"After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See I have gained five more.'
His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come, share in your master's happiness.'"
-Matthew 25:19-21

Tonight, seventeen of us who have been praying in the prayer room these past 31 days came to celebrate what God has done, and to bring closure to our month. We dwelt on this scripture. God gave us a month to pray (our five bags of gold), and we are returning to him now with all the fruit of this month, all of our changed hearts, all of our spoken and unspoken prayers. We were faithful!! And not only is our Master pleased with us, but he wants to give us more.

Thank you to all of you who prayed and opened your hearts to God this month. Get ready for whatever God wants to give us next!!!

in conclusion:

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart." 2 Cor. 4:1

yeah... it's true.

Rejoice Always!! PRAISE THE LORD!!

PRAISE THE LORD!! I SAY IT WITH A SHOUT AGAIN PRAISE THE LORD!!

Therefore my brothers you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything. but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


I love all of you my brothers and sisters becuase God has made you special! You are a glorious creation and he has been Glorified and Honored because of your faith. Your passion for prayer and passion for His name honors him every day and He is going to do a new thing in Moscow Idaho. The Lord is going to annoint you with power from on high and you are going to be his witnesses! You already are his witnesses! Praise the Lord! Be encouraged! Remember the joy of the Lord is our strength and we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! This is not the end of 24 7 prayer, this is only the beginning. There will be a 24 7 prayer house in moscow becuase God is going to answer our prayers! Begin thanking him now for what he is already going to do through you! He is victorious and is going to build up the 24 7 prayer in our town!

Amen

En Fuego

Light up the earth with our wild-eyed burning for you Jesus. Set your Acts two flame to ours icy stoic hearts. Snuggle up close to us with your Olympic-Torch-style love and light us up. Then launch us Houston, burning but not consumed, through the atmosphere- each one with a destination imprinted in our minds. Hundreds of vision-filled students flung to the nations, streaking across the night sky, a sight that can't be ignored.
Your kingdom Come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Dwelling in His Presence

A month of unbroken prayer is coming to an end. Or is it? We may not show up to this house on the corner of Sixth and Jefferson every day after today...but it never was about taking refuge in the Nealon's house. It was about finding refuge in the shadow of the Lord's wings. It was about making His presence our dwelling. It was about abiding in Him. Psalm 91, my psalm for the day is all about that. So was psalm 61. So was psalm 31.

I've also been reading Joshua lately. I've been thinking about what made Joshua fit in the Lord's eyes to be the man to take over the reigns of leadership after Moses. I think the secret lies in his thirst for the presence of God. Look at what Exodus 33:7-11 has to say on this issue:

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting" Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrance to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

This prayer room is a bit like the tent of meeting. We come here to meet face to face with the Lord, as a man speaks with his friend. When others hear that we are doing this it causes them to stand and worship the Lord. But the Lord is looking for Joshua's who will not leave the tent, when the appointed time is over. Oh, the tent itself, this house on Sixth street may not be open after today...but the Lord has made his tent in each of our hearts and he's inviting us to be a people of His presence. There's no reason why that two hour slot you signed up for can't continue...in the comfort of your own home. In fact, there's no reason that you can't keep a 24/7 vigil of hosting his presence all on your own everywhere you go. Let's pray like we breathe. When we're doing homework, it's "holy, holy, holy!" When we're doing dishes it's "holy, holy, holy!" When we're at a bible study it's "holy, holy, holy!" When we're loving the student who seems downright antagonistic to all that we hold dear, it's "holy, holy, holy!" When we choose to dwell in the One who chose to dwell in us, we become the people like Joshua who get to take the promised land for the Kingdom of God. Walls will start tumbling down. Rivers at flood level will not stop us from our destiny. "Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent". I'm leaving this house for now, but I'm not leaving the tent. Anyone with me?

"I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings" - Psalm 61:4

"How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues." - Psalm 31:19-20

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." - Psalm 91:4

Is It Really Time?

Today is March 31, the last day of our month of prayer.

I'll admit, March 1, I had some doubts that we would make it. I mean, we have done a week before and it is always an uphill climb.

But it was different this time. Jesus clearly moved at jesustherevolution and fanned the flame of prayer in our hearts like never before. And instead of just letting that die or having one "spiritual" week following our conference high, we dove headlong into the craziness of the Spirit.

We invited others in, and Chi Alpha, InterVarsity, CCF, Campus Crusade, Moscow First Presbyterian Church and other groups and individuals answered the call. They have stood watch of the wall and waited, listened and called out to the eternal God.

We prayed through Spring Break. We prayed through a campus wide outreach event.

Freshman prayed.
Seniors prayed.
Grown up church people prayed.

We cried, laughed, dozed off, sang and lived more abundantly than imaginable.

Some of us rediscovered a passion for prayer; a precious gift that we had lost in the business of life. Some of us have newly discovered that we can pray; a new gift that has opened up new possibilities and intimacy in our lives.

