Good Things Happening In The Local Church

Good things are happening. Although after starting this new “David’s Tabernacle” project (which you can read about on the home page of my site, if you don’t know what it is) I’ve encountered a great deal of spiritual opposition from many sources — some of it quite discouraging — and although at certain times the amount of participation has been lower than I expected and hoped, I can say truthfully that it has had a powerful effect on our lives and community, and we’re only three or four weeks into it.

I was thinking about something that worship leader Don Moen, the founder of Worship In Action, said in a recent interview with David Santistevan, that it’s God’s presence that changes people, not the grandiosity of our stage production and musical presentation during church services. This David’s Tabernacle project has, as I’ve come to discover, been all about that: we have zero production, really, we’re not even on a stage; we’re just standing in a room with a guitar and singing/praying our little hearts out for hours at a time in some cases, and then doing our best to bring the Manifest Presence of God that draws near to us (and transforms our character as we behold Him!) out into the world with us when we leave.

It might not be a very big thing in the eyes of certain people in the world or even in the church, but when we’re all gathered together in that little room, plunking away on a guitar late into the night, we encounter the hugeness of Heaven, and we realize that we’re opening our hearts to Someone bigger than anything we could ever ask or imagine.

Thank You, Abba Father, for this opportunity! Although we’re in a little room, You open the windows of Heaven, and it feels like we’re standing in a place like this:

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1pHGVRm

via IFTTT

My Review of Colony House's New Album "When I Was Younger" and a Shout-Out from Steven Curtis Chapman

I recently stumbled upon what is quickly becoming one of my favorite albums of 2014: a three-piece rock outfit from Franklin, Tennessee called Colony House. They remind me of some of the bigger bands out there (The Killers, Foster the People, Vampire Diaries) but with a very subtle but appealing ’80s indie twist (New Order, The Psychedelic Furs, The Cure). If you like great rock bands, then PLEASE read my review of Colony House and check them out. I poured my heart and soul into writing the review simply because the music really grabbed my heart. To my utter joy and surprise, my review prompted a personal shout-out from legendary artist Steven Curtis Chapman (see screenshot below), who’s the father of some of the band members. What a treat/joy (and thank You God for these opportunities to share articles with the music community!). Here’s the review; check out the band and enjoy their music: http://ift.tt/1rwDOtf

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1yB7cRH

via IFTTT

Thoughts about Heaven from C.S. Lewis

I wrote an article for RockinGodsHouse (that I’m especially excited about), and it’s about three of my favorite moments from Lewis’s books that give us a clearer sense of Heaven. Check it out here: http://ift.tt/1l7dVlX

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1l7dSGM

via IFTTT

Hope

For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. Though its roots grow old in the ground, and its stump dies in the dry soil, at the scent of water it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant. —Job 14:7-9

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1vd3zF0

via IFTTT

Audio Clip from the David's Tabernacle Project: Improvised Worship Lyrics/Melody Based On Psalm 38

Click audio player to listen to streaming mp3. This is just a basic room recording:

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1stwCki

via IFTTT

The Kingdom Always Has Enough Room and Is Never Out of Time

Theme that came about this morning in worship: “You have set my feet in a spacious place,” from Psalm 31:8. When we are with Him, when we’re walking in constant communion with Him in the spirit, He sets our spirits in a spacious place: His eternal presence!

I saw a picture of a vast land full of life and beauty stretching out for hundreds of miles, and one person had it all to themselves to explore as they walked with God in the cool of the evening, and it created this sense that, in God, there is never overcrowding. You might be standing in an overcrowded subway train, unable to move, but in your spirit you are standing in a spacious place and you have peace because you have the mind of Christ. There is enough room in Christ for anyone who believes in Him and receives His Spirit that dwells in us. God always has a spacious place, and He always has enough time for you.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1npvqbq

via IFTTT

Unity and joy in Christ!

Unity and joy in Christ!

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1AQ33NM

via IFTTT

Day 1 of David's Tabernacle: Midnight - 3am Worship/Prayer

We kicked off The David’s Tabernacle Project at midnight Monday, August 4th! I was delighted to find that some people were already waiting at the church for me when I rolled up with my guitar. Connie and Jose were there ready to do some worship and prayer into the night watches! Tim Lillard joined us part way through. Here’s me, Connie, and Jose:

We broke up the three hours of worship with three separate lists of worship songs. At the end of each hour I took a 15 minute (or more in some cases) break to pick the new songs for the next hour (and also converse with someone on Facebook about a religious topic), and the folks would sit and read the Word while some quiet music played over a CD. During the worship portions, it was just me and my blue guitar. There was nothing slick or professional about it. But that was okay. We would do a few songs, then I would improvise a chord progression and we would go into a time of spontaneous worship, where instead of singing the words written in a worship song, people would sing their own words of adoration to the Lord or maybe sing the Scripture, and we interspersed that with some rather intense intercessory prayer, covering topics related to the church, the community, and the nation/world.

