Evan Olsen - Intercessory Missionary

Why I Endorse Rick Santorum

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:28:00 -0500

Yesterday I sat in a room filled with hundreds of college students and Tallahassee residents listening to Rick Santorum speak from his heart about why he is running for president, and why America needs to change. My heart and mind were moved to agree with his beliefs. It solidified my thoughts that he is the man for president in November.

Here’s why.

I believe the fundamental problem we face in America is not budgetary, and it’s not wars; it’s not healthcare, and not even over-reaching government. These are merely symptoms of a deeper rooted disease: the lack of morality due to the break down of the institution of family. Every single issue our Nation is facing can be rooted back to morals being thrown out the window for the sake of personal desires.

What has a lack of morals produced in America?

Abortion (Approximately 1.21 million in 2008, 50,000,000 in America since 1973)
Divorce rates soaring (40% in 2008)
Social unrest leading to riots/flash mobs
An entitlement mentality decrying personal responsibilities

If the problem we face is a moral one, how does a politician fix it?

Simple: He doesn’t. At least, not completely.

What America needs most importantly is for hearts to change and return to morality — the morality found in God’s Word. We need the hearts of the fathers to be turned to their children; we need a revival. This can really only come through prayer, but having the right man in office would help. This understanding of focusing on family and God is what Rick Santorum spoke about yesterday –– it’s what solidified in my mind that he’s the real deal and the candidate who would help steer America where she needs to go in this season.

I appreciate what Senator Santorum said yesterday about the constitution and its original intent being to protect the rights that God Himself gave us. Without God giving us freedom and laws, we’d have no rights or morality.

What can fix America’s problems?

God changing our hearts –– We need the hearts of the fathers turning to the children through a revival only bought through prayer (Mal. 4:5-6).
Having a president that understands the above statement, and focuses his energy on providing an atmosphere for it.

I understand these points are not conclusive, but I believe they are paramount. At least regarding the elections. I believe Rick Santorum has had a strong and consistent focus on family, God, and life. His focus on the family is the strongest out of the other GOP candidates, especially his fervor to end abortion in America. Rick Santorum and his wife have parented 7 children, and they understand the value of human life.

“The Constitution is there to do one thing, to protect God-given rights. That’s what makes America different than every other country in the world. No other country in the world has its rights based in God-given rights, not government-given rights. If our President believes that rights come to us from the state, then everything government gives you, it can take away ” -Rick Santorum

When Worry and Fear is All You Can Muster

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:06:20 -0500

Allow me to a bit vulnerable in this post. I have lately been fraught with worry, anxiety and fear. I’ve been pondering where this came from (cause it seemingly came out of nowhere), and I’ve spent a good deal of time praying, reading the Word and psychoanalyzing myself. I guess a large part of the fear is simply worrying about ‘tomorrow’ and the thought What on earth am I going to do with my whole life?

“Worry puts question marks where God puts periods.” John R. Rice

But in all the soul-searching that I have done, I have found no solace or understanding, until today.

I started reading a book by Robert J. Morgan called Red Sea Rules which gives 10 scripture-based strategies for difficult times. I’m pretty blown away with the godly perspective I’ve gained about my worries. The Red Sea Rule #1 to making it through a hard season (be it worry, anxiety from situations or just plain bad circumstances) is to “realize that the Lord has either placed us there or allowed us to be there, perhaps for reasons presently known only to Himself.”

The same God who led me in will lead me out. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8). Realizing that God has me right where He wants me brings a great sense of hope. I’m not in this difficult season because the devil has me in a trap that I can’t break free from and God can’t break into. I will rest in the fact that it is God who brought me here, He will keep me here because of His love, and give me grace to be His child (Heb. 12:6, 1 Cor. 10:13). Jesus will turn this trial into a blessing and teach me a lesson about Himself, myself, and life itself.

This poem, which is untitled and unattributed, found in a small volume by V. Raymond Edman, titled The Disciplines of Life, really encouraged me:

When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, Watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lights beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out–
God knows what He’s about.

