Arequipe!

...and of course...I came home with major loot!!! Arequipe!! This is a delicious caramel spread - just perfect for dipping all kinds of fruit...and my goodness...Colombia has amazing fruit! Once again - 7 tubs of this heavenly food! Here at the Arequipe factory...and then stacked on the counter at home:

Home From Colombia - Some Pictures

I had a fabulous time in Colombia - I just love to see the passion for the presence of God that is so evident in the churches I visit in this country. The Lord changed us all as we worshiped Him and lingered in His presence. The young people are so precious - hungry for the Lord and on fire!! Here is a sample of the friends and worship times experienced over the past couple of weeks:

 

Come Fire Of God!

I am crying out for the fire of God to fall on His Church - and in our hearts. Here in Colombia there is such a hunger - I am looking for His glory and His fire. Please continue to pray for the supernatural, manifest presence of God - we are waiting...

Pray for the fire of God in our hearts and lives

Fire, like all heat, rises...but on these occasions, the Lord caused a descending fire to fall on His people - it was always on a prepared sacrifice - during times of great consecration:

• Gen. 15:17 - when the Lord sealed His covenant with Abraham

• Ex. 13:21 - when the Lord hovered over His people as a fire when they walked through the wilderness

• Ex. 19:18 - when the Lord drew near to Moses in a fire. He was calling Israel to be a people of His presence. He wanted to meet with them face to face, but only Moses, and later Joshua, drew near to the Lord

• Lev. 9:23-24 When the Lord sent a supernatural fire into the tabernacle that Moses had built - He started the fire on the altar and just like now, He requires that we keep the fire going

• 1Ki. 18:38 Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal and the Lord responded by sending a supernatural fire on Elijah's sacrifice.

• 1Chron. 21:26 After David sinned, he made an altar of sacrifice and worshiped the Lord. God sent His fire upon David's sacrifice and his sins were forgiven

• 2Chron. 7:1 Solomon consecrated the temple and offered great sacrifices to the Lord. God responded and sent a fire from heaven and His glory filled the entire temple

• Acts 2:3 The disciples waited before the Lord and the Holy Spirit was poured out on them as tongues of fire

Pastor Andrew McMillan from Medellin pointed out to me that the 120 in the upper room heard the sound of God's wind before they saw the fire (Acts 2:2). This sound caused the people to gather (Acts 2:6), and then they saw and heard marvelous things. I am thinking about this sound - the sound of wind and fire that impacts everyone around us!

Join me in prayer for God's presence to come upon us in these days as a fire of passion and cleansing of our hearts.

A photo from the meetings

a couple of nights ago in Cali, Colombia

Your Presence is Heaven to Me

Loving this song right now - I totally love the harp in this version with Darlene Zschech and Israel Houghton - check out the harp - very cool...but most of all - you can just worship for hours with these lyrics - just expect the presence of the Lord to flood you as you listen to this worship:

  

Your Presence is heaven to Me

by Israel Houghton

Who is like You Lord in all the earth?

Matchless love and beauty, endless worth

Nothing in this world can satisfy

'Cause Jesus You're the cup that won't run dry

Your presence is heaven to me

Your presence is heaven to me

Treasure of my heart and of my soul

In my weakness you are merciful

Redeemer of my past and present wrongs

Holder of my future days to come

Your presence is heaven to me

Your presence is heaven to me

All my days on earth I will await

The moment that I see You face to face

Nothing in this world can satisfy

'Cause Jesus You're the cup that won't run dry

Your presence is heaven to me

Your presence is heaven to me

Oh Jesus, Oh Jesus

Your presence is heaven to me

Oh Jesus, Oh Jesus

Your presence is heaven to me

Israel Houghton

Colombia 2 Feb. 2014

Thank you to everyone who is praying for the meetings here in Cali, Colombia. God is doing wonderful things. Such a heart for worship among my friends here - they always inspire me.

Today in the midst of worship, 15 people were saved!! That is always such a blessing to see - people who come to Jesus as we worship rather than as a result of preaching. Then I was speaking about the anointing and praying for all these precious young people, plus worship teams and other people. Wonderful times in the presence of the Lord. One of the most remarkable things about this conference has been the clarity of the messages from all the speakers - everyone has had the same scriptures, and prophetic call over Colombia. This often happens in conferences and even in church services, but it has been so remarkable

Look at this picture of a flag - it appears to be an eagle - I love His presence when He does things like this:

There is one more meeting for this conference in Cali and then I am recording some teachings for the Bible school here.

