When God Reveals a Mystery

We took a trip across to the southern most part of the nation and through all the ups and downs that came this was an amazing up.

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Finding her way

Last Saturday night at the New Life City conference a woman came late and sat down in front of me. She was highlighted to me by our Father by showing me a bunch of images in my mind. When that happens I start praying for the person and the place.

Skip forward to ministry time, I had to use the restroom which I typical don’t at this time. So I left. When I came back the ministry team was all at the front. I was about to jump in but saw the woman and stayed. Closed my eyes and waited for Father to show me what He wanted to say to her.

It was pretty rough what I saw but basically it was imprisonment.

I approached her and asked if she would mind if I shared something I felt God shared with me for her. She agreed.

It’s always amazing when you use the words of Holy Spirit because it hit home in the only way Holy Spirit knows how. Tears came to her eyes.

She then explained to me that she was drawn to this place. She was driving on Pan American going South and felt like she needed to turn West on this street, Venice. Then she felt like she needed to go to the building that read New Life City. She found a parking space by the side door on the westside of the building which was super amazing for her which will become clear soon. At this point she didn’t know it was a church until she entered the building.

I told her that she was here by no mistake and was led by God for a very specific reason. So I asked her if she needed any prayer for anything.

She explained to me that her leg was in great pain, level eight, due to complications that landed her in the hospital a couple times in the last few months. She couldn’t even touch it or move her foot without an immense amount of pain. So having a parking space right by the side door was a miracle. “She didn’t have to limp far,” she said.

Long story short, I prayed, pain dropped to a three.

Prayed again, dropped to zero!

She was in shock. I told her to touch it. No pain. I told her to walk around. No pain. She was speechless. I explained that her heavenly Father wants a deeper more intimate relationship with her and that it’s good to surround oneself with other brother and sisters that will help encourage her in this journey.

I love seeing our Father love the hell out of people . . . so much fun!

Please pray for this daughter of the King.

How’d We Get Here? KoRn Rob Zombie Concert July 22nd 2016 Movie

A short film of impossible possibilities. It all started with an invite by Brian “Head” Welch to his Rob Zombie & KoRn: Return Of The Dreads 2016 concert on July 22nd 2016. All that was required . . . Just an ear to hear and a heart to go!

Checkout the vLOG: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLavB5a3wJ3VXzjsO69KkT5adhBZM9-TXh

Checkout Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imsozoed/

Sorry for how some Christians act . . . Free Spiritual Readings! What?

Photo credit – Patrick MacMillan

Photo credit – Patrick MacMillan

Photo credit – Patrick MacMillan

Photo credit – Patrick MacMillan

California Adventure Bears Fruit

California produces a sizable majority of the United States fruits, vegetables and nuts. So much so that it is responsible for more than half of most produce found in stores across America. California simply beats out pretty much any US state’s output of produce per acre largely due to it’s ideal soil and climate.

With all of California’s crazy huge produce production capabilities and economic influence bearing fruit has brought them there still is so many in need. Even in places you would least expect like San Diego or Long Beach.

I recently visited Southern California for a week in mid July as part of a mission trip / conference in San Diego and Long Beach with my church’s youth group. We partnered with New Vision Urban Missions in San Diego on Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th in helping with meeting physical and spiritual needs in both the local community and greater San Diego area.

Both days were amazing and I could go on and on how beneficial it was for everyone but there were a few things that stood out that I felt like sharing.

Monday we went to down town San Diego and visited the Plaza Hotel where we distributed food, played live music and prayed for people. This was a hotel that provided very inexpensive housing opportunities for those in need. Lots of people in hard places. We prayed for a lot of people! The place had a very interesting feeling about it. Sort of reminded me of the Twilight Zone. There was an old school elevator with an expanding and contracting gated door so you could watch the walls pass by as you ascend or descend. Sadly I was not able to ride it as it was currently down for maintenance. The hallways were narrow and seemed to twist and turn like some sort of labyrinth but it added to the adventure we were on of knocking on doors and handing out plates of food. Super fun! But the coolest stuff for me happened towards the end.

I noticed one of the youth hanging out by the entrance so I went over there and gently reminded him we couldn’t go out onto the sidewalk. Well that quickly changed. A few more youth joined us. Then things changed. A homeless man came up and asked for food. So I directed one of the youth to get some. We asked if we could pray for him and he agreed. We all laid hands on him and he began to feel the power of Holy Spirit and tears came to his eyes. Then another man came and asked for food too. We prayed for him too. Then we were all talking and blessing these two men. At this point we were well out of the hotel and on the sidewalk praying, blessing and handing out food to people. I guess we didn’t follow that rule to well 🙂

Being out away from the hotel entrance I noticed a lady sitting a short distance off to the side of the door. I went over and asked if she was hungry and would like some food. She agreed and we got her some food. Then I asked if she was experiencing pain in her stomach and she looked at me with astonishment and said yes. I just got out of the hospital. She had been administered there due to the negative affects of alcoholism. I ended up praying for her and Holy Spirit came upon her with such peace and warmth she started crying. The words of her Father brought encouragement and a bold reminder of who she was. Alcoholism was broken off her by her desire and declaration which almost brought her to the ground. She was touched by the Creator of the Universe.

We ended up speaking for a while about identity and the power of Jesus and Holy Spirit and all the while Hope and Love and Faith began to grow up in her bringing a peace and smile to her face and body. What was once rigid was now relaxed. While we were talking she saw a friend she hadn’t seen in quite some time.

Turns out her friend was suffering from a large amount of pain and was scheduled to see the doctor the next day, Tuesday. The pain was in his lower back and legs. With the power of Holy Spirit I commanded the pain to go and back and legs restored. I didn’t even have to ask him to check it out as he started to test it. He bent over multiple times and looked at me and said the pain was pretty much gone. So I prayed again and he said he really couldn’t feel it any more. So I told him to be very aware of his condition tomorrow when he visits the doctor. He said don’t worry. I have been living with this condition for many many years. He was a veteran.

At this point it was time to get ready to go and wait for the vans that had dropped us off to come pick us up. Some of the youth in their creative awesomeness started tapping with drum sticks on the sidewalk. Then more joined. Before long we erupted in full praise to the King of Kings. It resonated off the walls of the 5 star hotel across the street and perked the interest of every one passing by. Some even recorded it! It was truly a spontaneous worship moment that has forever shifted the atmosphere there!

Salvation Arm KROC Community Center – image courtesy of Google

At the end of the day we were scheduled to take showers at the Salvation Army. Now that was one of the nicest Salvation Army centers I have ever been too! After all the youth were pretty much done and gone my friend Steve and I were the last in the locker room, not by accident of courese. God had some cool stuff to do.

I notice there was a man by the sink who had an ace wrap on his left ankle. So walked over to him and asked what was up with his ankle. He explained it was an old high school injury many many years ago. The man must have been in his late 50’s. I asked if I could pray for it. He looked at me and said “What are you some sort of healer?” I said, “No, but Jesus is.” He replied, “I’m a Christian Buddhist.” Then he began to tell me about his past life with his brother and friends and Jesus and healings and salvations.

After his story I prayed for his ankle. He said it felt a little better but not much. I said,
“No worries. Just keep an eye on it as I believe it will be healed.” At this point Steve and I had to go so we blessed him and parted ways.

Youth helping feed 73,000 people at Feeding America!

Tuesday was a fun day but sadly I ended up working most of it 😦 In the morning, we helped a non-profit called Feeding America with feeding over 73,000 people (I think I have my numbers right. It was a lot of people)! Then headed back to New Vision Urban Missions where the youth helped distribute food to hundreds of people that wrapped around their campus. Later that evening we were invited to Point Loma Nazarene University for the Move conference they were hosting. It turned out to be a very amazing time. A time of new things. A time of break through!

I had brought my flags, cause you never know when Holy Spirit prompts you to express His Kingdom in a manner for all to see. The worship was well laden with Holy Spirit and the words of the songs just encouraged what was about to happen. I felt like Holy Spirit wanted to show off. He wanted to release something. Something fresh and new to those who were so hungry. So I grabbed my flags and clamored over to the back of the bleachers and began to flag. I was soon joined by my friend Bayleigh who also felt moved. We flagged back there for a while during one of the songs. Then I felt led to go down and move to the front but off to the side of the stage. Not directly in front but stage right which is the audience’s left. It was very open with no chairs and plenty of space to move. Down I went. I was soon joined by Bayleigh. The two of us unleashing the Kingdom in a manner not accustom to many there. It was amazing. I felt His presence strongly. My focus was so One on one. He captivated me. I was lost in Him.

We flagged and danced in that open spot just left of the giant screen.

Every so often I would get glimpses of what was going on around me. Bayleigh and I were not alone. More youth had come down and were expressing their love for their King! We were all on God’s great dance floor giving Him our everything! It was beautiful. It was humbling. It was freedom!

