2 Corinthians 6 (NIV)

¹As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. ²For he says, 
   "In the time of my favor I heard you, 
      and in the day of salvation I helped you."*^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">}  I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. (*Isaiah 49:8)

 ³We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.⁴Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; ⁵in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; ⁶in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; ⁷in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; ⁸through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; ⁹known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; ¹⁰sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

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I was led to this passage and it's titled 'Marks of the Ministry' (NKJV) and 'Paul's Hardships' (NIV). Paul references back to Isaiah 49 (;alskdf beautiful chapter)

 ⁸ This is what the LORD says: 

       "In the time of my favor I will answer you, 
       and in the day of salvation I will help you; 
       I will keep you and will make you 
       to be a covenant for the people, 
       to restore the land 
       and to reassign its desolate inheritances,

 ⁹ to say to the captives, 'Come out,' 
       and to those in darkness, 'Be free!' 
       "They will feed beside the roads 
       and find pasture on every barren hill.

 ¹⁰ They will neither hunger nor thirst, 
       nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. 
       He who has compassion on them will guide them 
       and lead them beside springs of water.

Paul is encouraging the Church in the midst of 'time of favor'... Yet 2 Corinthians 6 is, yes, talking about hardships. Haha. I think the Isaiah-49-kind-of-picture is what we anticipated as we have been anticipating 'revival' / 'year of His favor'... And it is. I don't think we anticipated as much, the 2-Corinthians-6-kind-of-picture- and I know a lot of us are going through it... But I think this passage is further encouragement and revelation that it is the same picture. 

A 'time of favor' does not mean that we will no longer be facing hardships, that our community will be as unified as ever (though we can definitely press into it), and that we will be performing miracles left and right and leading people to Christ will be easier than ever... (Yes, it is a part of the bringing His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, but you get the point si?). Paul actually goes straight into the kind of hardships that we will be encountering and gives us a guideline on how we should respond to them... And Paul is a pretty intense follower of Jesus, who is empowered by the Holy Spirit, ahah... Anyways, the guideline I think is in verses 6-7. 

As we press in even more to purity, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness... in the very situations of various hardships we are facing... God's plans for how He's going to paint His kingdom in UCSD, which has been specifically set way before our awareness... will be fuilflled. 

It makes sense because how do we learn to be led by the power of the Holy Spirit anyways? By learning to become less and less dependent on our own abilities and confidence... How do we gain understanding of who He is? By allowing Him to be our God of rest in the midst of chaos... Trusting Him to be our Provider and attempt to fill our own needs... How do we practice using our weapons of righteousness? By facing battles and learning that we have access to things far more powerful than the powers of darkness (because we are the deeply loved sons and daughters of the King hehe)

Lastly I think it's important to not take His promise of 'time of favor' in vain, but to be sensitive and responsive to every 'receiving'... Because it has a heavenly purpose in a heavenly season- beyond what we see in our personal seasons. 

Just kidding. Lastly for reals. I was given an image of His rain. Rain is a pretty universal depiction of Him pouring out His kingdom, right? What was really beautiful was that I could see that (it 'zoomed-in') each rain drop was carrying a scene. And somehow I knew that each rain drop was a scene from heaven- specifically, the imagination of one individual, his/her imagination of how His kingdom would look like on earth. Hehe. Confirmation that as we pray, dream, commend ourselves in endurance, in hardships, in purity, in sincere love... Those dreams will be fulfilled. And He really does use every single one of our imaginations. He's sooo cool... :) :) :) <3

-soomin

truth

But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

(Romans 8)

what could possibly hold us back from throwing ourselves into the Spirit, from praying with all of our strength and might? what is there to fear? what are we waiting for?

It is written:

"'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"

(Romans 14)

it's going to happen. let's pray for it to happen... NOW. for every knee to bow, every tongue proclaiming truth, and the natural response--WORSHIP. PRAISE to our FATHER, to JESUS who REIGNS.

WE WANT TO SEE YOUR KINGDOM COME.

YOU ARE THE SOVEREIGN KING.

MIGHTY GOD, WE CAN'T EVEN FATHOM YOUR POWER AND GREATNESS.

WE WANT TO KNOW THE LENGTH, DEPTH, HEIGHT, WIDTH, THE FULLNESS OF YOUR LOVE.

