It all started after setting up the BCOM booth at Desperation in Colorado Springs. Amy went into the bathroom and heard a junior high girl saying, “It really hurts, I think I’m going to have to go back to the hotel.” Seeing her in obvious agony Amy went up to the girl and asked if she could pray for healing, the girl agreed and her friends shyly joined in. As Amy was walking away she asked how she was feeling. The girl’s stunned reply was, “It actually feels a lot better!” Encouraged by this experience Amy mentioned this in her Facebook status. I saw this the next day as the Lord was challenging me

Several people, including myself, all promoted Bethany College of Missions at Sonshine Fest.  Saturday morning I felt the Lord heavily speaking to me, “Rachele you are here to bring my Kingdom not to promote BCOM.”  We are to bring the Lord’s Kingdom wherever we are… sometimes I forget this.  He was really stirring in me.  I went to the other two girls and I began to tell them what the Lord was speaking.  One person mentioned the scripture in Hebrews 6 that says, “Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and the eternal judgment.”  The Lord began wrecking our hearts.  They classify raising people from the dead as elementary teachings?!  That is crazy!  We also talked about the verse, “the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us.”  That is crazy to think about.

I went back to my tent and left the girls and the promotion booth.  I told the Lord that if He wanted me to step out and lay hands on people and pray for random people I would but I needed Him to back me up otherwise I have nothing to work with.  As I waited on Him and I still felt like He was saying He wanted to break in at Sonshine. I also felt we needed to bring a Kingdom perspective – but how?

I went back to our booth and a few more students were there and I told them what the Lord had been stirring in our hearts.  One got excited and said he was going to make signs.  He made one that said “NEED PRAYER?” and another that said “NEED HEALING?”  We prayed and asked the Lord to bring only who He wanted.  From the time we began until four hours later people didn’t stop coming.  We began laying hands on people and praying for their requests.  At one point one of the girls asked this guy if we could ask the Lord for a word or prophecy for him.  In my head I was like, “Do not sign me up to prophesy.”  But the Lord quickly reminded me that He is the Shepherd and I can hear His voice.  From that time on we prayed for people but we also all listened to see if the Lord wanted to speak to us about the people.  This is how the Lord allowed us to bring a Kingdom perspective.  We began calling them forth into who the Lord created them to be.  We spoke truth over them and prophesied.  People began to come up for healing and they were being healed!  The first time we prayed we would ask how they felt and they said better so we prayed again until they were healed!  I am not sure why the Lord waited 2-3 times but He did.  A guy’s back was healed, a shoulder, ankles, depression, schizophrenia, sickness.  We prayed for a lady who was addicted to narcotics and was beginning the withdrawal process.  Some of the girls prayed over her and later she came back and said the Lord was healing her but she was being attacked by the enemy.  She was shaking and stuttering.  I believe she was manifesting (a demon).  We prayed over her until she stopped shaking.

People were running to get their friends and brought them back for the Lord to heal them.  It was beautiful.  One guy came up and said that He wished he knew what he was doing.  He wished he could do what we were doing.  I told him we didn’t know what we were doing either.  I told him the process of the Lord speaking this morning.  I asked him if he felt weak and then told him to jump on board.  He was able to lay hands on people with us and see the Lord heal.  It is amazing how the Lord delights in our weakness.  How in our weakness He just asks for obedience. Simply beautiful!

The vendor next to us was running her booth by herself all weekend.  If she wanted to go to the bathroom, she had to lock up all of her stuff.  So we went and got her food sometimes to make it easier on her.  Saturday night her husband showed up and I introduced myself.  He said that he knew a little about us.  I thought that was an odd statement for someone you just met.  He said when he got here his wife leaned over, pointed to us and whispered, “Those people are the real deal, honey.”  I started crying.  The Lord really spoke to my heart through that.  I felt the Lord’s heart for the end time church.  I thought about that scripture that says they will know us by our love.  I always wondered what that would look like.  I feel like I got a glimpse. That love is going to come through obedience in our weakness.  We are going to love the Father and people are going to see the overflow of our hearts.  Not in just hugs and joyfulness but in obedience in laying hands on people.  It was beautiful.  The Lord is beautiful.

Be encouraged! Living on this campus is a blast and I am excited to see what else God does in and through us. This is just a taste of the age to come. These students and mentors are “the real deal, honey”!

Up until recently, I think Dave and I would have defined ourselves as fence-sitters regarding the home school/public school debate. We really agreed with arguments on both sides of the issue…and when we sent Elijah to public school four years ago it was because it was just the easiest thing to do. To be brutally and painfully honest with you (and myself), it was a free babysitting service (ouch!). The fact that he was learning something was just an added bonus.

