The Headwaters

While living in Minnesota, we lived close to the exact location where the mighty Mississippi River starts it's windy path through the United States from top to bottom. It all begins in a lake at Itasca State Park. It was incredible to me how such a large River that stretches so many miles, gets its start from a modest size body of water. Then it winds through nine different states and eventually ends in the Gulf of Mexico. The headwaters of the Mississippi is Lake Itasca.

The headwaters of true prayer is relationship. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, as recorded in Luke 11:2, He began by saying when we pray, use the words, "Our Father". This is the launching pad for all prayer. At take off, we are immediately introduced to our loving Father. He wants us to encounter His radical love, demonstrated in His Son, Jesus Christ. We do not have to live or pray as orphans; He wants to adopt us into His family. Apart from Christ, we have no right to call God, "Our Father". However, when we are in Christ, we can receive our adoption, the right to call Him our Daddy, our Abba.

If our prayer does not start at the headwaters, and we jump into the middle of the river, our prayers will be prone to becoming religious, stale or even intimidating. All too often, we come to God out of desperation and jump directly into our needs and wants. When we receive His love and take our time building our relationship, then we are able to pray His heart for our situation. The brevity and strength of our prayer lives hinge on our ability to encounter and receive the Father's love.

One issue that could clog the river of our ability to receive the Father's love is the orphan spirit. This is an evil spirit that makes you feel as if you do not have a Heavenly Father and specifically that we are not loved. We have all had imperfect earthly fathers. Because of this, it is easy to develop a view of God, as our Father, based on what we experienced with our earthly father. This results in living under this orphan spirit, and we allow the orphan spirit to take the place of God's blessing and His love for us. Father God wants to re-parent you.

If your prayer life does not start at the headwaters, in the Father's love, it's time to break off the orphan spirit and allow Christ to heal your love receptors. Friends, we need God's love! We need the Father to re-parent us. The health of our soul and strength of our prayer life hinges on our ability to receive the Father’s love. Come to Him today and open your heart and allow His love to enter.

The ability to receive His love will absolutely revolutionize your prayer life. It changes the way we pray. Every time you pray, jump into the headwaters. It's refreshing!

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* I credit Lesson 3 from Year 1 of the College of Prayer International. For more information, go to www.collegeofprayer.org

Chiapas Mexico Trip Update

EThree months ago, at our (The College of Prayer International) annual leadership gathering here in Atlanta called iGNITE, God called me to Mexico. It was while we were praying for the nations. Right after hearing this, I went and told my friend, who is now our Director for Latin America, Luis Calderon. I said, "I'm going with you to Mexico". He got excited. The Lord provided the exact funds I needed and I began praying for this experience.

On my plane flight South last weekend, I was reading Scripture and praying, and I heard the Lord tell me very clearly, “Fred, you have been on trips before, but this will be far more significant and far reaching than any other. Prepare yourself.” So, I began praying the Lord’s kingdom come upon me and our team and over the Mexican state of Chiapas, where I was headed to serve. In my Scripture reading, the Lord gave me a verse that became my heart cry over the weekend. It is Acts 10:35, “God does not show favoritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” This spoke to me as I prayed that God would give me His heart for the people of Mexico. I saw this play out throughout the weekend as the Lord broke my heart for these beautiful people.

I served with a team of six. Luis Calderon, our Director for Latin America, led our team. In addition, we had a pastor from El Paso Texas, a pastor from Mexico City and two Christian and Missionary Alliance Missionaries from Guadalajara, Mexico.

On Friday morning, we visited the Voice of the Martyrs headquarters for the area. There is a couple who lead this ministry as they reach out to those who have been persecuted for Christ. Recent statistics prove that Mexico is on the rise in persecution and are now in the top 40 places for persecution worldwide. It was humbling for me to sit with people, who have been persecuted, and listen to their stories of what they have been through because of their faith in Jesus. One new friend (pictured above with grey plaid shirt), shared that when he gave his life to Jesus, he was not able to buy any goods in stores, he was pushed out of his homeland and forced to move out. Someone stole his 20 acres of crops and burnt down his house. Another friend (pictured in blue shirt), was going to be killed and God intervened and saved him. His enemies had poured gasoline on his feet, and while they were trying to burn him, they were unable to light a match. He was rescued! The persecution that is endured in this area is mostly at the hands of religious groups. This area is heavily Catholic and if anyone becomes born again, they will force you out of the community. I can’t express how moved I was to be with these people and hear their stories. We had 30 people from the persecuted church attend our training.

