Attention

A lot of people have been feeling a lot of fear, insecurity, temptation, doubt, pain, depression....anything that isn't from the Lord could fit here. His saints are being hit hard now. The enemy is trying to turn our eyes from the Lord. I urge you as His beloved and His chosen one that if you are feeling anything that isn't from the Lord to not be ashamed or fearful but to tell someone about it, a staff worker, a friend, and receive prayer. Do not hesitate please, friends. It happens to all of us at some point and we just need a little support from a community the Lord has blessed us with. its late and i am incoherent so if you have questions ask me.

-natalie

Holy Spirit, Come

This is similar to Eric's post below this one. Yes, things at UCSD are not right. People are legitimately afraid to be on campus. I walk around and hear people making fun of this whole situation. Two worlds are crashing together like no other. There are multiple levels to this, though. There is the physical clash between those who are hurt and those who are causing hurt. There is the spiritual clash between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. There is the clash between care and apathy.

We cannot be apathetic because the Lord is not apathetic. Our desire as His saints is to look like Christ. Christ wouldn't ignore this, friends. He doesn't shrink back in fear or become paralyzed by confusion. Jesus was informed and He knew the Father's will. Beloveds, I call you to listen to God moreso than before. Pray for this campus like God can actually change it. The administration cannot change our hearts.

There is a lot of hurt all around. But our God is a God of restoration and unity. We are fighting a battle here. It is a spiritual battle. Darkness is right up front, but the Lord is not afraid. We are not afraid. "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Cor 10:3-5.

The Lord will strengthen us and reveal Himself to this campus if we ask Him to.

We have been outfitted for such a time as this. We have the FULL ARMOR OF GOD. (eph 6). This is a time of great darkness covering the campus. The fear is tangible, the clash is clear. But the Lord is sovereign over UCSD. I am thankful that this stuff isn't hidden anymore, because it has always been here, and now we cannot ignore it and we can pray for the Lord to take back His university. Unfortunately it had to come to something like this for me to pay attention.

Oh Christ, we need You here. It is up to us, His saints, to look like Him everywhere we go and trust the He does not remain silent and that everything that has led up to this and this event now will bring Him glory. Friends, I urge you to ask the Lord how He wants you to commit to prayer and fasting for this campus He has not forsaken. He calls each of us Hephzibah, for His delight is in each of us, and He calls our land Beulah, because He is going to come and marry us (Is 62).

This is a time where it is clear that our hope is not in future circumstance, but in the Lord. He is our hope. The enemy has been defeated. ALREADY. There is no fear in his plans because the Lord is stronger and already has claimed victory. Father, we agree with Your plans for this campus and we commit to partnering with You.

let's pray even more

sooo a lot of stuff is going on at UCSD.

now i don't mean to over-spiritualize this situation, but it's affecting a lot of people on this campus. and because God loves the people on this campus, it's now affecting me.

i believe that God has been hearing the prayers over UCSD for a long time. and He is now allowing certain things to happen for such a time as this for a reason...

things are starting to become exposed. mostly hatred, which instills fear. there is anger. violence is beginning to arise. we are beginning to see these things--the fear, the hurt. we realize things are at a tipping point where a lot of the feelings and tensions that we have been swept under the carpet have all of a sudden exploded. we now come face to face with it. now what?

once again, i don't mean to over-spiritualize the situation, but i believe that everything that goes on in the physical world, the things that we see, what people do are driven by a spiritual world.

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
-eph 6:12

so let's respond to what is going on. let's ask the LORD to have His way with this situation. let's ask Him to use the things the enemy has intended for bad, for His GOOD. the enemy wanted to use these events to instill pain, fear, hatred, and anger, disunity, chaos, and distrust to those on this campus. instead, let's show the enemy that he will not have his way in this. rather, as ones who have been praying for breakthrough at UCSD, let us not become apathetic, but rather, engage with what He wants to do in this situation. let us unite under the name of Jesus in power and in love and ask Him to come in His fullness, especially for those who are in fear.

let's ask Him to use the events going on campus to bring spiritual breakthrough. let's allow Him to expose the spiritual darkness that exists on this campus, only to awaken us and open our eyes to the spiritual depravity at UCSD, so we can begin to call upon the name of Jesus, the One who has vanquished all darkness. let's hold on to the victory of Jesus Christ, and ask Him to overcome this campus with His power, to establish the dominion of His kingdom of Light over a campus oppressed by darkness.

let us cry out and continue to ask for one thing: for the LOVE of God to break through on this campus.

because perfect love casts out all fear. and in love there is reconciliation and healing.
let us continue to listen for direction and how to love.

kingdom come, on UCSD as in heaven. bring restoration. bring breakthrough.