God made us more pure and refined out the hidden shame of our hearts. God showed us grace that shocked us into knowing Him again.

We prayed through Lent. We allowed our sinful natures to be nailed to the cross.

Then, we were transformed by Easter. We allowed ourselves to receive the gift of resurrection.

We brought friends into the presence of God and watched them be surprised by His love. We ran to this place in times of despair, knowing someone would be here to pray for us.

Thank you friends. Thank you for faithful, creative, loud, reflective, intimate, intercessory, Spirit-led, contemplative prayers.

We will figure out a way to open this space again, but the same Spirit that rose Christ Jesus from the grave goes with us from this place.

I love you all,
Jeremiah

Word

There is one word that God has been saying to me lately.

The word is: Come.

Come follow Me.
Come BE with Me.
Come love.
Come pray.
Come praise!
Come cry.
Come sleep.
Come rest.
Come fly.
Come fall.
Come.

The question is, "Will you choose to come to Jesus?"

If you have FAITH

JESUS REPLIED, "I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, IF YOU HAVE FAITH AND DO NOT DOUBT, NOT ONLY CAN YOU DO WHAT WAS DONE TO THE FIG TREE, BUT ALSO YOU CAN SAY TO THIS MOUNTAIN, 'GO, THROW YOURSELF INTO THE SEA,' AND IT WILL BE DONE.

IF YOU BELIEVE, YOU WILL RECEIVE WHATEVER YOU ASK FOR IN PRAYER."

- Matthew 21:21-22



"Live by FAITH, not by SIGHT."

God

God spoke to me today. He said, "Live by faith, not by sight."

LIVE by FAITH, NOT by SIGHT.

Jesus, my King, my Rock, the Way, the Truth, the Life, help me learn to trust you as I pray for the campus to FALL IN LOVE with You, as I pray for my future, and my present. Thank you, God, for speaking to me today in the silence and in the music. Thank you for letting me know that you are there with me today, the next day, and the day after that and... FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!

CMAC

Where is SPRING?

It's snowing... again.

REALLY SNOWING.

At first, I groaned and became a little frustrated. But the snow has reminded me to be patient for Spring and when it FINALLY does come (AND IT WILL!), we will appreciate it more.

In God's time, not ours. It makes me think about things I have been waiting for in my life, the campus, and those I love. It is up to God when He wants Spring in my life and in others to happen. We have to remain faithful, trust in Him, and be patient. It's HIS time, not ours because He knows what is best for us.

And when the time FINALLY COMES for all the things that we have hoped and prayed for... we will only be able to APPRECIATE IT MORE!

no excuses

Sometimes when I see other people being bold in the faith and going out and telling people about Jesus, I get encouraged because it's awesome that they're doing that, but I just stand and watch. I would love to do that more, but I feel like I need to grow in the faith more myself before I can be qualified to go out and minister to others. Excuses come up like "I've only been a Christian for _____ years (or months or whatever)" or "I don't know enough" or "They're more godly people than I am". Excuses from Satan!

I was just reading in Acts- Saul's conversion to be precise (Acts 9). Now Saul had a pretty nasty history of persecuting Christians. It's crazy enough that he became a Christian himself, but the really crazy part I think, is how quickly he took to ministry. Saul hung around Damascus for three days before this Ananias fellow came and healed him. And then (Acts 9:19-20) 'Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying "He is indeed the Son of God!"'

Did you see that word? Immediately! He didn't sit around for _____ years working up the "knowledge base" about Christianity or getting a righteous reputation under his belt. He started immediately! He obeyed, and the Spirit went with Him, and the rest my friends, is history (as well as half the new testament!)

So if Saul went from arresting any Christian he could find to preaching about Jesus in a matter of days, then I certainly have no excuse not to get out there and be bold and obey as well.

A belated post...

Mar. 25, 2008
I pray for you to bless the UI campus and bring your spirit forth on the campus and help us as Christians to show love so that we may transform our campus as others do the same so that we might avoid any future loss, pain, and conflict. Job 9:1-20-world refuses to realize that they can't get rid of God, can't argue with him and winPsalm 69:1-2-we are ever sinking into our win and will not be able to get out of it on our own and we are nearing a time where we need to cry out to God to have him redeem us.

God:Reach out to others. Don't be afraid to stand up for Christianity when its put down in classrooms. Minister to your fellow students every chance you get.

I just feel that God wants me to challenge all of you to praying the Prayer of Jabez. Its a great little prayer that Bruce Wilkinson found and has written The Breakthrough Series on it. The Prayer is: "Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge me territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I would not cause pain!" from 1 Chronicles 4:10 (part of the verse).I want to challenge you to pray this prayer every day for at least a week-through it God will do amazing things through you when you pray it fullheartedly. Also if you read the breakout series-this gives you so much to think about and apply to your life right now. Its in Christian Book Distributors for a fair price.

God: Spread the Word as I instructed thee to do so. Share my love with others so that I might share mine with you. Add to the multitudes and herd. Step out of comfort zones and help those in need.