The primary reason we went to Chiapas was to complete our Year One training in the College of Prayer. We started Friday night and went over 4 hours. There were around 300 people in attendance. We experienced high worship, led by a youth praise team. Luis taught both lessons and facilitated response times. After both lessons, there were many who came to the altar to receive from the Lord. There were people crying out to God, weeping. These people are so genuine. I have never seen such hunger for God before.

On Saturday, we started at 9am and went until 6pm. We continued to see God move in the hearts of people, going deep with God during every session. The Lord was with me as I taught two lessons from our curriculum. I was the only one in the whole room who did not speak Spanish. The Lord gave grace and I had an amazing interpreter. The Lord moved in powerful ways. I taught on the Father love of God and many came to see Jesus break off the orphan spirit and to have their love receptors healed. Then after the lesson on prayerlessness, we had many come to repent of prayerlessness and receive the Holy Spirit to fill and ignite their prayer lives. It was overwhelming to see the Lord work in the lives of people as they poured their hearts out to Him. We finished the day with what we call a “tunnel of blessing”. All 25 pastors in attendance lined the middle aisle on either side and everyone else walked through slowly as we prayed blessings over these dear people. This went on for over 2 hours. It was incredible. The people loved it!

Sunday morning, we were invited to preach in a church. I preached on the parable of the persistent widow from Luke 18. Again, we saw the Holy Spirit poured out on our gathering as we experienced the presence of Christ. Many responded and came to the altar inviting the Holy Spirit to activate their prayer lives. In addition, many came to intercede for deep needs. As I stood on the platform and looked out upon these dear people, it felt as if Jesus was walking through the room. The presence of the Lord was thick. All glory to Christ!

This trip was deeply impacting on my life. To hear stories from persecuted Christians, to see the Lord use our curriculum and training, to see the Lord work in so many ways, it was incredible! I fell in love with Mexico and I want to go back. I fell in love with the people. I fell in love with what Jesus is doing in the nations. I am so thankful that He does not show favoritism. I now know why God wanted me to go on this trip. May God continue to pour out His Spirit in the last days.

2 of the Enemy's Biggest Lies

For those who are in Christ Jesus, we have an adversary, the devil. There are many descriptions of him through out the Bible. One of those is that he is a liar. John 8:44 says, "There is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." From the early days of time he has been telling lies. You will recall how he appeared as a serpent in the Garden of Eden to officially launch his activity that would impact all of humanity from that point forward. He is the liar of all liars.

Sin separates us from our holy God. Sin starts with temptation, which is when the enemy will try to lie and persuade you to do something that is blatantly contrary to the Word of God. Therefore, the enemy will tempt us with lies that twist the truth in order to cause us to fall away from God. 

In this post I want to expose two of our enemy's biggest lies. Now, I realize that any lie is big, but these certainly have enormous ramifications if believed. If the enemy can cause you to doubt and lose faith, he wins. In my years as a youth pastor, these are two lies that I saw break the legs of many teens and would lead them to a crippled walk with God.

The first is that the Bible is too hard to understand. This has been the biggest excuse I have heard over the years for why young people don't read the Bible or have a personal quiet time with Jesus.  To this I typically respond, "Where are you reading, Leviticus?" Yes, some parts of the Bible can be hard to understand with no background explanation or teaching. However, there are plenty of books within the Bible that provide a buffet of easy-to-understand truth for the novice follower of Christ. 

The reality is, even though parts of the Bible were written 3,500 years ago, they are as understandable and life-transforming as the moment they were written. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires." The Bible can be understood by the newest of Christians and enjoyed by the veterans who have been reading the Bible for 50 years. If you find yourself struggling to understand the Bible, let me encourage you to start in the Psalms or the Gospels. The Psalms have truth for every emotion we will ever face, and the Gospels are filled with the action that took place in the life of Jesus.

The second lie that the enemy wants you to believe is that God does not hear your prayer. It is so easy to pray for something and then give up. It is so easy to pray and not see God work immediately or in the way that we have prayed, and then think that God must not hear me because it didn't happen the way I prayed. When God doesn't respond the way we have prayed, it is a natural response to lose faith and come to the conclusion that God doesn't hear. When this happens, we are falling right into the plans of the enemy. He wants to do all he can to discourage us. 

I have come to the place in my walk with Jesus where prayer is the umbilical cord that allows my food source, Jesus, to feed my soul. Prayer is my lifeline because it connects me with the source of life, Jesus. It is the gateway that unleashes the power of Jesus in my life. Without the power of Jesus, the Christian walk becomes too religious and pious. If your prayer life has become stagnant, it's time to seek the filling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will ignite your prayer life. If there is something keeping your prayer life from taking off, the Holy Spirit will reveal that to you so that you can overcome it. God not only hears your prayers, He is constantly at work even when it is not exactly how we ask.