Sure, we may have quoted the “salt and light” verse (Matt. 5:13-16) for good measure…with naivete, I believe, and without ever stopping to think of how our children could actually be salt and light in a school setting.  Without taking time to consider whether or not they were…well, “salty” enough.  Because Matt. 5:13 makes two things clear:  1) As Christians, we are to be the salt of the earth but 2) it is possible for a Christian to not be salty enough.  In which case they would be “trampled underfoot.”

So, do I think my kids were/are salty enough to be placed in a public school setting?  No.  And I say this simply because they have not had time to “marinate.”  Dave and I have realized that our children aren’t going to be salt and light just because we quote that verse and hope that it happens.  We don’t believe that one becomes automatically salty when they take that first step and decide to follow Jesus.  While there are some things that we inherit straight away, like forgiveness and direct access to the Father’s throne, saltiness isn’t one of them.

Saltiness comes, rather, through time spent in the the Lord’s presence, in the Word and in prayer…”marinating,” if you will.  It’s only been recently that Dave and I have started to cultivate these disciplines in our childrens’ lives.  And we are jealous for more time with Elijah and Zeke especially; after a long, seven-hour, rigorous day at school there just hasn’t been much time or energy left over for “marinating” this past year.

I guess what it boils down to for me is that I don’t feel like I’m doing a good job of discipling my children by sending them to a public school. (In fact, I feel like I’m letting the Bloomington Public School system disciple my kids.  Obviously a disconcerting thought!)   The Great Commission can certainly be used as an argument against homeschooling, but in my opinion it only strengthens it.  Jesus said, “go and make disciples of all nations.”  Granted, I don’t have very far to go and my nation is small but I’ve no doubt that I’m doing my part in fulfilling the Great Commission in discipling my children through homeschooling.  The Great Commission says nothing about us sending anybody…anywhere.  Our job is to do the discipling.  Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, will do the sending.  Are a seven and nine year old able to grasp the concept or responsibility of being sent and “making disciples?”   Mmmm…maybe.  Mine aren’t yet.  They are still very much in need of being discipled.

So, that’s a little bit of what is going on inside my head and heart.  As I read over my words and get ready to post this I’m realizing that this entry is more for me than it is for you.  A lot of the times, for me, the fog lifts off of my thoughts when I can get them down in black and white.  And as I move forward in this homeschooling thing I’m definitely going to need clear, concrete convictions to fall back on when the going gets rough.

I have much more to share but I’ll save it for Part III.  Thanks for reading!  And please, feel free to comment, agree or disagree with me. 

P.S.  Here’s a totally random piece of information for you.  I’m craving Cheese Whiz today…and I feel kind of embarrassed about it.

I have a few other links to share with you all as well. One is a sermon Dave preached last Sunday evening at the BHOP Forerunner Gathering – Establishing a Gathering Culture – and I, personally, think he did an amazing job!  The sermon is an hour long (I know! …Go Dave!) so you may prefer to listen to this 15 minute segment, the crux, I do believe, of the message.  You will definitely be challenged! Perhaps it will convince you once and for all that those “nutty Horsmans” are nuttier than ever …or maybe his message will ring true in your spirit.  Either way, you’ll gain a better understanding (I think) of why were doing what we’re doing.  And I may as well link you to his sermon notes, too, for the complete package.

A couple more.  This article, written by a mother of a son with autism was so enlightening for me.  Just…wow.  I will never again mindlessly judge a parent for what seems like their lack of discipline to their child/children in public.

Finally, here’s one by Randy Bohlender, a post he did a last week in response to a commenters very blunt question about how he and his wife can justify asking people to fund their latest adoption when they are putting money into their new house.  The commenter wasn’t pushy or rude, just asked an honest question…and I love how Randy responds!  I, for one, am thankful for that commenters question, which forced Randy to articulate his thoughts about, what he calls, the ‘new paradigm of adoption.’  So good.  A must read.

P.S.  Oops!  I almost forgot these two:

Live Mix Medly from Sunday morning  worship at Bethany Church
(Dave leading)

Live Rapid Fire Prayer in BHOP Prayer Room
(Dave playing organ)

Below is one of my favorite lines from The Horse and His Boy.  Spoken by a talking Horse named Hwin upon her first encounter with Aslan, it so struck me as something that I want  to be able to say.