The flow of the conference was interesting to me. We would worship with a song or two then there would be speaking. Then worship then speaking. I think this happened about three times. I just remember it being very distracting as I didn’t want to exit the worship. But the youth were not as distracted. They didn’t care. Give them the opportunity to worship. They worshiped. They would run down to the “dance floor” just right of the stage every time a song was played and release their praise! I would eventually get over my distraction and join them. They were such a blessing. Still so much to learn from them in being child like 🙂

After the conference we arrived late at New Vision Urban Missions where we were all soon to discover the initial impact our freedom to worship would have. Mike explained that in the past when they had tried to worship freely in similar conservative venues they were quickly shut down. It could have even been a Move Conference too but I don’t recall. But he pointed out that we were not shut down. No one was approached to stop our worship. In all his years he had not seen anything quite like this. I may be so bold to say I believe that history was made and we were a part of it!

Holy Spirit is breaking down our limited understanding of who He is. He is showing us that our understanding of who He is does not limit what He does or how He does it! Things are moving. Things are changing! Are you a part of it?

Wednesday was beach and shopping day and our last day in San Diego. The beach is always awesome to me so that was a blast and a blast to the youth as well. Most of us will forever remember that day as the sun was not so kind to our skin. My face had gotten scorched even after 3 times of sun screen application 😦 But it’s the price you pay when you are out in the sun for over 5 hours and miss the beach!

Shopping was fun. I tend to shop a little different then most people. Instead of getting something I like to give something. This led me to three people to bless. The third person just touched my heart deeply. I noticed her walking in the opposite direction away from the beach while we were walking back to the vans toward the beach. She was stumbling across the cross walk when we all passed her. As I reached the other side of the street I knew in my heart I had to turn back. So I informed the guys that I would catch up with them. I ran back to her, which didn’t take long as she wasn’t moving very fast.

I asked her if she was lost. She replied, “Yes.” So I asked where she was trying to go. She didn’t know. She was bewildered. Maybe from shock. Maybe from drugs. Maybe from abuse. I wasn’t all sure but I was completely sure that this was no accident our paths crossed. We got to talking and I discovered she was trying to get away. Away from something horrible. I asked if it would be ok if I prayed for her.  She agreed. That is when everything changed. Her Father began to reveal things about her and tell her who she was. She was not forgotten. That a stranger from hundreds of miles away just so happened to come in contact with her and encourage her and lift her with the power of Jesus. She began to sob and like a good Father was received with open arms. She must have cried for a good 5 minutes on my shoulder all the while words of Love broke down her walls of defense to heal her wounds. It was beautiful!

She was a victim of an abusive relationship and she was running away from it. She wasn’t even from the States but from Canada. So this older woman from Canada meets a guy from New Mexico just a block or so off the beach in Encinitas California where her heavenly Father revealed how much He loves her regardless of her past.

I offered to make a phone call to my friend Mike from New Vision Urban Missions in San Diego to see if there was anyone up in Encinitas that could help her. She declined. I pushed a little more. I felt like she needed to know that this was a critical moment in her life where everything could change for the better if she wanted. I explained that she had a choice to make – Continue living in the abuse or leave it and get help. I could see she wanted to leave but was afraid. We prayed more. Prayed for lies to end. Fear to leave, clarity to set in and what ever substance or thing causing confusion to leave. I asked again if I could call my friend. She hesitated. You could tell this was not easy. She declined again. So we talked about how she was not powerless. She held the most powerful thing in the world at that movement that no one could take away from her. Her choice. Prayed for her some more and asked again if she would like a new life. She had said she believed in Jesus. I explained that she is not alone. Holy Spirit will be her guide bring her comfort. She won’t be lost anymore. Regardless of her decision her Father will not abandon her. That seemed to help. A weight seemed to have lifted from her and I asked a third time if I could make the call. She declined. I told her she was loved and a beautiful daughter but I had to go. I remember walking away, crossing the crosswalk, looking through the palm trees and seeing her gaze back at me with a look that broke my heart. I prayed she would be safe and find peace. Till this day I see her face and pray for freedom from her situation.

After a long day of fun, encounters and In n Out burger we headed back to the Salvation Army to clean up. Well wouldn’t you know the man I prayed for on Monday was there with no ace wrap on his left ankle! I asked him how his ankle was doing. He didn’t reply but began flexing it and moving it pain free with a huge smile on his face! I said, “Isn’t Jesus cool!” He nodded and we talked a bit more and affirmed the pain was gone! God is good!

Thursday, Thursday, Thursday.

The drive up to Long Beach for the Jesus Culture Los Angeles conference was pretty uneventful for the most part that is until we lost the main caravan! We had a caravan of three fifteen passenger vans and two SUVs. I was the tail end following Tim and Patrick in their van. We ended up loosing the main caravan and found ourselves some where on the 605. After driving around a bit we were realigned and arrived safely at the Performing Arts Center.

The conference was pretty amazing. My favorite part was hearing over 3,000 people praising God! It was out of this world good!

Ran into many different people of all types and was given the privilege to Love them. One particular time that was simply unbelievable happened on the last day, Saturday and I warn you I am gonna get detailed here.

I was in need of some chapstick to treat my severely sunburned lip. The sun had kissed me good Wednesday at the beach, real good. I wasn’t looking for any ordinary chapstick I was looking for Burt’s Bees cause it is simply amazing. Burns at first but soothes just right for a long period of time 🙂 I had been borrowing my friend Steve’s. But in order to express how cool our God is I have to start from the beginning because it is just so awesome to be a part of something so beautiful.

Friday night was a long night. I was bunked with 4 younger youth boys in a hotel room. You know ages 11-12. You’re probably thinking, oh wow sounds rough! Actually, honestly it was pretty cool. I would so do it again. So one of my son’s friends, who voluntarily wanted to sleep on the floor was about to crash for the night when he spotted something dash under the bed I was sleeping on. He was quickly jolted out of any hopes of hitting the hay any time soon. He speaks up and says, “Mr. Daniel, I think I just saw a mouse!”

I was like, “Dude, you’re tired it’s been a long day you’re seeing things.” Then I started to probe his brain a little more and the more he described it and how he described it the more I began to believe. So I looked under the bed. No mouse. Then no sooner then 5 minutes later one of the other boys exclaimed he just saw something small and gray run from under his bed over to my bed. I look under the bed. Nothing. I am thinking . . . Something is up. I get my phone, tap the flashlight app and illuminate the situation. Sure enough! A little gray mouse no bigger then the size of a quarter was trying to jump up into the box spring of the bed. It was obviously failing. Then it shot off towards the foot of his bed and back under my bed.

Now I was a believer. The five of us tore up that innocent hotel room looking for this mouse. Finally narrowing it down under my suitcase we thought we had it trapped. We put towels under the door, grabbed cups and were ready to pounce once I lifted the suitcase.

Bam, suitcase lifted and the mouse darted for the sink. I missed catching it with my cup. The boy who first saw it was up on the sink. My son was at the front door the other two boys were desperately trying to catch the thing darting all over the place in our little circle of friends. It finally darted up My son’s leg, over his leg into the towels and out the front door. We opened the door and looked up and down the hall but no mouse. It had escaped!

Our room was a mess, we are all jazzed up and it was midnight. Almost an hour and half later. The room was set right and four boys were finally asleep with one no longer on the floor 🙂

So that is how my Saturday started 🙂

Image courtesy of Google

After checking out of the hotel we all headed to the conference at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, about 0.6 miles away. A worship song or too later I get a call from Garrett, one of the youth pastors who help make a huge part of this trip possible. He called to inform me that I needed to move my SUV at the hotel. I had been wondering what we were going to do with the vehicles after check out. Now I knew. So back to the hotel I went. But before I moved my car I walked on over to the Chevron station by the hotel to get some chapstick. I really wanted Burt’s Bees but all they had was, well, Chapstick, the brand. Something inside said don’t settle for what they got go get what you really want Burt’s Bees. So I moved on. Hopped in the 4runner, drove around a bit to find a parking spot and ended up finding a Vons grocery store instead. Thinking that they may have the chapstick I really wanted I decided if I park close I could check and see. A parking space just opened up right across the street from the hotel as I was driving by. So I parked on E 1st St. walked West took a right on Lime Ave to go to Vons and met a homeless man. He said he needed money for soap. Turned out he need money for special black soap for black people. I told him I didn’t have any money to give him, which was true because the money I did have I was not going to give it to him. I felt in my heart it was going to a bad cause. But I offered to buy him soap instead. He finally agreed. I said I would meet him right were we met. Off to find the entrance to Vons. I take a left on East Broadway and find the entrance. In I go. I couldn’t find chapstick but I found a great deal on 8 bars of soap!

With soap in hand I ask the woman manning the self checkout lane where the chapstick was located. She lead me right to it. They ended up having Burt’s Bees! Super cool. I know I am Loved! Back in to the self checkout. The woman who helped me turned out to be the manger who also helped me get a killer deal on those 8 bars of soap. She asked one of the ladies in line at the self checkout if I could borrow her card. Apparently Vons has those shopping cards you have to use to get the deals. It was all cool. I got to bless her too with adding points on her card. God loves her too!