You can check out the book Red Sea Rules here:

Corporate social networking fast — October

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:38:00 -0400

Update December, 2011: I have decided to personally extend this till the end of the year. I will begin posting again in January.

This is an invitation to my community of friends to join in a corporate fast of social networks for the month of October. The fast includes Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or any other forms of social networking (Google+).

What is the focus of this fast?

Greater desire to know and love Jesus
To gain wisdom for the way we spend our time and energy
To break any unhealthy habits with social networking
To help create healthy community through relationships
Sobriety in our spirits

Why fast social networks?

Social networking can be a great tool for relationship building and the furtherance of the gospel, but — as with most things — when used in excess, becomes an extemrely detrimental tool to our lives. The biggest issues being that of time and relational health.

Social networking can keep us from:

Building a strong, meaningful relationship with God
Relationships with real-life friends
Important life activities (work around the house, exercise, chores, etc)

Why it’s important to fast corporately:

Accountability - When we all fast together it is easier to be accountable to each other, rather than giving up because we are alone.
We go farther together - As with most things, we all go farther when we go together. We are able to provoke and egg each other on.
It’s biblical - There are many examples in the bible of corporate fasts (I Samuel 7:5-6, II Chronicles 20:34, Ezra 8:21-23, Nehemiah 9:1-3, Joel 2:15-16, Jonah 3:5-10, Acts 27:33-37).

If you’d like to join in this fast, please let us know in the comments!

Ray Comfort, founder of Living Waters Ministries produced this...

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:40:52 -0400

Ray Comfort, founder of Living Waters Ministries produced this 33 minute documentary that is raw, gritty, a bit offensive, and true.

This ‘guy on the street’ styled documentary shows pro-choice Americans’ views on abortion and their complete 180º change to pro-life seconds. The paralel between Hitler’s Holocaust of the Jews and America’s Holocaust of 50+ million babies is an incredible, thought-provoking argument.

Comfort’s goal is to get the movie out to people, free of charge, including giving out 200,000 DVDs of the movie in one day to the nation’s top universities.

Please visit the movie’s website at: http://www.180movie.com

The universal ache of dissatisfaction (by Josh Hawkins)

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:33:05 -0400

The universal ache of dissatisfaction (by Josh Hawkins):

“The root of the problem does not originate with a love of pleasure but rather lies with the posture of our heart in the midst of pleasure. Therefore selling our possessions and living in poverty can never be a final solution to our dissatisfaction. Those who believe so have assumed that our satisfaction is the pinnacle of our existence. Is our joy the final goal of our lives, or do we exist to enjoy bringing pleasure to Another?”

I'm in Orlando! Presidency 5 Florida Straw Poll

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 23:02:55 -0400

I arrived in Orlando this evening to take part in the Florida Straw Poll, Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and to pray for the presidential candidates. I will also be attending the Fox News/Google GOP Presidential Primary Debate on Thursday.

I’m so excited to be attending this event and to pray over this election season. Our prayers are effective from anywhere, but there is something different about being able to lay your hand on someone’s shoulder and pray for them.

I am asking God for divine meetings and favor. Also, I am really praying that God would use me to encourage the candidates to make bold, unapologetic stands for righteousness according to the Word.

I would love it if you would please pray for my mother and me.

Here’s some ways to pray:

That God would give me boldness to say what He wants me to say (Acts 4:29-30)
That He would tell me what I should say to the candidates (Eph. 1:16-19)
For safety and protection in traveling and during the conference
For God-ordained meetings to take place
That I could be a bold witness to Jesus and take a strong stance for life (righteousness)
Pray Jeremiah 1:7-9 and Daniel 5:12

My story of God's faithfulness -- even in trials

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:49:24 -0400

I am currently sitting on an electrical box outside of a Christian Life Center waiting on my car to be towed. The muggy air is thankfully masked by the slightly cooled breeze. As I was driving here, my car…bit the dust.