“Please,” she said, “you’re so beautiful.  You may eat me if you like.  I’d sooner be eaten by you than fed by anyone else.”

…Oh! …To be so fascinated with the Lord and His beauty that every other pleasure in life just seems irrelevant…to have such a revelation of His majesty that for Him to consume my thoughts, my dreams, my time, my everything  is what makes me tick. 

P.S.  We’re already discussing what our next series of books will be.  Any suggestions?

Back in November I read this post by Randy and it impacted me greatly.  “On having 7″  was written shortly after the Bohlenders had adopted their twins and - get this! - after they had just discovered they were pregnant with #7.  The post is excellent, very well written, and thought provoking.  It’s quite a long read, but time well spent in my opinion.  Here is a little excerpt, which will, hopefully, make you want to read more (either that or you’ll be completely offended):

We have so wholeheartedly bought into the fabled American dream that we are willing to limit our future by limiting the size of our families. We’re trading arrows in our quiver for a third garage stall, our flesh and blood inheritance for a plasma screen tv.   Making this choice, we are willingly being short sighted and ultimately, hurting the Gospel’s reach in our area.

I want to reiterate – I’m not arguing that every Christian couple should have a family as large as ours….but I am convinced that more should than presently do…

Then again, I’m just a blogger. Inquire of the Lord, friends, and follow His lead.

(I want to echo Randy’s thought that not every Christian couple should have a large family.  I don’t think that at all…at all, at all.  I guess, primarily, my thoughts are that large families should be applauded and supported…not puzzled over. )

Anyway, after I read this post, I sent a brief prayer heavenward:  Lord, yes!  I want to raise many children to know you!  I choose more children over my personal comfort.  At the time though, I guess I thought that from here on out, our family would be growing through adoption, and not through pregnancy.  I guess I was wrong! 

But now…on to the subject for which this post is titled, The Zoe Foundation.  The Bohlenders have just started The Zoe Foundation (named after their first adopted daughter), an organization aimed at helping families adopt, through education and financial resourses.  The little promo video below will give more insight into what it is about and…well, just watch it… it’ll give you goosebumps!  The vision that they are setting forth, of the church rising up and adopting the “unwanted,” is just breathtaking…  I’m in! How ’bout you?

It’s easy to get preoccupied with the manger at Christmastime, I think.  The baby Jesus is easy to deal with.  We think, “Awww…there was no room for him in the inn, but I’ll make a little room for him in my life.”  So we remember the Christmas story amidst all our festivities and Christmas traditions.  The Jesus who grew up into a man, though, demands much, much more than just a little space in our lives.  He wants our hearts, our minds, our stregnth.  He demands it all.  He will  come again and declare war on sin and unrighteousness and, to put it bluntly, it’s going to be a hostile take over.  He’s not coming as a baby this time, and he won’t be crucified again.  Many will hate his leadership.  The cool thing is is that we can give Jesus rule over our lives now, we can chose to love his leadership in our lives now. 

This Christmas I pray that you will reflect on the real meaning of Christmas.  Yes, it began in a manger, but it reaches far into eternity and transends our finite understanding of a God who became flesh for us.  It is about a plan set in motion by Holy God to set up his kingdom here on earth.  And we get to be part of it.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

The Global Bridegroom (GBF) is the first Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each month, with seven days in December, totaling forty days of deliberate prayer and fasting throughout the year.  So this month’s GBF starts today!. The GBF is a monthly global solemn assembly of fasting and prayer in the pattern of Joel 2. As the Bethany House of Prayer, we join with believers worldwide to pray and fast for revival, motivated by experiencing love for Jesus. This is a time when we are called to listen to God directly, not just the words of man. We will continue in this fast until Jesus returns.

Here’s why I believe the idea of the Lord being the Righteous Judge of the earth is so very offensive to our minds:  right now, the subject of justice is fueled largely by human sentiment and political platforms.  For instance, when we approach the issue of justice with this question:  “Why does God allow so much injustice to happen on the earth?” we are missing the more pertinent question of, “Why does God allow anyone to live?” for we are all guilty of injustice.  Much of the present justice movement has a theology that is fueled by humanism, which starts with the plight of humans rather than the plight of the Godhead. 

So, with these thoughts in mind, I want to look at judgement from God’s point of view.  I feel like God has given me just a little bit of revelation into this lately, and I wanted to share it with you.