Out the door I went to find my friend. I didn’t have to go far because right out the door across the street he was pushing his cart. I called to him! I don’t think he thought I would keep my word. I ran across East Broadway and gave him the soap. Told him he was super blessed because he didn’t just get 1 bar but 8! Also, told him I am a man of my word and God loves him. Ended up praying for him.

Off I go south on Atlantic Ave towards the Performing Arts Center. Little did I know what adventure would unfold before me.

Not more then 300 feet I passed a man standing off to the side of the side walk by Vons. I looked at him but he was looking at another person heading the opposite direction on the sidewalk as me so we never made eye contact. So I kept walking thinking how I better get back to the conference. But Holy Spirit tugged at my heart to go back. So I did. Here is the paraphrased version so not all the dialogue is 100% accurate but definitely reflects pretty close the conversation and adventure we shared.

I walked up to him and asked him how he was feeling.

He said, “ok.” Then I asked him his name. He said
“Shadrach”
“No way that’s awesome. Do you know of a story in the Bible about Shadrach Meshach and Abednego?”
“Not really, but sounds vaguely familiar.”
“Well, my name is Daniel and Daniel in the Bible was friends with Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. That’ts pretty cool. Cause here we are now!”
“Yeah, that is pretty cool.”

We talked a little about how I was from New Mexico and how we “just so happen to meet” and that our names have some ancient ties in the Bible. Then I asked if he had any physical pain I could pray for.

“I do”
“May I pray for you?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Throughout the past couple days I have been prayed for and instead of good things happening lots of bad things happened. I was kicked out of my favorite pan handling spot and the cops called on me which never happens. My stuff was taken. That rarely ever happens. I don’t feel so good.”

He started listing off all the bad stuff that had happened to him in the past few days.

I said, “Oh, wow. That’s not good at all. Hey I promise you that when I pray for you bad things will not happen and you will find peace!”
“Really!?”
“Yes! I believe what Jesus did made it possible.”
“I don’t believe Jesus is what he is all made out to be. I have read a lot on it. I have a lot of doubts.”
“Oh, that is ok! I am not here to convince you to believe that Jesus is real. He’ll prove to you He is. I believe He is alive and well and with the power of Holy Spirit you will be set free!”
“Can you tell me more about Holy Spirit?”
“Sure thing!”

So I began to explain to him that what Jesus did made it possible for the Spirit of God to dwell in people, a fleshly temple. That I have no power on my own but it is Holy Spirit living in me that flows through me to do signs and wonders. He was very interested now. So I asked if he would let Jesus prove to him He is real.

“Shadrach, will you let Jesus prove to you He is real? Will you let me pray for you?”
“Ok, you can pray for me.”
“This is going to be amazing. Do you have pain in your feet?”
“Why, yes I do. It hurts all the time. I take medicine for the pain.”

He also had open sores on his face and arms but I felt that his feet were really bugging him. So I got on my knees and put my hands on his ankles and prayed for restoration in nerves and the pain to go. I asked him how it was.

“How are your feet feeling?”
“Actually the pain is worse! Really bad now!”
“That’s not good. I am gonna pray again and it will get better.”
“It better! It hurts real bad. Do mind if I sit down?”
“Oh no, please sit down.”

Now we were both sitting on the ground and I touched his feet again and prayed a second time.

“How are you feet doing now?”
A slight smile begins to take shape, “Yes it does. Like really really good, but . . .”
“But what?”
“The pain is now in my knee?”
“Oh ok. I am gonna pray for your knee then, Ok?”
“Ok!”

I prayed for his knee and then the pain went into his side. I stopped and asked him a few questions.

“Shadrach, I believe there is a spirit that is afflicting you. When you said bad things were happening to you did feel any thing different?”
“I do feel like maybe demons or satan is doing things to hurt me.”
“Would you like freedom from that?”
“Yes!”
“Ok, lets pray for that too! But what’s gonna happen is that you will need to be filled with Holy Spirit to make His home in you for you to have complete freedom. How that is possible is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came to set us free and to make communion possible with God. Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God who came to earth to die to set us free?”
“I don’t know if I believe that.”

At this point I was a little hesitate. A question came to mind about things that I had understood about God. What if he did not end up believing? Would he be left open? Would more demons torment and afflict in greater number than before? I honestly thought about all this. I didn’t want to hurt him. But as quickly as I hesitated I felt a peace and Holy Spirit reassured me He knew what the best and most perfect solution was to bring His lost son Home. All I had to do was trust Him.

So I did.

I said, “That’s ok. I believe Jesus is gonna set you free of all this pain and affliction no matter if you believe or not. Jesus’ power is not dependent upon if you believe or not. He is greater then your situation and knows what to do to bring you peace! I believe He is gonna take all this pain away and heal your ankles and knee and stomach and sores.”
“I don’t know.”
“How about Jesus prove to you His power that He is the Son of God?”
“I don’t want that bad stuff to come at me though!”
“I believe Jesus is greater than those bad things!” I began to tell him of the testimonies of Jesus that happened earlier this week.
I said “Shadrach, I am now gonna pray for you and Jesus is gonna heal you.”

I prayed and Holy Spirit cast out those demons and Jesus became real. I wish I could remember all that was said but many times I do not. It wasn’t a lengthy prayer but to the point and with power. I could see on Shadrach’s face he could feel the power of Holy Spirit too! Suddenly, his whole demeanor changed. From fear to peace. Like a giant weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. He perked up both physically and emotionally. The heaviness had gone.

I ask him, “How are you feeling?” We were still sitting at this point.
“Oh wow! Oh wow! I feel really good! No I feel really really good. I don’t feel pain!”
“How about your ankles?”
“That’s just the thing. I don’t feel that always present pain!”

He had mentioned earlier that he was on pain meds as he was denied full coverage to fix the physical problems in his body. He wasn’t a fully disabled veteran. He had tried to apply for greater disability but was denied and had to wait before he could apply again, which he wasn’t hopeful of getting.

I asked Shadrach, “Hey why don’t you do something you couldn’t do before without causing pain!?”
“Ok!” So he got himself up and stood there for moment lifting each leg, pressing into each foot, moving each ankle around and all the while this beautiful look of surprise was all over his face.
“What do you think, Shadrach?”
“That is crazy! That is really crazy! It doesn’t hurt! It really doesn’t hurt!”
“What do you think of Jesus now?”
“I really don’t know.”
“This is the power of Jesus that healed you! I didn’t pray in the name of Buddha, Muhammad or some Hindu god but in the name of Jesus.” He stood there thinking for a bit.

We ended up talking for a bit about Jesus. He said I talked about Jesus very differently then other people who have spoken to him about Jesus. He said I didn’t try to prove to him that Jesus was the Son of God with the Bible. He said he had never heard Jesus like this before.

I believe what he was saying is that he never had been introduced to Jesus without someone manipulating him or reasoning with him to convince him he needed to be “saved” or needed Jesus. I told him I didn’t need to prove to you that Jesus is real. He doesn’t need me to defend Him. He is fully capable of demonstrating Himself like He just did with you.

He was amazed. We talked for a little bit about Jesus and Holy Spirit.

Then he asked, “Would you mind getting me some food?”
At this point it had probably been a good hour. “You bet! Anything you want except alcohol :)”
“Really!”
“Anything, it’s a gift from you Father! Jesus loves you man! Let’s go.”

Off we went North on Atlantic Avenue to the entrance of Vons.

As we were walking I noticed that he was not fully weighting his right leg. So I asked him if it was still hurting?

“Yeah, it hurts but not hardly as bad. It’s ok :)”
“That’s good to hear, but Shadrach, I believe you will be fully healed and the pain is going to leave your entire foot!”

He looked at me a bit funny and said, “Ok.”

In Vons he filled one of those hand held shopping baskets up with sandwiches, cookies, water and some chips. He was like a little kid in a candy store. All the while his limp was improving. It wasn’t until we got to the soda aisle that I asked.

“Hey, I noticed you’re not limping any more. How’s that foot?”
“You know, a lot better. It hurts just a little bit.”
“Isn’t that awesome! You’re pain is almost gone and that even in your unbelief Jesus is healing you right now! Isn’t Jesus amazing!?”
“Yeah, He is!” with big smile on his face.

We finally get to the check out and who would you know was there. The same woman who had helped me earlier with the chapstick.

She recognized me and I explained to her that I needed to get another card so I could pay for my friends food. She looked awkwardly at Shadrach and I explained to her what happened. She just stared at me for a few minutes. I remember telling her that the power of Jesus was working a miracle in my friend. Still a little bewildered she said something like, “Praise God!” and asked the lady next to us if she could borrow her card so I could purchase the groceries. The woman agreed and we quickly checked out and blessed the manager of the store and the lady whose card we had used!

On our way back to the place I first met Shadrach I noticed there was no limp at all. I asked him again how his foot was feeling.