-eric

TODAY! :)

Collegiate Day of Prayer Prayer Points

The Scope of Our Prayers When we pray we are sowing seeds of faith into the Kingdom of God. Our prayers today are literally adding to the prayers of all those who have gone before us. Yes, our prayers are contributing to a larger Kingdom story that has been unfolding throughout the generations. Psalms 9:12 says, "He does not forget the cry of the humble." Therefore, we can be assured that all these years of prayer will not be ignored or forgotten. The God who inspires us to pray is faithful to answer and awaken His Church. So, we must continue to pray for another student awakening. Yet, more than that - We must pray for our whole higher education system, along with all of it's professors and faculties to be awakened and transformed by the presence of Christ. We must stand together and pray as a united and multi-generational Church, until we see the Kingdom of Christ awakened and established in this generation. The Purpose of This Prayer Outline The following prayer points are designed to give you a general road map to follow throughout the course of a prayer meeting. These three different themes or stages of prayer are meant to help you manage the focus, direction and flow of your prayer meeting as you move from one prayer request to another. These points are not intended to be an exhaustive list of everything that you might need to pray concerning your campus. We understand that each campus is different and that you will probably need to add to the prayer outline to better address those specific needs. Our desire is to provide a biblical and Christ centered approach to praying for a student awakening that will serve and respect the whole evangelical community. Follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit and use the outline accordingly. Focus First & Foremost on Jesus Christ Most importantly, start your prayer meeting by reflecting on the person of Christ with a significant time of worship and adoration. This will build corporate unity and put you in the right frame of mind to effectively pray together. An undivided focus on Jesus Christ is the best way to start and sustain a meaningful and rewarding prayer meeting. May God richly bless you in all your prayer efforts for this generation! A Three Phase Approach to Praying for a Student Awakening 1) Pray for an Open Heaven - The Posture of Worship & Adoration Pray for the fullness of the power and presence of Jesus Christ. Pray for an accurate view of the glory and majesty of Jesus Christ. Pray for a renewed passion and an intimate affection for Jesus Christ. 2) Pray for an Open Heart - The Posture of Humility & Submission Pray for a response of faith, humility and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Pray for a turning away from anything that would hinder or weaken a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. Pray for a revelation of the unfailing love, comfort and adoption of the Father through faith in Jesus Christ. 3) Pray for an Open Hand - The Posture of Joyful & Sacrificial Giving Pray for students to joyfully share the hope of Christ's love through generous acts of compassion and evangelism. Pray for students to defend the defenseless and care for the orphans and the widows. Pray for students to finish the remaining task of evangelizing every tongue, tribe and nation in this generation for the glory and pleasure of Jesus Christ. (http://www.collegiatedayofprayer.org/about-us/32.html)

nothing else really matters

 We pray this a lot: "May Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven". 

This morning He wanted me to imagine heaven. 

and I thought, yes, God, I can't wait until You will be King on earth and there would be no more pain, no more tears... no more sicknesses... no more poverty... etc. 

If we are praying this phrase a lot, we should know how heaven looks like, right? 

I think He wants us to understand that there's much more to imagining heaven than no more sicknesses (praying for healing) and no more injustices.

I was also meditating on the song Worth it All by Rita Springer. 'It's gonna be worth it, it's gonna be worth it, it's gonna be worth it all-'

Well, What is going to be worth it? 

He is infinitely worthy, personally I am starting to see that- There is no doubt it is worth it to endure and press in and not settle for the LORD Almighty- but what are these 'it's? 

How do I bring His Kingdom as it is in heaven if my heart is not living daily in the realities of heaven? If I don't really believe that this will all be worth it? All these 'it's in heaven? 