HOLY SPIRIT, COME. we beg you to COME. SWEEP OVER THIS CAMPUS, COME LIKE A RUSHING WIND AND BLOW OUR MINDS.

we will be obedient, and You will be faithful.

take the chains that get in the way of what You want.

we trust you.

If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.

(John 7)

OPEN OUR EYES TO SEE THE HOW THIS CAMPUS, THIS NATION, THIS WORLD, IS DROWNING IN HUNGER AND THIRST.

SET OUR HEARTS ON FIRE, CONSUME US, PURGE US, PURIFY US, INSTILL IN US A BURNING DESIRE, A HUNGER AND THIRST FOR YOU, FOR YOUR FACE, TO SEE YOU AND KNOW YOU, TO TOUCH YOU AND FEEL YOU, TO LOVE YOU AND BE LOVED BY YOU.

THEN, COME AGAIN.

DRAW NEAR, DEEPLY, PENETRATE US TO THE DEPTHS OF OUR BEING. RAIN DOWN, POUR OUT YOUR LIVING WATER AND FILL OUR HEARTS MINDS SOULS ENTIRE BEINGS, OUR EMPTY AND BROKEN VESSELS, POUR POUR POUR POUR OUT UNTIL YOUR LOVE, YOUR SPIRIT, YOUUUUU OVERFLOW ONTO EVERYONE AROUND US, NEAR US, ALL OF YOUR CHILDREN.

BE GLORIFIED. YOU WILL BE GLORIFIED. YOUR GOSPEL WILL BE SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE WORLD. YOUR NAME WILL BE PRAISED AND ALL WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE GOD. ALL THAT YOU HAVE MADE WILL WORSHIP YOU IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.

YOU ARE VICTORIOUS. YOU ALREADY HAVE THE VICTORY. CAN WE BE A PART OF IT? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE? WE'RE HERE, WE'RE READY (as ready as we'll ever be).

WE DEMAND FREEDOM. CHAINS BROKEN. EYES OPENED. LIVES HEALED. ENCOUNTERS WITH YOU. INTIMACY. PEACE AND JOY. FREEDOM. if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8) ABBA, REVEAL YOUR WORKS. CAN WE SEE? CAN WE WITNESS IT ALL?

Have faith in God...I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11)

i know we should be careful what we ask for, if we pray for anything with faith, it will be given to us. ask, seek, knock...find. RIGHT, SO LET'S PRAY. BOLDLY. FEARLESSLY. let's be absolutely, irrevocably, wonderfully ruined with Love.

THIS IS OUR PRAYER:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

(Luke 4)

DADDY, please. HELP us do your works. because we are weak, but you are so strong. we fall short, so short. but YOU, you are AMAZING. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Your love endures forever.

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me uot of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. he put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, "Here I am, I have come--it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." (Psalm 40)

Here I am. Here-- here's my heart. Take it, break it, mold it, fill it. And be glorified.

for who are we? that you are MINDFUL of us? that you call us precious, valuable, children?

what have we done to deserve your love? it's always been about you, what you've done, who you are, how you love us.

YOU deserve ALL THE PRAISE, ALL THE CREDIT, ALL THE PROPS AND KUDOS. YOU, CREATOR AND KING, DADDY, YOU are the BEST.

NOT TO US, BUT TO YOUR NAME BE ALL THE GLORY AND HONOR.

Psalm 145.

we love you.

more significantly, inexplicably, powerfully, amazingly, and for which we will be eternally grateful,

you love us.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8)

-gk

It starts with us

Revival. It starts with us.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
- 1 Peter 2:9

We didn't choose God. He chose us.
We aren't to keep him inside to ourselves, what he's doing in our lives, what he means to us, what his love is...
We are to declare them. Father would you give us boldness to declare your praises. Would we celebrate the joy you bring us, the love you shower upon us, the grace that you have rained down on us.
Would we be so captivated by you, so moved by your unfailing love, so delighted by your presence, so IN LOVE with YOU, so much that how could we not want to tell our friends, our neighbors, fellow students, even strangers at UCSD. Your children. God these people are your children. You sent your son to die for them. You love them so much, Father I pray that we as intercessors could see them and this world the way you do. Would we feel this world the way you do. Father, your heart breaks to see your children lost. Living day to day without seeing, feeling, hearing their Father and your Love. This world is trapped in its own brokenness, and Father you sent Jesus to free us, heal us, restore us so we could be with you.

