I have had the privilage to be at the Foursquare Missions Intensive this weekend.  

This conference has reignited what was already in my heart;  my call to reach out to Nations, people of all ethnicity, all walks of life with the Heart of Jesus, to tell a hurting people, those that are disenfranchised, outcast, lost about the great Love of my Lord and Savior, how He can help them overcome their old live and live a new one in Him, how they can be "saved."  

The call of Missions starts with us, it starts with "Inspiration" we must be inspired to reach a people; God must put a love for the people in our heart.  Then as God uses inspiration, it then leads to "Preparation" out of the inspiration we have we begin to prepare, in faith we move out to assemble a plan, once we are prepared we move on to "Activation;"  it is then that we begin to do something about the call and move of God in our hearts.  Then finally we move on to "Presentation," and that is where people see the heart of Jesus and get saved.

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send? and who shall go for us? And I said: Lo, here am I, send me.  ~ Isaiah 6:8

God is asking this very question to you, "whom shall I send, who will go!"   He is waiting for you to respond.  Interesting verse because Isaiah was the only one in the room when God asked this question.   And just like Isaiah God is asking you unique questions about your calling, about your mission, are you available, are you ready to answer that call?

We have been called to reach our Homes. our City, to Nations and to the ends of the earth:

But you shall receive power lwhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and myou shall be 3witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and nSamaria, and to the oend of the earth.”   ~Accts 1:8

Its time that we begin to seek God to move our hearts to be a greater force for the Kingdom of God.   It's time that we ask God to push us out of our comfort zones and into becoming the people He has called us to be.

It has been said that Family is God’s Masterpiece and this post is a tribute to my girls. 

To my wife Kellie the Bible says
 “A good wife is better than rubies.”

Better than one of the most beautiful and precious stones, and you are good wife, this Valentines Day I would tell you that you are more precious,  more beautiful and more valuable than any thing that I could acquire and more precious than anything this world might deem as precious, you are more than any of these.    I love you and not even words can express the love and value I have for you.   You are my love, my wife and my best friend and without you I would be less of a man.    Happy Valentines Day

To my Daughter Jax, what a wonderful treasure you are, often I think how crazy God was to entrust such wonderful and precious gifts to me.   Fathers love their daughters and today Jax I want to tell you that you are loved, you are valued and you are precious.   I have had the privilege and the honor to be called your Papa, your Daddy, your Dad, to see you grow into the wonderful person you have become, you are a good mama, a good wife a good daughter and I am so proud of you.  Thanks for being you, I know I can always count on you. Happy Valentines Day.

To my Daughter Victoria, you are sweet and helpful, I see so much of me in you, all the good things.  I cherish the moments I have encountered watching you grow and become a beautiful young woman.   You are dear to my heart, you are loved and you are valued and you are precious, when God made you He did a special work.   You are kept close in my prayers and my thoughts and in my heart.   Happy Valentines Day.

To my Birdie (Mackenzie,)  you stole my heart from day one.   Grandchildren are a Papa's reward, I want to tell you that there is no measure for the love your Poppy has for you.  Happy Valentines Day... P.S. Can't wait to Ice Skate...   To my lil Becca BooBoo (Rebecca,) you are quite a lil show stopper and I am so proud to be your grandpa, I love you mucho and I am so excited to see how your personality is growing.  When I look at you I see your mama, her smile and expressions, that's a good thing cause you got a good mama.  Love you Becca BooBoo.  Happy Valentines Day.

To my Ellie Girl, beautiful and smart just like your mama,  creative and artistic;  you are silly and quick witted like your Grandpa, I see a lot of me in you.  I am excited to see what God has in store for you and I believe that God will use you in a mighty and great way.   This Valentines Day I want you to know you are loved and precious and valued, that your Papa loves you and I can't wait to see you soon.   Happy Valentines Day.

A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. ~Ecclesiastes 3:4 

I am certain, that like me you have seen nothing but news about the pursuit and capture of Chris Dorner, and the distruction and disregard for life that he left in his wake.   My prayers and deepest condolences go out to the families who suffered the loss of their loved ones. 

What can we do in such a time, when we face the loss of ones dear to us, I believe that Soloman had this right in Ecc 3:4 when he said that there is an appropriate time to for eveything, now is a time to remember, to weap, to laugh, to mourn and then in due season a time that we learn to dance in the storm.   I cannot speak to the anguish, nor of the loss of those who have been impacted by this great tragedy, but I can offer my prayers, my thougts for you and your families.  I can tell you where I find comfort when I in the midsts of storms in my life.