Be active in the community (food and clothing bank at the Church of Nazarene in Moscow-always willing to take in volunteers. Put Bible verses on your doors-maybe something like a daily verse. Combine forces with others (i.e. WSU, different churches). When we stand together, that is when we are the strongest. Get active in local churches. Pray for others and even offer to pray for someone when they seem to be having a hard time. Even if you get a weird look or rude comment, we can pray for them because only God can change people's hearts. We need a revival in people's hearts here at the UI. Psalm 71:24-God doesn't always wnat us to do what is convenient for us. Sometimes we need to work around our schedules for Him. Continue to Pray for the campus even after the full month of prayer is up. We always need prayer. The Bible Study I attend has taken on the idea of praying for our campus before we even begin. When we call, God is there for us-we just need to call out.

Could we even maybe try to get some Christian bands up here for a concert on campus-it may be difficult, but why not? We have all these events that promote the UI and all sorts of activities that the UI puts on, but what about promoting Jesus?

Well, that was quite a lot in a short amount of time. I hope you all take what I heard and said to heart or even with a grain of salt. Thanks!God Bless you all!

Not "if" but "WHEN"

God has been impressing upon me that no matter what, there will be a day when all of the prayers offered in this room will be answered. God will make all things new (Rev. 21) So, when we pray here we shouldn't say "...if God answers my prayers", we should say "...when God answers my prayers!" What we can think of to ask for in this room is only a tiny taste of HOW GOOD its going to be when God makes all things new! Come, Lord Jesus!! Bring it on!!

Let go, Let God

"There are people who can walk away from you. And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk. I don’t want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you.

When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left. The Bible said that, “They went out from us, but they were never really part of us. If they had been, they would have stayed with us. But by leaving they made it clear that none of them were part of us.” [1 John 2:19]

People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can’t make them stay. Let them go. And it doesn’t mean that they are a bad person it just means that their part in the story is over. And you’ve got to know when people’s part in your story is over so that you don’t keep trying to raise the dead.

You’ve got to know when it’s dead. You’ve got to know when it’s over. Let me tell you something. I’ve got the gift of good-bye. It’s the tenth spiritual gift; I believe in good-bye. It’s not that I’m hateful. It’s that I’m faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He’ll give it to me. And if it takes too much sweat, I don’t need it. Stop begging people to stay. Let them go!"

by: T. D. Jakes

Influential Verses

Chapters of Ephesians

4:25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Check out Ephesians 6:10-19 -- The Armor of God
- Belt of truth
- Breastplate of righteousness
- Shoes of readiness
- Shield of faith
- Helmet of salvation
- Sword of the Spirit

Let us put our confidence in Him

The Lord revealed to me through his scriptures that we often put our confidence in the flesh. However this ought not to be brothers and sisters! Let us boast in God and put our confidence in his Holy Spirit and not our flesh! I don't have alot of time so I have to paraphrase quickly, but read Philippians chapter 3, and meditate on Paul's writing. Therefore I put no confidence in the flesh.

I know now that 24 7 prayer can become a year long reality if we put our confidence in God and seek his will. Talk to your church and get them involved in this and put your confidence in God. When I am walking the road of life, I have to remind myself, Am I putting confidence in my flesh, or in God?

When I am struggling with sin am I putting confidence in my flesh, or in God to conquer sin?

When I am asking for the salvation of my unsaved friends am I putting my confidence in my ability to pray and say the right things to them, or am I putting my confidence in the power of God's holy spirit to bring conviction into their life?

God can do anything! Pray with confidence in His Holy Spirit to do miracles in our community!

LOVE!!!

love /lʌv/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[luhv] - noun, verb, loved, lov·ing.

–noun

1.	a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

2.	a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

3.	sexual passion or desire.

4.	a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.

5.	(used in direct address as a term of endearment, affection, or the like): Would you like to see a movie, love?

6.	a love affair; an intensely amorous incident; amour.

7.	sexual intercourse; copulation.

8.	(initial capital letter) a personification of sexual affection, as Eros or Cupid.

9.	affectionate concern for the well-being of others: the love of one's neighbor.

10.	strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything: her love of books.

11.	the object or thing so liked: The theater was her great love.

12.	the benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God.

13.	Chiefly Tennis. a score of zero; nothing.

14.	a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter L.

–verb (used with object)

15.	to have love or affection for: All her pupils love her.

16.	to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person).

17.	to have a strong liking for; take great pleasure in: to love music.

18.	to need or require; benefit greatly from: Plants love sunlight.

19.	to embrace and kiss (someone), as a lover.

20.	to have sexual intercourse with.

–verb (used without object)

21.	to have love or affection for another person; be in love.

—Verb phrase

22.	love up, to hug and cuddle: She loves him up every chance she gets.

—Idioms

23.	for love, a. out of affection or liking; for pleasure. b. without compensation; gratuitously: He took care of the poor for love.

