Israel

We have made it back to Kona after our very successful trip to Israel! Although we were in the Holy Land for only 2 full weeks, the Lord opened many doors, blessed us in ways we could not have thought of, and taught me a few good (and well needed) points in such a short time.

Intercession: The power of intercessory prayer was brought up many times while on this trip. I once believed that intercession (prayer on the behalf of others) was just a simple act of us telling God what we believe He wants. While that is true, He showed me that intercession is not just praying for others to God, it is literally standing up to Satan and telling him that we will no longer put up with what he is doing. Walking around the old city, praying in our hearts, was kicking satan in the face because we willingly went to an area of great deception to pray for those who do not believe.

View of Mount Zion, where the Old City is

Reality: I mentioned it in the last blog, but the raw reality of Jesus hits hard while walking where He once walked. All the fluff that has been built up in my mind has now been replaced with images of where He lived, walked, died and rose. He once again reiterated in me that faith is not a feeling. He did not die for me to get a warm fuzzy feeling, he died to save me from my own sin. To hold on to the knowledge that what He did for us 2,000 years ago, even though we will never be able to fully grasp it, is faith.

Jesus' Empty Tomb

On the first day of walking around the old city of Jerusalem, an anticipation rolled over me. The lyrics to Misty Edward's song "people get ready" resonated with in me. "He's not a baby in a manger anymore, He's not a broken man on the cross, He didn't stay in the grave, and He's not staying in heaven forever." It has been promised in the Word that He WILL come back someday. We are to be ready, and not assume it will happen after our life time. We are to be fighting for the lost. We are to be standing in the gap, interceding, for those who have not heard. He will come like a thief in the night, and I do not want to be sleeping and miss His call.

Mount of Olives behind me, where Jesus will return to

The Team: We had an amazing team of 4 that joy was consistently flowing out of. This was a glory team that only God could have thought of. I am so thankful for these 2 ladies and 1 fella that the Lord has me travel with :)

Sam, Shawna, myself, and Chantal at the Dead Sea

What's Next: Most of the Awaken crew is now back in Kona and the rest will be trickling in over the next week. We will begin staff training tomorrow. I am so excited for what the Lord has us as staff, a school, and a campus for the rest of this year. It will be quite the adventure :)

We have been in Israel for more than a week now, totally basking in the blessings of the Lord. We stayed in Tel Aviv for the first week and made our way to Jerusalem 2 days ago. So much has happened in my heart since entering this nation, especially since being in Jerusalem.

The reality of Jesus is right in front of me. We are staying in a house across the way from Mount Zion and Mount of Olives. The very place where the greatest act of love in all of history is a 30 minute walk away. To walk where Jesus walked, to look up and see the same piece of sky that Jesus once gazed at, to touch the gateway that Jesus entered through all those years ago is so surreal. And mind blowing. All at once.

Up until this point, I had sort of "fantasized" Jesus, the man himself and his life. I knew the truth if who He was and what He has done, but I had made him some distant character who lived in a magical place called Jerusalem. I expected a light hearted, fluffy feeling while being in his homeland. What I got instead was the crushing, beautiful reality of Jesus the LIVING man. What my head already knew as "fact" crossed the territory into my heart. The resounding knowledge of what was done here. The guilt and sins of every person who lived, is living, and ever will live has been wiped away in this very place. The realness of Jesus is not a feeling. The realness of Jesus is that he once walked on this earth, died for us, rose from the dead, and now sits with the Father, waiting to take his bride home.

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" Colossians 2:13-15.

The place that this happened is a real place. The people who nailed him to the cross were real people. The man who died is a real man. This man longs to know his children. He calls to us, day and night, reaching out to us. Take His hand, let Him lead you. He never lets go.

The battle within

"For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live" Romans 8:13

I can't tell you how many times I have read this verse and let it slip through my mind without giving it a second thought. It is something that I chose not to pay attention to, because it is something that I did not want to do. I wanted to live my life, my way, and no one was going to tell me otherwise. Because my way was always better. My way was less painful. My way was easier. I couldn't understand that there was something far better past the downfall of flesh.

These past few weeks, however, God just keeps bringing it up again and again. All of these little worldly desires that I have accumulated over the course of my life had dug their claws deep into my flesh. I became accustomed and comfortable to these claws that I didn't want them to leave. It would be so strange to live a life with out them.

Yet, He is still doing a new thing in my soul. He has grace and mercy enough to not let my own flesh deceive me into thinking it has more to offer than the Father. As painful as it is, my flesh is being put to death. And I am ever so glad. My spirit and flesh are at war with each other, and for the first time, the Spirit is winning. These claws are being extracted, and the wounds they caused are beginning to heal. I welcome it, because I will now live freely, unhindered, able to run because the weight of this world is no longer on me.

It isn't a quick or enjoyable process. But the more my worldly desires break off from me, the more of Heaven's perspective I receive. The more I receive, the more I welcome it. The more I welcome it, the more I want it.

Set Ablazed

"if you are who God made you to be, you will set the whole world on fire" - St. Catherine.

These words spoken during the royal wedding carry the weight of truth. We were all created with such divine purpose, and that purpose was to set the world on fire for God. "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness...'" Gen 1:26a. We were created in PERFECT IMAGE. God did not create each of us to be complacent and ignore the calling on our lives. He created us to love Him, be loved by Him, and love others.

We often loose sight of our original purpose to know this Love and be set on fire for it. We get blind sighted by our culture, the media, our own selfish desires. We settle for the things right in front of us. We become dull to His voice, to His presence. But when we hold on to the truth that we were perfectly created with divine purpose, our hearts will be set ablaze. As our blazing hearts go out into our town, our country, the nations, little fires are started all over the world. Those little fires grow and grow and grow until the world has been set on fire. A fire that won't stop because it is eternally fueled by a Greater Love. Good praise music is not what set us on fire. Reading a christian book is not it either. It is encountering the Heavenly father, letting Him capture your heart, shape it, mold it, and refine it that lights it up.

Hold on to the truth. Hold on to your knowledge of why you are here. Be who you were created to be, not what the world tells you. Do this, and a fire will start in your soul. Once the Spirit starts a fire, it cannot be put out (1st Thes 5:19).

Israel News

Our tickets have been bought! We will be leaving May 11th and returning to Kona May 30th. For more information about the trip/support, please visit www.awakenisrael.blogspot.com

Prayer Requests

• As a team, we need about $2,000 more for living expenses while there.
• Safe travels
• Clear direction for where to stay, who to contact, ect.

Once again, God has done some crazy things. Thank you everyone who has supported me financially and prayerfully. It means more than you know.