Are You His?

I just want to take a few minutes to encourage you guys tonight...I feel the love of Jesus so strong upon my heart tonight...to overflowing. And...I really believe that even if these were things that God was just speaking to me and my personal situations...I believe that these are truths that God wants all of us to know and that they are going to minister to you. I just want to share a few things that God has placed on my heart. And I hope this isn't too long...lol :) 

I do want to start off though tonight by saying that God is faithful! His love is so amazing! His way is higher...His love is deeper...His truth is penetrating! Wow...how do I even express the love that I feel? I can't tell you how much growth I've experienced even in the past three weeks...I can't tell you how awesome it feels to have God consume my heart once again in a new a fiery way...To be honest...I didn't really want to come back to ORU after Christmas break. I wasn't sure what God wanted me to do...Last semester was filled with so many distractions...so many failures...so many false expectations...so many idols...SO much STUFF. And...the thing that I realized was that it wasn't that God had moved...It wasn't that God was no longer pouring Himself out on my heart and on this campus...It was simply that I was so blinded by all of the things of 'Joe'...from emotions...to hurts...to pains...to fears...and many other things that I couldn't even see all that God was doing. He WAS moving mightily...But all of those things (distractions) of the enemy totally consumed me unknowingly. And...I'm only being this open and honest because I know how that felt. I know how long it took me to rip my eyes from all of the distractions around me and put them back on Jesus. I know how painful that was...and I don't want that to happen to you. I don't want you to have to go through that. 

You know what guys...? I know I'm jumping around...but, I just want to tell you that...based on last semester and all of the emotions that went along with that...With losing a best friend...losing relationships...experiencing failed dreams and expectations...Guys...the number one thing the enemy wants to do is get us distracted. If the enemy can get us to take our eyes off of our purpose...off of Jesus...He has already won. If he can make us focus and become consumed with ourselves...with our emotions...with all of the things going on around us...he knows our eyes aren't on Jesus and that we aren't going to do big things for the Kingdom. We're powerless at that point. And...when our eyes aren't on God, we no longer see truth. We no longer see purpose or vision. We no longer see Reality. Our reality becomes clouded with disappointments, discouragement, failures, fears, doubts, anger, bitterness, other relationships...so many things. And I'm not at all saying that if you live a life focused on God that you're not going to experience those things...I AM saying that with a heart focused on Jesus...those things are recognized as distractions and tiny seeds the enemy is trying to plant in your heart...that when they mature and start producing fruit, they crowd out all of the things that God is. If those feelings are allowed to take root and mature...they crowd out love. They crowd out peace. They crowd out joy. They crowd out passion. So...the enemy wants us to stay distracted...And, if you think about it...it's so subtle. We don't wake up one day and say, "Hey, I think I want to be distracted by the enemy today..." No, it just happens...situation by situation...small compromises that eventually consume us. 

But...the reason why I'm blogging...And the reason why I am so in love with Jesus is that our God is BIGGER than any distraction. Our God is bigger than any failure, failed relationship, hurt, pain, rejection, or anything else that tries to exalt itself against God. A song that I've been listening to tonight simply says the words, "I am Yours." That sounds so simple, but it's the very thing that I felt like God wanted to speak to us tonight. When we say..., "Jesus, I am Yours...I want to be only Yours...I want to love You and You alone..." When we say those words to God and truly mean them from the depths of our soul, little by little those seeds that the enemy has planted...those distractions...start to be revealed. The more we pursue God and decide that nothing is going to come between our relationship with Him, the more our hearts become awakened to the Reality that God's love is the only thing that matters.

Before I wrap this up...I just want to encourage you tonight. If you are truly God's and can say those words, "Father, I am Yours..." you are on a path of healing. No matter what the pain, rejection, fear, failure, disappointment, failed relationship, or anything else...It can't destroy you. If we are God's...it means that no matter what happens in our lives...no matter what we experience...Our God is faithful to perform His word. Our God is faithful to draw us back to Him. And...I can't tell you from absolute personal experience...When we are honest with the Lord and just say, "God, I'm sorry that I let things distract me. I'm sorry that I allowed the enemy to lie to me about my purpose...about my future...about my destiny. I'm sorry that I turned to other things...to other relationships...when I should have turned to You. Father, forgive me for placing things above You...even if it was my pain, my fears, or my hurt. Lord...I am Yours, and I know that YOU are BIG ENOUGH...YOU are MORE THAN ENOUGH for me. You're never going to let go of me...and I'm never going to let go of You. There's nothing that I can do...no path that I can get on...no mistake that I can make...that you can't find me and bring me back to You. I am YOURS Jesus. You are my King...and I want you more than I want the things of this world. I want you more than I want anything else. Consume me Jesus, and make me YOURS and YOURS ALONE." 