But Father, it breaks my heart to know that not everyone believes this... whether they just never really got the chance to know you or maybe they did and things did not turn out how they expected. Father, it breaks my heart to see people who have tasted you but have not seen. It breaks my heart to see people fall away. It's an injustice. God, I want them to experience you, your love, your true, unfailing love. I want them to see you the way I see you.. and thousands and thousands times more. God you love us so much.

Lord, would this be a motivation for our revival.

Lord, we have tasted and seen how good you are.
Would we share that with others. Would we want to share that with others.
Father, I pray for a revival, starting with us. Starting with our hearts.
Make room in us Father for this revival that so many of us are craving for.

"Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords
strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread out to the right and to the left" - Isaiah 54:2-3


"Yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken" - Isaiah 54:10

Jesus, would we not hold back. Father I ask for more of your grace and more of your love to move in our hearts tonight. Would you continue to prepare the way for revival. And then Father,

would we ask for more.

- grace jiras

We are Victorious.

"If you feel attacked by the enemy, it means you're doing something right. He wants to attack those that are a threat to him. He wants to attack those that bring the kingdom of God that much closer."

Someone told me this a long time ago and it has always stuck with me and encouraged me in times of darkness. There were times where I felt like God was just letting me get rocked by the enemy because I had done something wrong but this statement definitely changed all of that. As we draw closer to God and as we come to know His heart more and more, the enemy is going to fight back with all that he can. WE are THREATS to the enemy. Do not be afraid of darkness, because the reality is, is that he is afraid of us and the light that we have within. He knows that we have already won and that we cannot be defeated. We have the power of Jesus in us and as much as it hurts to go through times of spiritual warfare, we already have the victory!
During my prayer time, I felt like God placed an image of a burning ring of light and fire. I feel like He was saying that as we press in and continue to seek Him, we become an unstoppable force of His light and His fire and that we need to be confident in this. There will be opposition and there will be attempts to break this chain of light that we're creating, but we have to remain strong in Him and His promises.
Don't forget the power in His name. Darkness will flee simply at the sound of it. Jesus.

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

joanne

Something that He highlighted to me during my shift was that 

'as we grow more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, that we should also grow more sensitive to the Father's heart, and to the beauty of Jesus'. 

I think that focusing on this will help us stay in the center of His will- and also help us with discernment, since the Holy Spirit should always glorify the person of Jesus, and since He is the perfect image of the Father's love... And when we are captivated by what we see on His heart, and ruined by the beauty of Jesus, it's just love love love. !

I definitely agree and think the direction that He has been taking us, even just in the past few weeks- is that He's going to bring revival to our hearts... Not only is it the 'beginning' of revival but I think that is what revival is. To allow God to be fully GOD in our hearts. Then naturally, people will see that the living God really does dwell in us =)...