24.	for the love of, in consideration of; for the sake of: For the love of mercy, stop that noise.

25.	in love, infused with or feeling deep affection or passion: a youth always in love.

26.	in love with, feeling deep affection or passion for (a person, idea, occupation, etc.); enamored of: in love with the girl next door; in love with one's work.

27.	make love, a. to embrace and kiss as lovers. b. to engage in sexual activity.

28.	no love lost, dislike; animosity: There was no love lost between the two brothers.

---

[Origin: bef. 900; (n.) ME; OE lufu, c. OFris luve, OHG luba, Goth lubō; (v.) ME lov(i)en, OE lufian; c. OFris luvia, OHG lubōn to love, L lubére (later libére) to be pleasing; akin to lief]

—Synonyms 1. tenderness, fondness, predilection, warmth, passion, adoration. 1, 2. Love, affection, devotion all mean a deep and enduring emotional regard, usually for another person. Love may apply to various kinds of regard: the charity of the Creator, reverent adoration toward God or toward a person, the relation of parent and child, the regard of friends for each other, romantic feelings for another person, etc. Affection is a fondness for others that is enduring and tender, but calm. Devotion is an intense love and steadfast, enduring loyalty to a person; it may also imply consecration to a cause. 2. liking, inclination, regard, friendliness. 15. like. 16. adore, adulate, worship.

—Antonyms 1, 2. hatred, dislike. 15, 16. detest, hate.

I feel that as I have come in, I am faced with so many signs of love!!
It is so magnificent and splendid!!!

I felt drawn to show my love and appreciation for all as I looked around at all the things on the walls. But I also felt apprehension as I started posting things around because I felt that somehow I was ignoring some bigger picture. But then I remembered.

It is because of His love that we are here. That's SO GREAT!!!! It is because of Him that we can live and love others as He has loved us!

And so I have become alive again in my love for others, and it feels GOOD. And in my prayers I focused on the love that is all around us, and in the love we must show for others around us. I believe that through His love, all can be saved! And I only hope that I can love others as much as one iota of His love for us!!!


-DTA

mocked by "what if"

Do you ever feel like you are mocked with who you could be? Maybe it is how you could look, or the grades you could get. Maybe it is the car you could drive or the success you could be. Maybe as Christians we can struggle with this more, because we are aware of what we give up for the sake of Jesus. We can say that we could be trendy and cool, but we know that God has His heart set on more important things. I guarantee you that after you graduate that your non-Christian friends will start to buy cooler things thing you. Maybe even get more impressive sounding jobs. They will also have this annoying habit of doing what they want to do. They will take jobs because those jobs sound cool. They will move places because they like the weather. Meanwhile, you may quickly grow either arrogant or bitter about your own life of submission to the will of Jesus. On Monday you may covet your buddies job, car or overall since of blissful hedonism. On Tuesday you may just feel superior. Wednesday? Maybe, if your like me, you will score one day of just being so in love with what Jesus is doing in your life, all those days of coveting or acting superior will feel silly.

I am just curious tonight how I try to exact control in a lifestyle that Jesus has made so out of control. When do I take this "what if" into the way I do ministry? Or the way I conduct friendships? Or even pray? Do I do ministry bitter that it cannot be the ideal that is in my head? Do I try to have perfect friendships, then grow bitter and pull out of them because they cannot measure up to my "what if"? Do I pray thinking "why doesn't God make this perfect and easy"?

I think that I do. I think that we all do. It is really stinking hard to keep perspective in all areas of ones life at once.

I just want to encourage you to let Jesus remind you of the blessings that you have in your life. Stop for one night thinking about "what if" and think more about how good it is to be caught up in Jesus' story. Our lives are amazing, simply by the company we get to keep with Jesus.

Oh Lord, help us understand and believe that we are people that are living lives that are defined by Your infinite imagination! Restore any lost sense of joy in our hearts! Please Jesus, we need SO much more of You! And we need to see how much of You we have!

I Believe

You are blessed, because you believed that the Lord would do what He said
Luke 1:45 (NLT)

Recently I've come to notice how completely awesome belief is. There's more than just saying you believe in God and the Bible and going to church and praying. There's this new level that I've just recently broken into. I can't pinpoint the exact moment.. Sometime either last semester or this semester (sure doesn't narrow it down any), where I just have more belief. That God will do what He says He's going to do, and that He will answer when I pray. It's not just casual prayer- run through the shopping list of things I want to see happen and people I want to see touched and how I want God to speak to me- and then go about my business as usual. There's been a shift. There's more expectation now. I don't just upload my prayers to the big guy and then not think about them again. When I ask God to teach me something, I actually wait until He does, because He says He will. And let me tell you, God speaks a lot more when I expect Him to talk and thus actually listen. When I pray, I expect God to answer. When I pray for this campus, I expect to see God bombs exploding all over the place. When I pray for healing, I expect Him to show up. That blows my mind- when we can pray for some miraculous healing and then look and completely expect to see a miracle. For a group of people to be confused when an incurable disease doesn't disappear on the spot- that takes Jesus.
Prayer is not powerless. Prayer moves the heart of God. He longs to answer prayer. We just need to make sure that we really expect Him to answer, and aren't just sending up a list of "hm, well, wouldn't it be nice if...". There is no room for doubt. Which is still a huge struggle, especially when praying for the more outlandish things. So I just pray for more belief and more confidence, that doubt and wavering would not be an obstacle to everything God wants for us to live in.

