning into Him in order to partner with one another to go further in Him. It’s not simply about making sure you marry a Christian (which many consider to be the only “must” of a godly relationship); it’s about partnering to pursue the Lord and serve another’s vision.

How do you know if you’re trusting more in a relationship to complete yourself than in the Lord to be your fulfillment? Look to your thought-life: what are you mostly thinking about when you get ready for your day; who is the first person that comes to mind when are you considering life decisions; what thoughts get you out of feeling depressed or in despair? If the answer to these is not Jesus, you are in real danger. If you’re feeling depressed and fearful of being alone, do not console yourself by thinking, “Well, I’m sure I’ll find the right person one day.” While this may be true, it is fixing your hope upon a spouse instead of looking to the Lord in prayer. Jesus cannot be your boyfriend, nor will He fill the same place as a spouse, but He is the only One who can satisfy the even deeper more fundamental longings of your heart. Biblically, the Lord never promised a perfect spouse, and He does not appoint “the one” from before you were born, but He will give you the desires of your heart if you come to Him in prayer. Let me make this more concrete. When you feel the ache of loneliness, say to the Lord, “Father, You know my heart and You know that I desire a spouse. This is what I’m asking for in a spouse, and I know that you care about this more than I do. I am lonely, and I need Your strength to be given to You in this season of my life. I love You and need You more than any other, and Lord give me a partner to love You with.” Even with this being prayed, there is a real chance that you may not find someone to spend your life with, and you have to trust the Lord’s leadership while wrestling with Him about it all the way.

Lastly, I must address a pitfall that is easy to stumble into, though it is quite obvious that it is an ungodly mode of operation. I speak of being manipulative or double-minded. Many people, both moral and immoral, do not use good discernment in their communication and interaction with the opposite sex. Sometimes this is intentional (especially on the part of women), because there is a longing to be desired even by those that we would not necessarily want to be in a relationship with. This is natural, but should be greatly resisted. Truth is the only way to live clean before the Lord, and you will (not might) end up hurting others and confusing yourself if you go down the road of sowing where you did not want to reap. Whenever you put out signals that you are interested in a person, you are sowing seeds into their heart and your heart that will bear some form of fruit whether you want it to or not. People can do this unintentionally as well all the time, but this is also just as dangerous: we have to ask the Lord to give us discernment and the ability to walk in the light before others. It takes time to learn and intentional seeking to grow in that area, but it’s worth it. This is not simply a skill that is necessary before marriage but especially after, since it is an abhorrence to sow seeds in another man’s garden.

Please let me know if anything I’ve said is unclear. I jumped around from paragraph to paragraph somewhat when writing this, so hopefully I hit everything with no confusion.

seeking onething in HK

2008-09-02T09:53:00.001-07:00

Preaching on "Emma- Love Loves You & Experiencing God's Affections"

onething Hong Kong was AWESOME. Over 2,000 plus young adults seeking and desiring Jesus above all in their generation. Over 140 young adults committed to be full time intercessors to worship and pray day and night for the city of HK. Another 700 committed to be musicians, singers and intercessors on their campuses, work places and in the city HOP. I was so HAPPY and encouraged after pioneering the youth and young adult revival movement in HK for more than 4 years to see the prayer movement mature to the place it is today. God is truly establishing a resting place in this great city of God soon to be :-)

At our student church planting training we had hundreds commit to the student back to Jerusalem movement and student leaders from every major HK university commit to reaching mainland students and start new simple churches amongst this unreached people group which is so very strategic in the wake of Asia's global rising.

I also had some awesome encounters and adventures throughout the week. God broke open the doors to the media and entertainment world even more on this last trip. Got to pray and prophesy and share the Gospel with many leaders in the entertainment industry. More to come...

Urgent Prayers for HK & Burma

2008-08-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

For all those reading my blog, I want to ask you for some urgent prayers in regards to a few matters of importance. First, I want to thank you all for your intercessions for our team in Taiwan during the "onething conference". The Spirit of the Lord moved in great power as over 2,000+ young adults encountered our passionate Bridegroom Jesus Christ and through this gathering we birthed a new 24-7 prayer movement in Taiwan. The trip was very fruitful and strategic as we are now working with national leaders to develop ongoing training/support for a 24-7 House of Prayer young adult community in Taiwan and also student mission training programs next summer (AFF). It was such a blessing to partner with the IHOP team and our brother and sisters in Taiwan for the Asia for Jesus movement. Thank you!

Urgent Prayers Needed:

Right now, I am in Hong Kong preparing for the "onething conference" Aug 28-30. Then our "blueprint training" for reaching mainland university students. We are in great expectation as the conference will be fully packed with another 2,000 + young adults seeking Jesus as their one desire in Hong Kong. We are believing for a ongoing 24-7 prayer movement fueled with bridal intimacy and nazarite consecration to be birthed and released in this great international city. Pray that Hong Kong youth and young adults would radically seek the Lord in extravagant devotion above all else.

Burma Mission:

At the same time that I am here a divine opportunity has been opened for the nation of Myanmar/Burma. As many of you know months ago the nation was struck with a cyclone that killed more than 150,000 civilians and left more than 3 million homeless. My dear missionary friends Daniel and Levi Lim have been given great favor by God to bring the Gospel of the kingdom into this nation. Right now, they have already met with the Prime Minister and national leaders and have been invited with open hands to bring the Gospel into this nation through the rebuliding of 1,000 homes and to bring in needed natural resources of "diesel and fertilizer". This is unbelievable as this nation is a closed nation and under strict dictatorial rule.

Last week someone prophesied over me unbeknownst to this situation that I would be doing a strategic work in Burma and Israel. I didn't know about what Daniel and Levi were doing in detail till meeting them on this trip in discussion. Today, I was able to contact a good friend that deals with international trade of natural resources to see if we can get the needed diesel and fertilizer to help rebuild, restore and revive this destructed nation. Daniel and Levi are returning to Burma on Monday to meet the Prime minister and we are praying that they do not go back empty handed, but with an actual gift from the Lord to bless this nation and keep the door of the Gospel open.

PLEASE PRAY - that through our efforts here in Asia and the US we can help raise the necessary financial captial (over $7 million USD) to purchase the needed natural resources (diesel/fertilizer) as soon as possible. The International House of Prayer in KC has already raised nealry $700,000 USD to help this effort to transform the nation of Burma. Please pray daily that Holy Spirit will break through before Monday to get Daniel and Levi the needed finances/resources to help rebuild Burma for the long term and see Jesus lifted high over this nation.

For more information goto: www.ilovemyanmar.org

Under the mercy,

JMA

FAR EAST MOVEMENT - S.O.L.

2008-08-22T03:52:00.000-07:00

A few months back I had the blessing of leading my man "Kevnish" from the hip hop band "Far East Movement" to the Lord. His pure heart and simple faith in God has inspired me to live with child like faith again. Right now we are working together in producing my first solo album and I can truly say that God sent Kev and the FM crew into my life to discover something in me that I didn't see myself. You will all have to wait for the finished product of what we are cooking up in the studio...but just know that it's something from above and ultimately will bring glory to Him. Check out this blog post from Kevnish on the FM website on what God is doing recently in our lives Studio of Light

In this last season of ministry I've seen so many major artists come to know the Lord (specifically in the Asian entertainment/Hollywood scene) and I know God is raising up an army of leaders at this moment among the Asian culture to be a force of light in this new global world. For many of those whom I've had the opportunity to lead to the Lord in this entertainment industry, we recognize that God has given us a greater purpose to use our influence for Him. We are calling this new movement of disciples "SOLDIERS OF LIGHT" - S.O.L. and we pray that God will use us to make a divine impact for Him. With the 2008 Beijing Olympics and all eyes on East Asia... it's time for the Church in Asia to rise up to it's calling and shine the light of Christ for all the world to see. Pray for us.

Below is a major event my boyz Far East Movement are putting on with Wong Fu Productions to support the Asian American emerging talent scene in Hollywood. Pray for FM and many others whom God will use to impact a new world generation w/ the love of God...

Life Does Not Consist in the Abundance of Things You Possess (Luke 12:15)

2008-08-15T01:12:00.000-07:00

Luke 12:15
And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."

In this past season of my life the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me deeply about the issue of "greed & the love of money." For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Lk 12:24). Jesus said, "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (Lk 16:13). Think about it. Which One controls your life?

We live in a consumed consumer society that shouts at us everyday saying, "You need more of this, you won't be happy without that, you need to look this way, and have these things in order to be accepted, respected and valued by others." The truth of the matter is this; the things of this world are passing away and only the things of eternity last forever. So why store up in this life? Why hold onto things, when the things of this world don't last anyways? Why believe the lie that you need more in order to be happy? Life does not consist in the abundance of what one possesses, but life consist in the joy of knowing God. To live is to know Jesus Christ personally, intimately, daily and eternally. Don't believe the lie that you need more to be happy. You don't need more, you need less. In having less of the world, you can have more of the kingdom of God.

When you live in Hollywood California (like me) its hard not to succumb to the spirit of materialism that dominates this region. If you think the world is hedonistic and materialistic, try living in Hollywood. For most, it's all about the clothes you wear, the car you drive, the people you know, the career you have and how to get ahead of others in life. Your value as a person is based upon the exterior, rather than the interior. Beauty is not a matter of the heart, but a matter of what you look like. Everything is plastic. Nothing is real. It is all an act. Or so it seems. The more you interact with people on a daily basis in this industry you see the deep void within. Being cool is about wearing the right clothes, knowing the right people, fitting the mold rather than "being yourself" or being who God created you uniquely to be. So much is wasted and so much is unappreciated. We have so much, yet we have so little. God we repent of our covetousness, greed and desire for the things of this world more than the things of Your heart.

It is all vanity. I know people who can't wear the same shirt or dress twice in fear of what others would think. I know people who buy clothes that are never worn, who buy things that they don't need at all, who believe life only consists in the exquisite food they eat, clothes they wear, cars they drive, prestigious careers they hold and important relationships they have. It saddens me when I think about how empty, meaningless and purposeless this kind of lifestyle that is lived.

I'm not against being rich, fashionable or having certain things. I believe God wants us to prosper and enjoy life. It's not wrong to have, but I believe it is wrong to waste. We will be held accountable on the day of judgment for how we stewarded our lives and possessions. Jesus said, "It is harder for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God then it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle!" What we possess directly controls our ability to receive the true riches of God. If we hold onto the things of this world, it will have a hold on us. When we try to save our lives, we lose our souls. It's not until we lose our lives that we actually save it. How so? Because we become dead to this world that is already dying and become alive to God, whose is always living, now and forever. I'd rather die poor and be happy, then die rich and be empty. I'm not talking about being destitute, where you become a beggar, a thief or one who is in debt. I'm talking about living on what you need, giving what extra you have and living a simple life of contentment in Christ alone.

It pains me when Christians began to teach doctrines that focus on the exterior blessings, rather than the true interior blessing of knowing Jesus Christ. Yes, God does want us to be blessed; to have the best life, to have a nice house, car, clothes, food, career and be able to enjoy the good things in life. But God never told us to seek these things; rather Jesus told us to seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you (Mt 6:33). Then you would say, "See, all these things will be added." Sure, but what if all these things were taken away from you? Would you still be praising God? My point is this; life does not consist in having "these things" (food, clothes, possessions, money, career, etc) that the world chases after. Life consists in knowing Jesus Christ. When you know Jesus you become alive with life, for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14:7). When you chase what this world offers you you will never have enough. When you chase God, you will find that in God, His love is enough.

What are we as disciples of Jesus Christ called to do then? How are we to live?

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep one-self from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Let us live simple. Live on what we need. Give away what we don't need to those who need it most (widows/orphans/the poor/the needy/etc). And please, do not succumb to the value system of this world, to the seductions of Hollywood, to what you see on the TV, what you hear on the Radio, what you watch in the Movie Theater, what society shouts at you everyday, but look at the Word of God intently and see if your life matches up with it. "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (James 1:22) You don't need to look like MTV, you need to look like Jesus.

I know churches in the US, in Asia, that think in order to reach the world they need to dress like, talk like, act like, live like, sound like and be like the world. Jesus said, "be in the world, but not of it." Don't try to be cool, be yourself. Don't compromise your values, your holiness, your convictions in order to be successful or accepted by those in the worlds system. Rather, be faithful to doing what you know is right, keep your integrity above all else and you will learn what it means to truly live.

I've been reading this book "Happy Are You Poor" By, Thomas Dubay. I highly recommend this book to every follower of Jesus Christ. Read it and weep. I have. I've been so convicted of my worldliness as of late from reading this book, I am the first to admit that I have given into the dictates and seductions of the very worldly things I described above. Yet, in my repentance, I am asking God to give me a new heart, to change my ways, my thinking and my desires to only want Him and what He wants.

How to Know if You are Wasting Your Life

Read the below questions from Happy Are Your Poor and check your heart to see if you are living a superfluous & wasteful life?

1. By what standards do I determine what is necessary?
2. Do I collect unneeded things? Do I hoard possessions?
3. May I, on Gospel principles, buy clothes at the dictates of fashion designers in Paris and New York? Am I a slave to fashion? Do I live in other people's minds? Why really do I have all the clothes I have: shirts, blouses, suits, dresses, shoes, gloves?
4. Am I an inveterate nibbler? Do I eat because I am bored? Do the weight charts convict me of superfluity in eating and drinking? Do I take second helpings simply for the pleasure they afford?
5. Do I keep unneeded books and papers and periodicals and notes?
6. Do I retain two or three identical items (clocks, watches, scarves)of which I really need only one?
7. Do I spend money on trinkets an unnecessary conveniences?
8. In the winter, do we keep our thermostat at a setting higher than health experts advise: 68 degrees?
9. When I think of my needs, do I also think of the far more drastic needs of the teeming millions in the third world?
10. Do I need the traveling I do more than the poor need food and clothing and medical care?
11. Am I right in contributing to the billions of dollars spent each year on cosmetics? How much of this can be called necessary?
12. Is smoking necessary for me?
13. Is drinking necessary for me?
14. Do I need to examine exactly what I mean by saying to myself, "I need this"?
15. Can I honestly say that all I use or possess is used or possessed for the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31)? Would He be given more glory by some other use?
16> Do I in the pauline sense "mind the things above, not those on earth" (Col 3:1-2) (pg 112)

onething Taiwan & Hong Kong

2008-08-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

To everyone in Asia and around the world keep us in prayer as we pioneer the onething young adult movement into Taiwan and Hong Kong this month. This will be an incredibly key gathering of young adults in two major East Asia cities (Hong Kong/Taipei) in order that we may deposit a spiritual DNA that doesn't go after the hype, but goes after the heart of Jesus Christ in our generation. We are praying that God by His Spirit would raise up an army of forerunners who would live lives dedicated to prayer, fasting and radical devotion in intimacy with the God and Man Christ Jesus. Pray that God opens the heavens over Asia and rends the hearts of the next generation in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China in order to prepare the way of the Lord into this massive land of harvest. If you are in Taiwan or Hong Kong make sure to register asap, from what I know it is almost already sold out for each gathering. onething Taiwan and Hong Kong will take place during and right after the China 2008 Olympics. Now is the time for Asia...let us rise up in wholeheartedness towards the Lord! After One Thing, JMA

onething Taiwan ~ Aug 20-22

onething Hong Kong ~ Aug 28-30

Birthing Another Student Mission Movement

2008-08-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

I'm back from our one month long training (AFF & Student CPX) for student missionaries in Kansas City, MO. The Holy Spirit showed up in power, birthed a student prayer and mission movement again.