-soomin

Heart

Recently, in my own life and in people talking about it, I have been thinking about WHY pray for revival? What does that even mean? What does it look like?
I think that Phil hit it pretty well on the post under this one, saying that yes we do pray for revival and that's good and needed, but we often either don't know what we are really asking for or we become afraid when God begins to answer that prayer.
So why do I pray for revival? What am i even asking God for? I actually don't like the term "revival." I don't like the connotation. It's a cultural term that seems to be kind of vague. I don't know. Maybe it's just me. But when I think of "revival" and what I am praying for, what I want is for CHAINS TO BE BROKEN. Kids, we were made for MORE. We weren't made to just do a bunch of actions. Even things like prayer and fasting and reading the Bible can just be heartless obligations if we lose sight of the heart and reason behind it. I also don't pray to "feel" a certain way. I like when He makes me feel good and bubbly and warm, and he likes it too, but there's something so much deeper. I pray because my words move His heart, because He has shown me how He wants to move on this campus, He has broken my heart for the crap that plagues this campus and traps us in depression, false identities, empty pursuits, lies that this is all there is, addictions...the list goes on. I confess, sometimes I lose sight of why I do this. It becomes a bunch of actions, obligations, empty ministry. But He is so kind to bring me back to His heart and say, "I don't want your actions. I want your love. I want your heart."
The truth is, we weren't made to do things, we were made to love Him and to love others. We were made for LOVE. FROM that place of loving the Father we are driven to action. If we love God but don't love others, 1 John is pretty clear in saying that that means that we don't really love Him at all. OUCH. I am guilty. Aghh. So I don't try "harder" to love others, I focus on His heart and let Him give me love. That's what we do in praying for this campus. Because we love these children that make Jesus's eyes burn with fire. Because HOW can we contain this love and keep our eyes blind to what is going on around us?
Intercession cannot come from obligation or because "everyone else is doing it" or because it "sounds nice." It has to come from a willing, broken heart that longs for God's movement because we ourselves are powerless.
I am so encouraged by the people who pursue God's heart and His heart for this campus, but if you aren't in a place where you feel like you are ready or desiring for this intercession thing, that's totally fine. The number one thing we seek is TO BE WITH HIM. Like Psalm 27:4 says, that's the ONE THING that we will seek. We seek Him.
Thank you to the people who are keeping us in check. Ahh I am so thankful that as a community you all care enough to make sure that this isn't something that is for anything other than to seek God.
Holy Spirit, give us dove's eyes, that we don't seek signs or results,but we seek your face.

Revival

This past week I was thinking about how God is moving and what true revival really looks like. I received two visions from the Lord that really challenged the way I viewed revival. This is something that I believe the Lord wants to remind us in this season. It’s something that is simple, but something we tend to overlook.

I was looking down with a bird-eyes view on this little flame that was being fanned by several people. Even though it was only a short period of time, I could tell that a lot of time was passing. There were people that were joining in on fanning the flame and walking away from it. Slowly it grows and pretty soon, I become one of the people fanning this flame. As the fire gets bigger and bigger, everyone gets slightly nervous as sometimes sparks fly out of the flame and singe our clothes. Some of the flame even jumps out and touches my skin. Every time the flame jumps out and touches my skin, I jump back a little in shock. I’m almost afraid to continue fanning this flame just because it is getting so big I feel like it is about to envelop us. Funny thing is, I know we’re supposed to walk into this fire (and we’re fully capable of it), but I can’t bring myself to walk into it. I am afraid.

I didn’t fully understand this vision when I was first thinking about it, but I think I get it now! (or at least I think I do). This fire is the fire of revival that so many people have been calling for throughout the years. It is the revival fire that UCSD students cry out for and long for, fanning it faithfully year after year. This is the fire that will set a whole campus ablaze. Year after year they cry out, and year after year it gets bigger. Sometimes the flame jumps out at them and they get a glimpse, a taste of what revival looks like. Sounds great, right? Why then did I jump back when the revival fire jumped out at me? Why was I so shocked? Isn’t this something I long for? Something the whole campus yearns for? Well, the fact is revival looks a lot better on the outside than inside. It is easier to cry out for revival than it is to experience it. Hear me out.

What exactly does revival bring? What does a person’s life affected by revival look like? Isn’t it a change of lifestyle that we have become so comfortable with? Isn’t it the laying down of our sinful nature before the Lord? Isn’t it a pursuit of holiness and righteousness? Isn’t it a call to dangerous places where we don’t necessarily want to go? To me, revival results in doing things that will make us uncomfortable. It means opening our eyes to injustices and uneasy things that we would like to distract ourselves from. It means voluntarily stepping into an ongoing spiritual battle that is more intense than flesh and blood. Revival means choosing a lifestyle that returns to God, and turns away from the things that society has programmed us to desire. It is not just a glorious thing where masses of people return to God. It is not just incredible healings and miracles and testimonies. Revival is costly. It demands our all.

This second image I got was of a false god that was being worshipped by nearly everyone there. Suddenly a fire from heaven comes down and devours this false idol and a thought/voice pops into my head: “A time will come when we will turn from our idols and worship the true and living God.” This is where the image stops, but I can’t help but think that after the false god is destroyed, panic probably ensues. My guess is that, if we were worshipping these false gods, they must have been somewhat near and dear to us. They probably matter a whole lot to us. When the fire of God consumes these idols, won’t we immediately start panicking? The thing that we’ve been worshiping all this time is gone. Seeing the things that were so real to us, the things that we loved so much being consumed in an instant must be devastating. That’s what true revival does to us! It destroys the idols of our lives and brings us face to face with the living God. It utterly annihilates all that stands between us and our first love.