If you need wisdom- if you want to know what God wants you to do- ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that you really expect Him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord
James 1:5-7

They say...

If I can spend one hour with a friend, why can't I spend one hour with my BEST Friend and my Father?

They say you should spend at least 30 minutes with God everyday and if you're busy... you should spend an hour :)

Praying

I am praying for the "Do You See Orange" campaign. I am praying that people will stop using excuses and not make "money," an issue, but actually take a stand!

10 dollars can go to other things, but instead, it can make a difference in a child's life.

I pray that God uses the color orange to make people SEE that they can be a part of a change, a movement, and everyone is connected. That we are all ONE body of Christ even if the children are across the world.

Change their hearts, Lord. Soften their hearts and help them open their eyes. When I speak, help me show them they SHOULD care for Your children, their brothers, and sisters. And Lord, help me remember that it's not me who is doing the most persuading, but it's YOU.

God, my beautiful Father and friend, everything is POSSIBLE through You.

I love you, Jesus.

the signs of God

I have never, out of all the times I have been in here, looked at the magazines sitting on the table. I am still looking for some kind of excitement for the trip that God seems to be sending me on this summer. I have had a strong compulsion to Cambodia since I was 16 and now it looks like I will be going there this summer. the problem is that I am lacking enthusiasm for this trip, this is something that has been pulling at my heart for 5 yrs and here i am with no excitement for it. i have been praying for the excitement to return. It, for some reason occurs to me that I should look at the magazines, the very top magazine has a cover story about cambodia, sadly, half of the story is missing so i didnt really read it but i kinda perused it, i had my heart strings pulled a little, i pray that this is God's way of rekindling some passion in my heart for this country.
traci

Sometimes I'm not a very good friend

So say you have this friend, and you get rejected by this friend. I'm sure it's happened to all of us. It's kind of like oooooh buuuurrn. And say they give you some lame sauce excuse that ends up not even being the truth (hence the lame sauce). Then it's like ooooooh double burn with a splash of jealousy.

I was in here earlier today and asked God to teach me something, and that's what he talked to me about. So God has this friend. Her name is me. I say we're friends, but sometimes when He wants to hang out with me (all the time right?) I reject Him. I make up some lame sauce excuse like ooh I'm too busy, I'll hang out with you when I have more time..
Buuurrrrrn.
He just wants to be near me, be a part of my life, but I push Him away because I have "more important things" to do. If God feels anything like I do when I get "buuuuurrrn"-ed, that's gotta sting. And then my excuse? Too busy? With what? Facebook? Lame. Sauce. School gets in the way a lot too. "I'd love to talk to you God and read Your book, but I have SO MUCH HOMEWORK AGH!" And then most of my "homework time" is actually spent trying to find ways to not do my homework.

So I just picture God up there looking down venting to an angel or something "Good gravy, first off, she doesn't want to hang out with me because she says she has schoolwork to do. Doesn't she know that I'm cooler than homework? I can even do her homework with her! And to top it off, she's not even doing her homework! What a lame sauce excuse! She's sitting there twiddling her thumbs and checking her facebook every .0000253 seconds! Gah, I just want to hang out with and talk to my friend!"

So right now I'm going to refocus myself and commit to putting God first. (I actually tried that earlier today but I already failed, so I'm recommitting again now.) Homework will always be there. God'll always be there too, but I like Him more than homework, and He likes me a lot more than homework does (hw tends to hate my guts).
If I feel like I need some God time, but have a lot to do, I'm not going to put Him off like I usually do. I'm gonna take my God time first. And really, if I have a lot to do, what better way to start than to ask God for focus and discipline and get some other stressors off my back? No more school and friends and facebook and naps and........ getting in the way. God time is a bigger priority starting now. Especially with the prayer room ending soon- it'll be a lot harder when I don't have an hour or so carved out each day specifically for God. But I'm determined. God give me strength and focus and desire and grace when I stumble. I just want to be a good friend. That's all. No more lame sauce excuses.
God, forgive me for the wasted time.

prayer room.

Can you believe it's our last week in the Prayer Room?

I want to spend everyday in here. I don't want it to go away.

Can't we keep it? Maybe not for 24/7, but just a place to getaway and BE with God...

I love the Prayer Room. I feel God's presence to be the STRONGEST here...

all i have to do is say yes

something that I have kinda wanted to do for the past five years has presented itself to me for this summer and all I have to do is say yes, which at this moment I know that I will. the only problem is that I feel nothing for it right now, for that matter i am not entirely sure i feel a heck of a lot for anything right now.