With a huge smile on his face he said, “It doesn’t hurt at all!”
“That is awesome! No pain what so ever?”
“None!”
“Seriously? You’r not trying to hurt my feelings, right?”
“No, it doesn’t hurt. I can walk with no pain!”
“I told you Jesus was real man! He loves you so much!”

I was super excited. We finally arrived at the place where we first met.

I asked him, “Now do you believe in Jesus, Shadrach?”
“Man, I don’t know?”
“Really? Why?”
“I don’t know?”
“Shadrach, is being healed possible?”
“No.”
“But you were just healed, man! So the impossible just happened!”
“Your right!”
“Who healed you?”
“Jesus.”
“So Jesus healed you?”
“Yes!”
“Are you sure?”
“I am!”
“Sounds like you believe in Jesus now, brother!”
“You’re right! I do believe in Jesus!”
“Shadrach, do you believe He is the Son of God?”
“Yes, I do. I do now!”
“So all that other stuff we talked about Jesus, He is that too! He came down and shed His blood so we could have restored relationship with Him. That is the Jesus you believe in?”

That is when it all made sense to him. His whole countenance changed. He truly realized what was happening. Then he said . . .

“Yes! I believe in Jesus! He is the Son of God!”

My heart leaped with Joy and I responded, “Welcome into the Kingdom of God, my brother!”

We ended up talking in great length about his life. He wanted to know more about Holy Spirit so we talked about Him and who He was.  We talked personal things. Family things. How he has a daughter and an ex-wife. Problems on the street. Up coming financial decisions. Pretty much everything one could talk about we talked and prayed about.

I remember discipling him on being a Christian and what comes with that. I talked to him about his identity and who he was in Christ. Taught him tools to use to defat the enemy and how to truly live. I told him, “It won’t be easy. It will actually get harder but the One who now dwells in you will always be there to give direction and comfort and peace.” I ended up taking his picture so I could remember him and pray for him. He asked me not to share it publicly but I think he won’t mind this one 🙂

As our conversation came to a close he asked me one last favor.

“Daniel, could you get me a Bible?”
“Shadrach, I will do my best to get you a Bible. How will I get it to you?”

So he took me to where he was planning on sleeping that night and showed me a place under some bushes where I could stash it and he would be able to find it. We embraced with a huge hug, now as brothers!

Off I went. Back to the conference. The whole ordeal took about 2 hours. I couldn’t believe it had been about 2 hours. Seemed like 30 minutes.

When I arrived at the conference I asked every booth if they had a Bible. Not one had a physical Bible. I couldn’t blame them. I only had an electric version on my phone too. I remember thinking well. I tried. Then a thought entered my mind out of the blue. “Why don’t you Google if there is a Christian books store near by?” So I did and that is when my next adventure began.

I let everyone know what I was doing and I would be back soon.

So off I went North again. This time to Alabadle Christian Store at 505 E 4th Street about half a mile away. On the way I greeted people with a smile and a good afternoon. Some I got to bless while others looked at me oddly. It was all good. I didn’t mind at all 🙂

Alabadle Christian Store Long Beach CA – image courtesy of Google

Finally, I made it to Alabadle Christian Store where I asked the wonderful store clerk for a Bible for someone who just gave his life to Jesus. She pointed me in the right direction but all they had were King James. After some assistance she found an NIV version. I quickly purchased it, blessed her and went on my way.

No sooner then I was maybe 10 feet out the door I saw a rather tall black man coming my direction. So I asked him if the street behind him that crossed East 4th street would get me to Vons. He said yes. Then I walked by him and felt I needed to pray for him. So i quickly turned around and ask, “Real fast, I wanted to know if there was anything I could pray for you for?”

He said, “Actually, there is. I just got out of a job interview and I could really use prayer in that.”
“Awesome! What’s your name by the way?”
“James.”
“Sweet!”

So we prayed. It was a good powerful prayer. We talked about about God and how he was a Believer and regularly read the Bible and was involved in a really good Bible study but was struggles finding work. Then for “some reason” I asked him if he was satisfied with his walk with God. He said he enjoyed reading the Bible and learning it’s truths but felt like there was more to being a Christian. Then I knew I needed to share with him what was on my heart. What had just happened with Shadrach and that is when James discovered Holy Spirit in a very different way.

I explained to James how I had been in a very similar spot with my walk with God looking for more. I felt like there was more. I was hungry for more. I told him I had read Acts countless times but it wasn’t till about three and half maybe four years ago that I read it again and my heart was unsettled. I asked one question. Maybe one you have asked too James, “Why aren’t we seeing the things that happened in Acts today?” I mean, I have read the entire New Testament multiple times and I couldn’t find any place that it said the Holy Spirit had left. If He was here why are we not seeing or experiencing the things they saw and experienced in Acts?

He looked at me and said, “Yeah, I have been wondering the same thing.” I told him it didn’t stop. Let me share with you what happened early today with a man I just met named Shadrach.

I ended up telling him the amazing things God did and then showed him the shiny new shrink wrapped Bible in my right hand. I told him that right at that point in time I was in the process of delivering to him. James just looked at me in awe.

I said, “James, its all possible. All of it. Everything in Acts. All possible, man! Holy Spirit is alive and well doing the same things He did over 2,000 years ago!” He continued to stare at me almost in disbelieve but you could see in his eyes he believed it. He knew it was true. He knew this is what he needed. He needed to experience Holy Spirit. I knew he needed to experience the New Testament. Most importantly above all our Father knew he needed to witness and be a part of a story so commonly found in Acts.

I said, “James! Would you like to experience Holy Spirit like you have never experienced before?”
“Yes!!!”
“I want to pray for the Baptism of Holy Spirit upon you. Is that ok?
“Yes!!!”

So I prayed and Holy Spirit was alive and well. The presence of God was there. He felt Him. I felt Him. It was amazing. We couldn’t contain ourselves and we lifted our voice in praise shouting out to our Savior, our God, His Spirit! It was unbelievable. Man, all of this seems unbelievable when you think about it but it really happened. It’s crazy!

We hugged and blessed each other. He thanked me and we both went separate directions. Him West with now an extra jump in his step. Me East. As we distance ourselves we both almost simultaneously yelled, “JESUS!” It was beautiful. I felt like Philip and the Ethiopian sharing the Good News! Super cool!

Image courtesy of Google

I was on fire. Holy Ghost was upon me. I was superman. Suddenly I realized there was a 7-Eleven right on the corner of Atlantic and East 4th Street. Thinking I better get a snickers bar for my secret servant duties I walked on over. As I was walking into the parking lot a black car with a big black man pulled in and parked right in front of the store entrance. I felt in my heart God was gonna do something with him.

In the store I find the snickers bar and get in the checkout line. Who would be just before be in line? That big black man. I could easily hide three of me behind him. He was big because he was built big.

So I am standing by this huge man and I turn to him and say, “hey I am gonna buy what your buying.” He looked at me and sort of shrugged and did something with his face to indicate that he had heard me but wasn’t taking me serious. He pulls out a twenty and slides it up on the checkout counter to the clerk. I reach over and grab his twenty dollars. Ok, remember this guy is huge and I just put my hand on his money. They guy could have easily broken my arm. But I wasn’t thinking about that. I was so in tune to Holy Spirit I honestly didn’t even think about the consequences.

So my hand is on his twenty dollar bill. I slide it back to him and say, “No man, I’m buying!”
He looked at me and said, “Seriously! Noooo.”
“Yes, seriously. I am buying!”
“What? Why would you do that?”
“It’s a gift from your heavenly Father. He just wants to let you know that He loves you right where you are right now!”

This huge man quickly became a teddy bear. He grabbed me and gave me a giant hug. I am not 100% sure if he lifted me off the ground or not but I remember thinking wow he’s got big arms! He thanked me greatly with what looked like tears in his eyes and that was that. He was touched and taken off his guard and the Creator of the Universe encountered him! It was pretty cool. The clerk just sort of stared at me for a minute somewhat shocked. Then cool and collectively took my money for the snickers.

As I walked out of 7-Eleven, I quickly noticed a man wobbling on the sidewalk heading East on 4th street. I went over to him and also noticed he had an issue in his left eye. It was like a bulging Exotropia. I asked  him if he was ok. He said he was hungry. So I offered him a snickers bar that I had just purchased.

He replied, “I can’t eat that. I am diabetic.”
“Oh, shoot! That’s not good.”

Then he began to tell me the plight of his condition.

“Can I get you something else?”
“Nhaw, but I could use some bus fair.”
Then I realized I was standing by a bus stop. “How much do you need?”
I think he said, “50¢” – I gave him a $1.
“Hey, do you mind if I pray for you?”
“No, I don’t mind at all.”
“Just, curious? Do you know Jesus?”
“Actually I do. He is my Lord and Savior!”
“Man! That’s awesome. That means we are brothers!”
“I guess you’re right!

So I prayed for healing for his body and diabetes to go. I prayed for his eye and identity. Then he almost fell over and I had to hold him up with my right arm. I asked him if he was ok. He replied, “I am reeeaallll good!” After I made sure he wasn’t going to fall I double checked with him to see if the street Atlantic would get me to Vons. He agreed and off I went.