What can I say?

GOD ROCKS!!!!

What Happened at Haskell University?

On the last day of our mission at Haskell University (Harvard of Native American universities) 3 Native American students repented from their sins, made Jesus Christ their Lord and were water baptized the same night! We are now starting a student church movement at Haskell! It was so encouraging to witness this miracle power of God because we had been sowing seeds of faith on this campus for two weeks straight! God is good!

How did it happen? It is very difficult historically and presently for Native Americans to turn to faith in Christ because of the past injustices that have been brought upon their people from Christians in the past who did not obey God's Word, but rather inflicted pain and suffering. Christianity is known as the "White Mans Religion" and an offense to native peoples. But as we sowed in prayer, built relationships and shared the love of Christ daily at Haskell University to the students there with our student missionaries, God showed up in power and left a abundant blessing upon the first nations people, specifically for their next generation. It was amazing!

When we first got there we found out the dormitory we were staying at had a horrible history. Over 700 Native American children were starved to death with disease/famine in the basement in relationship to the American government nearly 70 years ago. The first day, our student missionaries were getting sick, doubting their purpose there, others were hearing voices in the hallways and some even encountered evil spirits in the dormitory. We knew it would be a spiritual battle between light and darkness. We had to come in an opposite spirit of faith, hope and love. So we set up a 24-7 prayer room in the dormitory and began prayer watches on the campus. On the third day, we gathered all our student and staff together and we repented in the middle of the courtyard where 100 children were supposedly buried. There we got on our knees, we repented for the sins committed against the Native people and ask God to pour out His mercy and grace over Haskell University and the first nations young people. I can't explain it, but we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit come down into that courtyard and dispel the darkness. We felt the love of God begin to fill that campus with light and blessings. We knew something had changed in the spiritual atmosphere at that moment, the blood of Jesus had covered the sins of the past and there would be a new beginning at Haskell University.

The next days we trained our student missionaries in cross cultural evangelism, discipleship and simple church planting in the morning and afternoons. In the evenings they got to hang out with Native American students who were at Haskell for summer school. They prayed and played: basketball, eating dinners, playing sports, hanging out in dormitories, helping students study, played games etc As our student missionaries practiced being a blessing to the native students, open doors began to open up for the Gospel to be preached. Many of our student missionaries were able to pray, bless and prophesy over the native students and miracles began to happen. Some student missionaries got to start evangelistic Bible studies in only a few days, others prayed for divine healing and deliverance and saw God answer in power, others simply loved on the students at Haskell in practical and tangible ways. God was moving!

One night someone prophesied that before Student CPX was over that a Native American student would be saved and baptized in the dormitory bath tub. We received the word and believed it by faith! Then it happened!

On the last day, we would have never thought that during a time of prayer and sharing that a few native American students would receive Christ into their hearts without us even giving an altar call. The Spirit of God hit the room and one native student simply said, "Jesus is talking to me and I received Him into my heart!" After that another student repented and both were baptized in the dormitory bath tub that night! They were immediately filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in other tongues and praising the name of God! When the baptism happened we all knew that what the Devil intended for evil, God was turning for good. That dormitory was once full of darkness and evil spirits, but that night the dormitory was transformed with the presence of angels and the Light of Jesus Christ! It is a new day for Haskell University and the First Nations young people of America!

Also, in a sovereign act of the Lord we were able to pray, bless and prophesy over the President of Haskell University. Dr. Warner is an amazing woman and we know that God has placed her on that campus for such a time as this. Pray for her and Haskell to be a spiritual detonator of revival and mission that will impact every campus in our nation to be re-awakened to our spiritual foundations/heritage as centers of higher education whose sole purpose is to equip students for the preaching of the Gospel to all nations!

Student Church Planting Movement on Campuses has Begun!

It was by no accident that the Holy Spirit led us into Haskell University to birth another student volunteer mission movement to the nations! I believe with all my heart that we will see the Gospel of the kingdom preached as a witness to all nations in our generation (Matt 24:14). The Holy Spirit gave us a massive revelation during a spontaneous morning prayer session that we as student missionaries were not to go back to our university campuses planting churches among just any groups of people, but to focus our evangelism and church planting amongst "un-reached people groups" specifically Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and other major world cultures on our campuses. In this way, we would truly become an apostolic student mission movement that would start new churches cross culturally in order to prepare an entire generation to be truly "missional" and be ready to plant churches amongst any un-reached people group in the 10/40 window.

Apostle Paul said.."And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation" Romans 15:20

The national average of active Christians on American universities is less than 5%. Of that 5% over 95% come from Christian backgrounds (source: Ivy Jungle Network). It makes no sense as a student church planting movment to start another campus ministry that only reaches out to Christians. It is clear that we are called to plant student churches amongst existing and real un-reached people groups on our college and universities. We are not to build upon another mans foundation, but we are called to reach the "un-reached" and those who have never heard, will never step into a local church and are completely culturally devoid of the Gospel of Christ. This will happen as we send back over 30 student missionaries from AFF & Student CPX to 15 universities to start 24-7 campus houses of prayer that launch apostolic student church planting movements on their campuses. This is just the beginning!

Our goal will be for each student missionary to find and win one "person of peace" amongst an un-reached people group on their campus in the next six months. Once finding that person of peace, they are to make them a disciple of Christ and bring them back to a follow up Student CPX gathering in January 2009. We will then train those students of peace to go back to win ten more students to Christ and start simple churches in their indigenous communities. The purpose is to believe God for a spontaneous multiplying student church planting movement that will impact every college and university in our nation in the next decade! The purpose is to glorify Christ. I can see it! I believe it! I know this will and must happen so that we can see the fulfillment of the Great Commandment and Great Comission in this generation!

AFF & Student CPX in Hindsight:

Looking back at what the Lord has done in the past four weeks, I can only worship and adore Him for His faithfulness and goodness! I am in awe as we have finished what started as a prophecy, then became a dream and now a reality. We have birthed our first student missions training school (Antioch Forerunner Foundation) to bring the Gospel to East Asia and Back to Jerusalem! How awesome is that? We have birthed our first campus church planting school (Student Church Planting Experience) to reach every campus in every city of North America and ultimately to see another student missions movement launched into all nations! It is time!

I thank you all for your dedicated prayers. This has not come without a fight, but we continue to fight this good fight of faith knowing that Jesus Christ is coming back as Bridegroom, King and Judge. Time is of the essence, we have no time to lose and all the nations to gain for Jesus Christ! Keep our leadership and student missionaries in your daily prayers. We are truly changing history for eternity! It's an honor and privelege to do it together!

For His Namesake,

Jaeson Ma

The Power of Poverty

2008-07-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was reading through my friend Becky’s blog and chanced upon this quote below from a book written by Thomas Dubay called “Happy Are You Poor.”

“It must be noticed that the values of the kingdom are just about 180 degrees removed from the values of the world…What are the world’s basic values?...It is assumed that every one knows them and that most people live by them. What are these premises: prestige is a primary value… bodily comfort and pleasure are indispensable… this life is all we have, and so let’s enjoy it to the full… impressing people with one’s possessions and accomplishments and attractiveness is important… sexual excitement and satisfaction are crucial… success is ‘coming out on top’ in relation to others… money is a must, for without it one can have very little of anything else worth having in life.

“If we turn to the pages of the New Testament we find a picture as opposite as it could be: humility, being last, unknown, hidden in Christ, is a condition for getting into the kingdom… prestige is worthless and even an obstacle to greatness… the hard road and the narrow gate, carrying the cross every day is immensely important… dying to our selfishness and crucifying our illusory desires are indispensable… impressing people is of no importance at all, whereas being pleasing to the divine eyes is everything… virginity is a favored and privileged state, and chaste fidelity in marriage mirrors the very union of Christ and his Church… one may not try to best others; rather he is to serve them as though he were a slave… it most difficult, indeed it is humanly impossible, for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven…It takes little imagination to see that one who freely chooses to be poor is far more prepared to understand the previous paragraph than one who is surrounded with luxury, comfort, pleasures of sense, who basks in prestige and position, who lives only for the good opinion of other human beings.”

-Thomas Dubay, Happy Are You Poor, pp. 57-58

The moment I read this quote my soul was convicted and my spirit was awakened to what it means to truly live as a saint. To live as a saint one must renounce the love of this world: 1) Lust of the flesh 2) Lust of the eyes 3) Pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). In order to do this, one must be detached from worldly things and walk in humility as one who looks to please God and not men. Poverty has much to do with both of these concepts.

The next day after reading this quote on her blog we met to talk and she randomly said, “If you are called to Hollywood you should read this book by Thomas Dubay…” I knew exactly what book she was referring to, more so, I knew God was speaking loud and clear to change my worldly values to godly ones. I have thus been reading Dubay’s book on factual frugality, often times weeping under the spirit of conviction as I read. To be poor in spirit, soul and body is a call to live a life of sparing-sharing, not hoarding but being always ready to give to those in need. Jesus called us to be in the world, but not of it. We are pilgrims in this world. Our true home is not here but in eternity. Our hearts are not to be set on the things of this world, but on things eternal.

After living in Hollywood, Ca for the last 3 years I must confess that the value system of Hollywood has at times enticed me to live according to its value system, not God’s. Yet, God’s value system is completely upside down from Hollywood’s, let alone the worlds. Jesus is the best example of a Saint who lived in this world, but free from its entanglements. He was not controlled by people or things, but He was controlled by the will of His heavenly Father. My prayer is the Lord would teach me to live in simplicity, true sainthood and to be free from all that is evil and selfish. People in the world can tell if you are a true saint, one who is not out to promote oneself or one’s agenda, but one who is totally and completely given to the Lord and serving others. I have failed many times in being selfish instead of self-less. Faith without deeds is worth nothing. I pray I would be one who doesn’t carry the title “Christian” but rather one who is known to love. To love others as I would love myself, to love each in a way God would love them.

“Lord Jesus, forgive me for the deceitfulness of my heart in desiring anything besides You. For nothing can satisfy me apart from Your very Word and precious presence.”

“They are blessed, (happy condition) who are poor in spirit, for they have the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:3)… “If I am filled with myself, married to my own ideas and way of doing things, convinced that somehow I am the hub of the universe, there is of course no room in me for being filled with God, for accepting or even desiring His wisdom, for making Him my center of gravity. Indeed, sensitivity to the divine is dependent on humility…And poverty has a great deal to do with humility. We human beings tend to equate our level of to be with our level of to have. The more we possess, the more we are --- in our own minds. The man with a large estate, several cars, a sizeable portfolio just assumes that he is superior to the slum dweller. The woman who is seldom seen in the same dress is sure that she ranks higher in human society than the dowdy wife whose family is on welfare. Perhaps the chief reason prestige is so immensely important to many people is that the impression they make on others dictates their own value. And an abundance of material things, in their opinion, enhances their prestige. They are living as slaves in the minds of others. Being subject to human evaluations, they are little inclined to the divine…People who by choice embrace a frugal lifestyle assess themselves far more realistically than those who do not. They are free from a subjection to the minds of others. They know of their intrinsic worth before God and do not feel a need for the shoddy props afforded by mere things. Being innerly un-cluttered, they are ready for the divine invasion. It easily happens.

Saint John Chrysostom who calmly endured exile said…

“What are we to fear? Death? “Life to me means Christ, and death is gain.” Exile? “The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord.” The confiscation of our goods? “We brought nothing into this world, and we shall surely take nothing from it.” I have only contempt for the world’s threats, I find its blessings laughable. I have no fear of poverty, no desire for wealth.” (Thomas Dubay, Happy Are You Poor, pg. 59-60)

The above quotations are not an indictment against the wealthy. God blesses the rich and poor. It is a matter of the heart, not of having or not having wealth. But, one can not serve both God and Mammon. You will either love one or the other. Do not love money more than God. Do not desire wealth more than God. Do not pursue prestige, power and position above the Lord your God, if we do we will become spiritually bankrupt, corrupted and unable to receive the kingdom of God. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. Let us live to serve others, to promote others above ourselves, to live in meekness and weakness and thereby giving God all the glory. Let us be mindful of the things above and not on the things below. Let us be poor in spirit and be ready to give to those who have a need. For how can we say the love of God is in us if we see a brother or sister in need and not help them with a gift?

1 John 3:16-19
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

I have so much more to say, at the end of the day I’m asking that we ask the Lord to test our hearts and rid us of anything other than Himself so that we may be in this world, not of it, but full of the love of God in which this world so desperately needs. Let us not talk Christian, but live Christian by not adhering to this world's value system, but be a reflection of the God and Man Jesus Christ.

Under the mercy,

Jaeson Ma

Pray for Student Church Planting Movement

2008-07-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Prayer Team,

I am currently at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (www.ihop.org) and just finished our first 2 weeks of training 15 AMAZING student missionaries from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Canada and United States. The Lord never ceases to amaze me and challenge me in new ways every day. I read a quote once saying, "To see God in everything makes life the greatest adventure!" Well, these past 14 days have been quite an adventure! Thank you for your prayers because we were able to equip these student missionaries with important inner life foundations that will give them the staying power to be life long missionaries in East Asia & Back to Jerusalem: Intimacy w/ Christ, Bridal Paradigm, Fellowshipping w/ the Holy Spirit, Father Heart of God, Core Identity, Eschatology, Intercession, Cross Cultural Missions Dynamics, Back to Jerusalem strategy/vision & nightly spending 4 hours in the IHOP prayer room.

All 15 of these student missionaries have challenged my own walk with the Lord. It has been evident that the Spirit of God has hand picked each one, put a passion for missions in their heart, to the point many of these students have honestly shared that through the last 14 days the Lord has been calling them to literally be willing to lay down their lives as lovers, even martyrs for the Gospel if called to it. I am deeply humbled by their authentic love for Jesus, selfless abandonment & passion to partner with God in His mission. I want to thank you each for praying for this very first "AFF" (Antioch Forerunner Foundation)

Thank you each for praying & supporting this AFF student missions training program! I'm realizing how IMPORTANT this training is to the future of God's end time mission movement. We are literally forging a new work of "prayer and mission" together in order to raise up a new student volunteer movement that will preach the Gospel of the kingdom to every tribe, nation and tounge! We thank God for IHOP partnering with us in AFF so that these students would receive the call to make priority the first and greatest commandment to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Matt 22:37). We can not fulfill the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) without first obeying the Great Commandment (Matt 22:37) and that is why AFF is so crucial to student missions because it establishes the heart in intimacy, before we release the vessel in authority & mission.

