find the forgotten

This trip I was able to come together with some great friends I have. They give me the gift that cannot be matched or priced; the gift of prayer. They have an intercessory ministry that has covered me for several years now. I thank God for their words of life and instruction that they give me, not just from human experience but from experience in the throne room of God.

I was sorta on a retreat up there, enjoying a basement that my hosts put me in with a fireplace for the cool Wisconsin springtime nights. Hot coffee, loud worship music, and time alone every morning for my praise of God and study of Scripture was like pure manna from heaven for me. I walk in prayer everday, but it was nice to have natural surroundings that accomodated it so well.

The ministry times were "small" in number, but powerful in effect. I went to 2 youth groups to speak, and had great connection with several kids and on one night was able to see an altar where 4 lovely disciples responded to the call, and the tears in their eyes said that they were looking at One that night Who knew them. I was also able to minister communion during our team's prayer meeting, which humbled the tar out of me. It was a privelege to bring forth the Word to those that should have brought it to me. They live lives of prayer, and I cannot think of a greater honor. Father God spoke through each of us into each other, as they laid hands on me and sent me off in the name of Jesus, resting the grace and annointing of God upon me by and through His Holy Spirit.

ONE ON ONE: This was a significant proportion of the work Pappa God had for me up there. I went to the YMCA with a spiritual "mom" of mine, Terri. Now, I must say, a pet peeve of mine is this idea that we cannot witness to people unless we are sure they will attend our Christian events. Mind you, I have invited hundreds of people to such things in my day, but I do not substitute that for the Word of God. The Bible says "how will they believe, unless someone goes and preaches to them?" (Rom.10:14) And so in that YMCA it was my decision to connect with several young men and pray with them. Each was in a one on one setting, two of them I prayed for and one of them repeated the salvation prayer with me. I asked that particular person, "has anyone ever, in your entire life, told you about having a personal relationship with Christ?" His response was humbly, "No." I asked him if he wanted to know God, and the smile on his face afterward told me that it was not the nice thing to do, it was not just to pat myself on the back, but this guy was so glad that someone told him he could know God!

Wait, there is more. This is where I am going to drive in the point, that if we listen to the Holy Spirit, our method's don't matter as much as our hearts and being obedient to our Boss. You see, I witnessed to another guy I played basketball with. I tried to connect him to a local youth pastor that I knew and was ministering with that week. As I went to a coffee-shop ministry that night, that youth pastor came to me and said, "did you talk to so-and-so today?" "Yeah..." I replied. He said "I've been working on him for two years! He's my nieghbor!" You can't tell me that our God didn't set that up.

No matter how busy we are, let's always stop for just one. Jesus does that for us. Let's not try to be better than Him.

I miss this place. My week and a half there was not long enough. It was pure bliss to minister alongside one of my best friends in this entire world, Justin Long. I had the joy a few years back to have him in my small group and was able to mentor him and pour into him. He has been one of those investments that has brought about tremendous return in the Kingdom, and quickly became an equal and peer, and even a mentor in my life.

I was able to interact with what felt like 87 fellowship meetings at that church. It paved the way for relationships to be established, and for me to connect one on one. Then, that Sunday I was able to minister to the adults in the morning, and teach a young mens discipleship that night. Now, I went there telling them I didn't need money. But, half-way through it there was a shortage in my budget that came up unexpectedly. While I was teaching that night, they took up a $5,000 offering for me without me even knowing it!!! A group of 50 or so adults gave very generously, and I am dearly thankful.

That Wednesday night I spoke to over 200 youth. Most of them responded to the call. It was more like the entire room became an altar, with so many responding. Justin has planted a good work. It was my joy to bring the water of the Holy Spirit to such a good crop. He annointed several young men and women for a life of calling and walking in the purposes of God. The Lord even moved us in the prophetic, as certain words were uttered throughout the night during the message and the one on one prayers. I believe with all my heart that many of those kids are still walking in God's plan given them that night, and they will walk all the way to the nations someday.

On a note of fun: I sneaked across the border and went into Mexico for a few hours. It was spur of the moment. The missionary in me couldn't stand being so close to another nation and not going!!! So me and a friend named Sandra made the trip, and turned around and came back a few hours later. It was a slight hint of Africa for me...looking at another culture and people aroused my soul!!!

