Light the Fire Ministries

Ke Aloha of Christmas

2008-12-24T12:43:00.006-10:00

It's been a while since I last blogged. Ok, it's been forever.

I felt moved to upload some songs the Lord had given me and a video of my ke aloha (my beloved) whom Martha and I left in Hawai'i.

They along with my family have been the biggest blessings this past year. I thought it would only be fitting to give treasured memories symbolically, audibly, and visually back to the Lord as my Christmas gift to Him.

Here is a slideshow tribute made by the staff of The Reef Hawai'i. Many mahalos to Elden Neemia, Gavin Terukina, and Brooks Infante for all their creativity, aloha, and time in making this keepsake possible.

And now, here are four songs. They were recorded as demos for our worship team - The Living Reef. These were spiritual songs given to me by the Lord in quick succession during a very difficult time. They were truly miracles!

Not Alone (by Danny dj Morales Copyright 2008):

To the greatest miracle the world has ever known. Happy Birthday Lord Jesus! Mele kalikimaka to all...

With love and blessings,
~ the Ohana Morales

FutureAG Discussion II

2008-02-07T00:44:00.001-10:00

On January 14th, 2008, I participated in a second extensive discussion concerning the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit on FutureAG. The discussion proved very engaging and insightful as to where many young ministers in the Assemblies of God stand on the issue of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in general and tongues as the "initial physical evidence" in particular.

I felt it appropriate to feature my comments from that discussion here on Blogthefire for a couple reasons:

1. I wanted to continue building on their ideas here, and

2. I wanted to have an archive of that work, because the future and content of that blogsite is now in question given the moderators recent decision to pull its plug.

For the record, I fault no one for pulling the site down and I bless the moderators for their vision. I would just regret not having an archive, because it represents a lot of thought and effort on the part of countless people including myself.

As I cautioned in my first FutureAG Discussion post:

Please be advised that my comments are conversational in tone (given the discussion to which they were a part). Also, please note that I have left the vast majority of my comments intact with only a few posts and whole sentences excluded. I left these out because I judged them irrelevant to this article or because they contained the names of the people to whom I was speaking or attempting to contact. I have placed enlarged and boldfaced ellipses (...) to indicate where I cut off and/or resume my comments within the posts I have featured and dated below.

May the Lord use the below comments as He wills and may He connect dots in spite of the incomplete transcript. May you be blessed and edified as you read them. In the name of Jesus the Baptist, AMEN!

- Danny dj Morales

*** Start of Comments ***

January 14, 2008 3:45 PM:

... here are my top 7:

7. The Resurrection of Jesus (without this our faith is meaningless)

6. The Trinity (I think it important to acknowledge who God is both for the sake of truth and for fellowship)

5. The Rapture (Jesus promised to prepare a place for us and I think a cataclysmic world event like this deserves top priority)

4. The Fruit and Gifts of the Holy Spirit (wouldn't it be nice to be known for a balanced diet of fruit and power?)

3. Love for God and People (the summary of all the law per Jesus - oh and wouldn't it be nice to be defined by our love?)

2. The Great Commission (our job description as believers)

and not that it is numero uno in priority, but for the sake of continued discussion...

1. The three new covenant acts that cover us and their covenantal signs we are to experience: Salvation - the Blood of Jesus, Baptism in Water - immersion in water, and the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit - the unknown tongue.

I know this last one is the bone of contention. So...

As far as the Lord's Baptism is concerned, I for one think that because it is the Promise of the Father (singular), marks the birth of the Church (singular event), and is Jesus' baptism (a baptism by definition is a singular event, fillings are multiple events), it should be a doctrinal priority. The unknown tongue (singular as opposed to gifts of different kinds of tongues) as a covenantal sign is worthy of much more discussion and I am not afraid to see it continue.

BTW, I use the term "cover" for a reason, because I believe the Atonement is the central redemptive act that comprises Salvation, Baptism in Water, and the Lord's Baptism. I know there is a lot of different theories out there about it, but for it to be the highest holy day in God's calendar and set apart from Passover there has to be more to it than we give credit. I hope and pray we can discover and develop ways to understand the Atonement in more of its fullest.

I embrace the idea of re-visiting and re-communicating doctrinal truths. I find the idea exciting and frought with adventure (I know there's danger too). Given all the discussion, it will be wise to separate the fundamentals and the distinctives in whatever form our doctrinal truths take. I also think it wise to provide a little wiggle room for our eschatology (thus I didn't put pre-trib, the millennium, and New Heaven etc.).

Blessings all!

January 15, 2008 1:12 PM:

... People can point to the day they were saved and the day they were baptized in water, but pointing to a momentous baptism by Jesus all of a sudden is a grey area without a definite sign?

If only we could theologically scrape away everything that does not belong to the Lord's Baptism. This is what has led to confusion, endless debate, denominational pride, and division.

The BHS is a singular and momentous baptism by Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit for the individual. The water of the Holy Spirit is still there for filling, but a baptism is a definitely a definite event for an individual.

Does Scripture teach that holiness, spiritual maturity, the Fruit of the Spirit, or the Gifts of the Spirit come from the Lord's baptism? No.

I for one believe the Lord's Baptism is a covenant act like circumcision, salvation, and baptism in water. These are definite events in an individual's life. Unlike the Gifts of the Spirit, these covenant acts are not meant for the edification of the body at large, but for the individual.

Do these covenant acts translate to holiness, spiritual maturity, Fruit of the Holy Spirit, or the Gifts of the Holy Spirit? No.

I believe this is why Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit can, and often times do, come before the Lord's Baptism. This is why the Vineyardites and Calvarychapelites, for example, experience the gifts apart from the BHS.

All these covenant acts have signs associated with them. Do an online Bible search on the words "sign," "covenant," "flesh," "tongue," "mouth," "blood," "water," and "sprinkle." Combine a couple words at a time in your searches. I hope dots get connected like they were for me.

Furthermore, I believe it's important to separate out the Gifts and Fruit from the Lord's Baptism in doctrinal statements. Why?

1. It gives them their proper emphasis (they shall know us by their fruit - sounds like a distinctive and fundamental to me). Let's advertise that we're all about miracles, faith, and healing (another distinctive).

2. It helps to avoid confusion and misallocation of attributes (eg. the unknown tongue is different in purpose and function than the gift of different kinds of tongues; the Lord's Baptism does not translate to the Fruit; the gift of healing can come before or after the Lord's Baptism, etc.).

3. It teaches.

Hope this helps somebody out there. BTW, I really, really, really want to help the AG too.

January 16, 2008 4:01 PM:

... By saying the Lord's Baptism is a covenant act, I am actually elevating it up there with the God's promise not to flood the earth, Circumcision, the Mt Sinai experience, Salvation (the prerequisite¹), and Baptism in Water.

Can anyone question the physical evidence of God's rainbow? What about Circumcision (I'd hate to personally confirm this ;-)? What about the Sabbath and when it occurs? Can a person point to their salvation experience? Is a person's Baptism in Water a grey area as to when it happened (maybe with Alzheimer's)? I believe the same truth applies to the Lord's Baptism and its covenantal sign - the unknown tongue.

The first believers were Jews and Covenant people. They understood covenants and covenantal signs. I am just a student outside their culture beginning to learn what has been taught and mulled over on covenants for three millennia. Who knows what the Lord opened their eyes to in Scripture after His ascension². No one can say they have that all figured out and know what dots He connected.

Obviously, the Lord talked a lot about it "do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about." The Lord's Baptism is the reason why non-Jews were allowed fellowship! Truly we do not give it enough credit.

The fact that it was a gift of the Father points to it being a covenant. It also points to it being a separate and distinct event that is not earned. It's a gift! Did circumcision translate to personal holiness? Does Baptism in Water translate to Fruits of the Spirit?

For this reason, some believers who have been baptized by the Lord will say "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?". Why? Because spiritual gifts and operations are not earned and do not translate to personal holiness.

The Lord's Baptism is a gift that empowers and edifies the individual to witness and to speak the mind of God into their individual lives. That's power!

Now, can others be blessed to evangelize and perform miracles? Sure, a person gifted in evangelism is operating in a very real and supernatural office not held by every believer. A person gifted in works of miracles is likewise operating in a very real and supernatural gifting not appointed to every believer.

Hope this helps...

January 17, 2008 1:11 AM:

... I have to take issue with there not being anything spiritual associated with the covenantal signs I mentioned (the rainbow, Circumcision, and Baptism in Water).

Rainbows are God's multi-tongued, I mean multi-colored voice to the world. "Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth". God said whenever He sees it, He remembers. I take Him at His word. Thus, the rainbow is a physical covenantal sign that conveys a spiritual truth.

Jews would really take issue with the non-spirituality of Circumcision, because that is when a Jew is spiritually born (like reborn) into the assembly and given their name. For example, John the Baptist and Jesus were given their names upon their Circumcision (interestingly, Zechariah's mouth and tongue were loosened on this day). It being on the eighth day (the only time the Sabbath could be violated), also has spiritual significance to the Jew, because it represents the day after the seven physical days of creation. “Circumcision Day” is entirely a day of the Spirit. Thus, circumcision is a physical covenantal sign that conveys a spiritual truth.

I think you agree with me partially on Baptism in Water - "and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God." It's a spiritual pledge. John's Baptism was a sign of repentance - a spiritual concept. We might as well get used to the idea that water is a significant spiritual sign because Jesus talked about it, told us to baptize in it, sits on a throne flowing with it, and waters His city with it (i.e. living H2O). Thus, water is a physical covenantal sign that conveys a spiritual truth.

These are physical signs that carry with them spiritual significance. Likewise, as I mentioned earlier, blood is the covenantal sign of Salvation. Why do you think Paul says "therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord". He meant what he said.

The unknown tongue, in my book anyways, is a physical covenantal sign that conveys a spiritual truth just as much as the others. Like God's rainbow, it is a multi-colored arc in your mouth both physically and linguistically. Like Circumcision, it is a sign in the flesh. Like water is to Baptism in Water, the unknown tongue is to the sign of the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

But the real kicker for me as we say, was when I read this in Isaiah:

"'As for me, this is my covenant with them,' says the LORD. 'My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,' says the LORD. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 'Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm."

Kinda sounds like Acts Chapter 2 to me, complete with rainbows, I mean tongues of fire, I mean the glory of the Lord rising upon people's heads ;-). No wonder the Jews were amazed when the Gentiles were speaking in tongues! No wonder Paul's first question to the disciples in Ephesus was "did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?".

On a final note and as I said above, the Lord's Baptism should be placed apart from the Fruit of the Spirit (and the Gifts of the Spirit). Why? Well, for one thing, there are fundamental differences between gifts and fruits. Like my parents used to say, "Danny, money doesn't grow on trees you know." Neither do gifts.

Blessings

January 18, 2008 6:25 PM:

... I thought I would take you up on how I would have answered Dr. [John Jefferson] Davis³ "in a manner that is BOTH consistent with our theology AND simultaneously in rejection of the grounds of infant baptism."

[“... as I read Pentecostal theology, specifically Assembly of God theology, I notice that your statement of faith makes it explicitly clear that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, or as Luke defines it, being “filled with the Spirit,” is to be seen as an event subsequent to salvation. Would you agree?”]

1. Being filled with the Spirit does not entirely equal Baptism by Jesus in the Spirit. There are many fillings with the Spirit but there is only one Baptism by Jesus in the Holy Spirit. Think of a Venn Diagram with Fillings in the Spirit and the Lord's Baptism as two separate bubbles with one intersecting area. They intersect, but they are not entirely equal.

[“Is there ever a case where a person is empowered by the Spirit before they are justified by Christ and considered, by the Church, ‘saved’?”]

2. Yes. Scripture is chock full of examples of spirit empowerment, but never are they equal to Baptism by Jesus in the Spirit. Examples include Samson, Saul, and yes even John the Baptist in the womb.

[“Explain to me then ... how it was that John the Baptist was ‘filled with the Spirit,’ at the point of birth if he was not ‘saved’ prior to that point?”]

3. Being filled with the Spirit does not entirely equal Salvation. Another chance to draw a Venn Diagram. John was not saved in the womb, because Jesus' blood had not yet been shed. John the Baptist was saved when the Gospel was preached to the "captives" along with the thief on the cross. For an instance in that intersecting area in your two Venn Diagram bubbles, go to John 20:22-23 (this of course, took place after the Lord's blood was shed).

[“So our God is one who makes exceptions to His rules, especially in the case of infants?”]

4. Wrong premise to start with. In his premise, Filling in Spirit = Baptism by Jesus in the Spirit. Could Jesus have saved an infant and baptized him/her in the Holy Spirit in the womb before His ascension and His blood was shed? No. Refer to Rom 5:9-10 and Acts 2:33.

[“... I’ll ask it more plainly. Was John the Baptist “saved” prior to being “filled” with the Spirit?”]

5. No.

[“It would seem to me ... that the Assembly of God position on Spirit-baptism is actually an incredibly powerful support point for infant baptism. So why aren't we in agreement on this?]

6. ... Which Assembly of God position paper says that one can be saved without the shed blood of Jesus? Which of our position papers teaches that the Lord baptized in the Holy Spirit prior to His ascension? His premise was that John the Baptist was an example of this.

Actually, I have some questions for Dr. Davis to consider:

1. If the Lord's Baptism existed before His ascension, then why did John the Baptist say "but after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

2. If the Lord's Baptism pre-existed His ascension, then why did Jesus say "for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

3. If John had been baptized in the Holy Spirit in the womb, then why did he try to deter Jesus and say "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

And a related question

4. Why did John's disciples in Ephesus have to be re-baptized in water? After all, water is water and a baptism is a baptism right?

Personally, I believe infant baptism is a beautiful and holy thing. I was once honored to be one of two witnesses at a Presbyterian Christening for a neighbor and friend of mine in the Navy. On that day, his twin daughters, who had survived premature births by months and a battery of heart surgeries over several more, were baptized before the Lord and us as witnesses. I felt such an anointing of God's presence in that ceremony.

I believe God honors covenant acts and signs like this. They are holy things. Even unauthorized covenant acts and signs were holy unto the Lord:

"The LORD said to Moses, 'Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to take the censers out of the smoldering remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy - the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the LORD and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.'"

When I think of infant baptism, I think of infants up in Paradise splashing around in living water and the Lord placing His hands upon them. What a beautiful sight that must be (Matt 19:14-15). Infants already have kingdom citizenship.

However, would I ever put infant baptism in the same category as Salvation, Baptism in Water, and the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit? No.

They are new covenant acts that were put into effect by the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Heb 9:18) and come by faith in Him. Does faith require understanding? No. But faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for Salvation, Baptism in Water, and the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit. And lest we forget, faith comes by hearing (e.g. Gentiles in Acts 10).

Do unbelievers get baptized in water? No. They're just taking baths in front of an audience.

January 27, 2008 12:24 AM:

... How do you define prophesying?

How do you define speaking in tongues?

I for one see both as Holy Spirit-enabled speech.

The distinction I draw between prophesying and speaking in tongues is whether or not it is known to the speaker.

Thus, for me, speaking in tongues is speaking as the Holy Spirit enables in a language that is unknown to the speaker.

Prophesying, for me, is speaking as the Holy Spirit enables in a tongue that is known to the speaker.

To me it's all relative to what's known and unknown to the speaker.

If I were to "prophesy" in English, I would be speaking as the Holy Spirit enables in an unknown tongue to a good portion of the world's population.

If I were speaking in Swahili as the Holy Spirit enabled (an unknown tongue to me), I would be "prophesying" to those who knew Swahili.

Both are instances of speaking in tongues (languages). Both are instances of speaking as the Holy Spirit enabled. Furthermore, I believe both are speaking the mind of God. The only difference is what is known to the speaker (speaking with understanding, praying with one's mind, speaking intelligible words etc.).

Here are some rhetorical questions to consider:

Did tongues in Acts Chapter 2 fulfill any part of Joel Chapter 2?

Why does Peter use it to answer the "what does this mean?" question from the onlookers in Acts Chapter 2?

Is the unknown tongue mentioned in 1 Corinthians Chapter 14, the IPE we know and love?

And here's some really fun and hypothetical ones:

What would Paul say to those who neither spoke in tongues or prophesied (1 Cor 14:5)?

I only wish I could go back and ask him!

Is there at least one person in the Universe who could understand someone when they are speaking in tongues? If so, would they see it as tongues or prophesying or both?

What do you think? I'd like to know your "working definitions" too...

* if someone speaks in tongues in the Universe and no one is around to hear him/her, does it still have meaning?

January 27, 2008 1:07 AM:

Oh BTW, when I said "both are instances of speaking in tongues (languages)," I meant in the general sense and not in the specific sense (i.e. unknown tongues to the speaker).

January 28, 2008 1:26 PM:

... I make a distinction between revelation (e.g. receiving the Word, opening of eyes, the Word of the Lord coming to someone) and prophesying. So no, I was not implying instantaneous revelation.

The operative words in my working definition are Holy Spirit, enabling, and speaking (or speech). Accordingly, prophesying and speaking in tongues are done under the direct impulse and flow of the Holy Spirit where He forms and puts the words in your mouth, on your tongue, and through your lips.

I'm not sure cognitive abilities are even involved, until the speaker hears himself or herself speaking. Some exciting and recent research has shown this to be plausible in the case of speaking in tongues (The Science of Tongues on ABC News).

"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:20-21)

What makes tongues so awesome in my book is that the language used is completely unknown to the speaker. To answer my own hypothetical question, yes, there's at least one person in the Universe who understands someone speaking in tongues (God) and to Him, I believe, it's both speaking in tongues and prophesying. He's the one that gave the gift and understands the meaning of the words.

The only place in Scripture that I can think of that comes close to people speaking in tongues is at Babel. But, there it appears to be a transformation of cognitive abilities by the Holy Spirit. So people were not speaking under the direct impulse of the Holy Spirit, they were speaking their (transformed) minds! Also, it appears that it was not a language unknown to the speaker, but instantaneously known to the speaker (but not necessarily the hearer).

The other two examples of tongue-speaking involve a donkey and the stones of the ephod. But, I would argue that the donkey understood Balaam's language at least at some level (it had been his donkey for some time). So in this case, the donkey was prophesying (2 Peter 2:16).

With the stones of the ephod, each one represented a tribe. So when the Holy Spirit would descend upon the High Priest to prophesy through the ephod, the stones would "glow in other tribes as the Holy Spirit enabled." Certainly, the stones did not understand anything they were "saying" and they can't be considered a "speaker."

I say all this because although there may be several prototypes of tongues (and I have mentioned many previously elsewhere), they are unique and that's what makes them so awesome to me.

It "makes sense" to me that the sign of the Lord's Baptism would be unique. He did not baptize on earth so it "makes sense" for both the baptism and its sign to be unique (John 4:2, another Scripture you could ask Dr. Davis about).

One last thing, I wonder why Peter used this expression to explain the "what does this mean?" question of the onlookers:

"Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear."

I thought the Lord had already been filled by the Spirit (Luke 4:1) and had breathed the Spirit on His disciples (John 20:22)? Then, what did He receive from the Father up in heaven?

He received the unique promise of the Holy Spirit and His unique baptism that He bestows from heaven. Interestingly, Paul uses a similar expression:

"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"

Tongues, in my book, are awesomely unique and so too is the Lord's Baptism!

January 29, 2008 1:39 AM:

... I think that most of the division caused by this topic boils down to two things:

1. Not giving the credit to the Lord's Baptism (BHS) and tongues that they deserve, and

2. Giving credit to the Lord's Baptism and tongues that they do not deserve.

I really believe that the best days for the Lord's Baptism and tongues are ahead. The obstacle to that reality, unfortunately, is confusion. It's confusion that leads to division. And as we all know, God is not the author of confusion nor is He a God of disorder.

I can't for the life of me think that something so important as the promised gift of the Spirit, the promise of the Father, is a grey truth. It's the greyness (foisted upon it by the two things mentioned above) that causes the confusion that leads to division.

How could the one gift that unified Jews from all over the known world and that gave birth to the one Body of Christ, all in a single day, lead to this much confusion and division?

In one day, it did the impossible, that which only God could do and man could not. It began to build a city to the heavens by unconfusing tongues.

What would we gain if we were to make the Lord's Baptism and tongues a grey area?

Wouldn't we gain more if we defined them more clearly?

I know the latter will be unpopular, but many times so is the truth.

In our longing for truth, I believe we need to avoid the impulse to lean on human understanding (yes theology is many times full of it). We need to go back to the source, the Holy Spirit and the Book He inspired.

Is that not what the first modern-day Pentecostals did at the beginning of the last century in Topeka? Is that not what the first Pentecostals did in the Upper Room?

As the saying goes, "the rest is history." Who gets the glory? God does, because he "hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty."

... we need a Council of Springfield with lots of prayer and fasting. A house divided can not stand, but a church united is the devil's worst nightmare.

January 29, 2008 2:52 PM:

The Witness Dilemma

I wonder if Grudem⁴ ever considered the following:

1. The four witnesses in the Gospels (all by John the Baptist) pointing to tongues of fire. Although we may not see fire and the Holy Spirit, we certainly hear tongues of fire and the Holy Spirit with our ears and feel them in our mouths. Although we may not hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind from heaven, we certainly hear it coming from our mouths, tongues, and lips.* So John's prophecy could still apply to our present-day experience. As you said, these witnesses do not help us much, but they don't exactly hurt us either.

2. The three witnesses, two different Apostles, and two separate councils of circumcised believers referring to the events found in Acts Chapter 10. These witnesses are found in Acts 11:15-18, Acts 15:7-9, and Acts 15:13-14. These three witnesses are what convinced me that "Gentiles" owe tongues a great deal for their inclusion into the family. Three separate witnesses, two leading apostles, and two different councils are no joke.

3. The fulfillment of Isaiah 59:21 and 60:1-5 in almost the entirety of Acts 2. More importantly, its fulfillment in our present-day experience (cf. "from the mouths of your children" and "the promise is for you and your children...").

"'As for me, this is my covenant with them,' says the LORD. 'My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,' says the LORD. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 'Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come . . .'"

4. The witness in 1 Corinthians 14:22, where it says in part "tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers". Tongues are definitely a sign and they are definitely connected to witnessing to an unbelieving world. In fact, the way I look at them in a figurative sense, tongues = witnessing to the world. Why? Because they represent God's voice spoken to "every nation, tribe, people and language."

So how many witnesses do we need?

Furthermore, I believe Acts 1:5, 11:16, and Chapters 2, 8, 10, 19, are only the tip of the Scriptural iceberg. In fact, as I have posted elsewhere, I don't even rely upon Acts anymore to connect dots between the Lord's Baptism and the unknown tongue.

The Subsequence Dilemma

As far as the subsequence dilemma, I see it as a result of our understanding (or lack thereof) of the uniqueness of the Lord's Baptism and its simultaneous connection to say salvation.

How is it that the NT speaks of many baptisms (e.g. water and Spirit, Hebrews 6:2 etc.) and at the same time speaks of one baptism? 1 Cor 12:13 is not nearly as problematic as Eph 4:4-6:

"There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

What is this one baptism?

In my book, the Lord's Baptism (in the Holy Spirit) is a separate and distinct experience that is unified with baptism in water and baptism in the blood of Jesus (salvation). The unity approaches that of the Trinity. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Spirit, but all are one God. Likewise, Salvation is not baptism in water and baptism in water is not the Lord's baptism in the Holy Spirit, but all constitute one baptism. I know you and I have been down this line before. But I ask you to at least consider it in prayer.

Much of the confusion, and division, that we see in the body of Christ today can be directly correlated to not seeing the simultaneous unity and diversity between Salvation, Baptism in Water, and the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

In my book, a person can get saved, baptized in water, and baptized in the Holy Spirit simultaneously. Or, as in my case, saved at age 7, baptized in the Holy Spirit at age 18, gifted with the gift of different kinds of tongues at age 25, and baptized in water for the first time at age 26.

Hope this helps someone out there. I'd like to know what you think.

* there have been times in prayer, when the Spirit of the Lord has come upon me and I begin to speak in different kinds of tongues (cf. the unknown tongue) that the sound of a mighty rushing wind comes out of my mouth. It's loud and it's directly impulsed by the Holy Spirit. It sounds like a gale-force wind with gusts (I'm a weather/ocean guesser ;).

February 1, 2008 10:34 PM:

... In 1 Cor 12:13, who is the personal agent doing the baptizing?

Is it the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit?

Jesus baptizes with the Spirit. The Spirit does not baptize with the Spirit nor does the Father (remember the words of John the Baptist and Acts 2:33?).

This is why I keep on emphasizing the phrase "the Lord's Baptism" here and all throughout FutureAGdom.

As I interpret the NT, there are three main cases of "baptisms":

Case One:
The Father gives believers the blood of His Son (physically and spiritually). The Father covers and washes them with the blood of the Son as a seal of the Holy Spirit (e.g. a father's role in circumcision and the first Passover to name a few).

Case Two:
The Father gives believers water (physically and spiritually). The Holy Spirit baptizes them into the Name and Body of the Son and waters them with this water so that they grow in the likeness of the Son.

Case Three:
The Father gives believers the Holy Spirit (physically and spiritually). The Son baptizes, breathes, and fills them with the Holy Spirit.

Case One is where works of grace live including remission of sins, forgiveness, justification, righteousness, and the covenant act of salvation.

Case Two is where Fruits of the Spirit, Fruits in keeping with repentance, and the covenant act of water Baptism originate from.

Case Three is where Gifts of the Spirit, ministry offices, and the covenant act of the Lord's Baptism are found.

So, in my book, 1 Cor 12:13 is talking about Case Two. This is substantiated by the fact that Paul is trying to extol a Fruit of the Spirit (love) over the Gifts of the Spirit. This verse also introduces a discourse on the Body of Christ and mentions drinking the Spirit.

Bottom line: 1 Cor 12:13 has nothing to do with the Lord's Baptism and tongues.

Also, as I mentioned in my response to [a commenter's] challenge from Dr. Davis, fillings in the Spirit are not entirely equal to the Lord's Baptism with the Holy Spirit and vice versa. There are many fillings in the Bible, but there is only one Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Although the Lord's Baptism may start with a filling, it ends with an overflowing ("and they began to speak in other tongues"). Because of the uniqueness of the Lord's Baptism and tongues, I do not exclusively attach them with Spirit-filling as Grudem and Davis would like to presume.

As far as Grudem's subsequence argument using the Samaritan and Ephesian examples, his dilemma doesn't exist in my theological world. The three covenant acts of Salvation, Water Baptism, and the Lord's Baptism are distinct and at the same time unified. They can happen simultaneously or apart.

... I for one never said that those without the Lord's Baptism could not minister with the power of the Holy Spirit. There are plenty of Biblical examples before (and I assume after) the giving of the Lord's Baptism, of people ministering in the power of the Spirit. As I have said elsewhere, Rick Warren, Billy Graham, and -fill in the blank with a mighty evangelical leader here-, operate powerfully in their supernatural offices.

This example of what I see as confusion is another reason why it is advantageous to call Salvation, Baptism in Water, and the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit "covenant acts" and separate them both from supernatural offices and Gifts of the Spirit. Assuming they have not been baptized in the Holy Spirit, Rick Warren and Billy Graham have missed out on the Lord's unique empowerment for personal witnessing and edification. It doesn't mean that they can't powerfully evangelize though.

To me, it just means they haven't been baptized in the covenant act of the Lord's personal Baptism (He did not baptize on earth). I think it sad for them personally not to experience something on the level of other major covenant acts (e.g. God' promise not to flood the earth), but not a tragedy to the world or the Kingdom at large.

If I had not been baptized in water at the age of 26, who knows when I would have done it. I think going to heaven without it, when I had the chance to experience it here on earth, would have been a very disappointing decision when seen in the grand scheme of God's plans for my life.

... As it concerns adding Jesus to [a list of NT figures who are not said explicitly to speak in tongues], I am assuming you are saying that Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirit and yet did not speak in tongues. Acts 2:33 is pretty clear in saying that He received His unique baptism up in heaven. To me it's sort of a moot point whether or not Jesus ever spoke in tongues, because up there in Heaven, tongues are constantly flowing from His Throne in the form of rushing waters and thunders.

His baptism by John the Baptist, however, does serve as an awesome prototype: a baptism, the Spirit landing, an empowerment to minister, and a tongue, I mean a voice from heaven ;).

Can a person lose the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

Here are some questions to consider:

Can a person be unbaptized in water?

Can a person go back and erase the moment in time he or she was saved?

NO.

Here is another example of where the covenant act model can answer these questions. It is a specific act in time. Can you imagine a Jew trying to uncircumcise himself :-P?

People don't lose their Salvation, Baptism in Water, or their Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

What they lose is access to the Kingdom of God.

This how they forfeit their crowns and their prizes. They simply do not show up, because they have lost access (remember Adam and Eve and Paradise?).

This is also why I call Salvation, Baptism in Water, and the Lord's Baptism "birth experiences." When people experience these things, they are born into a spiritual kingdom where the blood of Jesus becomes their water (e.g. communion), living water becomes their blood, and the Spirit is the very air they breathe.

It is when they stop washing their robes with the blood of Jesus, drinking the living water, and getting filled with the Spirit, that they lose access to the Kingdom. I'm sure they ceased bearing fruit and became dead works long before. Only God can definitively determine when this happens because 1. it's a spiritual death and 2. He is judge.

If they remain in this condition when they die, they will forever remain outside the kingdom. God has the ultimate decision as to their ultimate disposition.

Can you imagine losing your national citizenship? Can you imagine losing access to this country? All your rights are gone. If your name was taken off of every record in this country, it would be as if you were never born or even known. You simply disappear from this country without a trace.

Hope this helps. Sorry for the late response again and the long response. Work is killing me!

Alohas in Jesus

February 2, 2008 2:58 PM:

... I realize the Greek is the same, but I believe the deal breaker is: who is the agent in the baptism of 1 Cor 12:13?

Is it the Son, the Father, or a mortal human being?

Is the Holy Spirit ever an agent in baptism? Well, let's hold off on that for a few...

First, there are fruits of the Spirit I forgot to mention in Case 2 above and they're really quite important, because without them our faith is meaningless. They are a part of my top 7 further above. They are the Firstfruits of the Resurrection.

The Holy Spirit is the agent in resurrection is He not? Is the resurrection a form of baptism? It sure is and it's a powerful one at that! It's as powerful of a baptism as the act of conception in a virgin womb (Matt 1:20).

I believe it is the Holy Spirit who baptizes us into the Body of Christ (aka Family of God) and who waters us to bear His fruit (my Case Two above).

With these ideas in mind, let's look at three other Scriptures that 1. have similar wording to 1 Cor 12:13, 2. illustrate how "in the Spirit" can be simultaneously "by the Spirit" (in other words, simultaneous agent and medium), and 3. Confirm what I call Case Two Baptism:

Romans 7:4-6
"So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."

Romans 8:12-16
"Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."

Galatians 5:16-18, 22-25
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law...But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

Remember that Paul uses the baptism to introduce his body discourse and then he ties in the most excellent way and Fruit of the Spirit - love. This is why I believe it's an example of what I call Case Two Baptism, where the Holy Spirit is the agent.

For the record, I believe the Spirit is always a medium. It's His nature after all (e.g. "through," "in," "with" etc.). But, I believe He can also simultaneously act as an agent...

P.S. to last post:

I should have mentioned the role of faith and works. I alluded to faith further above when I said:

"...faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for Salvation, Baptism in Water, and the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit. And lest we forget, faith comes by hearing (e.g. Gentiles in Acts 10). Do unbelievers get baptized in water? No. They're just taking baths in front of an audience."

The common denominator requirement for what I call Case One, Two, and Three Baptisms is faith in Jesus. And as we know, faith comes from hearing the Word of God. This is why the Gentiles were simultaneously baptized in the blood of Jesus (saved) and baptized by Jesus in the Holy Spirit. BTW, Acts 10 serves as a powerful indicator that there is a tri-unification of Salvation, Baptism in Water and the Lord's Baptism.

Now to works. I mentioned above "it is when they stop washing their robes with the blood of Jesus, drinking the living water, and getting filled with the Spirit, that they lose access to the Kingdom." Because the covenant acts are specific birth experiences, they mark living experiences.

Life doesn't stop at birth, neither does it stop at Salvation, Water Baptism, and the Lord's Baptism. It's just the beginning!

When we stop working out those covenant acts and producing in the Three Cases of Baptism, we die in those spiritual experiences. Faith without works is truly dead.

I believe the last thing to die is the life that began at salvation, but only God knows. But in my mind, there might as well be a sign at the Pearly Gates that reads "No Admittance Without the Blood of Jesus on Your Robe." Why? Because no dead thing has access to the Kingdom of God.

The next time I take the cup of communion, I'll meditate on these two verses:

"he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes."

"blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city."