Today, we transition into the second half of AFF which is Student CPX. We will be taking the 15 student missionaries of AFF and joining them with 20 other student church planters from 13 states and over 5 countries to plant student churches at the largest First Nations Native American University in North America "Haskell University" in Lawrence Kansas. We will need your dedicated intercessions as we pioneer a new work for Christ and establish His kingdom w/ blessings to the first nations students of our nation. We are believing through these next 2 weeks at Haskell University we will see the BIRTHING and BEGINNING of new wave of student church planting movements on campuses across Nth America and into every nation of the earth, specifcally reaching those in the 10/40 window.

Please keep the 40 students & staff in prayer for AFF & Student CPX in your prayer daily from July 20 - Aug 2. This is a new apostolic work that has never been done before in our time. It is exciting, but also very sobering. We desperately need CHRIST to be UPLIFTED in our nation(s) and in this generation. Let's believe God in prayer for another student volunteer missions movement to reach every campus, every city and every nation!

Please also do keep me personally in prayer. My body has been very fatigued since arrival in KC for the past two weeks. It could be the weather change, having to oversee the long days of training and also the spritiual dynamics involved, but I know I'm going to need more prayers for God's angels to give me strength, wisdom and His spirit to finish leading this training well. God's also been humbling me in different ways, I will share in another post what He has been speaking to me. Good stuff fosho! =)

For the Great Commandment and Great Commission,

Jaeson Ma

The Call DC 2008

2008-07-11T08:01:00.001-07:00

I URGE YOU ALL TO GO TO "THE CALL DC" IN WASHINGTON D.C. ON AUGUST 16TH TO PRAY WITH THOUSANDS ACROSS OUR NATION TO PRAY FOR THE REPENTANCE AND REVIVAL OF THIS NATION. WE ARE IN A SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL CRISIS AT EVERY LEVEL. WE NEED TO PRAY FOR AMERICA TO TURN BACK TO GOD. RISE UP AND MOBILIZE ALL YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, CHURCH, NETWORKS TO ATTEND THE CALL DC. OUR ONLY HOPE IS JESUS, OUR WEAPON IS MASSIVE FASTING AND PRAYER. JAESON MA (WWW.THECALL.COM)

Whom have I in Hollywood but You?

2008-07-06T00:21:00.000-07:00

Psalm 73:25-28
25Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
26My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
28But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works.

The more I am in this mission field called Hollywood the more each day I yearn and burn for only one thing ~ the presence of my Lord Jesus Christ. The last months I have been ministering daily in Hollywood believing God for a revolution of love in this dark industry. It's sad, but the more people I get to know the more I realize how lonely and lost Hollywood is. People don't trust anyone, they are paranoid, they are given to selfishness, self promotion and are deeply insecure. Yet, beyond this Hollywood mask that makes everything look so perfect on the outside, these people are hurting so badly on the inside. They are rejected, hurt, full of pain, jealousy and anger. Not everyone of course. I have been deeply encouraged by seeing so many come to Christ every week since the Holy Spirit has led me to this mission. I'm not exaggerating when I say weekly I encounter person after person in this industry encountering the presence of the Lord. Most if not all of these encounters have been through simply hanging out with lost people and sharing God's prophetic words to them. People here are so HUNGRY for purpose, destiny and meaning. Each of them want to be something, yet they don't realize they already are something. People here are desperate and hungry for significance. Yet, you can't find significance externally, you can only find it intrinsically by knowing your identity as God's beloved.

I mean, just yesterday I was randomly walking down Melrose Ave on July 4th enjoying the sunny day. I looked across the street at this cafe and see a friend of mine who is a party promoter for major clubs in Los Angeles. I was introduced to him by a friend who converted to Christ months ago. At first I was going to pass by, but then the Holy Spirit spoke to me go join him and his friends for breakfast. So I obeyed Holy Spirit. When I sat down with them he was with his girlfriend and two others. We started talking and he told me some problems he had recently. As I listened I began to encourage him and told him what God was telling me to tell him. He was shocked because the words were confirming what was in his heart. Then his friend next to him who was a graphic designer started sharing. As I listened God spoke to me about him also, I told him God had given him a special gift of photographic memory and that he would work on a "hologram" project in the future that would be very significant. He also went into shock because he told me his company is currently working on a "hologram technology" for their next product. Turns out he was the son of a preacher, but had been running from God. Then I noticed my friends girlfriend had a fresh scar on her right shoulder. I asked her what happened? She told me, "she had just had surgery for a dislocated shoulder" but this has been a long term problem for 7 years where her shoulder keeps slipping out of joint. I told her Jesus can heal her now and asked if I could pray for her right then. She said "yes" so I laid hands and commanded her shoulder to be healed and all pain to leave in Jesus name. She said, "Thank you." But, I told her to check if the pain was still there and if she could move her shoulder normally. She said, "Are you serious?" I said, absolutely. All of a sudden she turns to her friend and starts talking in Korean amazed. She tells us, "I can't believe it the pain is totally gone and I can move my shoulder in ways I couldn't before! I can't believe this?" Her boyfriend was like are you serious? He then began to thank God. Then I continued to prophesy over her friend. God showed up at a breakfast cafe on Melrose that morning. It was beautiful. After the breakfast I invited them to one of our Sunday night Hollywood simple churches they all said they really want to come now. Crazy. You just never know when God will show up. We just have to be available for Him to shine through us to others at all times.

This is one story of many that I see happening on a day to day basis in Hollywood, or what I believe one day will become "Holy-wood" why not? Light always outshines the darkness and God is simply asking us to be His light in this dark world. You say, "What can one person do?" I'll tell you right now that one person can do a lot. God doesn't call us to change the whole world all at once. He calls us to change one life at a time. He calls us to be faithful to what we know is right to do. Our every moment, our very lives, our entire purpose is to serve and glorify God with every fiber of our being. Glory showed up on Melrose that morning for a moment. Imagine if everyone shined the light of God's glory everyday, every moment with every one. The world is waiting for the glory of God within us to be revealed so they can see God and come to know the meaning of life.

Which brings me to Psalm 73:25-26

"25 Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
26My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

The more I'm in darkness the more I need to cling to the light. The darkness will consume you if you are not in the light being re-lit everyday. I hate darkness, but I love the light. The more you are around darkness, touch darkness and feel darkness the more it offends you. I remember text messaging my boy Carl while I was walking down Melrose that morning before I met those four at the cafe saying, "Man Melrose is dark, I can feel evil on these streets." But, I asked the Lord to give me an opportunity to dispel the darkness with the light of God in me. He did.

I need God. I burn for God I yearn for God I want God more than life itself. Hollywood can't give you satisfaction. Money can't give you satisfaction. Power, prestige and pleasure can't give satisfaction. Accomplishments, worldly success, sexual immorality and fine food does not bring you lasting satisfaction. Only one thing does. The presence of God. The more I see how empty the soul of this land is, the more I cry out to God in heaven. "Whom have I on this earth but You? What do I have in this world that can compare to you? My Lord my God you are my portion. If I have You I have everything. Daily I need to draw near to you. Each moment I must be with You. I grow tired in this land of darkness, there are too many lost souls, too many who need you my God, so I cry out to You Father in my weakness and humanity, be the strength of my heart and be my portion forever. For you are incomparable and all I desire in this life is You. Give me Your presence daily it is all I need. To those whom I meet let me give the presence You have given me to each of them, especially to those who need it most. Lord send revival and an outpouring of Your manifest presence and glory into Hollywood. Make it Holy. Make it Your habitation. I believer this dark land will soon become shining white as light. Whom have in Hollywood but You Lord? Fill me with Your love daily that I may be satisfied in Your presence. In Jesus name amen.

So You Think You Can Dance "Bleeding Love"

2008-07-05T00:15:00.001-07:00

So I have a new favorite dance show "So You Think You Can Dance" my room mate Jinder records it on Tivo each week and watches it religously. I must confess, I LOVE IT! I love the dance, choreography and talent. This dance has been my favorite this season so far "Chelsea & Mark" dancing to "Bleeding Love" its just super dope, full of passion, tite choreography and can I say "cute"? LOVE IT!!!

Search Me (Psalm 139:23-24)

2008-06-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

Psalm 139:23-24

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

One of the most difficult prayers in life is to ask the Lord to search our hearts. The Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things. I know mine is. Many times, I think I know what is best for me, only to find out later that what I thought was best was completely wrong. God sometimes will give us what we want to show us what we really need. I'd rather know now than later what is the pure and perfect will of the Lord, even if it means I don't get my way. I am not afraid to ask the Lord to test me. Why? Because I know my thoughts are continually anxious. I always want things my way instead of His way. I go ahead of God instead of going with God. This gets me into a lot of unneeded trouble. A Bible teacher once taught "frustration equals flesh." In other words, when you are frustrated in your walk with God, in your relationship with others, in your daily work or anything in life, it is most likely because you are trying do things in your own strength rather than His. When we do things God's way and our led by the Spirit what we do is never frustrating, but there is a peace in our hearts that surpasses all understanding. We are confident in Him and walk in perfect love.

One of the best ways to save us from unneeded anguish, pain and regret is to pray "Lord search my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts, if there is any offensive way in me that does not please You, if there is anything in my heart that it selfish, self seeking, or proud, my Lord my God change my heart and turn me back to You and I ask You to lead me in the right way, in the way everlasting. Amen."

During these recent days I simply keep praying, "Lord do not let me have my way, but let Your way be done in me. Give me a greater hunger for You and You alone. Be my satisfaction. Not these other things. For You alone are worthy!"

My new love ...GOLF!!!

2008-06-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

So I took up a new sport "golf" I'm lovn it! I hit under 100 on my first game which my golfing buddy Jinder say's aint to shabby :P haha, he says I'm a natural..."I'm like are you serious?" Well, I don't think I'll be the next Tiger Woods, but you can just call me "Tiger Ma" hahaha....my favorite thing in life to see is "green hills" that's probably why I like golfing so much. It makes me chill and feel God's peace. Word. Golf is GOOD!

In Faithfulness You Have Afflicted Me (Psalm 119:73-77)

2008-06-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Psalm 119:73-77

73Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
74Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
Because I have hoped in Your word.
75I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
76Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort,
According to Your word to Your servant.
77Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
For Your law is my delight.

There is nothing better than to seek God in ones life. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. For many it is difficult to trust God in times of hardship. Many children, when their parents take things away from them it is not to harm them, but to protect them. The child may kick, scream and throw a fit because they think what the parent has done is cruel. They don't understand that the parent loves them and has the best in mind for them.

In life, we won't understand why things happen the way they do. We won't understand why God may take away the very things that we think we need the most. Whether it be our relationships, health, finances, careers, prestige, respect, ministry or anything else we can hold onto in our own strength. Even if God takes away everything, I will always trust that His judgments are right. His ways are above my ways, His thoughts above my thoughts and His wisdom is always trustworthy. God only acts out of love. He is a good Father and we can trust Him always. He knows best and always desires the best for us. In His faithfulness to make us more like Him, to bring us closer to Him and to make us perfect in His love, He will "afflict us". The affliction of the Lord may not feel good, it may not be understood, it may even seem wrong at the moment, but ultimately if we trust in Him it will produce fruit in our lives that will be everlasting. It is in those moments, when all around us fails, when everything we wanted, everything we held onto, everything we thought was God but turned out it was not or so it seems, it is in those precious moments that we pray,

76Lord, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort,
According to Your word to Your servant.
77Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
For Your law is my delight.

When Jesus was in the garden being arrested by the soldiers His disciple Peter tried to stop Him from facing the affliction by cutting off one of the soldiers ears. Yet Jesus knew God had brought about this affliction, it was His destiny to be crucified on the cross. Even so, did Jesus make a way for escape from the pain that was due? No, he answered Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I knot drink the cup the Father has given me?" (John 18:11)

Shall we not drink the cup of suffering, the cup of affliction that Jesus drank? To take up our cross daily with Him? I'm not advocating that we look to "suffer for Christ" in order to prove our faithfulness to God. But the Word of God says those who desire to live a true godly life will suffer persecution. But let us not look to suffering as a negative, but as an opportunity for each of us to draw closer to Christ and to experience His infinite goodness in this temporary finite existence. For what is our affliction compared to His? Nothing at all. All that we lose in this life is for the sole purpose of understanding what He loss, yet what He gained for us.

2Ti 3:12
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

His love never fails. His wisdom always knows best. His tender mercies are my comfort. His Word is my delight. Lord Jesus do not let me have my way. In Your faithfulness afflict me until I am made complete in Christ. Let me decrease so You may increase oh Lord. Amen

Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing (John 15:1-8)

2008-06-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

Christ the True Vine
1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Apart from Christ we can do nothing. How true this Scripture rings in my spirit as I meditate upon it. Throughout my life, I have witnessed the miracles of God. His love and power never cease to amaze me. Miracles don't happen by chance, miracles happen because we abide in the Miracle Worker. Intimacy is the birthplace of miracles. When we are not close to Him, we tend to do things in our own strength and power. We can do work for God in our own strength, our own power, intellect and ability. But if we only do things for Him, not with Him, what we do is in vain. The more I minister in Hollywood/Los Angeles Ca, the more I realize each day how much I need Him daily in my life to fill me, empower me and give me the grace needed to face this dark dark land. I can't face the day, without spending time in His presence. I'm not talking about 10 minutes with Him, I'm talking about "adequate time" in His presence. Personally, I need at least an hour of just being silent before Him in prayer and meditation. We must daily wait upon the Lord and rest in His presence till we are filled with His tangible joy and then be ready to face the day. If we do not spend time with Him, we can do nothing for Him. I've made many mistakes in the past by becoming too busy for God. The moment I became too busy for time in prayer with God, it was in those seasons of life that I lost track of myself and my purpose. I began to take things into my own hands and the results were frustration, fatigue and fruit-lessness. Yet, if we abide in Him and He in us, the result will be fruit-fullness. Ministry will be easy, life will flow and His presence will be our complete joy satisfying our every need. We will not be in want, but content in Him.

I want to be the branch that bears fruit. Even if He prunes me. Discipline does not feel good at the moment, it can be harsh and even painful. These are the life lessons God brings into our life to humble us and make us more like Him. So this is why I welcome the discipline of God, for without it, I would be like a spoiled child gone astray and doing things on my own. I don't want to do things alone, I want to do things with my heavenly Father. Prune me Oh Lord, even if it hurts, don't let me have my way, but let only Your way be done in me and all of us. Show us Your great love for us this day! In Jesus name Amen

Theological Response to Lakeland Outpouring

2008-06-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Attached is a clear and Biblical response to the Lakeland Healing Revival and Outpouring from my friend Dr. Gary Greig (a theological expert) who edited my book. What he writes in this article will answer many of the questions and concerns that Christian leaders have had with Lakeland outpouring. I recommend you read the attached and pass it along as appropriate. I want to re-state that I support and encourage the Lakeland revival and what God is doing in this mighty move of the Holy Spirit. I do pray that we put our focus on Christ, the miracle working power that is wrought through His name and seek God's presence with purity and devotion. Lord Jesus send revival to this generation, pour it out wherever and whenever, may You revive us all to declare Your fame and name to all nations!

What is written here is balanced and theologically sound.