A very normal response to the book of Revelation is to conclude that God is just a big ol’ meanie, some kind of cosmic Father with a serious rage “issue” that could definitely benifit from some anger management classes!  It seems that He’s finally flown off the handle and is now just pummelling the human race with what ever He can come up with.  I was struck, though, lately, with this verse found in Revelation:  “Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.”   (10:1)  Did you catch the bit about the rainbow?  Doesn’t that strike you as a bit odd, that in the middle of God’s wrath being poured out on earth, we are reminded of God’s covenant with Noah?  Take a second to the read the Noahic Covenant found in Genesis 9: 13-16:

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.  Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

Wow…that’s no small covenant!  God, in promising to never again destroy the entire earth with a flood, is establishing a covenant that, no matter how evil the earth becomes, no matter how much human kind rebels against Him, He will show mercy from here on out. 

So, what’s with the rainbow over the angels head?  Why is God reminding us of His promise to show mercy when He’s sending a bunch of really, really severe judgements to earth.  Here’s something for you to chew on…something to consider:  God’s end-time judgements are  His mercy. 

“Huh?  Wha’?” you ask. 

Think about it.  God has every right to just obliterate the entire human race right now in human history.  Sin and evil are escalating at an ever increasing rate.  We’ve legalized killing our babies.  Pornography is now a totally acceptable form of entertainment.  Theft is on the rise.  These things are now even polluting the church.  If we don’t mirror what was happening in Noah’s day, then we’re pretty close.  God could, in complete justice, say “That’s it!  I’ve had enough!”  But no, our God is a covenant keeping God.  He will honour every covenant He has made with humankind 

So, God, honouring his covenant to show mercy, starts shaking things up at the end of the age.  He starts “kicking the props away.”  The props that lead us to humanism, to hedonism, to atheism and agnosticism.  One of the most terrifying of the end-time judgements, in my opinion, is the demonic plague of locusts that come out of the bottomless pit (Rev. 9:1-11).  They are given permission to torment whomever does not have the seal of God upon them for five months.  Wow.  Seems a bit much, doesn’t it?  “How is that merciful?” you might be thinking. 

Here’s how I’ve come to understand it:  In the last hours of human history the earth will be filled with demon worship. (Rev. 9:21)  People will actually be openly worshiping demons, probably mostly because the Antichrist will be directing them to do so, I think.  Many, many people will succumb to the deception that demonic worship is to their benefit.  But God, in His mercy, lifts the veil to the spiritual realm, and allows humanity to see exactly what they’re worshiping:  demons whose only desire is to destroy and torment human beings.  He does this, obviously, to give men and women a chance to turn and repent.

We see this same principle at work in the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt (a story that gives a tremendous amount of insight into the book of Revelation).  I mean, why didn’t God just cut straight to the death of the firstborn?  Why the ten plagues that grow in severity from one to the next? …Because He wanted to give the Egyptians a chance to repent!  He wanted to give them clear, indisputable evidence that He alone was the One, True God; the only God worthy of worship.  And do you know what?  The Bible tells us that many other people, besides the Israelites, left Egypt at the time of the exodus.  (Exodus 12:38)  The end-time judgements will produce the same!  Many people will choose the God of heaven, as they see with clarity that He is real.  (And I might add that it will be the the Church at the end of the age who will lead many into understanding of what is happening!  That is why it’s so essential for us to gain insight into the things to come.)

So, my point is this:  the book of Revelation may seem pretty severe, and it may not make perfect sense to us on this side of eternity, but we can be assured that it’s not just an account of God flying off into a blind, murderous rage at the end of the age.  The book of Revelation is as much a story about God’s mercy as it is about His judgement. 

       You will again have compassion on us;
       you will tread our sins underfoot
       and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Micah 7:18-19

Wow, is that not incredible?!  God delights in showing mercy!  It’s not just some requirement that He needs to check off the “How to be a God of Love List,” but He actually delights  in it.  This is just absolutely stunning to me.  I like to imagine the scene around God’s throne:  as He points out to the 24 elders, and four seraphim sitting around Him that He’s once again lavishing forgiveness, mercy and grace on a human, He has a big, beaming smile on His face!   

There’s just one small glitch in this system.  God has given the human race tremendous dignity in that we have a free will.  He has given us the right to choose either mercy or judgement.  He will not overstep our human free will, and He cannot  show us mercy unless we ask for it. 

And so, now we find ourselves face to face, again, with a God of justice…with the reality that, although God is aching to show mercy, many, many people will reject it.  And there’s only one other option.