*** End of Comments ***

Had I had the chance to post again before the comments were disabled on Monday, February 4, 2008, I would have posted the following:

... No, I think the translation is perfectly rendered fine as baptism in the Spirit (baptizo en Pneuma).

My point is that the Holy Spirit is always a medium (Eng. "in" and Gk. en), but sometimes He acts simultaneously as an agent ("by"). For Holy Spirit agency, you often times have to rely on context. The phrase baptizo en Pneuma gives no indication of agency so you have to rely on context and the context's relation to other Scriptural contexts.

Here are contextual relatives to 1 Cor 12:13:

Acts 8:16
"because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus."

Acts 10:48
"So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days."

Acts 19:5
"On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus."

And one that's not so clear, but also relates contextually to what I call "Case Two Baptism":

Galatians 3:26-29, 4:6-7
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise...
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."

Who leads us to be Sons of God?
Who calls out Abba Father?
Who baptizes into the body and name of Christ?
The Spirit does.

How are was raised like Christ from the dead?
How do we bear fruit to God?
How do we put to death the misdeeds of the body?
How are we freed from the law of sin and death?
By and through the Spirit (and His laws).

1 Cor 12:13, Romans 7:4-6, Romans 8:12-16, Galatians 3:26-29, 4:6-7, Galatians 5:16-18, 22-25 are all contextual cousins. Add them to Acts 8:16, Acts 10:48, and Acts 19:5 and the family becomes even more complete. They all fall under what I call "Case Two Baptism" and they all demonstrate how the Spirit is simultaneously "in" (Gk. en), "by," and "through."

And just so that we understand the power of contextual relativity, let me ask you this rhetorical question:

Do Acts 8:16, 10:48, and 19:5 use the phrase baptizo en Pneuma?

In closing, before people start thinking "but Danny (dj) a human agent baptizes a person into the body." Well, let's look at the other two New Covenant Acts:

Salvation and the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Even in these two cases, there is often a human proxy agent involved:
- A believer leading someone in a prayer of salvation
- A believer laying hands on someone to receive the Lord's Baptism
And what about healing?

Is it the mortal human proxy doing the saving and the baptizing in the Holy Spirit? Likewise, is it the mortal human proxy doing the baptizing into the name and body of Christ?

No.

Alohas all!

Light the Fire Ministries ©2008

Notes:

1. Although I indicate Salvation as a prerequisite here, I also believe in the tri-unification of Salvation, Water Baptism, and the Lord's Baptism. Accordingly, I believe that all three can occur simultaneously - at least from our frame of reference. I am still uncertain as to how a theoretical simultaneous Salvation, Baptism in Water, and Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit scenario would work. Would salvation come first in an infinitesimal quantum span of time, so that from our frame of reference they appear simultaneous (apparent - see Hebrews 9:16-22)? Or, could they all happen at the exact same time (real)? If the latter is true, it would mean that Salvation is not a prerequisite at all. The one prerequisite I am NOT uncertain on, however, is faith in Jesus Christ.

2. Correction: I intended to say "resurrection."

3. The bracketed questions that follow are paraphrased questions from Dr. John Jefferson Davis. Dr. Davis is a distinguished professor of systematic theology and Christian ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. For full credit on his paraphrased comments, please visit the article Guest Blogger: Paul Grabill on FutureAG.

4. Here I begin to address two dilemmas posed by Dr. Wayne Grudem against tongues as the initial physical evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. These dilemmas are found in his book Systematic Theology (chapter 39). Dr. Grudem is a distinguished research professor of Bible and Theology at Phoenix Seminary in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Cross, The Tree, and The City

2007-12-24T16:05:00.000-10:00

Two weeks ago, I posted on the Crux or Cross of the Unifying Theory of Baptisms. What began as an attempt to synthesize some of the elements of Passover, the Nativity, and the Crucifixion has yielded several new theoretical insights.

The insights began to emerge when I put together the Hebrew letters alef, mem, and tav. At the time, it seemed to be the perfect combination to represent the three-sided cross of Jesus.

After I put the triune word emet together, I discovered that alef and mem form the word for "mother" or "birth," as the letter mem alone stands for water.

This was an exciting discovery and confirmation as water is one of the three baptisms in The Unifying Theory. I wondered if mem and tav combined meant anything. To my surprise, yes they did! Mem and tav spell "death."

What began to emerge was a cyclical pattern starting from birth to death around the cross. As mentioned in my previous post, the letter tav itself is a picture of the three-sided lintels of Passover and the three-sided cross of Jesus. Thus, this leg stands for "death" (i.e. bloodshed).

At this point a triangular pattern began to appear in the cross forming a complete thought. The only thing that was needed to fully confirm the Unifying Theory was the idea of "spirit."

The idea came forth after researching the Hebrew letter alef and its combination with tav. Scripture records a unique triune metaphor of God involving the letter alef. According to what I found on Hebrew4Christians and rabbinical sites, there are only three instances in Scripture where God is described metaphorically to something as opposed to someone or a personal entity: 1. Deuteronomy 4:24 says that "God is a consuming fire," 2. Isaiah 10:17 and 1 John 1:5 says that "God is light," and 3. 1 John 4:16 says that "God is Love." Further study reveals that all three metaphors begin with the letter alef and all three are tied to the Holy Spirit.

If "alef to tav" means "from beginning to end," then "tav to alef" means to go from the end back to the beginning. When this idea is combined with idea of "birth" and "death," the last leg of the triangle becomes complete. The top of the three-sided cross and triangle symbolically means to go from death back to life. It literally spells "spirit resurrection," "born again," and "eternal life."

"I tell you the truth [the emet], whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24)

"So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha)." (John 19:17)

"he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:5-7)

Interestingly, the combination of tav-alef, figures prominently in an Ashkenazi piyyut or liturgical poem known as Akdamut. Each line of this piyyut concludes with the combination tav-alef. According to tradition, the intended meaning celebrates the perpetual learning of Torah from the end back to the beginning. Furthermore, Akdamut is read on Shavuot (Pentecost) by Ashkanazi Jews who use it in commemoration of the giving of Torah. Thus, the idea of recycle and spirit is spot on.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" (Matthew 5:17-18

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2)

At this point, the cross of the Lord spoke a triune message of birth by water, death by cross, and resurrection by spirit all in one cross. As I sat in church on Sunday December 16th and opened my Bible and looked up at the cross above our pastor, I thought of the Gospel message in the third Chapter of John. The dots began to connect and once again confirm that the cross spoke all these ideas with just one glimpse. It also provided me with more confirmation that the Lord indeed had been showing me something over the last two weeks.

"In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.' 'How can a man be born when he is old?' Nicodemus asked. 'Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!' Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.' 'How can this be?' Nicodemus asked. 'You are Israel's teacher,' said Jesus, 'and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." (John 3:3-15)

The confirmations were almost to much to bear as I remembered what the Lord had shown me back in 2004 and 2006:

In Jesus the Baptist, I have attempted to consolidate a few of the countless references that confirm that baptisms, atonements and new birth experiences are synonymous concepts. We can see this in the great Covenant acts. We can see it in the Day of Atonement...One of the greatest evidences is the Church, the supernatural Body of Christ and Nation belonging to God who was born and revealed through a Baptism on the Day of Pentecost! Another fascinating inter-relationship between these truths is that all of them require a death of sorts to be put into effect. Each new birth requires a death of the old. This demands a study all its own. My emphasis in this article is to express a unity between the concepts of baptism, new birth, blood, water, Spirit, and the Atonement. When Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, I believe He was pointing both to the past and to future concepts of rebirth and baptism. The very blood of God in the form of Jesus stood before Nicodemus and spoke of being born again in water and in the spirit. He spoke of His own blood being poured out in a offering for the world (John 3:16).

May the Lord be praised!

But there was so much more to learn. It took a Christmas vacation trip to Kauai to see that there was much more to the cross than meets the eye!

As I snuggled next to my oldest son a few days before leaving, I asked the Lord to fill in the blanks between alef, mem, and tav. What about all the other letters in the Hebrew alphabet (i.e. aleftav)? How did they fit into the three-sided cross?

I could not understand how the other letters were to run from alef to mem and then from mem to tav. Did they run along the top crossbeam (patibulum) halfway and then proceed down the middle (stipes) to mem? From mem did they come back up the stipes midway and then end at tav? Was I trying to read something into the cross that wasn't there to begin with?

No, I felt there was definitely more.

As I sat praying and meditating on the cross of the Lord, it suddenly flipped upside down! I then saw for the first time that the letter mem was a representation of a fountain that flowed from top to bottom. Then, the rest of the letters filled in from the right of the patibulum to the end of the stipes then back down to the left tip forming a perfect triangle. The cross was actually three-dimensional!

Now, this may seem weird to some, but I could not quite understand what was going on and could not discern the pattern. So I asked the Lord quite innocently to show me again because it did not make sense.

In my mind and in the upside-down cross, I saw a column of water flowing down its height in a cross-section view of what appeared to be a pyramid. I also saw this fountain fan out in lines and water the square base of the pyramid. A still small voice spoke as the moving image unfolded and asked "do you see it now?"

I must pause to state that what was happening is by no means the norm in my walk with the Lord. In fact, as of this writing I am still struggling to climb out of a spiritual desert and valley. I responded "yes, I see it now Lord." My eyes began to tear and my lips began to tremble as I thanked the Lord for His Spirit guiding to me into uncharted truth (i.e. emet).

What was the Lord showing me?

It was then that I was reminded of a story I had read after writing Jesus the Baptist. It was about visitations to heaven by Chinese orphans in pre-Communist China. Their transcribed accounts were compiled by missionary H. A. Baker in his booklet Heaven and the Angels. In this booklet, Missionary Baker theorizes that Heaven can be either a perfect cube or a pyramid based on the orphans' descriptions of Heaven.

Was I seeing an outline of the great city of Heaven? Was I seeing a fountain from the top of the city flowing down to its bottom foundation?

After seeing a glimpse of the city, it appeared to be a monolithic mountain¹. The pieces began to fit together in rapid succession. After thinking about the base of this great mountain, I thought it's none other than the Alpha and Omega (ie. Alef and Tav) Himself!

"He said to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life...'" (Revelation 21:6)

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:11)

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord." (Ephesians 2:19-21)

But I asked myself "how can there be a perfect triangle formed with 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet?" There is no symmetry in an even number for a triangle. And what about Revelation 21:14:

"The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. "

I further theorized that there must be a missing letter, because 22 letters can not form a triangle.

And there is! It's found in the longest verse in the Bible, Psalm 119 (e.g. NIV) and in a mystery of the Hebrew alphabet. The twin letters sin and shin coalesce together when in linear progression, but when you stretch the letters into a triangle they separate to provide the missing letter to yield twelve letters going up (including the apex) and twelve going down (including the apex). Thus, there are 22 Hebrew letters in linear progression and 23 in triangular progression, both resulting in perfect symmetry.

There in the pyramid formed by 23 letters one can spell out the names of the prophets and apostles as well as the entirety of the Word of God. When viewed side-by-side as pairs going from bottom-to-top, there are eleven pairs. But which letters are at the top?

When kept in the original alphabetical order, the letter lamed is at the apex. This is tremendous confirmation in and of itself. Why? Because lamed is the "tallest" letter in the Hebrew alphabet; it is the only letter to rise above the baseline when written. It rises in exactly three legs to tower over the other letters and it does so exactly in the middle only when there are 23 letters (and not 22).

Thus, there are eleven pairs rising up on each side and one apex, which together make exactly twelve floor levels symmetrical in height. When the Word of God says "the wall of the city had twelve foundations" it is referring to a wall of jasper that extends from the bottom of the pyramid to its apex stratified by twelve unique foundations, yielding twelve unique sections of the wall.

Each foundation and wall section forms what is known as a Millo or supporting terrace. King David built these Millos in the ancient City of David. It is now apparent to me that King Jesus has done the same for His city.

"David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the supporting terraces inward. And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him." (2 Samuel 5:9-10)

"Then he [King Hezekiah] worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the supporting terraces of the City of David..." (2 Chronicles 32:5a-b)

"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." (John 14:2-4)

"For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Hebrews 11:10)

These terraces and wall sections are truly enormous. Given an approximate pyramid height and side length of 1,400 statute miles and equidistant foundations, each terrace would measure approximately 116 statute miles (1,118 stadia) in vertical height²!

Theoretically, each foundation creates an entire floor level of this mountain city, forming twelve pyramid bases that get successively larger in area as one goes from top to bottom. This architectural motif is not without Scriptural precedent:

"The side rooms were on three levels, one above another, thirty on each level. There were ledges all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports were not inserted into the wall of the temple. The side rooms all around the temple were wider at each successive level. The structure surrounding the temple was built in ascending stages, so that the rooms widened as one went upward. A stairway went up from the lowest floor to the top floor through the middle floor. I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the length of the rod, six long cubits." (Ezekiel 41:6-8)

Given this motif, the only feature that cuts through consecutive floor levels (the twelve foundations) is the fountain of water that I saw. Given this scenario, the fountain acts as a "staircase," or elevator, as well as a spring for each city floor. This fountain is the city's central water supply and River Jordan. It is the Spring of the Water of Life!

"Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water." (Exodus 15:27)

"Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, the City of David. On that day, David said, 'Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those 'lame and blind' who are David's enemies.'" (2 Samuel 5:7-8b)

"Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom." (2 Chronicles 9:17-19)

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?" (Psalm 24:1-3)

"O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires [lapis lazuli]." (Isaiah 54:11)

"...but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14)

"He said to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life...'" (Revelation 21:6)

Given their theoretical vertical height of 116 statute miles, it is entirely conceivable that each wall section supports its own population center much like a modern-day skyscraper supports unique clients on each floor. But to see this one has to have an appreciation for what their vertical height would mean on earth.

Consider just these five facts: 1. the tallest skyscraper on earth, the Burj Dubai, at 1,964 feet stands less than half a mile high, 2. the Troposphere, where most of the earth's weather occurs and where the breathable portion of our atmosphere is found, extends only 11 miles above sea level, 3. a 50-mile high circum-swath from sea level around the Earth contains 99 percent of the total mass of Earth's atmosphere, 4. in the 1950's, the United States Defense Department awarded the rating of "astronaut" to anyone who flew 50 miles above sea level, and 5. the Kármán line, which demarcates airspace and outer space is 62.5 statute miles above sea level.

At 116 miles in vertical height, each wall section and foundation has more than ample vertical room to accommodate its own mini-world and even atmosphere. Thus, it is conceivable that there are twelve population centers, camps or districts within the mountain city.

"After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain." (Exodus 19:2)

"The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 'The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family.'" (Numbers 2:1-2)

"So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day." (Joshua 4:8)

"Solomon also had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year." (1 Kings 4:7)

"Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, 'Your name shall be Israel.' With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD" (1 Kings 18:31-32a)

"'The prince will have the land bordering each side of the area formed by the sacred district and the property of the city. It will extend westward from the west side and eastward from the east side, running lengthwise from the western to the eastern border parallel to one of the tribal portions.'" (Ezekiel 45:7)

"Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish." (Mark 6:39-43)

Although the sections of the walls are impressive, the top of the pyramid city represented by the three letters kaf, lamed, and mem tell an even greater story³, one that could confirm these theories:

"Since Lamed towers over the other letters from its central position, it is said to represent melech hamelakhim, the King of Kings. This idea is supported by the idea that the preceding letter [kaf] stands for kisea hakavod, "the throne of Glory," and the following letter [mem] stands for malkhut, "kingdom." The sages also point out that the three central letters can spell the word melech, King." (The Letter Lamed, Hebrew for Christians Site)

Thus, the apex formed at the top of this alphabetical pyramid and the three-sided Cross of Emet, from which it was derived, depicts the Throne of God. I could thus see the Lord seated on the throne at the top of this high mountain. The triangular train of His glory literally spans the height, width, and depth of the entire city from the throne at the top to the city's foundation at the bottom. He sits as the temple of this great city both among and above her population - His Bride. Behold the City of Emet, the Kingdom of God and of Heaven⁴!

"The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. (Psalm 29:10)

"Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell." (Psalm 43:3)

"... I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple." (Isaiah 6:1)

"The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD." (Isaiah 65:25)

"This is what the LORD says: 'I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.'" (Zechariah 8:3)

"And he said to them, 'I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.' After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them." (Mark 9:1-2)

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God...' He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' He said to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.'" (Revelation 21:1-3, 5-6)

"'Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.' And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." (Revelation 21:9b-14)

"I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." (Revelation 21:22)

A few days later, I began to replay the motion picture of the pyramid city and the fountain flowing from the apex down to the middle of its square base. I wanted to see how the city was laid out within the pyramid, so I began to draw out how the river coursed through its streets. The only thing that made sense to me was that it flowed from the center outward in four directions, but the confirmation of this theory and the best configuration would have to wait until after our trip to Kauai.

While in Kauai, we were awestruck by the beautiful cascading waterfalls and mountains that we saw. One of the falls, Wailua Falls, was the famous backdrop to the television show "Fantasy Island."

I could not help envisioning the golden city as I peered across Waimea Canyon at the breath-taking high mountains enrobed with clouds and mist. I even managed to capture a rainbow on film making its way through one of the distant canyons.

At the opposite end, we caught glimpse of a far-away waterfall cascading down the summit of a monolithic peak. Its waters were blown like hair into fine mist by the wind swirling through the canyon, which is known around the world as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." All these sights served to paint a vivid picture of paradise on earth.

Back at the hotel room, I could not shake the image of the great city. In my mind's eye, I redrew a cross-section of its square base. In the middle, I envisioned both the Tree of Life and the river flowing with its water.

But there was a puzzle to this picture. I could not marry the Tree of Life, the Throne of God, and the River. Then, the thought hit me: the Throne of God is within the Tree of Life and the river flows from it and around it on each side! I had never heard of such a thing.

I dashed for the drawer under the telephone hoping to find a Bible. Thank God for the Gideons! There as only King James English could phrase it I found my answer:

"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:" (Revelation 22:1-3 KJV)

I could see the Water of Life flowing from the floodgates of heaven, the fountain of the Alef and the Tav suspended high overhead on His Throne, down to earth. I now saw a significance and connection between the Cross, the Throne, and the River and the Spring that flowed from it that I had never known before. While driving through the countryside of Kauai the next day, I looked over to my wife and said "it blows me away to think of it this way, but when the Romans were crucifying the Lord, they were actually enthroning Him."

"For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth." (Genesis 7:17)

"'The LORD's right hand is lifted high; the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!'" (Psalm 118:16)

"I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up..." (Isaiah 6:1b KJV)

"See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him — his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness — so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand... Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him... But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:1-2,5)

"your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10)

"After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, 'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.' Then he climbed into the boat with them..." (Mark 6:46-51a)

"'I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.'" (John 3:12-15)

"So Jesus said, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.'" (John 8:28-29)

"'But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.' He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die." (John 12:32-33)

"Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal." (Revelation 4:6)

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him." (Revelation 22:1-3)

When we came back from Kauai, I pondered long and hard as to what the Tree of Life looked like in Heaven. I remembered a connection to the Throne of God and the Ark of the Covenant made in a book written by the Christian author and explorer Bob Cornuke (The Lost Ark of the Covenant). Then the answer came to me: the Tree of Life looks like the Ark of the Covenant⁵!

"'Have them make a chest of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it... Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.'" (Exodus 25:10-11, 17-22)

"David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark." (2 Samuel 6:1-2)

It was then that I saw the following: 1. A seat in the middle of the trunk forming the Atonement Cover or "Mercy Seat" 2. Two main branches of the trunk forming the bodies of the cherubim 3. Four branches with Leaves spreading upward in the form of wings (two on each side) and finally, 4. Twelve crops of fruit on the leaves (seven in the seven colors of the rainbow and five in what I theorize to be yet undiscovered colors). Just as in the case of the Ark of the Covenant, the Throne and the winged canopy are one piece, because they are one tree. Similarly, just as in the case of the three-sided cross and the throne apex of the Mountain of God, the Tree is roughly pyramidical in shape. From the front, it is visually three-in-one: one seat and two sets of wings, which means at the center of it all is the Atonement!

"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings..." (Malachi 4:1-2)

"On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 22:2b-c)

The image that struck me was the similarity this tree and its multi-colored fruit had with the familiar Christmas Tree⁶. I quickly researched the earliest origins of the Christmas Tree and was shocked to discover the account of Saint and Martyr Winfred Boniface. After a few more clicks of a search engine, I was blown away completely by the connections between: 1. The Tree of Life, 2. The Tree of Paradise, 3. "Christmas Pyramids" or lichstocks erected by German Christians, 4. Upside-down fir trees representing the Holy Trinity, 5. The message of Eternal life, and 6. our modern-day Tannenbaum better known as the Christmas Tree.

"His young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. Men will dwell again in his shade. He will flourish like the grain. He will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon. O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? I will answer him and care for him. I am like a green pine tree; your fruitfulness comes from me." (Hosea 14:6-8)

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.'" (Galatians 3:13)

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24)

Not only had I discovered good reason to keep my Christmas Tree on display year-round, but in it I now saw so many truths in one simple tree that I had never seen before: 1. The City of Truth (Emet), 2. The Ark of the Covenant, 3. The Throne of God and of the Lamb, 4. The Atonement, 5. The Holy Trinity, 6. The upside-down and right-side-up Three-sided Cross of Jesus, 7. The Tree of Life, Death, and Resurrection, 8. The healing in His wings and in the leaves of His Throne, and 9. The twelve crops of multi-colored fruit. I'm sure there so much more meaning!

After this dizzying array of connections, the only missing piece that remained for me, at least this Christmas, was whether there was any confirmation in Scripture that the river of the water of life in fact flowed in four different directions from the center of the city. In all my previous drawings, I had the water flowing from the center in four directions to successive square rivers. It was the only way I could marry: a single tree, standing on "each side of the river," in a city square, with a river flowing from it. But was there any connections in Scripture between the Tree of Life, Heaven, and a four-sided flow of a river? To my amazement there was!

"...In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates." (Genesis 2:9c-14)

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (Revelation 2:7)

"THEN HE showed me the river whose waters give life, sparkling like crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:1 Amplified Bible)

And so that is how the vision of The Cross, The Tree, and The City ended just in time for Christmas. Every item that the Lord had shown in the weeks leading up to Christmas was unplanned and unintentional on my part. It was a Christmas miracle!

I started this post as a love gift to the Lord on His birthday, but I have come away blessed beyond words. Thank you, Merry Christmas, and Happy Birthday Lord Jesus!

"Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'" (John 4:13-14)

Light the Fire Ministries ©2007
Notes:

1. Scripture ascribes mountains with great spiritual significance. Many like Mount Sinai, Mount Carmel, and the Mount of Olives are considered holy unto the Lord and "mountains of God." It is entirely conceivable that holy mountains and their man-made miniature cousins, altars, are primal representations of the one mountain city in heaven. The connection becomes even more exciting when one considers that God has poured out His blood, His water, and the fire of His Holy Spirit upon us His Children as he has done with His holy mountains and altars.

As mentioned in the article Jesus is the Baptist!, "that altar is you and me! We are the altars of living stones (1 Peter 2:5). We like Noah's mountain, Sinai, and the Temple Mount on the Day of Pentecost, are the Mountains of His new Covenant. We are the temple and tabernacle of God." Given these connections, the words of the Apostle John describing the holy city should take added significance to us all: "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband" (Revelation 21:2).

Beyond holy mountains and altars representing the mountain city in heaven, they are also pictures of God's throne. If one were to take a snapshot of a blood sacrifice burning and smoking atop a pile of wood in the midst of an assembly, one would have a picture of the Lamb of God slain from the creation of the world in the midst of the four beasts and elders in heaven (Revelation 4:4-5). Moreover, the scene would be complete with lightning and the glory of the Lord (the fire on the altar), the clouds that surround him (the smoke from the fire), and the Tree of Life (the wood) (Psalm 97:2). The picture would not be complete, however, without the Spring, River, and Sea of Atonement that flows from God's Throne to cover mankind (the blood of the sacrifice).

Taken in this light, it is easy to see that altars are man's attempt to glorify the Lord seated on the Throne, memorialize his timeless sacrifice, symbolize His atonement, and to make contact and establish fellowship with Him. Furthermore, it is equally easy to see why altars to other gods are the utmost perversion and affront to God's honor and the blood of His Son, the Lamb of God. "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" (Revelation 5:12b-c). Amen!

2. This vertical height calculation (cf. slant height) of a wall section was derived by simply dividing the approximate Biblical height of the city, 1,400 statute miles, by its 12 foundations.

3. Although Lamed is at the static apex of the pyramid, I theorize that the top three letters are actually a dynamic apex and move around in what can best be described as an "electron cloud" atop this mountain (see Isaiah 14:13-14). The distinction between them blurs as they spin at some unknown speed or vibration (e.g. c = the speed of light). At this point, they form a unified whole. This theory is consistent with the idea of the Holy Trinity and the Atonement presented in The Unifying Theory and throughout Jesus the Baptist.

Another interesting feature of the apex is the constitution of its foundation - amethyst. This gemstone's primary color is purple, the color of royalty (Song of Solomon 3:10, Daniel 5:29, Esther 8:15, Mark 15:17, 15:20, John 19:2, 19:5). Thus, the apex says "throne" in color as well. Purple, however, is only part of amethyst's luster, because it has secondary hues of blue and red. Moreover, purple is a combination of equal parts of blue and red. When one considers that light is needed to see amethyst's color, and its unified color constitution of blue and red, this foundation not only says "throne level" it also says "Trinity" (see notes 2 and 3 below).

4. This depiction of the City of Emet is a frontal view only. The pattern of the 23 letters theoretically repeats itself on each of the four sides of the great pyramid. This means that each cornerstone is an alef-tav, or Alpha and Omega, exactly as the Word of God says (Zechariah 10:4, Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Peter 2:4-8, Revelation 22:13-14). Furthermore, this great pyramid, like all square pyramids, has three sides and four faces equaling a unified shape of seven.

This depiction further shows the color of the city to be that of jasper (red) as described in Revelation 21 verses 11 and 18. The other prominent colors of the city, as evidenced by their observation at great distances by the Prophet Ezekiel and the Apostle John are blue and gold (see note 3 below). This chromatic observation is significant because red, blue, and yellow (gold) constitute the subtractive primary color set. It is also highly likely, given the life in the city and its description as "paradise," that the color green is prominent as well (Psalm 23:2, Mark 6:39, Luke 23:43, 2 Corinthians 12:3-4, Revelation 2:7).

If this is the case, both the subtractive and additive primary color sets are prominent in heaven. As discussed in The Throne Matrix, these color sets all say "blood, water, Spirit" or put another way: "Father, Son, Holy Spirit."

5. The connections between the Ark of Noah, the Ark of the Covenant, the Tree of Life, the Cross, the apex of the pyramid City of Emet, and the Throne of God and of the Lamb are truly mind-boggling. They are all related concepts and all say "throne."

For instance, their construction is similar in that they are built of three parts: three decks in the Ark of Noah, three pieces to the Ark of the Covenant (poles, chest, and Atonement Cover), three sides to the Cross of Jesus, three-letter sequence of the apex (kaf, lamed, and mem), and finally three facets to the Throne and Tree of Life (seat and twin branches/wings full of fruit and healing). All were/are lifted up above the earth and all have baptismal floods associated with them: the Ark of Noah was lifted up above the flood, the Ark of the Covenant was lifted up above the River Jordan, the River of Life flows on either side of the Tree of Life, the Lord underwent a baptism on His Cross, mem which stands for water is at the apex of the pyramid city, the Lord is enthroned above a flood (Psalm 29:10) and the River of the Water of Life flows from His Throne.

Given these staggering connections, it is now apparent:
1. Why these objects were/are thee-in-one piece
2. Why trees and their wood are significant features or play significant roles in these objects
3. Why the Ark (aron) of the Covenant and the Ark (tebah) of Noah were mysteriously translated into English using the same word "Ark"
4. Why the poles had to remain in the Ark at all times (Exodus 25:15 - to maintain 3 in 1)
Even the fact that twelve stones were taken from the middle of the River Jordan in the exact spot that the Ark of the Covenant had stood over is testimony to these connections (Joshua 4:9).

If one were to take a snapshot of the Ark of the Covenant over the twelve stones in the riverbed it would be a picture of the Throne of God (Tree of Life) over the twelve foundations in the middle of the River of Life. Similarly, if one were to take a snapshot of the Ark of Noah, the mountain on which it landed, the altar, and the rainbow it would be a picture of the Ark of the Covenant, the pile of twelve stones, the priests elevating the Ark like a high mountain, and the glory of the Lord between the Cherubim. The same could be said of the Cross of Jesus, Golgotha (Mount Calvary), the Son of Man glorified on the cross (John 12:23), and the baptism (pouring out) of blood, water, and spirit that took place at the crucifixion (Luke 12:50, John 19:34, Matthew 27:50, Titus 3:5-7).

What is even more amazing is the graphical connections these objects have with the experiences at Mount Sinai and the Mount of Transfiguration. The next time you read about the Throne of God high and lifted up, the Crystal Sea in front of it, the River of Life flowing from it, the peals of thunder coming from it, and the rainbow encircling it, you can think of the Ark of Noah and the Ark of the Covenant. When you picture the Ark of the Covenant, you can think of Noah's Ark atop a high mountain with a rainbow over it. The connections truly go deeper and further than is possible to explain in just one article.

6. I depict the combined Ark, Throne, and Tree of Life using the colors of a terrestrial tree (i.e. brown and green) for two reasons: 1. its exact colors are unknown and 2. my attempt is to synthesize the familiar image of a tree with the golden Ark of the Covenant and a throne.

Biblical references to the colors of God's thrones are either sapphire (Ezekiel 1:26 and 10:1) or white (Revelation 20:11). The Prophet Ezekiel's description is particularly interesting, because the gem he refers to is lapis lazuli. The name of this gem is a cognate of the Latin word for "stone" and the Arabic word for "blue" (taken from the Persian place name of a famous quarry site from which it was mined). Thus, the gem the prophet used to describe God's Throne literally means "stone of blue."

Another interesting aspect of lapis lazuli is that it has inclusions of white calcite and pyrite (better known as Fool's Gold). Thus, the gem is known for both bluish streams and sparkles of white and gold. When shined upon with a bright light, it literally looks like a waterfall on a sunny day (the Prophet Isaiah may have made the connection between water and lapis lazuli in Isaiah 54:11).

Incidentally, the spray and mist from the City of Emet's waterfall would give off a truly breathtaking iridescent expanse just like an airspace full of sparkling diamonds suspended in air. Could it be that the diluvial fountain and spring of the theoretical City of Emet, as well as its expansive iridescent spray, belong to the throne that the Prophet Ezekiel saw from his vantage point looking up (Psalm 29:10; 36:5-9)?

The Crux of the Theory

2007-12-09T21:10:00.000-10:00

As I was thinking today about a simple Christmas message to bring at my wife's pre-school an amazing thought occurred to me. It came as I was attempting to synthesize the symbols of the Passover, the Nativity, and the Crucifixion.

Specifically, I was trying to tie together the wooden lintels of the Passover, the wooden manger of the Nativity, and the wooden cross of the Crucifixion. I opened my Bible to Exodus to look for the verses pertaining to the wooden lintels:

"Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs."
(Exodus 12:7)

The three wooden lintels of the Passover

"Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe..." (Exodus 12:22a)

The three branches of hyssop in the Red Heifer Baptism
Something bothered me in this Scripture as I viewed a three-sided wooden doorway and tried to correlate it with the traditional four-sided cross so synonymous with Christianity.

This was not the first time I had attempted to synthesize the two symbols as I had preached on this typology at a sectional youth Christmas banquet years before. After completing Jesus the Baptist and arriving at the Unifying Theory of Baptisms, the synthesis became even more problematic.

The baptisms of blood, water, and Spirit are separate and distinct birth experiences that are unified under one baptism, the Atonement
I felt in my spirit that the connection was much more than just wood and the blood of a lamb. Suddenly, the symbols converged. I happened to catch sight of our church's logo and the thought came to my mind: "the cross that Jesus died on was a three-sided cross."

What? I had never heard of such a thing. However, the more I thought about the top and both sides of the Passover doorframes, the significance of the number three in baptisms, and the Trinity, the more I became convinced that the cross Jesus died upon was three-sided. It had to be!

"'I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.'" (John 10:9 KJV)

When I came home from church, I performed a quick study on crosses. I learned that the earliest reference to the shape of the cross of Jesus comes from an ancient work known as the Epistle of Barnabas. In its ninth chapter, the cross of Jesus is likened to the uppercase Greek letter tau, which looks like an uppercase "T" in English.

From there, I learned that a "Tau cross" is called a crux commissa in Latin. But what really blew me away was that it is also referred to as an "Old Testament Cross." What did this mean?