Blessings,
JMA

Make sure to open the below link with Adobe PDF

LakelandCORRECTED

Put Off the Old - Put On the New

2008-06-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

Colossians 3 ~ Christian Character & Conduct

1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
5Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

8But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Character of the New Man
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

As I was in prayer this morning I felt the Lord impressing upon my heart the need to put off the old man and put on the new. The closer you get to the light, the more dark the darkness feels. Recently, I've had the chance to experience much darkness in Los Angeles California and how the riches, lusts, temptations, material things, selfish human desires of this world can be so enticing and destructive to the human soul. Yet, the Bible call us to seek those things which are above and not to set our mind on the things of this world. For we are dead to our old nature when we were baptized in Christ and we are no longer to live in the carnal lifestyle that is mentioned above. So I pray this morning we would put off the old nature, that is any evil desire, covetousness, malice, anger, lies, idolatry, wrath, filthy language, strife and that we would pray, "God we pray this day please help us together to put on LOVE and forgiveness, that we would walk with Your peace in our hearts, that we would put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering and bear with one another, forgive each other no matter what wrongs have been done to us, let us not complain towards one another, but let us forgive one another even as Christ has forgiven each of us. Keep us humble and let us walk together in peace. Let us continually praise You oh God for all things and give thanks with grace in our hearts to the Lord. May we do all things, everything in word or deed in the name of the Lord." in Jesus name amen.

I pray that each of us this day would seek Him first and trust Him to be in control. Most of all may each of us be reminded that His presence is all that we need in this life and that we would spend time loving Him and enjoying His love for us this day.

Under the mercy,

JMA

Jesus the Living Water - John 4:13-14

2008-06-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4:13-14

When the woman asked Jesus for physical water He offered her spiritual water. We understand that the human body can not survive without physical water, so it is that the spiritual body can not survive without spiritual water. Jesus is the "Living Water" of life. He is our life source, our life sustenance and essentially our "very life." Years ago I prayed, "Jesus take my life and be my life" When we draw close to Jesus daily in prayer and obedience, we have the blessing to drink from His presence. His presence is the gift of life. It is eternal life, the very life we were created for. Jesus the Living Water well never runs out. When we come to Him He will give us drink and we will never thirst again. We must drink from His cup daily or we will spiritually die. What a blessing it is that we can have access to His manifest presence daily!

The things of this world can fill our physical and even soulish thirsts, but it will leave us empty in the end. Yet only the Living Water of God can satisfy our longing and thirst to be totally fulfilled.

Jesus take our lives, fill our lives and be our lives forever. Satisfy our thirsts with Your presence and let us not drink from any other well. We need You desperately and ask You please come and fill our hearts with Your life this day. Amen.

Blessings bros and sis,

JMA

DREAM (Can't Stop Me Now)

2008-05-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

It's been one year since NAMESAKE dropped a new track. Check out our new unreleased track "DREAM"(Can't Stop Me Now). This song came out of a year of trials and tribulations since we dropped our first record "Heart Back EP".

This song DREAM is about still believing in your dreams when all seems lost. My music partner Mike Whang lost 50% of his hearing in February out of no where. Can you imagine being a musician and losing 50% of your hearing? Well, that's what happened to my boy Mike. It hasn't been easy, alot of questions went through his head and mine, but God is still good u know what I mean? That's what this track is about, it's about moving forward, onward and onward even when life throws you hits, you gotta keep believing in the Dream. Keep believing in God and keep believing in the dreams He's put in your heart. CAN'T STOP ME NOW! WE STILL PRAISE HIM. WUT!!!

By the way, thank you all for the love and support for NAMESAKE music. Much love. Keep praying this music spreads light in the darkness

NAMESAKE
JMA & MIKE WHANG

www.myspace.com/namesake777

Two Things I Ask..

2008-05-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 30:7-9

7Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
8Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches--
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, "Who is the LORD?"
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.

May we each day pray to remain content in Christ and Christ alone. Let us seek not to live a life of success but a life of significance. True success is being faithful to our values and convictions. May our values be that of God´s, that we may live a life of honor and integrity. May we never be greedy, desiring the things of this world because ´´The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want¨. Lord, give me neither riches to the point I forget you, nor Lord give me poverty to the point I no longer look to you but to myself to provide. Keep me and my brother and sisters humble all the days of our lives. You are our good Father and from you we receive all good things. Amen.

Student Church Planting Experience

2008-05-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

I am writing a blog post to invite you to Student CPx (Church Planting Experience) with Campus Church Networks and Student Church Movements this summer in Kansas City. This experience will be like no other, as the Holy Spirit has led our national leadership to start a intensive 2 week summer training (July 20- August 1, 2008) to equip student missionaries to start campus church planting movements on their respective colleges and universities across the nation.

This experience will be unique as the Lord has opened a wide door of ministry at Haskell University in Lawrence Kansas. This university is the largest Native American University in the nation. Over 130 sovereign nations are represented on this campus and we believe by re-digging the ancient wells of revival and honoring the first nations people in this generation it will be a key to unlocking another student missionary movement across the world.

Here's a quick snapshot of what to expect:

You will spend two weeks living in community with seasoned overseas church planting missionaries from All Nations (allnations.us), Campus Church Networks staff, and other student church planters from universities across North America. You will worship and fellowship together daily, while practicing principles you will use when you return to your campus. You will be immersed in the culture and story of the Native American people, while living in a residence hall and daily practicing the Word of God through cross-cultural evangelism, discipleship and on the job church planting skills. When you go back to your campus you will be ready to start simple churches, not only there but wherever you go for the rest of your life.

Our new national director Erik Fish who has pioneered campus ministry movements on many campuses will be heading up this training program with our National strategy director Sam Lee. This will be a 2 week encounter with God and adventure with the Holy Spirit you don't want to miss.

Pray about coming to Student CPx. If the Lord leads you to come, please fill out our interest form ASAP. Also consider offering this unique opportunity to other students who could start simple churches at their universities in the upcoming academic year!

I look forward to seeing many of you there!

For His Namesake,
Jaeson Ma

p.s. For more info, see studentcpx.org

Honest Questions About the Lakeland Revival

2008-05-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

I read the below article by J. Lee Grady on the Lakeland Healing Revival. Those of you who have been reading my blog I have been supporting the Lakeland revival. I truly believe there is a genuine move of the Holy Spirit, many are being saved, Jesus is being preached, unexplainable creative miracles are happening daily that are bringing many to a genuine encounter with God. When I watch the meetings there is a real hunger for God and I believe this is what is fueling this revival in Lakeland. But like any revival, we must beware of any extremes or abuses of the Spirit. I would encourage you read the below with wisdom, discernment and a open mind. As one mentor once told me "Eat the fish, but spit out the bones" Keep seeking God. Pray for Todd Bentley as he is man like any other man. My pastors know him personally and he has been restored recently from a time of brokenness. No one is perfect, so let's pray for great grace upon those who are leading this outpouring of the Spirit...

Honest Questions About the Lakeland Revival

I support any holy outbreak of revival fervor. But let’s be careful to guard ourselves from pride and error.

God is stirring deep spiritual passion in the hearts of the thousands of people who have traveled to Florida during the last month to experience the Lakeland Healing Revival. Since these meetings began in a 700-seat church on April 2, the crowd has moved four times to bigger venues, the fervor has intensified and the news has spread worldwide—thanks to God TV and online broadcasting.

Within a few weeks, the bandwagon effect was in full swing. It’s safe to say that no outbreak of Pentecostalism in history has gained so much international exposure so quickly as these meetings have.

I’m a cheerleader for the charismatic movement, so I rejoiced when I heard the news about revivalist Todd Bentley’s extended visit to Ignited Church. It was thrilling to hear the reports of miracles and to watch the crowd grow until a stadium was required to hold everyone.

When I visited a service on April 15, I was blessed by Heather Clark’s music and the audience’s exuberant worship. And I laughed with everyone else as I watched Bentley shout his trademarked “Bam! Bam! Bam!” as he prayed for the sick and flailed his tattooed arms over the crowd. Hey, Jesus didn’t pray for people according tothe Pharisees’ rulebook, so I’m open to unconventional methods.

But I would be dishonest if I told you that I wholeheartedly embraced what I saw in Lakeland. Something disturbed me, but I kept my mouth shut for three weeks while I prayed, got counsel from respected ministry leaders and searched my heart to make sure I was not harboring a religious spirit. The last thing we need today is more mean-spirited heresy hunters blasting other Christians.

I am not a heresy hunter, and I support what is happening in Lakeland because I know God uses imperfect people (like me and you) to reach others for Jesus. At the same time, I believe my questions are honest and my concerns are real.

My motive is not to criticize Bentley or the pastor who is sponsoring these meetings, Stephen Strader. In September 2002 Charisma featured a seven-page article about Bentley’s amazing conversion from drug addiction. I believe Bentley is a sincere brother who wants people to encounter God’s presence and power. No doubt this 32-year-old evangelist needs our prayers now more than ever, especially since he has become the focus of international media attention.

But as the noise from Lakeland grows louder and its influence spreads, I’m issuing some words of warning that apply to all of us, not just the folks in Lakeland. I hope everyone understands that these cautions are offered in love:

1. Beware of strange fire. The name of Jesus is being lifted up in the Lakeland revival, and three people came to the altar for salvation the night I attended. Larger numbers have come to the front of the auditorium to find Christ every night since then.

Yet I fear another message is also being preached subtly in Lakeland—a message that cult-watchers would describe as a spiritual counterfeit. Bentley is one of several charismatic ministers who have emphasized angels in the last several years. He has taught about angels who bring financial breakthroughs or revelations, and he sometimes refers to an angel named Emma who supposedly played a role in initiating a prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s. Bentley describes Emma as a woman in a flowing white dress who floats a few feet off the floor.

All of us who believe the Bible know that angels are real, and that they work on our behalf to protect us and minister to us. But the apostle Paul, who had encounters with angels himself, issued stern warnings to the Corinthians, the Galatians and the Colossians about angels who preach another gospel or that demand attention. In Colossae, believers were so enamored with angels they had seen in visions that they became “inflated without cause” by spiritual pride (Col. 2:18, NASB). Paul was adamant that preoccupation with angels can lead to serious deception.

We need to tread carefully here! We have no business teaching God’s people to commune with angels or to seek revelations from them. And if any revival movement—no matter how exciting or passionate—mixes the gospel of Jesus with this strange fire, the results could be devastating. We need to remember that Mormonism was born out of one man’s encounter with a dark angel who claimed to speak for God.

2. Beware of bizarre manifestations. When the Holy Spirit’s power comes on people they may feel weak or even fall. The Spirit’s power can also cause people to tremble, shake, laugh or cry. Such manifestations are biblical and we should leave room for them. But where do we draw the line between legitimate experience and fanatical excess?

The apostle Paul had to deal with outrageous charismatic manifestations in the Corinthian church. People were acting like raving lunatics—and turning the church in to a free-for-all of unbridled ecstatic behavior. Paul called for discipline and order, and he reminded early Christians that “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (1 Cor. 14:32). In other words, Paul was saying that no one under the influence of the Holy Spirit should act out of control.

In many recent charismatic revivals, ministers have allowed people to behave like epileptics on stage—and they have attributed their attention-getting antics to the Holy Spirit. We may think it’s all in fun (you know, we’re just “acting crazy” for God) but we should be more concerned that such behavior feeds carnality and grieves the Spirit.

When exotic manifestations are encouraged, people can actually get a religious high from jerking, vibrating, screaming or acting intoxicated. (I have even been around people who writhed as if in pain, or made sexual noises—thinking this was a legitimate spiritual experience.) But emotional euphoria doesn’t guarantee a heart change. The person who is bucking like an untamed bronco in a church service would benefit more from sitting still and reading the Bible for an hour. When we put bizarre behavior on the platform we imply that it is normative. Thus more strange fire is allowed to spread.

3. Beware of hype and exaggeration. Our hearts are crying out today for a genuine move of God. We want the real deal. We’ve read about the Great Awakenings of the past and we long to see our nation overcome by a wave of repentance. The church is in a backslidden state, and our nation has rebelled against God. We are desperate!

In our longing for a holy visitation, however, we must be careful not to call the first faint breeze of the Spirit a full-fledged revival. If we do that, we are setting people up for disappointment when they realize it may not be what we blew it up to be.

Some of the language used during the Lakeland Revival has created an almost sideshow atmosphere. People are invited to “Come and get some.” Miracles are supposedly “popping like popcorn.” Organizers tout it as the greatest revival in history.

Such brash statements cheapen what the Holy Spirit is doing—and they do a disservice to our brothers and sisters who are experiencing New Testament-style revival in countries such as Iran, China and India. We have a long way to go before we experience their level of revival. Let’s stay humble and broken before the Lord.

I am rejoicing over all the reported healings at the Lakeland meetings. Miracles are awesome. Crowds are great. But miracles and crowds alone don’t guarantee a revival. Multitudes followed Jesus during His ministry on earth, but many of the people who saw the dead raised or ate food that was supernaturally multiplied later crucified the Son of God.

It was the few disciples who followed Jesus after Calvary who ushered in a true revival—one that was bathed in the fear of God, confirmed by signs and wonders, tempered by persecution and evidenced by thousands of conversions, new churches and the transformation of society. We should expect nothing less.

J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.

Pray for Mercy Upon China and Myanmar Disasters

2008-05-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

When I read the front page news of students buried alive under buildings in Xinhua China, when I saw the pictures of their bodies toppled over one another, I could not help but cry and ask God for mercy. Please pray, please help and let us unite together all over the world to aid our suffering brothers and sisters in Xinhua China after this devastating earthquake. As well as pray and do the same for those suffering, dying or homeless in Myanmar from the cyclones. Please post on this blog different organizations and way to help with aid. Below is an international prayer alert from the International Prayer Council. Lord Jesus, have mercy. JMA

Dear Friends,

Please continue to keep Myanmar in your prayers. There are over 34,000 confirmed dead and relief has only reached only a small portion of those needing assistance.

According to BBC News, the spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, Elizabeth Byrs, warned that its teams had only been able to reach 270,000 people - less than a fifth of the estimated total of survivors.

"We are only seeing the peak of the iceberg, and the situation risks becoming a lot more dramatic if there isn't an acceleration of humanitarian aid," she said. So far, she said, the World Food Programme had been able to send only 361 tonnes of food aid - and distribute just 175 tonnes. A further 55,000 tonnes of rice would be needed to feed those most in need for the next three months, Ms Byrs said. Half of the rice would need to beimported. "The scope of the disaster is huge," she warned. "That's why we need to act quickly in order to avoid a second disaster or maybe a third disaster." Please pray for a quick acceleration of the relief effort and that the government of Myanmar will allow professional relief workers from other nations to organize and distribute the supplies so many are still waiting to receive.

In another tragic development, the most destructive earthquake in three decades has hit Sichuan province in China, killing at least 12,000 and probably tens of thousands more. Pray for the swift rescue of those who are trapped beneath fallen structures and for a rapid and well organized relief effort to assist the survivors. Please also pray for God’s comfort and hope
for the massive numbers of people-men, women and children- who have lost their loved ones and had their lives so terribly disrupted.

Thanks for remembering these situations.