I finally reached Vons and meet the same homeless man I bought the soap for. I asked if he was ok, blessed him and walked on. I was on a mission to give Shadrach his Bible. I looked throughout the alley and no sign of him. So I placed the Bible under the bushes we had agreed. Prayed he would find it and headed back to the conference.

Ended up meeting more people that day and praying for them with the youth group. It was a wild adventure in the Kingdom.

Sunday, on our way home from California my son and I stopped at Beach Break Cafe for breakfast were we had the opportunity to pray for our waitress. I just felt like she was experiencing pain of some kind.

I asked her, “Are you experiencing any discomfort or pain?”
“What? Are you some kind of healer?”
“No not me! I sometimes feel like people are in pain or hurting and I ask if I can pray for them.”
“Oh. Well, actually my Uncle just passed away today and it has been very difficult.” She said this holding back her emotions.
“Let me pray for you.”
“Ok.”

Then her Father touched her with His Love giving peace and comfort. He had not forgotten her. She was greatly touched and thanked us with such a genuine look in her eyes you just knew something shifted. Something changed. Something powerful had taken place. We ate the rest of our food left her a very nice tip and drove to the beach for an hour of enjoyment.

At the beach, we made a little reminder to all that day that they are loved. Then it was off to meet some family at Legoland. What good times!

My trip to, in and from California was simply amazing. Being open and free to go where God wants is such an adventure. I encourage you to tell your Father you are willing to take an adventure with Him. He will not let you down and you will be forever changed!

If you made it this far leave a comment below as this was a pretty lengthy post!

God bless you and enjoy His everlasting kindness!

An Unexpected Midnight

Today was another unbelievable tangible expression of the everlasting kindness of our God!

Katie and I were invited by our good friend Daniel to hear Leah’s presentation on the ministry she is involved with in Cambodia called Overland Missions. By the way from what we heard it is a very cool organization. You should check them out!

We arrive late as it was a very crazy day for Katie and the home school co-op group she leads. We ended up meeting part way to get to the meeting at a reasonable hour. So we dropped the van off at Sprouts.

We arrived about 45 minutes late but it ended up working out great. We hung out with Leah, Sandeep, Daniel and a few of Daniel’s neighbors for a little bit talking, eating snacks and having a good ‘ol time.

Then Sandeep introduced me to some mango pulp. If you haven’t had mango pulp it is like a thick sauce made purely out of mango. It is very very good! I am a bit partial to mangos. Sandeep explained how you can take a Frontier tortilla and dip it in the mango pulp to make an instant treat and boy was he right!!! Thanks Sandeep for introducing me to even more fun foods!

After a few more late stragglers showed up and some more fellowship was had we began to worship our King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Daniel had asked me earlier to lead this time together. So with a bit of a bumpy start we were off enjoying the presence of our Father. It was beautiful.

The evening was very powerful. Leah shared her presentation and some of her testimony which was pretty awesome and eye opening. Thank you for sharing Leah! You’re amazing!

The evening concluded with prayer and prophetic words. It was good good stuff. There is never a dull moment in the Kingdom of God and tonight is another shining example. Thank you Holy Spirit!

Now as I was helping clean up, Debbie, one of the late comers, asked if she could give me a word. I agreed and she said something to this effect . . .

“You have an amazing voice and amazing worship and God is going to take you higher and higher in this.”

I thanked her and received that word whole heartedly. I so do want to go higher and higher with my Father. As I was packing up the guitar I remember saying out loud.

“Father, if you want me to go higher and higher I am gonna probably need a better guitar.”

Katie and I said our farewells to everyone and drove off to retrieve the van in the Sprouts parking lot. As we drove we reminisced on the amazing evening. It was a good time. Then I told Katie the word Debbie had given me. We talked about it for a while and I remember telling Katie that we should probably look to invest in a better guitar. She agreed.

I drop Katie off at the van and we go our separate ways. She heads home and I go to pick up the kids from the grandparents. It was about 10:45pm.

We finally arrive home around 11:15pm. Since we park the 4Runner in the garage the kids and I came into the house through the back door. As I approach the front door I see two huge boxes. Katie had brought them in from outside a while ago.

She asked me if I had ordered anything and I responded, “No, I have not.”

Curious, I looked at the shipping labels on the boxes. Wouldn’t you know. It says Guitar Center. I didn’t order anything from Guitar Center but it clearly says my address and my name. So I open one of the boxes and find the packing slip. Says 1 guitar. Then I look at the invoice. Says Joe, my brother. A bit perplexed I shoot him a text message,

“Hey there are two guitar boxes here. Was there a mistake in shipping?”

But being that it was very late he did not respond. He gets up super early in the AM to go to work so I was not surprised that I didn’t receive a response. They guy works hard.

Joe works the oil fields in Bakersfield California. It’s a rough job and it sure ain’t pretty. Knowing that he is into music and loves playing guitars I was thinking this was a shipping error and it was sent to me by mistake.

So at this point it was late about midnight and time for rest. It had been a long day.

So today, I look at my messages and sure enough Joe had replied.

“No there for you”

I was speechless. Here my brother who is far from being wealthy in the standards of most Americans had sent me a guitar, a case, some picks and extra strings. I respond.

“Thank you!!! A bit speechless right now …”

I am still in awe. I couldn’t believe what just happened. Just last night I am given a word about going higher and higher in worship. I make a simple comment to the Father about the state of affairs of my musical instrument selection and not even 2 hours later I am given everything I AM going to go higher and higher in Him! Wow! I mean Wow!

I am stilling saying wow! Wow!

So I call him an hour later and explain to him what just happened. Then he tells me his story. This is where it just gets even more wow! I love my brother. I love him that he took a step outside of his comfort zone and walked in faith. I am so proud of him right now! I love you Joe! . . . man! Wow!

He says he was up late playing his guitar and thinking about my situation, how my good guitar was used as a bridge from one piece of furniture to the next about 5-6 years ago for two creative kids playing a game. Needless to say the guitars ability to bare the weight was inadequate and gave way breaking at the body and neck.

Then he felt God prompted him to buy me a guitar. He wasn’t sure if he should wait for my birthday or Christmas cause they’re both around the corner, but God cleared that up pretty quick. Joe said, “I just felt that I needed to do it now.” It just so happened there was a really great sale going on at that time at Guitar Center. So he did it. He bought the guitar and shipped it to New Mexico.

All these “What if” questions keep running through my head. What if my brother waited? What if he wasn’t playing his guitar? What if he didn’t respond to the Father? What if . . . What if . . . What if . . .

Anything could have happened to prevent what happened this morning. But the impossible happened. Now to me when the impossible happens I call that a miracle.

It’s crazy. I just have to list out all the processes that had to work out just right to happen cause it is just too cool.

1. My brother hears from the Father
2. My brother buys the guitar equipment
   1. I have no clue he did this at this point!
3. Guitar center ships it on halloween – 10/31/2013 – track it here
4. UPS driver picks it up and places it in their system – 10/31/2013
5. It is in transit to my house from Guitar Center shipping facility – track it here
   1. It took 5 days to get from Guitar center to my house 10/31/2013 – 11/04/2013
6. Debbie hears the Father’s voice around 9pm-ish to tell me about higher worship and praise – 11/04/2013
7. I comment to my Father about my music instrument situation – 11/04/2013
8. I comment again to Katie about what our Father told Debbie in the van driving home – 11/04/2013
9. Katie sees 2 huge boxes by our front door and brings them in – 11/04/2013
   1. I still have no clue about the boxes
10. I pick up our kids at the grandparents – 11/04/2013
11. I get home and see the boxes – 11/04/2013
12. I text my brother after opening the box to find the packing slip with his name on it – 11/04/2013
13. I go to bed – 11/05/2013
14. I receive my brothers text – 11/05/2013
15. My mind is blown and is still blown!!!

The guitar could have arrived Friday or this Thursday or never but it arrived at the right time, Monday November 4th 2013! Talk about divine timing from our Father! You amaze me beautiful One!!! You’re everlasting kindness never fails and reaches deep and beyond!

Thank you all for acting on the words from our Father! You all are so amazing!

All Glory to God!!!

Church on a Ledge

The mountain.

What an amazing day! I am simply blown away by what happened :O

It started early in the morning when I was worshipping my God. I saw an impression of playing my guitar up in the Sandias on a granite ledge worshiping the King of Kings. I knew exactly where this place was as it is a fun place to quickly get out of town and into the  mountains. So I decided that is what I was going to do after church today. I also felt like I needed to invite Joe from New York with me.

I pack up the guitar, put it the car and off I went to church to help out with Impact Nation’s Heaven’s Impact conference. After a few minutes of driving I cross Southern Blvd. at Country Club Dr. and see an individual in a black trench coat with a cane. He was hunched over walking very slowly expressing signs of sharp jolts of pain. My heart gets pulled but I continue to drive on with the following dialogue playing out in my head.