Apparently it comes from the story of Moses and the Brazen Serpent:

"The LORD said to Moses, 'Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.' So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."(Numbers 28:8-9)

That was it! There was the connection I was looking for. Jesus himself said that He was to fulfill this Scripture when He said:

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."(John 3:14-15)

The cross that Moses lifted up has been described as a three-sided cross. In my mind, a religious Jew familiar with the Old Testament Cross should look up and see the fulfillment of that cross in the cross of Jesus.

The three-sided Old Testament Cross
But the connections did not stop there. I learned that the Greek letter tau is equivalent phonetically with the Hebrew letter taw or tav.

This is significant for several reasons. One reason is that this letter is the mark that is placed on the foreheads of the righteous in Ezekiel 9:3-4:

"Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, 'Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.'"

Another reason is that taw/tav is the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet. When one combines taw/tav with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, alef/aleph, you get the expression from "alef to tav". This Hebrew expression is synonymous with the Greek expression "Alpha and Omega."

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Revelation 22:13)

One final reason for its significance I discovered was that it is the last letter in the trinitarian Hebrew word for "truth" - emet. "Truth" in Hebrew is formed by combining alef and the middle letter of the Hebrew alphabet mem with tav. Amazingly, the authors of the Talmud place special significance on this word calling it the "seal of God."

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6)

After discovering all these connections I have come full circle. I now see the connections between:

the three-sided wooden lintels of the Passover (which have the form of the three-sided tav)

the three-sided Tau Cross, also known as the "Old Testament Cross"

the Brazen Serpent Cross of Moses

the mark of the righteous

the Alpha and Omega

the trinitarian rabbinic word for "truth" and the "seal of God"

the way, the truth, and the life found in Jesus

the Holy Trinity

As I now understand the Cross of Jesus, it speaks messages from the Lord in two tongues simultaneously, in both Hebrew and Greek. Furthermore, it speaks both phonetically and visually. It is literally the tav of the law and of the prophets:

"'Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.'" (Matthew 5:17-18)

In celebration of this seal, I offer a visual synthesis of all these ideas, the Crux of the Unifying Theory otherwise known as "The Cross of Emet:"

Reads in Hebrew from right-to-left in triangular motion "TRUTH"

"'Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'" (Luke 2:11-12)

Merry Christmas 2007!

Notes:
The Cross of Emet was designed with several ideas in mind. First it uses the colors of the union on the traditional Christian flag, red and blue. Second, it depicts the three elements of The Unifying Theory: blood, water, and spirit using both the additive and subtractive primary colors. Spirit in this case is dually represented as golden yellow for glory and green for life (heb: nephesh). Third, it features the three-sided Tau cross, itself a sign of blood sacrifice. Fourth, its crossbeam (lat: patibulum) literally spells "Alef and Tav" or "Alpha and Omega" (this is where the titulus would have appeared in three languages reading "JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS"). Fifth, its upright post (lat: stipes) is balanced by the middle letter of the Hebrew alphabet mem. Lastly, a message from the Spirit of God is inscribed on its three-sides. It reads "truth."
Light the Fire Ministries ©2007

FutureAG Discussion

2007-12-09T20:40:00.001-10:00

On November 20th, 2007, I began posting comments referencing the Baptist on a blog site dedicated to discussing the future of the fellowship of which I am a part. I did so for several reasons.

First, the moderators of the blog have encouraged "the sharing of opinions, knowledge, experiences, and innovative ideas." Second, tongues as the initial evidence of the Lord's Baptism were being hotly contested, which burdened me greatly. Third, I believe the Lord so led me after answering a fleece I presented to Him.

This was a monumental step for me and one undertaken with much trepidation. It was the first time I publicized my findings on the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit in a venue outside of Jesus the Baptist. Since completing the project in late 2006, I have spoken about the Baptist only to members of my immediate family, a few friends, and a few co-workers who were researching the Lord's Baptism.

Readers may wonder why I had chosen not to widely publicize these findings earlier. Simply put, I did not feel it was the Lord's timing and there was more work to be done.

Since completing the project, I have taken deliberate steps to develop the site in anticipation of the Lord's appointed hour. I have slowly consolidated the writings, launched the site on its own domain name, and added some printing features for the articles, just to mention a few.

I believe 2008 is the year that God has chosen for this word to go forth. Looking back, 2007 was the year of preparation and 2006 was the year of sacrifice. Readers may be surprised to learn that the year 2006 was one of the lowest points in my life.

I wrote all the articles of the Baptist in the darkest days of depression. The Lord had not allowed me to put the findings to writing until 2006 - a full two years after the Lord had put the words in my heart and mouth.

However, when the words finally transferred from the immaterial to the material, they did so in a flood. I literally had nothing but the word that the Lord had stored up within me for the coldest winter of my life. God is good.

The work is not over, however, because new discoveries and connections wait to be found in the infinite Word of God. I have used the Unifying Theory of Baptisms to formulate and test hypotheses in Scripture. As a result of using this pneumatological research method (vice hermeneutical), I have come away with new and better understandings of Scriptural ideas that were once disconnected, obscure, or impossible to explain (at least to me).

My findings have further substantiated the agreement between water, blood, and spirit, as well as the Atonement. As examples, the Trinity as a Scriptural truth and the unknown tongue as a lasting sign are now uncontested realities to me thanks to the results of my own research.

Going back to the recent publicizing, I have decided to feature the comments below because they are my first attempts at consolidating the major claims of the the Baptist in clear, cohesive, and concise language. This was more difficult than one could imagine, because this is not how the ideas were shown to me (1 Cor 13:9). I also wanted to update readers of the Baptist on some new findings that can only be found in these comments. Undoubtedly, the comments would have been buried within the blog on which they were originally posted.

As you read these comments, please be advised that they are conversational in tone (given the discussion to which they were a part). Also, please note that I have left the vast majority of my comments intact with only a few posts and whole sentences excluded. I left these out because I judged them irrelevant to this article or because they contained the names of the people to whom I was speaking or attempting to contact. I have placed enlarged and boldfaced ellipses (...) to indicate where I cut off and/or resume my comments within the posts I have featured and dated below.

May your eyes and spirits be blessed, challenged, and opened in the name of Jesus the Baptist, AMEN!

- Danny dj Morales

*** Start of Comments ***

November 20, 2007 7:04 AM:

... Reading some of the comments about struggles with the doctrine, esp. those made by younger ministers, reminded me of my own struggles and journey (I'm 32 – I know, sooo much senior :-).

Three years ago, I came to a theological crossroad over tongues and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. At the time, I felt called to lead a Bible Study on the subject with a group of young adults, all of whom were from non-Pentecostal backgrounds.

But before doing so, I poured days in prayer, fasting, and sola scriptura study. I divorced myself from my A/G understandings for the “sake of objectivity," threw myself at the feet of the Lord, pleaded for His wisdom (per James 1:5) and depended entirely on His promise that the Holy Spirit would lead me into all truth. He did not disappoint.

Over the course of several months, and even after the study had ended, the Lord opened my eyes to things in Scripture that I had never seen before. Some of the experiences I had blew my mind away. I would ask questions and He would lead me to verses, confirmations, and give me the understandings! He even went beyond my request and expanded my understanding of other Scriptural truths.

I prayed over posting some of what He showed me here. Within myself, I told the Lord that I would withhold unless 1. one of the moderators posted a follow-up about tongues and 2. there was a discussion about developing our pneumatology...

... As you read, please test the spirits and ideas to see if they’re from God. Also, please pray for understanding as well, because some of these ideas require discernment. I pray these ideas help those who are struggling with the relevance of our doctrines and that they stir further investigation. Ready? Seatbelt strapped? Ok, here it goes...

- The first thing the Lord showed me was that the day the Lord baptized Mount Sinai with fire and gave the Ten Commandments was the Day of Pentecost.

- He then showed me that the previous days of covenant (Noah, Abram, and later Abraham) were also on the Day of Pentecost.

- He showed me that each covenant had a lasting sign (rainbow, circumcision, Sabbath).

- He showed me that Pentecost is unique to all other feasts in that it is the only one counted by Sabbaths.

- He then showed me the significance of rainbows and how they are a multi-colored representation of his voices (seven colors for each of His voices/thunders).

- He showed me that the blazing torch and smoking firepot that appeared to Abram were also covenantal signs (not lasting however).

- He emphasized to me the point that circumcision was a physical and visible sign in the flesh.

- He then took me back to Exodus and showed me the progression of baptisms that took place from the Passover, to the Red Sea Crossing, and then to Sinai.

- He put everything together and said in essence that before the book of Acts, one could have compiled the covenantal signs together and predicted that tongues would be the sign of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

- He showed me that when John the Baptist was baptizing Jesus, and said He needed to be baptized by Jesus, John was referring specifically to the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

- He showed me that in all the covenants, He extended His promises to both clean and unclean animals and "mixed" multitudes.

- He connected the dots between previous covenants and the Lord's inclusion of "unclean" to Peter's vision in Acts Chapter 10:9-16.

- He emphasized to me that tongues and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit were the reason why the Jewish disciples accepted the Gentile believers into their family.

- He reiterated to me that Jesus did not baptize on earth and that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is His personal baptism for believers. Incidentally, this is why I now prefer to call it "the Lord's Baptism."

- He showed me that three is a significant number when it comes to baptisms.

- He showed me that when looking at baptismal types, the number three will reoccur. A few instances of this include: the number of times Peter had his vision, the number of disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, the number of elements in water, the number of times Elijah poured water on the sacrifice atop Mount Carmel and the number of times the earth will be regenerated (baptized).

- He showed me that there are three sub-baptisms (each with a lasting sign): Salvation (blood), Water (water), Spirit (fire/Spirit).

- He then took me back to the days of Covenant and showed me how all these three elements were always present.

- He showed me that the Trinity is represented in the three separate pilgrimage feasts of Israel (Shavuot, Sukkot, and Pesach) and unified under the Day of Atonement. Incidentally, the latter is the only time that the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies. It is the Highest of Holy Days in the Jewish religious calendar.

- He showed me that the three baptisms are representations of His triune identity.

- He explained to me that baptisms are new birth and, at the same time, burial experiences.

- He then showed me that baptism was always spoken of in the Old Testament. It was simply referred to by another name - atonement.

- He then enlarged my idea of the atonement to see it as triune baptism: blood, water, Spirit.

- He then showed me baptismal pre-cursors and types in the following: clouds, Joseph's robe, the sign of Jonah, Elijah's triune baptism, the Priestly garments, and the Ephod of the High Priest (to name a few). The stones of the Ephod, for instance, would supernaturally light up and at that point, the High Priest would "speak in tribes” through the lit stones “as the Holy Spirit gave him utterance."

- When asked for confirmation that the rainbow was connected to baptism, He led me to the passage in Rev 10:1 where the angel is enrobed in a cloud with a rainbow over his head (cf. tongues of fire coming to rest on the disciples’ heads).

- He explained to me the difference between the unknown tongue and the gift of different kinds of tongues. NOTE: the unknown tongue is unknown to the speaker and not necessarily the hearer.

- He then clarified how the unknown tongue is tied to empowerment for witnessing via the reference "a sign for unbelievers" and tied to personal edification via the reference "edifies himself." He thus showed me that the Corinthians erred doubly in setting and usage: 1. they were using a promise meant for witnessing to unbelievers in a body of believers and 2. they were using a personal edification language in a corporately unedifying manner.

- He clarified that believers can be baptized in the blood (salvation), water, and Spirit, at the same time, in short order and at other times distantly apart (Saul of Tarsus, the Eunuch in Acts 8, and the disciples in Samaria). These baptisms and their lasting signs are again allusions to the triune nature of God and His baptisms: distinct yet unified.

- He clarified that ministers who are not baptized in the Holy Spirit can be mightily used in evangelism and discipleship (pastors and teachers), because these are spiritually-gifted offices.

- He clarified that although tongues are holy, being baptized in the Holy Spirit does not translate to personal holiness. He showed me this with the analogy to the lasting sign of circumcision.

- When I asked for confirmation that the unknown tongue is the lasting sign in the Lord's Baptism, He led me to the Book of Isaiah to Chapter 59 and its very last verse. Then, He led me to combine it with the first five verses of the next chapter. Then I was led to cross-reference it with Acts 2, where I found its fulfillment in verses 1-12 and 37-39.

- He showed me that His voice has a visible nature (fire, rainbow, lightning, tongues). This explains why Simon the Sorcerer saw that the Baptism was given at the laying on of hands.

- When I looked for confirmation that Mount Sinai was connected to Pentecost, I was blown away by the fact that every Jew commemorates the giving of the Law at Pentecost. Also, I ran across references to visible thunders coming from the burning mountain.

The above are a good sample of what the Lord showed me in Scripture and backed up through confirmations. I had never heard or been taught any of what He taught me in His Q&A sessions.

At one point, I got so overwhelmed at the immensity of what He had shown me that I got up shaking in a half-trance and would speak in tongues throughout the day as if it was a second language – may the Lord be praised!

To help with my understanding of the inter-relationships and re-occurring patterns, I had to come up with what I termed a "Unifying Theory of Baptisms:"
The baptisms of blood, water, and Spirit are separate and distinct birth experiences that are unified under one baptism, the Atonement

I have used it to form and test hypotheses about baptismal types in Scripture and even in Judaic traditions not recorded explicitly in Scripture. For instance, I used it to predict that water played a significant role in the Feast of Sukkot.

I also used it to predict the number of hyssop branches the High Priest holds to sprinkle the water of cleansing (contains the ashes of the Red Heifer). The number of branches is three exactly. Again, I had no idea of these facts before testing the theory.

Because these concepts are so far beyond my theological, much less mental capacity, I even came up with a name for their study - quantum pneumechanics :-).

If you would like to read more about these insights and others, you can visit a pneuma blog that I completed over a year ago. It's called Jesus the Baptist, a fitting name I think given: the controversial nature of the subject, the claims, and the instant connection I felt I had to make between the Lord and His baptism.

If you visit it, you may notice that the ideas are fused together and may not form a clear and concise picture until everything has been read and prayerfully considered. This is a testimony to how they were shown to me...

... The next time, you look at a rainbow, I pray you see God's multi-colored voice!

November 21, 2007 2:56 PM:

How can we start a movement of next generation Holy Spirit empowered ministry? How do we resonate with the emerging generation?

One young person at a time...

We should be like Paul and boldly ask each new disciple "have you been baptized by Jesus?"

When asked "what do you mean?" We should be able to give an answer.

Personally, I tell them that it is similar to salvation and water baptism. Instead of being covered by Christ's sacrifice on the cross, you're covered by His Holy Spirit. Instead of a pastor baptizing you in water, it's Jesus personally baptizing you.

Making the experience Christ-centered makes it more personal and active ("Jesus baptizes you" vs. "being baptized in the Holy Spirit"). After all, who would give up the chance to be personally baptized by the Lord of the Universe? Furthermore, they may not like "Christians" but Jesus can still be their homeboy.

In my opinion, this is something our current teaching fails to do. It calls it the "Baptism in the Holy Spirit" instead of the "Lord's Baptism." It calls Jesus "the Baptizer" instead of "Jesus the Baptist." I don’t think John would mind. After all, he’s the one who said "He must become greater; I must become less."

Simplicity packed with meaning and graphic associations will "resonate with the emerging culture" and any culture for that matter. Get the point across with as much meaning and as few words as possible so they make the connections themselves.

"…don't you mean John the Baptist? I've heard about him before..."
"no actually Jesus the Baptist let me explain…"

When asked about tongues, I will now tell them that the Lord has had a spiritual language in store for them since the beginning of creation. Just like they have a new name in heaven now, they now will have a new language on earth.

Who doesn't like a free gift? - especially when it's a surprise. Who wouldn't like to pick up a language especially if it happens supernaturally? - Chris Angel eat your heart out!

Just like water naturally goes with water baptism and the blood of Jesus goes with salvation, so too does an unknown language go with the Lord's baptism.

BTW, I now call the lasting sign of the Lord's Baptism, the "unknown tongue" or the "unknown language" to differentiate it from the "gift of different kinds of tongues" just as the Apostle Paul did explicitly in 1 Corinthians 12-14.

If pressed for details, I now can paint a bigger picture with Scripture (thanks to my crazy experiences):

- I now can tell them that the baptism they are about to receive was foretold in the rainbow God gave to Noah after the flood (baptism). In fact, it was a picture of all the languages ever spoken. God so loves the world and He says so in every language every time He baptizes the earth with His light and rain. And now, they too can speak in rainbows, in a color He has chosen just for them, when He baptizes them in His Holy Spirit.

- I now can tell them that just like God gave Abraham a promise in the flesh, He too will give them a sign on their lips. It will be a sign to them that they are called to be witnesses to the world and a father or mother of many nations (in the form of disciples they are called to make).

- I now can tell them that just like God baptized Mount Sinai with fire on the Day of Pentecost in Exodus 19-20, so too Jesus will pour out supernatural fire upon them. Just like God spoke through visible thunders from that mountain of fire (20:18), so too He will speak through them now. - Shoot, thanks to Bob Cornuke, I can show them pictures of Mount Sinai (still burnt to this day from that supernatural fire). Again, Chris Angel got nothing on Jesus!

- I now can explain to them that just like God spoke supernaturally through twelve colored stones on the High Priest's garments, one for each tribe, so too God has called them to be a Holy Priesthood. He will supernaturally light them up and speak through them in an array of colors known as unknown tongues. Chris Angel's outa bidness.

- I now can read to them the following verses from the Book of Isaiah:

"'As for me, this is my covenant with them,' says the LORD. 'My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,' says the LORD. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 'Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come...'"

- Lastly, I can bring out my 2-by-4, and say that just like God gave birth to the church on the Day of Pentecost in Acts, so too He will give them another birth experience*. So too He will speak through them with the sound of a mighty rushing wind coming from their mouths. So too will the springs of the great deep within them burst forth as the floodgates of heaven are opened up open them.

The above give illustrations of how powerful the big picture of God's covenants is with man. It stretches from Genesis to Revelation; it spans the Old and New Testament. It's awesome. It's powerful. It's substantive. It's global. It's personal. It's relational. It's relevant. It's simple. It makes sense. It communicates at the speed of light. And dare I say it - "it's magical."

God never changes and He is someone whom the emerging culture, and any culture for that matter, can believe in. The teaching methods we use can change and likewise give them something to believe in.

* John 3 and 1 John 5:8 have all three: blood-Jesus, water-Father and Spirit.

November 22, 2007 8:47 AM:

Oh by the way, forgot to mention - I have tossed out the whole expression "second work of grace" and "ordinance" in favor of "covenant act" and "new birth experience."

Thus,

Salvation is a covenant act and new birth experience.

Baptism in Water is a covenant act and new birth experience.

The Lord's Baptism is a covenant act and new birth experience.

God bless and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

November 25, 2007 2:08 AM:

I read an 1999 article in volume 2 - Initial Evidence Again? that blew me away. One of the findings reported in "If It Is A Sign: An Old Testament Reflection on the Initial Evidence Discussion" sent shivers down my spine.

According to the article, the term "initial evidence" has been a bone of contention amongst young Pentecostal ministers longer than I was even aware. Many favor the term "sign" over "initial evidence."

What is so crazy, to me anyways, is that ever since my experiences, I now call the unknown tongue the "lasting sign" or "covenantal sign" of the Lord's Baptism.

I now see 7 great covenant acts in Scripture each with their own signs. The seven are the Noahadic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant Part I, Part II, the Covenant at Sinai, Salvation, Baptism in Water and the Lord’s Baptism. All continue to this day.

The rainbow, blazing torch, smoking firepot, sign in the flesh, visible thunders, fire on the mountain, and Sabbath were signs given at four of these great covenantal acts. When you add the fact that they these four occurred on the Day of Pentecost, the connection with the unknown tongue, or "new tongues" as Jesus called them, should become apparent. Thus, the unknown tongue is the uncontested sign for the Lord’s Baptism in my book.

(I’ve learned that the Old Testament and Jews are more Pentecostal than we think)

As far as Salvation and Baptism in Water are concerned, their lasting signs are remembered every time we partake the blood of the covenant and baptize disciples in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Speaking of which, water is an interesting lasting sign as it is not apparent as such until you put it together with Spirit and Blood (the Son).

Such was the case in: God's ultimate sign for Moses (Exodus 4:9), the baptism of Jesus, His first miracle of turning water into wine, the watery issue of blood after the Lord gave up the ghost, the names of the Trinity we baptize in, and the resurrection water mentioned in 1 Peter 3:21.

If you want to go even deeper - blood is made up of water and spirit (i.e. life). That's probably why it seemed good to the Spirit back in Noah's day and at the Council in Jerusalem for us not to eat it. Shucks, I love my porterhouse and ribeye medium!!!

Lastly - no actually firstly - the waters plural were mentioned "In the Beginning." Hmmm, I wonder what those waters were the Spirit of God was hovering over? Rev 13:8 and Rev 22 might shed some light.

Now, whenever I see water I think, "Trinity."

If y'all are wondering why I'm ranting and raving about this stuff. The Spirit has been whispering in my ear that we're about ready to turn this work over to a new generation. Although I'm concerned about this generation of young Pentecostal ministers, and want to be relevant, I don't think that's the generation He's referring to. I think it's the generation of Spirit-filled Jews who are about to take this bad boy over after we're gone ;-).

Man, I feel a Shema coming on! (oh, btw, that says “Trinity” too)...

November 28, 2007 3:15 PM:

... We know from biochemistry that blood is made up of water - anywhere from 83 to 95 percent depending upon hydration.

We also know from Scripture that life (Hebrew nephesh) is in the blood. This is not some figurative idea, it's a spiritual truth.

This is why blood is considered holy. This is why innocent blood cries out. This is one reason why there is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood. Just for kicks, check out the word nephesh and its ties to blood, you may be surprised what you find.

No, we can still eat meat. It's what for dinner at my house (I'm grilling tonight). It's eating blood I was talking about. In my opinion, the Spirit's leading against eating blood in Acts 15:29 had little to do with fellowship between Jews and Gentiles. The prohibition pre-dates Mosaic Kosher law. It goes all the way back to God's words to Noah. Why? Because nephesh is in the blood.

When I said that when I look at water I think of the Trinity I meant exactly that. I did not say that water is the sign for the Trinity. Looking back, I should have said "when I think of water as a lasting sign and it's connection with blood and Spirit, I think of the Trinity" which was my original premise.

All the lasting signs above that I mentioned: blood, water, unknown tongue all have connections with the Trinity. It's probably why soooo many denominations are confused as to when people are saved, baptized in the Holy Spirit, etc. Rightfully so.

Let's go down the line a little:

Unknown Tongue (sign of the Lord's Baptism):
- It's a sign in the flesh (think flesh and blood)
- The medium is the Holy Spirit
- The agent is the Lord Jesus, who baptizes and fills
- The voice comes from the Throne of God the Father through our temples. This voice is an extension of the rainbow that encircles the Throne of God (the Ark in our spirits within our Holy of Holies). It is the "visible" thunder that comes from the Presence of the Lord within us.

Water (sign of baptism in water):
- Three atoms make it up
- Sign of life anywhere you travel in the Universe. If NASA thinks that water exists on a planet, there's a remote chance of life there
- When the Spirit mixes with it, it can form blood. The Lord did it at the burning bush site and at the wedding at Cana (wine symbolizes blood)
- The Lord Jesus was born of water, as were we all
- the Water of Life flows from the Throne of God and of the Lamb. What is this water?

Blood of the Covenant (sign of salvation):
- It's the blood of the Lamb that washes away the sins of the world
- The Spirit covers (atones/baptizes) us with it
- The Father looks down at it and sees us as holy, unblameable, and unreprovable (perfect)
- we drink it, like water, in the form of wine as a lasting tribute

No, I haven't bought into heresy. It's all in God's Word. I'm just trying to show how all the pieces have fit together for me. For all the reasons above, I "see" the Trinity in the three baptisms and their three lasting signs.

It's hard for me to describe all that I have been shown, because it simply goes beyond words (maybe I could in tongues ;).

The closest I can come to describe all the interconnections are the theory of relativity and a hologram. Depending on what side of the equation you're on, you'll see something different.

On one side of e=mc^2, you have matter multiplied by the speed of light squared and on the other you have energy.

If I twist the hologram of the unknown tongue, for instance, I see what John the Baptist saw: fire and Spirit. If I twist it the other way, I see the disciples speaking in tongues unknown to them.

If I twist the hologram of water, I see the water of life coming from the Throne of the Father. If I twist it the other way, I see the Trinity in operation.

Using the three baptisms as lenses, I can see connections in Scripture that I have never seen before:

- Three days for Christ's sacrifice (blood), burial (water), resurrection (spirit)
- Three regenerations/baptisms/atonements for the earth and humanity: water (the Great Flood), blood (the Cross), and the coming regeneration by fire.
- Three pilgrimage feasts: Shavuot (spirit), Pesach (blood), Sukkot (water)
- Three phases of the Exodus: Pesach (blood), Red Sea Crossing and cloud (water), and Shavuot at Sinai (spirit)
- Why Christ took three disciples to the Mount of Transfiguration (it was more than just because they were His closest)
- The number of times Peter had his vision
- Elijah's sacrifice on Mt. Carmel: bull (blood), water three times, and fire from heaven (spirit)
- Sign of Jonah: Jonah sacrificed (blood), in the belly of the great fish (water), resurrected and spat out of the mouth (spirit)
- Rainbows, in order to see one you need three things: light behind you (spirit), you in the middle (blood), and a watery film in front of you (water)
- I haven't studied circumcision, but I bet you anything water, blood, and spirit play a big part!

I realize this stuff is far out. I won't belabor the points here on FutureAG. This is a topic worthy pf pursuit elsewhere. I brought it up, because I believe without any doubt that the unknown tongue is the lasting sign of the Lord's Baptism.

Don't worry I haven't gone into heresy or off the deep end. As I have said elsewhere my experiences have solidified my support behind the A/G doctrines I grew up with. It's just that I can see them in a whole new light.

Pastors, friends, and co-workers who know me, know that two of my passions are evangelism and discipleship. The fruit of those passions speak for themselves. The ideas above are part of an ongoing research project that I hope and pray will yield fruit of its own, in their season.

Speaking of Season, God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

November 28, 2007 8:36 PM:

... I didn't mean to imply that the other percentage of water is Spirit. I was speaking more in symbolic terms not logical ones.

You actually bring up a good point about water and its three phases. For the record, water can exist in all three phases simultaneously at what is known as the "Triple Point." Scientists use this point to define the SI unit of temperature - the Kelvin. It's not the only substance that can. I just wanted to put it out there.

As far as spirit being in blood and wine as a symbol of blood, you'll have to contend with Scripture on that one (to name a few for wine - Gen 49:11, Luke 22:20, 1 Cor 10:16, 1 Cor 11:27). Like I said, check out the word nephesh. For fun, Google nephesh and blood together and see what comes up.

As to my perspectives, I don't want to convert the world to my point of view. I just want to share what I believe the Lord has shown me. Maybe it might shed some light on some subjects, maybe not. It's cleared up the whole debate about tongues for me and the importance of water baptism. I also see more inter-connectedness between the major events in Scripture.

I've since learned that the early church fathers celebrated the same connections. For instance, look up "whitsunday" and its traditions.

The extra-canonical Book of Jubilees, which was discoursed at the time of Jesus and used by the early church, is another example. It records that all four of the great covenants in the OT occurred on the Day of Pentecost (Shavuot). I had no idea of this when the Lord showed me that they were connected.

I also had no idea that the ancient rabbis spoke of the Mount Sinai experience as if it was something out of a Steven Spielberg movie. According to some, multi-colored voices streamed from the mountain and landed on the heads of everyone in the assembly in the form of "diadems." Some even say that God spoke His law to the whole world that day from the burning mountain in every known language.

I don't claim to be a theologian or a hermeneutical expert. I walk with the Lord and share what He puts on my heart to share. Nothing beats the Lord personally opening your mind to understand hidden treasures in Scripture (Luke 24:45).

Thank God this occurred to our founders at the turn of the last century. 500-million people later says a lot for a movement that didn't exist two hundred years ago. A little focused Bible Study, fasting, and prayer can go a long way. It did for me!

I'll end with a cool story from one of my good friends - Evangelist Bill Ashpole (love that man). While He was conducting a revival in the South Pacific a few years back, the Lord showed him an aspect of the baptismal experience.

As he was preaching about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Lord told him that He was about to baptize the crowd in sections across the huge assembly where they were meeting.

All of a sudden, he saw shafts of light come down from the rafters. As they landed on the sections, the people sitting there began to burst out in tongues. The process repeated itself in waves across the assembly until the whole place erupted in tongues. He even heard people shouting out in English, who had no knowledge of the language.

Because of my experiences, something told me that the shafts of light had color. I asked him "what color were they?" He replied, "Danny, they were rainbow-colored."

December 3, 2007 11:34 PM:

For anyone who may have been interested...

I went back and studied a little about circumcision (bris milah - literally the “Covenant of the Word”) and was blown away yet again by the convergence of water, blood, and spirit.

The covenant act is intimately tied to birth by water, in that the mother and father have to count 8 days from the day of birth to the day of circumcision.

Even if the day fell on a Sabbath, the father was responsible (or someone in his stead) to circumcise his son. This is the only time that a Sabbath rule can be broken. The Circumcision rule supersedes Sabbath rules (John 7:23).

Thus, the eighth day in circumcision is linked to water.

Why the eighth day? Because the number eight is the number for spirit. The number eight to rabbis is reminiscent of the day after the 7-day creation of the physical world and the number of Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights – a feast Jesus celebrated.

But what jumped out at me was the whole connection to a day after a Sabbath week. Both the resurrection and Shavuot fell after a Sabbath and Sabbath Weeks respectively, the very next day after the Sabbath (Matt 28:1, Lev 23:15-16).

It is literally a day of the Spirit.

The day before the resurrection was a Sabbath (the Lord rested in the womb of the earth) and the day before that He bled for our sins. But the day after the Sabbath, He was "reborn" by the Spirit.

Thus, the eighth day and the day after the Sabbath are linked to spirit.

Going back to circumcision, this is the day that a Jewish baby boy is given his name. He is literally reborn spiritually into the assembly. There's a new name in the kingdom as it were.

Ironically, Jews have for several centuries placed a vacant chair for the Prophet Elijah to oversee circumcision, as it may herald the identification of Messiah. This is interesting given Elijah's three-part baptism on Mt. Carmel and his connection to John the Baptist.

As far as what role blood plays in circumcision, well I'd rather not talk about that part ;-).

Because of my experiences, I see the Trinity yet again in the convergence of water, blood, and spirit in the covenant act of circumcision. As far as I'm concerned, religious Jews see a representation of the Trinity every time they witness a circumcision.

So what does this have to do with tongues? Well, because of my experiences, I see lips being circumcised when people are speaking in unknown tongues (Exodus 6:12, 30 KJV). They fluently speak in languages unknown to them as the Holy Spirit gives them utterance and as streams of living water flow from within them.

Incidentally, I used to wonder why the Lord began His ministry at the age of 30, why He died at 33, and why He rose on the third day.

Now, because of this follow-up study, I see the Trinity in these timelines. They're all multiples of three from the day the Lord was born of water and even baptized in water. I also see why ten days after Jesus ascended, the fire fell: 7 + 3. The fire fell on the third day, the day after the Sabbath. It fell on the day of the Spirit (Exodus 19:10-11, 16).

Just thought I'd share what I found after studying a little on circumcision.

*** End of Comments ***

Light the Fire Ministries ©2007

The Call to Light the Fire

2007-01-02T17:50:00.000-10:00

Everyone has a calling to ministry, the service to which God has called all men, women, and even children. It is a tragedy that so few ask, seek, and knock on God's door to discover it when all He wants to do is blow our minds away with what He has prepared for us. From an early age, I dreamed of a day that I would hear God's voice and answer His call just like the men and women of the Bible. I yearned for that day, never knowing when it would come.

That calling did come, but at the tail end of a wilderness experience, one literally in the desert. After the Lord called me from Oral Roberts to the University of Arizona in the Fall of 1996, I fell into near depression. It was partly from suddenly being all alone and partly from a recent break-up at Christmas. It was such a shock to my system going from a place of constant fellowship to a place where I knew no one and where it seemed God was just as unknown.

I tried my hardest to maintain the appearance of keeping it all together. My parents who were pastoring in Bisbee at the time asked me to help them in leading worship. I obliged and was refreshed each weekend. But the experience was short-lived, because as soon as I returned to my Tucson studio apartment, I was reminded of my loneliness. By the time I got involved with Chi Alpha Campus Ministries at the U of A, I was already a shell of what I used to be. I let the depression get the best of me and let it run its course as if I was on a rudder-less ship at the mercy of the doldrums.

My boat sank deeper and deeper into the abyss of dark emotions. When it seemed like all was lost, I felt a tug at the end of my rope. It happened when the Lord opened my eyes to my soul mate, when I met Martha truly for the first time.