Yours in Christ,

JohnRobb

www.alphacommunities.org
www.worldvision.com
www.salvationarmyusa.org

Loving God for God

2008-05-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

"God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him"

I've been thinking a lot about this quote recently. God didn't create us to serve Him, He created us to know Him. Many people think that in order to love God, we must serve God. We think, in order to receive God's blessing, we must do something to achieve it. Many Christians I know only relate to God for what He can do for them, or what He can give them. Not many seek God for God. I think God must get really frustrated when most people just treat Him like Santa Clause. God is not our employer and we are not just His employees. God created us for friendship. We were created for worship.

God is love. What He wants more than anything else is that we would seek Him for Him, and get to know Him because we want to, not because we have to. I don't serve God for what He can do for me, or for what plans He has for me. To think that would be selfish and self serving. I serve God because I love Him. I love to love Him because He is the most amazing Person I have ever known. His love is incomparable. His presence is all I need.

The Devil can take away everything in my life, my health, my wealth, my relationships, my career, my money, my life, but He can't take away my Jesus. That is one thing the enemy can never destroy. He can't destroy my love for God and God's love for me. That my friend is the one thing that will last throughout eternity when this life is over...that is, our love relationship with God. (John 17:3) That we may know Christ and Christ alone, may this be my aim.

Study the book of Job. He loved God not for what God could do for him. But Job loved God for God. Because He is worthy to be worshiped. God, I love You!

Buy Bella DVD May 6th

2008-05-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

To all my friends,

The Bella DVD comes out May 6th. I ask each of you to not only buy a copy of the DVD after reading this, but to encourage everyone you know in your sphere of influence and networks to do the same. I signed on to help this small company "Metanoia Films" to help them promote this film to as many people as possible, because this movie has not only changed my life, but has been impacting thousands with a beautiful message of life. 15 women decided not to have an abortion after watching this film. Bella is one of those stories that can change the heart of a generation. Imagine how one movie could impact millions around the world with God's message, Bella is that movie. Please send the below link to as many people as possible asking them to join the Bella 10 Campaign (www.bella10campaign.com) so we can see millions touched with God's heart. Buy the DVD on amazon.com now, it will help boosts the ratings so that the film will have a big DVD opening release. Let's support the cause of LIFE! Please pray that God uses this movie to change the minds and hearts of this generation for the good.

Praying for Bella,

JMA

Pray for Edison Chen, Me and the World

2008-04-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Bros and Sis in Christ,

I have a very urgent and special prayer request. For nearly 2 months now I have not announced publicly, even to my prayer team to protect the confidentiality of the fragile situation I am about to tell you. In February the Holy Spirit led me supernaturally to a special young man named "Edison Chen." He is a famous pop star in Hong Kong and China who recently this year was involved in a internet sex scandal that received worldwide attention. My heart broke for this young man when I heard the news. I prayed for him to find the love of God and the forgiveness that is offered through Jesus Christ. I also prayed that God would use this situation for greater good, somehow to redeem and bless the youth and families of Asia. Through a series of divine circumstances in February God brought me to Edison, I shared the Gospel and God's personal prophetic word to him and Edison gave his life to Christ. His heart was genuine, his repentance was true, and I was so happy to see a new brother find God's forgiveness, mercy and grace. God truly loves Edison. The days after, many others in his family and circle of friends came to know Christ. It was a supernatural experience, that only God could orchestrate.

Yesterday night, I found out that one of the largest secular magazines in Hong Kong/Asia had caught wind of Edison's conversion and wrote a front page story on our friendship. I was very much in shock to hear about this because I had not spoken about this publicly for nearly 2 months. I was more surprised when my contact in Hong Kong told me the article was 100% positive, shared about my own conversion experience, my personal ministry and how Edison is starting a new life and new path in Christ. Honestly, when I heard this news knowing that millions all over Asia would read this uplifting article and possibly find Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, I wept.

I wept with joy for Edison and all the millions in Asia who have been negatively effected by the sin & immorality that was spread. I knew God was restoring Edison, a prodigal son who had returned to his heavenly Father. I wept, because God spoke to me when I met Edison that He would bring greater good from this scandal than evil. That what Satan meant for evil, God would turn for good. I am thankful to God because I know millions who read this magazine will see that God has forgiven Edison Chen and all the victims, showing them His love and mercy. Therefore, those who read this article after realizing that God has forgiven Edison, will also realize that Jesus can forgive their sins and give them hope for a new life in Christ. Please pray that God uses this testimony to bless the masses with the power of the Gospel. Good News is spreading in Asia, Jesus died on the cross and resurrected on the third day so our sins could be forgiven and anyone who believes in Him will not die, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Now I ask you for prayer. Edison Chen, the Victims and myself need your prayers more than ever before.

Please pray for Edison Chen and others...

1. Pray for protection from media pressure: There is a lot of pressure with an public article like this to perform as a Christian. Please pray that people realize Edison and others who have become Christian are still a work in progress. As I am a work in progress myself. No one is perfect, we are all human and we all need love and forgiveness. God doesn't expect us to be perfect, but to trust in His mercy and grace. Pray that God would protect this story and situation against gossip, accusation or deception, but only the truth of Jesus Christ would continually be uplifted in the media.

2. Please pray millions of Christians around the world would pray for Edison, his family, the victims to be strengthened in faith, comforted and restored to be a testimony to society in a positive way. Pray that the many victims of this situation would also find faith and forgiveness in Christ.

3. Pray that many who read this article and story would be saved. Pray that those who read this testimony of Edison's repentance and faith in Christ, my own personal testimony will realize that God loves them also, that they can be forgiven of their sins and have a new life in Jesus Christ. Pray as they realize God has forgiven Edison, He will also forgive them.

4. Pray that my family and I would be a great testimony for Christ. Please pray that God would protect and help me and my family in America and Hong Kong to be good witnesses for Christ. I am returning to Hong Kong in May for ministry and I need God's wisdom in how to talk about this story to others so that they see Christ and not me or anyone else. May He keep me, Edison and all others humble, so that we decrease but Christ would increase.

5. Ask God to turn what was meant for evil into good. Pray that through this scandal, that greater good would come out of this than evil. Pray that millions will be inspired, touched and put their faith in Jesus Christ across the world. This scandal was probably one of the biggest news stories in Asia in the last decade, many were adversely affected, but God now can turn the tide and bring hope and healing to all the world and turn tragedy into triumph!

Lastly, I just really want you all to keep this low key and simply "pray" if you read this. Pray for Edison, he is like a brother to me. I love him and he has a good heart. Many people will try to ridicule or doubt what has happened, but it doesn't matter because I know him and he is not only truly repentant, but he is doing his best to become a better man, change his ways, and live for God. He is a good person. We all make mistakes. I urge the public who reads this, judge not or you will be judged as the Bible says. Forgive Edison, the victims and ask God to forgive your own sins, because none of us are perfect and we all need Jesus forgiveness. Edison is a good man, God loves him, knows his heart is truly sorry and will restore him to be a great role model in society. I know it, I have faith not only for him but for all who are affected by this. Pray for Edison's spiritual restoration. Because t's not easy, Edison, his family, his friends and myself are all God's work in progress and we need prayers, patience, mercy and grace from everyone to not point the finger, gossip or anything else, but to simply pray asking God to make us more like Christ each day and to be a testimony for Him in this generation. May God receive all the glory in this.

God is faithful. Please pray right now for God's will to be done. Thank you!

Under the mercy,

JMA

For anyone who read this blog post and you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, but you want to know Him. You want to repent and be forgiven of your sins then read what the Good News of Jesus is all about here

The Bella 10 Campaign

2008-04-28T00:39:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends,

I urge each of you to pre-order the Bella DVD at amazon.com and get 10 of your friends to do the same the moment you read this blog post. To date, 15 women decided to not have abortions after watching this award winning movie. This film not only has the power to change lives, but to save them.

Go to: www.bella10campaign.com

and share this website with all your friends by sending out an email to everyone you know to pre-order the Bella DVD that comes out May 6th.

I believe in the power of film to change lives. That is why I'm pushing this amazing movie that changed my life and I know will change yours.

Help Bella. We are believing God to mobilize 100,000 believers to buy the DVD and get 10 others each to do the same. Can you imagine what could happen if 1 million people saw Bella and spread the message of life in it? Could you imagine how many more lives could be saved?

Let's do this. For life. For God's passion.

Mercy Seat

2008-04-26T11:01:00.001-07:00

Pray everywhere today for the ending of abortion in America and our generation. JMA

Bella 10 - Buy Bella DVD!

2008-04-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

What would you do if you knew you had a film that could not only change but save lives?

Bella, 2007's winner of the Toronto Film Festival's People's Choice Award, has done just this, receiving 13 direct accounts of mothers who were planning to abort their children changing their minds after watching the film. We know if we had a film that could save lives we would get it in as many hands as possible. With the Bella soon available on DVD, that dream can come true.

The Bella 10 Campaign was started to spread Bella's life saving power by challenging people to pre-buy the DVD and find 10 people who will also pre-buy the DVD and find their own 10 to do the same. This campaign starts and ends with the people. It doesn't move unless you move!

How can you help? Just join the movement in 3 easy steps:

1. Pre-Buy DVD
Click here to buy the Bella DVD
You can also buy the DVD in bulk (28 minimum order). Click here to buy in bulk

Note: please browse "Juno" before buying Bella because this could cause Amazon to recommend Bella to all Juno customers.

2. Recruit 10
Get 10 people to buy the dvd.

Click here to view the Promotional Plan for recruiting your 10.
Click here to print the Promotional Plan.

3. Mobilize
Pay it forward!
Get the 10 you found to find their own 10 who will repeat these 3 steps.

Send this website to your entire database and promote it online. (view promo plan)

Click here to view more ways you can make a positive impact by promoting Bella.
Click here to get ongoing updates from the Bella team and to enroll to win a Private Screening with the filmmakers.

We deeply appreciate all you have done.

The Bella Team
Love is a Movement - Find Your 10

http://www.bella10campaign.com/

Because of your help Bella was the #1 rated film of 2007 by the users of the biggest film review website in the world, Rotten Tomatoes.com with a 96.5 rating. Bella was also #1 while in theaters by users of Yahoo!, Fandango and NY Times Readers Poll. Now we are trying to become the #1 most pre-ordered DVD on Amazon so Bella make a bigger impact in peoples lives.

Supernatural Word of Knowledge Released Again!

2008-04-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

Update: Lakeland Revival Intensifies

Twice daily meetings in Lakeland, Fla., move into fourth straight week of revival. Starting Apr. 24, the meetings are being moved to Auburndale Life Church about 10 miles from Lakeland.

[04.22.08] Thousands of people longing for a physical or spiritual touch from God are flocking to central Florida for ongoing revival meetings that some have dubbed the “Lakeland Healing Outpouring.”

The services, which are being broadcast live daily on GOD TV to millions of potential viewers, reveal the excitement radiating from this area of the Sunshine State, prompting some people to jump on planes and fly in from across the country and even from abroad.

Todd Bentley, the 32-year-old Canadian healing evangelist with a boyish grin responsible for the meetings, reported on Friday that people’s faith alone has healed them even while they were booking their flights online or boarding planes bound for Lakeland, a city of about 90,000 between Orlando and Tampa along Interstate 4.

The 700-seat sanctuary of host pastor Stephen Strader’s Ignited Church can no longer contain the crowds. More than 1,000 worshipers stood inches apart at Friday night’s service, jamming every aisle and altar area. Their bodies rocked back and forth, and their faces wore peace-filled, lovesick and euphoric expressions.

The cars parked outside were also inches apart, with every grassy parcel of land on bordering properties used for overflow. During worship, song lyrics on PowerPoint were replaced with a warning to drivers parked at a nearby store that their cars would be “towed immediately.”

“We are all shocked that each night a minimum of 60 percent [are] first time [visitors],” Strader said yesterday.

read more here

My friends just got back from Lakeland Florida and were describing the incredible level of anointing and the amazing creative miracles that were taking place through supernatural words of knowledge. People were being healed of cancers, diseseases, chronic disorders and the list goes on through specific words of knowledge being called out over specific people. Praise Him! I believe the Holy Spirit is restoring the fullness of the Word of Knowledge gift to the Body of Christ to woo and encounter an unbelieving generation to the power of God. The healing angels in the days of the latter rain are being released again at this hour but this is just the beginning. We will begin to see God raise up prophets as evangelists again who will share God's revelation and words with the lost turning them to the risen Savior by the masses, in massive gatherings and on the streets. I would encourage all of you to watch the nightly meetings at 7pm eastern timeto receive an impartation of this healing revival at...

www.god.tv

or

www.freshfire.ca

We've been watching them in my room with my family and friends and the Holy Spirit has been pouring out through the computer screen. Acts 2 once again Lord. All it takes is a simple hunger for His presence and God will answer. Do it again!

Supernatural Outpouring of Holy Spirit in Florida!

2008-04-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow my senior Pastor Che Ahn and others are heading to Lakeland, Florida. For nearly 3 weeks now what started as a 4 day conference has turned into an unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit with signs, wonders and creative miracles breaking out. Todd Bentley has been leading the daily and nightly meetings and thousands are packing the church from everywhere. Secular press has caught wind of the revival and it's spreading. In my spirit, I for sensed last night while me and a few brothers were praying at the Azusa St. Mission in downtown LA where the baptism of the Holy Spirit was poured out in 1906 to hundreds of millions worldwide, that something similar to what is happening in Florida is about about to break out in Los Angeles California, near the downtown area or somewhere in Socal...I can sense it in my spirit and feel it in my bones. Pray, fast and seek the Lord while He may be found...read below, JMA

Revival Fever Breaks Out in Florida

In Lakeland, Fla., thousands are packing a church every night for the past two weeks looking for a taste of what could be a major spiritual outpouring.

[04.16.08] Meeting in a converted storefront on a highway in Lakeland, Fla., thousands are packing a church every night for the past two weeks looking for a taste of what could be a major spiritual outpouring.

Pockets of the Christian community in this area and beyond are buzzing over what could be compared with the early meetings revivalist Rodney Howard-Brown held here 15 years ago at Carpenter’s Home Church two miles down the road.

With an almost palpable sense of expectation hanging in the meetings, wild stories of healings have been lighting up the blogosphere, from reports of permanent scars disappearing off bodies to tumors disintegrating in stomachs.

Word of the meetings has spread across the globe via GOD TV’s live Web stream, and will air live on the network every night this coming weekend.

If hunger, as in the outpourings in Toronto and Pensacola during the 1990s, is a characteristic of revival, then believers here appear starved. “I’m just here for the presence of the Lord,” said one young man last night.

In loud heart-crying worship, one song lyric in particular—“healing is the bread of your children”—has become an anthem of the meetings being held in Lakeland by Todd Bentley, a Canadian revivalist and founder of Fresh Fire Ministries.

The stocky tattooed minister called out various ailments and diseases for several hours last night. Clusters of the more than 1,000 feverish believers responded to his words of knowledge, and later claimed healing.

A young teenaged girl testified the lump on her neck had disappeared. A woman with osteoarthritis of the knees kicked the air and ran across the stage. Several people declared hearing for the first time out of deaf ears.

“We’re still hungry,” the crowd worshiped, “we’re receiving, there’s got to be more, got to be more, got to be more.”