The enemy tries to drag us down. The enemy wants to guide us away from Jesus. Follower of Christ, drive a stake in the ground today, YOU BELONG TO JESUS. Don't allow the enemy a foothold in your life that begins with a lie. Declare the truth of God over your life. James 4:7-8 says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Amen! 

A Dangerous Little Prayer

I was reading Philemon this morning. Yes, Philemon is a part of the inspired word of God and yes, it is possible for the Holy Spirit to draw you into it's verses. Smile. The average Bible reader will quickly read from Titus to Hebrews. This morning as I was reading this book, one of the shortest in the Bible, and the Lord stopped me in my tracks as I read verse 6. Paul prays a dangerous little prayer as recorded here. The NIV reads, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith." In this context, Paul is writing this to and sharing his prayer for Philemon, Apphia and Acrhippus. Paul is praying that they will share with pre-believers what Jesus has done for them through His death and resurrection. However, this morning it was as if the Lord was telling me through a mega-phone, "Fred, that one is for you to pray for yourself."

Over the years I have been a seasonal evangelist. I will go through spurts of being on mission with Jesus as being His witness, and then I will have weeks where I will go without even speaking the name of Jesus in public. I have trained countless students in how to share their faith and I have led countless people to Christ, but I sometimes go weeks without sharing my faith. Yes, I have admitted here that even as a pastor, I have not been faithful in being consistent salt and light. That needs to change.

Friends, let's face it, our world is a wreck. There are signs everywhere that match up with what Scripture tells us are the last days before Jesus comes back. Whenever we consider end times prophecy, it should always fuel our efforts to reach our neighbor for Christ. There are people all around us who are not ready for the return of Christ. I am asking the Lord to give me urgency in my witness where God has planted me.

I want to be active in sharing my faith. There are too many excuses that I come up with for not being active. I need to surrender my pride. I also need to realize that being turned down by someone who doesn't want to hear about Jesus is better than not saying anything at all. Life should never be too busy to stop and share the love of Jesus with someone.

I am relying on God to empower my witness. May I develop a burning desire to see people cross from death to life. I may not have the gift of evangelism, but I do have a mandate from Jesus to go into all the world and make disciples. As I seek to reach my neighbors, may the Lord give discernment, tenacity and boldness. May I see through the eyes of Jesus as I encounter people every day. May God motivate each of us to reach a lost world for Jesus as the time of His second coming gets closer.

The Anointed Quarter

I recently returned from ten days in Nassau, Bahamas with twenty-two teenagers and four adults. One of the benefits of a missions trip is that you are focused on watching God work. After all, isn't that one of the main reasons you would go to another country in the first place? You want to be the hands and feet of Jesus and be used by Him and to see Him work up close.

My heart was ready for this trip. This was the best missions trip that I have ever led and even better than that, this was the best missions trip I have ever been a part of. This was mostly due in part because I spent countless hours allowing Jesus to prepare my heart for service. I also led a group, our missions team, who had done the same. These teens and adults were ready. We stepped off the plane in Nassau, primed and ready to see the hand of God. God did not disappoint.

While in Nassau, I personally recorded eight direct answers to prayer. We witnessed healings, salvations and miracles. I don't have time to share details about each experience, but I want to share one with you in this post. It has become known as the anointed quarter.

The day we arrived in Nassau, I went grocery shopping with two of our youth coaches while the rest of our group settled into our church accommodations. We shopped for over an hour and filled four shopping carts with food. It took probably twenty minutes for the cashier to scan everything into her computer. Our total came to $950. I didn’t think anything of the payment because I had already gone down to our bank in town to let them know I would need to use the card on our missions trip to Nassau. Well, she scanned my card and it didn’t go through. I said, try it again. Nothing. Then I gave her my two personal credit cards, still nothing. Denied. I thought, oh great, how are we going to pay for this?

While my youth coaches waited with our four shopping carts inside the store, I went to find my friend, the youth pastor of the church where we were serving. I found him outside another store with a couple buddies. I explained the situation to him. He allowed me to borrow his phone to call my credit card company back in the United States. I couldn’t make the call from my phone because it would have cost me a small fortune in roaming charges. When the phone call connected I was put on hold for five minutes before a representative got on the phone. Well, as soon as I start giving her my information, my friend's phone battery died. Oh great! 