Ever since I was 16 i have had a very strong calling toward cambodia and over those five yrs, this calling has made more and more since and i realized in november that God was calling me to missions there. after i went to wild i applied for a global urban trek to cambodia, i was amazingly excited about it. then some not so happy things happened in my life and i was told in the midst of it that i probably wouldnt be going to cambodia because i wasnt qualified. i had come to terms with the fact that i would very likely be going to india, i was just waiting to be declined for the cambodia trip, but instead of declined i was accepted. now i am still a bit in shock. and i have no passion either way for this trip i have in some way or another wanted to go on since i was 16. I spent a lot time in conversation with Jesus praying for some passion, even if it is fear. I am flat line about it and i want not to be because im going, yes i am going.
traci

sometimes the conundrum of living a life of paradoxes eats away at me. there are days when I am full of the joy of the Lord, and I can't really hide it. there are also days when I feel the pain of self-sacrifice, the difficulty in trusting God and an overall inner chaos.

the best days, I find, are when I am not sitting on either extreme, but I'm right in the middle. Paul calls it being "perplexed, but not in despair" (2 Cor. 4). he later emphasizes how, above all other things, He longs to know Christ; he recognizes that he has not fully reached that goal, but he will press on until it happens, and not let anything hinder him (Phil. 3). if we go back a thousand years or so, David had pretty much the same thing in mind. in Psalm 119 he asks God (among lots of other great things) to open his eyes, "that I may see wonderful things in your law" (v.18). Later we see that while he longs for understanding from God, he will hold out in faith because of what God has already done: "My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life" (v.50).

today has been a day of extremity in the wrong direction. but just being able to do what David did - coming into the presence of the Lord (Psalm 73:17) - is revelatory and beautiful and good and full of balance and LIFE.

I don't know what each day will hold. I can't even always expect to understand it. but just taking a minute, or an hour, or even a week to hear God's voice is not just a blessing, but a vital component if I'm going to make it.

I came in today and felt despairing and empty; I'm leaving full of perplexity... and peace.

God seriously is good all of the time.

Journaling

I don't journal very often, certainly not on a regular basis, but I thought, when I was signing of for a two hour shift in the prayer room, I would bring along my little used notebook. Over the last two years I have generated seven pages of journal entries on five different dates, so I was looking forward to spending some time writing about whatever seems spiritually relevant. Typically my journal entries are of poor quality as far as legibility and grammar are concern but always give me a chance to process information in a way that I normally don't. When I got here I started by reading the posting on the wall and on the blog site and was struck by one of those ideas that you know instantly is the right one and that willing or not you are going to do. So instead of putting some thoughts done on paper I am going to ramble on in the electronic realm for a while.

One of the first things I notice about the numerous and widely varied wall posting (and the bloggings, too) is that everything seems to be upbeat, and hopeful, even on the most serious of matters. I don't really know why this stuck out to me so much. My guess is that I am so haunted by the knowledge of my own short comings in any moral or religious sense. One of the main reasons I had become so detached from any mainstream Christian groups in the last couple of years stems from the epiphany of how hopelessly far short I fall of God's ideal and the equal hopelessness of me trying to be a good moral person on my own. The bible does say trust in God, presumable being hopeful and optimist, if you can call waiting for God to answer a pray as simple optimism. Should we have a sober, even pessimistic, view of the problems in the world and in ourselves? Does following Christ through thick and thin, even through our own failures, shortcomings, and self-delusions create that optimism? Is it this place that is set aside as a place to meet God give a feeling of hope that I often find to be absent in the rest of the world? I guess I haven't got past the view of my own miserable, abject failure to be a good person or even a person who would be worth of God's grace to see that hope that He should generate.
I suppose that brings me to the second thing I notice about the writings here and so much of what the outside world claims is 'christianity'. The christian jigonsim, the stock sayings, and over quoted bits of isolated scripture. I know why the repetition of this rhetoric bothers me. It is because I used it so well and for so long to fool myself into thinking I was a good Christian person. I find that it is easy of words or phase both good and bad to lose meaning and impact with over use. That saying something becomes just that, an empty saying, heavy on connotation and a desire to fit in but low on the real truth. I hope that these posting are sincere and that this place of pray and worship breeds honest words that reflect what God is really saying, not what we have already decided that He should say because it meets our ends and desires or because it makes us look good, like some one who belongs. I pray that this is a place to be honest with ourselves (myself) and with God, and that what we (I) hear come from Him not from our (my) own selfish motivations.
I thinking that the back of the door leading outside my be the most important of the many papers plastered here. Those that remind and encourage that, unlike Los Vegas, what happens here does not and should not stay here. The messages and the movings of God are meant to continue after we leave here. This is just a starting place, a place to get tuned into God. I think I have always found that call to action particularly challenging. Not the remembering to pray or think about what God has said by the the socially awkward abnormal applications of Christianity in the 'real' world. Even just the fact that following Christ is not a part time occupation but is a radical new standard to follow for every spur of the moment inspiration to the long planned and intentional actions that seem strange and out of character to those who know us best. Disobeying that social pressure to be normal (not even cool, but just normal) is hard. I have always found that being blatantly, flamboyantly Christian is hard, even when it is no big deal. The little things like saying 'because I am Christian' or the simple action you know is right and really isn't anything major have always come as a major challenge. Until it becomes dangerous to thing about my failings to step up to the plate and make the right choice or say the right thing because of the abject depression that can result from taking the time to have an honest look at how well I have been following God.

