Real-Time Prayer

2 Sam 18:9-12  "Absalom was fleeing from David's men on his mule 

when the mule ran under a huge oak tree.  

Absalom's head got stuck fast in the oak 

and he was left dangling between heaven and earth. 

Joab then took three spears in his hand 

and thrust them into the heart of Absalom 

while he was still hanging from the tree."

Until recently, we'd pray before coming to Jesus Street, and then head out.  But a few weeks ago we got in the middle of some bad blood on the street.  The devil brings his weapons- there's drug activity, gang activity - all the things the devil works to create with his deceptions.   He's the author of arrogance, and violence, and poverty.  We don't know who did what wrong... everybody was wrong.  But we found ourselves between it all and it was a little intense.


This opened our eyes to the need for more covering in "real-time" prayer.


So, last week we asked the 5-7th grade sunday school class to pray for us during the exact hours we'd be on the Street.  Kids pray with some faith, y'all!   This week we again asked friends to cover us in prayer as we went.


The bible says we don't wage war in the flesh, but in the spirit.  We fight spirits of violence, spirits of pride, and addiction, and despair.   And the weapons we use are empowered by God to break those strongholds.  One of our weapons is to boldly declare the destruction of the kingdom of darkness and its lies.  Its a lesser kingdom to the kingdom of God.   We declare Jesus ruler over our street, and our city!  We acknowledge only His authority; and when the real King comes in, those lesser spirits scatter and get caught in the trees by their hair like Absalom.


A funny thing is happening in the wake of prayer like that.  The Love of God is taking hold.


Under the covering of prayer, we're seeing an outpouring of the Love of God - both in our hearts for others, and in the Love being received.  HA!  This makes me laugh!  The devil meant to instill fear in us.   But instead, God's Love is taking hold!   We're abounding with Love!   And it's almost tangible how people are receiving God's Love for them.  Go prayer warriors!


In coming weeks, we'll share stories of the advance of God's kingdom of Love on Jesus Street.   And in coming ages, God will show the surpassing riches of His grace because of His great love with which He loved us in making us alive in Christ Jesus.

2Tim 1:7 "God has not given us a spirit of timidity, 

but a spirit of power and a spirit of love"  

1John 4:18  "...perfect love casts out fear."

Eph 3:14-19 "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 

that He would grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts; and that you may be able to comprehend 

the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ 

which surpasses knowledge, 

that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God."

1John 3:8 "For this purpose the Son of God appeared,

to destroy all the works of the devil."

Just a Taste

We just got back from Redding, California where the things God is doing there were shared and imparted in every way.  We were there to soak up as much of God as we could get!  We got even more than we expected.  Here's an email I sent home after the first night there.

"Jude's leg just grew out almost an inch.  He was totally freaking out.

We were at the Dairy Queen and the girl who made my ice cream cone, and prophesied over all of us [amazingly] and prayed for my shoulder, asked if any of us had a leg shorter than the other.  Jude did [who knew?].  She asked who wants to do a miracle. I did [you knew that].  So I held his feet in my hands and commanded the leg to grow in the name of Jesus. We all watched it grow like 3/4 inch (18mm) and Jude was freaking.

Then John wanted his cavities filled. I was like, Jude, you just received the miraculous, why don't you pray for God to fill John's cavities.  Jude was still kind of whacked and he prayed like I've never heard him pray before. He spoke with authority to the teeth, getting words from God and speaking them out. It was strong. Really strong.

We think Mark's flat feet were given arches too. We'll see in the morning. 

That was not your typical Dairy Queen."

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Jesus is Lord, and has dominion over everything in heaven and earth. He has authority to heal and to save. And everyone needs that!

Eagle's Nest

I was praying for my home a few mornings ago, for God's protection of it as a place of rest and restoration for my new guests from the street.  Right away I saw an image of a nest and little birdlings, nestlings.  It was an eagle's nest.  And it was an eagle who was tending those nestlings.


God Himself was their eagle protector and provider, and they are His nestlings- receivers of His goodness and His strength.  The eagle builds her nest high, high up... on the side of a cliff where no one can reach, and no harm can come to her nestlings.


Then I went to Psalm 91 and it says "He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings."


That's the image. The eagle protecting, shielding, providing for his nestlings.  


My house now has a name: The Eagle's Nest. And Psalm 91 is my  refuge and strength.  "Those who live in the shelter of the Most High, find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  He will cover you with His feathers, He will shelter you with His wings."

Psalm 91: 14-16   "Because you love Me, I will deliver you.  

I will protect those who trust in My name.  

When they call on me, I will answer. I will be with them in trouble. 

I will rescue and honor them. 

I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation."