“I can’t stop, I mean,  I’m already late as it is.”
“If I stop I’ll be even more late cause I am leading the usher / greeter ministry today and things ‘could’ get crazy.”
“I stop all the time anyways. You know what happened the last time you stopped and picked someone up while going to an event.”

I really wanted to stop but the commitments I had made were fighting for absolute attention. There was a battle that that was raging in my head for what seem like a few minutes but in reality was only just a few seconds.

I continue to drive on . . . But Holy Spirit urged me with a stronger conviction. He pretty much said, “Don’t put those things above my precious ones. I will take care of it.” When God says He’ll take care of it, guess what . . . He’ll take care of it!

So I flip a U-turn and ask the guy where he was headed.

“To work.”
“Do you need a ride?”
“Sure!”
“Come on in! By the way my name is Daniel.”
“I’m William.”
“Sweet! Where do you work?”
“Pizza shop”
“Oh, ok, cool!”

I flip another U-turn and head back in the original direction I was going. That made me feel better and excited that this was going to be a good meeting. We talk a bit more about where he works and I finally figure out exactly what pizza shop. It wasn’t too far out of the way and it didn’t really matter because I knew God was taking care of it.

This poor handsome young man looked to be in his early to mid twenties but his body looked like it had been through a beating if not a war. I asked him what’s with the cane.

“My side hurts.”
“Oh, really. What happened?”
“I think I broke a rib.”
“Oh shoot, that’s no good. I know how that feels. I have broken a rib too. It’s very painful.”
“Yeah it hurts. Or maybe it’s my liver!?”
“Your liver?”

That was pretty strange. He went from broken rib to liver. Maybe he felt like he was in a safe place to disclose what he really felt was going on. Who knows but either way he did. So I ask . . .

“Do you drink a lot?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you drink a lot last night?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah, sounds like your liver isn’t very happy about it.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you mind if I pray for it?”
“No.”
“Do you mind if I put my hand on it?”
“No.”

I lay my hand on his side and he moves it to the spot it was hurting. I pray.

“Liver disease go and damage be reversed in Jesus name! How does it feel now?”
“Still hurts :(”
“Do you mind if I pray again?”
“I don’t mind”

So I pray again and he said it felt a little better but not much. He did say he felt much more relaxed though. I was happy and told him how much God loves him. So much that He picked him up to give him a ride to work. He then begins to talk about how he believes in God and how he studied anthropology and different cultures in school. We pull into the parking were he works and we sit and talk more about God for a while.

I continue to poor our Fathers love into him and tell him that he is cherished and valued. How He is very different then any other god. He thanked me greatly and off to work he went.

I look at the time and go wow. I am gonna be really late. Oh well . . . God has my back.

Once I get on to 528 / Coors Blvd I get green lights all the way to Paseo del Norte. This rarely happens by the way 🙂 I look at the time and I am like ecstatic. I am gonna make it to church at a decent time!

I get green lights all the way from Paseo to church. I didn’t even have to stop at the light on the off ramp of I-25 to Jefferson. It stayed green for an uncanny amount of time. It was pretty amazing. Sure it’s traffic lights. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when you’re the lead for all the ushering and greeting at a conference that proves to be completely different each day you want to be there early enough to ask the right people the right questions so you can stay on top of things . . . right? I got there at 9:30am on the dot. Now that was pretty fun. Little did I know this would be just the beginning to a unbelievable day in the Kingdom . . .

Church starts and sure enough things got shaken up a little and the flow changed and things were done differently. This prompted me to ask Pastor Alan if the podium was needed. So during a time where the congregation was praying for each other I go to the front of the church and ask Alan. Yeap, the podium was needed. I turn around to go find some of my ushers to help when Barbara Martin calls my name . . .

“Hey, Rocketman!”
“Yes!?”

She begins to pray over me and I hear her say something like this, “Jesus sees you as His bride and I see Jesus carrying you . . . ”

I close my eyes and suddenly everything goes quite. I mean everything was so so quite and white. If you have ever been in a forest when it is snowing it is the most tranquil feeling. So peaceful but for me so exciting. It is almost as if time has stood still. Sound seems to be frozen. It is one of my most favorite times. You feel so close to your Creator. Then I feel like I am falling back and into the arms of Jesus. I then see Jesus carrying me! I could feel Him carrying me but see it all at the same time too. It was simply amazing. He then carried me over a threshold through a door way in the middle of all the whiteness and glory.

I then find myself laying on the floor. Unbelievable. I start to realize where I am and I hear Pastor Alan say lets find our way back to our seats. Then it was like I was jolted into the natural with a women asking me if I would like help up.

Wow! That was just . . . wow!

After church was over I asked Joe if he could go up to the mountains to worship. Sadly he couldn’t as he had to prepare for his trip back to New York. That was a bummer but I told him we’ll do it next time.

Then I run into my good friend Sandeep at the end of church and we begin to talk about the conference and other fun Kingdom stuff. I ask if he had plans after church and if he would like to join Khaia and I up in the mountains to worship our Father. He agreed. So off we went. We’ll not exactly that quickly. We ended up talking for a bit longer. So much longer that my daughter had recruited Pastor Alan to help her in getting me to get in the car and go 🙂

We drive east up Candelaria to the mountains then take a right, after you can’t go east any more, then take a left into the openspace parking lot. We park. Eat our food we had just purchased. Load everything up and begin our hike.

I decided not to take the cajon but Sandeep insisted we should and he wouldn’t mind carrying it. That split decision ended up being a super blessing.

Off we go up into the mountains to worship our King on the granite ledge that I saw myself worshipping early that morning. That impression / vision was becoming a reality. I was excited.

We get about half way to the top of where I wanted to go and run into a very nice family. We talk to them a bit and I realize we need to have worship right here right now. They were a very humble family. So I ask them if it would ok if we worshipped God and sang a few songs. They were very excited. Guess what . . . the family of four were all Believers! So cool.

Turns out, that this family ended up sleeping in and missing their morning church service. So they decided that they would all go up into the mountains and have church as a family up there in the beautiful foothills of the Sandias.

Now that’s interesting!?

So we begin to worship. During the first song Philip, the father of the family, goes to help his daughter climb down from a steep predicament she got herself into. She was following Khaia up some of the rock features we were next too. As he comes back he is limping and I ask him if he is ok. He says he is ok but what he did was stupid. I ask him, “how so?” He explains that he jumped off a small ledge into what he thought would be a nice softy sandy pit but instead it was hard and his right heal landed directly on a hidden rock underneath.

He said not to worry about it and that he’ll be fine. I said ok but also felt that worship had released an atmosphere of healing so I didn’t pursue anything further. We’ll just let worship shape the healing.

We continue worshipping and start up another song and about halfway into it another family starts to come up the trail to my left. We continue singing as they approach. Once they reach the ledge we were are all sitting on they just stopped and stood there watching and listening to what we were doing.

The song ended and we greeted them and welcomed them to join us. Turns out they are refugees form Iraq and they had just arrived 2 months earlier. My mind is starting to get blown. What are the odds of this first family being here and now what are the odds of this second family being here all the way from Iraq and only 2 months ago! Crazy!!!

The new arrivals were a family of five: Dad, Mom and three daughters.

The Dad asks us what that box thing Sandeep was hitting. So I explain to him it’s a drum. He asks if he could try it. Sandeep says of course and shows him how it works. The Dad who’s name was very long and had the name Abraham in it begins to play.

He starts out with a different rhythm.  Then says something to me. Then stops. Says something to me again and starts playing a different rhythm. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to play along but I began to play. Then he stopped again and said something. His english wasn’t very good and many times would ask his daughter to interpret what he was saying. Then he started again with a different rhythm so I started to play that rhythm. This happened a few more times. I wasn’t sure if he thought I was a lousy guitar player or what but he would stop every time I played a little with him. I think he was just trying it out and would tell me the genera of the rhythm he was playing but I am not 100% sure 🙂 Either way it was pretty cool.

But the most amazing thing out of all that was he started playing something he called an Arabic beat. Or something like that. It sounded awesome. It echoed off the canyon walls and had such a feeling of life. Then I said why don’t we worship our God. Abraham started really laying down a nice Arabic beat and I noticed his wife and daughters were being a little reserved in their worship. I said something to this affect, “Don’t worry! feel free to clap as loud as you want and dance for there is freedom here!” That is when things fell off the hook.

I felt Holy Spirit flood me with song. I began to sing. Not with guitar but with Holy Spirit. I have no idea what I sang but it was something about the One true God and we worship You here. This went on for maybe 10 to 15 minutes. It was unreal. The power of God was all around. I noticed in between different times when I opened my eyes everyone had their hands in the air, clapping or dancing. I also noticed another family to our right up the side of the cliff aways just standing there listening. I saw another family or so below down in the canyon listening too. It was unbelievable. We didn’t want it to end. We didn’t want it to stop, but like everything on this temporal planet things must come to an end at one point or another.

Once the singing and drumming stopped there was a moment of just awe. We were all speechless for a few minutes it seemed.