I am encouraged to know when I am at my lowest point:

GOD WILL BLESS & COMFORT ME

When I am destroyed, when I mourn there is a God who will bless me and comfort me, He touch the very depths of my life to comfort me, He will send people to support me and to lift my head.  I have learned to look for the comfort, look for the things that made the difference so that if I experience trouble again I can spot out the blessings, the comfort that is promissed in this verse:

Matthew 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

I am encouraged to know that when I am at my lowest point:

GOD IS NEAR ME AND WILL SAVE ME IN MY ANGUISH

The first thing I feel when things fall apart, I believe that is the enemy of my soul (Satan) trying to make me believe God wont help me.   But I am encouraged that God is most near when I am broken, when I am empty, I am most blessed when I realize I need Him, when I need God, then it says He will draw near to me and raise me up from my brokeness.    See the comfort I recieve in this verse comes from the fact that I recognize that no one else can identify in my unique situation but God can, and it says that He draws near to save me from my brokeness, see He wont allow me to be crushed but will raise me up from the ahses to make beauty out of ugliness...

Psalm 34:18 ESV
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

GOD WILL MEND MY BROKENESS AND HEAL MY WOUNDS

The  problem with loss,  pain or angusih is that we never will be exactly the same, we are left scared by the situation.  

If it be the loss of a loved one, or some other tragedy we are changed so deeply by the pain of the loss; alone will never be the same.   I do believe this,  God can heal our brokeness, He can mend my wounds and beyond that He can work my tragidy, my loss, my brokeness to make me better, stronger.   Not immediately, not all at once, but I believe that God will work even the worst of situations out for my good, whether it be by my testimony, of  how he touched me in my greatest grief, or it be who  He used me to touch the lives of others, I will be changed, I will be transformed,  I will be blessed by the work of the testimony that He will give though the process.

Psalm 147:3 ESV

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds

Agian my heart goes out to all those who suffered loss in this situation and I pray that you recieve comfort, that God touches the deepest parts of your sould, that He guids you through the process of being healed.   

Had a wonderful opportunity to interview my good friend and mentor Pastor Alex Prokopchik on Saturday.  We celebrated his 40th birthday this last Saturday.   He text me earlier that weekend and asked  if I would assemble a list of questions to ask him, so that those who came to the celebreation would get to know him better (smart man.)   The following video is from that interview:

LA International Christian Center 

We have been in an awesome time at our Church with the School of Leaders;  last night I had the privilage to teach a wonderful group of leaders on the subject of being born again.    

One of the great privilages of learning/teaching the word of God is that,  God always has a way of bringing  fresh revelations that inturn cause growth.   As we press in and seek Him, He opens us to new revelation, new illuminations.   

What is the "Born Again" experience and what are the effects of this experience?

I believe a greatest summary of the what new life is, can be no better represented than by the story of the prodigal son and summerized by this process:

• Accept my need for saving
• Believing
• Repentance
• Forgiveness
• Yielding our lives to Christ Control

Luke 15:11-32 (read here)

We Were Living a Life in Need of Saving.

The prodigal son he ask's his father for his portion of the inheritance, and this passage tells us as soon as he recieved his portion he left to spend it in a foriegn land on wild living.    

Before Christ we lived wildly squandering the purpose and plans that God had for us on fast living.   We were as Paul said in "Romans 7" the worst of sinners.

In verse 17 it says that He came to himself, that is (Recognizing the Need for Saving.)

We Must Believe Christ Paid The Debit and Has the Power to Save Us

Verse 17, goes on to say how he recognizes that his father has everything he needs and can meet his needs.

Recognizing My Need For Repentance

Verse 18, the son recognizes the need for repentance and he tells his father "I have sinned."   No excuses, no reasons why, just an honest confession to a God who "allready knows what you did." 

We Must Accept Forgiveness

Verse 22, I love this verse, because his father did not give him what he deserved but instead gave him what he didn't deserve.   He forgave him, so too often we cannot forgive ourselves, or others but forgiveness should be just as much received as it is extended.   We need to forgive ourselves and out of the forgiveness we have received forgive others.

Yielding our lives to Christ Control

Verse 22, the father restored his son to the place under his covering and control and received him back into the family.  We must give over our lives to Christ's care and control, we must invite him into the most personal places of our lives and allow Him to influence them.

I would like to invite you to come be a part of our School of Leaders.

LAICC 5833 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Valley Village, CA - Wednesday Nights at 7:00 PM