In light of this, we were reminded of God's sovereignty, so, we stopped and prayed and asked God to take over. Then my friend gives me a quarter to use the pay-phone outside the grocery store. I was able to get through and find out that the wait was now seven minutes to get through to an agent. Well, the problem was that for every quarter you put in, you only get about thirty seconds of phone time to the United States. My friend had three quarters in his pocket and then sent his friends to find more. Two minutes into the phone call, my friend put a quarter in that added time and then popped out of the bottom of the phone, as if to return the quarter to us. He used the same quarter ten times, each time accumulating time. We had an anointed quarter. 

I can only describe this as an act of God. My friend told me he has never seen a quarter do that in a pay-phone ever before. Praise the Lord! I ended up getting through to my credit card company, and we only had to add a few more quarters to enable me to finish my phone call. The friendly agent on the other end freed up my credit card for purchases in Nassau and my credit card was accepted for the groceries.

Through this experience, God reminded me that He is in complete control no matter what the circumstance. When my credit card didn't go through, I was already thinking ahead to the possibilities of not making that purchase to feed our team for the week or considering other ways to make the purchase. The right thing to do was what we ended up doing and that was to stop and pray. All I needed to do was to trust God. When we prayed, we invited the God of the universe into our situation. He had complete control all along. He delivered a timely miracle that I will never forget.

Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you."

Lessons learned from watching my sister battle cancer

By way of background, I received a phone call last July from my Mom telling me that my sister, Andrea, had cancer.  I had never heard news of this magnitude, outside of finding out when three of my grandparents each passed away. My heart sunk. Of all things, I was on a service project at a cemetery. 

My mind began to race in a million directions. I thought of the seriousness of this disease and how difficult it would be for my sister. I was thinking of all the people I have known over the years who have had cancer. Some beat it and some didn't.

That night, I was able to talk with my sister for the first time following her diagnosis. I realized that this would not be your typical battle with cancer. All the worry that I had, the anxiety that I had laid at Jesus feet, was exchanged with peace and replaced with encouragement. Andrea was confident. I could hear the smile in her voice. It was obvious that God was at work in my sister's life.

Every phone call since that first one, for the last 6 months, have been similar. I have never heard my sister complain once. She has stayed positive through this entire fight. I had the opportunity to spend three special days with her over Christmas. I savored every moment. All of the feelings that she communicated over the phone were magnified in person. She literally radiated joy. She was at peace. She was totally content with her life and where the Lord was taking her.

As I have observed my sister's battle with cancer, I have learned three major lessons. There are others, but these are the biggies. These lessons have been learned from afar because she lives in Texas and I'm in Minnesota. These lessons have been learned over the phone, through Facetime, and in the few days we spent together in December.

The first lesson that I have learned from watching my sister is that strength isn't manufactured. There have been times in my life when I have needed strength. Strength to make a major decision. Strength to speak in public. Strength to endure a year and a half of living with parents with three small children. These are all well and good, however, it pales in comparison with having a terminal disease and undergoing the rigors of chemotherapy with a smile. A smile is the outer expression of an inner strength, peace and joy. This strength isn't something that she just musters up or pulls out of a hat. This strength comes from her relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Andrea has always had a close relationship with Jesus. As far back as I can remember, I found Andrea in her room spending time with Jesus reading her Bible or praying. That time spent fueling the flame of her walk with God is reaping a harvest of righteousness and inner-strength that very few people in this world have. Jesus is living in Andrea and giving her strength.

Secondly, I have seen James 1:3 come to life. In a nutshell, this verse tells us that trials bring perseverance and perseverance brings faith. I have taught this verse many times, but have never understood it until this year. This is obviously a trial in Andrea's life. Cancer is not a walk in the park. The same can be said of chemo. Instead of Andrea going into depression or drowning in her sorrows and bad news, Andrea has done the opposite. She has asked the Lord to be glorified in her life through this battle. Her prayer since day one has been, "Lord, whatever you want to do in me, have your way." The Lord is our healer and we have been praying for that, but He is also our sanctifier and many times those two attributes go hand in hand. Andrea has had her faith built and has grown deeper in her love of Jesus through this season. God has taught me the value of enduring trial as a faith builder.

Thirdly, I have learned that nothing should come in between our relationship with Jesus. The verse that our family has rallied around during the last six months is Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." That is an incredible truth and has brought so much hope to our family. The flip side of that verse would be that we, as followers of Christ, should not allow anything to get in the way of our love for Him. There are many things that could create a wedge and drive us away. I have counseled people in ministry over the years who have allowed cancer to drive them away from the Lord. It has been incredible for me to observe my sister growing closer to Jesus even in the midst of this fight. She has not allowed this horrible disease to keep her from all that is hers through faith in Jesus Christ. I have been challenged to not allow my circumstances to stand in the way of pressing into Jesus.