Then Abraham’s family had to leave but before they left we asked if we could pray for them. He agreed and I asked if we could all hold hands. Everyone agreed. We ended up blessing them this way and that and speaking life into their situation. It was beautiful; simply beautiful.

The other family that had just stood, watched and listened on the right kept their distance and continued their decent down the canyon a different way.

We started singing again. Not sure how many songs we sang but during one of them one of the families that was down canyon from us had reached our location and walked by us. As they were passing they said they could hear our singing all the way down at the parking lot and very much liked it. The mother of the bunch was the last to pass and she said thank you and blessed us for what we were doing.

That was pretty cool too.

After we finished the last song we asked Philip, the father of the first family we met, if we could pray for his foot as it still looked like it was still bugging him. He whole heartedly agreed. So Sandeep and I prayed healing over his heal. We asked him how it felt,

“It is feeling better! Actually that is amazing it really is feeling better!!!” he starts walking around and you could see in his face something was happening. We asked how it was feeling,

“It still hurts but it is feeling a lot better.”
“Do you mind if we pray for it again?”
“No, please do!”

Sandeep and I pray again for 100% healing.

“How is it feeling?”
“Oh my gosh it is like 100% better then it was!!!”
“That is awesome, Man, God loves you so much!”
“No seriously guys, it feels 100% better than it did. I can’t believe it. It really feels better. I mean it REALLY feels better!”

If you could see the look on his face you would know his foot felt so good!

Turns out Philip needs his foot to work properly as his job requires him to be on his feet. So God knew what to do because He is the lover of us all!

I told them that this power comes from God and that same power lives in them as Believers. As Christians. As Christ did we are to be Christ like! So you have the authority over the enemy of this world. Over disease. Over affliction. Over all that comes against the Kingdom of God.

We then ministered to his family and to him as a father and poured into him the truth of who he is in Christ. A son of God. We prayed an increase of encounters with his Father that he would see more clearly how he did when he was a child.

It was awesome.

Coming down the mountain after an amazing and miraculous time with our God!

We ended up hiking down the canyon with them talking about how good God was and that we should do this again. We reminisced on what had just happened. Thankfully Sandeep got their number! So we will be in touch. We decided we were going to meet up next Sunday around 2-2:30pm after church and worship our God, our King of Kings!!

As we departed from that beautiful and precious family, Sandeep and I reflected more on what happened. How that man from Iraq tore it up on the cajon. What a blessing it was that Sandeep insisted we bring the cajon. God is good!

I asked Sandeep, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could run into that family from Iraq?”
“Yeah, for sure!”, he answered.

Little did we know that as we entered the parking lot there was a mini van and as we passed wouldn’t you know who was in it . . . the family from Iraq! Unreal. Are you serious!? I was like no way! Sandeep was blown away. Khaia was super excited. It was awesome!

So I go up to the van and we all start talking to them again and recap what had happened earlier. We passed compliments back and forth and blessings. It was truly a precious moment. This is also where I actually learned his name but all I remember is that it was long and had the name Abraham in it. We found out that they are being taken care of by a local Catholic church and that they still had family in Iraq they were worried about.

Sandeep was able to get their phone number too! They were not sure if they could meet next week but would stay in touch.

It was a day filled with amazement, beauty and awe!!!

If you are available this Sunday we are still planning to meet at 2-2:30pm in the open space parking lot by Candelaria.

Thank you Father for such a blessed gift!!! You amaze me!

Fun with Timing

Had to share this fun little divine timing story . . .

So last night after the Heaven’s Impact Conference we take our normal way home I-25 to Paseo del Norte. Right at the off ramp there are signs indicating there is road work and lane closures. It’s been a long day and I was like “oh this is gonna be fun. This is gonna take longer than we had hoped :(“

As I turn onto Paseo the lane I thought I was going to turn into was the closed one. Dang 😦 Could have sworn it said left lane closed ahead. But thankfully the barrels directed us into a different lane that was open. Yah! I start to scan to see if I could exit before entering this bumper to bumper congestion but sadly we were trapped.

Getting a little bummed that still small voice inside said look at it from My perspective. So I tell my wife well we must be here for a reason as we slowly inch forward. My heart changed and I could see the situation much differently. Instead of frustration it was a time to enjoy the calm. Instead of getting impatient it was time to relax and reflect.

We’ll get home when we need to get home. Still inching forward.

Then all of a sudden I get a phone call. Typically I don’t answer my phone while driving mainly cause I don’t realize it is vibrating and secondly . . . well, I simply don’t like it. Makes me feel too distracted . . . but I will text for sure!!! . . . Ha ha ha, just kidding 🙂

Turns out it is a good friend and she wanted to know if I was at church still. Sadly I told her I was not.

“Oh, bummer :(“
“What’s up?”
“I forgot my wallet 😦 :(“
“Oh shoot, that’s not good!”
“I know 😦 😦 :(“

Long story short I gave her a number to call and she ended up driving back to get her wallet.

The cool thing is the timing. She had just called her husband who was just about to take off from an airport super duper north from here in a different state and got my number cause she knows I tend to stay late at church. She calls me, who just so happened to be in traffic, who rarely picks up cause I rarely realize the phone is ringing / vibrating and who isn’t the biggest fan of driving and holding a phone. I give her the phone number in hopes they are still at church. She calls and they are in their car in the parking lot at the church just about to close the car door and drive away.

Now that is fun with timing!

God is fun like that and when we slow down to just breathe in His breath we can see Him play! He is sooo gooood!

Bread of Life – Feeds the Heart!

New Life City is filled with people that simply mirror Jesus! It’s beautiful. I am so honored to be part of the family there!

One reflection of Christ is the food distribution ministry every 2nd Tuesday of the month dubbed Food Bank, Food Pantry, Mobile Food Bank, etc . . . It’s now been over a year of giving food every month to over 50 families. That’s a lot of food and a lot of families. That is pretty remarkable. What a huge impact for the Kingdom!

Today was one of the most deep felt food banks I have experienced in a long time. God’s love broke down walls like I have never seen in people I always hoped for! It was Glorious!

It started out with the delivery truck running over an hour late. This pushed things back, way back but out of this delay there was great opportunity. Opportunity for the Love of the Father to reach deep into the hearts of the precious ones waiting for some Bread of Life!

Being a bit dead in the food receiving station at NLC, I ventured over into the waiting room area. Looked over everyone and asked my Dad which one He wanted to touch right now. Nothing really came to mind so I walked over to the closest person to me. I had met her before and she had a son who was in secondary education. We talked a bit about life and then Holy Spirit made me come Alive! She said some things and that is when He began to build her up and fill her with life. It was fun to see! It’s sort of like when you have a wireless power drill that is slowly running low on battery life. The drill slows down and eventually it stops doing what it was designed to to do, you know . . . drive in screws, drill holes, remove screws, etc . . . drilling/driving stuff. So you have to put the drill aside and recharge the battery. Once the battery is fully charged it brings the power back into the drill and you can carry on with what ever task you may have. She was like the drill and her battery needed a recharge which Holy Spirit provided at no cost!

Then I felt that across the room another woman needed prayer. So away I go. I ask her if she needed prayer for anything. She said she was fine but was feeling a bit under the weather. So I prayed for the sickness and congestion to go. She said it felt a little better. Yah God!

I then slipped over to a gentleman sitting on the end of the aisle and asked if there is anything I could pray for him. He said no but thanked me for asking.

On I went and said hello to another friendly face. She was an elderly women who was crocheting. We spoke a bit about that and she explained to me that she was making a large quilt from all the crochet patches she was making. It was going to be for her granddaughter. “Now that is a labor of love,” I said. She agreed. As she was talking she would touch her upper jaw by her ear. I asked if her jaw was feeling ok. She said no. Apparently she had woken up that morning with a misaligned jaw that was causing some major discomfort. I asked if I could pray for it. She hesitated then said, “Sure, why not :)” I asked if I could touch her upper jaw gently with my finger. She agreed. Then a wave of His presence flowed through me. Prayed a quick healing prayer and asked her how it was. She looked at me in disbelief. She kept opening and closing her mouth moving from side to side with a child like look on her face like she was just awarded with a handful of the world’s finest most colorful gum drops. She looked at me half grinning and said . . .

“The pain . . . Oh my gosh . . . the pain . . . I can’t believe it. No really the pain is almost gone!!!”
I said, “Almost?”
“I can still feel it a little bit.”
“Ok, do you mind if I pray for it again? This time it’s gonna go for good!”
“Yes please do!”

Again I place my finger on her upper jaw by her ear and command the pain to go and for 100% complete healing. I asked her to try it again . . .

“Oh, my gosh!!! . . .  it’s gone! . . . the pain . . . it’s gone!”
“Yeah!, He loves you so much! He took your pain!”
“Wow, I know, I know He loves me!”

During this whole healing process her niece or grand daughter I can’t remember which but either way they were related somehow was in complete amazement. She was wide eyed and opened mouthed. She couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed. I remember saying something to the effect of this – “This is what the Kingdom of God is all about!”