I noticed that my pronouns got mess and swung back and forth, from the plural to the personal, and I apologize if I sounded preachy. Hope my rambling e-journal was less preachy and negative than it was constructive and honest.

P.S. Thanks to spell checker the spelling should be passable, I will, however, have to resist the temptation to modify what I have put down and will leave even the grammatical errors in peace. Of you go to the electronic public.

...

This is my cry, my heart's desire
Just to be where you are Lord now and forever

it's more than a song, my one desire

is to be with you, is to be with you, Jesus

may your hearts burn

Resurrection Sunday. Really every day since the original Resurrection Sunday has been a resurrection day, for He has risen and his resurrection power is ever available. I read all the resurrection accounts this morning. Some things struck me. Raw emotions of fear mixed with joy, terror and bewilderment, wonder and awe mark the hearts of many of the first witnesses. I thought it was cool that Jesus chose to reveal himself first to a woman who had been delivered from seven devils. The greater your deliverance, the greater your participation in how God is choosing to reveal himself. I noticed that when the disciples met up with Jesus in Galilee, right before the Great Commission, it says that they worshiped him but some doubted. (Mt. 28:17) How do you doubt the resurrection when the one who had been crucified is standing right before you? This doubt thing seemed to be everywhere after the resurrection. In fact Jesus had to rebuke his disciples for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. (Mark16:14) Thomas was not the only one. And then in Luke's account I noticed this interesting connection between the head and the heart. On the road to Emmaus Jesus says to his disciples who are struggling to get what's going on "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" They later recognized that as he opened the scriptures to them that their hearts burned within them (Luke 24:32). Jesus saw that they had hard hearts that were slow to believe. So he thawed their hearts with his presence. With life from HisWord. Near the end of the Luke account, Jesus goes for their minds: "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?" (Lk. 28:38) Then in verse 45 it says "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." So which is it that is necessary to believe and understand, the heart or the head? Yes. I think that it is with our hearts that we believe, but it is with the mind that we perceive. Revelation comes first to our minds and then filters to our hearts. If our minds are closed, the revelation doesn't make it down into our hearts. The heart is the final destination. Revelation was never meant to stay in the mind. A heart without a mind makes us naive and gullible to whatever deception the enemy can throw at us. But a mind without a heart makes us more like robots than like God. His agenda is to set your heart ablaze. Your heart should burn when Jesus unpacks the Scriptures for you. This is the purpose of 24-7 prayer. To ignite hearts. God is a pyromaniac. He wants you to burn. He likes watching his people burn. He gets a kick out of it. Our campus doesn't need more highly organized people. It doesn't need more intellectually astute people. It doesn't need more beautiful and trendy people. It needs burning people. John Wesley prayed everyday: "Lord, set me on fire that people would come from miles around to watch me burn." Wesley understood that it wasn't only God who was a pyromaniac. Deep down we all are. We long to see people engulfed in fiery passion for Jesus. There is a verse that gets at the heart of God's heart and is fitting for meditation amongst a people engaging in 24-7 prayer. It is Jeremiah 24:7. It reads: "I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart." What does it look like when we return to God with all our hearts? It looks like a bonfire. This Easter, may you return to your Lord with all your heart, and may you find it being strangely warmed. May it become a raging inferno of passion that spreads wildfires of revival everywhere you go. Here's to the arsonists for Jesus. Burn baby burn.

10 minutes

An hour in the prayer room feels like 10 minutes.
I tried 2 hours, it... still feels like 10 minutes.
I'll be here 3 hours today :)

I just can't get enough of God.

He speaks to me in SILENCE and before Easter comes,
I need to just BE with Him in silence.

Here I am, THANKING Him for dying for my sins.
Thank you, Jesus, for being WITH us and sending us the Bible.
Our God is A LOVING GOD. He sent His only Son!

Thank you, God for giving us MORE AND MORE AND MORE of You in the past, the present, and the FUTURE of IV and U of I.

Thank you, God.

A lot of people forget what Easter is about.
They think it's about going to church or wearing a dress,
receiving an Easter basket, eating candy or chocolate, or going out to dinner with family...

But Easter... is more than that.

JESUS HAS RISEN!

HE HAS RISEN!

PRAISE GOD! FOR HE IS WORTHY TO BE LIFTED UP!