While turning, I lost power steering, A/C; my battery warning light came on and my car let out a treacherous squeal like she’d been shot by an arrow in the gut. Turns out it was the Serpentine belt.

Minwé, my car, has had a rough time lately. Last week her A/C died, costing me a pretty penny (a really pretty penny). We’ve had our fair share of problems and fix-its, her and I. But I’ve never doubted God’s faithfulness and goodness.

The reason I call her Minwé is actually an interesting story of God’s faithfulness.

Around a year and a half ago I was praying for God to give me a car. I had heard stories of cars being given to friends and I believed in faith that God could do the same. I began to pray specifically for a Toyota Matrix (love that car). I even had a specific color picked out: midnight purple.

While praying for a car to be given to me, I still saved up money. I wasn’t doubting, but I knew God works in discipline, hard-work and saving as well as in faith. 8 months went by and no midnight purple Toyota Matrix to be found. Do I doubt that God is faithful? Why is it taking so long? Maybe my faith was folly?

At the same time my dad’s mechanic told me of a car that they were selling. It was similar to a Toyota Matrix: a Ford Focus Zx3. The mechanic had replaced the engine with a 70K engine; replaced the tires and fixed the breaks; repainted the entire car a beautiful black, and fixed various other problems.

And it was cheap. The mechanic is also a Christian and gave me a deal: it is actually worth $2,000 more than he sold it to me for. He said his intention was to bless me and my missions work.

I definitely felt this was God’s response to my prayers, an answer to my great need for a car. That’s why I call her Minwé, which is Haitian Creole for “midnight”. Minwé is my Ebinezer — my rock of victory, placed to remind me of God’s faithfulness.

How 3-5 seconds can bolster virtue within you

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:00:06 -0400

How 3-5 seconds can bolster virtue within you:

This article is a gem. It talks about the 3-5 second window we have where we can say yes or no to temptation. It also hits on how we can practically avoid temptation. Oh, and it’s vintage, so it should appeal to you hipsters.

How to make a daily schedule you can stick to (at least, mostly)

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:29:00 -0400

168. That’s how many hours we all have in a week. If you average 8 hours a night for sleep, it leaves you with 112 waking-hours. In that amount of time, you could do a lot of things. Like: make 12,320 vinyl records, quilt 5.5 quilts or read the entire Bible roughly 1.6 times.

Needless to say, we all have a lot of time in life. Yet, the most common complaint is, “There’s not enough time in the day.” I’m guilty of this complaint, and it is usually an excuse for poor planning. The issue at hand is that we don’t schedule and prioritize our time according to our life vision and goals.

It’s great to write out a life-vision and life-goals, but if they don’t translate into every-day-action, then they are useless.

When the way we spend our time reflects what we ultimately want to achieve in life, we don’t feel aimless and distracted, our morale is built up by a sense of achievement, and strain is reduced on our relationships.

I moved out of my parents’ house last weekend. It’s a great time for me to tweak my schedule and take an evaluating look at my life plans. It’s a good idea to make small tweaks to your schedule at least once a month.

While laying out my schedule, it forced me to evaluate which activities are really important to me. Once I prioritized my activities, I found my schedule to be full, but with gaping holes. How can this be? I laid out everything I wanted to do, but there was still tons of time open.

The consequences of not planning your time:

Life will seem tiresome (Eccl. 1:5-8).
Life will seem unfulfilling (Eccl. 1:8b-9a).
Life will seem uncontrollable (Eccl. 1:15).

The benefits of planning your time:

Life will have focus.
Life will be simplified (prioritized).
Motivation will increase (achieving tasks increases motivation).