I think a part of me suppressed imagining these 'it's- rewards, the joy set before us, (this is what empowered Jesus to endure his horrible death on the cross too, Hebrews 12:2) the things that will actually last, that we can carry into heaven from earth- because 1) I felt guilty for doing things for rewards (but Jesus knew very well what the joy set before him was...?) 2) Well, it's not often that we actually think about how our lives in heaven will look like. And sometimes, I even doubted that heaven will be the BEST time of my life (ha.ha)- Walking with Jesus here, on earth, is so sweet and beautiful- I don't make an effort to let the truth sink in often that the life on this earth is only a 'layover'. And that is not to diminish the significance of each day that we have here, but I won't get into that in this entry... 

So what things will matter when we are about to be given our new heavenly bodies and live the FULL picture of the life He intended us to live, for eternity? More specifically (and more applicable to this life, haha...), what things that we do and experience here, really matter? 

What things do we get to carry into heaven? We are citizens of heaven, afterall. 

Will numbers matter? Will popularity, sense of belonging in a community, how 'well' we are doing ministry, what people think of us, matter? 

What things will He say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant' to? (I can't even imagine how I will react hearing this from Him someday)

I know my character (my heart) will matter to Him. It matters because a holy heart allows more of the presence of the Holy God. His fire purifies our hearts, and it hurts, but it is because He is so holy. He is so holy I can't even be near Him- He wants to purify our hearts and make it as holy as possible, so that there would be nothing left to be consumed (like the burning bush that was not being consumed that Moses saw on holy ground), that it would allow the most intimacy possible with the LORD Almighty. Because He longs to be so close to us and share as much of His heart as He can with us. 

I also know that 'relationships' will matter- but this is so broad and can be misguided. I believe the only thing that will truly matter in my relationships in the end is how I have influenced others' relationships with God. I think that's how loving others the best way I know how would look like, without me trying to play His roles. 

Kind of tied to the above, I think the last thing that will matter is how I lived my life proclaiming His worthiness. How worthy did I show Him as to everyone I met, everywhere I went? It's so beautiful how each person can show this with their lives, so uniquely. Imagine how much joy it brings Him. =)

So. Encouragement!!! I know some of us are going through the FIRE and it's hurting. But it will matter. It will be worth it. It will leave with us the only things that really matter. We will get to live a very focused (therefore the most joyful) life =) Oops correction kinda- we will get to live the most joyful life because we will get to be as close to Him as humanly possible! (Have you ever felt a challenge in your spirit, to find out how close You can get to the LORD? Like David? Moses? Or even closer? Sounds dangerous... =) Uh oh.) 

-s

Spirit of Boldness

At LoveTent last week, I felt like the Lord was saying that He is going to release a fresh anointing on His people, especially that of a spirit of boldness. Exciting!

Here's a thought though. God wants to release it to us, but what is hindering us from receiving this anointing? Also, is it just something that will eventually come to us, or is it something that we have to reach out and grab for?

-p

Keep Pressing In. :)

This post will actually kind of tag onto Eric's post.
When I shared with my brother about the prayer chain and about the crazy things that have been happening on campus, he was super excited and happy to hear that there were so many of us hungry for God.
He shared a verse with me and I felt like I should share it with you guys because it really encouraged me.
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
I was thinking about how often we put our hope and our trust in God based on how much "fruit" we bear. It's so easy to think that we're not doing something "good" when we do not see anything tangible happen. Even though we might not necessarily see some huge crazy difference right now, we are still doing good works. We are still making deposits and sowing the seed for something so much greater that will manifest itself in God's perfect timing. I know that when it does happen, we will look back and realize how God took every single step (huge or tiny) and used it according to His purpose.
I know that we probably desire to see results right this very second, to see tons of people be touched by the Holy Spirit but I know that God's plans are so much greater than ours and the seeds that we have sewn are going to take time to bloom. It requires our care, our nurture, our love, passion and devotion to grow and to manifest so don't give up hope. The key is to hold onto the very end, to trust that God is faithful and that He will make things beautiful in His time.
Something else that was on my mind was what happens after revival actually comes. I realized that we are so hungry for revival, but after revival happens, what's the next step? I realized that as intercessors we also need to make sure that we're not just praying for revival alone (or the crazy good things God will do during revival) but that we're praying for people's lives and hearts to be forever changed by God. It cannot be a temporary high, or a temporary craze, it has to be something that will be life changing, eternal.
God hears us. God knows what we are doing and the hopes and dreams we have for His glory to rain down. We just have to continue to be ready and willing, to say "yes" to Him every single day, to press on for the highest prize even if we do not get to witness the harvest. Everything we do is making a difference even if we cannot tangibly see it yet.
We are His beloveds. Lets continue to know His goodness, to trust in His promises, to fully understand and accept His unconditional and boundless love for us.
Revival is going to come out of an overflow of our personal and intimate relationship with God, our full understanding of His character, and our acknowledgment that He is just simply too good to not share with every single person we encounter.
Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