One five-year-old boy named Corey, accompanied by his parents, wanted prayer for his heart, which was irregular since infancy. His mother said it beat three times faster than normal, “like a washing machine under his skin” to the touch, she said.

As Bentley prayed, the boy swayed softly, eyes closed, eventually drifting into what appeared to be a trance-like state. Several minutes later Bentley asked the boy what he was feeling, but he was unresponsive.

“Are you there? Can you hear me?” Bentley said, snapping his fingers by the boy’s ears. “Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?”

The expression on the child’s face was as if he had disappeared. A man in the congregation shouted: “He’s in heaven! He’s getting a new heart!”

Standing behind his son, the boy’s father began weeping. “I think he’s in heaven,” Bentley whispered.

When he finally opened his eyes the boy’s mother held him, cried over him, and joyfully reported to the large crowd that her son’s heartbeat was now normal. “This is the first time it doesn’t beat like that pitter patter!” she said.

The current situation in Lakeland is apparently traceable to April 3, when Todd Bentley says an angel visited him. He was in Lakeland for one of his normal itinerant conferences scheduled from April 2-6.

He said the encounter wrecked his plans. Bentley cancelled his global itinerary and extended the meetings at Stephen Strader’s Ignited Church to daily daylong events. He said the meetings would continue at least through the end of April. —Paul Steven Ghiringhelli in Lakeland, Fla.

www.freshfire.ca

www.charismamag.com

Mobilize for onething Asian American

2008-04-10T23:39:00.000-07:00

Click to Register for onething Asian American here

Get the word out, email, call, and invite all for next weeks onething Asian American gathering. This is the first and I know in my spirit it will be historic as we release God's destiny for Asia's role in the end times and call forth a generation to radical abandonment and devotion to Jesus!

Love is a Movement - Find your 10

2008-04-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

To everyone reading my blog, I'm asking you to get on board with the Bella 10 Movement. After, helping to mobilize for this movie in the box office, I knew I had to keep helping this film save more lives. Here is our chance. This movie has already kept 13 women from aborting their children, countless of others whom we do not know of may have decided to also not abort their children and others as well took up courage to adopt an unwanted child.

God put it on my heart that this movie could save thousands of precious lives for years to come if we would simply buy the DVD and give it to family and friends as gifts to watch, in order to change their hearts on the sanctity of life. It's so easy, because it's already an amazing & beautiful film. The #1 rated film by users on Yahoo, Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes in 2007. Here is our goal...

Mobilize 10,000 to buy the DVD and recruit 10 others to do the same by May 6th (DVD release date). If we can hit this mark, then those 100,000 will in turn recruit 10 more each and we will have spread the message of Bella into 1 million homes. Imagine how many lives can be changed by watching this movie?

Go to our new Bella 10 Campaign site & sign up to become a Bella Champion:

www.bella10campaign.com

Get inspired, get this movie into the hands of every person you know cause it can literally save lives. Send the link to the site, send this email to everyone you know, let's do this for the unborn and for those who need a family.

Love is a Movement - Find your 10

(want to help get the word out? email: bellachampion@gmail.com)

Vote for A' KEIBA - MC HAMMER

2008-04-06T01:56:00.000-07:00

Some of you have heard about MTV new show "Rock the Cradle" It's like American Idol, only each of the contestants are the children of major rock stars and music artists (Bobby Brown, Olivia Newton John, The Eagles, etc) It's actually a very entertaining and intriguing show.

One of the contestants is Akeiba Burrell the daughter of MC Hammer. Most people don't know, but MC Hammer has been a spiritual father, mentor and inspiration to me for nearly 10 years. I started working with Hammer at the age of 19 running and managing media projects. Through the years we have become very close, almost like father and son, but in a spiritual dynamic. He has taught me so much in what it means to be a man of God, how to impact and transform society and really just how to be real God and man. I have so much love and respect for this man for who he is and what he has accomplished for the Lord.

His daughter Akeiba is an amazing young woman. When I first met her she was only 12 years old or so. Today, she is a student at the University of Texas, incredibly beautiful, smart and talented. Did I mention she loves Jesus? Well, I'm writing this blog so that you can all become her fans by supporting her on the MTV website for "Rock the Cradle" she will need all our support as she shines her God given gift to sing every week to millions around the world.

Go to this site to vote: http://www.iamonmtv.com/rockthecradle

I'm proud of you Akeiba! Keep doing what you do best! Live, love and be your amazing self! Show a sista sum luv!!!

4 Keys to Becoming a Strong Disciple

2008-04-03T23:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Bros and Sis,

I pray each of you will grow into strong and mature disciples of Jesus Christ by keeping these 4 key Biblical principles below active in your life. This is what the early Christians committed to in the New Testament and the Church grew in power and their lives changed the world. We must also commit to the below. I have done the four following things in my life since I was born again 10 years ago, and by practicing these four keys I have become a stronger and stronger disciple of Jesus Christ.

Note, the main key as my friend Steve pointed out to me is that these four keys can not be fulfilled by our own power or commitment, it is only as we daily are reminded of the forgiveness and love of Jesus Christ that overcomes all our sin and shame, that we can grow in our love for Him and do His will. We love Him because He first loved us. As we meditate upon the fact that Jesus enjoys us in our weakness, brokenness and failures, we will become more and more confident in His love. The revelation of His passion for us, releases within us a passion in our hearts for Him. He who has been forgiven much, loves much. Let all our commitment and devotion to Jesus be centered upon the finish work He has accomplished for us on the Cross!

Click to go to the Wheel Illustration

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." Acts 2:42

1. Pray Continually

Talk to God and let God talk to you. Everyday, every moment, pray continually. Find a specific time daily to be quite and pray with the Holy Spirit. Then talk to the Holy Spirit and listen to His voice throughout the day.

2. Love & Live the Word of God

Be committed to studying God's word like your life depended on it. Without it, we cannot know God's will. All success goes back to how obedient we are to knowing and doing God's will found in His Scriptures. Love the Word and Do it!

3. Share Christ w/ Someone Daily

Everyday, ask God to give you the opportunity to share the Gospel with someone. Look for open doors to share the Gospel with everyone you meet.

4. Fellowship with other Believers

You must be committed to a local church. People are like elevators they either take you up or take you down. You must be consistently in fellowship with other disciples of Christ in order to be held accountable, to be encouraged and to grow in your walk.

If you practice these 4 keys daily and continually in your life, I guarantee you that you will grow into a strong disciple of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, we must all be surrendered to His Lordship and follow Him at whatever the cost. Amen.

A prayer a friend sent me recently, let it challenge and inspire you to pursue Christ with your all.

The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer
I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,
exalted for you or brought low for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine, and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

Simple Church Movements

2008-03-31T10:05:00.001-07:00

Let's pray that God brings us back to the basics of what Church is. Church is not a professional sport, where only professionals can play. No, church is simple, where ordinary people can do extraordinary things for God. For the first 324 years of church there were no church buildings, no professionals, no programs. The first 300 years of the New Testament Church was a holy movement of house churches, now today in many places, it has become a holy monument, a corporation of sorts.

We need to realize that church is not a building, a personality or a program. Church is a spiritual family. It is where any amount of believers gather together and are committed together to obey the commands of Jesus. Don't get me wrong, Sunday church is church, we should go to it, honor it, support it, and be committed to a local church gathering. Whether that meets in a mega church building, meets in a traditional church building, meets in a home, or meets in a park, the point is that it's not about the meeting place, but it is about the people meeting in that place.

Every church needs clear Biblical leadership. Every church when matured must have elders, deacons, and those who oversee the flock (1 Tim 3, Titus). But the key is this, church is a place where all can participate (1 Cor 14:26) and all can be part of the experience. It's about sharing life, not an hour long meeting.

The presence of God is with us. The kingdom of God is everywhere. Wherever we go we bring the presence of God with us. Where ever we go we bring the kingdom of God in power. There, as disciples are being made we can begin to gather these disciples into new churches where they give themselves to prayer, study of Scripture, fellowship and breaking of bread (Acts 2:42-47) Every new believer must have these four keys growing in their life to mature in Christ.

1. Continual Prayer

2. To Love the Word of God

3. Fellowship with other Believers

4. Evangelism as a lifestyle

I will expand more on these topics in coming days. Whether you go to a big church or small church, you need to be in a church and have a passion to make disciples that will start new churches. In many parts of the world, where persecution is a reality, underground house church movements or small gatherings of believers is the norm. These churches may only be 10-20 members each, but they are true churches, networked with other house churches to release a spontaneous expansion of the Church to all nations. We need to recognize that there are many different wineskins of church and we must learn from one another in order to strengthen the Body of Christ worldwide.

Whatever church you go to, remember, it's not about going to church it's about being the church. When we have this mentality we can begin to be like Jesus and bring the kingdom of God to every place we go and shine as lights in the darkness.

A Heart Set Free to Pursue Adventure with God

2008-03-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

(Baptizing my boy Vanness in my backyard pool. Much love Vdubb, I'm so proud of your passion to know Christ bro!)

I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me -- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. Acts 20:24

The last 90 days have been unexplainable. I would share more, but the reality is that I can't because of the nature of the occurrences. One thing I do want to point out is this...we were all made to be on adventure with God.

As human beings, we are made to live for adventure. Without adventure, our hearts die, become dull, and we lose heart. God is the most interesting person I have ever met. I feel like my whole life has been an episode of 24, simply because I chose to lose my life instead of trying to save it. It's funny to me that Christians would try to save their lives and not trust God. That is the most ridiculous choice any person could ever make. Jesus said clearly, lose your life and you will save it, save your life and you will lose it, what good is it to gain the whole world but forfeit your own soul? The true path to freedom is to lose it all, that is, lose yourself to the things of this world and every hold that this world has upon your heart. When you think your happiness comes from owning the things of this world, you are fooled, because that is when the world has owned you. We try to hold on to our dreams, our relationships, our money, our assets, our titles and positions, our possessions and pleasures, not realizing those very things we hold on to are the very things that have enslaved us and kept our hearts from truly being alive. You find yourself when you lose yourself. Don't be owned by any man or woman, but God Himself. I have nothing to lose, cause I don't own anything anyways. I'm a dead man walking, but fully alive. My life is in His hands and whatever He gives me it's a privilege, an honor, a blessing, a grace that gives me the chance to know Him more and make Him known. If you are still holding onto your life it's about time to lose it. You want freedom? You want to live the adventure you were born to live for? Then lose your fears, lose yourself and lose it all, cause there in that place you'll find what you've always been looking for.

Yes, even lose the one you love, meaning this, I can love a girl, but I can't have her. She's not mine, she belongs to the Lord. God can give her to me as much as He can take her away. I'm just a steward of the things He gives me. I'm saying this because so many of my friends seem to want to hold on to that girl, to that boy, to that relationship as if they owned it (note: I am not talking about marriage, I'm talking about friends who are in dating relationships). Don't try to own anything or it will own you. Be good stewards, always with a heart of surrender and you will be of good faith and walk in infinite peace. In time, God will lead you to the one He has prepared for you in marriage covenant. Be of good courage!

In the last 90 days for some crazy reason, God has sent me as a missionary to take on the mountain of media and entertainment. People think Hollywood is the pit of hell, a Babylon of sorts, and in many ways it is. Yet, this is exactly where God wants His people to shine. It's in the darkest place that God's light can shine the brightest. I've been sent like Philip the evangelist to Ethiopian eunuchs all across Hollywood and the Asia entertainment world to do one thing, feed the hungry with the saving power of the Gospel. I've seen celebrity after celebrity, come to Christ through prophetic evangelism encounters, everyone of them are so hungry for true love, to be loved not for their fame and fortune, but to be loved for who they were created to be. To be loved as sons and daughters of God. It does not matter if you are famous or if you are homeless, everyone is hungry for one thing, unconditional love. Most of these celebrities who have come to Christ in the last months would never step into a church service, but each of them would like to know Jesus. Interesting, Jesus never invited anyone to a church service, rather, He brought himself, the very presence of almighty God to them. Whether that is on the street, in a club, in a hotel suite, in a corporate high rise, in a restaurant, in a home or in a dark alley, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is everywhere, so near to each of us if we would just open our hearts to Him. So I've started a few new beginnings of churches in the last 90 days in the most unlikely of places, in Hollywood, on the Internet, in friends homes, in recording studios, in hotel rooms and the funnest privilege has been making new disciples on my blackberry messenger. I can explain more later...God is everywhere, in you, with you and with them. Be Jesus where ever you go. Love all you can, do good to all you can, give all you can, bless everyone you can, show everyone you have the way, the truth and the life they have been searching for all their lives and you will begin to experience life's greatest adventure...the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One Thing Asian American

2008-03-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

Click here to Register

Click here to Promote the Facebook.com Group

It is our desire for our onething conferences to act as a catalyst that would provoke young adults into a greater reality of who God is. It is from the seedbed of night and day prayer that we call this generation to a wholehearted pursuit of God, challenging them to seek the Lord with lives of prayer, fasting and fulfilling the Great Commission.

onething Asian American is a clarion call to emerging young Asians who have a passion to reach Asia and have committed to a wholehearted pursuit of God and a pursuit of their destiny in God.

We believe God is raising up a generation who have a unique calling that intersects with Asia and back to Jerusalem. We will be praying and releasing a vision of Asia's destiny in the end times and your part to play in it!

Four years ago, the Holy Spirit spoke strongly to my heart, "Focus your preaching to spirit filled mandarin speaking churches outside of mainland China, for out of these churches I will raise up a mighty Asian youth army to finish the Great Commission." Later on, through further revelation the Holy Spirit revealed to me the key to fulfilling this word would be through sending Asian student and young adult missionaries into East Asia universities and urban cities to make disciples, plant simple churches to transform East Asia and bring the Gospel along the silk-road back to Jerusalem. Since releasing this vision and challenge to date, we have seen over 3,500 students make 2 year commitments to "GO" sometime in the next 10 years. Glory to God!

This April 17-19, the International House of Prayer is hosting the first onething Asian American conference at the Glory Vision Center in downtown Los Angeles, California. The vision for these onething conferences have been to act as a catalyst that would provoke young adults into pursuing God whole heartedly with lives of prayer, fasting and fulfilling the Great Commission. This particular onething is targeted to young Asians who have committed to a wholehearted pursuit of God. It is our hope to call them into a radical lifestyle of following Jesus and re-envisioning them for their role in bringing the gospel to the nations. We want to release a vision of their role as bearers of the gospel to East Asia and back to Jerusalem!

For all of you reading this blog post I would be deeply encouraged if you could get the word out and network with other Asian American student and young adult ministries about this strategic gathering. Please forward this email or your own personal letter to call forth a new generation of Asian's in North America for such a time as this! Let's make history for God. Come on!

"The Real Meaning of the Cross"

2008-03-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

"The Real Meaning of the Cross"

by Billy Graham

http://www.billygraham.org

Jesus Christ died on a rugged cross for our salvation. We do not worship that cross; we worship Christ, who is alive. Yet among all the emblems of the world, the cross is admired with awe and wonder.

The Bible says, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18, NIV).