If you just prayed those words...I can tell you that your life is going to begin to change. Your attitude is going to begin to change. As you walk out that prayer everyday and use discernment about the things that are holding you back...the things that are distracting you...those chains of bondage (discouragement, pain, anger, fear, failure, low self-esteem, depression...or whatever else your facing) are going to literally start falling off. Make a decision tonight to commit yourself to Jesus in a new way this year...Make a decision to start doing things that your not used to...Start digging in the word...Start worshipping God with everyhting inside of You. Start expecting the unexpected. Start calling things that aren't as though they are. Make a decision tonight that God is more important than any relationship...than any dream...any emotion. And...choose to RUN after the heart of Christ. Choose to run after the Love of your life...and He will make the impossible possible. I know from the past couple of weeks...sometimes God does things that we wouldn't have done on our own. God has a different checklist than the one we're used to looking at...and His checklist may not look like ours. It may be totally different, but we have to TRUST that if we are His...He knows us better than we know ourselves...and we're going to be blessed beyond anything we could have ever imagined. :) There are so many things that we miss out on if we stay distracted...so many friendships...so many God moments...so many chances to love...and, it's not worth it. It's not worth it...

This semester has been filled with a lot of challenges. There have been many things that I've had to restructure...Many mindsets that I've had to change...Many 'Joe' expectations that I've had to release. But...guys, I can promise you that once you let go and trust God...and start recognizing and destroying the distractions in your life...God will pour Himself out on you in a way like you've never felt Him before. I love Jesus so much right now. I love the friends that God has placed in my life...I love their passion for Jesus...their genuineness...their love for God's people.  I love the guys on my floor...They're so awesome...I love prayer movement and what God is doing on this campus. I love ORU and the mandate that God has placed on this university, and I don't want to spend another day distracted...consumed with myself...consumed with ridiculous lies of the enemy. I want to run after God with everything inside of me this semester. Pretty soon those pains and hurts from the past aren't even going to be there...They're going to be so minuscule in the light of Christ. This is a new season, and God is calling us to higher things in Him! Let's give Him everything we have this semester...die to ourselves...and see God do the miraculous in our lives! 

Go change your world by loving God with a furious love...a love that destroys every yoke of bondage...:)

Feel free to comment!

Love you guys,

-Joe

An Awakening is Coming

Man guys...Tonight is one of those nights when the love of God is so strong upon my heart that I'm not even sure how to organize a blog. It's nights like these that I know that I have to blog...but I have no idea how it's going to turn out. God has been speaking to me so intensely the past two days...and I can't simply contain what God has been saying. I can't pretend that the things He is speaking are not a big deal. The things He has been speaking are so powerful...they're life-chaning...but above all they're relationship restoring...I'll talk more about that later. :) But...I pray that as I share the intense things God has been speaking to me you will be encouraged. I pray that your spirit will be awakened to the voice of the Holy Spirit and that you'll be open to His leading like never before. I know that this is going to turn out pretty long...and I'll do my best to get to the point...but I'm just going to flow with whatever the Holy Spirit wants to do. If you don't normally read the whole blog...I pray that tonight would be different. I believe that you and I are both going to be blessed through the intense things God is speaking...and I encourage you to read the whole thing.

First off...let me just be honest and say that I didn't expect the voice of God to be so strong on my heart tonight. I didn't expect to hear God speaking to me so powerfully over the past two days...To be honest with you...it was only a couple of days ago that I was really really questioning a lot of things as far as my calling...ORU...friendship issues...among many other things. I was discouraged...and couldn't really see the light at the end of the tunnel...In all honesty...I shouldn't feel like I do right now. In the natural it doesn't make any sense. A friend whom I was super close to and really care about...recently told me that he didn't want to be my friend...and not to text or call him again. My dad has been in the hospital recently really struggling with some major health issues...I've been wondering what my purpose is...What am I called to do? Why am I at ORU? I've felt lonely at times...and honestly super discouraged with a lot of things that have been going on...But...that's not the point of this blog. The only reason why I said all of those things is to say that in the natural...I should't be feeling the way I do tonight. A lot of those things are still going on with my dad and the friendship issue...and things like that...but, I just want to tell you tonight that I am encouraged. I am encouraged by the voice of God speaking to my heart...and I hope that somehow I can encourage you to pursue God with all of your heart...even amidst discouragement...failures...fears...confusion...or doubt. God is bigger than all of that...and the enemy wants us to believe that there is no way of escape...But I want to tell you tonight that there is a way of escape. There is a way to fight all of those negative feelings...There is a way to overcome darkness...and the ONLY way is with the powerful...penetrating...permeating...Word and voice of God.

