Lessons to Learn
My time here visiting IHOP has been nothing short of amazing from the time to just worship and pray in the prayer room to the meetings with numerous brothers and sisters from Europe (and Egypt) or brothers and sisters called to Europe. God is just bringing about so much in such a short amount of time.
*pretty much the United Nations 'Under the Cross' 😀
A few blog posts ago I talked about God bringing me into a season of transformation and well, true to His Word those visions and prophecies over me have begun to come true from books I've been reading to messages I've heard, God Almighty is working in my heart and soul doing much pruning as I rest in Him.
I read 'Is That Really You God?' by Loren Cunningham, founder of YWAM, and his stories of his early years in ministry are amazing and eye-opening on listening to the voice of God.
I, then, read a book called 'Grace & Forgiveness' by John and Carol Arnott. The way they present these two terms essential to our walk with Jesus is profound and God definitely used this book to highlight some open wounds I still have/had in my heart between those I care about. I have since then tried to make amends to those and what the Lord has spoken to me about.
Next, I read 'The Little Boy in Me' by George Bloomer. Mr. Bloomer's book talks about becoming the man God intended and how in today's society a lot of 'men' are out there operating from the 'little boy' mentality from pain instilled in them as they grew up. During and since the Race, I have had to grow in maturity in a lot of areas where I was operating from this mentality. Future Racers (yes even women) definitely should look into this book, especially if you have been hurt a lot in the past.
The final book I just recently read was Todd Burpo's 'Heaven is for Real', which is all about his family's experiences after some really intense trials that came their way and how their son died for about three minutes, but came back to life to share stories of Heaven. I wish to highlight apart of this story.
Pastor Burpo goes on to talk about childlike faith and refers to Matthew 18: 3-4 where Jesus directly speaks about becoming like little children in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, that 'whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.'
The following paragraph is what I'd like to highlight from the book:
"What is childlike humility? It's not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda. It's that precious fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think. The same un-self-conscious honesty that enables a three-year-old to splash joyfully in a rain puddle, or tumble laughing in the grass with a puppy, or point out loudly that you have a booger hanging out of your nose, is what is required to enter heaven. It is the opposite of ignorance–it is intellectual honesty: to be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when it is hard."
Wow! Read that again.
The author talks in this way because as adults we tend to put things in this category or that category. We never believe the answer is clear-cut and simple. When the reality is that the bulk of Scripture can be put in terms all four- to five-year-olds would understand.
Finally, IHOP has been putting on a Black History Month Symposium this weekend and the preachers and their teachings have been amazing! Pastors Alex Gee Jr, Carl Ellis Jr, and Bishop Ben Gibert have all spoken and have all been leading the discussion to unity. Yes, the unification of the Body of Christ, the Bride of Yeshua! The topic has been on my heart for many years now and the way they have put their words, especially Bishop Gibert, has been exactly what God has put on my heart.
Bishop Gibert talked about transformational unity, a unity to where we no longer see color, race, gender, ethnicity and all the labels we tend to put on people (even denominational), but see them first and foremost as our brothers and sisters in Christ, or our brethren-to-be if they do not yet know the Lord intimately. I wish I could articulate exactly how he worded it, but alas I was so in awe of what God was revealing to me that I could not write fast enough to take notes properly. Please look it up and all these amazing men of God with their teachings.
God is teaching, stretching, and growing me so much, while I am here in Kansas City, Missouri. I am starting to see the task before me, nay us, with unifying the Body of Christ for the trying times ahead. Christ says that a house divided amongst itself cannot stand, and yet we have allowed the divisiveness of satan and our own flesh to divide us (Mark 3:23-25).
Please, look into these books and teachings for your own lessons to learn, but above all ask Holy Spirit to guide you in the path ahead to shake down the walls and shift the paradigms that so hinder each one of us individually and collectively as the Body of Christ for Christ will return for ONE Bride, not four or five, so we MUST be UNIFIED!
And remember, as Colton Burper says about his experience: "I want them to know that heaven is for real."
God bless my brothers and sisters! Much love and blessings to you in the name of Jesus Christ!
*Just started the book 'Normal Christianity' by Jonathan Welton and am already being taught so much, even though I haven't gotten past chapter 3. God is legit!