A Message From Billy Graham

The history of the cross goes back long before Christ came. But it was the Romans who used it on a massive scale to execute people. The victim was fastened to the cross by cords, or his hands were nailed, and he was left to die. Even with the heat of the sun, the pull of the body and the torture the victim had endured before being put on the cross, sometimes it took a week to die on a cross. It was one of the most terrible, painful ways to die.

God loves us all. His love extends ... to the whole world.

But Christians started to use the cross as a symbol of Christianity. And every time the Gospel is proclaimed, those who hear the message and receive Christ as Savior come to faith by way of the cross.

Four dimensions of the cross come to my mind. First, I think about the breadth of the cross. The love of Christ is manifested in the cross to everyone. When I study the world population and see how fast it is increasing, I am staggered. Yet God loves us all. His love extends to Africa, to Asia, to Latin America, to Russia, to China, to the United States, to Canada—to the whole world. It includes you, whoever you are, whatever your religion, even if you have no religion. God says from the cross, "I love you."

Then there is the length of the cross. It has no measure. It extends from eternity to eternity, from everlasting to everlasting. When Noah built the Ark, it was 450 feet long. When Solomon built the Temple, it was 60 cubits long. If you build a shed for garden tools, you can measure the lumber with a tape measure. But how can you measure God's love for us on the cross?

The Bible says that God's love surpasses knowledge.

The Bible says that God's love surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:19). There is no way that our finite minds can even begin to understand the love God had for us when He gave His Son on the cross to die for us, because you and I deserve death. We deserve judgment and hell.

Then I think of the height of the cross—it extends to the throne of God. It doesn't matter how high Heaven is. Through the cross, God draws all people to Himself. But you have to make a decision about Jesus Christ.

And I think about the depth of God's love for us on the cross. You can fall into the pit of sin and degradation. You can live like an animal. You can be a murderer, a rapist. But you can't get beyond the love of God. The cross covers to the very gates of hell. How deep is God's love? The Bible says, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33). It can draw every sinner up to the exalted height of Heaven. Jesus said, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:32).

Think of the cross for a moment. Think of Christ's suffering for you and for me. It's said that Jesus endured five kinds of wounds: Concussion, when they beat Him on the head; laceration, when they bared His back, took long leather whips with steel pellets on the end and beat Him until He was bleeding from head to toe; penetration, when they crushed that crown of thorns on His brow; perforation, when they drove the nails through His hands and feet; and incision, when they put the spear in His side.

Think of Christ's suffering for you.

Those nails through His hands and feet were driven by you and me and all the peoples of the world. We all had a part in the death of Christ because of our sins. Our sins put Him on the cross—and you participated.

You will never understand the Bible, you will never understand the death of Christ on the cross, until you understand that God is a holy and righteous and pure God. He cannot even look upon evil.

In that terrible time of the agony of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, a shadow came between God the Father and God the Son. God cannot look upon sin, and in that moment He was laying your sins and mine on Christ.

He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). That means that He had never known sin, never told a lie, never had an evil thought, never had any greed or lust. But all of the filth and dirt from your life and my life descended on Him. None of us will ever understand the mystery of that moment. It was God's great love for each of us that allowed His Son to take that suffering.

He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us.

You and I have sinned against God. We have broken His laws. God told Adam that if he broke God's law, he would surely die (Genesis 2:17). But Adam and Eve broke His law.

They sinned. We have all deliberately rebelled against God. God would not be God, He wouldn't be just and righteous and holy, if He came along and patted us on the back and said, "You're forgiven." We either had to die for our own sins, or somebody who was qualified had to die for us. That Person who was qualified was Jesus Christ, and He volunteered to do it. He died in our place. People will do almost anything to get rid of their guilt. The place to get rid of guilt is at the cross. Jesus came to die. On the cross He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30).

God had given Jesus a work to do, and in the Gospel of John we read that Jesus said, "I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17:4). We wonder why He didn't feed everybody and heal everybody. He could have done it. He healed some people and fed some who were hungry, and He did that out of compassion. But His real work was the cross; there He was dealing with eternity.

Your body will go to the grave. Your soul, your spirit—the part of you that lives forever—will live on. Where will you spend eternity? Heaven or hell? That will be decided by what you do about the cross, because from the cross Christ is asking you to repent of your sin and receive Him as your Lord and Savior.

From the cross, Jesus reached out by His death and rescued us.

On the cross Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit" (Luke 23:46). They did not take His life from Him; He laid it down voluntarily. He gave up His Spirit to God the Father. And in saying this, He conferred upon every one of us the possibility of the gift of eternal life. You can have eternal life, too. Jesus' invitation is to Heaven.

We were lost, confused, without purpose or meaning in life, without assurance of a future life. But from the cross Jesus reached out by His death and rescued us. We can say to Him today, "Lord," "Savior." Are you sure that He is your Lord and your Savior? Thousands of people attend church, but they are not sure that they have committed their lives to Christ.

The crowd at the cross was shouting, "Save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross" (Matthew 27:40). Others were saying, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save" (Matthew 27:42). They were mocking, jeering, laughing.

Christ was on the cross for six hours between two thieves (Luke 23:39-44). They both deserved to die, according to Roman law. But one of the thieves looked at Jesus, and he saw that Jesus was different. He must have said to himself, "He has to be the Son of God. He has to be Lord." He said, "We deserve what we are getting, but He does not—He hasn't done anything wrong." Then he turned to Jesus and said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). What an act of faith!

Jesus was different.

On March 23, believers around the world will celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. I've read that this is the earliest Easter between 1913 and 2160.

by Franklin Graham

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ sets Christianity apart from every religion of the world. No other prophet gave his life purely for the sake of sinners—not Buddha, not Confucius, not Muhammad. No one else rose from the grave, demonstrating for all time that He has power even over death.

On the original Palm Sunday, the day of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, crowds hailed Him like a prince about to become a king, or a politician promising them the world. They didn't understand what Jesus was talking about when He told them, "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32, NIV).

Those words were still fresh in their minds on Friday, when they saw Him lifted up—nailed to a cross like the worst of criminals. Jesus became a public spectacle, complete with a mocking sign that proclaimed in three languages that this dying man was the King of the Jews.

His followers would see Jesus lifted up in even more powerful ways, first on that Sunday morning when He was raised from the grave, and then weeks later when He ascended into heaven—with a glorious promise to return someday.

It all goes back to the cross, where Jesus paid sin's penalty for you and me, so that by simply repenting of our sins and trusting in Him, we can have everlasting life with Him.

And what did Jesus say? "Today you will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). That thief will be in Heaven. Jesus forgave him by His death on the cross.

The forgiveness and the mercy of God are so far beyond our comprehension that we can hardly even talk about them.

Do you know Christ? Do you know the forgiveness of the cross and the power of Christ's resurrection? Are you forgiven? Have you received new life, resurrection life? I am asking you to make your commitment to Christ. God will help you, if you are willing.

How to Become a Christian

Do you want to know more about what it means to become a Christian? Because Christ died, your sins can be forgiven, and because He conquered death you can have eternal life. Learn more

Billy Graham

Billy Graham has preached the Gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history — over 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories. Hundreds of millions more have been reached through the various ministries of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
http://www.billygraham.org

Bible verses marked NKJV are taken by permission from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright ©1979, 1980, 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers, Nashville, Tenn. ©Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Vanilla Bean + Brownie = BOMB DIGGY!

2008-03-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

So after 3 years of trying every possible flavor at Cold Stone's ice cream and wanting to throw up after cause it was either way too rich, too sweet, too creamy or too heart attack helpful...I finally found the perfect combination. It's so simple you will say "that's impossible, no way, I don't believe it!" I'm sorry to tell you the truth, but the best combination "EVER" at Cold Stone is.....

VANILLA BEAN + BROWNIE !!!!!!!!

It is the absolute best! I ate it 4 times in the last 10 days...maybe that's why I've been feeling a bit sick. Thank God for ice cream. Thank God for vanilla bean and brownie. It's heaven on earth, trust me, get it, eat it, you will thank me and then thank God. Good Friday! GOD IS GOOD! dis is da bomb diggy yo. word.

1905 and Tapping the Oil Wells of Revival

2008-03-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

A Prophetic Word from our National Student Church Planting Director Erik Fish....God is about to birth a new campus church planting movement from North America across to the nations! JMA

March 17, 2008

I wanted to share a vision I had this morning while in prayer.

As I was praying, I suddenly saw what looked like oil wells buried beneath the university campuses -- many campuses. I had the sense that these oil wells were stored there from long ago and protected and preserved there by the prayers of the saints for future moves of God on the campuses and for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

As I was praying about the vision, I heard the word “1905”.

I had no idea about what happened in 1905, but I felt like I needed to research it and start digging. I believe there were things that happened in 1905 that God would give us access to through prayer again now.

I also felt prompted to look up J. Edwin Orr. I knew he had written Campus Aflame, but I’d never read it. I began searching on the Internet for what happened in 1905. I also dug “Campus Aflame” out of a box of books. I was really encouraged by what I found about the events of 1905, and I felt it was significant and related to the vision I had this morning and prophetic for how we are to pray.

I won’t go into a lot of details here, but as you probably know, (I didn’t), 1905 was an amazing year in the history of revival. The Welsch Revival was happening and inspired revival-minded people in North America to begin praying for a move of God. Right before New Year’s 1905, a small Welsch speaking church in Pennsylvania began praying for a move of God. Revival broke out and began spreading (it’s interesting that one of the first outbreaks of revival in this period in America started in a church that didn’t speak English as it’s first language – they spoke Welsch. They were praying for what happened in their homeland to happen now in America. I believe there are parallels today to the move of God in China and Asia and Asian believers praying for and sparking a move of God in America today). Revival spread. Atlanta, New York, Kansas City, Ohio. In Michigan, it was reported that they couldn’t keep count anymore at the number of conversions. In New Jersey it was said “Pentecost was literally repeated”. In Denver, the mayor called for a day of prayer. Schools closed, businesses shut down, and 12,000 attended the prayer meeting (keep in mind the lower population of the time).

Simultaneously at different parts of the country, other leaders started telling stories about the move of God happening in Wales and began praying for a move of God. One thing that is interesting is that this revival was the first to spread through the media technology of the time – newspapers. People would hear stories and it would prompt them to pray and seek God for a move in their town. It was reported that in Atlanta, 1,000 businessmen had united to pray for revival. Throughout the U.S., businesses were agreeing to shut down at noon to allow people to attend the rapidly growing prayer meetings that were springing up around the country.

It was said that there was no greater area that the Spirit of God was poured out than on the college campus. The Chancellor at Baylor University later recalled, “That was the time so many students went to the mission field.”

The 1906 Azusa Street Revival, with signs, wonders, and miracles and signifying the beginnings of the worldwide Pentecostal revival, was largely prompted by the estimated one million conversions that happened in America in 1905. This revival spread to Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and, through the Pentecostal movement, eventually around the world.

J.Edwin Orr reported one thing that was so significant in his mind about this 1905 move of God was that there was no main evangelist – everyone was an evangelist. A key to their message was that it was a simple message of repentance. It was a message of repentance that anyone could preach. Another thing that was so significant is that the revival was unstructured. Meetings were largely informal and led by the Holy Spirit. Lastly, Orr points out that the biggest lesson from 1905 was prayer. We can’t organize revival, but we can pray to prepare for what God is going to do.

I believe there are “reserves of revival” on our campuses, like oil wells, that God wants us to tap into through prayer. I believe now is the time to begin tapping these wells of revival. I see them gushing forth. Our prayer should not be, “Lord, send revival.” I believe rather that we need to shift our focus and understand that we have been given access and granted authority to tap these wells that were placed there long ago by God through the prayers and faith of our spiritual ancestors. They have prayed and experienced revival in past moves of God and there is something buried that is waiting to be released in our day. I believe some of these reserves were placed there in 1905, and I believe it’s time to “tap” them. God wants to do something amazing in our time to pour out His Spirit on the youth, spark a spiritual awakening on campuses and send students to the nations of the world.

Let’s keep praying!

Erik

Horton Hears A Who! (The Call to End Abortion)

2008-03-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

Two years ago God gave us a prophetic download about how He would use "Horton Hears A Who" the story book by Dr. Seuss to end abortion in America through a massive student prayer awakening on university campuses that would turn our nation back to Godh. What happened during that prophetic encounter with 70 student leaders from across the nation at UC San Diego was recorded in a prayer journal. We have since then seen 24-7 prayer movement spring up on hundreds of campuses across the USA, and now, this month in answer to the prayers we prayed for Horton Hears A Who, an actual movie has come out being released all over North America. Is this by accident or divine providence? I choose the later. It is not by chance that movies like Bella, Juno and others are all promoting a message of "pro-life" to value the life that God has created before the beginning of time. God is sending a message to our generatoin 'loud and clear' we must stand for righteousness and justice and end abortion in our generation. It will happen, it must happen, it is the will of God. End abortion Lord. Raise up the Church to adopt the unwanted children you have created. Put an end to this bloodshed of madness, and redeem a chosen generation. Pray for this movie Horton Hears a Who, that those who watch it will protect life, value life and fight for life. Read the story below and pray this prayer to be Bound4life

"Jesus, I plead your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God end abortion and send revival to America."

(www.bound4life.com)

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Story Behind YOPP “Year of Partnered Prayer”

(Horton Hears A Who and it's Connection to Ending Abortion in our Generation)

Saturday (7/15/06) – Wendy Andrews from 24-7 Prayer USA based out of Kansas City was speaking in the afternoon session about the red moon rising in our generation, which is prophesied in Joel 2:28-31 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” She was speaking about these being the last days when 24/7 prayer is being unleashed in this generation of a movement of persevering and powerful pray-ers. She began to share how the Lord had revealed to her that the universities of our nation can be likened to gardens, and the very action of gardening was likened to discipling/caring for/pastoring people. The gardens are college campuses that need to be planted and cultivated in order to bring forth beauty from the land to both protect and keep the spiritual land. We see in Genesis 2:15 God’s commission to Adam and Eve to “cultivate and to keep” the garden, and in this we are commanded to watch over, to guard, to protect the land that we’re given. She shared that it is not an easy job to watch over a garden - it needs to be constantly watered and tended to. The Lord revealed to her that it is specifically through prayer that we can watch over this land on campuses that is so easily ravished by outside sources that come to steal, kill and destroy, and she called us to 24-7 prayer specifically. The Lord also revealed to her that these gardens, our universities, are given by the Father only to His sons and daughters as an inheritance: Galatians 4:7 ‘now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.’ As heirs, we are to take action by assuming our position before the Father as sons and daughters and by claiming our inheritance, keeping watch over it with prayer.