I'm just going to open up my heart to you and share with you. I just want to talk to you openly for a minute...Tonight I had dinner with a couple of friends...as well as with a parent of one of those friends who is in Tulsa. She is an ORU alumni...and her stories about ORU...about Jesus...about the miraculous God that we serve are absolutely incredible. Her stories were breath-taking...but not just that...they were so encouraging. They were REAL...I might talk about that a little bit later in regard to ORU...but right now I just want to say...Our God is incredible. So many times we think that as we are going through life...as we are facing trials...and hard-times...as well as opposition on every side...We think that God has kind of vacated the scene. We know that God loves us. We know that He is a good God...But somehow...in the chaos of all of the things going on around us...we end up not believing those things. We somehow think that God might have just forgotten about us...and maybe He's busy doing something else. Of course, none of us would ever say those things out loud...because we KNOW that they are ridiculous...But...whether we say it or not...those feelings are confirmed by the way we act. Many times we are consumed with selfish desires...with worldly pursuits...with meaningless activities. We walk around like we have no clue what to do...like there's no hope for tomorrow...like we're defeated, broken vessels...somehow trying to live a life pleasing to God. And...let me just say...during this note...I'm not trying to come across preachy. I'm not pointing my finger at you saying..."You are doing this wrong...You are ridiculous." Let me just be really honest and say that most of what I'm saying are things that God has spoken to me personally. Most of the things that I am typing are things that I need to hear. Most of these things are things that I have not understood for so long now...and it hasn't been up until tonight that I could even be typing this note.

I want to get to the point...because I believe there are a lot of things that God wants to say. Guys...I'm just going to go ahead and say this...(I'm primarily talking to my ORU friends...but if you're reading this from back home or somewhere else...I'm sure it'll apply to you as well.) I believe God is sending an awakening. I believe that God wants to awaken our hearts to the fullness of who He is in our lives. I believe that God wants to do something so great within each and every one of us that the world is turned upside down. I believe that God wants the world to explode with His love...with His fire...and with His absolute Truth. I believe that there are some intense things on His heart for our generation...for you and I...right now. You and I are are God's hands and feet on this earth. We are an integral part of the things that God wants to do on this earth. How much time do we spend hanging out with our friends...doing homework...chasing after things that God hasn't called us to...being distracted by the enemy? How much time to we spend worrying about where we are going to eat dinner...where we're going to get the money for that new cell phone we want...what we're going to wear..?

It's not that all of these things are bad. It's not that we're necessarily sinning every time we do these things...But...guys...there's something that God wants to speak. There's powerful things that He wants to do on this campus and on this planet...that are not happening because we are so wrapped up in the things that are going on around us. While we're worried about whether we want a Big Mac or a Chicken sandwich at McDonalds...there are people hurting and dying around the world...never hearing the name of Jesus. I know that's intense...and hard to hear...but God is speaking to me about this...and for me not to share would be contrary to what I know God wants me to do. We serve a God who is more than a concept. Our God isn't black ink printed on paper. We serve a living, active, reigning, powerful, sovereign, dynamic God. Our God is Healer...Redeemer...Faithful...Holy...Just...Love... Everlasting...King. Our God is Hope to the hopeless...Peace to the troubled...Deliverer to the oppressed...Freedom to the bound. Our God is bigger than anything that our words could ever convey. He's bigger than anything that we see...bigger than any problem...any distraction...any hurt...any pain...any sickness...any demon. OUR GOD IS GREATER! And...I only said all of that to say that there is nothing that we are going through...There is nothing that the enemy is doing on this planet...that the power of God can't overcome.

God wants to change this planet through His people. I believe that God is calling a remnant to rise up willing to deny their flesh...willing to set aside any distraction...willing to pursue God even to their death. God is waiting for men and women to stand up and storm the gates of hell...allowing no distraction...no pain...no worldly desire to come in the way of an intimate relationship with Him. And...I just want to encourage you for a minute...God is raising up men and women around the world who aren't afraid of persecution...who aren't afraid to speak truth like it is...who aren't ashamed of the gospel (Romans 1:16) for "it is the POWER of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." God is raising up a remnant that isn't willing to bow to the false idols of this world...who isn't willing to allow the disgusting, ridiculous lies of the enemy to dictate the way that we speak about Jesus...about His power...and His love. We get so distracted by failures...by relationships...by the world...and guys...really nothing matters but God. Nothing matters but His kingdom and His calling on our lives. God is calling us to stand up in the mantle of our anointing...to stand up in the fullness of His Holy Spirit inside of us and be the light that permeates the darkness...to be the rivers of "living water" (John 7:38) flowing out into the dry places. Man! I can't even contain myself right now! We don't even realize the intensity of the things God wants to do inside of us! God has called us to proclaim liberty to the captives...to open the prison to those who are bound (Isaiah 61)...to minister to the sick and hurting. God wants to work through us to bring sight to the blind...to open deaf ears...to bind the enemy...to soften hearts through the power of His word. And...God isn't willing to settle for the ridiculous "American watered down" Christianity that has invaded the world.

What happened to the Christianity that turned the world upside down through thirteen men filled with God's power? What happened to the Christians that when God moved...when He spoke...wanted MORE? What happened to the Christianity that caused demons to shriek at the mere mention of the name of Jesus? What happened to the Christianity that set the world on fire? Man...guys...it breaks my heart to think of the millions of silent cries all around the world...crying out for the Jesus that lives inside of you and I. It makes me so angry that the enemy has so invaded our culture that we no longer care about the millions around the world being oppressed by him with sickness...disease...fear...doubt...demonic strongholds. When are we going to be willing to leave our American comforts...our ridiculous pursuits after meaningless things...and go after the one in some third world country crying out for a Healer...for a Comforter...for a Lover...for a Provider. That God lives inside of us! We have the Holy Spirit inside of us...the dynamite power of God...waiting to explode and bring change to this campus...to this country...and to this world! There's no shortage of supply! Our God isn't lacking in anything, and nothing is too big for Him!

I believe with all of my hear that God is sending an awakening to ORU...to America...and to the world. I believe that God is pouring His Spirit out in these last days like never before. I believe that we are going to see an awakening on college campuses...in families...in relationships...in churches...And...I believe this because God says that He is going to pour out His Spirit on all flesh in the last days. I think that we are at an extremely pivotal point right now, and this is a time that we are going to have to either get serious about the God inside of us...or we're going to have to step back completely. There's no in between anymore. This is serious. The enemy isn't having a problem taking people captive...He isn't having a problem oppressing people all around the world. He's not going to back off...And...we definitely shouldn't back off. God says in Proverbs 28:1, "The righteous are bold as a lion." Guys...it's time to be bold. It's time to start speaking truth even if it stings. It's time to start living lives that are consumed by God and His purpose. At ORU...we've heard so many times..."Raise up your students to hear My voice, to go where My light is seen dim, My voice is heard small, and My healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth. Their work will exceed yours, and in this I am

well pleased." It's almost become just something we know...but don't actually believe. God had a purpose for raising up ORU. He had a purpose...and that purpose was for us to be raised up to go into the world with the healing...delivering...saving power of Jesus Christ. Our university has a HUGE mandate...and it's such a blessing to be a part of that...But...we are the ones that God was talking about. WE are the ones who have to be bold...WE are the ones who have to surrender...who have to trust...and be obedient to whatever God has called us to do. But...above all we have to pray...we have to fast...we have to get on our knees before God and pray for this awakening...for this powerful move of God that is going to touch the nations. Let's pray for revival on our campus. Let's pray that we become men and women of God that change the world simply because of the extreme love we have for our God. And...it's not about just praying for revival...It's praying that we are so filled with a passion and love for our God that revival is just the natural overflow. Every huge move of God....has to be backed in prayer. There's no way around it...We can plan all of these things in the natural...but until we make a commitment to the Lord in prayer...and get on our face praying that the fire of God consume our hearts...nothing is going to change. 

In ending this...I want to challenge you. Here at ORU, we have prayer movement every week night in the prayer tower starting at 8:00...and usually going until 11:00...It's just a powerful time of prayer and worship...in which we pray for our campus and campuses around the country. I want to challenge you to come to as many of these meetings as you can and just pray. Let's make a commitment to pray...Let's make a commitment to join together as a campus and pray that we are awakened to the greatness and hugeness of our God so that we can go out into the world and awaken others. I'd also challenge you to fast...whether it's a meal...a whole day...or a whole week...I challenge you to make a commitment to surrender...and allow God to break things off of your life. I can tell you 100% that fasting breaks things off of your life. The enemy can't handle a Christian firmly committed to prayer, worship, and fasting. The devil doesn't understand obedience...He doesn't understand patience...He doesn't understand surrender. Strongholds are broken when we choose to pray and fast...and I just want to encourage you...if you believe that God is about to do something huge on this campus and around the world...to pray and fast. 

God is about to do huge things, and I am so excited to be a part of that! Let's be the remnant that stands up and takes the dynamite power and love of our God to the world. Let's choose to go after God with all of our hearts and not let anything get in the way of that! An awakening is coming!

Love you guys...:) Feel free to comment.

-Joe