I want to encourage you. If you find yourself in the midst of a fight, don't give up. God has a plan. Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord." God knew from the day Andrea was born that she would face this battle. This didn't catch Him by surprise. He has a perfect plan for Andrea and He has a perfect plan for you. Trust in Him. Our only hope in this world is Jesus Christ. Do you believe that?

The Privilege of Prayer

One area the Lord has been teaching me about, as I have been seeking Him for my sister in her battle with Lymphoma Cancer, is in the area of prayer. I have always enjoyed prayer. Prayer is not something that I dread. Prayer is not something that I feel uncomfortable doing. I firmly believe that when I pray, God hears me, and not only does He hear me, but He is working in response to my prayers. Since hearing of my sister´s news, the Lord has taken me to new places in prayer.

When we receive bad news, whether it pertains to us or someone else, we are often moved to pray. For those who have a walk with Jesus, prayer is a natural bi-product of bad news. If someone tells us of a difficulty in their life, we often respond with a very appropriate, ¨I will pray for you.¨ It is up to us then to follow through on our commitment. God hears our prayers no matter how short and He knows the intentions of our heart. However, the Lord has taught me that while short prayers work, God wants to call us deeper in our prayers that we may uncover all the treasures that lay before us as we unite with the heart of God.

Since hearing of my sister´s cancer, I have found myself in a constant prayer. I feel that I am uncovering different areas of God´s heart as it involves my sister´s illness. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, ¨Pray without ceasing.¨ I have never considered or fully understood what this passage means until this season of my life. 

There are three things that the Lord has pointed out to me from this passage. First of all, we need to have a daily, moment by moment, dependence on God in every area of our lives. As I have prayed for my sister, I realize that there is nothing I can do to make her better. If she conquers this cancer, it´s because God does it. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. 

Secondly, this passage has taught me to pray repeatedly. We should always be in a spirit of prayer. Our lives should be a conversation with God. I once heard a missionary say that every day should be a prayer or conversation with God, when you go to sleep you don´t ¨hang up the phone¨, you just say, ¨see you in the morning.¨ I have found myself praying for my sister at all hours of the day. 

The third lesson the Lord has taught me from this verse is to not give up. I love the parable Jesus shares in Luke 18 about the persistent widow. We learn a valuable lesson from this widow about prayer. We are encouraged to continue praying until everything God desires has been accomplished. God is teaching me the importance of lingering with God. We should not pray for someone in order to scratch the request off our bucket list. We should pray and pray over and over until God does something in response to our prayer. We have seen the Lord work in recent weeks in my sister´s life as God has used the chemo to shrink her tumor. I continue to pray for complete healing, pressing in until the Lord has completed His work.

What a privilege it is to pray and talk to the God of the universe. For me, prayer has never been so exciting and faith building. May God ignite within you a passion for prayer. May He take you to new levels in your prayer life and may you understand His heart more fully as you seek His face. Ask the Holy Spirit to ignite your prayer life and see what happens. What a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer.

A Call to Prayer

Last Thursday, while I was in St Louis for a youth conference, I received word from my Mom that my precious sister, Andrea, has a large tumor in her chest. It has been diagnosed as an uncommon and aggressive cancer called non-Hodgkins large B-cell lymphoma. 

I want to invite you to join us in prayer as we declare life, peace, joy, health and healing over her. Her situation is serious – very serious. The tumor has already broken a rib and is pressing against her heart, esophagus, larynx, and the four major blood vessels around the heart. The tumor is inoperable, but it is not untreatable.

In the next two days Andrea and her husband Josh will make a decision on the medical treatment. This is a critical time. She needs the wisdom of God and she also needs divine healing.

The good news is that our God is a healer. Healing is not just something God dabbles in once in a while – Healer is one of His names. It is who He is and what He does. He is good at it – the best. The Great Physician. No one does it better than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Josh and Andrea wrote a wonderful testimony of faith describing their journey and the exact medical details. Click here <http://goo.gl/7c0ck> if you would like to read more. They will update their progress on this website blog.

I invite you to pray with us for my sister's complete healing. Please join Team Andrea by rising up and joining intercessors around the world as we seek Jesus together for wholeness and health.

Joanna and I can’t thank you enough for standing with us through this most challenging season. 

Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."