I am NOTHING without God.


CMAC

Spring

I love that our prayers have brought spring to the prayer room. You may ask how that is possible since it is still freezing outside and seems to sometimes want to continue snowing. Every time I look in the back corner I smile at the new green leaves on the vine that grows out of the wall. When we first started it was brown and dead, stuck in winter, but for the past few weeks because of the warmth of our space heaters it has sprung to life. I hope that our lives and the lives of all those that we come into contact with will spring to life because of the warmth given off by God's presence in this room and in each of our hearts.

he has done it

"future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn - for he has done it" - Psalm 22:30-31

It is Saturday on planet earth. Good Friday is behind us but the completion of God's resurrection project is yet to be unveiled. And so we wait and we watch. We watch over what God has entrusted us with. We watch for the movings of the Spirit the way my dog watches my every move through the window when I am in the front yard. We watch and pray so that we do not fall into temptation for the "spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41) We keep watch with Jesus even if it is just an hour, for a time of tribulation is coming to planet earth and the saints will be severely tested. For many, in places like China and Iraq, they already are. We wait for the consummation of God's kingdom on the earth. We are the watchmen God speaks of in Isaiah 62 who "cry out day and night giving themselves no rest and give God no rest until he makes Jerusalem the praise of the whole earth."And yet the Kingdom is already here. It is the now but not yet of the Kingdom of God. "Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." (Psalm 24:8) Where was this king's coronation? On a cross on a hill called Golgotha with excruciating pain, scorn and shame. This is the 'Lord mighty in battle?' Precisely. Oh, he will come back as a warrior on a white horse and he will execute the justice of God on all the wicked (Revelation 19:11-21) but his greatest battle has already been fought and won. A broken man on a cross is a victory? Precisely. On the cross Jesus proclaimed "it is finished." What was finished? What's this "it" he was talking about? The same "it" David foresaw at the end of Psalm 22. "future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn - for he has done it" - Psalm 22:30-31. The psalm starts off with the very words Jesus utters on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you foresaken me?" and goes on to describe with uncanny detail a scenario that looks like David is somehow peering into the future, watching the Good Friday events with a front row seat. So just what has the Lord done? Just what was "it" that was finished as Jesus breathed his last? Nothing short of the redemption of the whole human race. Jesus conquered death and sin in that moment. Jesus paid our penalty. Jesus won back the authority that we had relegated to Satan by our agreements with his lies. Jesus won the right for every one of his followers to boldly approach the throne of grace in our time of need. (Which is always for we are always in need of more of God.) Jesus atoning death purchased our healing :"By his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53). Jesus death was the new exodus out of the bondage of selfish agendas, sinful prison cells and short-sided ambitions. Jesus swallowed death and with it the fear that accompanies that relic of the curse. Jesus completed the first and only perfectly sinless life when he breathed his last on the cross. Nothing would ever be the same after that moment. Humanity now had a representative who had kept our end of the covenant with God. Jesus is our great high priest, the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate intercessor. He is the Lamb that was slain who takes away the sin of the world. But He is also the ferocious roaring Lion of Judah. He is the Lord mighty in battle.

So it is Saturday on planet Earth. But I believe it is drawing near to midnight. And "Sunday's a comin'!" as Tony Campolo likes to say. There's an interesting scripture in Hosea 6:2 that reads: "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence." Just as it was after two days that Jesus was revived, as it was on the third day that the new creation project was launched so I think it will be with this generation. A thousand years is like a day to the Lord (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8). I like to think of the first two millennia as the two days Hosea is talking about. I like to think of this third millennium as the day of our restoration, that we may live in his presence." I know, I know skeptics will question my Biblical interpretive skills with this one...but so many other things have led me to the conviction of Christ's imminent return that this verse is just icing on the cake for me.

So how then shall we live if it is late Saturday night on planet earth? With Saturday Night Fever, that's how! With a fever-pitch passion to know the thoughts of our God and to usher in his kingdom as his vice-regents, and co-heirs. We have royal blood pumping through our veins. We live in the now but not yet of the kingdom but let us not use that as a limiting excuse to relegate what Christ purchased for us on the cross to some future generation! "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons and raise the dead." That's just one of the things Christ commanded us to do (Matthew 10)...and he did command us to obey all his teachings (Matthew 28:20). How do we do this? Well the end of Matthew 28:20 has the key - "And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age." We do it by hosting his presence. By soaking in his presence. By recognizing his presence, and where the King is so is the Kingdom. We pray "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." There is no sickness in heaven! There is no death in heaven! There is no Devil in heaven!" It was Jesus idea that we pray this way. So which things are for the "not yet" and which parts are for the "now"? How will we ever know if we don't ask. I think Jesus would rather us find out that the thing we were contending for in the place of prayer was for a future age, than to hear Jesus say, "I would've given you so much more, if you had only asked." It is Saturday on planet earth. But the hour is late. And Sunday's a comin'!