There are a lot of great tools out there to help you manage your time. Here are a few that I recommend:

iCal/Google Calender - The best calendar apps out there are iCal and Google Calendar. They can create events that repeat weekly and have multiple color-coded calendars. (For example, my home calendar is blue and involves things I do in my personal life, while my work calendar is green.)
2Do for iPhone - This app is amazing. It’s the best to-do list app I’ve ever used. It can sync your tasks with iCal, created projects and checklists, and even have tasks repeat (great for newsletters, paying bills, etc.)
Day planner - Don’t own a good computer or a ‘smart phone’? There’s always the good ole fashioned pen and paper. While I haven’t used this method myself, I have heard others say they have planned their weeks this way for decades. Some prefer it over digital planners.
A few things to keep in mind:
- If you can stick to your schedule at least 75% of the time you have made a huge success.
- Since it is your life you’re planning, it’s totally fine to deviate from the schedule and say, “forget learning Danish — I’m gonna go get a banana split!”

Should Christians Be Involved in Politics?

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 01:38:00 -0400

As Christians living in America, we are duel citizens: we are both Americans and future-inhabitants of heaven. But, should one citizenship completely negate the other? More specifically, should Christians be involved in politics — or even vote?

There are those who believe that God’s ways are so far beyond our day-to-day lives that we should completely ignore that which is around us. In essence, we should solely focus on God so intensely that we ignore things going on around us. After all, those things are temporary, and therefore don’t matter.

I think this logic is dangerous. While it is true that we should focus primarily on God, to ignore our government, society and state of our world is to ignore how far God came to redeem humanity. He isn’t stoic and detached from our world; He is Immanuel: God with us.

So is Jesus involved in America’s elections? Does He care who becomes president?

Here are some key verses in regards to God and government:

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” -Rom. 13:1

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord,
Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” -Prov. 21:1

“…He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” -Dan. 2:21

The scriptures make it clear: God is intimately involved with nations, governments and peoples. They are appointed by Him. I believe the Word concludes that God does care about who is king (or president, prime minister, etc) and so should we.

When we vote we are putting our beliefs into action. Our morals, ideologies and philosophies transcend our little chad punches into our nation’s direction. It’s such a great privalege to be able to be an advocate for God in this way.

What are your thoughts — should Christians vote?

How to Properly Endorse a Candidate

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 06:31:00 -0400

There is so much pressure nowadays to endorse a candidate for presidency ASAP. Our friends and family ask “Who are you supporting?” and you feel the pressure to have an answer, even though we are still a ways away from the Primaries.

But I think a lot of Americans tend to choose candidates based on arbitrary factors. Like, 1) Who do my friends support? 2) Who is most likely to beat the incumbent? 3) Who will help me get a job? (You’re a slacker, McFly.)

While these factors definitely play a role in selecting a candidate to endorse, they can’t be the primary factors or decided upon flippantly.

I’m not new to politics. It started when I was a little kid as I held up signs for Bush senior. Of course, my arguments for Bush went something like, “Cwinton is da bad guy.” This year I am attending the Florida Presidency 5 Straw Poll as a delegate. Fortunately, my rhetoric has gotten a little more advanced.

The concept of Good Guy vs. Bad Guy is still alive in the psyche of society. When we flippantly side with a candidate, we pit them against the others — even those of the same party. Things get nasty.

There are a lot of factors that I think about when choosing who to endorse. Here are some tools to help the process:

Prayer - I believe God Himself wants a certain person to be the next president. Through prayer the Holy Spirit leads us into revelation of God’s heart (1 Cor. 2:10).
Research
- Wikipedia - Wikipedia can be edited by anyone and shouldn’t ever be taken as a reliable source. But Wikipedia users are big on citing their sources. Using WikiPedia as a catalyst to legit sources cuts down on research time.
- FactCheck.org - The team at FactCheck does a good job at researching common controversies in a candidate’s history.
- Debates - Listening to candidates debate can sometimes be boring or full of side-stepping rhetoric. Political baboonery aside, these debates can be a good way to get your feet wet on a candidates character and beliefs.
- Trusted friends and family - Find a trusted group of people that share similar political beliefs. Proverbs teaches that there is wisdom and safety in the council of many.

Above all else, have patience and make educated decisions. Don’t feel the pressure to endorse a candidate before you’re ready to. It’s a big decision and one that is detrimental to society if taken lightly.

