Power in Weakness

The morning after Thanksgiving the Lord burdened me with the subject of the coming end time apostasy. I know, I know – it’s not exactly what most people are thinking about after a day of turkey, family gatherings, and street parades. That morning I was reading about the deceptive harlot of Revelation 17 and 18, and suddenly I felt compelled to pray for my friends and family to be prepared for what is to come in the near future. I have been praying that we would have spiritual discernment in this hour. There are several direct prophecies about the end time falling away in Scripture, and there are a few indirect allusions to it as well. In short, the Bible makes it clear that a time is coming when many who call themselves Christians will turn away from the faith and deny the Lord. It is massively important that we understand this concept, and if you get anything out of what I am about to write next, I would have you think to yourself: "Wow - I need to read for myself about t

In 2 Thessalonians 1:11 the Apostle Paul prays that the church would “walk worthy of this calling.” This prayer may sound odd to many people. Walk worthy? Aren’t we made worthy by the blood of Jesus and the free gift of righteousness? Well, yes – we have been made worthy, in that sense. It is true that we have been given access to grace beyond measure, unconditional forgiveness, and even eternal life with God. But many saved believers with the free gift of righteousness are not walking worthy of their calling. They are not actively pursuing obedience in every area of their life. They may be banking on an eternal existence in heaven and relishing the forgiveness they have received, but meanwhile they live a life that is mostly self-consumed. The apostle’s prayer exhibits God’s own desire for his children to live worthy of their calling; holy lifestyles that are fervent, humble, and obsessed with the Kingdom of God coming to earth. To walk worthy of our calling mea

The second goal of corporate prayer is unity with one another . When the Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost, they left no detailed descriptions of that famous upper room prayer meeting that preceded it - only the terse inscription of Acts 2:1 - "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." These brothers and sisters were operating out of 40 straight days of fresh encounters with the living Christ. In this place of unity with the living God, they moved into unity with one another. It is good and pleasant when brethren dwell together in unity! As Psalm 133 declares, it is "like the precious oil upon the head...for there the Lord commanded the blessing - life forevermore" (v.2-3). Once the anointing flows from the Head of the church, Jesus, on to His body in prayerful unity there comes with it a mighty blessing from the Father Himself. This may sound foolish and impractical, but the best way to maintain unity with one another

God is shaking the foundations of the church and turning our hearts back to our First Love. He is restoring the tabernacle of David, a house of worship and prayer that will be the centerpiece of every other form of ministry. Even as Jesus was zealous for the temple of the Jews in the first century to be cleansed of idolatry and to become a "house of prayer for all nations" once again, He is zealous in our day to do the same in every church, ministry, and Christian University that bears His name. The current financial crisis that so many are experiencing is only a hint of the great shaking that is to come upon the entire church, and then the whole world. Will we learn to build our lives and ministries on the Rock of His Kingdom through intimacy with Him, or will we stay upon the sand of worldly wisdom and charismatic personalities? The alarm is sounding: drop your other ambitions and worries and make prayer the first priority once again. Only gold refined in this heavenly

It’s one of the sweetest scenes in the Scriptures; a radiant picture of grace in a room full of cold stares and shadows. You can almost smell the perfume emanating from the page… In Luke 7 we are shown a portrait of mercy like no other. In a house of feasting religious leaders, a “sinful woman” is kneeling behind Jesus with unmasked gratitude. She came with the intention of anointing his feet with perfume, but before she could even begin she broke down and found herself weeping on hands and knees. When she first walked in she was a spectacle; now she was on the verge of being the laughingstock of the party, maybe the whole town. The other elite guests mused to themselves, If the man she honored were truly a prophet and knew all things, he would surely scorn this harlot. He would cast her away in a second. She was a sinner; what does a holy man have to do with sin? Despite their thoughts, Jesus says nothing as awkward silence creeps into the mini-festival and the woman goes on to pour f

As we pursue a life of abandonment to God through prayer and worship we are inevitably bound to run into obstacles along the way. This should come as no real surprise - there is nothing that hell fears more than a son or daughter of God that is bent upon seeking the Kingdom first in this way. If you feel like you are the only one that is struggling to answer the call to “pray and fast” in a way that is exceptional in western Christianity, do no fear – you are not alone. True surrender to Jesus does not come naturally. I should tell you up front that it will be one of the greatest battles of your life. The devil, the world, and even your own sinful flesh are raging against you, and rare are the friends that will encourage you in these noble heavenly pursuits. Yet Jesus does not leave us unequipped. The Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7, gives a map for holy living that starts and ends with radical prayer. However, the way is different than one might think. To most Christians, th

Wednesday, the 24th of September, marked the first day of a call to forty days of fasting and prayer for the state of California. On November 1st there will be a solemn assembly in San Diego at the Qualcomm Stadium where thousands of people will cry out to God for mercy on our state and on our nation. God is calling watchmen of all ages and social statuses to the wall of intercession in this urgent hour. Whether or not you are aware of it, the spiritual condition of California is at RED ALERT right now. The sphere of current politics is a window into the spiritual darkness that is accumulating over our state. Recently the Supreme Court of California legalized homosexual marriage. Currently a bill is awaiting acceptance that will commemorate every May 22nd as a day to celebrate the life of Harvey Milk, a politician that is known for improving the rights of homosexuals in various ways. After the court legalized homosexual marriage the mayor of San Francisco boasted, "As

I had been asking the Lord for weeks what the vision was for Vanguard. I knew I was going back to the school of my alumni for more than just academics. As important as theology classes and a degree may be, I knew there was more to it than that, something even more important than good grades, open career doors, and acquired knowledge. As I neared Christmas of ’07, a month before I would move to Southern California, a phrase popped into my mind – “messengers of fire.” The phrase is from Psalm 104:4: God “makes His angels spirits, His servants [or messengers] a flame of fire.” The reference is particularly speaking of the angels that are closest to God’s throne that are filled with His fire to do His will, but the Lord breathed on this verse and gave it a new context – bondservants of Christ that are filled with the fire of His Spirit. I began to ask the Lord that He would raise up messengers of fire from the dorms and classrooms of Vanguard that would eventually be