On the 21st I will be going to Bogotá for some meetings with La Casa Church and also a wonderful school: Beth Shalom.

Colombia Feb 2014

I am going to Colombia first thing in the morning - I would appreciate your prayers as I go to this wonderful country. I will be at this conference in Cali:

Congresso Su Presencia

You probably know how much I really love this nation and the churches there. So...I am expecting the Lord to do great things. I am speaking about the Fire of God that comes upon our lives and affects our destinies - also the Glory and Presence of the Lord!! All of these subjects are nothing if we don't have His presence and fire among us...so please be praying. Thank you! 

Marcy MacMillan - Cali

and her wonderful late husband, Randy

Edgardo and Magi - Bogotá

Also going to the city of Bogotá (with Edgardo, Magi and their church) - I have much love for all the people there - what treasures the Father gives us when we have friends!

I will be in Colombia from Feb. 13th to 25th - please pray! We are all longing for more of God! Come Lord Jesus - Send revival fires over all the churches of Colombia - wake up the Church and give them a great hunger for Your wonderful presence!

Paul's Secret For Endurance

Endurance - Paul said to do one thing: ...forgetting the past, reaching forward, and pressing toward the prize and upward call of God—Phil. 3:13-14

If we would do this one thing (which is really 3 things) we would have the endurance to complete the race and receive the prize:

Forgetting (1950 epilanthanomai) to forget, neglect, no longer care for, given over to oblivion, uncared for,

We often take a lot of time brooding over the past - our failures, mistakes, sins and disappointments. Sometimes I find myself overwhelmed and paralyzed by these thoughts. If we give ourselves to them, we are unable to move forward. Somehow, we feel the need to punish ourselves for who we are and what we have done - long after we have surrendered these issues to Christ and asked for his forgiveness. In this passage, Paul is telling us to do away with such thoughts - to no longer give them any attention...don't pamper or care for them, and watch as they waste away through neglect...in fact, they need to be dismissed until they fall into total oblivion!

Reaching (1901 epekteinpmai) to reach for – stretch out to

We have to put some sort of action to this attitude of reaching. It is not enough to change our thoughts - that is a beginning...we have to move towards the future and the destiny that the Lord is holding out to us. Start the journey today - don't put off the things you need to do - step towards your destiny - put actions to your faith.

Press (1377 dioko)

To follow after – run swiftly in order to catch

To run like in a race – swiftly to reach a goal

To Pursue – in a hostile manner

To be mistreated, suffer persecution on accoutn of something
To seek after eagerly, earnestly, endevor, to acquire

The action ramps up considerably with this Greek word - dioko. Dioko indicates that we are to move towards our destiny with speed, resolve and passion. This is the attitude that strengthens us on the inside and gives the final push towards enduring every obstacle and completing the task that the Lord has set before us. There is nothing that can overtake a Believer who moves forward with such determination - nothing can stand in our way, and no enemy can take us from the course. We will endure, and we will be God's champions!

When we do less than we were created for

- we will be bored -

Strive for things greater than yourself

Paul's Prayer For The Glory Of God

God has given such a hunger for His glory. I think Paul's prayers in Eph. 1:17-20, and Eph. 3:14-19 are similar to the cry from Moses in Exodus 33:18 where he cried out to see the glory of the Lord. Reading these verses in the Amplified Bible today has affected me deeply. What an extraordinary prayer - read it slowly and meditate on it phrase by phrase - there are incredible secrets here - secrets that will take us to the deep and intimate knowledge of Him - the One we love:

Ephesians 1:17-20 (Amplified Bible)

           The goal - to have revelation of God's glory - to see Him:

¹⁷[For I always pray to] the God of my Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant me a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,

The process - we have to have the eyes of our hearts flooded with light:

¹⁸By having the eyes of my heart flooded with light, so that I can know and understand the hope to which He has called me, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),

The result - then we will know and understand - something of the extent of his glory:

¹⁹And [so that I can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for me who believes, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,

The evidence of God's glory - the risen Savior:

²⁰Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places],

21 Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.

The conclusion of God's glory - all things are under His feet for now and all eternity:

22 And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church],

23 Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself]