THE VISION (Pete Greig)

So this guy comes up to me and says: “What’s the vision? What’s the big idea?” I open my mouth and words come out like this: The vision?

The Vision is Jesus- Obsessively, Dangerously, Undeniably Jesus.
The Vision is an army of young people.
You see bones? I see an army.
And they are free from materialism.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday
They wouldn't even notice, they wouldn't even care.
They know the meaning of the matrix; the way the west was won.
They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations.
They need no passport. People write their addresses in pencil, and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free, yet they are slaves of the hurting, and dirty and dying.

What is the Vision?
The Vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.
It makes children laugh, and adults angry.
It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago, to reach for the stars.
It scorns the good and strains for the best.
It is dangerously pure.
Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.
It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that would lay down it's life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers choose to lose, that they might one day win the great 'well done' of faithful sons and daughters.
Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as on Sunday night.
They don't need fame from names.
Instead the grin quietly upwards and here the crowds chanting again and again"Come on!"

And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing...
This is the sound of the underground.

And the army is disciplined.
Young people who beat their bodies into submission.
Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade in arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain"
Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes
Winners. Martyrs.
Who can stop them? Can hormones hold them back? Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them, or death kill them?
And a generation prays like a dying man,
with groans beyond talking,
with warrior cries, sulphuric tears, and with great barrow loads of laughter.

Waiting. Watching. 24-7-365

Whatever it takes they will give.
Breaking the rules.
Shaking mediocrity from it's cozy little hide.
Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs.
Laughing at labels, Fasting essentials.
They would lay down their very lives-
Swap seats with the man on death row, guilty as hell.
A throne for an electric chair.
With blood and sweat and many tears,
With sleepless nights and fruitless days,
They pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses Jesus.
He Breathes out they breath in.
Their subconscious sings.
They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping malls.
Don't you hear them coming?
Herald the weirdos, summon the losers and the freaks.
Here come the frightened and forgotten, with fire in their eyes.
They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, Mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension.
Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.
It will come to pass It will come easily. It will come soon.

How do I know?
Because this is the longing of creation itself. The groaning of the spirit. The very dream of God.
My tomorrow is His today. My distant hope is his 3D and my feeble whispered faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone shaking "Amen!" from Countless Angels, from heroes of the faith, from Christ Himself. And He is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner. Guaranteed.

Jerusalem House of Prayer

My team and I were responsible for a 8 PM-8 AM prayer set at the Jerusalem House of Prayer. It was an amazing night of worship and adoration... Of enthroning Jesus on our praises... Of seeking God's heart and really pressing into prayer on behalf of the lost... Revelation 5:8-9: "The four living creatures and the twenty four elderes fell down before the Lamb. each one had a hard and were holding golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints. They sang: With Your blood you have purchased men for God from every tribe, language, people and nation." May the Lamb receive the reward of His suffering.

Rooftop prayer room overlooking the whole city

"Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted sentinels; all day and all night they shall never be silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it renowned throughout the earth." Is 62:6-7

Singing over the city

"Here at your feet I'll always be with the Angels crying Holy"

The Western Wall (Wailing Wall)

One of King Solomon’s first major accomplishments was the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem, as a place for worship of the God of Israel (around 960 BC). The wall we see today is built upon his foundations, which date from the time of the First Temple. After the Temple was completed, Solomon planned an elaborate program of dedication. He invited the leaders of all twelve tribes to attend as he presided over the ceremony. The Ark of The Covenant was brought into the most sacred place in the Temple (The Holy of Holies) and God’s presence would manifest in that place... "And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord." (1 kings 8:10-11)

In Judaism, the Western Wall is respected as the sole remnant of the Holy Temple. It has become a place of pilgrimage for Jews, as it is the closest permitted accessible site to the holiest spot in Judaism.

This whole experience for me was just beyond description. As soon as I walked up to the wall I was speechless. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I was looking at the exact place where the First temple used to be. I couldn't believe that the ground I was standing on was the ground the First temple had been built on. The fact that I've spent the past 3 years really getting into the historical background of the scripture added so much to this experience and made it all the more richer. And even more amazing than the history of the temple itself, is the fact that this temple was where God would manifest Himself to His people. This is where the Lord would dwell. The Holy of Holies was where His presence rested.

I am someone who SO longs to live in God's presence. I long to spend my life in the Holy of Holies... To be in a place where God used to show Himself to His people, was absolutely incredible to me.

I wrote out 2 prayers and put them in the wall. As I was placing them in the cracks and lifting them upto the Lord, I was just overwhelmed with his presence and tears starting streaming down my face. It was such precious moment for me… A priceless memory I will never ever forget.

Pyramids & Camel Market

I am really enjoying my new camera and my newfound interest in photography. I'm loving experimenting with different shots, different settings, and making time stand still through the moments I'm capturing. And for someone like myself who likes to journal, I’m finding photography a wonderful way to visually journal all my adventures... It's quite fun :)

Garbage City

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

Waste My Life

“I will waste my life, I’ll be tested and tried,
With no regrets inside of me, just to find I’m at your feet.
Let me find I’m at your feet... " (Misty Edwards)

Everytime I listen to this song my heart gets so stirred. I love the idea of wasting my whole life on Jesus. Wasting my days away in His presence. Wasting every minute for His purposes. Wasting every second adoring my Savior and worshipping my Maker. Wasting everything I am, everything I could ever be, on Him and His Kingdom. How beautiful to seek His face alone. To be devoted entirely to bringing Him glory. To be concerned with nothing except for giving back the love that this perfect lover has given to me. I can't help but think, when this is what I fashion my life around, what will I have to regret? What will I ever miss out on? Anything I have to give up, anything I have to surrender in order to fervently seek him has no worth when compared with Him anyways. Being in love with Him is more than enough reason to lay everything else aside... I can't really think of anything more lovely than a life completely wasted on God.

Wasted
A person wasted on God is a well wasted soul
Leaving a life that’s relinquished all it’s control.
Lives Living out His original intent
Hearts consumed with a love that refuses to relent.
I offer my whole life in reckless abandon to your call
I give everything that I am, I give you my all.

Revelations of your love provides this newfound perspective

To adore you my God, is my one sole objective.

Nothing I give up could I even count as loss
Your uncomparable to anything I’ve ever come across.
With a single glimpse of your glory you’ve gotten my attention,
Gained my undevoted affection,
In you I've found complete perfection.

So may I always be near enough to feel your heartbeat
And may everyday I be found at your feet.
(Who knew bitter sweet surrender could be so sweet?)

Holy

In Leviticus we see God begin to sanctify His people (The word “holy” is repeated 152x) and I just saw this overwhelming call to be set apart for God’s work. To be separate. To be consecrated before Him… He is unlike anyother, completley unmatched in His beauty, His strength, His righteousness, His goodess, His wisdom, His holiness, His sovereignty, His EVERYTHING. There is nothing that compares to Him. And even though His holiness is something we can’t ever fully comprehend, we are called to obtain some degree of it, because we are made in His image... We are called to be holy because He is holy. We are called to be sanctified because God Himself is completely set apart, entirely unlike anything on earth or in Heaven. I love this quote by AW Tozer:

"We cannot grasp the true meaning of the divine holiness by thinking of someone or something very pure and then raising the concept to the highest degree we are capable of. God's holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God's power and admire His wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine."

There are no words to describe His holiness... Even just a glimpse of it makes me fall on my face in worship.

Psalms 37:4

"Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

I am completely blown away by the things God is putting in my path right now... It's all so good, it's almost overwhelming. I am beginning to see promises fulfilled, starting to see some of my deepest longings be released to me. It'd say it seems "too good to be true", but I've recently decided that saying has no authority when it comes to matters involving the Lord. He is the ultimate giver of things we never could've imagined, things we wanted but never thought we received, things we were almost too scared to believe for... These are the types of things he's so desperately wanting to give us. This verse contains such unchanging truth: When we take delight in the Lord, HE WILL give us the desires of our hearts.

So when we ask him for our hearts desires, when we pray for our deepest wants, we are not begging God for something He doesn't want to give us. We are just agreeing with him on the things He already has for us. When our hearts are truly aligned with His, our wants are His wants, our desires are His desires, our dreams are His dreams. The more I trust the Lord, the more I realize that He actually WANTS to give me these things that are in my heart. He is longing to fulfill every last one of my hearts desires... He's the one that put them there in the first place...

The Way Out

"The LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." (Ex 13:21-22)
This is one of my absolute favorite scriptures. The word Exodus literally means "The way out." And throughout this book we see God not only provided a way out for the Israelites, but he actually led the way out Himself. Every second of the day, every step of the way, He was with His people... In the light of the day, He led them. In the dark of the night, He led them. He never left them. He is so faithful to direct and guide us through our whole lives. I love knowing that no matter where I go, no matter what I do, I am never alone... He's always in front of me. No matter what decisions I'm faced with, no matter how confusing life gets, I never have to find my own way... All I have to do is follow Him. He is so faithful to show me the way... Or better yet, to show me His way.