The ministry I am currently doing is a bit different from what I "signed up for." Of course, our Lord has a way of changing us for His glory. I asked Him for souls one at a time. There was even a point where I did not want to be a "preacher" in the way that it has been done before. Yet, I found the more I loved the hurting, the more the Lord put that heart before men. As you read of my travels to the Church, I hope you are drawn to the poor. I had to leave the poor to go to the Church, so it is my hope that the Body will then go.

This trip was first on the agenda. The Lord gave me a tremendous oppurtunity to be the first speaker at a missions convention. The pastor-friend of mine that invited me asked, "Nate, please, we don't need numbers. We don't need quotes, cute slide-show pictures and statistics. We need a passion." I took that as an incredible challenge, and an incredible oppurtunity. I spoke on "the calling" and was able to express the great need for Africa, and how every believer is able to participate in the Kingdom. The disciples there were very hungry. Many responded in the altar time, some with eyes of tears and others with joyful hearts saying "Yes, Lord." There were even a couple people who said that they were called to the nations that night!!!

The next Wednesday I was able to preach to about 50 teenagers. Do you ever have those moments where you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God called you? Sure, we're supposed to know that, but then it hits us. For me, it hit me hard, when after that service, a young girl came up to me and said, "thanks for making me laugh." She went on to explain that she was delivered from suicide, that she was wanting to kill herself that night. Jesus took what Satan stole!!! Several other youth were touched, but if for nothing else, I was there for just one person.

Last night, after speaking to the youth group, it is my prayer that they heard from the heart of God and can now see that they have a calling. Every believer is called to walk in God's purposes (Eph 4:1) and it is my deep desire to see that take place in our land. We will eliminate that "coasting" thing we do, that lazy apathetic church-goer thing disappears when we walk in intimate knowledge of Jesus and His plan for us.

I am trying to gather my thoughts and write more of this last month and the "ministry tour" the Lord had me go on, to the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Mexico. Still in a good mode of rest right now, sat down tonight and watched the Miami Heat game. Enjoyed that, and the nap I had this afternoon. Hope to write more again soon.

It's late at night. I just got back from an extended trip to Wisconsin. I decided to not even un-pack my bag, as tomorrow I hit the road for North Port, FL. It's only about an hour away, but I decided to take a hotel so that I won't be in a hurry to leave and have time to fellowship afterwards. I have the privilege of speaking to about 50-80 precious souls in the youth group there.

For about a month, I have been on the road. Even my time back in Florida has been at least in part on the road. There is much to reflect on, much in me that I wish to review and bring myself before an altar. I am a bit worn, a bit tired. I'm drawn to contemplation upon that setting in me. I believe that the Lord has graciously given me a chance to "turn up the heat" a bit in the ministry He gave me. What I mean is, He spoke clearly into my heart recently, "Son, I want you to learn to pray with your eyes open." I knew what He meant. For so long, I have isolated each part of my life, saying that this compartment here is my ministry time and season, and this time over there is my prayer time. Now, Pappa God is teaching me that I must not make my walk a kitchen cupboard. I can't look at the bread He gives as part flour, and part wheat, it is the mixture that makes it what it truly is and is meant to be. Bread is bread, it is not flour, it is not wheat, in and of itself. Similarly, I am to walk in a mixture of prayer and ministry.

You see, sometimes I just want to be tucked under a blanket and pretend that I am invisible. Sometimes I have stood in front of people and while there, I noticed that I could feel the Holy Spirit burning in my heart to the point where my temperature was raised and my heart rate increased. Sometimes I suppose that would be a cut-off point for many. But for me, being in that place of anointed ministry made me want to leave the place of the public and learn what He was talking about with secret rewards and hidden treasures. You always wonder what those intercessors see, what those prophets hear, and it draws us because God left them on earth to be His arrow to His path. So in that place of public ministry, I have retreated. I have surrendered it to the Lord. Sometimes, I have said to Him, "Lord, I'll give you my schedule. Let me live in a cabin for a month. Give me a year where I do nothing but pray and seek You." Yet that night I had a dream where I saw the Church, and as I stood before men, a room of people were full of His tears and so was I. I felt that was my call to continue to speak to the Church and to make disciples.