As to how to properly endorse a candidate (I have to answer to the title), I don’t care — tweet about it.

Why God Desires 24/7 Worship

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:29:00 -0400

We just recently finished 24 hours of non-stop worship this weekend at the missions base. It was incredible. Nine different worship teams from local churches and ministries ministered to the Lord Friday and Saturday as we offered Jesus a 24-hour offering of adoration.

I strongly believe that God desires 24/7 worship and prayer to be found all over the earth. In fact, His Word promises it:

“‘After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up…” -Acts 15:16

In Rev. 4-5 we see a glimpse of what happens in Heaven. In the throne-room where God dwells, angels, creatures and elders sing incessantly, “holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty” forever.

Beyond the general affirmations of God’s desire to bring Heaven and earth together (Eph 1:10, Col 1:19, Matt 6:10, Luke 11:2-3), God makes it explicit that He desires earthly worship to mimic heavenly worship. In Exodus 24-25 God meets with Moses on Mount Sinai and commissions him to build a temple according to what he saw (Exodus 25:8-9). This as an earthly homage to a heavenly reality (I Chronicles 28:19).

Why 24/7 Worship?

24/7 worship and prayer simply cannot be understood apart from the purpose that stands as the ultimate end of everything in the Divine heart: the glory of God.

The desire for Jesus’ indescribable glory to be seen must be the impetus upon which night and day prayer is founded and the main reason it continues each passing moment.

We seek to worship 24/7 because Jesus is worthy to be adored forever.
We secondarily petition God to bring justice and make the wrong things right (Luke 18:7).

We, as believers, must focus our time, energy and finances (like king Cyrus) into building a place of 24/7 worship. This is not a new idea. For thousands of years God has found pockets of 24/7 worship.

Today, all across the earth, the Holy Spirit is impressing this reality onto thousands of individuals: Jesus’ unending glory warrants our unceasing praise.

Read the history of 24/7 worship and prayer here »

Recommended Reading:

The Worth of Jesus & Night and Day Prayer, Stephen Venable »

"Loving God, forgive us our many sins: for being judgmental, unloving, focused on ourselves, lacking..."

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 17:09:18 -0400

“Loving God, forgive us our many sins: for being judgmental, unloving, focused on ourselves, lacking in mercy, hypocritical. We are sinful and flawed; use us anyway, by and for Your glory and purposes that we may all live quiet and peaceful lives. We need You. America needs You.”

- Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback at The Response.

"Father, our heart breaks for America… as a nation we have forgotten Who made us, Who protects..."

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 07:30:00 -0400

“Father, our heart breaks for America… as a nation we have forgotten Who made us, Who protects us, Who blesses us, and for that we cry out for Your forgiveness. You call us to repent, Lord, and this day is our response. We give it all to You. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.”

-
Governor Rick Perry’s prayer during The Response - Watch the archive »

This message lays out three issues dealing with fatherhood: 1)...

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:46:00 -0400

God's Fatherhood Released in the Church | Part 1 - Tenney Olsen

This message lays out three issues dealing with fatherhood: 1) God’s father-heart in relation to His creation, 2) Developing a father-heart in parenting our children, 3) the great need for ‘fathers’ to be raised up in the Church to disciple young believers.

The idea that Jesus loves us as much as the Father loves Him (Jn. 15:9) empowers our hearts to break free from condemnation, self-pity and worthless goals. When we understand that we are adopted in to the family of God, rejection is broken off of us, we no longer strive to get affirmation from others, and we walk in the freedom of acceptance.

Downloads:

.DOC Teaching Notes

Living Life Without Regret (Going For the Gold)

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 09:00:00 -0400

At the end of every believer’s life, they will stand before Christ and their works will be judged. All of their actions will be laid out on the table and they will be rewarded according to them. This judgement seat is not the same as the Great White Throne judgement, where sinners are cast into the eternal lake of fire, but it is still equally devastating.