A New and Living Way

Sorry for not posting any updates for so long now.  God is still doing what He does- expressing His everlasting love for mankind, and His dominion over all the works of the enemy- over sickness and darkness and fear- and dispelling them with the same power that raised Christ from the dead.


He's been working on me a lot in the past month or so.  I've been looking for understanding for what we've experienced on the street most recently:  When we prayed our hardest, and called for the battle angels of the Lord to array themselves on our behalf as we reached out to people with the Love and Power of God... it's been in those times- when I was expecting some display of healing power or something- that instead, a deep compassion came over us.  And in those times, the tender mercy, the gentle, peaceful kindness of God was present and being soaked up like a sponge by those we prayed for. We all could feel it.  


This is not what I had envisioned! I thought for sure God wanted to display His dominion over the physical, and heal people and set them free.  But freedom, apparently, comes in a much deeper, kinder and more personal way than I have understood.


So I've been quiet these past weeks, understanding the Father's will and heart.  My friend Dustin encouraged me to read Isaiah 58.  In it God says "Is this not the fast I have chosen... to share your food with the hungry, to take the homeless poor into your house?..."  I've been praying to understand the importance God puts on His Love- it seems so important.  In fact I prayed to actually become the Love of God.  


It was after one of these times of prayer that I was driving along and saw a couple carrying their luggage. I thought I'd give them a ride to wherever they were going.  It turned out they didn't have a place to go.  In fact, they had been sleeping in doorways and were about to go live in the woods.  After they were in the car, telling me their story I heard the Lord clearly repeat His word to me "...to take the homeless poor into your house."  So I invited them to come stay with me.


God has been quickly bringing people around to help. Invitations to dinner, wise co-laborers offering counsel and prayer, and most recently, the vision for loving my new friends to strength, and to faith in the loving God who reached out to them in their time of need.  


We're working on a transition plan for how to get them on their feet and on to the life God has planned for them.  So, I'll be including what God is doing at the house in this blog. It's so clear that He brought us together.


Isaiah 54: 4, 10 "Fear not, you will no longer live in shame. Don't be afraid, there is no more disgrace for you. ...the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken"

Momentum

"Whatever house you enter, say, Peace to this house.  

Stay in that house, and don't move from house to house."

Luke 10:3

There's a corner store we start out from every day we come to Jesus Street.  Its a humble shop, and what I mean is that you probably wouldn't ever go in there.  Well, at least not when we started.  But that is the house we entered from the start and spoke "Peace to this house", and prosperity strength and security to the hands of those who worked there.


This store had always matched the spirit of poverty at work in the neighborhood. The shelves barely had anything on them.  The walls were covered in twenty years of dirt over something that might have been white at one point.   It was a dark store when you walked in, lit by one flourescent ceiling light and whatever came in through the dirty window in the front door. The door itself carried the dirt from a thousand hands that pushed it open over the years. The floor was covered with scraps of old tiles worn all the way through, making it look like you just might fall through.  It had been a depressing place serving depressed people who go there to feed their addictions and continue their sad lives. 


But, our friend Muneer has started working there in the last month and he's totally changing the store.  The shelves are fully stocked with food and snacks. Now there's a fresh coat of bright blue paint all around.  Now the ceiling lights all work and make the place actually feel good.  The new white floor and functioning lights and clean windows make the store a bright spot in the neighborhood.  The same people go there still, but maybe they can look up now and say, "huh, seems better..."  

Muneer and Jude

We feel like Muneer has a gift and that even though people who come in don't have hope, he gives them something that makes them feel better than when they came in.  No one had benefited from the store before.  Now our friend Otha is working there, and he's hired electricians and painters. He's even painting the outside of the store.  


Maybe he'd like to commission some artwork for the outside wall of the building....
Maybe we would!  I have some ideas for some prophetic artwork for this community to behold whenever they look at this store.

For thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the houses of this city...

 'Behold, I will bring to it health and healing; 

and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth.

It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth 

which will hear of all the good that I do for them, 

and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.' 

Jer 33:4,6,9

Sweet Aroma

 "Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, 

and manifests through us 

the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place."

- 2Cor 2:14

The knowledge of God is a sweet aroma to those who love Him.   We love His presence and we feast at the table He sets before us in the presence of our enemies.  The more of His Love we enjoy, the sweeter the aroma.


But the devil is a loudmouth.  He flaps his gums and makes a lot of noise.  And his words are full of emptiness.  I actually hate that I even looked at that woman with a demon in her.  She doesn't get my attention. The devil only gets my attention enough to cut his head off.   He is brazen to think he can raise his head up against the beautiful and peaceful knowledge of God.  The devil was frothing mad on Jesus Street today.  He shouted and threw a tantrum. He growled and contorted in the presence of the sons of God who brought the kingdom of Heaven near today.  But nothing can stop the Love of God.