The Garden

I read through Genesis today and it spoke so powerfully to me about how God has longed for relationship with us since the beginning of time. All He's ever wanted is intimacy with us. His original intention was simply that we be with Him. His will was that we be around Him. Live in His presence. Talk to Him. Spend time with Him. Being in His presence is what we were created for. Relationship with Him is what we were made for. I can't even grasp a full concrete understanding of what it must've been like in the garden... Adam and Eve, walking through Eden in the cool of the day with the Lord. What a perfect illustration of what God wants with us even still, even now. Even after the fall, He has made it possible for us to live in intimacy with Him... The fact that that kind of relationship is still attainable to us today is such a reflection of His love. Such a reflecion of how badly He just wants to dwell among us. I love that we can still live in His presence, still be in constant communion, continual fellowship with our maker. Ohhhhh how I long to live in the Garden all the days of my life.

A Thankful Heart

“I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.” (Ps 86:12)

As I was having my quiet time this morning, I entered into such a beautiful time of reflection… I looked out at the Mediterranean Sea and such a deep thankfulness rose within me. I am so unbelievably blessed by the work I do. Sometimes I think about my life and can’t even fathom that it really is real.
I am currently in Egypt, sharing the good news... And when I think about it, I never would’ve imagined that I'd have seen as much of the world as I’ve seen. And whats so incredible is that it’s not because of anything I’ve done, It’s all what God has done. It's ALL because of Him. He's the one whose turned my wildest dreams into my actual life. And it's simply because He is just so good. I can’t help but smile as I write that because I truly believe it with all my heart... HE IS SOOOO GOOD. A passion of mine has always been experiencing new cultures and seeing new things. It amazes me to see how my love for travel has been integrated as a part of God’s calling on my life. It is such a beautiful thing when His plans for us align with the things we have been hoping for.
I feel like all too often dreams, hopes, and desires are categorized as things we want but things we don’t expect to receive (I am so guilty of this). Yet in reality, God so badly wants us to live in expectation. He wants our hearts to be grounded in hope because He is so ready and so willing to make those hopes reality. He longs to give us the world… If only we would receive it from him.
My prayer Lord, is that I would recieve everything you want to give, that I would always live in the fullness that you have intended for me. May I always go after my dreams for I know that you can't hardly wait to make them come true. Oh Lord, you are so good. You are so unbelievably and truly good and my whole heart will praise you forever.

Captivated

This week in the prayer room God gave me a word that left such a heavy imprint on my heart... He said, "How can you look at anything else when you're looking into the eyes of the maker of the universe?"

Wow.

I've been pondering this for days and even still, even now, I am left without words.

When we've met gaze, when we've looked so intently in His eyes, how can we want anything else? Anything I wanted or desired before has lost all appeal. All else falls away in comparison with Him. There is nothing this world has to offer that even comes close to what we gain by following Him.

My desire is that my life be spent adoring Him and bringing Him glory. My hearts cry is that my eyes never part from His stare. Not because I feel like it's the right thing. Not because I think it's what I should do. But simply because I am SO in love with Him and I can't help but to look at Him; to gaze upon his beauty. He is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and I have been SO captivated by Him. Captivated by His love. Captivated by His presence. Captivated by who He is. Captiavted by what He's done. Captivated by what He will do in the days to come. I am left in complete and total awe. And I can't even fathom ever wanting anything else but Him... Because now that I've met the gaze of His eyes, I can't look away.

Captivated

I am completely captivated

And I notice my heart rate accelerated.

Beating so strong,

It's almost beating out of my chest.

I try to breathe in but I can't catch my breath,

As I experience a love that will never rest.

Never end.

Never for a second bend

Away from it's faithful ways,

Or passionate gaze,

That pierces me straight to my soul,

And leaves me amazed.

In awe of this love

And in love with this lover.
He's got such a burning jealousy in His eyes,
One glimpse alone exhorts me to arise.

He reaches out his hand for me to take hold,

So towards Him,
I willfully go.

With nothing in tow,

But a captivated heart

And doves eyes that can't part

Away from His stare.

My mind's left bare,

Stripped of any past wants or previous cares.

To Him I look; He is all I see.

My mind soul and heart aligned in unity,

For He has wholly and completely

Captivated me.

Beginning a Blog

I am absolutely ecstatic about life right now! God is doing so much, and speaking so much, and I thought a blog would be a perfect outlet... A place to process all He is doing as well as share my life's revelations with anybody who's interested. So, welcome to my thoughts, welcome to my life, I hope you enjoy reading about this amazing journey that I'm on.