So tomorrow, I hope to hang out with my Jesus. As I do, I want to see men come alive, I want to see daughters healed, I want to see disciples hear that they are called, they have something that our Father wants to use them for. A buddy of mine, Will, is going to be on the road with me. It should be fun.

I pray we all walk in that mixture, where we do not do ministry without an anointing, but we also do not seek the anointing and sit on our rear ends and do nothing with it; making the Holy Spirit within us confined to the t.v. screen we watch, or the saved people we click with. I pray that He would be able to go out into the world, as we, the jars, pour Him. We can't be empty, we must be full; yet we can't be full and not exercise, we'll get fat. God help me and help us to fulfill the call.

until later...hope to write soon of what has happened this month...be blessed!
Nate

Dear fellow warriors of the Cross of Christ,

What joy it is that the internet allows us to join together in modern day "epistles". Letters that tell about how great our awesome God is can now be read by anyone that wishes to visit a site. The fire from heaven can fill a mind with the thoughts of God and allow a jar of clay to contain and display that glory. That fire can fall upon man, and in devotion to love, we can write about the Romance with Jesus that we all dance in. My walk with Christ tends to have the steps that are more like a dance than a walk---rather than going "straight forward" all the time I tend to sway side to side. It is more risky to do so, and less ordinary or common to do so, but as I march to music I find this great fire in my soul that can only come in that place of love. Works, deeds, or ministry cannot give that to me; but a place of rest in Christ can provoke me to where I am no longer aware of working......kinda like a young boyfriend and girlfriend...him changing the oil on her car feels not like a chore, it feels more like a connective place where hearts join in the manifestation of love in action.

And that is the "work" that I so love to do. My father once said "son, my best advice for you is this: find a job that you love, and you will never have to work a day for the rest of your life." How true that is! I am not aware that I am working for the Lord, or that I am serving Him, most of my journey. Rather, as I walk, I dance. My words are not just words, they are the songs of Ephesians 5:19, "Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts." Walking around and talking to people about Jesus is just like going into a worship service and lifting my hands and declaring the beauty of God---if I stay in that resting place. Of course, it is entirely possible sometimes for me to take the eyes off the prize and look only at earthly destinations such as food, sleep or material needs; and I do that far too often. But in that place of being lovesick for Jesus, we never feel truly at home untill we rest in those little slivers of eternity that intersect with our day to day. Jesus said in John 14:4, "And you know where I am going and how to get there." We do? Yes! We sure do! We get there through the blood, and if we don't just stop at salvation being the last prayer we pray, we then walk in abundance and every word of our life becomes a song.

So that is the place of fire for the Church of Jesus to walk in. Today, as I type, I am enjoying the coolness of a Wisconsin spring day. I have been adjoined to some ministry friends of mine this week, the hosts of a prophetic prayer and intercessory ministry that have "covered" me for a number of years now. With the rain drops tapping on the roof, I think of the rains of the Holy Spirit that have been tapping on the lids of so many jars of clay this week. First, He filled me up this week, singing a song to me through a worship pastor who had a prophetic word for me. In that place, I was broken and sobbing, and Jesus just loved me. He then gave me a physical touch of fire, where my body was full of the warmth of God, and my eyes were full of tears and my nose was full of snot!!! I was a baby boy, being held by my Pappa God, and He just loved me.

And as I ready myself, moreso He readies me, to speak forth the Word of God tonight to a youth group in the area; I feel a burning in my heart. It wouldn't even matter if I didn't speak, because I get to be with Jesus either way. But it is my hope and goal that as I walk about this world with the stride of a dancer, and as I say words that sound more like songs, that teenagers in this generation will hear the calling of God on their life, and they will be drawn to that place where it doesn't matter what is put upon the altar; where we get so madly and crazily in love with Jesus that our gifts for Him and to Him seem so small and never enough, but always ready to give.

And I pray that you, the Church of God, feel His fire pouring down into your hearts today. I pray that you know and recognize that you are promised the good gifts of God as you dance with Him. I pray that you know that all the riches of Christ are available, that there is so much more after salvation that He wants to give. He has a call for all of us (Eph 4:1) and it is for you today.

together, as we get caught up with Jesus, lets change the world for His sake.
in Him,
Nate