So for the past couple of days the question I’ve been asking myself is: Am I ready for revival? Are we really ready for this revival that we are crying out for? Do we know what we are asking for? Will we be surprised when revival actually comes when we actually seek after it whole-heartedly? To walk into this gigantic flame goes against all our instincts. Of course it’s going to hurt. Of course it’s going to burn away some of the filth that we think are treasures in our lives. A lot of times it’s going to feel like God is hurting us more than helping us during the times of being refined in the fire. I bet being burned must hurt a lot. Actually, I know it does, but don’t get me wrong, it is so worth it. I’ve come to realize that though it may often times be a struggle, it results in greater intimacy with him. It results in a greater and more tangible realization of His love for us. It opens our eyes to truth, something that everyone desires. It gives us a sense of purpose, a hope, a peace that cannot be experienced in anything else. Revival sets our souls free. Do you want revival?

So Lord, send revival, start with me.

-phil

here we go

the place of prayer has 2 steps.

1) intimacy. love. to be the bride. to encounter emotions of the Bridegroom's love for us. to begin with the onething prayer of psalm 27:4. to gaze on His beauty. to know He calls us Hephzibah. to enjoy. to know the Father's heart. the Spirit of adoption. to breathe song of solomon.

2) intercession. revival. power. fueled by intimacy, we are motivated to pray for His kingdom come. to be the warrior. for Him to send revival fire. that He would rend the heavens and come down. to cry out for souls. evangelism.

-eric

Watchmen

² The nations will see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

³ You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

⁴ No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,
and your land Beulah;
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.

(isaiah 62:2-4)

Lord, we pray to You as Your beloved. As the ones whom You delight in. Who are we to be a crown of splendor in Your hand? That You have a new name for us?

You are so faithful. You redeem us because You delight in us because You created us. Like a bride prepares herself for her wedding day, where she enters into partnership with her bridegroom, You prepare us to receive You in full, with Your countenance that shines more brightly than the sun at its fullest strength (Rev 1:16). In order to receive You, we must trust You, Lord. So You tell us, "Behold, I am doing a new thing! Can you not perceive it? I am creating paths in the wilderness and streams in the desert!" (Isaiah 43:19) Lord, make us attentive to Your voice. Give us eyes for only You. We want to trust You with our physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional lives in every circumstance and situation. Oh Lord, we love You because You love us so much.

And because You pour out Your spirit upon us, we will turn to You and ask for MORE. Lord, DOWNPOUR. We want to see lives changed. We want to see people HEALED physically, spiritually...completely. Like the bleeding woman. We don't want to walk in ankle-deep water when we know that there is water so deep we must swim in it, surrounded by trees with fruit that is always fruitful in every season (ezekiel 47).

We desire to see Your kingdom come, Lord. So we will pray for Your heart. We will pray for Your will to be done. For UCSD to be Your dwelling place.

I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;

they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD,
give yourselves no rest,

and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.

(isaiah 62:6-7).

We accept Your call to be Your watchmen. We are Your chosen, Your elect, whom You hear as we cry out day and night (Luke 18:7). Lord, You tell us to give You no rest until You establish the new Jerusalem that You promise Your faithful ones in Revelation 21. We will never be silent day or night until You come in full. We will pray, fast, live and love boldly. We will seek Your face and dwell in Your house and never take our gaze from Your beauty (ps 27:4). Because we desire You more than anything else. Keep us faithful, Lord.

I want to live before Your eyes.

I want to stay before Your gaze.

Just keep me steady here.

Because we desire only You, only Your kingdom, only the plans You have to heal and restore what has been broken and perverted. And we will come out of a place of deep love, passion, and intimacy with You, Abba. We will know Your heart and hear Your voice and follow Your commands with simple obedience and will rely on You with childlike faith. Strengthen our wills and our spirits, Lord.

We love You, Lord. We want to love You more.

-Natalie