At this judgment seat, our salvation is not on the line, but our rewards are. In that day, some will feel deep sorrow and regret for the life they squandered and choices they made. Regret on that day will be a terrible, irreversible pain.

I know I have done things I regret. So has your mother and father, your best friend, your doctor — and I’m sure, you. Life is full of things we wish we could undo: a sarcastic remark that hurt a friend, a bad thought or action, even regrets of not doing enough good.

It would be nice if life had an undo button, but it doesn’t. The cold, stark reality is that our choices and actions affect us. There is, of course, forgiveness, but there are still repercussions to our actions.

Take King David for example: his sin with Bathsheba was forgiven, but his illegitimate child still died as a consequence.

“And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.’” 2 Sam. 12:13-14

How can a person live without regret?

This isn’t a comprehensive list, but I believe these to be fundamental cornerstones of living a life without regret:

Write down your life vision/goals. We must view our lives as a whole, not just as a collection of here-and-now moments. When we write down our life vision and goals, our life becomes focused. The way we spend our time must fall in line with the vision.
Plan your day-to-day, week-to-week schedule. Our life vision is meaningless if it doesn’t transcend from paper into our day-to-day life. iCal or Google Calendar are great tools to plan your day in 15-30 min segments. Get a weekly routine going and stick with it. You’ll find that you have so much time that you’ll have to intentionally think What do I want to do with all this extra time?
Get it into your head: Your actions matter! We must live intentionally and not frivolously spend our time. If you think you can do whatever you want whenever you want and ‘figure life out’ later, then you’re in for a sad wake-up call!

Side note: while life is not a problem to be solved, but an adventure to be lived, we should still intentionally set up time-boundaries so we can maximize the adventure of life. We only have one life to live — why squander it? We must stop living life as if we have an undo button — we don’t! We only have reward or regret. Make the right choice.

Recommended resources:

5 Reasons Why You Should Commit Your Goals to Writing, Michael Hyatt

Don’t Waste Your Life, John Piper

Living Life Without Regret, Mike Bickle

A Life God Rewards - 5 Myths About the Judgment Seat, Bret Mavrich

Choice by Choice

Question: What’s your greatest hindrance from writing down a life vision? Leave a comment »

Ways to Develop Prophetic Musicianship

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:29:00 -0400

The term “prophetic musician” simply describes a musician who, operating in the spirit of prophecy, testifies of Jesus. Because prophecy is simply the testimony of Jesus, it can be coupled with many different mediums. Preachers preach the testimony of Jesus; teachers teach it. Singers sing the testimony of Jesus; painters paint it. All these mediums can prophesy about who Jesus is and edify the Church.

“[T]he testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev. 19:10)

Listen to this musical interlude in Bethel’s song God, I look to You. Start at the 3:49 mark. What does the melody make you feel about God?

Keep that thought in your head, now go back and listen to the whole song and tell me if what you felt is at all close to the topic of the song. That’s what prophetic music does: it makes known God’s heart through melodies, rhythms and sounds.

The Bible has some amazing accounts of prophetic musicians who cast out demons and won military battles through melodies and songs.

Young David played his harp and caused King Saul to be set free from a terrorizing spirit:

“And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.” (1 Sam. 16:23)

And in Chronicles, singers delivered Israel from armies:

“And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.”

Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.” (2 Chron. 20:21-23)

How to cultivate a prophetic spirit:

A prophetic spirit doesn’t come in an instant. It must be intentionally cultivated. Here a few things you can do to help cultivate a prophetic spirit:

Be a servant. This is such a huge part of playing on a worship team. Serving others must be a primary focus in our musicianship. What can I play to help bring out the best in the other team members? What can I not play? Servanthood and meekness go hand in hand. Meekness is power under control which is ultimately governed by a spirit of servanthood.
Pray and read the Word. It sounds simple — and that’s because it is. Prayer is simply talking with God. In order to prophesy who God is we must first know God. An intentional time when we seek to know God will inevitably develop a spirit of prophecy in us — though cultivating a prophetic spirit must not be the reason to pray and read the Word.
Live the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle. I think the biggest hindrance to musicians walking in the spirit of prophecy is pride. We’ve all felt tingle of pride welling up, that was so cool. You sounded so amazing playing that melody. The Sermon on the Mount lifestyle is Christianity 101. It emphasizes humility, meekness, purity and servanthood.