Lou Engle soon came up to join Wendy and he spoke in relation to this call for 24-hour prayer. Lou described how university campuses have become a ‘paradise lost’, and that he believes the Lord wants to reclaim the paradise that’s been lost in the gardens of our universities. The university has also become a breeding ground for humanism, which teaches that everything we need can be found on our own apart from God – and so our gardens which are actually our universities have become corrupted in a way. Lou shared that there is actually a garden on campus at UCSD, which is a literal picture of the corrupted garden of Eden. Jaeson Ma then stated the fact that the first 108 universities of America were founded on the Word of God and were established as Bible colleges to send forth missionaries. We were to reclaim the college campuses lost through our spiritual weapon of prayer. Soon Jaeson and Lou led us to Snakehead at UCSD to pray a proclamation of defeat over the enemy and the victory of our God. As we were walking over towards Snake Path to pray, there happened to be a Chicano heritage group doing a cultural heritage dance at that very moment. We literally felt an oppressive atmosphere. Deanna Sick, a student from Pt. Loma Nazarene University, asked a group member what they were doing and what it was about, and they responded that they were celebrating a certain Chicano historian whose works were being put into the library. When asked who the dancers were, the person said they were calling on the spirits of their gods for a blessing. Jaeson Ma remarked later that when we were walking by, he saw in the spirit a bird with a golden head coming up in the haze of their incense. As he began to explain this, we realized that he was seeing the UCSD mascot, the Sungod. There is actually a statue of the Sungod on campus, and UCSD hosts an annual Sungod Festival celebrating one of the most lawless, humanistic, drunken days on campus. The Sungod statue in the middle of Sungod lawn at UCSD is exactly as Jaeson described it, an eagle with wings open wide, crowned with a golden head.

As we walked down the Snake Path, we began to pray for God to break down strongholds on UCSD and that of other campuses across the nation. Once we got to the bottom of Snake Path, someone had a word that the scales of the snake were like protection against anything trying to knock down its strongholds of darkness, and that we were to come against this force with the Holy Spirit. We began proclaiming the defeat of the enemy and the victory of Christ through the blood of the Lamb over the campus.

Wendy Andrews had the idea to parallel her message from earlier that each of us begin to plant bean seeds, which she had with her, into the ground in the garden as a physical picture of reclaiming the territory. Each seed was to represent a university in America, and we were asking God to reclaim and redeem every university in our nation, starting with 24/7 prayer. It was the idea to sacrifice the land to God, planting seeds of victory that will become trees both now and in many future generations to sprout up and overtake the campus. We were declaring not only victory but our inheritance from the Lord. He says, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” (Ps. 2:8) Everyone took some beans and began praying and planting as we walked up the Snakepath. At the top of the garden, with hearts of prayer, Lou began to share with us the actual significance and symbolism of Snakehead and of Geisel library, which sits at the top of the garden.

The design of Snake Path was designed by an artist by the name of Alexis Smith. The 560-foot-long path lies right beneath Geisel Library and significantly, is actually a representation of the conflict between innocence and knowledge in not only the Bible but in Milton’s Paradise Lost. There is a Garden of Eden along the path at UCSD and the snake that makes up Snakepath weaves through it, leading up the hill to the library. Lou spoke about a 15-year-old girl who had a prophetic dream about seeing a house, with “The Whos” written over it like a banner. She walked up to the attic of a house and found a particular series of 7 ancient books that are going to be important for the future. This series was Dr. Seuss’ children’s novels. Geisel Library actually has stored in it the collection of all but one of Dr. Seuss’ original books. The library is named after Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel), after his widow donated money to the fund. Dr. Seuss is known as the author for many children’s book stories and is author of one story in particular, called “Horton Hears a Who!” The book itself has high spiritual significance to Lou and the Justice House of Prayer in Washington D.C. regarding anti-abortion issues, though we cannot know whether the author himself meant to include unborn babies in his story on defending the defenseless. In “Horton Hears a Who!”, Horton the elephant, who possesses huge sensitive ears, hears the cry of the small Whos living on a clover leaf in Whoville. The sour kangaroos and other animals are trying to do away with the Whos, thinking they don’t think exist because they can’t be seen. Throughout the tale, Horton expends great energy in saving the Whos and he says, “A person’s a person no matter how small.” In the end, Horton gets the Whos to join their voices to each other and cry out so that the kangaroos hear them and let them live. One Who is found who is shirking his duty and not joining in - it is the smallest of them all, and when he finally counts his voice and joins in, he saves the whole town of Whoville. Lou reminded us that it is our job to pray for even the littlest to have a voice in order to be heard because it is through prayer and the voice of the little ones that breakthrough in ending abortion would come. The girl who had the prophetic dream is now writing a book for young children with an anti-abortion theme to it. Symbolically, Lou Engle pointed out that Snakehead (the top of Snake Path) points toward the statue of Dr. Suess, suggesting a spiritual battle between the force of a university’s stronghold of death humanistic ideology versus Theodore Geisel and all that represents life.

The library was physically constructed and symbolically represents the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil – it represents false ideologies and false knowledge sprouting from universities nationwide, feeding unhealthiness to the mentality of our nation. Symbolically, the very same month that the second brick-sized piece of cement fell off Geisel Library (November 5, 2005) was the month that the U.S. Supreme Court began to fall apart in Washington D.C. (November 28, 2005 CNN.com). The first brick-sized piece of concrete fell off Geisel Library a year prior on November 8, 2004. At the U.S. Supreme Court, a chunk of marble from its west pediment fell, after a prolonged period of prayer and fasting on its steps (JHOP, bound4life.com). Pertaining to both of these structures having pieces fall off, Lou made a prophetic connection of a breaking of ideological strongholds on this university and others as well.

As Lou shared about “Horton Hears a Who!”, he said that the smallest Who of them all cried out, “YOPP!” when he joined his voice in with the other Whos. Wendy recognized that to the 24-7 Prayer movement, a YOP is a Year of Prayer, and she suggested that perhaps God is calling for a Year of Prayer on college campuses in America, as the form that our collective voice will take as we cry out to God for mercy on universities. It deliberately had not been Wendy’s intention to call us to a year of prayer during the conference, but the course of events and the prompting of the Holy Spirit brought it out of her. God made it very clear that through Lou’s recounting of “Horton Hears a Who!”, the 15-year-old girl’s dream of finding the Dr. Seuss series, and Wendy’s message on seed planting that we were being called to a year of 24/7 prayer across colleges and universities, to pray fiercely for revival across college campuses. (I took out the “to end abortion worldwide” part – instead of only praying against abortion, it seemed throughout the weekend that the Lord desires a spirit of adoption to fall on college students. The part we know for sure is the revival on campuses part.) The word was proclaimed and we grasped it, praying in agreement. The plan, brought through 24/7 prayer rooms on colleges nationwide, through students zealously seeking the heart of God, is a nonstop one year plan to call for an uncompromising revolutionary college revival movement that will change history and generations to come on this earth. Jaeson prayed for new wine to be poured out when we were gathered at the top of the walkway. A girl pointed out that three thousand were saved at Pentecost and that similarly, there are approximately three thousand universities and colleges in America. We prayed into that. There was also a large emphasis and many prayers lifted up for a new student missions movement to be birthed from this gathering. Lou made a point that Daniel and his three friends were called to be set apart even among all the wise men of Babylon, and likewise, university students are being called to set their lives apart with a lifestyle of prayer and fasting and a “not blending in with society” mentality. Many declarations, praises, and prayers were lifted up to the Lord as the heavens were opened right there on top of snakehead at UCSD and we called for His glory to fall in that place.

For a few years, Jaeson had already been predicting and prophesying that God would raise up 24/7 prayer rooms at universities, to bring in simple churches and to unite leadership on campuses. The Lord, during the initial planning stages for the CTN gathering, revealed to Jaeson that the conference was to be held at UCSD. Jaeson had a prophetic dream one night where Dutch Sheets handed him a book with blank white pages in it - except for two - pages. On one end of the book, there was a picture of students with red LIFE tape covering their mouth, signifying the ending of abortion, etched into the book in black and white. The picture looked like it was a newspaper clipping that was historic. On the other end he saw sea cliffs and mighty ocean waves crashing into the sea cliffs. The waves were powerful but peaceful. Jaeson sensed these were waves signifying revival. The scene then changed and Jaeson was standing in front of a bay of deep blue water and on the other side of the water was a brown-colored building with many windows. He was standing with Jeremy Story on the edge of the cliffs with waves crashing onto the cliffs and the place they needed to get to was on the other side of the water. Jeremy wanted both of them to dive in but Jaeson was reluctant to at first. Jeremy did dive in first. When Jaeson saw Jeremy jumping in, he followed suit. The next day after the dream, Jaeson sent a summary of the dream to Jeremy Story and Dutch Sheets thinking it had some significance pertaining to college revival. (Earlier that year Dutch Sheets had given a prophetic word stating that this would be the year the youth movement would explode and universities would be impacted: UCLA, USC, UT, and Yale). Interestingly, a few days after the dream, Peter Gent sent Jaeson an email inviting the conference to be held at UCSD, and he included a link for UCSD conference centers in the email. Jaeson didn’t look at it, but forwarded the link to Jeremy Story. Minutes later Jeremy sends Jaeson back an email asking Jaeson if he looked at the UCSD conference center link because the pictures of the conference center resembled exactly what he saw in the dream (UCSD is located next to the famous San Diego Sea Cliffs and has large brown conference center buildings with large windows). Through this confirmation they knew they were to hold the CTN National Leadership Gathering at UCSD. The full reason was not revealed till the afternoon encounter with Wendy Andrews, Lou Engle and the revelation to reclaim the university campuses of America through the rising up of 24-7 campus houses of prayer.

Socal Blueprint Training

2008-03-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

We are holding a Blueprint Training on April 4-6 at USC in a few weeks. For those of you who have read the book, I would highly recommend you to come out to this intensive training that will give you the practical tools to move in prayer, power evangelism and planting simple churches on your college and university campuses. If you can't make it, spread the word and let's do this! JMA

Register at http://socalblueprint.com/register/

Join us for three days of intense campus missionary training that will give you the "know how" in how to win souls, make disciples and plant campus churches. Campus Church Networks is holding a regional "Blueprint Training" to equip students in how to reproduce & multiply campus church planting movements on their campuses, cities and nations.

Every revolution starts with a revolutionary, are you willing to be the one? CCN is here to help you get started. Come to one of our regional Blueprint trainings to find out how you can start a Campus Church Planting Movement on your campus!

We are contending not only for revival but reformation on our college campuses. The Holy Spirit is moving powerfully on our campuses as students pray, move in the supernatural and boldly proclaim the Gospel. But, when new wine is poured out there will be a need for new wine-skins. This Blueprint training will launch you into loving the lost, making disciples, and planting simple churches.

Speakers:
Jaeson Ma (CCN Lead Director)
Sam Lee (CCN Church Planting Director)
CCN Friends and Staff

Conference Schedule:

April 4th - 7-10pm
April 5th - All Day
April 6th - 9:30am-12:30pm

Where: USC

Mobilize: Invite your friends to come!

Cost: $15 per student. Register online now at http://socalblueprint.com/register/.

Training Content

- What is Church?
- What is a Church Planting Movement?
- # 5 P's to Multiplying Campus Churches
- How to Start Seeker Studies
- 14 Steps to Following Up with a New Believer
- Life Transformation Groups
- How to Do Simple Church
- Beyond the Campus: Simple Church Planting Among the Urban Poor

Housing: *** PLEASE NOTE *** Registrants are responsible for their own meals and housing.

Registration:
Space limited to first 150 registrants. Please register online at http://www.socalblueprint.com/register/ Credit card required to process registration payment (uses Google Checkout).

Contact: info@campuschurch.net for more information.

Also Join the Facebook Blueprint Training Event Group

Beautiful Letdown - Jesus Be My Only Satisfaction

2008-03-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope." Martin Luther King Jr.

This is a powerful quote. One worth thinking, pondering and meditating upon. Everything in this world can fail us at any given moment. But there is one thing that will never fail us, that is the Love of God. I remember once, when I was at the end of my rope, everything in my life had fallen apart. I lost everything it seemed. My closest friends had betrayed me, my reputation was shattered, my job was lost, my first love (girlfriend) had left me, my family was divided, my heart wast torn, my church had accused me of things I had not done, my ministry was quickly fading away, I was at the end of myself. Anything, that had given me satisfaction, significance or worth had failed me. I knew Jesus was asking me a simple question, "Jaeson will you make Me your only satisfaction?" I struggled with that question for weeks, until I finally surrendered and prayed, "Jesus be my only satisfaction." It was then, when I was interviewing this now popular band "Switchfoot" I asked the lead singer Jon Foreman, "So why did you all name the new album 'Beautiful Letdown' ? He said, "That's a good question. You see, anything in this world can let you down. This chair I'm sitting on can break on me. I can sing in a few minutes, but the next minute I could lose my voice forever, I could come home and find out my wife has been cheating on me, anything can let you down. But you know what is beautiful about it? Is that when all the things of this world let you down, it leads you to that one thing that is truly beautiful, the Love of God. You see everything in this world is finite Jaeson, but only one thing is infinite, the never failing, always constant, unconditional love of Jesus Christ."

More and more, do I see that everything in this life, leads me back to that one thing, knowing and enjoying the fact that I am eternally loved by my Father in heaven. Everything in this world can fail you, but only one thing will not, God's love, for He is love and this love will never end, it is eternal and it is mine, it is yours. Just take it =) When all hope is gone, hope against all hope, God will see you through my friends, let Jesus be your only satisfaction.

Antioch Forerunner Foundation

2008-02-29T13:29:00.000-08:00

This summer, we will be launching a long awaited student missionary training school for the "Student Back to Jerusalem Movement." Many of you who frequent my personal blog have answered the call to give at least 2 years of your life in the next 10 years to reaching the next generation in East Asia and from there bringing the Gospel back to Jerusalem to finish the Great Commission. We have seen the Holy Spirit galvanize and recruit over 3,500 student missionaries committed to the B2J movement in the last 3 years. This AFF training school is the culmination of years of prayer and prophetic words that God would birth an equipping center that would train the 10,000 young apostolic and prophetic student missionaries who have committed to the call in this hour. The training will be highly intensive and strategic, you will be required to take what you have learned and start s campus house of prayer & a simple church planting movement on your college campus in order to prepare you for church planting, missions & nations transformation in East Asia B2J. Apply for AFF as soon as possible, we are only taking a maximum of 70 student leaders this summer in KC!

June 25 - August 5 (arriving June 24, leaving August 6)

Antioch Forerunner Foundation is an intensive program designed to equip young adults 18-25 who have answered the call to bring the Gospel to East Asia and back to Jerusalem.

Students will be equipped in the context of a night and day prayer furnace at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. Within the framework of cultivating a lifestyle of prayer (100+ hours in the prayer room), students will receive equipping and teaching from the Word from Campus Church Networks' staff, IHOP intercessory missionaries and other strategic speakers. This cultivation of their missiology and theology will also be worked out as they seek to reach out to the surrounding community and engage with one another in small groups.

Ultimately, this missionary school's aim will be to equip student leaders to go back and make disciples that will become a simple church planting movement on their campuses. This will be in preparation to do so in the unreached cities and nations in East Asia.

Tuition (Option 1): $350
Tuition + Meals (Option 2): $650
Tuition + Meals + Housing (Option 3): $1050

For more information, visit:
http://aff.campuschurch.net

Apply online now:
http://www.ihop.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=1000027433
Note: site registration will be required to access online application. If application submission does not go through (nothing happens when you click send), check to see that all required fields are filled out.

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