joanne

let faith arise

so this week marks the end of the 4th week since we have established a house of prayer for the LORD--nearly a month. the excitement of the "new-ness" of the idea has died down, and we may be at a place where we have become weary from the quarter, and weary about our role in intercession and prayer. we may have wondered if we made any difference when we sacrificed time (and sleep) out of our lives over our past few weeks to commit to a shift. we may have wondered if it is really worth it to take time out of our busy lives to sit in a room and talk to an unseen God. and if our talking with God in a room could actually bring any change to the brokenness and pain we see around us and at UCSD.

if that is how you feel, you might be missing the heart of intercession. you might have missed the core of God's heart and His desire for us to intercede to ask Him to bring mercy and bring heaven on earth. God doesn't want to waste our time, nor would He want us to bring him empty sacrifices and acts of worship in order to please Him. that's called playing religion.

rather, in the place of prayer, God desires 2 things (i might be repeating myself):
1) first and foremost, to encounter His heart--in intimacy, to gain the knowledge of His love for us. rooted and grounded in love.
2) for us to partner with Him in crying out for the things He longs for. and how much more His heart breaks for this campus compared to my heart!

maybe we shouldn't pray to see results. because if we do, then we get offended when nothing happens. results will come in His timing and His sovereignty. and He will come, as He's faithful to the end.
(actually, He already has come. thank you Holy Spirit! we love Your presence!)
"[He] has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" 2 corinth. 5:5

rather, let us approach prayer as an act of love, so we can seek the face of Love. let us anticipate the moment we can enjoy an hour of just being with Love, to explore the depths of His heart and come into agreement with His desires for this campus.
as we enjoy being with Love, prayer no longer becomes duty, obligation, empty-hearted sacrifice, or burden. the moment it does is when we need to have a heart check.

by faith, let us enter into the place of prayer with confidence knowing that we are meeting with Love. and we are preparing for Him a heavenly dwelling on earth. and it will be the most joyful thing we can possibly do with our time. we will never the same.

"now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
-heb 11:1

"and without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
-heb 11:6

"so we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by faith and not by sight."-2 corinth 5:6-7

let's press in! He has been doing such a great work on this campus!

but His greatest work is the one He is doing in you.

-eric

Commissioned

¹ The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."

⁴ Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath ^{" enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "}

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

¹¹ Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "

Ezekiel 37:1-14

-------------------------

The Lord brought me back to this passage last night, and spoke to me two things. The first thing was actually before He brought me to this verse. He was saying that this campus if full of people who are walking but who have no life. Hey, that's verse 8. We have skin on our bones but no air in our lungs. The Lord LONGS for them to have life, to have breath. The interesting thing as that God didn't do it all by himself. He asked Ezekiel to do it, to do what the Lord asked him to do, to fulfill His desires and to speak to the bones in the valley. Ezekiel was obedient and in tune with what the Lord wanted, and he did the impossible with God's strength. He took a lifeless, long-dead valley of people and then they grew skin over their bones. He then was told by God to command life into them, to command breath into their lungs.

We are called form a place of KNOWING the Lord and KNOWING His will into a place of action. A place of speaking truth into the lives of the people walking around lifelessly. When Ezekiel spoke the things the Lord commanded him to speak, an army was raised with a rattling of bones and a breath of air. As His saints, we are not called to just sit and wait for Him to move, which He does do. He is always moving. The Lord is always moving. But He wants to partner with us and we are not called to sit back and watch. He has given us an active role in bringing LIFE to the dead areas around us. To awaken us as we sleep to the brokenness around us like the disciples were in Luke 22.