If it had not been for the Lord blessing me with Martha, I do not know where I would be today. The Lord's balm worked through her love and dedication to me during the darkest days of my life. May the Lord bless her for putting up with me during the early years of our relationship where I dragged her down it seems just as much as she and the Lord pulled me up.

During those years, I was in no condition for ministry, so I stepped down from leading worship at the former Templo Estrella (now New Life Assembly). Even though I prolonged my restoration by concentrating solely on my young family and schooling instead of my relationship with the Lord, He was true to all of His promises.

Those promises were made clear to me by my Spirit-filled mother several months before coming to Arizona. She reminded me of my calling to ORU while in High School, where I felt certain that I would only be there for two years. Now those two years where reaching their completion. She then told me something I would never forget, "this is what the Lord says, I will give you opportunities, open up doors and bless you beyond your wildest dreams if you come to Arizona." This was significant because my scholarship money had run out and if I stayed any longer it would put my parents in the hole.

At the end of my summer Calculus course at Tulsa Community College, my parents and our friend Mary Louise came to pick me up for a few weeks in Arizona. Somewhere outside of Oklahoma City, I told my mother and Mary Louise that I felt that God was telling me that it was time to leave Oral Roberts and to attend the University of Arizona. I also told them that the time was coming that I would finally pursue my childhood dream of the Navy. So there in the van, I made them witnesses to a fleece before the Lord. The Lord answered my fleece shortly after returning to ORU for what would be my last semester, with a "go home."

True to His word, He blessed me in miraculous ways. First with my greatest blessings - my family of whom I have written so much about. Then came the opportunities and the open doors, all beyond my wildest dreams.

He gave me employment at the Arizona Cancer Center as a student research assistant, at the U.S. Geological Survey for a winter break as an editorial assistant, and then finally at University Medical Center's Department of Pediatrics Lung Injury Lab as a research intern. He blessed me with a minority research grant from the NIH, a scholarship from the American Chemical Society Scholars Program, a fellowship from the U of A Graduate School's Summer Research Institute, an internship through the Undergraduate Biology Research Program, and even a Nasa Space Grant Internship.

He blessed me with good grades and favor with my professors in the Biochemistry and English Department. I had failed both subjects in my junior year in High School, but ended up graduating summa cum laude with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in English Literature and induction into Phi Beta Kappa. The capstone blessings of my educational experience came when the Lord blessed me with a management position in the Lung Injury Lab while still under the NASA Space Grant Program and with acceptance into the U.S. Navy's Baccaleaurate Degree Completion Program.

All of these blessings were nothing short of miraculous. Yet in the midst of God's blessing my obedience to come to Arizona, I exiled myself at the fringes of a deeper relationship with Him. For one thing, I grew despondent of my failure into getting into the Navy's Medical Service Corps in spite of the fact that I God had moved mountains for me to even join the Navy. So there I was imposing a desert in the midst of an oasis, dumping sand into the God's springs and rubbing salt into my old sores. Looking back, I made excuses to be depressed because God's will had not unfolded in the "perfect" manner I had conceived.

As the time grew closer for me to graduate from college, like a prodigal son, I began to look all around me and finally realize just how much I was loved by my Father and how much I had strayed from Him. I took in how much time I had wasted wallowing in my own self instead of spending time with the one who had lavished me with so many gifts.

Sometime in the early Spring of 2000, I repented of my selfishness, disappointments, and "losses." I wasted no time in throwing out those things that did not please God. I began to pray fervently and dig deeply into God's Word. I begged forgiveness of Martha and Danny Boy for the lack of spiritual leadership in the home.

I told Martha that I wanted to drive down to Douglas on the weekends to attend First Assembly of God instead of attending a church in Tucson. First Assembly had enormous sentimental value to the both of us. It was the church where my parents were married, where my Dad was once a deacon, where I had gone to first grade, where Martha had attended through her last two years of high school, and where she had taught Missionettes while attending Cochise College. It had been the youth ministry of First Assembly that brought us together in the first place.

Around that time, I visited the Gospel Supplies Bookstore in Tucson and ran across a book entitled The Mountain of God: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Sinai. I looked at the cover and was intrigued by its claims. I decided to buy it and read it in my spare time at night when Danny Boy and Martha were asleep. Spare time was hard to come by that last semester, because I was working almost full-time, going to school full-time, seeking God full-time, preparing for Officer Candidate School part-time, and making the most of Family time; and all the while driving to Douglas two hours away every weekend to attend First Assembly.

In one of those spare moments, I ran across a couple of paragraphs that made a huge impression on my spirit. That moment will go down in my personal history book as a seminal one, the first flicker of a burning bush experience that has grown in its brilliant significance to this day. Those paragraphs are now quoted as an Amazing But True Story.

In the midst of this personal transformation, the enemy made a last-ditch effort to curb the turning tide in our home and in our walk with God. The Lord revealed this spiritual attack to my mother one night. He awakened her around two or three o'clock in the morning and gave her a vision. In this vision, she saw me covering my head with something that looked like a towel or sheet to pray. The Lord then showed her His glory coming down upon me whenever I did this.

She called me that morning to tell me that the Lord had revealed to her the attack without me saying a word of it and had told her to instruct me on praying with a covering. I had long ago learned that whenever my mom says she has heard from the Lord, I should listen. She has been spot-on 100 percent of the time. The idea was totally foreign to all of us, but I followed her words and began to pray under a towel or sheet.

The Lord was true to His word. After several minutes of humbling myself before the Lord and seeking His face in this manner, He poured out His Spirit upon me and I could feel the hand of the Lord on my head even as He waged war on the enemy. We have since learned that what the Lord showed her was a Jewish prayer shawl (a tallit) and a powerful representation of the Atonement. I may never be able to fully explain this, but then again, I will never be able to explain how the uplifted hands of Moses defeated the Amalekites or how handkerchiefs that touched Paul healed the Ephesians and delivered them from evil spirits.

The Spirit of the Lord was preparing our family for future visitations, spiritual battles, and acts of faith. This was confirmed a month or so later when the empowerment of the Lord thwarted a spiritual attack against my mother and returned to her the power of joy.

Then came the calling that had one of the greatest impacts on my life. As I was praying in the living room of our Tucson apartment, the Lord spoke to me. It was not audibly but in what I would call an "Instant Message." Instant in that it came and was understood instantly and Message in that it was a fully formed idea communicated to my spirit.

It happened on or about the evening of August 4th 2000, two weeks before I was to board a plane for Pensacola Florida where I was to report on August 20th for Officer Candidate School. We had half of our house packed in boxes. We had an apartment waiting for us in Pensacola, electricity scheduled to be turned ON the day my family was to arrive, and our mail scheduled to be forwarded to our Florida address. To my knowledge, I had my orders and my plane ticket waiting to be faxed to me from the Naval Recruiting District in Phoenix.

As I was praying for the Lord's will and strength to make it through the arduous program, the Lord stopped me in mid-prayer. Such a strong electrifying presence filled the living room, that I could not continue praying. The only thing I could do was bow my head down and worship the Lord with everything I had. After a few moments, He said very simply "I am calling you to help the youth in Douglas." That's all He said. Instantly, I understood that He was calling me to lead the youth of First Assembly and to reach out to the youth in Douglas. The message was so clear and unmistakable. All I said was "yes sir, I will do what you have called me to do."

After the manifest presence of the Lord left the room, I quickly ran to the bedroom to wake Martha up to tell her that the Lord had just spoken to me. I managed to get her to sit on the edge of the bed without waking Danny Boy. I said, "Babe, the Lord just spoke to me." Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she replied "uh and what did He say?" I took a big gulp and said "He is calling us to help the youth in Douglas!"

I was so caught up in the rush and presence of God that I somehow thought it would translate instantly to Martha. Instead, she thought I was absolutely out of my mind: "DANNY, WE ARE MOVING TO PENSACOLA IN TWO WEEKS! HALF THE HOUSE IS PACKED AND WE HAVE OUR MAIL FORWARDING. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU'RE CRAZY. YOU JUST WANT TO BE CLOSE TO YOUR MOM SO YOU CAN EAT HER TORTILLAS."

I told her "Babe, I am not kidding you. The Lord just spoke to me and He is calling us to Douglas! It has nothing to do with my mom's tortillas." She was fed up with the whole conversation and said "I WILL ONLY BELIEVE IT IF THEY CANCEL YOUR ORDERS." With that and absolutely sure of the Lord's calling, I replied "you have said it with your own mouth."

We both went to sleep confident in our positions. Now some people may say that's not how the Lord works. Well, Barnabas and Paul, both mighty men of God, were confident of their positions on a certain young man. Thank God for their disagreement. I believe it has much to do with why we have the Gospel of Mark today.

The next day, we drove down to Douglas so that we could attend First Assembly on Sunday August 6th. As soon as we arrived at my parent's Douglas home, I went to Mary Louise who was then First Assembly's Secretary Treasurer (she lived with my parents who were pastoring in Bisbee at the time). I told her that the Lord had spoken to me and was calling us to Douglas. As crazy as it sounded to my own ears, I told her that if God only wanted us to help the youth out for even just a week, we would do whatever we could to the best of our abilities. However, I told her that I was believing the Lord to move one of the biggest mountains I knew - the U.S. Government.

She said "ok, let's believe God for a miracle" and then told me that she was going to let the Pastor and the Head Deacon know right away that we were willing to help the youth. She also let me know that there was going to be a scheduled board meeting after the evening church service where she could bring it up before the full church board.

That Sunday night I waited anxiously to hear back from Mary Louise. She returned to my parent's home and told me that the board was excited to hear that Martha and I were willing to help the youth. It just so happened that the church board as well as many of the church members were expressing interest to re-launch a full-fledged youth ministry in the church, but were hoping that someone within the church would lead the youth.

Even though I was confident of the Lord's calling, I continued to ready our belongings for the move. Martha and I had even gone to Walmart that weekend to purchase all the personal gear that OCS required of its incoming candidates. I never thought the Lord would cancel Officer Candidate School outright. In my mind, it was only a matter of when He wanted me to attend. So I prepared for an eventual move whenever the Lord would allow.

A week later we were joined by my niece, Cindy Torres, now a missionary in Thailand, to help us in our move and to watch Danny Boy. We had purchased her airfare months before and decided that it would be great to have her visit no matter what God had in mind.

Two days before I was to board a plan for Pensacola, Martha and Cindy were in the kitchen wrapping up the last of our silverware and Tupperware while I was playing with Danny Boy in the living room. The phone rang and Martha answered it. After a couple moments of her talking to the Admin Officer, she called over to me. "Danny, it's Phoenix," she said with an astonished smile. I ran up to the kitchen counter. "You're not going," she said as she passed the phone to me shaking her head. Cindy was in shock as well, giggling an "oh my God..."

I spoke with my friend Dave who gave me all the details. The District Commander was at a total loss. No one understood why at the last minute my orders had been pulled because of medical reasons. Despite the flurry of calls made to process my orders, no one could move the medical review process which was now automatically set in motion. He explained to me that I would have to undergo tests and a physical review board at Naval Hospital Balboa in San Diego. It could be anywhere from six months to a year before I would attend Officer Candidate School and only if I was found to be fit for duty.

I hung up the phone and looked at Martha and Cindy and said "well, I guess the Lord is calling us to Douglas to help the youth." I called my parents and Mary Louise to give them the news. Mary Louise then in turn called the Pastors and the Head Deacon to let them know that we were coming.

Within a few weeks, we had assembled a staff of young adults, started up a full worship band, and come up with a name for our group - Light the Fire!. The Lord had given Martha and me a powerful vision to go with the name. We were to train up the staff and to win, build, and send the youth in Douglas for the Lord. Within a couple of months, we would be a part of an outreach ministry to orphans in neighboring Mexico, would air a television commercial in the Douglas area on several channels, and launch www.lighthefire.com. We designed staff t-shirts and invitation tracts that looked like rave fliers to pass out near the High School, which was just two blocks away from First Assembly.

Our First Shirt Logo

Our services were full of powerful worship, drama skits, illustrated messages, recreational activities (like laser tag) and food fellowship. Most important of all, the Lord visited us in those services and changed all who were a part of Light the Fire. Today many of our former staff are now leading their own ministries.

So many awesome and supernatural things happened in the span of just six months that it is hard for me to record them all. That was the amount of time, the Lord had given us to "help the youth in Douglas."

Sometime in late December, I sensed that our time was coming to an end. I was shocked at the amount of progress we had made in just a few months, but saddened to know that our part was coming to an end. One afternoon, I went before the Lord under my prayer covering in the same living room He had called us to Douglas. His hand came upon me and I cried to the Lord under a strong anointing. "Lord, how much more time do I have?" I asked. The Lord instant messaged me again, "five weeks, make the most of it with your family."

The next day at the very same hour I had prayed the day before, the Naval Recruiting District called and gave me a report date of February 2nd 2001, just over five weeks from that day. With that, came the end of one chapter and the beginning of a whole new volume of God lighting fires in our lives.

There is a God who answers by fire and there are such things as supernatural callings. Everyone has one. I pray that you ask, seek, and knock on heaven's door to discover it so that He can blow your mind away with what He has prepared for you. Here's to God's hand and call upon your life. Here's to your fire from heaven...

~Cheers!

The Power of Joy

2006-12-25T20:19:00.000-10:00

Perhaps the most amazing display of the name of the Lord I have ever witnessed in my life occurred in May 2000. It was just days after the death of my maternal grandmother.

Estefana Betancourt had been a pillar of the Spanish Assembly of God in Douglas and the Godly matriarch of a large family. At the height of the Pentecostal revival in Southern Arizona, with the second World War in full swing, she guided her young family into the burgeoning movement. This was no easy decision as the Betancourt family was a stalwart Catholic family with two daughters just days away from their first confirmation. Their departure from the church was met with heavy persecution directed not only at her and husband Juan, but also towards the Betancourt children.

My earliest impressions of her were that she was a wise and strong woman, and a woman with a heart after God. I remember many times looking up from the pew where I was sitting to see my grandmother singing to the Lord in a heavenly language. I would watch as the Lord would shower her with His Spirit. At the end of her spiritual songs, she would laugh under the joy of the Lord. Her laughs were at times deep from within and at other times as light as a childlike giggle. Her devotion as a loving Bride of Christ is what impressed me the most.

It was so difficult to see her succumb to Alzheimer's Disease. It was even harder on my mom who was so close to her. My mother poured everything she had into taking care of her mother. The last three and a half years, she brought grandma home to live out her days with the family. She was assisted greatly by our adopted sister and best family friend, Rev. Mary Louise Vigil.

To the end, Grandma Betancourt loved the Lord. In her rare moments of lucidity, she would sing to the Lord as in years past working her hands as if washing the dishes or cooking. Inevitably, she would laugh with that same joy she always had. She had long since forgotten our names, but she never forgot the love of her life, her Lord Jesus.

Her death, although not unexpected, tore a hole right through my mom's heart. After ten years of pouring into my grandmother, fighting alongside her against a mental enemy, she was now gone. She was finally with her Lord and reunited at last with her late husband.

My grandmother was my mother's greatest mentor and confidant. She could always be depended upon to encourage and speak words of wisdom just at the right time. She was a woman of prayer and great faith, but her wisdom and love for God were her greatest attributes.

Her words served my parents through countless valleys and mountains in the military, ministry, marriage, and parenthood. From the time my Dad courted my mom during the Korean War, through Vietnam, and even up to the first Gulf War, she was there. Through the Army, through the Air Force, and through the Army again, she was there. Through lay ministry, storefront pastorates, and on to perhaps the most powerful modern-day ministry Douglas has ever seen, she was there. From the Air Force years in Nebraska, to the construction years in Tucson, to the ministry years in Douglas, and even to the last Army years in Massachusetts, my grandmother was always there for my mother. Now she was gone.

I can't blame my mom for those first few days of grief. She lost her best friend and hero. But as my mom had taught me growing up, the enemy is always looking to steal, kill, and destroy, but then again, she also taught me that "greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world." A few days after my grandmother's death, my mom confided to us that she was experiencing a heavy grief that was unnatural.

A day later, and a few days before my grandmother's funeral, my mother told us over breakfast that she had a supernatural experience the night before. As she was taking off her slippers to slide into bed, she was startled by an old haggard lady walking down the hallway. My mother gulped in a breath and with that the lady disappeared. Terrified, she immediately began to pray and plead the blood of Jesus over herself and the home.

As she was retelling her story, everybody at the breakfast table sat wide-eyed with not a few hairs standing up at the back of our necks. She made it clear that what she had seen the night before was not my grandmother, but a spirit of grief that had come to oppress her.

That night we had been spent by all the preparations for the funeral and for the impromptu family reunion that was planned afterwards. My wife, my two-year-old son, and I crashed in Mary Louise's room, exhausted by the day's events.

About two o'clock at night, I had a terrible dream. In this dream, I was fighting this old haggard woman. She was hideous in appearance. I told her over again that she had to go. I instantly realized that she was the evil spirit that was oppressing my mom. The spirit refused to leave and we continued to battle back and forth.

Finally, a righteous anger and power surged within me. Deep within me came this shout and I yelled at the top of my lungs, "in the name of Jesus..." I then woke up shouting "GO!!!!!!!" pointing in the darkness next to our bed.

Suddenly, about a foot away from my extended index finger, formed a pinpoint light in the middle of the television screen next to Mary Louise's bed that illuminated the pitch black room. It was if my finger became a laser pointer. The effect was eerily familiar to how old television sets turned off with the image shrinking to a single point of light, but this time in reverse. Before, I could think to lower my hand, the pinpoint light exploded into a static image and the television turned ON with its volume at full blast.

My heart about stopped as I was stunned by what was going on. Martha whipped out of bed as if summoned by revile and shouted "DANNY, WHAT'S GOING ON? TURN IT OFF! IT'S GONNA WAKE UP THE BABY. TURN IT OFF!" At this point, my mom and Mary Louise rushed into the room to see what was going on. They turned on the lights. I saw the power button and turned it OFF as quickly as I could.

Everybody asked me what was going on and I told them that all I knew was that I was having this dream about the old woman that was bothering my mom, that I commanded her to leave in the name of Jesus, woke up pointing at the TV, and that the next thing I knew was that it turned ON by itself full blast. With this, everybody shook their heads with an "oo-yee" and with Mary Louise adding lightheartedly "you're scaring me Danny."

We then went back to bed scratching our collective heads. Early the next morning, Mary Louise and I tried to figure out how the TV turned ON by itself. We found no alarm set and that it turned ON to a regular channel and not the static one from the night before. It was then that we realized that it was no coincidence, but a miracle. At the breakfast table that morning, I rehashed the above story in its entirety.

From that day forward, the spirit of heaviness lifted from my mom and never returned. In its place, returned the joy of the Lord, such a signature of my grandmother's life. That week, we paid honor to the memory of one of God's most faithful brides. We knew that she was now one of God's songbirds in Heaven, laughing and playing in eternal youth before the Lord.

I will never understand why the Lord would choose a spontaneous act such as this to display His power, but then again I will never understand why He chose a fig tree and made it wither before His disciples' eyes. My grandmother and my mother have long understood that the joy of the Lord is their strength.

It's not so much that His name unleashes the power of ten thousand light sabers. It's that His name unleashes the power of ten thousand joys.

"At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy...'" (Luke 1:39-44)

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord...'" (Luke 2:8-11)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from

Light the Fire Ministries!

First Encounter

2006-11-25T11:50:00.000-10:00

Sometime in the Fall of 2000, I sat at my computer typing away at a web page late into the night. I would have gone to bed with my wife and one-year old son had it not been for the length of the testimony I was trying to post and my lack of web skills at the time. That night in our Tucson apartment, I was putting the finishing touches on one of our Amazing But True Stories on our newly launched youth group's website, the forerunner of our present Light the Fire site. Little did I know on that night I was about to begin one of the most awesome supernatural chapters in my life.

The testimony I was posting that night had to with an awesome miracle taken from the book Angels on Assignment that was written back in the seventies. It involved a husband and wife who were having marital problems, and an Assemblies of God pastor from Boise Idaho. The Pastor had foreseen their ordeal as a result of a supernatural visit to Heaven (I have since re-posted it here on this blogsite).

To briefly paraphrase the testimony I was posting:

Pastor Roland Buck's visit to Heaven took place one Saturday night in 1977 while he was preparing for the sermon he would give that following Sunday. He was laying his head down to rest at his desk when he was suddenly taken out of the room with these words "come with me into the Throne Room where the secrets of the universe are kept!"

According to Pastor Roland Buck's testimony, the Lord gave him a tour of the vast storehouses of knowledge in heaven. To use the Lord's own words, the Lord began his tour by giving him an "overlay of truth." Whole passages of Scripture, explanations to complex physical phenomena in the Universe such as Black Holes (then largely theoretical), and even future events were instantly recorded in his brain by the Lord.
Concerning the future, the Lord gave him 120 events that would occur in his lifetime as a confirmation that he had in fact visited Heaven. One of these events involved the previously mentioned couple with marital problems.

The Lord had shown him their names, the date they would come to his office, and even something that the wife was hiding from her husband. The Pastor had seen everything before he had physically laid eyes on them. The couple had decided to drive to Boise of all places to air out their troubles. When they arrived in their hotel room, they found a phonebook opened to a page where an ad from the pastor's church read "Counseling by Appointment."

Everything was going smoothly as I reached that point of the story. But then as I typed further where it said that angels had been to the hotel room, that they had opened up the phonebook to that exact page, and had arranged for the couple to have that room I stopped dead in my tracks.

All of a sudden a strong presence filled our computer room - I knew I was not alone. I felt so overcome with shock and awe that I was practically unable to move. Such was the power and presence there in the room with me. I dropped the paperback copy of Angels on Assignment that I was using to post the testimony. I don't know if I even managed to power down the computer.

I ran out of the room and into our bathroom across the way leaving the lights on. I shut the door behind me and had to calm myself down a few moments so I could brush my teeth. I decided then and there that it was probably a good time to get to bed. I quickly brushed my teeth and went through a back door into the master bedroom so I did not have to walk through the hallway near the computer room.

I jumped into bed and dove under the covers next to my son who was sleeping with us at the time. With all the "courage" I could muster, I pulled the covers over my head. When I retell the story, this part always brings a chuckle to my friends. They all ask me whether I really thought a two-inch blanket could protect me from anything.

I stayed awake as long as I could trying to shut out any sound that my frightened ears could pick up. As the minutes wore on, I found it harder and harder to keep my eyes open. Somehow I managed to fall asleep - maybe from the sheer exhaustion of the last couple weeks of late nights setting up our new website.

Sometime around two or three o'clock in the morning, I was awakened by something touching my toes. I came out of a deep sleep, not knowing what was going on, and suddenly I remembered the presence in the computer room. Now, it was in our bedroom!

In those heart-thumping moments I prayed for strength and courage because I wanted to face once and for all whatever, if anything, was in the room. My son was sound asleep next to me and my wife was snoring on the other side of him completely oblivious to what was going on. I did not want to wake her up, because I thought she might think I was imagining things or was a chicken for hiding under the covers, which I was.

After a few short bursts of prayer and mustering all the resolve I could, I counted "one . . . two . . . three" and rolled the covers from my head to peer over them. My breath was immediately taken away. There at the foot of my bed, near the hallway door, was standing a huge luminescent figure.

Just then a peace came over me as if to let me know that I had nothing to fear. I then began to try to take it all in and make out the features of this figure who was standing motionless just a few feet from our bed. All I could see was a rainbow-like radiance shimmering around his outline. He had to be more than eight-feet tall because his head nearly reached the nine-foot ceiling in our bedroom. I still found it hard to breathe because of the beauty of the multi-colored light emanating from him and his immense stature and build.

Waves of energy began pulsing from him. The power was so strong, yet at the same time gentle. I looked over to my son and saw him roll in his sleep as he was tossed with each successive wave. I looked back to the figure and somehow I began to discern a message. He was there to bring the Lord's blessing upon me and my family for our upcoming move to Pensacola where I would began my military training. It was then that I discerned the connection between his touching my feet and the blessing of our future travels. Even though I heard no voice, I instantly understood his message.

At this point, I felt my son awaken. I looked over at him again and watched him as his eyes opened. He popped out of bed and immediately looked over to where the messenger was standing. He pointed at our visitor and gave out several chuckles as if he was tickled by a smile that I could not see. He seem to share a few seconds with the messenger and then he raised his little hand up to the ceiling, closed his eyes and then fell back to sleep as if nothing had happened.

I was absolutely dumbfounded by what was happening and it took a few seconds to fully grasp the enormity of it all. I shook myself and looked over at the door again. Our visitor was gone. I plopped my head back on the pillow and let out a sigh of relief and wild amazement. I could not believe that I just witnessed my first encounter with an Angel from the Lord's presence.

The Lord was true to His word. He was truly with us, through our travels and through some very trying and dark times during my training. So dark, in fact, that the Lord sent another message by way of an Angel to my barracks room.

In closing, I have seen first-hand that the Lord is just as active today as He was in the Bible. This was only the first in several encounters to come, each one with powerful confirmations. I am 100-percent certain that the Lord cares enough to make Himself known to His creation. Are you looking for the God of the Bible? Find Him today!

Postscript: this past Thanksgiving 2006 I felt compelled to finally draft this story for our Light the Fire Blog. I pray that its message will help you find the Lord Jesus Christ of whom the Angels sang "glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:14). I would have published it late Thanksgiving Day, however, I had the distinct feeling that I would have somebody looking over my shoulder again. Despite all my experiences, take it from me, nothing can prepare a person for these intense encounters from the Lord's Throne.

Sonterra Apartments in Tucson - a place of blessing, calling, and visitation for our young family

Wanted by Jesus: Ramadan Nuke Terrorist

2006-09-18T22:45:00.000-10:00

Have you seen me?

Today, I received an alarming email from a good friend who is a pastor in Salinas, California. The email was an urgent prayer request that originated from an official in the U.S. government, who sent it to several prayer networks throughout the United States, one of which was Aglow International. Thankfully, the President of Aglow has made the request public, which is how he and then we got it (God bless you Sister Jane Hansen for making this available). According to the request for prayer:

Osama bin Laden has assigned a man named Adan Al Shukri Juma to carry out a new attack within the US which is intended to be larger than the September 11 attacks. Explosives and nuclear materials have been smuggled into the US through the Mexican border over the last two years and are hiding in a location that the FBI has not been able to discover.

After I got over the initial shock and disbelief, I went immediately to Aglow's international website to verify the prayer request, and there it was on the front page. From there, I went to the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists List but did not find the man identified as "Adan Al Shukri Juma." Then I noticed the Seeking Terrorism Info Page and there he was, but with his name spelled:

Adnan G. El Shukrijumah

Whatever the spelling of his name, every detail thus mentioned lends some credibility that people in our government are very concerned about this man and the threat he poses to perhaps millions of Americans.

Now before people start rushing to conclusions about the veracity of this request and claims, please consider a few points. First, as mentioned in our previous post Wrestling with Angels, Osama bin Laden recently received permission to kill 10 million Americans. Second, other al Qaeda chiefs such as Ayman al-Zawahiri and American-born "Azzam al Amriki" have warned Americans of dire consequences if they do not convert to Islam. Third, it is no secret that al Qaeda has acquired nuclear weapons.

What's more unbelievable to me is not anything in this prayer request, it's the absolute blindness of most Americans to the threat that surrounds us. It's as if I am watching the first three episodes of Star Wars, where Palpatine slowly takes over the entire galaxy. Meanwhile people are just bickering over wiretaps, amnesty for illegal immigrants, how there was no WMD in Iraq, and my personal favorite, September 11th conspiracy theories. Wait a minute that wasn't in the movie...

but it might as well have been.

The fact is that it may be too late for wiretaps, border security, WMD in Iraq, and conspiracy theories. Despite every effort to protect us and wage war against a nuclear-equipped enemy, somebody in government has finally realized that our only hope is in prayer.

Rub your eyes and get some Starbucks people!

Now for those who are awake with me, the first natural reactions such as fear and hate need to be squelched. Secondary reactions, what I call "reflexive prayer requests," also need to be squelched. These prayer requests call for the success of our law enforcement agencies, for our enemies to be scattered, and for them to be thrown into confusion. The Lord knows I have prayed these same prayers over the course of this past year. Although, they are well intentioned prayers, I think we have been missing out on the larger will of God and some untapped power. Here is what I think we've been missing in our prayers:

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9)
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16)

What are the methods and weapons of our enemies? They want to invite us to Islam? They have nukes? I am here to tell you that we have methods and weapons so powerful that they can make a terrorist stand fast in his tracks. Ours are more powerful than any suitcase-sized nuclear weapon. They have more accuracy and precision than any smart munition.

The methods and weapons in our arsenal are prayer and the good news of Jesus Christ. And here's something else people might not want to hear: Jesus died for every terrorist who is in the United States and is scheming against us as we speak. It's not my will that they come to salvation. It's God's. It's not for me to have unforgiveness in my heart. If so, God guarantees that I'll be judged for that. It's not by any man's power that we can prevent the unpreventable, because it's

"'not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty" (Zechariah 4:6)

Feelings like hate and fear have no place in our hearts right now. Apathy and lethargy have no place in our minds right now. We have the power in our hands and knees to make a difference. As I have said before, if you don't think it's possible that a terrorist can come to the Lord, look at Saul of Tarsus. It's too late for anything else. It's time to pray.

There is a man right now, who is plotting to set off something so horrendous that if it were to come to fruition it would shock the world. Something that will make the September 11th attacks pale in comparison. He's wanted by the FBI, but more than you or I will ever know, he's wanted by Jesus, the Prince of Peace and the author and finisher of our faith.

Please join me as I pray for the salvation of one man that may hold millions of American lives in his hands. Pray that he like so many of his fellow Muslims will see the Lord in vision, dream, or visitation. Pray for the conviction of the Holy Spirit to come upon him. Pray for his soul as if it were your own. Pray that he will repent of his murderous ways. Please, I beg you pray for Adnan or Adan al Shukrijumah.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Michael and the Angel

2006-09-11T22:43:00.000-10:00

Michael David is our little worshipper. For instance, he will often encourage you to sing along with him as he sings praise and worship songs that he has heard at church or on the radio. If Martha or I am singing a song, he'll put aside what he's doing and join in. When I would practice at home on the guitar, he'd run and grab his brother's toy guitar and accompany me. He was the favorite little brother of our ministry kids in Hollister, especially during worship practice. It was often hard to pull him off the drums, and even harder to get our young drummers to let him down. So there he would remain glowing and wide-eyed on their laps while we practiced.

These days, Michael leads our family bedtime prayers. He cues each of us to say our turn in the prayers. When he prays he often does so for the geckos in our house or for his Star Wars toys. Lord knows they need prayer the way the boys play with them, but occasionally he'll pray some surprisingly deep requests for one of us or his neighborhood mates. It's one of the cutest things I have ever heard or seen, and I'm sure it is not lost to God either.

To date, most of the supernatural experiences we have experienced in the home have involved our oldest, Danny Boy. It seems that the Lord works with him in the prophetic. He's been a witness to several encounters in the home and has had encounters of his own. He's interacted with the Lord Jesus twice in dreams. But God has shown us that Michael also has a special place in our ministry.

The Lord demonstrated this to me one night in 2005 while I was in prayer. We had been under spiritual attack while ministering in our home to, of all people, Mormon missionaries. We had felt a heavy oppression on all sides during our eight-week long fellowship with them. There was a war going in our home in the supernatural as we attempted to share the truth of the Bible and its only prophet worth following, Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 18:15-18, Acts 3:22).

After crying out to God for divine favor and protection, I discerned a word from the Lord for our family. One by one He called us out by name declaring "I am with you." But when He got to Michael, He changed His name. God doesn't call Michael by his first name. He knows him as "David," his middle name.

As I type this on September 11th 2006, I finally realize what God was doing when He changed his name. We have never made a huge deal about this experience and have only shared it with a few of our pastor friends (all named David) and our parents. But now as I think about his penchant for worship and his heart for God, the name "David" describes him to a tee. God must have known this all along. On another occasion He proved it to me and Martha.

It was a Saturday, sometime during the early Spring of 2005. At the time, we were living on military housing in beautiful Monterey. Having the weekend off from watch, Martha and I finally had some time for yard work. I had sat down on the sofa with my laptop as she was finishing up tending to her plants in the backyard. Danny Boy was busy playing across the street at his friend's house while Michael was curled up next to me playing with one of his toys.

I was busy coming up with fliers for our next sectional youth ministries event. While plugging away, I was soothed by the sounds of Martha spraying water outside and Michael tinkering with his toy. Although I was not fully engaged with his playing, I knew he was quite involved with his toy because he was adding his own sound effects.

After a couple minutes, the sounds around me began to dim somewhat as I delved more into the work on the screen in front of me. It took me a little while to realize that Michael was not making the same sound effects anymore, but was making other sounds. As I typed a little more, I overheard him giggling. Smiling at his giggles I continued with my design work dragging my mouse around without looking at him, thinking that he was giggling at Martha.