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Mr. S is 87 yrs old and had surgery for cancer a few weeks ago.  He says "Thanks to y'all I'm getting stronger." John has always prayed a special prayer for Mr. S, that as he gets older he only gets stronger every day.  We love Mr. S and I think he likes that we come around to see him every week.


From there we walked along and our friend J came wheeling down the road in his motorized wheelchair.  We greeted him with a smile. He said he just got back from the doctor and was going to surgery on the 31st, but wouldn't say what the surgery was for.  In fact, as he spoke, I felt the sudden compassion of the Lord welling up in me.   He welcomed prayer and we looked to Jesus for His compassion for J and spoke of the never ending loving kindness of God toward Him.  His heavenly Father has never taken His eyes off of J, not one thing has escaped His notice.  His love, His deep deep love for J has never wavered and will never waver.  I felt that God's Love was all over him as we prayed because he lingered in it and never tried to end our prayer early.  God loves J.


As we walked further into the heart of things greeting our friends, that's when the devil started thrashing and shouting in pompous, loud emptiness at his dwindling territory.  That's right. The more love, compassion and hope we bring, the less hold Satan has.   And this time he was spitting mad.  A loud, foul and profane shouting match broke out on the street in front of us and went on for some time.  Moments later, a woman who's face was contorted, growled like an animal as she walked past.   We hate the devil and his grip on these people who are precious to God.  The Love of God is unafraid of the manifestations of Satan's anger.  He's angry at the loss of his hold on people's lives.  He has to watch as people receive the love of God.  ...as they give God and His kingdom its rightful place in their lives.  The kingdom of God is a superior kingdom to the lesser kingdoms of Satan, and he has to watch and listen as the Love and light of God takes back its rightful place.

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 "We are destroying every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God 

and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

2 Cor 10:5 

"For in the day of evil He shall hide me in His shelter; 

in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; 

He shall set me up on a rock. "

Ps 27:5  

Truth vs. Lies

Today we listened for the lies at work in our neighborhood (yeah, it's ours now). Lies about who God is, and how involved He is with us - keeping people from seeing hope.  Lies that they are failures, leading to lies that they deserve their suffering, leading to lies that God doesn't exist, or if He does, He doesn't dearly love them.  


We've had enough of the devil's lies. We move in the opposite spirit from the one that's at work here.  Jesus loves with fire in His eyes, and He loves openly in the presence of the enemy.  We tell the truth to people about His deep love for them, and about His acceptance and forgiveness.  And We make no apologies for who He is.  God's Love is the truth.   

Psalm 23:5 "You prepare a table for me in the sight of my enemies..."

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B believes he's worthless and he doesn't deserve to be anything but a drunk- all day, every day.  The truth is that Jesus knows exactly what he made when He made you, B.  He made you like a vessel, perfectly designed to receive and respond to God.  And because you've suffered your whole life under this lie of worthlessness, Jesus has a special word for you about your value in God's eyes... You are precious to the heart of God, B.  In fact, you're like a son to God.  He treats you with tenderness and compassion, He knows you're weak. He will never speak harshly to you.  In fact, Jesus never stops speaking the truth of your value in His eyes-  let Him wash over you like water with words of life. Jesus dearly loves B.


Luke 8 and Mark 5: "Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, launched out, and sailed all night to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.  When He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit ran up to Him.  He was being tormented constantly, night and day, and was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains.   Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, and the demons came out of the man!  When the people went out to see what had happened; they found the man, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind...  then Jesus got into the boat and sailed all day back to Galilee."  

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S believes she has to be a prostitute to survive and she's ashamed to turn to Jesus because of how she lives her life.  Jesus knows all about your life, S... Every hope you have for something better... Every tear you've shed over what has become of you.  He's not ashamed to publicly call you His own, and to love you.  I can see Jesus welcoming, no, inviting the opportunity to be seen with you, saying "Yeah, she's with me. She's my special friend, and there's no one I'd rather be with.  No one will ever change my mind about that."  Jesus dearly loves S.

Luke 7:37-50 "there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that Jesus was reclining in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. 

      Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon the Pharisee, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.  For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."   Then He said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

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Many believe the enemy just has too much power here... he's everywhere you look. Now, that is just really a lie, because the bigger truth is that Satan is a loser, and he's afraid of the children of the kingdom of God when we love without fear. The truth is that Jesus is on the move.  We are praying for Him to come and take over.  We confront the darkness and lies with as much of the Spirit and Truth of God as we can carry, and we pray for more and more (hey... isn't there something about worshiping God in spirit and in truth...).  Jesus is on the move and the darkness cannot stay in His presence.