The Lord also took me to Psalm 47 and Psalm 42, which are very different from one another. Psalm 47: We need to pray for more fear of the Lord. There is wisdom in fearing the Lord, in recognizing Him for who He is, in having reverence for Him. We need to fear Him so we will lean on Him. We are not, however, motivated by fear. We are motivated by love for Him and the truth and freedom He brings into our lives. We have, as a generation, lost our fear that what the Lord says is true and that He is judging and that He is jealous. Show us our nakedness, Lord, and our depravity so You can clothe us and fill us.

Psalm 42: Lord, deep cries out to deep at the roar of Your waterfalls. I don't really know what this means, honestly, but this is what I was talking about to Him last night. There is evidence of Him all around us. We are crying out to Him and He is crying out to us while all around us is the deafening sound of His glory and majesty and grandeur. Open our BLIND EYES to see You all around us.

You didn't give us the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but the spirit of adoption that we may cry to You, "ABBA FATHER!" (romans 8:15). Speak truth to us, Lord, about who we are. We have been set free. You have ALREADY paid the price. You are calling us into Your heart and calling us to go out with the knowledge and understanding of who You are.

Abba Father, we want more. Give us hearts of obedience and discipline. Our feet will not be moved. We want to have deep roots and we want to be kept steady.

I want to live before Your eyes

I want to stay before Your gaze

Just keep me steady here.

-Natalie

something to be blinded by

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us" -A.W. Tozer

He used this quote to speak to me today. As I came before him, a bit overwhelmed and restless, He decided to take it back to the beginning... Asked me gently, 'Well... What do you think of when you think of me?' 

As someone who needs to remind herself quite often that God is my Shepherd who only leads me to green pastures, I thought I knew... Yes, You are my Shepherd... You want the best for me... But He wanted me to know something deeper.  He told me that it is a tremendously powerful thing, what we think of, and what we feel, how we feel, when we think about being with Him. As we focus on / am overcome by the bliss of being in His presence,  overwhelmed by His goodness and worthiness... the side-thoughts, anxieties, about how this movement is going... about whether or not we're really ready to 'pay the price' to folllow Him wherever... these things all fade. 

[Not only do these things fade, but how we feel and what we are overcome by when we think of Him, is prophetic of what others will see when we show Him to them.  What we feel in our hearts when we think of God... Of course it is only the Holy Spirit that can convict, and it is the Father who has been pursuing relentlessly, and Jesus who they will fall in love with, but I think as intercessors and His children whom He calls to sit with Him in the heavenly realms (Ephesians is crazy), He wants us to know just how much we are involved in not only shifting the atmospheres but also moving others' hearts towards Him.]

I was overwhelmed as I realized that He went through a violent death, went through all the trouble of 'Word became flesh' and dwelled among us, because of His love for us. It started with love, and it will end with love. Something that we all have heard... But He gave me a fresh heart revelation and I found myself praying for our group that we'd be 'blinded by His love'.  Wait... blinded? Don't we usually sing that eyes will be opened through Christ? Ahah.. 

He kindly revealed to me some of the things I felt anxious towards- growing in boldness, the 'cost', other fears, how it would look like... But that if I was to be so 'blinded' by His love, I would not even be thinking/worrying about these... His love is definitely ;alskfakds (fill in the blank) enough to be blinded by. Blinded to the things of this world. I came into my dorm and looked up 'blinded' in the dictionary (haha): 

1. done without being able to see/ without being in possession of certain information

2. lacking perception / discernment 

3. not controlled by reason or judgment

4. not governed by purpose 

Reading it in His upside-down Kingdom perspective, being 'blinded' by His love makes it possible that we don't even notice the enemy's attacks... We can't even see what 'ridiculous'/'threatening' things we are facing and overcoming. It is definitely not controlled by our reason or judgment, some of our choices will definitely seem to be 'lacking perception' to the world (ex// praying for healing, going into communities who really don't seem too open to Christians, forgiving...)... And if we were truly blinded by His love, we would not be governed by our own smaller purposes than His. 

Jesus was definitely blinded by His love for us. The Father was blinded to send His only son for sure. The Creator/Story-writer was too... And if the sovereign God was... is...  'blinded' by His love for us... ;alskdfj;aklsd.

-s