But, then I heard Martha through the window behind me restarting the hose in the back porch and I realized that I had not heard her come in through the sliding door. All the while, Michael was still giggling. At that moment, I stopped what I was doing and looked over to him. He had dropped his toy into his lap and was staring ahead with the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face. I was still looking at him when he let out another volley of laughter.

Quickly I looked over my laptop screen to see who or what he was looking at. He was looking in the direction of our stairwell. Not seeing anything I looked back at Michael. In the split second that I was turning my head back to Michael I saw a cloud of light streak from the stairwell. I quickly looked back but did not see anything more.

I then did a double-take to Michael. He was still wearing that smile on his face and looking in the direction of the stairwell. His smile wore off and then he turned to look at me. He shared a brief knowing grin with me and then straight with picked up his toy and continued his playing. Chills ran down my spine as I realized that he had been laughing with an angel on the stairwell.

I looked back but did not see anything after staring for several moments. I sat there with my laptop burning into my pant legs not able to do anymore work. I saved my work and powered down. I was putting away my gear when Martha came in and walked through the house to call Danny Boy in for dinner. I did not get a chance to stop her. I decided to save it for dinner.

Over dinner, I was excited to share with Martha and Danny Boy what Michael and I had seen together. Martha sat smiling as she fed Michael. She said, "you're not going to believe this, but I had the same experience with Michael earlier today." "Really!" I almost jumped out of my chair.

She said that she had been sitting on the sofa doing something while Michael was at her feet playing with his toy. All of a sudden, she realized that Michael had stopped playing and was giggling at something. She thought he was looking up at me. When she looked up to see what he was looking at, she saw a a figure in the form of a cloud standing at the base of the stairwell. No sooner had she perceived what it was, that it vanished. She looked back at Michael, who then looked at her briefly and then continued his playing.

Now, of course Monterey can get a bit foggy and often times the low clouds get bright as they reflect the morning sun, but not in the middle of your house at the bottom of a stairwell late in the afternoon! The experience could have been relegated to our collective imagination if for one fact, Martha and I both were expecting to see each other as the object of Michael's stare and giggles.

Sure, he could have imagined something and projected the reality to our consciousness somehow through some self-fulfilling prophecy or mind-control. The only problem with that hypothesis is that we are talking about a one-and-a-half year old, who stopped playing with his toy to engage in socialization with something that apparently was making him laugh. Furthermore, Martha and I had almost the same experience, a couple hours apart without sharing what we saw until dinner time. Another point worthy of mentioning is that up until that point Martha had never seen an angel and she is not given to sensationalism or flights of fancy. She's about the most genuine and non-flakiest person I have ever known.

I used to wonder what Jesus meant when He said "see that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven" (Matthew 18:10). Now thanks to Michael and the Angel, I know that God is not looking down so much as He is smiling at eye level with all the little ones in the world right now. Bad things may happen to them in this world, but it does not change the fact that God is taking notes from their angels. Maybe the brightness of their eyes and the resonance of their laughter has a lot to do with the little bit of glory that is brought to them from Heaven.

Today, as I close, I thought about all the children who are orphans, including those who lost a parent on September 11th, 2001. I believe God put it in my heart to share Michael's story because it's their story as well. Despite what grown ups may think, God is with them and He knows them by name. Please join me in prayer for orphans and little ones everywhere who are forgotten not by God but by man. Let's pray that they will receive God's blessings from our hearts and our hands.

Amen.

Wrestling with Angels

2006-09-03T22:13:00.000-10:00

Just days before the 5-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks on America, I am sobered by the belief that the threat we face from the spiritual forces that were behind those attacks are maneuvering once again to unleash something far more horrendous in the days, weeks, or months to come. At the moment it is not a matter of if but when. Whether they succeed, however, in large part depends on the actions or inactions of the American church.

The terrorists attacks that day and since have shown us is that there are no answers in the natural to prevent them. Sure, governments of man can stop a few here and there, but what the world is facing goes beyond the schemes of countless thousands thirsty for American blood. What I am talking about are millions of fallen hosts that are massing to manifest in these countless thousands.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12)

It's not enough to pray for divine protection from their upraised hand. It's not enough to pray for our success in the battlefield. It's not enough to pray that they are exposed. Although these are worthy prayers, they are "bandaid" prayers in the face of the artery that is about to explode. There are only two prayers we should be praying right now as if our country depended upon them, as if the lives of our families depended upon them: 1. Repentance for our nation and 2. The salvation of those who threaten us. These prayers emanate from the very heart and will of God. Why not pray accordingly? It's our only hope! This is the wrestling match we must join. If not, let's just throw our hand up before the referee yells "Ready, go!."

"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place." (2 Chronicles 7:14-15)

To give you just a picture of the threat I provide the following brief synopsis of news bits and an expose film:

It is no secret that Osama Bin Laden has received recent permission from clerics in Saudi Arabia to kill up to ten million Americans. Before you think this is funny, Osama was actually rebuked by Muslim clerics worldwide not because he was behind the 9/11 attacks but because he hadn't given Americans the proper warnings ahead of time. Apparently, this time he has learned his lesson - bad Osama. Just pause and think for a couple minutes. Imagine ten million Americans dead in a single day. Wake up people! This is not a joke. Read the writing on the wall: TEN MILLION AMERICANS DEAD.

It is no secret that countries like Iran and Al Qaida operatives, like Californian-born "Azzam the American," have extended invitations to join Islam or face certain grave consequences. This is no publicity stunt. This is exactly what the Koran teaches to do before all "jihad breaks loose." This is yet another prelude to mass murder on a national scale. To their credit, if I may say that, they are following their doctrines to a tee. They have made the invitation so if we balk it, they have fulfilled their end and will have the justification to strike with their sword.

It is no secret that Iran and Al Qaida have already acquired several nuclear weapons. This is their sword of choice and they are just waiting for the right opportunity to use them. If you believe that they don't have these weapons or won't use them, then I have some Iranian nuclear waste buckets to sell you. I must return to the close of my first paragraph: TEN MILLION AMERICANS DEAD.

It is no secret that there are sleeper terrorist cells here in America, who have been training for years here in America for the day that they can wage jihad here in America. They even have permission to kill children and even other Muslims here in America. If you think I am using scare tactics, may I remind of you the Beslan schoolhouse massacre? Do you think it can't happen here in America? May I ask a rhetorical question? Where did the 19 terrorists of the September 11th attacks train? Where did they strike? The answer should be clear - here in America.

Before I move on to the expose film that I believe every American should watch, allow me to return to the wrestling match of this new century. Imagine with me the night of September 10th 2001. All 19 hijackers, are in their hotel rooms trying to get sleep the night before their infamous mission. What would have happened if on that same night millions of American Christians were awakened to intercede for them, yes that's right intercede for them, not just damn them to hell.

Do you think a terrorist is worth praying for? Do you think he or she is beyond the reach of the Holy Spirit's conviction? Do you think they are beyond the hope of Jesus appearing to them? Well, let's just ask these questions to Saul of Tarsus when we get to heaven. On second thought, you might have a hard time finding him, because he has a new name and, to be cliche, it's written down in glory. His new name also happens to be written on almost two thirds of the New Testament.

Church, this is our only hope. Everything else is vanity. Will you tarry just one hour? This is exactly what I am talking about. The message of the Gospel is for every man and we are the messengers of this message. In this sense, we are angels. To not engage in prayer for our enemies is to wrestle against ourselves!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

We the American church, are the last defense for our country. Dear Jesus, if only our newspapers could read tomorrow: TEN MILLION MUSLIMS ACCEPT JESUS. Sound far fetched? Well let's just ask the entire village of Bugia in Algeria who had the same dream of Jesus on the same night in which He declared His lordship in exactly the same manner. Is anything too difficult for God?

Please join me as we turn the invitation of the terrorists around and use the only effective weapon in our arsenal. The only weapon powerful enough to shake the earth. Let's stop kicking the goads and wrestle the real enemies. Let's intercede repentance for our nation and for the salvation of souls, especially the souls of Muslims in America.

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." (Acts 4:31)

Now for the expose film, which I must apologize has subtitles and is fairly long at 1 hour and 17 minutes. Notwithstanding these detractors, it is well worth watching and your time. Obsession Radical Islam's War Against the West is set to come out on DVD on the anniversary of September 11th. I pray that its release date is not too late, and that's why I have placed the video here, not to scare the church but to do what I can to awaken her in the midnight hour to pray.

Please let me make one thing clear. I do not hate Muslims. I love them with the love of the Lord. To the Muslims of the world: "Jesus loves you and died for you. He is the man in white who calls to you. Find Him today."

Heaven is so Real!

2006-08-30T23:24:00.000-10:00

To say that Heaven is so Real! is a book for our times would be an understatement. Everybody is talking about the "end of the world" and the "end times." Signs of the second coming are everywhere. So what does this mean to you? Did you know that Jesus is coming back to earth and has prepared a place for you in heaven? After all, He promised He would...

Choo Thomas speaks of that place that Jesus has prepared for all His obedient children and of His soon coming. Choo speaks as one with experience, that's because she has been there and back. In Heaven is so Real!, she recounts her visions of a very real heaven, Jesus, and rapture. Are you ready for heaven, for Him, and for it?

Check out her video, share it with a friend, and find Jesus today!

Heaven is so Real! is the Young Seven One Book of August 2006. All commissions go to the Lighthouse Project and back to the author and her ministry. In these uncertain and unreal times, find out for certain that Heaven is so Real!

Danny Boy Dreams of the Rapture

2006-08-08T15:10:00.000-10:00

Early this morning around 5:45, I went to check the latest headlines on the Internet, before I tried to get some sleep. While I was perusing my favorite news sites. I heard a noise in the hallway. It was Danny Boy half-awake and staggering towards me. I said "good morning Papi, what are you doing up?" He replied "I needed to go the bathroom." "Ok, go a head" I said and then continued my quest for news bits.

While "mijo" was taking care of business, I looked up Matt Drudge's website, the DrudgeReport. I quickly scanned over the news items for anything interesting. And then this caption caught my eyes "WSJ: Scholar Warns Iran's Ahmadinejad May Have 'Cataclysmic Events' In Mind For August 22."

What? This August 22nd? I had to read on. Apparently, Matt Drudge had been given a scoop about an article that would appear later on today in the Wall Street Journal. Here is the leaked snippet as it appeared on Drudge:

WSJ: Scholar Warns Iran's Ahmadinejad May Have 'Cataclysmic Events' In Mind For August 22

Tue Aug 08 2006 10:22:35 ET

In a WALL STREET JOURNAL op-ed Tuesday, Princeton's Bernard Lewis writes: "There is a radical difference between the Islamic Republic of Iran and other governments with nuclear weapons. This difference is expressed in what can only be described as the apocalyptic worldview of Iran's present rulers."

"In Islam as in Judaism and Christianity, there are certain beliefs concerning the cosmic struggle at the end of time -- Gog and Magog, anti-Christ, Armageddon, and for Shiite Muslims, the long awaited return of the Hidden Imam, ending in the final victory of the forces of good over evil, however these may be defined."

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the US about nuclear development by Aug. 22," which this year corresponds "to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to 'the farthest mosque,' usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1).

"This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind."
Developing...

This gave me the chills. I was literally dumbstruck as I read what could possibly be the Iranian President's hidden message to the world and to all those in the Middle East who, like him, want to wipe Israel off the map.

All of a sudden, a dizzying array of thoughts about the threat of Islamic militants started rushing to mind. I had just finished reading a book entitled Why I Left Jihad by ex-terrorist Walid Shoebat. Among other insights, he makes a startling connection between the Mark of the Beast and the prominent Muslim phrase bismillah.

Then, after this, in quick succession, I remembered an interview with Walid and two other former terrorists (one American-born) who talked about the threat posed by American-born terrorists who have been training underground for years here in America just waiting for the right time to wage jihad.

Within a split-second I was reminded of Saddam's "missing" WMD arsenal that had been shipped off to Syria before the start of the war on March 19th 2003, this according to both the written testimony of General Georges Sada, second in command of the Iraqi Air Force, and other established reports made to Congress.

The last thought that came in this semi-automatic mind rush was a prophecy I had received from a friend on June 30th. Among other alarming things, it prophesied that within three months the world would see the start of a war and that there would be a terrorist attack against America that would "shake the people of the country." The attack would be so severe that "the rest of the world will be shocked also." Amazingly, this prophecy has verified thus far with the month-long war in the Middle East that threatens to consume the whole region.

So there I sat, glued to the computer screen with mouth open and not quite believing what I was reading or thinking, when all of a sudden Danny Boy appeared right beside me. His unexpected presence sent even more shivers down my spine. I couldn't take it anymore. I quickly signed off and shut down the computer and headed for bed.

Not wanting to wake mother and Michael in the master bedroom, I gently guided Danny Boy to our guest room and its empty bed. There we pulled up the blankets and snuggled next to each other, our two heads on one Spiderman pillow.

Then with the thoughts of end-time events swirling in my sleep-deprived state, I looked over to Danny Boy and with some hesitation asked, "Danny Boy, can you pray with me for our country?" The last thing I wanted to do was to scare him with anything I was thinking. At that moment, though, I needed some comfort that I believed only prayer with another person could bring.

As if he knew everything I was going through, he replied "yes Dad, I know." Then he said "Dad, last night I had a dream that Jesus came back." "What?" I asked with amazement. All of a sudden I felt re-energized. He had my full attention.

"Go on, tell me everything" I asked. He then told me the following story of his dream. He said he first heard a loud noise outside. It was so loud that it awoke him from bed. He went to the door to look outside to see what it was.

When he opened the door, he looked up and saw Jesus in the clouds. Jesus looking at him told him to go inside and get the rest of us who were still asleep. He went to our bed and apparently even though we were asleep, we were reacting to the sound of the noise that was still emenating from outside. He quickly woke us up and we rushed to the door.

Immediately, he says we shot off from the ground towards the clouds leaving our clothes falling behind us on the ground. There in the clouds, he saw all of his friends that are his age. He saw many of his neighbors there, but did not see their parents. He said he saw all of our family and cousins whom he knew.

Then he said, we all heard a large noise coming from the earth below. He said the whole earth was shaking. There was a huge earthquake. He said in places the earth opened up and people who did not believe in Jesus fell into the earth. Then he said he woke up.

The dream was so real that he thought it was actually happening. I am not quite sure, but he may have just awakened from it when he came out to go to the bathroom.

Later that afternoon, around the dinner table, I asked him if he could draw a picture of what he had seen in his dream. Again, he said "yes Dad, I know, God told me up in the clouds 'Danny Boy I want you to draw a picture so that your dad can put it on his website.'" Excited and wanting to capture what he had seen, I asked him if he could type, using a blank e-mail, a little of what he saw. Here in his own words (with only spaces and returns added by me):

dear people listen to my dream one day i herd a loud noise so i went outside and i saw god and he said go get your family then we went up and are cloths went down but people that didnt believe in god went down to see what happened go to www.lighthefire.com/dailyplanet

I always prayed and hoped that my son, even in his youth, would be used of God to touch people for the Lord. I never knew that the Lord would use him to do just that with this dream. I also never knew that he would be the one to comfort me like he did with his dream. We prayed and then fell asleep in peace together.

Do you know the Jesus of Danny Boy's dream? He is coming soon in the clouds just as He did when He left the earth. Look up and find Jesus Today!

Not Another Tie for Father's Day

2006-06-12T10:20:00.000-10:00

Father's Day is coming up and so is the chance to bless your Father in heaven by participating in the "Not Another Tie" Campaign of Africa Tabernacle Evangelism. You and your church can bless a whole community in Africa through this highly effective and practical method of evangelism. What is the campaign and Africa Tabernacle Evangelism all about? Learn more from its Coordinator, Pastor Bill Moore...

The “Not Another Tie” campaign is a deliberate effort to involve local USA churches in partnering with Africa Tabernacle Evangelism and the local African church to erect church buildings across the continent in 2006.

Currently, the African church is in a tremendous growth mode, and the need for congregations to have their own building is growing. There are currently more than 13 million Assemblies of God believers across Africa, and if the current growth rate continues as it currently is, by 2010 there will be more than 30 million believers. With this growth, the need is greater now than ever before. And because a church gains credibility in its community when it has it’s own church building, it often experiences rapid growth . . . thus the need for your help.

We are encouraging churches across the USA to take a special offering on Father’s Day for this special need. The thought is that instead of giving dad another tie as a gift, honor dad, brother, husband, uncle, or pastor by giving an offering on his behalf which will make an eternal difference. A tie will pass away, but the church will live on for eternity! And the father’s legacy will live on as well!

This year we need 1000 USA churches who will commit to partner with us to build 1000 African churches. For an offering of $7500, a tabernacle church can be built for a need congregation in Africa. A church may chose to partner with us to fund all or part of a church building and all help will be greatly appreciated.

If you would like more information, or would like the ministry leader, Bill Moore, to come and share this vision with your church, please e-mail the address listed below.

Make this Father's Day a day to remember by changing a whole community and perhaps a whole nation in Africa. Build a church for a lifetime in a day!

Here are some resources to help you help Africa Tabernacle Evangelism:

Contribute to Africa Tabernacle Evangelism Online Now

African Tabernacle Evangelism Homepage

Email Africa Tabernacle Evangelism

Download ATE Poster Above (.jpg)

Download Not Another Tie Explanation (.jpg)

ATE is a missions partner of Club Alpha Omega Young Adults International and its missions giving program - The Lighthouse Project. Join us as we send by giving to missions!

Visit the Lighthouse Project Forum

Spirit West Coast Del Mar 2006

2006-04-15T12:30:00.000-10:00

Please join us in praying and fasting for one of the largest Christian events and outreaches on the west coast - Spirit West Coast Del Mar. The SWC Ministry Director, and our friend, Pastor Bob Reehm has issued a call out for 40 days of fasting and praying leading up to the event. If you are interested in being a part of this organized call, please contact us and we will put you in touch with Rev. Harry and Shirl Gamotan who assist Pastor Bob at both Del Mar and Monterey. This is Pastor Bob's call that we have been allowed to post:

Proclamation: Call To FASTING for SWC Del Mar 2006

Whereas Spirit West Coast Del Mar is not just a music festival but a significant, three day, SPIRITUAL event;

Whereas Francis Chan will be presenting the Gospel with an altar call from the Air 1 Grandstand Stage challenging folks to repent and to become true followers of Jesus Christ;

Whereas Erwin McManus will be challenging believers on Saturday night from the Air 1 Grandstand Stage to live as true believers in obedience to the Lord Jesus

Whereas we expect up to 15,000 people/day to attend, many of which will be UNSAVED seekers

Whereas there will be at least 12 other ALTAR Calls, nine in the Skate Church/skate boarding demonstration area and two others in the alternative band area

Whereas last year at SWC Del Mar over 150 people (that we are aware of) made first time, ETERNAL decisions to give their lives to Jesus Christ

Whereas last year during SWC Del Mar over 300 needy children from many different countries of the world found sponsors through Compassion International which will have long term, lasting impact around the world and this year at Del Mar, the opportunity will also be given to sponsor children through COMPASSION International

Whereas Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches, apart from me, YOU CAN DO NOTHING":

And Because of the truth of the Master's words and the reality of the spiritual battle,

We are inviting you, your family and /or church to join us in 40 days of fasting in preparation for Spirit West Coast Del Mar '06.

The 40th day prior to SWC Del Mar is, Easter Sunday, April 16th and will be the first day of the coordinated, group fast.

I am asking people to commit to fasting as much as they feel led of God. I am also asking that you ask the Spirit as to what TYPE of fasting He wants you to do. (Water only, juice fast, etc.) I am asking each ministry team participant to fast a minimum of three meals over the 40 days of the fast. I am hoping that each Dept. Head and their Assistants will take up the challenge and join me in beseeching our Great God for great things through Spirit West Coast Del Mar. Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call upon me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."

There are lots of options for you to choose from. You may choose to miss a meal/day, or you may pick one day a week to fast, or pick 2-3 different days/meals during the 40-day period. You may want to fast for 2-3 days in a row, or even an entire week or longer. Some may want to miss lunches or dinners on Sat., or breakfasts on Sunday, or some other meal. I would like to track when folks are intentionally fasting and seeking the Lord so that all 40 days and 120 meals are 'covered'.

For those who desire to join in this Spiritual discipline of fasting, please email Shirl Gamotan, the Ministry Dept. Administrator with your designated "FAST" days and which meals you intend to miss. Her email address is: LuvThatGospel316@aol.com

In the spirit of Matthew 6, I will not divulge who is participating in the fast or to what degree. My tracking of the meals is to ensure that all meals are covered. Many times folks will ask me, "Tell me what days/meals need to be covered, and I will fast then." So, it helps me to know when folks are intending on fasting. By separate, later email, I will send a list of suggested prayer concerns that need to be 'covered.'

If you have never fasted before, I invite you to get a good concordance and look up 'fasting' in the Scriptures. Also, there are several excellent books on the market that you can purchase at Christian bookstores. If you desire to read some material that discusses fasting, please email my administrative assistant, Shirl Gamotan. Her email address is: LuvThatGospel316@aol.com. Please include your name and address in your email. She will mail to you a booklet written by Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, on the topic of fasting. It is full of helpful information to assist you in your commitment. If you have never fasted before and if you are taking prescription drugs or if have a medical/health condition, please consult your doctor or pharmacist prior to fasting.

The 40th day before the festival begins is 16th April with the last day of the fasting period the 25th of May, the day before the festival begins.

If you know of other prayer warriors who would be interested in joining us in this GREAT SPIRITUAL WORK, please pass this invitation on to them.

Again, please email Shirl Gamotan back your name and the days/meals that you will miss in your participation in this work. Please report your commitment in the following way in the subject line of your email: examples: Saturday, 1 May, Breakfast & Lunch or MWF Dinners.

In Christ's Service,

Bob Reehm
Ministry Director, SWC

:: Note from Sister Shirl Requesting More Help ::

Greetings!
Tomorrow starts the 40 days of fasting for Spirit West Coast Del Mar. Thank you again for your commitment to fast and pray for this event. Please let me know if you've forgotten what days/meals you have committed to. Listed below are days/meals that are not covered as of this morning 4/15. If you feel led to fast another meal, please let me know. Please respond only as the Lord leads you and not an obligation to fill this schedule. I have this message going out to more people and as God sees it, the schedule will be filled.

4/16 - Easter Sunday Dinner
4/17 - Dinner
4/20 - Dinner
4/21 - Dinner
4/22 - Dinner
4/24 - Dinner
4/27 - Dinner
4/28 - Dinner
4/29 - Lunch & Dinner
4/30 - Dinner
5/1 - Dinner
5/4 - Dinner
5/5 - Dinner
5/6 - Lunch & Dinner
5/8 - Dinner
5/11 - Dinner
5/12 - Dinner
5/13 - Lunch & Dinner
5/14 - Dinner
5/15 - Dinner
5/18 - Lunch & Dinner
5/19 - Dinner
5/20 - Lunch & Dinner
5/21 - Lunch
5/22 - Dinner
5/25 - Lunch & Dinner

In His Love and Service,
Shirl Gamotan

General in the Lion's Den

2006-03-23T20:24:00.000-10:00

One of my favorite Bible stories is that of the prophet Daniel in the courts of King Nebuchadnezzar and Darius. Although he was a Hebrew, he rose to become the provincial ruler over all of Babylon and one of three administrators in Persia. He rose to these positions not through hostile take-over, but through his faithfulness to God and through his honest counsel before several kings who held his people hostage. Daniel overcame unimaginable odds to become the go-to man in hostile regimes.

General Georges Sada is very much a modern day Prophet Daniel. Although he was born into an Assyrian Christian home and became a born-again Christian in 1986, he rose to become the Vice Marshall of the Iraqi Air Forces under Saddam Hussein. According to his newly published account, he did not compromise his faith and even stood up to Saddam on several occasions. Incredibly because of his honesty in the face of unspeakable consequences he became one of Saddam's most trusted advisors, even though Saddam knew he was a born-again Christian!

How in the world could he have done all this and live to tell about it? How could he have worked under such a brutal regime and keep his faith? The answer is just as true today as it was in the day of the Prophet Daniel. God not only protected the General, He elevated him to high office and to the world figure he is today.

And the similarities don't end there, just like the prophet, General Sada saved the modern-day children of Israel from a chemical attack from Saddam, who often referred to himself as the resurrected King Nebuchadnezzar (Saddam even rebuilt ancient Babylon in his own honor). His selfless heroism continued during the first gulf war when he saved 24 American and Coalition pilots from being executed by the death squads of Qusay Hussein, Saddam's youngest son. For this, he was arrested but later released by Saddam when the dictator realized that the General had saved the nation from an international uproar.

In what is probably his most alarming act of courage, the General is now warning the nations of the world that Saddam is not finished with his reign of terror. In his new book, Saddam's Secrets: How an Iraqi General Defied And Survived Saddam Hussein, the General reveals that Saddam moved untold tons of Weapons of Mass Destruction to Syria in the days leading up to Operation Iraqi Freedom. He did it using two converted airliners and truck convoys. According to him and the pilots who flew the WMDs, the airliners alone conducted two sorties a day for a total of fifty-six sorties.

The General's story proves that heroism of Biblical proportions and Daniel-like favor is very much alive today. Even though he survived the horrors of the Hussein regime, he is continuing to put his life on the line for God and country. The General is now the spokesman for the newly elected prime minister of Iraq, the president of the National Presbyterian Church in Baghdad and the chairman of the Assembly of Iraqi Evangelical Presbyterian Churches.

Please pray for his continued safety, for divine favor, and for the blessing of his efforts. You too can find the God who saved the General from the lion's mouth. Find Jesus today.

Blogging from rain-soaked Hawai'i,
Danny "dj" Morales

When Danny Met Martha

2006-02-06T00:44:00.000-10:00

My favorite testimony is how Martha and I met. Some people wonder if there are such things as soul mates and destinies. I know the answer for me is undoubtedly and emphatically "yes!" I am sure that the events that took place in bringing us together match those of others who believed that God's fate brought them together. I am equally sure that there are many who think such ideas are the stuff of vivid imaginations. My story is dedicated to my bride on her birthday and to all who believe and don't believe in miracles.

I first met Martha in the summer of 1995 on my front doorstep in Douglas, Arizona while I was on summer break from Oral Roberts University. The youth from First Assembly of God in Douglas Arizona, had been invited over to a pool party at my parent's home. The party was sponsored by the youth pastor at First Assembly. Martha happened to come early to the party and was the first one I met that summer. I answered the door bell and invited her in and both of us were a little clumsy as to what to do and say next. We made small talk and when the talk abruptly ended with an awkward silence I had her wait in the living room. I wish I could say that it was love at first sight, but nothing in that first encounter signaled any future for the two of us.

The party was fun and it gave me a chance to meet several youth who would become close friends. It also afforded me a chance to reacquaint myself with childhood friends whom I had not seen since my family had moved to Massachusetts. Who would have ever thought that years later that Martha and I would be working with many of them as youth co-leaders and workers? It was probably the most fun summer break I ever had and it all began at that pool party.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Martha. Her mom passed away that summer of breast cancer. Many times I think about what it would have been like to know Sister Carmen and call her "Mom." She was a great woman of God and a hero of the faith. She believed in God and did not leave this earth with a defeatist or "woe is me" attitude. She fought and won the battle for the eternal fate of her soul. I only wish I would have known her personally. All that I know of her is what I have been told by others and what I see in Martha and my boys. I deprived myself of the opportunity of looking into her eyes when my dad asked me if I wanted to go with him to pray for her. The crazy thing is that she had visited my dad's church in Douglas (Templo Betel) when I was a boy. Martha's mom would came down from San Pedro, California to visit family in the Douglas area just about every year. Sister Carmen no doubt had brought Martha to church and I had most likely sat across from her in service or in Sunday School. Now, here we were years later and Martha's family had called for my dad to go to her bedside to pray for her. If only I had not been so selfish that day! I was too comfortable kicking back that I didn't leave room for meeting such a wonderful woman. In the end, it may have not been meant to be, but the memory still haunts me and reminds me of just how important visitation requests are. I know without a doubt that I will see my mother-in-law again and I will thank her for blessing me with her daughter.

After summer, I left back for Oral Roberts to continue my studies. Martha would later be awarded a six-month internship to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The time away from home would do her some good as she moved on with her life. She would write to me at school sending me postcards from Florida and I, the typical guy, would not write back. But I did look forward to catching up with her and my Douglas friends on my next break. Friends is all we were and all I ever thought we would be. Even when asked by my mom what I thought of her, I simply dismissed the whole idea.

As the years passed, our friendship grew as did my family's closeness to her. While I was at school in Oklahoma, Mary Louise and my mother would invite Martha over to the house and on excursions to nearby Sierra Vista and mountain parks, our Sky Islands, which surround the Douglas area. I remember hearing them tell me how nice of a girl she was. I could sense the undertones in their words and would walk away saying "we're only friends, there is nothing between us now and there never will be."

I was pretty confident in my assertion that I would marry someone back in Massachusetts or in Oklahoma. So when my mom hooked me up with a date with Martha during Spring Break in 1996, I was secure that nothing would result between her and me. It turns out that Martha was just as secure. In fact, she was partly using the date as an excuse to get away from local guys who were interested in her. As I write this, I am shocked to realize that she was the first girl I took on a solo date! Well, so much for my insightfulness. It turns out that God, my mom, Mary Louise and Martha were all playing me the fool of love.

I took her on a date to eat in Sierra Vista, a town about 45 minutes away from Douglas. At the time, Douglas did not have the assortment of good restaurants it has today and one had to drive out of town or across the border into Mexico to have a decently wide selection. That night, I had dinner and a movie planned. We would eat at Golden China on Fry Blvd. I remember having fun at dinner but in the back of my mind I kept on saying that we had no chemistry with each other. After dinner, we watched "Up Close and Personal," which did get a little up close and personal looking back at all the storyline reviews. I hated the tear-jerking ending, Martha of course loved it, but we both liked the sappy theme song, Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me." As soon as I got back home from dropping Martha off, my mom and Mary Louise were eager to hear about our date. With one emphatic "sorry guys, there's just no chemistry between us," I left them both looking at each other and went to bed.

Over the next year, I absorbed myself in my studies at Oral Roberts. I was progressing along very well at school but at the back of my mind I began to hear a calling back to my birth state of Arizona (I consider Massachusetts my second home state). There was a pull inside of me that just wouldn't let go. I had not lived in Arizona and called it home in almost nine years. Nine years earlier, we had left our small border town for an unknown future in a different country called "New England." The day we left Arizona will live in my memory forever because it was none other than Christmas Day 1987. It was no ordinary Christmas either. It was the first real White Christmas that Southern Arizona had experienced in many years. It was so white, in fact, that we and hundreds of other motorists got stranded in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We would arrive in Fort Devens, Massachusetts on New Year's Eve with even more snow on the ground. I was quite disappointed to see that the people in Mass no longer lived in thatched-roof houses and wore Pilgrim clothing and shoes as I had seen in my history books. What a culture shock!

Now, nine years later I felt the call to come back home, no longer the dreamy-eyed boy but now an almost grown-up college man. Uncertain about my calling home, I inquired of the Lord as to whether it was His will that I stop my studies mid-stream at Oral Roberts and transfer to the University of Arizona. Although I considered a prophecy uttered by my mother that "the Lord would give me opportunities, open up doors and bless me beyond my wildest dreams if i did," I was still hesitant to leave my comfort zone in Oklahoma. I inquired of the Lord and made my mother and Mary Louise witnesses. The Lord answered an emphatic "go home" through a fleece I had put before Him. As a result of hearing God's voice, I told my mother and Mary Louise that I was also becoming more certain of a calling to the Navy.

It was hard leaving all my friends at Oral Roberts. I would even miss the campus itself. It seemed as if faith and God's presence saturated the ground and air on those grounds. Living apart from my folks had really grown me up in the span of two years. Now, I was about to go home for Christmas one last time from Oklahoma, leaving a Christian school with a network of friends to attend a secular university with absolutely no friends awaiting me. What a culture shock!

That Christmas break was one of the darkest seasons of my life. I would not wish that merry Christmas on my worst enemy. That day will live in my memory forever, because it was none other than Christmas Day 1996, the day I broke up with my first girlfriend. Things would have been better if I had just listened to a dream that my mother had. The Fall Break before I left Tulsa, my mother counseled me on a road trip to check out the U of A. She told me "Son, the Lord gave me a dream last night. In this dream, your father and I were standing with you on the bank of a large lake. There were fishermen all around this lake and we could see fish swimming underneath the water's surface. In the middle of this lake, swam a beautiful fish that everyone was trying to catch. In a moment, we saw you jump in after the fish. You walked underwater until you came to it. You tried to touch it but it swam away from you. After doing this a couple times, you walked away from it realizing that you could not catch it. When you were just about to come up the bank the fish all of a sudden turned and came back to you and touched you. You turned around and spent some time with it but then you came to the surface. Your father and I were there to help you up." She asked me "what do you think it means mijo?" I replied to her sadly, "it means that my relationship is over." If I had just listened to the word from the Lord, I would have been spared some deep wounds, but I stretched the relationship out. Thank God for my parents. They were there to help me up.