As I was moving out from the chairs and around the two ladies I noticed that the niece / grand daughter had a sketch pad. I asked her if she drew and she said yes. I asked if she would mind showing me one of her drawings. She agreed. The first page was just the beginning of a sketch but it was her name and a proclamation that this was her sketch pad. I said that is pretty cool. She was like I just started it how could it be cool. So I explained myself a little more. You made a declaration that this was something new you were going to do. Almost like a healing process. She was like yeah in a, how’d you know that kinda way. Then Holy Spirit poured His beautiful awesomeness all over her. She was deeply touched by the Creator of the Universe and tears began to fall. Her grandmother / great aunt reached around her and hugged her while Heaven rained down.The Kingdom of God had just bloomed into power and love all over that place!

I gracefully blessed them and walked away. As I was passing by another lady waiting for the truck to arrive, I felt in my heart to see if she needed prayer. She thought it over for a few seconds and decided she did. I asked if there was anything in particular I could pray for her. She mentioned one thing and it was a pretty big bummer but to me it spoke a lot about what was about to happen. I have asked this person if she needed prayer in the past but she would always reply that she was fine. Today was going to be different. So I prayed for her situation and then other things begin to suddenly appear in my head. I would ask her if that was true and she would agree. Turns out the young woman sitting next to her was her sister and she was watching / listening to what was going on. She would also confirm that the things that suddenly came into my mind were correct. These thoughts were all about her strengths and the things about here that get taken advantage of. I told her she was made with purpose. She had great value! then I asked if I could give her a hug on behalf of the God of all creation wanting to love on His daughter. She agreed.

Then some words just came out of my mouth. I asked . . .
“Do you know who Jesus is?”
“yes.”
“Have you ever asked Him into your heart?”
“yes.”
“Really!? That’s great news then! . . . You know why? It’s cause you have something so powerful living inside of you! And anytime the enemy comes against with lies you have the authority through Jesus Christ to tell the lies and enemy to go! Did you know that?”
“No!?”
“You do!”
She smiles more confidently after this and like the power drill above life came back into her ! 🙂 It was awesome!!! Talk about the Kingdom is now and coming!!!

We talked a little bit more but after our conversation she looked like a different person. An empowered person. A person that was confident and determined. She was quite the changed person and her sister was pretty amazed too.

Then I prayed for both of them. That ended up being pretty sweet too! God is so amazing. There is so much He has for us. We just need to step over fear into faith and watch His goodness flow! It’s so much fun!

I left as the two sisters talked and walked over and prayed for another woman and her grandson. Seemed like all the guys that day were not so open to prayer . . . oh well.

There were a few more people touched by God that morning. Some cried. Some overwhelmed with peace. Some just thankful for the food.

I look back and smile now 🙂 You don’t always get the privileged to see both the start of something Glorious and the result from His Glorious flow all in less than a few hours. Today was a day full of privilege.

Go bless someone today 🙂

Daniel!? – My name is Daniel :)

It’s always fun in the Kingdom but it may not always look like fun at first, second or third glance. Sometimes it takes a perspective change to see it 🙂

Sunday was a fun day. Started out at NLC with some good ol’ ushering and greeting, good unifying words from Rabbi Nichol and ministry at the end. A good start to a day.

Then it was off to Sprouts for some produce shopping with my good friend Sandeep. Love that guy!!! While we were in the produce section commenting on various vegetables and Googling names of others a mother and her son walked by. They quickly grabbed my attention. The young boy about 4 years of age was tethered to their shopping cart and was walking ahead obviously entertained by his imagination as he muttered some silly words in passing. The unique thing is that it wasn’t one of those silly tether contraptions that harnesses the child to keep him from running off but rather a blue flex tube.

After a closer look there was no harness at all but a device attached to his throat. Then it dawned on me. The tube was providing oxygen to his lungs and the device allowed the tube to make this function possible.

My heart leaped inside as a flood of life sprang up inside. I needed to pray for them! So I quickly finished bagging the vegetables in my hand and placed it in the cart. I turned around and they were gone!? I was a bit perplexed thinking, “How could a kid with a tube coming from his throat move so fast?” It was like they just disappeared. My eyes scanned all around and they were no where to be seen. I asked Sandeep if he saw them and he replied, “I’m sorry I didn’t.” Now, that was a bit odd.

So Sandeep and I finished our grocery shopping and headed for the checkout with me scanning the store for any signs of this mother / son duo . . . but nothing 😦

In the checkout line we were joined by an older looking gentlemen who didn’t look very happy. I said hi and he nodded in acknowledgement. Sandeep finished checkout but had to leave early so he could get to his meeting on time but not before he let me taste the carrot chips he just purchased 🙂 They weren’t bad.

After checkout, my heart was still in anticipation for praying for the family. As I headed for the sliding doors I had a choice. Should I go find them or give up and go home. What do you think I did? If you guessed I decided to go find them you would be absolutely not . . . . . . . WRONG! I took a left not a right. Back into the store I went zipping up and down aisles, around display end caps . . . but still no a sign of them. But I knew in my hear the opportunity would arise. I just knew it. Maybe it wasn’t for now. Maybe it was for another time in the near future. Maybe, maybe, maybe . . . I maybed myself back to the sliding doors to exit and my knee suddenly began to hurt. Could it have been all the running up and down the aisles with my shopping cart? Maybe? But as I was exiting the store the gentleman that joined Sandeep and I in the checkout line who didn’t look very happy was right there leaving the store as well. Hmm . . . I couldn’t resist . . .

“Excuse me sir!?” – he turns around
“Sorry to bug you, but I was wondering if you are experiencing any knee pain?”
He answered with an uncertain , “No!?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” – as he started to walk away.
“Ok, Bless you and have a wonderful day!”

Hmm, So I just stood there and prayed for his knee to be better. My pain left. Maybe his pain was suppressed so much he didn’t recognize it. Maybe not. I kept standing there pressing into the Father and remember saying, “Father you will provide.” Provide for the mother son family.

Off I went to put all the goodies in my car. And wouldn’t you know I passed by the guy I just asked how his knee was doing and said hello again. This time he smiled at me. Not one of those courteous smiles but a genuine one. Almost like this guy is crazy. Then he got into his car. That was worth it all. It was pretty cool. God is really amazing.

I finished loading my groceries into the 4Runner and scanned the parking lot for a place to return the shopping cart. I saw one on the very far side furthest from the store but closest to me and I saw one closest to the store, right up against the wall, but furthest from me. I felt in my heart to head across the parking lot and put the cart in the bin next to the store and save the store associate some time and effort gathering the carts later that day.

Off I went again, in the opposite direction of what would have been an easy close to a shopping experience. It didn’t bug me. I was listening to my heart, that still small voice. I like walking and riding on the cart 🙂 I also like listening to the still small voice 🙂

In my coasting towards the store, “for some reason,” I noticed a weathered, goldish-brown mini-van. I think it was one of those old Ford Aerostars but on further examination I noticed something more important, the silhouettes of two people inside. One silhouette, in particular, was a tad bit smaller and had a tube coming from it.

No way! Could this be them! The mother and son from the store? It was!!! This was like a little miracle to me 🙂 I could have totally missed this one. I could have returned the cart to the other bin and would have never passed the van. I would have never seen them! Com’on Jesus!!!

So I zipped on my shopping cart over to the van. Jumped off and walked over. I noticed the driver side window was down a quarter of the way so I put my face in the opening and said . . .

“Excuse me ma’am!”
She looks up almost like she was in trouble, “Yes?”
“I saw you and your son in the store earlier . . . may I pray for your son!?”
“Oh, yes . . . yes please!”

I walk around to the passenger side and she opens the sliding door. One of his toys falls out. I return it and introduce my self and say . . .

“Hi, my name is Daniel!”
Her eyes get big – “That is his name!”
“His name is Daniel?”
“Yes!, sorry I no speak English well. I am D . . . (I apologize as I forgot her name but it stated with D)”
“Oh, that is no problem 🙂 Do you mind if I put my hand on your son Daniel?”
“No, it ok.”
I place my hand on his shoulder – “Daniel, my name is Daniel and God loves you!”

The Love of the Father fell on that old Ford minivan touching not just the Mother and son but me. Prayed for healing for Daniel and Daniel’s mama. Prayed for increased provision and favor. Prayed for wisdom for her and encouraged her. It was very beautiful and I was so blessed to be a part of it. So blessed!

After I had prayed she was in tears, thanking me and our Father for this. Daniel had already moved on to another toy.

Wow! Wow! Wow! His presence was so thick. Was Daniel healed? I don’t know but I am believing that the next doctor’s appointment will be one of great thanksgiving and joy! I know his mama was overwhelmed by the Creator of the Universe! Who knows, this could have been an answer to her prayers!? Either way . . . Praise God!!

If you feel led, take a moment and lift up Daniel and his mama to our King of Kings!

Jesus, This is what you do! You make me come ALIVE!!!