New Blog

Here I am again writing my blog on an airplane. It seems the best spot for me to write. No distractions, except for a funny episode of The Office and the Bejeweled game on my iPhone. I'm flying back from Toronto where I spoke at their Freshwind youth conference. What a great group out there. Andrew Gazaneo and their team have done an incredible job at bringing youth and young adults into an encounter with God. The church in Toronto has done such an amazing job at stewarding the move of God and hosting His Presence.

It seems crazy but the outpouring in Toronto began in 1994. Fifteen years ago! Some of you reading this were either not born or very young when it began. But what God began there in 1994 has spread around the world. We owe John and Carol Arnott so much. The revival that is happening not only at Bethel but in churches and nations around the world can trace their roots back to the move of God in Toronto. I remember when I was 19 years old a pastor at another church in Redding came back from visiting the Toronto Airport Fellowship and started holding weekly Renewal meetings at his church. Every week, SeaJay and I (not yet my wife) would go to their meetings and encounter God in ways we didn't know were possible. We experienced His Presence in such fresh and intimate ways. I so vividly remember standing on the ministry line after the sermon and just wept and wept as people prayed for me and I was overwhelmed with the Presence of God. God was closer then I had ever experienced before. I can so clearly recall the feeling of joy as I walked in the back of the sanctuary before the service began. I would have the biggest smile on my face and wanted to hug everyone. I didn't know at the time it was His Presence and joy I was experiencing I just knew I loved being in those meetings. I can still feel the residue left from those early encounters with God. It left me longing for more and seeking God with a passion and love that was exploding within me. Fifteen years later my prayer is the same, I just want more of God. I want my life to be saturated in the Presence of God. I'm no longer nineteen. I'm married now, have three kids, have been in ministry for almost 14 years and yet the cry that was awakened in me because of the Outpouring in Toronto remains the same. What a privilege for me to be able to go back to a place I owe so much to and partner with them for revival.  The Lord has released fresh revelation since those early days. Healing, signs and wonders, the prophetic, keys to the Kingdom have all been developed in our midst since those first encounters but I never want to lose the cry for more that I experienced standing on those ministry lines for hours on end. Will you join me and just commit ourselves to never losing the cry of more. If we are in public, with our friends, on stage, or just in the solitude of our room with no one else around we can turn our hearts and affection to Jesus and express our desire for more of His Presence. May our lives always be marked by a childlike hunger for more of His Presence in our lives. The Bible says that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. May He reward us with His Presence saturating our lives. There is nothing we want more.