With Oklahoma and heart break behind me, I began the new year at the University of Arizona. It was a magical time that first semester. Tall palm trees lined the university mall that ran the course of much of the campus. Red brick buildings glowed with the Arizona sunsets. I walked around lost in absolute ignorance to my surroundings and in awe at the beauty that was the home of the Wildcats. That semester, Spring 1997, our team would go on to win the NCAA Championship overcoming unthinkable odds by beating three number-one seeded teams. As a kid, I had remembered watching the Wildcats play and seeing that famous U of A logo on the court with the name "Arizona," a mountain, and a green cactus on it. I remembered thinking to myself that it was the coolest logo I had ever seen and that one day I would like to go to that school with the cool logo. Almost twenty years later, that was my school, that was my team, and there was that cool logo on the court. The school was completely abuzz and went chaotic when we won the championship. And I say "we" because there was a tangible pride and identity shared by the entire student body. Our team had beaten the odds. We took to the streets to celebrate. After it got a little crazy, most of us ran back to our dorms and apartments. I don't think we were prepared for the shock of victory.

Then came Spring Break 1997! It was the season that my eyes were opened to someone that had been there in front of me the whole time. My birthday always fell during Spring Break. The year before I had taken Martha out to eat around my birthday. History was repeating itself.

The Sunday before my birthday, the Pastor at First Assembly of God had passed out green prayer requests cards with instructions to put their petitions before the Lord. Martha held onto her card, while most of the people turned theirs in during the offering time. I was not attending First Assembly on Sundays as I would help my parents lead worship at their church in neighboring Bisbee (the former Templo Estrella). Wednesday night, the day of my birthday, I was able to attend Martha's church because school was out and my parent's did not have mid-week services. Several things transpired on that night that still leave me in shock.

Just before the start of service, one of my childhood friends who had attended my dad's old church in Douglas as a young girl walked up to Mary Louise, who was the youth pastor, and asked something that threw her back. "Mary Louise is there something going on between Danny and Martha?" she asked. Mary Louise responded matter of factly, "NOTHING, there is NOTHING going on between Danny and Martha, NOTHING. Why do you ask?" Serena responded "well, I just see something going on between them." Mary Louise shook her head and walked away a bit dumbfounded. Meanwhile, upstairs in the youth room, Martha was sitting with another one of my childhood friends who also attended my dad's old church as a young boy. She pulled out her green prayer request card and began to fill it out with her petition. She turned over to Josh and asked "hey Josh, what's today's date?" In his trademark quiet but smooth voice he responded back to her "it's March 19th." She wrote it atop the prayer request card and tucked it away in her Bible.

I walked in just before Mary Louise started the youth Bible study and extended my parent's invitation to everyone for some birthday cake and ice cream over at my house. After church, Martha told me that she wanted to go but that she did not have a ride. I told her "no problem" I could give her a ride. She accepted the offer and sent her Bible and her stuff home with her older brother and sister-in-law whom she lived with.

We had a great time at the party with so many laughs and stories, most of them at my expense. I am a bit of a dork at times and I love telling my personal "Griswald" stories. I was given a serious ribbing when a couple of my closest "sister-wingers" at Oral Roberts called during the party to sing me happy birthday. After the party and when most of the youth group had left, I asked Martha if she was ready to head home. She said "yes" and with that we were off to drive the 5 minutes or so to her brother's house.

Upon driving up to her brother's house I realized how early it still was in the evening and that Spring Break was half over. I wanted to hang out with her a bit more to talk as I had so many times before at church, over my house, with other youth and even on our ill-fated first date, which was more of a friend's night out. So I asked without much thought if we could do what every high school to college-aged person does in Douglas, go cruising. She said nonchalantly "ya whatever." We did the usual well worn circuit around Douglas. Almost everyone in Douglas could recite the cruise route. I had spent my formative cruising years in Massachusetts and Oklahoma, and even then I did not do much of it. But in Douglas, well, cruising might as well be a sport. I took Martha's directions and got to know the cruise route.

We talked about Cochise College where she went, her stealth excursions into Mexico with her niece (another Douglas rite of passage), life at Oral Roberts and in Mass, her hometown of San Pedro, my dreams of working in research and in the Navy, and just about everything that was going on in our lives at that moment. All of a sudden, it dawned on us that we had been driving and talking for hours! She said "oh my gosh, look what time it is." I can't remember the time, but I felt like her brother, who I had great respect for, was going to kill me. She reminded me that she was twenty-one and a college student. We must have been out near her school in the outskirts when we realized the time. I had asked her for a drive-by tour. It took longer to get to the school than to give me the tour. With my tour over, we made our way back into town.

The last conversation we had the last ten minutes or so before getting to her brother's revolved around relationships. She already knew about my sob story, so she told me the latest on hers. I already knew about her past relationships as we had all had our laughs amongst the group concerning our misadventures. She remembered that an old friend of hers from San Pedro was writing to her from jail. I was amused by the thought and wanted to know all the juicy details. I felt sorry for the guy, but I still chuckled when she told me that he was interested in starting a relationship with her. We pulled up in front of her brother's house and I parked the car. I knew her pretty well, but I just had to ask. With that I turned over, probably raised an eyebrow and half-laughed my question to my good friend, "Martha does this guy even have a chance?" She laughed and in her best dramatic Martha tone said "ohhh NO."

Then it happened. I can't quite remember how it happened, but all I can remember is that I felt like I was not even there in the car and that I was distant and looking at us having this conversation. I saw Martha's eyes get big and then I came to and she said "what did you say?" Then it dawned on me that out of my mouth had spewed the question "well, do I have a chance?" I was equally shocked by my own words. The last thing on earth I had been thinking about was a relationship with Martha. But then all of a sudden, in a blink, my eyes were opened and I was falling for her. I gulped and then mustered the courage and then asked her with my heart this time, "Martha, do I have a chance with you?" She looked away, laughed a nervous laugh and said "yes Danny, you have a chance." Then she shouted in her best dramatic tone startling me "oh my God, I can't believe it, that's so weird!" "What?" I asked my heart in my throat. "Hold on, I'll be right back!" she replied and she ran out the car and into the house. She came back a few minutes later with something in her hands. I asked her what it was. She told me as she unfolded a small green paper and repeated "oh my God, I can't believe it, that's so weird!" I was anxious now "what, what's so weird?" "Tonight, I told God that it was time and that I was ready for a serious relationship and told Him about the qualities that I wanted in a man" with the paper trembling in her hands. She read everything on her list and then told me that she had asked our friend Josh for the date. With that, she said "here, look at the date!" I could hardly believe my eyes as I looked on to a familiar word-number combination that I had known all my life, March 19th.

I didn't know what was happening to me. All of a sudden my heart was exploding and this warmth was coming over me. I looked at Martha and knew that she was the one. Like the story of Balaam and his donkey. Here in front of me sat my angel. It took God to open this donkey's mouth and eyes to see that she was right in front of me the whole time. I asked her for a kiss and she obliged giving me the first birthday kiss of my life.

Martha was and is the greatest birthday gift I have ever been given. God threw a surprise party and gave me the desire of my heart right when I needed her the most. The Lord used her to help me out of the rut that I was in. If only my heart could have waited for my birthday, there wouldn't have been such a rut.

Our relationship grew fast and come summer time, we thought it best to test it by fire. Martha would ask her family in California if she could spend the summer with them and look for a job. I would go to summer school and hopefully land a job myself. She got a job right away at Starbucks in Redondo Beach and I got a job at the Arizona Cancer Center, both absolute miracles. Martha's salary was supplemented by tips. Working in upscale Redondo Beach had its benefits. She out-earned me several times over as a Starbucks Barista.

Life without Martha was torture. I could not believe that we had agreed to this arrangement. Looking back it was God's will. Absence did make the heart grow fonder in my case, that by July I was a wreck. I just had to visit her. The Fourth of July was right around the corner. This was my chance. Plans were made and her sister and brother-in-law graciously opened up there house to me.

Interestingly, before I made the trip out to San Pedro, I learned that my Lab Manager's wife was raised in San Pedro and one of her siblings still lived over there. Him and his family also planned on being in San Pedro on the Fourth. Shortly after I arrived Martha bumped into my boss, whom she knew, while at a supermarket close to the apartments where she was raised. We came to find out that his wife was raised in the same apartment complex as Martha and that her birthday was none other than March 19th.

After I got back from San Pedro I sought the Lord about the relationship. The summer was now coming to an end and so was our test. I sought the Lord's face in my apartment living room for over an hour. As I was crying out to the Lord, I suddenly heard a soft knock at the door. There was another knock. I quickly cleaned my face from my tears and went to answer it. I opened the door and there stood a teenage girl somewhat surprised to see me. After a few awkward moments she asked me if her friend was home. I almost fainted. Her friend's name was my former girlfriend's name!!! I somehow managed to the say the words, "I am sorry but she doesn't liver here anymore." With that the girl turned around and left somewhat confused. If only she knew. On a side note, I also discovered that I shared walls with a Navy recruiter, who enlisted in the Navy interestingly enough on March 19th. But that's a part of a whole other miraculous story.

I was shaken by the encounter and took some time getting back into prayer. The Spirit of the Lord was gracious and He soon fell upon me in power. I began to praise the Lord in the spirit. As I was doing so, I was also inquiring of the Lord with my mind about the relationship. All of a sudden the Lord began to show me that there was deep purposes, blessings, and His favor upon the relationship beyond my understanding and wisdom. With moans and groans that words cannot express, the Spirit interceded for me in my inquiry (Romans 8:26). The Lord moved in my heart to ask for two signs (Isaiah 7:11). I asked Him for confirmation in Scripture and for a dream. In this dream, I asked the Lord to have me catch a fish and hold it in my hand. The symbolism was to be obvious to me that this relationship was to have and to hold, and not to surrender back to the water.

Within moments of me asking for the two signs. I began to sing in the Spirit. The tune became recognizable and I began to sing it in English. It was a Christmas duet sung by Michael W. Smith, who wrote the music, and Amy Grant, who wrote the words. The song begins, "no eye had seen. No ear had heard. 'Til hosts on high, proclaimed the birth." The first verse kept ringing in my ears and spirit. Then it dawned on me that it might be a Scripture verse. I ran to grab my concordance and there it was! One reference was found in Isaiah 64:4 and the other in 1 Corinthians Chapter 2:7-16, which quotes the one in Isaiah. Paul's words in Corinthians hit me between the eyes and spoke to exactly what had transpired in my living room over the last two hours:

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

And with that, I was convinced. Immediately in my heart I began the plans to marry Martha. I did wait a couple nights for the dream, but Scripture, the sword of the Spirit, had cut me to the heart and was more than enough confirmation. I soon forgot all about the dream. Within four months, I had saved up enough money to buy the solitaire engagement ring that caught my eye. I wasn't quite sure when to pop the question, but Christmas Eve kept coming to mind. I tried brushing away the idea because it seemed to in parallel with my break up the year before on Christmas Day. But there was no denying the urge, it just had to be Christmas Eve.

Martha had no idea about my plans. I arranged for dinner reservations that night at the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee with my surprise tucked hidden in the car. Dinner was wonderful that night. As we headed for home, a sudden chill filled the air. I had asked my parents ahead of time if my soon-to-be fiance could spend the night at the house in Mary Louise's room. They agreed knowing my plans. When we arrived in Douglas, we parked in front of my parent's house, my childhood home, which we moved into on my birthday - March 19th, 1978. Soon, the largest snow flakes I have ever seen started to fall. It was going to be a child's wonderland and dream. It would be the first White Christmas in ten years. Ten years ago to the day we left this same home for an unknown future in Massachusetts. I could not get over the coincidence.

I made small talk with Martha until I gained the courage. I then asked her to look under her seat. She pulled out the ring and just stared at it. I unwrapped a song I had written the night before. It was inspired by Martha's love for Precious Moments Dolls and for cats, to which I am allergic to, but not to the musical by the same I had taken her to as a date. I sang Precious Moments to the tune of Memories haltingly and through tears and then asked her to marry me. We kissed under the starlight in front of my home surrounded by falling snow flakes, the biggest and softest I have ever seen.

We made our way into my parent's home where I introduced them to their future daughter-in-law. That night in bed, I thanked the Lord for the greatest birthday gift I had ever been given, Martha. Somehow, I drifted off into sleep.

Shortly before waking up, I found myself in Massachusetts in my old high school cafeteria. There, I was speaking to two girls. For some strange reason we were getting ready for rafting down a river. In a blur, we were on the river making our way in the gentle rapids. When we reached our destination on shore, the three of us took out fishing poles. The two girls had bait casters, while I had an old-fashioned bamboo pole whose line I had to throw by hand. The girls were complaining at how long it was taking for the them to catch anything. I told them "you need to be more patient." Just then, a felt a tug on my line. I pulled the line in and took my catch by the hand. I turned around and saw a female Fish and Wildlife Warden approach the three of us. She looked at the fish in my hand and said "you've got yourself a pretty nice catch there." With that I woke up. The dream was so real that I thought I was still in Massachusetts. Then it hit me. I had forgotten all about the dream of catching a fish and holding it in my hand!

My dream and how Martha and I met was the subject at the breakfast table that Christmas morning and at several tables since then. The Lord was faithful to His word in this and in so many miraculous ways. Thank you Lord for the greatest birthday and Christmas gift I could ever receive. Happy Birthday to my Woman of Destiny!

Precious Moments

Starlight shines alone on a Silent Night.
Do you share in our secret
As we're falling in love?
In your night-light, two shadows eclipse into one,
For a moment, shine above.

Baby, it's too early to leave me.
Can't you hear our fate calling?
And the night is timeless,
Precious moments that hurried-time can seem to forget.
Let the moment live for us.

Take me by the hand and we'll marry.
There's no moment as precious
When a man finds his wife.
If you take me, we'll understand the meaning of love,
Make a moment last for life.

Love me: I must have you this evening.
I can't cool these emotions;
They burn bright as the sun.
If you love me, I'll understand what love really is.
You're the moment; you're the one.

Copyright ©1997 Daniel Romero Morales Jr.

Postscript: About two years ago, it finally dawned on me that the Lord had given me a Christmas song as confirmation. Apparently, I was so excited about the fact that I found a Scriptural sign that I overlooked the fact that the song pointed prophetically to Christmas when I was to propose to her. God exists - Find Him today!

The Ark Found?

2005-12-24T11:35:00.000-10:00

I just finished reading "Ark Fever" by Bob Cornuke, the Young Seven One Book of the Month (listed every month at our Battle Star Musica Page) and I think Explorer Bob Cornuke has found Noah's ark!

Just like in the case of Mount Sinai, the lost Mountain of Noah is not to be found in its traditional site. If you want evidence for the existence of God and for the truth of the Bible all you have to do is take a trip to Jabal-al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia (ancient Midian where Moses fled and later received the Law atop Mount Sinai) and see all the physical features mentioned in Scripture including an entire non-volcanic mountain top burnt to a crisp.

Those who believe in faith need not these evidences for they have experienced the evidence of a life changed and a peace that goes beyond natural understanding. Many have experienced in their own lives exactly what is promised in Scripture - which is supposedly the work of man's mind. They have experienced the person whose birth we are celebrating tomorrow. As my brother-in-law so wisely asked, "have you invited Jesus to His birthday party?" I have found an ark of salvation, He is my shelter in times of trouble. Have you found Him? Find Jesus today.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Light the Fire Ministries!

Club Alpha Omega's Move The Nations Conference

2005-12-08T13:33:00.000-10:00

Click Above for Larger Image

Young Adults and Youth are invited to Club Alpha Omega's Move The Nations Young Adult Conference this coming Tuesday December 13th to Thursday the 14th at 7:00PM. This year for the first time our YA conference will be held at Seaside Assembly home of the first chapter of Club Alpha Omega. Our special speaker will be Pastor and Evangelist Roger Ovalle (NPLAD Honor Bound Director and Senior Pastor of Templo Calvario of Bakersfield).

Pastor Roger Live & Unplugged

Seaside's Holy Grounds Cafe will be open and onsite to serve specialty coffees. Please feel free to forward this invitation to any young adults in the Monterey Bay area who may be interested by pressing the little enevlope icon below. If you are not able to make it, please keep us in prayer as we bring this event never before seen on the Monterey Bay/Salinas Section area.

What to expect:
Club Praise and Worship
Special Baptismal Service
Commissioning Service
Pastor Ovalle (last time I heard him speak I was knocked off my feet! and that's a good thing)
Coffee Fellowship
A powerful and life-changing experience in the Lord
and much more!

For Calendar Event and Mapquest Directions Click Here

God Bless you all in the Lord and Happy Holy Days!
Brother Danny and Sister Martha Morales

Our Friend Faustino

2005-11-24T04:34:00.000-10:00

Faustino is an amazing man with an amazing testimony. He has been a pillar of our home church, Hollister's Faith, Hope, and Love Center and like a grandpa to many of our children. He currently serves as our Head Deacon. Some of our servicemembers recently got a chance to take pictures with Brother Faustino at our Military Appreciation Day on Sunday, October 23, 2005. Even though he's not wearing a visible uniform, he is a Captain in a whole different army.

Speaking with Faustino you would never think for a minute that he possesses such a powerful story of redemption. He is one of the most humble men I know. I recently shared his story to the youth of Young Seven One and the young adults of Club Alpha Omega at our Friend's Day at the Beach party. May his story encourage you today.

Faustino was like most people of our day. He was going through life without much need for God or "religion." He especially hated the occasional Christians who would show up knocking at his door trying to invite him to church. He even speaks of running out the back door or hiding when these unwelcomed visitors would show up.

He was relatively well-known in his hometown of Gilroy and owned a cantina there for many years. Due to some difficulties with the landlord of the property, he ended up closing the cantina and moving to Hollister.

While in his newfound home in Hollister, he began to suffer from a severe back problem that forced him to use a walker everywhere he went. On one fateful Saturday, his nephew asked him for a ride to and from work up to his old stomping grounds in Gilroy. His nephew was to work at the Wells Fargo Bank for about four hours that day. Instead of returning to Hollister, which is only fifteen or so minutes away, Faustino decided to pass the time in Gilroy by taking his laundry to a local laundromat.

He drove to a laundromat where he used to laundry from time to time, when he lived in Gilroy. Upon opening his car door, he was suddenly greeted by an African American couple. The couple startled Faustino somewhat when they asked if they could help him take his clothes into the laundromat. He obliged their blessing as it was hard for him to move about and haul heavy items. They soon helped Faustino pull his walker and wash load out of the car and walked them inside.

As the man and woman set things in place for Faustino, they began simple conversation with him. After a few moments of this, the man looked straight at Faustino and told him that something was telling him that he was in need of prayer. At first, Faustino was a bit taken aback but then as he reflected upon his life at that moment he realized that he did in fact need much prayer. The man and woman took Faustino by the hand and said that they could pray right then and there. Faustino had never done anything like that before, especially in front of people like the customers in the laundromat (some of whom he knew). Sucking up his pride for the moment after feeling a strong sense of conviction, he allowed the couple to pray for him.

As they prayed, he began to feel a discernible warmth come over him. He had never felt such a sensation before. He could not understand the language in which the couple was praying, as it was nothing he had ever heard before. He scarcely cared what language it was, however, as he began to take in waves of love, peace, and power from their prayer. He began to feel his body tremble and his eyes began to water. Soon he was crying and could feel a presence he had never known. Their hands felt like sponges engorged with liquid heat.

After a few minutes of this praying, the woman released Faustino's hand while the man continued praying with him. Faustino briefly looked over to her as she began to put his clothes in the wash and start the machines with some of her own coins. Faustino attempted to dissuade her but the couple insisted that they bless him and continue to minister to him in prayer. So Faustino complied and was somewhat delighted that he could continue enjoying the power of their prayer.

After putting the clothes to wash, the woman returned, grasped his hand once more and rejoined the two men in prayer. After several minutes, the woman again released her grip and went to take the clothes out of the washing machines and put them into the dryer. Once again, Faustino attempted to dissuade her, but she waved her hands and quieted his soft protest. Faustino resigned himself to her blessing and continued to pray with the man. She later rejoined them yet again and the three continued to pray down heaven for what seemed an eternity to Faustino.

When the buzzers rang from the dryers, the woman for the final time, left the two men praying, took out the clothes and began to fold them for Faustino. He was simply overcome by their goodness and ministry to him of all people, a total stranger, and a man who used to hide himself from such people. He was filled with wonder not only by the prayers but also by the sight and smell of the nicely folded and clean clothes he saw next to him. They looked and smelled brand new. After finishing folding, the woman rejoined the men to finish a prayer session that had lasted well over an hour! Faustino suddenly realized that he had been standing the entire time praying with this couple hand-in-hand in a crowded laundromat. However, like his freshly washed clothes, he felt brand new and for the first time did not hide from this newfound faith in God.

The three finished their prayer and then helped him collect his clothes and take them to the car. After loading the car, the man told Faustino about a church in Hollister where they were members. He was surprised to hear the man suggest a visit to this church as he had not told the man that he lived in Hollister. He had assumed that the couple was from a local church there in Gilroy, nevertheless he thought it was a comforting sign and was excited to know that he had newfound friends in Hollister. The man gave him directions to Faith, Hope, and Love Center, then known as el Sendero de la Cruz (the Way of the Cross) and gave him the name of the then Senior Pastor, Rev. Pedro Placeres. The couple hugged him and waved goodbye as he drove off to wait for his nephew's shift to end at the bank.

After picking up his nephew, he drove home replaying the scenes and experiences from the laundromat over in his head. He relished the thoughts and the new hope he had for tomorrow. He gave little conversation on the way home, but devoted his thoughts wholly to God's goodness. When they arrived at his home in Hollister, his nephew was shocked to see him pull out the freshly washed and folded laundry from his car. He responded sarcastically by saying in Spanish, "the cripple huh?" At that point, Faustino began to tell him about the African American couple who had just helped him do his laundry.

The minute his nephew pushed the door open with his arms loaded with laundry, the phone rang. The nephew quickly laid the laundry down and rushed to the phone to pick it up. After a few seconds, he called out to Faustino and told him that the phone was for him. Faustino asked his nephew, who it was as he took the phone. His nephew whispered back that it was "some Pastor Placeres." He paused a little before answering perplexed because he had not given the couple his phone number.

He answered the phone and the pastor greeted him by name. The pastor told him how the couple from Gilroy had just called him and had asked him to call Faustino. The Pastor concluded the call by inviting him to church the next day. Faustino was ecstatic and breathlessly accepted his invitation to church. He could not wait for the next morning. A morning that was sure to be the first in a brand new life.

The next day he awoke early and arrived to church before any of the church members - a habit that continues to this day. Faustino saw a man at the front of the church and walked up to him. "You must be Faustino!" the pastor said to which he responded "yes!" After a few minutes of getting acquainted, Faustino was eager to tell the pastor just how big of a blessing the couple from his church had been to him the day before.

Faustino began to unload the whole story to the pastor, when the pastor interrupted him. He asked him just which couple he was talking about. Faustino repeated to him that they were members of the pastor's church and began to describe them. Suddenly, the pastor began to laugh uncontrollably with excitement. The pastor told him through his laughter, "Faustino I have been a pastor of this church for several years and we have never had any African American people walk through that door. Faustino, brother, you were talking to angels!"

Faustino could not believe what he was hearing. The thought of what the pastor had just said, began to give him chills and made his knees shake. He looked at the pastor as though from a distance and began to try to put things together. He was greeted by the couple as if they were expecting him; they were African Americans in a laundromat frequented exclusively by Hispanic people; they spoke perfect Spanish; they prayed in a language he had never heard before; he felt an unknown power through their hands; they told him about the church in Hollister even though he had never mentioned the city to them; the pastor called him even though he had never given them his phone number, and lastly they told him that they were members of what turned out to be an all Hispanic church. Even with all this in mind, Faustino still could not believe it.

He enjoyed every minute of the service that day, soaking in the lively worship and every word uttered by Pastor Placeres. He sat transfixed by the testimonies of other believers as they gave thanks to God for their miracles. He could hardly wait for the day that he could share his own. Still at the back of his mind, he pondered how much it took to get him to church. The thought of how much God loved him and how he had made a way for him in spite of himself cut him to the heart. That day, he asked God into his heart and gave thanks to the One who loved him so much that He came to die for him so that he could have a new life.

As you consider the details and significance of this story, may I ask you, "who has been knocking on your door? Who has been inviting you to church recently? And just who are the people who have been blessing you up to this day?" They just might be messengers sent from God with a life-changing message for you. I pray that you have been blessed by this amazing but true story. As you give thanks, I pray that you hold the hands of Christ and that you experience the new life experienced by many of us and our friend Faustino. Follow Christ today.

Post Script: Faustino went back to the laundromat in Gilroy that next week. He managed to track down two of the people he had seen at the laundromat that day. To his amazement, they remember seeing him standing in prayer the whole time but had no recollection of the African American couple with him!

Left Behind in Douglas Arizona

2005-10-22T20:08:00.000-10:00

We have been receiving exciting reports from our sponsor church, Christian Life Center of Douglas Arizona, about their movie outreach to their community. We received a call from their co-pastor, Rev. Mary Louise Vigil concerning the success of the showings. In just two nights, young people have responded to fill the voids in their hearts with the only fulfilling answer-Jesus Christ.

Tonight, Christian Life Center had a packed sanctuary. They opened their showing with a time for fresh testimonials of God's power. Several people from various Christian churches and denominations stood up to share impromptu life stories of how God had answered prayers. One of the most recent testimonials, was that of Pastor Morales who spoke of how God had protected his life from the ravages of cancer. He had just received word of the Doctor's good news just days before the movie's opening in the Douglas area.

We are grateful to have been a part in getting the word out about the movie on the streets of Douglas during our recent vacation there. The Lord used a recent miracle in my life that was published in the local paper on opening day (this past Friday) to further promote our sponsor church and their effort to help lost people in Douglas find their way to a very real and personal God. The timing could not have been more perfect as the story was delayed two weeks. Delayed at least in our minds, because in the mind of God, He had a plan. God's never late and He's never early; He's always right on time!

Speaking of time, the time of the Return of the King is soon approaching. Even given our advanced science and medicine and in spite of our best prediction systems, we can not stop the rising crescendo of the culmination of time. The clock is ticking and as it ticks the signs grow clearer and the sense of urgency grows more intense. The rumors of war in every country (the war on terror knows no borders), the worst natural disasters that countries and whole ocean basins have ever seen (the Tsunami, Katrina, and the Pakistani Earthquakes), the advanced planning to re-build the Temple of God in Jerusalem, the Gospel message preached in all the world and the distant thunder of worldwide epidemics.

Sure, we have had all these events throughout history, but not at history-breaking levels all at the same time (within 4 years). We are out of hurricane names this season. We just experienced the worst attack on our soil and worst natural disaster in our nation's entire history. We have no idea how we are going to meet the humanitarian disaster in Pakistan. We have no real plan to stave off the pandemic that could be the avian flu. We have no way to explain why the underground church in China is exploding in size given the government's tireless campaign of persecution and atheistic propaganda. We have no idea why Muslims all over the Middle East are starting to have visions and dreams of Jesus telling them that He is what they are looking for. We can't track down suitcase nukes from the former Soviet Union. We wonder how Israel became a nation given that it and its vernacular had disappeared almost two thousand years ago. We have grown accustomed to alien abduction stories. We have started to look to eastern mysticism, psychic phenomena and new age practices for answers. And on top of that, we wouldn't mind being micro-chipped in order to prevent child abduction and identity theft. I think it's time. It's time to Follow Christ...

...before we get Left Behind.

International Marriage Conference

2005-10-08T15:29:00.000-10:00

My wife and I just attended the 2005 International Marriage Conference at Phoenix Arizona and we will never be the same! We were empowered by so many life-changing principles as a couple that the conference went far beyond a marriage retreat, it was a School of Marriage. We were greatly blessed by the lineup of outstanding, God-anointed speakers and workshops. There is simply not enough good words to describe an event that resulted in thousands of miracles in the hearts, minds, and yes even bodies of the couples who attended.

If you want to receive a fresh understanding, uplifting, anointing and life-changing experience for your marriage and the marriages of those you know, Martha and I highly encourage you to check out these conferences. But don't stop there, check out the resources too, which are available online. The National Association of Marriage Enhancement, the sponsor, is at the forefront of a marriage revival and revolution not just here in America but around the world. Their name really says it all, our marriage was enhanced! Whether you're single, married for years, engaged, divorced, or separated your marriage can be enhanced too...

National Association of Marriage Enhancement

Teens Experience Healings

2005-10-05T13:17:00.000-10:00

Here's a story from the AG News Service that really lit a fire in me today. This is just one story of many that happen EVERYDAY that demonstrate that Jesus is still very much in the healing business. I know firsthand, he healed me of my asthma...

** GEORGIA TEENS EXPERIENCE HEALINGS

Church sermons and Sunday School lessons are often peppered with reminders that Jesus heals. But a youth group in Georgia isn't just hearing about it. Many of the teens are experiencing Christ's healing power firsthand.

The First Assembly of God youth group in Griffin, Georgia, has witnessed more than 40 confirmed healings during the past 18 months, according to Phil Knauer, youth pastor at the church south of Atlanta.

"It's just amazing what God is doing among these teenagers," says Knauer. "I can't explain all of it."

Kenny Davis, 16, was healed of a football injury during a youth service at the church on August 3. He had a cast placed on his broken ankle and torn ligaments earlier in the day. During prayer that night, the teen sensed that God had healed him.

He dropped his crutches and began walking, then sprinting, around the room on his cast. A second set of X-rays taken the following day showed that the bone was not broken.

"It was nothing surprising to me," says Davis' mother, Tracey. "I've seen God do a lot of things. He's touched our family in many ways."

Knauer says other healings in the youth group have included two students healed of diabetes, several healed of gastrointestinal disorders and a student whose dislocated shoulder moved back into the socket.

On one occasion, Knauer says, a student was healed as he walked to the altar to pray for a nose he had broken playing soccer a few hours earlier.

"His nose looked swollen, grotesque and disfigured," Knauer says. "It shrank back down to normal and straightened out in front of everybody. His mother fainted when she saw him."

Knauer says his youth group has grown from 150 students to 370 since the healings started. A number of students who came to church to witness the supernatural ended up accepting Christ as Savior and receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit, he says.

"I've spent a lot of time trying to draw teens into the church,"Knauer says. "But nothing takes the place of having God's presence demonstrated in your services."

Would you like to meet the person responsible for these amazing healings? Follow Christ.

2005 Consumed Youth Conference

2005-09-29T03:08:00.000-10:00

As mentioned on our sister youth blog, www.uthministries.blogspot.com:

Last weekend, we took a small leadership team from Club Alpha Omega Monterey to scope out the 2005 Consumed Youth Conference sponsored by Bay Area Masters Commission. It was an intense and life-changing event. Starting this January, the Consumed Youth Conference will take to the road and go on tour with several events each year. For more info, visit the official Consumed Youth Conference website. Youth Pastors, Leaders and groups---be on the lookout for this event coming to a city near you!

To check out our thoughts about the conference, visit our discussion topic on Planet Young Seven One.

A/G Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

2005-09-01T12:49:00.000-10:00

The Assemblies of God is rapidly responding to the Hurricane-struck cities of the Gulf Coast with relief and counselling services.

One report is that approximately 400 A/G members are being sheltered in emergency housing at the Louisiana District Council's Campground, Camp Woodworth (map and directions are below).

Supplies and manpower from Convoy of Hope and A/G Relief are in bound to the stricken areas, the affected churches and church relief sites, including the campground. For more information, please visit the Convoy of Hope and A/G Disaster Relief websites below:

Convoy of Hope

A/G Disaster Relief

As mentioned on KLOVE recently, the Lord Jesus always ministered to the physical needs of people first and then the spiritual. We as Christians should do no less. Please pray about contributing to the relief efforts and follow prayer with action as the Lord leads.

A/G Top News Article on Hurricane Katrina

Amazing But True Story #5

2005-08-16T19:47:00.000-10:00

Amazing But True Stories

Boise, Idaho

Pastor Roland Buck recounts:

"One Saturday night in January of 1977, at about 10:30 o'clock, I was seated at my desk, meditating, praying, and preparing my heart for Sunday. I had my head down on my arm at the desk, when suddenly, without any warning, I was taken right out of the room."