You may have noticed that none of these tips have anything to do with music. While practice and developing your musical talent is important, it is not the end-all. Jesus is the end-all, always. Being a prophetic musician focuses on Jesus and how we can better exalt Him above ourselves.

I would highly recommend you check out Josh Hawkin’s Prophetic Musicians Resource Center.

Jared Olsen: On Unity

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 14:28:29 -0400

Jared Olsen: On Unity:

My brother, Jared, wrote a great piece about community and what true unity looks like in the church.

On August 6, the nation will come together at Reliant Stadium in...

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:04:00 -0400

On August 6, the nation will come together at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas for a solemn gathering of prayer and fasting for our country.

We believe that America is in a state of crisis. Not just politically, financially or morally, but because we are a nation that has not honored God in our successes or humbly called on Him in our struggles.

According to the Bible, the answer to a nation in such crisis is to gather in humility and repentance and ask God to intervene. The Response will be a historic gathering of people from across the nation to pray and fast for America.

How You Can Encounter God in His Word

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:59:00 -0400

Everyone does it; we all think it: I gotta get to the next chapter so I can be caught up on my Bible reading plan. It’s as common as my own bad analogies (which are as common as pie in an oven). What causes us to be so preoccupied with getting our 10 chapters in the New Testament finished, or reading our 5 Psalms and 1 Proverb a day? Jesus warned the Jews in His day, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” (Jn. 5:39) The Word is what displays God’s character and nature so that we are driven to talking with, and encountering God.

Whenever I sit down in my quiet time with God I struggle to not think, “Where did I leave off and how many chapters do I have to read to catch up?” It’s as if God is more pleased with me cause I read 20 chapters today.

Imagine if we had that kind of relationship with our spouse. Imagine if we read our spouse’s journal and then never really talked with them. Would you call that a relationship? In the same way we develop a relationship with our spouse — talking with, asking questions, growing in relational knowledge — that is the same way we grow in relationship with God.

3 practical ways to encounter God in His word:

Position your heart to meet with God. When we approach the word in our times of prayer we should position our hearts to meet with God. The purpose of reading the word is to get to know Whom the word points to. Before you read, invite the Holy Spirit there to give you understanding of who God is. We should approach our times with the Word as if we’re meeting a living Person.

Ask God for revelation about what You’re reading. The Bible is full of scriptures that show God’s character, but there are also some that require a bit of searching out to understand the meaning. “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” (Pro. 25:2). If you feel God giving you revelation of Himself through a passage, pause and verbally thank Him for showing Himself to you, then ask for more understanding. Thankfulness to God tenderizes our hearts.

Dialogue with Jesus: Ask specific questions. I remember the first time I read Matthew with the intention of talking with Jesus to know Him better. I remember reading Matt. 4:13, “And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea,” and asking Jesus “Why did you choose that city to start Your ministry in? Did you like that city? Do you like that it’s by the sea? Do you like the sea?” All of the sudden, my understanding of Jesus became much more real — He likes things. Does Jesus enjoy looking out to the sea? Did He like the architecture in Capernaum? Was He nervous at all starting His ministry?

It’s important that we come to the Bible expecting to learn and grow in our relationship with God. In the same way we grow stronger in our relationship with our spouse or friends after a meaningful conversation, so it can be with God. Our study of the Bible must develop into an active dialogue with the Person of God. Scripture gives us the “conversational material” but it’s up to us to open up our mouths and have that conversation.

Recommended Resources:

Bible Study Action Plan, Mike Bickle
Words of Life, Tenney Olsen (Downloadable teaching notes)
The Face of Christ and the Pursuit of Intimacy, Stephen Venable (CD Audio teaching)