Judgement.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I accept the entire Bible as the divinely inspired and infallible Word of God.  Not one word found in it’s pages is untrue.  Isaiah 55:11 says that the Lord’s words will not return to Him empty, meaning that the words He has spoken will  come to pass.  Actually, many of His words have already come to pass; for instance every single prophecy concerning Jesus’ first coming was fulfilled.  Amazing, isn’t it?  (Which is why it’s so perplexing to me that many people are so apathetic towards the study of His second  coming! …But that’s a subject for an entirely different post, one which I hope to write soon.)

So, that final book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, no matter how unpalatable it may be to us, will  happen, along with many other end-time prophecies.   A time is coming when God will judge the the nations of the earth.  Many of us may be tempted to avoid it altogether, to take the “pan-millennial” position – meaning “It’ll all ‘pan out’ in the end anyway, what difference does it make to me?”  But the question is not whether or not it will pan out – for it certainly will – the question is, “Will it pan out well for you?…For your neighbor?…For your children?”

The book of Joel is an amazing little book.  Three chapters jam-packed with a ton of information for the end-time church.  I love it.  I’ve been hanging out there for a while.  (Read it through some time soon, it only takes about 30 minutes.)  Joel wonders whether it’ll all “pan out” in some different language:  “The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful.  Who can endure it?”   (2:11b)  The peoples of the earth ask this question again in Rev. 6:17 – The great day of wrath has come, and who is able to stand? - as they realize that it is the Lord who is pouring out judgement on the earth.   

This is a question that has been gnawing at me for quite some time.  Will I be able to stand?  Yes, by the grace of God I believe I will be.  But what about my children?  Or the multitude of unbelievers and nominal Christians who will be in utter confusion when the “great day of wrath” comes?  These are sobering questions.

Part of being able to stand, I believe, will be in coming into alignment with God’s heart and His will.  Rev. 19:2 is quite a remarkable verse.  It tells of the great multitude in heaven (us) saying, “Salvation and glory and power to our God, for His judgements are true and just.“  Wow.  In the presence of God, when all the information is disclosed, we will all say that God’s judgements were true and just.  Again…wow.  I don’t know about you, but I want to be able to say that now.  Not in a “Ha! You-got-what-you-deserved” way, but in a way that mirrors God’s heart.  In a way that mirrors His ache to show mercy, but His need to act justly.  This is only possible, I believe, inasmuch as we draw near to His heart, feed ourselves on His word, and ask for wisdom and revelation into the time of history that we are entering.

Joel 2:12-14 reads,

“Even now,” declares the LORD,
       “return to me with all your heart,
       with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

 Rend your heart
       and not your garments.
       Return to the LORD your God,
       for he is gracious and compassionate,
       slow to anger and abounding in love,
       and he relents from sending calamity. 

 Who knows? He may turn and have pity
       and leave behind a blessing—
       grain offerings and drink offerings
       for the LORD your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion,
       declare a holy fast,
       call a sacred assembly.

During a locust plague and a coming military invasion God leaves no mystery as to what he requires from His people.  In the midst of crisis we are to gather in sacred assemblies and fast and pray with broken hearts.  This  is the Lord’s wisdom for this hour of history and this is what the church’s message needs to be in the hour of crisis:  that the Righteous Judge is very kind, that He wants to relent…that He delights in mercy.  But we need to ask for it.  And don’t let the “Who knows?” trip you up.  That’s just to ensure that we don’t reduce repentance to some sort of a formula.  God wants a response from our hearts, not our intellectual minds.

This is what the prayer movement is all about.  It’s not a fad.  It’s not some gimmick-y way of making prayer cool.  It’s about gathering together in sacred assemblies and rending our hearts before the Merciful, Righteous Judge so that He can, in a way that lines up with His justice, relent from sending judgement and leave a blessing in it’s place.  The Lord is raising up houses of prayer all over the globe so that whole geographical regions will be covered by His mercy during the end-time judgements.  The city of Goshen in the story of the Isrealites’ exodus from Egypt is an Old Testament picture of this biblical principle.  It was a “pocket of mercy” or a “city of refuge” in the middle of Egypt that was spared some of the ten plagues that God sent as a judgement upon Phaoroh and his nation. 

The prayer movement is also about declaring the Lord to be Right and True and Good even when our unrenewed minds may not be able to fully comprehend this.  As I mentioned in part 1, it’s going to be essential for the Church to be clear, prophetic voices in the time of crisis.  We will need to know and proclaim that it is our God, the Righteous Judge, who is “shaking everything that can be shaken,” but that He delights in showing mercy, and a repentant heart is what is needed to receive it.  Wow.  I’m game if you are.