"I heard a voice say: 'Come with me into the Throne Room where the secrets of the universe are kept!' I didn't have time to answer; space means nothing to God! It was like the snap of the fingers - boom - and I was right there! Only then did I recognize that the voice I had heard speaking to me was the voice of the Almighty God . . ."

". . . Then he did another very surprising thing! He wrote down 120 events which he said would happen in my life in the future. It wasn't like you and I write; the information just suddenly appeared! I did not even need to read it, but right now, I can tell you EVERYTHING that was on that paper, because it was instantly impressed on my mind like a printing press prints on paper. The press doesn't have to read what is imprinted. It's [already] there! In the same way, every single notation was burned into my mind, and it's still there! . . ."

" . . . Item number 63 was another one [of the 120 events] which God actually allowed me to see and witness in detail before it happened. It concerned a family who were having serious marital problems. While I was in heaven, I saw them coming into my office and noticed the date was on the paper when this to occur."

"When the date arrived, these particular people didn't show up. I wondered what had happened, so I decided to stay a little while longer at my office. A short time after my normal closing hour, the telephone rang and a person who didn't identify himself, said, 'Pastor Buck, will you be in your office for a little while?'"

"I said, 'Yes.'"

"He didn't tell me who he was."

"When they came to the door, I greeted them BY NAME! This really shook them up! Then I asked, 'What brought you here?' They said they had been having terrible marital problems and decided they would go someplace to clear the air. They didn't know why, but they had decided to come to Boise, Idaho."

"We drove up here, rented a motel room, and when we got inside the room, we noticed the telephone book was lying open to the spot where you have your ad which reads, 'Counseling by appointment.'"

"Instantly I knew that one of those angels [that had visited me previously] had been there ahead of time and had opened the directory to the right place, and had also arranged at the front desk for them to get the right room."

"As we conversed, the lady said, 'We have had a good time driving up here together, things are all straightened out, and everything is going to be all right, so we won't waste your time. We'll be leaving now!"

"I said, 'No, you had better stay here, because that isn't the way it is.' I told them that God had let me see this event happening months before. I said to the wife, 'You have a gun in your purse, and you are planning to shoot your husband as soon as you get back to your motel."

"He was really alarmed, and exclaimed, 'You'd better not shoot me!' She was shaking all over."

"I said, 'Open your purse and give me that gun!'

"She opened her purse and handed me the gun exactly as I had seen it happen before. Then her very soul cried out to God! She knew there was no way I could have known anything about the gun unless God had told me, and he had let me know about it almost six months before it happened!"

"Both of them immediately fell down on their faces before God. He washed their sins away and instantly put their marriage back together. I have had one beautiful letter from them since then. They are going to a good church in California, happy in the Lord and serving God!"

Excerpt taken from Angels on Assignment, by Roland H. Buck (Hunter Books, 1979).

Read Angels on Assignment Online!

Amazing But True Story #4

2005-08-08T23:15:00.000-10:00

Amazing But True Stories

Jabal Al Lawz, Saudi Arabia (actual site of Mt. Sinai)

Explorer Bob Cornuke writes:

"In all the bustle I had failed to look for the one feature that had gripped us from a distance: the strange, dark crown that shrouded the summit like a permanent shadow. Glancing about I saw that the entire surface where we stood appeared stained, or tinted, a deep unnatural black. The rocks, even the dirt, had a shiny black pigment, like polished obsidian--a startling effect. Seeing it from a distance was one thing, but this genuinely baffled us. We stood on what appeared to be a vast vein of exposed coal, all within a few paces of the top. What could cause such a thing? . . . ."

". . . . 'If it's volcanic,' I said, 'then the rock inside will be black, too.' I picked up a piece of charred rock the size of a watermelon, lifted it high over my head, and slammed it on the sharp edge of a boulder. It cracked clean, and we leaned in close to look: an exterior of melted stone, slick black like cultured glass, encasing a reddish-tan core. The interior rock was ordinary brown granite!"

"Goose bumps bristled on the back of my neck. What type of heat could melt surface rock to a black marble glaze--smooth to the touch like buffed opal--yet leave the underlying granite intact? Clearly, something unnatural, intensely hot, had touched the mountaintop. But what kind of heat is potent enough to charbroil solid rock, leaving the marrow medium rare? Handling the rocks like fine china, [co-explorer Larry Williams] kept asking, 'What could do that?' An iron smelter? An atomic forge? A laser canon beamed from a satellite?"

"As I beheld the melted rock, a passage leapt to mind of a mountain 'covered in smoke.' I flipped open my Bible to Exodus. 'Here it is,' I said. From Exodus 19:16-19, I read aloud the account of how, three days after the Exodus party [Moses and the Children of Israel] arrived at Mount Sinai, the mountain was mysteriously cloaked in a 'thick cloud,' the skies above filled with thunder and lightning. I read how a 'very loud trumpet blast' nearly scared the Israelites to death, causing 'everyone in the camp [to] tremble.' Moses then lead the people out of the camp to assemble at the foot of the mountain. And as I read the following text, Larry's mouth fell open: 'Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently.'"

Excerpt taken from The Mountain of God: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Sinai, by Robert Cornuke and David Halbrook (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000).

Amazing But True Story #3

2005-08-08T23:05:00.000-10:00

Amazing But True Stories

Ghana, West Africa

Pastor Matthew Addae-Mensah writes:

"In 1998, we had two weeks of fasting and prayer. I challenged the congregation to demonstrate their God-given supernatural abilities. One sister, Carol August, had a thirteen-year-old house-helper killed by a fully loaded eighteen-wheel truck. When she rushed to the scene, she saw that the girl's body had been smashed beyond recognition. The police had not yet arrived to conduct an investigation and examination of the body. The body was so badly smashed, the men around suggested that they get shovels ready to collect the body to the morgue after the police investigation."

"Then Sister Carol remembered that she has the supernatural nature of God and could do something. She knelt down beside the body, prayed and called the name of the girl loudly. Miraculously, the dismembered and scattered body parts began to join together by themselves. She prayed again, and the shrunken body grew to full size. She prayed again, and the girl came back to life, to the surprise of the great crowd of people who had gathered."

"Some people questioned Sister Carol about where she got the power from. When police arrived to pick up the dead body, they met the dead girl alive, to the glory of God. Carol later ran to me at my office, shaking and saying, "Pastor! I have seen the power of God!"

Excerpt taken from Walking in the Power of God, by Matthew Addae-Mensah (Guardian Books, 2000).

Amazing But True Story #2

2005-08-08T22:54:00.000-10:00

Amazing But True Stories

La Plata, Argentina

Pastor Alberto Scataglini writes:

"I accompanied [Evangelist Carlos] Annacondia and his helper, Juan Dicresensio, to find a place to hold the campaign [of 1984] in the city of La Plata. We drove around looking at empty lots that might be suitable for an open-air campaign, and Carlos and Juan finally felt they found the ideal spot. They both sensed strong confirmation from the Lord and began a search to find the owners."

"After locating the owners of the lot, however, the owners were very strong in their answer and said there was absolutely no way they would give permission. I wanted to continue looking, but Juan said, "We have to keep insisting; they said no, but the Lord said yes." After revisiting the owners several times and after much prayer, [Carlos and Juan] finally got the yes they were waiting for. Preparations began immediately as the campaign was to begin . . ."

"During the campaign, people would bring the clothing of their sick relatives to be prayed over. Tables were piled high with those pieces of clothing. One testimony that stands out in my mind was of a woman who brought a pair of her husband's socks to be prayed for; he was unable to walk. She took them home and the following day her husband put them on. All of a sudden he began screaming that the socks were burning his feet and he began jumping up and down. It took him a few moments to realize that he was able to jump! He had been healed."

Excerpt taken from The Fire of His Holiness, by Sergio Scataglini (Renew Books, 1999).

Amazing But True Story #1

2005-08-06T13:27:00.000-10:00

Amazing But True Stories

Tyler Texas

Evangelist R. W. Schambach writes:

"I'll never forget, the greatest miracle I ever witnessed began with an offering. It happened under the ministry of Brother A. A. Allen. I was with this man of God for about five years in the fifties. . ."

". . . . A woman brought her child, who had twenty-six major diseases, to our meeting. I'll never forget this as long as I live. The boy was born blind, deaf and mute. Both arms were crippled and deformed. His elbows protruded up into his little tummy; his knees touched his elbows. Both legs were crippled and deformed; he had club feet. When he was born, his doctors said that boy would never live to see his first birthday, but they were wrong; he was approaching four years of age. Of course, his condition was breaking his mama's heart. She came to our meetings all week, and I got concerned about that boy. In those crusades, we had each person with a need fill out a prayer card, and as the Holy Spirit moved, we would pray for the needs God inspired us to pray for. And the Holy Spirit didn't seem to be moving us to pray for that little boy."

"The following Sunday, his mother came to me and said, 'Brother Schambach, I'm down to my last twenty dollars. I've paid the hotel bill, but we've been eating in the restaurant, coming to three services a day and giving in every offering. All the money has run out. My baby has not been prayed for.' She was very upset, and she was ready to give up and go home."

"I said 'Ma'am, I can't apologize for the moving of the Holy Ghost. I know you have to leave tonight, but if you come to the service and, once again, the Holy Spirit leads in another direction, and your son's prayer is not drawn for prayer, I will personally take your baby to the man of God's trailer house and see that he lays hands on your baby. You will not leave disappointed.' And I meant that from my heart."

"That night I came out, and I led the singing in that evening service. Then I introduced Brother A. A. Allen, and he came bouncing out on that platform and said 'Tonight we're going to receive an offering of faith.' I had never heard him use that expression before, and I saw eyebrows lift all over the congregation. He went on, 'Now, if you don't know what I mean when I say an 'offering of faith,' I mean for you to give God something you cannot afford to give. That's a good definition, isn't it? If you can afford it, there's no faith connected to it. So give Him something you can't afford to give.'"

"As soon as Brother Allen said that, I saw that boy's mother leap out into the aisle and come running. Three thousand people were watching her in that Birmingham Fairgrounds Arena as she threw something in that offering bucket. I never saw anybody in such a hurry to give, and, I confess, I was nosy. I came down off that platform to see what she had given. You know what I saw in that bucket? A twenty dollar bill."

"I knew that was all she had. She had told me that. She had driven from Knoxville, Tennessee, to the meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. She didn't know how she was going to get home or what she was going to use to feed herself and her baby on the way. I went behind the platform and wept. I prayed, 'Lord, I've been trying to teach that woman faith all week. But now I'm asking You to give me faith like she's got!'"

". . . Brother Allen went on and collected the offering and launched into his sermon. But about fifteen minutes into his message he stopped and said, 'I'm being carried away in the Spirit.'"

"I said to myself, 'Here we go again on another trip.' This is how God used him: he said he could see what the Holy Spirit wanted to communicate to him like he was watching it on a television screen. He would describe it as he saw it. That night he said, 'I'm being carried away to a huge white building. Oh, it's a hospital.' Of course, I heard this kind of thing every night that I worked with Brother Allen so I was sitting there unmoved."

"Then he said, 'I'm inside the hospital, and there's no doubt in my mind where I'm heading because I hear all these babies crying. It's a maternity ward. I see five doctors around a table. A little baby has been born. The baby was born with twelve, no, sixteen, no, twenty-six diseases.'"

"When he said that, I started getting chill bumps up and down my spine. I said, 'Oh, my God, tonight's that baby's night!"

"Brother Allen continued, 'Twenty-six diseases. The doctors said he'd never live to see his first birthday, but that's not so. That boy is approaching four. Now I see the mother packing a suitcase. They're going on a trip. Another lady's with her. The baby's in a bassinet. It's in the back seat of an old Ford. They're driving down the highway. I see the Alabama/Tennessee border. That automobile is driving in the parking lot. Lady you're here tonight. Bring me that baby! God's going to give you twenty-six miracles.'"

"That woman came running again for the second time that night. She put the baby in Brother Allen's arms. I jumped up to stand beside him, and everybody in the audience--3,00 strong--was standing. Brother Allen must have wanted to be sure that the audience was agreeing in faith for the miracle because he said, 'Everybody, close your eyes.' But I thought, 'Not me, mister. I'm going to be scriptural on this one. I'm going to watch and pray. I've been waiting for this all week.

"That little boy's tongue had been hanging out of his mouth all week. The first thing I saw as Brother Allen prayed was that tongue snap back in the mouth like a rubber band. For the first time in four years, the little guy's tongue was in his mouth. I saw two little whirlpools in his eyes, just a milky color. You couldn't tell whether he had blue or brown or what color of eyes. But during the prayer, that whirlpool ceased, and I saw two brand new brown eyes! I knew God had opened his eyes, and if God opened the eyes, I knew He had unstopped the deaf ears."

"Then those little arms began to snap like pieces of wood; and for the first time, they stretched out. The legs cracked like wood popping. All of sudden, I saw God form toes out of those club feet as easily as child forms something with silly-putty. The crowd was watching by this time going wild! I've never seen any people shout and rejoice so much in all my life."

"I saw that baby placed on his feet, and he began to run for the first time in his life. He had never seen his mama before, never said a word, but he began running across the platform--and I was running right after him to catch him. He leaped into his mama's arms, and I heard him say his first word, 'Mama.'"

" . . . . The following Saturday after his healing, I received a special delivery letter from his mother. . . She said 'Brother Schambach, I took the baby to the hospital Monday morning, and the doctors won't give him back. They kept him all week. They have called in every doctor from all over the country who has had anything to do with the case. They have pronounced my baby cured of twenty-six major diseases.' Of course, we went on to get the copies of the affidavits from the doctors certifying that boy's life was a genuine miracle."

"Her letter continued, 'You remember that last Sunday when I told you all I had was twenty dollars? God knows that was the truth. But when that man of God said to give something you can't afford, I leaped into the aisle. The moment I hit that aisle, for the first time in my life I heard the devil talk. The devil told me, 'You can't give that; that's not yours. Fifteen dollars of that goes to the doctor. Five dollars is for gas to get home.' The faster I ran, the faster he talked. But as soon as I turned loose of that money, he stopped talking.'

"'Brother Schambach, all you saw was those twenty-six miracles, but there is one you don't know anything about. After you were gone, people were staying there. They wanted to see the baby and see what God had done. People shook hands with me. When one lady shook my hands, I felt a folded piece of paper between [my] palms. I opened it up and saw it was a twenty dollar bill. As I shook hands with the people who had lined up, every one of them had a folded paper in their hand. I went into the ladies room and counted $235!'"

Excerpt taken from You Can't Beat God Givin': Miracle Testimonies from Ordinary People Serving an Extraordinary God, by R. W. Schambach (Power Publications, 1994).

Pray for Passion

2005-03-19T09:12:00.000-10:00

We are soon approaching the Passion Week. With it, will come multitudes of church outreaches (where churches go out to minister to people not in their churches) and in-reaches (where people are invited to churches by family and friends often for the first time).

For those who follow Christ, now is a time to pray as one body and with one mind for all the upcoming church efforts to reach people with the Good News that God so loved people that He sent His only son to die for them that their sins might not keep them from God and heaven. For those who DO NOT follow Christ, now is a good time to look into Christianity to discover what all this means and "why did Jesus have to suffer and die?" More importantly, everyone should seriously ponder the historical fact that Jesus did not stay dead. For Christians, this fact is the foundation of our faith. Without it, our faith is absolutely meaningless.

Think about it with me, if Jesus was just a prophet or a good moral teacher, then all that He said and did was "nice to know." And if He died a normal human death and is buried in some undisclosed grave, then I am a man to be pitied beyond every other delusional, psychotic, weak-minded fool that ever lived (the Apostle Paul once said the same thing). Seriously, at that, people should lock me and every other Christian in the looney bin because we have given our lives to a dead man if in fact He was just a man. What's more, this "dead man" lives inside of me, has given me purpose, has given me hope, has answered ALL of my prayers, has never given up on me, has proven Himself to me and loves me with a passion no other person can possibly understand. Oh and by the way, He speaks to me through His Spirit and is coming back for me really soon!

If He is still dead, then please send all your good thoughts and heartfelt pity to me and hope that I may live a "normal" and sane life that when I die I will close my eyes, reach equilibrium (as we say in the field of biochemistry), and cease to exist except in the sense that my elements and chemical energies will once again re-enter the eco-system and conserve the mass and energy of the universe. Now that's reason enough to keep on living!

But that's just it. As is often said, Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic or He was who said He was and who the Bible says He is-the Lord of all Humanity, the Messiah, the only Savior, the lover of our souls, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and the one who spoke the Universe into existence! But this doesn't just go for Jesus. As a wise man once said, "who's the more foolish, the fool, or the fool who follows him?" (ok I'm a Star Wars fan). All of us Christians are either liars or lunatics, or we are truly telling the truth to the world. Jesus loves you, accept Him today!

Repeat After Me

Jesus,

I admit I am a sinner

I believe that you died for my sins

I confess my sins and ask you to forgive me

I commit my life to you know as my Lord, Amen!

That's it. As my Drill Instructor used to say "Simple Right?" This prayer is your prayer of affirmation, a wedding vow if you will. It may sound weird, but a little prayer like "Repeat After Me" can save your life, give you life and change your life forever!

For those within driving distance of Hollister California, you are invited to watch a free and licensed showing of the original release of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ" Friday March 25th at 5:00PM at Faith, Hope, and Love Center of Hollister at the corner of Line and Central Avenue.

For those who can not make it, please pray for us and for all the churches in the world who have a passion for God and for people and who are attempting to bridge the gap between the two of them. Wow, what an honor! God chooses His sons and daughters to bridge the gap between Him and the future members of His family. But then again, He chose His own Son to do the same thing! Follow Christ and please visit a church this Easter season.

Dare You To Move

2005-03-16T18:42:00.000-10:00

A Terracotta Soldier

A sleeping army frozen in time, just waiting for the word to march on to one of the last battles for the souls of mankind. If you listen closely, you can hear the distant footsteps of an army of soul winners marching in place and on the verge of moving. Just like the ancient Chinese Terracotta Army unearthed by peasants back in 1974, this sleeping giant we call the "Last Day's Revival Movement" has been re-discovered and is finally re-awakening, breaking out of its shells.

Standing By

The last trumpet call is only moments away, but before that trumpet sounds, one last push for the full measure of souls is about to burst forth. It's going to push the four walls of our churches right over as the army unctioned by the Spirit of God walks through, over, and around the things that keep us from winning the souls we were called by God to win before He comes back for His people. The days of retaining walls are over. The days of maintenance sheds and reservoir pools are behind us. Those arms and legs that do not move will be broken off and left behind to watch the fort. The remnant of the body of Christ so motivated, will drag itself to the streets if that is what it takes.

Who will respond to the fire burning in these bones buried in the Valley of Decision? Rest assured these Terracotta Soldiers will move. They will break through. But who are they? Will it be the seasoned ones who have seen the glory in revival times past? Will it be the adults who have settled down in our Spirit-filled churches? Will it be the young adults making their way in God? Will it be the youth who are finding themselves and their God-given purposes? Will it be the children who are so often overlooked, but who have the Kingdom of God in the palm of their hands?

This army accepts all who will say "yes Lord, here am I, send me!" I dare anyone reading this to move out of their comfort zones and do two things 1. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal friend and savior and 2. Share this simple message to anyone within arm's reach: "Jesus loves you, accept Him today!" I dare you to advance the kingdom of God one inch every day, one soul every day and get the momentum going. Each step of faith taken, will motivate a second, and then another and another, until finally the sleeping giant that is the majority of our churches runs the final marathon lap around the globe and meets Jesus at the finish line up in the air.

I'm not speaking to those that are active in ministry. They're already in the heat of battle. They've long since gotten over themselves, over their luxuries, conveniences, rest, relaxation, and air-conditioned Tents of Transfiguration. I'm speaking to the bones of a buried and dusty army. Like the old sports car in mint condition under the tarp in the cob-web filled garages that are our churches. I'm daring the immovable, which is held in reserve by its own reservations, to move. I'm speaking to the Aarons and the Hurs who are watching as the hands of the Lord's Servants, the Moseses of our generation, are growing tired and as the Joshuas are falling behind from the sheer weight of the souls crushing down on them. The harvest is ripe and ready indeed, but where are the laborers? Where are those Reserves when we need them most?

An Army that's Rousing

First things first, let's agree as one for our Apostles (Missionaries), Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. Wherever they are around the world or around the corner from you. Join one of your hands with them in the Spirit. Set a stone of prayer and encouragement under their tired arms and lift them up. Pray with all your might with them and for them, clutching their hands so hard that they can feel it.

With the other hand ready your weapon of the Spirit, the sword which is the word of God. Begin to dust off your full body armor with the rattling of your sabers. When the stones are set in their place and immovable under the arms of the anointed servants of the Most High God, let out a battle cry to all whom it may concern (the weapons formed against you, the forces of righteousness to whom you are rallying, and the Lost who are held captive and waiting for liberation). Let them know you're coming. Let them know you're on the move. A Joshua is born every second.

Jump out and feel what it's like to walk on air!

Grab the church doors tight and give them a good kiss. Don't hold on too tightly, just give yourself a better push out of a perfectly good ship and reassure her that you'll be back soon with new painted faces behind you. Go ahead and jump into the dead space, decay and darkness that is our lost world. Do not be afraid. Be bold and courageous for the Lord your God is with you. With you is the eternal life, salt and the light of the world. Once you're on the ground, join up with your brothers and sisters in arms at the battle lines. They'll be glad to see you. Give them some suppressing fire so that they can catch a breath or two.

Once you get the taste of winning souls, you'll never lose it. You'll live for it. There's no adrenaline-pumping rush like it. Come on, I dare you to...

Move in Jesus' name!
Bro Danny Jr. Morales

Memories of Lumpia

2005-03-10T22:12:00.000-10:00

To the friends of Light the Fire Ministries in Monterey:

You all have no idea how much a blessing you were to Martha and me last Monday night, which was the night after our anniversary. The roses were beautiful, the soda was bubbly, the cookies hit the spot, and the lumpia and sauce were, well, memories made in heaven. But even more memorable was the time we shared together. You Women and Men of God are the best thing about Monday nights and I look forward to seeing you every time!

The ministry in Monterey has seen its share of lonely nights, but that night, was the highlight of our Monterey ministry. It was family night. Thanks for the memories, lumpia and all. I think I might have them and the rose petals cryogenically frozen so that I will never forget. Well, on second thought, lumpia tastes better fresh, I'll just ask the Lord to keep the memories even fresher from now until eternity!

Roses by Bro Steven

You guys are up and coming leaders of full-fledged ministries that will soon touch the world for Christ. It is an honor to be a part of the birth of your ministries. It is a pleasure to share with you so many things: a passion for prayer, praise and worship, the indisputable laws of leadership (which are at times indisputably long-winded), the focused vision of We Build People, the big picture of evangelism and discipleship, and most importantly Jesus. As I said on Monday, I pray that you become filthy rich in souls for Him!

Here's to God and Here's to People!

Cheers,
Martha and Danny

P.S. Thanks Mom and Dad for the flowers!

Happy Anniversary Martha!

2005-03-07T00:25:00.000-10:00

Happy Anniversary Momma

Alright, I know it's late. The kids have been asleep for hours, and I have had a chance to re-acquaint myself with my 3 babies (Martha, Danny Boy, and Michael D), catch up with my e-mail, voice-mail and blogs. All is quiet in the house. I couldn't just go to sleep on time with all the thoughts of winter camp sugar plums dancing, or was that us dancing? Anyhows, I just wanted to say that a huge part of my being was absent at Winter Camp this year for the first time ever. God was on my mind, the youth were on my mind, but you Martha and my babies were always right there with all of them. Thank you for giving me a chance back on Christmas Eve 1997. I'll never forget how big those Arizona miracle snowflakes were that night when I sang my heart out to you. I'll never forget the taste of your tears. The next morning God gave me a dream of me holding my destiny as a fish caught from a running river-my Christmas present and Birthday present all rolled into one (my testimony about how we hooked up is coming soon to a blog near u). What a catch you were then, what a catch you are now and a catch you always will be! Winter Camp just wasn't the same without you. Happy anniversary Team Mate, Ship Mate, Home Mate, and Forever Soul Mate.

Even when I was drunk in the Spirit, rolling around laughing and just having an Acts Chapter 2 experience on Saturday night, I screamed for "my babies." I love you my sons and my armor bearers. You my sons are the first signs of my strength. I thought I would repost a special tribute on the night of our Anniversary and After-camp Family Reunion of a family story about a little boy and his dream. It's entitled "Danny Boy Dreams of Jesus." As Pastor Roger said so powerfully, "God has room in His house for a dreamer." Thank you Pastor Roger for being a great role model and Daddy to your children and to me and Martha.

In our home, we do have a dreamer. His name is Danny Boy. Here's our home, here's our story, here's his dream and yes, here's our Savior, Jesus...

Posted on January 17, 2005 at Light the Fire Ministries:

Last night was a great night of family devotionals. Devotionals in our home means reading a short passage of Scripture, sharing our thoughts about what it means (with plenty of examples from personal experience), and then prayer. My wife and I have seen a tremendous growth in our oldest son. He shows such a keen understanding of the Bible and what it means to be a Christian.

Last night we read about having the faith the size of a mustard seed and how this faith can literally move mountains (Matthew 17:14-20). This really struck a chord with Danny Boy as one of his favorite songs is "Si Tuvieras Fe," which is a Spanish song based on this Scripture set to a tropical Latin beat complete with movements (Salvador has a great version).

To demonstrate the Scripture, I shared many stories of God's miraculous powers. One amazing but true story that my mother had just told me over the phone minutes earlier was about one of their member's near death experience, visitation to Heaven, and miraculous recovery from a coma. I relayed to him of how God had also worked a miracle with this Lady's son, whose car had all of sudden quit working while on the road. He prayed and then immediately felt a strong push that allowed his car to reach his destination. I explained to him that these miracles moved mountains in the lives of these people, all of whom happen to be ministered to by his grandparents. All that was needed was faith (belief in God) the size of a mustard seed watered with a lot of prayer.

Danny Boy was pretty shocked by the fact that there are people who do not believe in the stories of the Bible, like the story we had just read and discussed. The reason for his shock is that he has not only heard stories from the Bible, he has actually experienced them firsthand.

As we began to pray after our devotional we sensed a strong and beautiful presence in our living room. We immediately recognized this presence because we experience it on a routine basis at church, work, home, and just about everywhere when we pray---it's the presence of God.

I noticed Danny Boy look up to a corner of the room and then scan around the room. I knew by the expression on his face that he had just seen something. Interestingly, minutes earlier, I had seen some movement out of the corner of my eye while I was reading the passage of Scripture (I kept this little observation to myself).

After scanning the living room, he looked around to me and then said rather calmly "Dad I just saw an angel." I asked him where he had seen the messenger (angel means "messenger") even though my wife and I had both seen his actions as he scanned the room. He pointed to the corner of the room near the ceiling. As I looked up and back to him I saw a small flash of light dart from the corner. He then retraced the messenger's movements around the room.

A picture drawn by Danny Boy the day after our angelic visitation depicting the angel he saw in our living room

I told him that angels bring messages from God and that we are supposed to only pray to God and not to angels. I knew that God had a message in store for Danny Boy.

As we prepared for bed, Danny Boy asked me "Dad what does Jesus look like?" I told him that I did not know for sure but that based on a dream that I had had of him, that matched the accounts of the Transfiguration and those in the book of Revelation, he looked very much like the pictures we often see of him. He was content with my answer and soon fell asleep.

This morning he woke me up in excitement. "Dad last night I saw Jesus in a dream." He added, "I saw the cross and him dying for my sins." Remembering our messenger's visitation the night before, I asked him "did he tell you anything?" He responded "yes, he told me that he was hungry and had no place to go in." Immediately, I was reminded of the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-40). He then said that he woke up and looked for Jesus but did not see him anywhere.

I knew this was a message from God for several reasons one of which is that Danny Boy has never heard the parable of the Sheep and Goats (we have been his Sunday School teachers all his young life).

This morning as I prepared to post this blog, I remembered the Chinese missionaries that are taking the message of the Bible to the most dangerous places on earth: the Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu countries along the old Silk Route to Jerusalem. Recently, the Assemblies of God has challenged its members to give to this effort. These missionaries, who are a part of the "Back to Jerusalem" movement are giving spiritual food to people who are spiritually lost, hungry, and homeless. They are ministering to people who resemble the Jesus of Danny Boy's dream. You will be inspired by their amazing stories and those of others. You can learn more about and give to their cause and similar causes by:

Emailing:

Bible Alliance

Visiting:

Back to Jerusalem
http://www.backtojerusalem.com/

Testimonies from Back to Jerusalem
http://www.backtojerusalem.com/news.htm

Danny Boy's dream is not that uncommon when you check out some of the visions and dreams that these Chinese missionaries have had. Amazingly, Muslims are having visions and dreams of Jesus, as well as angelic visitations. However, unlike Danny Boy, they do not know who this Jesus is. That is, until someone tells them, feeds them, and shows them the only way into God's home. Have you met the Jesus of Danny Boy's dream? He is knocking at your door. Follow Christ.

Red Cross Certified

2005-02-19T12:21:00.000-10:00

This past Thursday, I along with several of my colleagues renewed our certification for Adult CPR and the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) system. It is amazing to think that such life-saving techniques are relatively simple to learn and are becoming more accessible to people around the world everyday.

Our training was hands-on and took all morning to learn. We learned how to "check, call, care" for emergency situations, how to perform abdominal thrusts for choking victims, "recovery positioning," rescue breathing, CPR, dealing with unconscious choking victims, and administering the AED. In one morning session, we learned keys to saving lives.

We also learned a little legality known as the "Good Samaritan Law" that varies state to state but in general is meant to cover a person who administers life-saving techniques from being sued by a victim or their family after the incident. Another practice we learned is asking permission to perform these techniques on people that are conscious and choking. If no one is around and the victim is a child or unconscious then permission is assumed.

As a result of the session, we are now considered "American Red Cross Certified." The knowledge that we now carry in our minds can mean the difference between life and death. I think all of us hope that we never have to use this knowledge, but in the event that we do, we are certified and ready to save a life anytime and anyplace.

That is a very humbling thought because that means that we are accountable to this knowledge. In previous Red Cross sessions, we have discussed the issue of not doing anything in a life threatening situation even though we knew what to do. Doing nothing in such a situation, although generally not considered a crime, borders on the criminal. How could I in good conscious simply look the other way as a victim chokes to death, asphyxiates, or dies of a heart attack, when I have the knowledge that can save his or her life?

Ironically enough, that is the message of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Others walked by, but one stopped because he cared enough and knew enough to save a man left "half dead" on the side of the road (Luke 10:25-37).

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I come across people who are half-dead on life's road every day. The difference between them and the victim in the parable, is that many of them don't know the seriousness of their situations. If I were to ask many of them if I could administer a soul-saving technique they would brush me aside and ask me "who are you to tell me how to run my life?" But my dilemma is that if I don't do anything they will lose out forever. I can't wait until they fall dead. At that point it's too late. The fact is...they were already spiritually dead long before they breathed their last. I for one, don't care whether they know or care about their situation, I am going to attempt to administer soul-saving knowledge. I am going to be the Good Samaritan even if I am sued by my victim. I am going to love people in need, my neighbor, even if they don't listen to me. I will go and "do likewise" as Jesus said.

And what about those who walk by? Those who know how to save spiritual lives, how to save a person's soul, but do nothing. They are accountable for that knowledge. Lord help me to never pass up an opportunity to save a soul.

What about you? Do you know what it is to live spiritually? I'm not talking about some metaphysical psycho-spiritual experience here. I am talking about a fulfilled life not the so called life full of drugs, alcohol, sexual addiction, fame, and fortune. That stuff will prove to be just as deadly, choking, suffocating and heart stopping as the scenarios one learns about from the Red Cross.

There is a God who is the life-giver. What do you call a life apart from the one who gives it, but death? Thankfully, there is a life saver. His name is Jesus. What do you call a person who doesn't want to be saved, but dead? Jesus wants to breathe new life into you. He wants to rescue you from the suffocation of sin. He wants to fill your heart with His Spirit, not just to keep you alive but so that you can breathe His life into others. This is the message of the red cross of Jesus.

Consider yourself certified. Together we can save a soul. Together we can Follow Christ and Live with Power.

Get training from the American Red Cross.

The World Missions Summit

2005-02-12T20:31:00.000-10:00

All I can say is, "Oh, my Lord! Kick the tires and light the fires, cause Jesus is coming back soon." I just happened to check out Chi Alpha's Missions Blog and saw a highly motivating article about the World Missions Summit. I mean it was so motivating, that I think it would make my old Marine Corps Drill Instructor get in the sand pit and mash himself. This event is taking place in Louisville, Kentucky at the end of this year. 4000 College Students from Chi Alpha and members of Young Adults groups like ours will be invited to attend this never-before type of summit. All 4000 will be challenged to put one year on the line for reaching the world with the knowledge of a relationship with Christ.

Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship is already the leading source for our full time missionaries, but what they have a vision to do here goes beyond words. They are challenging EVERY student in their fellowship to do atleast one mission during their college experience and then follow on after graduation for a year. Now, I know that just a two-week missions trip can make a difference in a person's life (it did for me when I went on an Ambassadors in Missions trip to Puerto Rico), but I can only imagine what a full year's commitment will do. The 4000 that attend the World Missions Summit are just the beginning. Chi Alpha and our national Young Adults Ministry are mobilizing young people by the tens of thousands.

The scale of Chi Alpha's vision is very similar to that of the Back to Jerusalem Movement in China, where 100,000 Chinese missionaries are being mobilized right now to spread the good news of Jesus in a push westward to Jerusalem. The level of preparation that is taking place at this moment for an all out spiritual D-Day not only signals a global awakening, it signals the soon coming return of Jesus Christ. All I will want to say about this is: if you believe in the words of Jesus and the Bible, than you are also saying that you believe in his return, just as he ascended, but this time in reverse.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

I can't begin to tell you how many times the issue of "a sense of urgency" comes up in conversations I have with people that are involved in ministry. Right now, just in our own ministry, we're training children, young adults, and soon youth to be missionaries to their homes, their schools, their workplaces, their cities, and their world. Just the other day, I was blown away by the motivation of two teenagers from Prescott, Arizona who raised thousands of dollars for missions by walking 100 miles from Prescott to Phoenix. As an Arizonan, I know this area and how difficult a trek this was for them. The push to "train to reach" is really unprecedented in just the churches we visit and hear about. Something is going on. The tremors are already starting. If Jesus were to come back tonight or tomorrow, would you be ready? Would you follow him back to Paradise? Follow Christ.

If you are a College Student or Young Adult, Chi Alpha is definitely worth checking out. Find a chapter near you:

Young 7 One

2005-02-09T21:46:00.000-10:00

Here's our proposed logo for the youth of the Salinas Section. It arrived just in time for our revival services at the end of February, our "Refrigerio" or "Refreshing." It will undoubtedly find its way on t-shirts, and who knows? Maybe even action figures. Nah, I'll stick with t-shirts.

We can not wait to hear what God is going to say through our special speaker for our revival services, Evangelist Sammy Rodriguez Jr. He is the Founder of 3rd Day Believers Network and the Director of Evangelism for our District. At our last youth convention, he had us standing for two hours at the edge of our feet! We did not even realize it until afterwards. Now that's what I call having church.

God is stirring something big in our hearts. Or to use the words of Elf, "Gi-normous!" We are on the verge of a awakening a sleeping giant. As I sit here blogging, I think of the words of Joel the Prophet:

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days." (Joel 2:28-29)

Here's just a faint glimmer of what God is showing us for the youth. The vision is so big, it's scary. But as the Lord told us the other night during family devos, "be strong and courageous." You can find this vision at our youth blog as well, but I'll save you the trip:

YOUNG

We are young people in love with God and people. We are the youth of the Salinas Section of the Northern Pacific Latin American District Council of the Assemblies of God.

SEVEN

We are the youth of 7 cities: Greenfield, Soledad, Salinas, Monterey, Hollister, Gilroy and Morgan Hill, California.

ONE

We are one people united in one vision: to win, build, and send youth to accomplish one mission: to advance the kingdom of God one person at a time, anyplace, anytime.

WE ARE
YOUNG
7
ONE
PEOPLE

Two Churches Join Hands for Friend's Day

2005-02-05T17:54:00.000-10:00

Tomorrow is Friend's Day for two churches close to my heart. Christian Life Center Assembly of God in Douglas, Arizona and Faith Hope and Love Center in Hollister, California.

CLC has a special day planned for the friends and family of their members. The church has just completed a full month of nightly prayer meetings. It seemed that everytime I called home, the pastors were at church in the Lord's presence. God truly has His hand on Christian Life Center. This Friend's Day, I know the Lord is saying to Christian Life Center, "you're my friend!"

The children of Faith Hope and Love Center will also celebrate Friend's Day tomorrow. Many of our kids have invited friends, classmates, and neighbors to enjoy worship, "A Snoodles Tale" (a VegieTales movie), pizza and cake.* Our kids have been extremely excited about sharing their church experiences with their friends. The We Build Kids/BGMC team is excited for them.

This has been a much anticipated day for both churches. When I last spoke with my mom, she said it was raining cats and dogs in Douglas. Well, the people are right behind them as far as I'm concerned. We pray that people will rain down and flood our altars.

Nothing can replace people-they are our greatest resources. Nothing comes close to finding God at an altar-it's the place where lives are changed. May people fill the altars of both churches and may God fill the people. Amen.

*Thanks to Papa John's Pizza, Sister Z, Junior, Sister Maria, Sister Cecilia, Lulu, Cynthia, Jessica, and Oscar for making this day special!

The Cure for the Common Zombie

2005-02-03T17:48:00.000-10:00

Thursday morning as I was shaving and looking at the droopy eyes of the man staring back at me in the mirror (thanks to my nocturnal one-year old), I thought of zombies. People that are the among the "living dead." I also had thoughts of my upcoming study for our young adults group.

Suddenly, the two thoughts coalesced into one. I began to think of all the people I encounter on a daily basis. It's quite scary and morbid to think, but most of these people are walking dead men and women. People with chains around their necks slowly sinking back to the earth from which they came.

I was reminded of the time my niece Cindy told me about a message she had heard from her youth pastor, Pastor Ralph of Harbor Christian Center. What she told me really hit home. During one of his services, he had showed a clip from the movie "The Sixth Sense," where the characters played by Haley Joel Osmont ("Cole") and Bruce Willis' (Malcolm) say the following:

COLE

I see people.

Malcolm just gazes quietly.

COLE

I see dead people... Some of them scare me.

MALCOLM

In your dreams?

Cole shakes his head, "No."

MALCOLM

When you're awake?

Cole nods, "Yes."

MALCOLM

Dead people, like in graves and coffins?

COLE

No, walking around, like regular people... They can't see each other. Some of them don't know they're dead.

MALCOLM

They don't know they're dead?

COLE

I see ghosts.

So here I am looking at myself, dead in the mirror, but only in the sense of dead tired. I ask myself, "will other people look into my eyes today and see what I know?" Will they know how tired I am? Probably not, I have a good way of covering up my fatigue. Splash some water on the face, put a smile on and all of a sudden I even forget.

Have you looked in the mirror today? Who's looking back at you? You may say "I am Christian," "I am alive in Christ." But are you really living for Christ? Or are you just splashing water on your face?

One day, thousands of years ago, God breathed life into the first human, Adam. Like a plastic CPR dummy, the Lord took clay and breathed life into an inanimate corpse. His Spirit filled the vacuum and human life was born. However, this person who once walked with The Life Giver, would one day walk away from his maker and suffer the fate of his own mortality. He would breathe his last and give up his ghost.

Thousands of years later, The Life Giver overshadowed a young woman called "Mary" and breathed life into her vacant and virgin womb:

"The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

Thus, The Life Giver conceived The Life Saver, whose name is Jesus which in Hebrew means "The Lord Saves." The Life Saver would one day die to bring life back to mortal man. Not life in the sense of physical life, which ends all too suddenly (thanks to Adam). No, spiritual life in the sense of eternal relationship with The Life Giver. This we call "eternal life," because it's more of a life than physical living and because it lasts forever (thanks to Jesus).

Before the Son of God left the earth, he left a promise to his followers. In days to come, the Holy Spirit, the very Breath of Life, The Breath of God, would visit them. Just like with Adam, He would fill their spiritual vacuums, not to the brim, but to overflowing. Just like with Mary, He would overshadow them and breathe life into the yet unconceived body of people known as "the church." He would baptize them with His Holy Spirit.

As I look forward to teaching about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the coming weeks, I think of all the people who have never heard about The Life Giver (Father God), The Life Saver (The Son of God), and the very Breath of God (The Holy Spirit). Some people only know about the Father. Some people only know about the Son and Father. But many, including some Christians, don't know nearly enough about the Breath of God.

Jesus warned us that we could know scriptures back and forth and yet lose sight of their fulfillment right in front of us, within our grasp:

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John 5:39-40)

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean." (Matthew 23:27)

The Teachers of the Law were dead and did not even know it. They were vacuous and didn't know the Savior in their midst. They could not recognize him, even though they knew the written word of God better than most Christian teachers today. The one prophesied about by John the Baptist was right in front of them. The one who would baptize not in water, but in the Holy Spirit and with Fire was staring back at them.

He still baptizes in His Spirit today. It's his baptism after all, and no mortal man and no mortal teaching can take it away from him. Why not? Because neither the Son, nor the Spirit, nor the promises of the Father change. They are the same yesterday, today, and forever. His promises are yes and amen.

I see dead people all the time. I brush shoulders with zombies every day. Most of them don't know they're dead. Thankfully, there's a cure for the common zombie:

Follow Christ and Live with Power.

Bro Danny DJ Morales

The Radiant Face of My Dad

2005-01-29T18:24:00.000-10:00

During my lunch break yesterday, my mom called me up to let me know that my dad had been experiencing some sharp headaches over the last week, but told me not to worry. I advised her to take him to the hospital quickly for analysis and then began calling my circle of friends for prayer.

More than any other feeling, a sense of peace came to my heart. The peace that goes beyond all human understanding. One picture I still can not get out of my head is the time I saw the glory of the Lord on my dad's face. I have witnessed several manifestations of the Holy Spirit in my parents' ministry, but this experience with my dad stuck out the most. In my time of waiting to hear any news of my dad's condition, this memory brought peace because it reminded me how close my dad is to the Lord. No matter how bad my dad's condition could be, I knew that the Lord's servant was just fine.

Most people have only read about the radiant face of Moses in Exodus 34:29-35, but words can not begin to tell what it looks like in person.

It happened in the Summer of 2000, I had just finished reading a powerful book about the search for the mountain of God. I had also been fasting, praying, and seeking the face of God like never before and intensely studying His written word. I came to 1 Corinthians Chapters 12-14 and to the part where Paul said "But eagerly desire the greater gifts" (1 Corinthians 13:1a). It seemed like I got hung there for a week or two as I eagerly sought after the gift of prophecy.

Little did I know, but the Lord had come strongly upon my dad for over a week. For a solid week, my dad was in the presence of the Lord. He could not speak in English, but instead only spoke in foreign languages giving praises to God. In order to communicate with my mom, he would write notes to her on pieces of paper. The presence of the Lord was so strong upon him that he did not want to eat nor could he as he was being supplied all that he needed in the Lord's presence. He was full of the Holy Spirit.

Two hours away, and unknown to my parents, I was "eagerly desiring the greater gifts," and then something happened on a Wednesday night. It was if my eyes were opened to Paul's words "and now I will show you the most excellent way." I began reading the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians in a whole new way. I had read through this chapter over and over again and it had spoken to me in so many different and meaningful ways before. But this time the Lord began to tell me over and over again "don't seek the gift, seek love."

Now I thought I had sought the love of God before. I had done so many times before I ever studied the spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians. But this was a different kind of love. It was a passion. I began to cry out to God, "God give me love for lost souls. May I share in your grief for people that do not know you. May my heart explode for them. Please give me your heart of love!"

The next day, my mom called me up around lunch time and said "Danny, the presence of the Lord has been upon your dad for the last week." She began to tell me how strong His presence had been in their house and how my dad could not speak or eat, but instead could only pray. Then she told me these words "Danny, the Lord has given him a message and he wrote it down on a piece of paper and it says 'tell Danny to come down because I have a message for him and Martha.'"

I told my mom that we would be on our way to the house after class that afternoon. I told my wife about the phone call and she began to quickly ready Danny Boy and our luggage for the trip down to Douglas. After class, I picked them up and set out on the road. Martha had to drive, because already I began to experience the presence of the Lord and began to shake.

The closer we got to Douglas, the stronger I began to experience the Lord's presence. It reached a crescendo when we reached my parent's driveway. So strong was the sensation that my mouth began to tingle (I experience this from time to time when I lead worship, which almost prevents me from ministering). We quickly got off the car and ran to the door. My mom had tears in her eyes and said "mijo, God's moving on your Daddy."

I walked into the dining room and saw him come out of the door. My dad's face was glowing! I looked in his eyes and his eyes were on fire. I had never seen anything like it before. His eyes were not the eyes of a mad man, in his eyes were power and love. Waves of the Lord's presence were emanating all around him. I threw my arms around and immediately I began to feel the fire of God all over me. Out of my mouth gushed a spontaneous song of praise to God first in English and then in a foreign language. It was one of the most powerful experiences I have ever had with the Lord and I shared it with my father.

A few people from our church began streaming into our house as the Lord had instructed my dad to call them via my mom in similar manner for His message to them. We all sat down in my parent's living room and one by one my dad gave them startling words from the Lord. Amazingly, the Lord had already spoken to these people and was using my dad as a powerful confirmation.

My wife and I were the last people, he spoke to. Looking at us with those same eyes of power and love, he said "Danny, the Lord knows that you have been seeking the gift of prophecy, but he tells you 'do not seek the gift.'" He paused and then continued "'seek love.'" He then turned to my wife and said that she had been given the gift of discernment.

Then for the next hour or so all of heaven opened up on top of us. It was as if liquid fire was falling on us. I could only describe it as taking an adrenaline rush, adding to it a generous amount of warm soda, multiplying it times a million, shaking it up and then pouring it on top of someone. The Lord had given us a Mount Sinai and Tabernacle experience in the middle of my parent's living room.

Our experience demonstrated that the God of the Universe still takes the time to visit individual people in powerful ways. He still takes the time to speak through them and leave memories that will never fade. Indeed, memories of a radiant face go a long way. In the midst of my uncertainty, I knew that my face was glowing underneath just thinking about this. Just think of the radiant memories God wants to shine through your face.

Win, Build, Send!

2005-01-28T11:32:00.000-10:00

Last Monday night, we received an answer to a desire that had been hidden in our hearts for over a year. My pastor left a voice mail message on my cell that began with: "yes, this message is for the new Youth Representative for the Salinas Section." And with that, a giant door and window to Heaven was opened up to Martha and me. Something that had only been a faint hope had suddenly drifted upon our shoulders like Elijah's mantle.

To the youth of the Salinas Section of the Northern Pacific Latin American District of the Assemblies of God: we are your servants and can't wait to serve you!

We had left the youth, children's and church board ministry in Monterey just a year earlier to pursue a calling to a new season of ministry in Hollister. Sure, God had spoken in clear terms of where to go and what to expect, but never before had we ventured in such unknown territory. For the first time, God called us to "Evangelism." Martha and I knew only about this type of ministry. While in Hollister, God filled so many blanks and worked so many miracles that there is not room enough on this blog to describe. If I could sum up the biggest blank in one word it would be "Discipleship." If I could thank one person on this earth for helping us fill this blank it would have to be our pastor, Pastor David Prado.

We had told our pastor, that if we ever returned to youth ministry it would not be in the tradition that we had served in before. In fact, I had to come up with a new term for myself to describe what role it would be: "youth motivator." It's not that the style of youth ministry that we had before was bad, by no means. It just no longer fit.

I laugh about it now, but yesterday morning as I was praying about the vision for our youth, I needed some motivation for myself. I felt as though I was floating in midair in suspended animation just like all those sci-fi movie scenes you see these days. I just needed a kick to get the momentum going again.

After people win an award, medal, or election, you often hear them say "I am humbled and feel a little beside myself at the moment." Well, I never truly understood what they meant until now. This is exactly where I found myself. I was a cow staring at two different open gates, except this time I was a cow in a frozen tornado scene staring at two different open gates (remember "Twister?"). I felt like Solomon upon assuming the throne of his father David and Elisha clutching Elijah's cloak in his hands:

Solomon said:

"Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

While Elisha:

picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD , the God of Elijah?" he asked.

Know what I mean? Mooooo

I must pause here, while in suspended animation, to say that the new District Youth Director for the Northern Pacific Latin American District, Pastor Dan Garza, has brought a tremendous purpose-driven vision for the youth of our district. I am so excited to say that this vision, when you cross-check, is the same one as our church (Faith, Hope, and Love Center) and our own ministry (Light the Fire).

So here I was back at the farm. The last youth article I had read that really inspired me was the vision of the incoming National Youth Director, Pastor Jay Mooney. In one sentence it reads: "equipping the church to win, build and send students to fulfill the Great Commission." In three words, "Win, Build, Send."

So there I was yesterday morning frozen and with this vision highlighted and ready for copy and pasting for future reference, when my good friend calls me up to share what God had been stirring in his heart all morning long. This was no accident. Martha and I had served under this man of God as assistant youth rep and secretary for two years. This was our "King David" and "Elijah" as it were. The word that he shared with me over the phone in less than ten seconds was enough to press the Play Button...

Youth of the Salinas Section:

From the top to the bottom. From national to district to sectional, we are united in vision! Get yourself ready for Holy Revolution. Get yourself ready, because we are about to win more souls for the kingdom of God that the nets won't even contain. Get yourself ready because, we are going to be built up to be effective disciples for Christ. Get yourself ready because, the Lord is going to send you out to the four corners of your prayer closet, of your school flagpole, of your city streets, of your neighborhood, of our section, of our district, of our country and of our world! Get ready, get ready, get ready!

So help us God,

Bro Danny and Sister Martha Morales

This is your Daughter

2005-01-28T05:31:00.000-10:00

Just wanted to post a praise report for my friends Melanie and Jeremy (aka "Crazy").

Jeremy earned the name "Crazy" while at Oral Roberts University (I should know, I was his roommate). I'll never forget falling asleep to Crazy telling me how crazy in love he was with Mel. Years later after they married, they were introduced to Brianna.

During one fateful church service, Jeremy picked up Brianna to carry her for a few minutes and the Lord spoke to him, "this is your daughter." He had been barely introduced to her and knew nothing of her situation, but God said she was theirs. No matter the obstacle, God had promised to give Brianna a loving home and a bright future with the Deemys. One by one, the obstacles fell as God made a way into the promised land of adoption.

What began as a gentle whisper, now God says loud and clear for everyone else to hear, "this is your daughter."

To the fatherless, motherless, or those without hope, this is your Father's words to you:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11).

One man taken to morgue alive another man's Shroud buried before its time

2005-01-26T18:37:00.000-10:00

I could have choked on my Chai Tea when I ran across the Associated Press story about a man that was taken alive to the morgue.

As my dad was say "good grief Charlie Brown," how could someone overlook the fact that this man was still alive and breathing? How could they pronounce this man dead and then practically bury him? But for some reason, I thought "good grief DJ" that's exactly what people have tried to do with Christ.

As I scanned further down KLOVE's News Page, I saw another equally fascinating Discovery Channel Story that was ironically similar. A story about a burial shroud that is older than a 1988 radiocarbon dating has suggested. A shroud that may have been buried before its time.

I remember asking one of my physics professors at The University of Arizona, who at the time was a senior professor in the department, about the dating of this shroud. I asked him whether the tests were conclusive in his mind and he told me: "well, the questions have been answered sufficiently in the minds of those who conducted the tests." Something just did not sit right with me and for me, at least, the case was anything but closed.

As my Chai grew cold, I did some quick web-based research (Google) and found another Discovery Channel Story about the reverse side of this burial shroud. Interestingly enough, this side reveals even more details than the front, which would be extremely difficult for a medieval forger to produce.

Whether this is the actual burial shroud of Jesus may never be known. What I do know is that Christ no longer needs a burial shroud and that people are still finding him alive and breathing. Will you find him? Follow the living Son of God. Follow Christ.

Witnesses to a Miracle

2005-01-25T15:07:00.000-10:00

Sister Z and Danny Boy striking poses at Youth Convention

(Thought I'd post the following while on my lunch break)

At our Young Adults meeting last night, Sister Z shared some awesome testimonies of how God answered prayers over the weekend. Developing...

(Alright it's quitting time)

Last Saturday night, Bro Izzy calls me up and says that a friend of Sister Z had called him and said that Z's mom is in danger in the Philippines (PI) and that it looks like she is going to be held there and not be able to leave the country. My first thought in a situation totally out of everyone's control here on the other side of the world is, of course, pray. My second thought was contact our pastor, and then pray. When Jesus said in Matthew 18:19 "again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven," he meant it. I did little but listen and agree with the Pastor as he prayed down heaven and earth for what seemed to be 15 minutes. All I had to do was agree.

Fast forward to Monday morning. The last word I heard was that Z was going to arrange for emergency leave and fly over to PI sometime Sunday. Well, I called up Sister Z's office and low and behold Sister Z is there! After the initial shock, all she told me was that her mom was already back in the states and that she would tell our group more that night. Amazingly, God worked a miracle Saturday night (daytime in PI) that allowed Z's mom to fly out of country, literally seconds before the plane took off, thereby allowing her to escape danger.

Pastor, Bro Izzy, Sister Martha and myself were some of the only people stateside that knew what was going on in Sister's Z's life. In fact, Z had no clue until Monday morning that we even knew about the situation and that we had been praying for her mom. Thank you Father for bringing heaven down to earth!

Some people call it coincidence, but we call it a miracle. Jesus meant what he said. Agree in prayer with someone right now, whether they know it or not, whether they're close by or a world apart. You will experience the power of prayer by agreeing with a missionary or child crying out to God at this very second. The power of prayer knows no borders, distance or time zone.

Are you a young adult? Are you looking for a group that experiences the power of prayer? Visit the Young Adults Site and slide to the "Interactive" bar at the top to find a YA group near you.

See you there, see you in prayer,

DJ Morales

The Gospel According to Milkshakes

2005-01-22T11:12:00.000-10:00

Friday night after church, we had to speak to the pastor about our upcoming "40 Days with Jesus campaign" for the Easter Season. After our little talk, he asked a rather rhetorical question to someone who loves to eat, "are you guys hungry?"

Ah, late night at Jack in the Box. Brought back memories from high school after football games. Time to grub on fast food. What better way to celebrate a victory than over greasy cheeseburgers, or Cordon Blue in Bro Izzy's case, fries, and Danny Boy's favorite, a chocolate milkshake.

How could we refuse the pastor? He was buying after all. I don't know about you, but food just tastes better when it's free and not made by your hands.

So there we were telling and retelling stories of glory like that night's service. Thank God for pastor's who give hungry people food (after all, that's their job). We were having church in Jack in the Box.

On our way home, Danny Boy wanted to talk about his recent angelic visitation and dream about Jesus. He wanted to know a little more about why Jesus had to die on the cross. He had seen it vividly in his dream and had seen it before in Passion plays, but he just wanted to hear it again. Just like the people at church retelling their personal experiences, and like the retold stories of church services past, he wanted to relive the moment. He wanted to keep it fresh.

Like all good stories, good news is worth telling 1. because it's good and 2. because it's true. If it's especially newsworthy, it will be retold again and again. If it's a living story, it will find ways to tell itself.

I asked him if he enjoyed his milkshake, another rhetorical question. I asked him if we had to pay for our food. "No, pastor paid," he answered. I explained a little more, "pastor thought about us and wanted to give us free food." Pastor had even called by cell while we were packing up our equipment downstairs to ask if we were still coming to eat. Who could pass up a freebie?-especially a free milkshake.

I continued...
"Well, God did the same thing. He thought about us. He came downstairs and gave us something for free. He paid the price (of sin) so that we didn't have to, so that we could enjoy something better than milkshakes-life and life forever (eternal life)."

There you have it, the Gospel (good news) According to Milkshakes. How can you pass up a freebie like eternal life? Good news worth re-telling. I bet you'd be willing to try a Triple Thick from Micky Dees, why not give God a try? Would you like to taste the free gift of eternal life? Follow Christ. Taste and see for yourself, God is good...

Here's an instant message from Jesus:
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

What Happens When God Shows Up?

2005-01-22T09:17:00.000-10:00

Did you ever plan out a day only to spontaneously put it aside for someone special and then end up having the best day of your life?

Well, that is what happened last night at Faith, Hope, and Love Center. Pastor David had a well-organized prayer service in mind. Bro Izzy and I had a great night of We Build Kids/BGMC planned for the kids as well. It would have been their first night of puppet training.

It started with the worship. We just could not stop singing His praises. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people. This is what it means---when people celebrate a celebrity, and invite him or her to their celebration, any good celebrity will show up.

Have you ever known people that light up the room as soon as they walk in? You may not see them at first, but you know they are there. They are the life of the party, the ones who make everybody feel good and feel that they are special. They could be speaking to a crowd, but you feel like they are speaking to you. They keep you thinking for weeks about the one little comment they shared with you. Well, this is the God whom we serve. He is our Number One Celebrity.

Who cares that we had an agenda? As soon as we knew He was in the room, we threw out our talking points, got up close and just enjoyed His presence. Who cared about our board meeting? The one person showed up that always has a way of turning heads and changing the conversation. Normal business could wait. Bro Izzy and I could do our program and share our missionary story on Sunday.

One by one, people started streaming to the altar. They just wanted to reach out and touch God, our celebrity came to our celebration party thrown in His honor. They cried as He spoke to them and gave them words of encouragement. His touch, like the warm hands of a mother brought growth, a sense of security, and most importantly, love.

After the time at the altar, it seemed that the whole church had something to say. One by one, the people got up and spoke about how God had answered their prayers over the past week and how He had just spoken to them at the altar. Needless to say, God was in the house.

Anywhere The Wind Blows

2005-01-19T20:30:00.000-10:00

Tonight, as we read and discussed the third Chapter of John, verses one through sixteen, and then prayed in our bedroom chapel, three wonderful women of God came to mind. It all happened as I pondered over the verse that says:

Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

Such deep and seemingly mysterious words. Of course as with all things spiritual, it took my son about three seconds to understand the message behind these words. But this is often the case with most children. He immediately grasped the concept of people who are physically alive but spiritually dead, people who are in desperate need of a savior. This is precisely what Jesus was talking about. The body dies, but the spirit, our spirit lives forever. As my son told me matter of factly, "in heaven, we will always live."

Just like the highly analytical Nicodemus, to whom Jesus was talking, I found myself getting caught up in the complexities of Jesus' words. As a meteorology officer, I found myself scrutinizing the phrase "the wind blows wherever it pleases." I thought about the fact that with all the computers in the world working together, man could never predict the precise wind direction in every cubic meter of air of the earth's atmosphere over the next hour. Impossible, when you have a butterfly in Africa that can set off a stampede of wildebeest that sets off a dust cloud that sets off a thunderstorm and so on as the story goes. That's why we have a category of wind speed and direction called "light and variable," because any attempt to figure out the slightest wind would be chasing it with our minds.

That's when it hit me. Why do people fight against the wind of the Spirit? Why do people try to figure it out? I can not think of a more frustrating thought than fighting against God with the human will and the human mind. And, that's when they came to my mind all in a flood of thoughts. Three women who flow with the Spirit. Three women unknown by the standards of the world, but known by God for the standards of their faith. Why these three? I don't know, but that's where the Spirit wanted to take me.

Mary Louise Vigil, woman of God, my dad's associate pastor. Here's a woman who defies all the odds. She can tell you her story of being an alcoholic at the age of twelve. She can tell you how God delivered her cold turkey at the altar with no withdrawals. One story of hers I want to tell is about her faith.

I remember the day she told me about one of the largest store buildings in town, the former A.J. Bayless building in Douglas, Arizona. That summer day about four years, she told me that she had two experiences where she prayed that this building would be used for the Lord's work. So strong was the presence of God when she told me this that I immediately took out a piece of paper and together we started planning the usage of this building. We laid out the future sanctuary and I negotiated with her for a portion of this building for the youth. Never mind, literally, that a company owned the building and that it was still in business. I will never forget when she told me a couple years later that the company had tried and tried to sell this building to no avail. When they could not find a buyer they resulted to donating the property. But to whom? Well, unknown to her and any of us, they chose the church where Mary Louise attended and ministered without so much as giving an explanation for their choice. In fact, we had no idea that the company was even thinking about donating the property. We all found out after the fact. Why on earth would one of the largest properties in Douglas, Arizona with one of the largest parking lots in the city be given to the Lord's work for free? Simple, because Mary Louise follows the wind of the Holy Spirit.

Then there's my niece, Cindy. She's over in Thailand right now as a missionary. She was there before the Tsunami and she'll be there after the last relief efforts have run their course. One of her missions is to "buy" young girls before they are sold into prostitution by their desperate and destitute parents. She can tell you about the miracles that happen over there. She can tell you about the hope that her mission brings. But the question I want to ask is: why did my American niece leave the security and comforts of her Southern Californian home to go over to a dangerous and poverty stricken country to rescue total strangers? Simple, because Cindy follows the wind of the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, our good friend and former youth member, Lorena. My wife and I always saw the awesome potential in this young lady. We saw even despite her shyness that she would one day be used mightily by God. Recently, we were invited to attend the Royal Navy's celebration of Trafalgar Day (where our picture was taken in noticeably poor lighting). We had asked Lorena to baby sit for us that night. After the celebration, we returned and I began the laborious task of taking off my uniform---my undersized cumberbund was quite grateful as its velcro teeth were screaming the entire night and would pop off with each bite of food :-). As I was changing into my civilian clothes to take Lorena home, the Lord spoke to me and said "Lorena has a message from me to you." I remembered her shyness and thought "did I just hear that?" We got into the car and on the way to her home I asked about the family. After the small talk came the long silence and then all of a sudden. "Guess What?!!!" she shouted. I had never seen her so excited. She gathered herself and said "last night the Lord used me to give words of knowledge." For those who may not know, these put the best psychics to shame, because these come from the Almighty, all-knowing, and only God of the Universe (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). She went on to tell me how one by one the Lord revealed things about several of her family members while in their presence. She ministered at length to each one, praying for sicknesses and marital problems only known by the affected persons. As she told me this, I was reminded of what the Lord had told me. I asked her to pray for me and she gave me the word of encouragement my family and career needed at that particular moment. How does she do it? How can a teenage girl be used of God so powerfully? Simple, because Lorena follows the wind of the Holy Spirit.

There are a thousand and one reasons not to believe these three stories. There are a thousand and one explanations and criticisms. You hear its sound, but are you fighting or following the wind of the Holy Spirit? Jesus put it very simply "you must be born again." The adult mind will never understand what a child's faith takes for granted. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. Follow the wind of the Holy Spirit, any which way it blows. Follow Christ.

Bro DJ

Oh and just so you don't think I forgot about the men. Check out how these two M.O.Gs (Men of God) follow the wind of the Holy Spirit with little more than their backpacks, one change of clothes, a camera, and a world map: www.traveltheroad.com. Thanks Bro Fin-daddy for the site!

Danny Boy Dreams of Jesus

2005-01-17T11:19:00.000-10:00

A picture drawn by Danny Boy the day after our angelic visitation depicting the angel he saw in our living room

Emailing:

mailto:info@biblealliance.org?subject=Please

Visiting:

Back to Jerusalem
http://www.backtojerusalem.com/

Testimonies from Back to Jerusalem
http://www.backtojerusalem.com/news.htm

Space Probe Conveys Message from God

2005-01-14T14:30:00.000-10:00

Here's an article about the joint space probe "Huygens" landing on the Saturn moon of Titan. The story, much like the recent Nova episode (second part aired last night) mentioned in one of our previous posts, gives reference to the passion that these Space Agency professionals have for their spacecraft:

Mission officials — who have waited seven years for Huygens to reach its destination — had tears in their eyes as the first signal was picked up, indicating that the probe was transmitting to its mother ship, the international Cassini spacecraft.

Just imagine the passion God has for His creation. I know it brings tears to His eyes when He is able to establish communication with His children.

Don't believe in God? Here is something to think about. This year, more people will be believing than not believing in the God of the Bible. More people will be starting a personal relationship with God than those who will not. Will you be one of them?

Here are the facts...The world's population is roughly 6 billion people. There's about 2 billion Christians in the world alone. Of these, there are roughly 1 billion that believe in personal relationships with God (Evangelical Christians). Of this number, there are 500 million or so that believe and experience miracles, healings, and all the awesome supernatural experiences mentioned in the Bible. These Christians alone constitute a population twice that of the United States. Together, Evangelical Christians are growing in population by 13% per year. By contrast, the world's population is growing at 1.6% each year. In other words, more people are starting relationships with the God of the Universe than are being born in the world! Many of these people could tell you of personal experiences that scientists and engineers can not explain, experiences that can only be described as supernatural, explained only by the Bible. If you think about it, a relationship with the God of the Universe is supernatural in and of itself. Either these people, who are steadily becoming the majority in the world, are crazy or lying, OR they are experiencing real relationships with the God of the Universe. God is desperately awaiting your signal. Give Him an open line of communication. Follow Christ.

For some stats check out:
http://www.adherents.com/
http://www.missionfrontiers.org/

Join the Bandwagon before it leaves Station Earth!
-Bro djm