The three hours went by so fast that I almost couldn’t believe we had already reached the end. The Presence of God in the room was palpable. This might be difficult for me to describe and difficult for others to read without being offended or skeptical in some way, but I believe that God quite literally draws near to people in some inexplicable but physically tangible way when we draw near to Him through prayer and worship. I believe this promise is real: “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8, NKJV)

Connie did a shift earlier that evening before midnight, did another up at dawn, and Tim L. jumped in to keep the worship/prayer happening mid-morning today (Monday) and perhaps in the afternoon as well. Tonight a larger group is coming together for even more intercession, and then some fun hang-out time/fellowship! What a wonderful way to start the week!

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1v3z04I

via IFTTT

Open Heaven Part 2

(Pics taken on Sunday, August 3rd, 2014 on Highway 101)

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1ug8JvP

via IFTTT

Open Heaven

Open Heaven. (Took this pic Sunday, August 3rd, on Highway 101 in California)

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1o75LtX

via IFTTT

Praying for the Rain of Revival in California (and the Nation)

Praying also for the rain of revival that comes when people have a spiritual awakening/repentance deep in their hearts. Yesterday I wrote a prayer “Please give us rain, God” in CA (because of drought), and I awoke to strong rainfall this morning — and I’m THANKFUL for that — but my heart longs to hear a different kind of rain in CA and America. Here’s a pic below of the miracle rain (haha) that just came down this morning. Now I pray in Jesus’ Name that a spiritual rain falls across the red, white, and blue of America:

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1uXBPUL

via IFTTT

Prayed for Rain, and It's Here! (Video)

Yesterday morning I wrote the following plea/prayer about the CA drought: “Give us rain, God.” This morning I awoke to a loud sound, and I looked outside to see this:

I walked outside and stood in it, just soaking up the coolness and refreshment. Thank you, Lord!

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1o1Huo9

via IFTTT

Heavy Clouds, No Rain

If only these clouds could be rain clouds (taken from Costco parking lot in Goleta, CA).

I wonder sometimes if this horrific drought in California doesn’t provide an accurate picture of America’s spiritual state. I’m not even referring, necessarily, to the moral collapse of a nation. I’m referring to the lack of hunger for God and the lack of unified, fervent intercessory prayer in the church. When the church prays, spiritual awakening comes to the land. Give us rain, God. Help us pray with greater hunger and also with greater action outside the walls of the church that finds its fuel in our reliance on You.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1se4P6a

via IFTTT

Heavy Clouds, No Rain

If only these clouds could be rain clouds (taken from Costco parking lot in Goleta, CA).

I wonder sometimes if this horrific drought in California doesn’t provide an accurate picture of America’s spiritual state. I’m not even referring, necessarily, to the moral collapse of a nation. I’m referring to the lack of hunger for God and the lack of unified, fervent intercessory prayer in the church. When the church prays, spiritual awakening comes to the land. Give us rain, God. Help us pray with greater hunger and also with greater action outside the walls of the church that finds its fuel in our reliance on You.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1qE3vHI

via IFTTT

Heavy Clouds, No Rain

If only these clouds could be rain clouds (taken from Costco parking lot in Goleta, CA).

I wonder sometimes if this horrific drought in California doesn’t provide an accurate picture of America’s spiritual state. I’m not even referring, necessarily, to the moral collapse of a nation. I’m referring to the lack of hunger for God and the lack of unified, fervent intercessory prayer in the church. When the church prays, spiritual awakening comes to the land. Give us rain, God. Help us pray with greater hunger and also with greater action outside the walls of the church that finds its fuel in our reliance on You.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1zI1Kic

via IFTTT

Heavy Clouds, No Rain

If only these clouds could be rain clouds (taken from Costco parking lot in Goleta, CA).

I wonder sometimes if this horrific drought in California doesn’t provide an accurate picture of America’s spiritual state. I’m not even referring, necessarily, to the moral collapse of a nation. I’m referring to the lack of hunger for God and the lack of unified, fervent intercessory prayer in the church. When the church prays, spiritual awakening comes to the land. Give us rain, God. Help us pray with greater hunger and also with greater action outside the walls of the church that finds it’s fuel in our reliance on You.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1zI1LTn

via IFTTT

Why Guardians of the Galaxy Is A Great Kevin Bacon Movie (Even Though He Wasn't In It)

Okay time for a pop culture time-out. Kevin Bacon should be feeling very flattered right now because he got some serious love in the latest Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy. Bacon was not in the movie, but, and I won’t give away any spoilers, his name somehow made it into some of the best lines of dialogue in the film. In a symbolic way, in the way that writers use motifs almost as characters in a script, Kevin Bacon kind of WAS a character in the movie. How on earth does that happen in an outer space movie? You’ll just have to see it to find out — though read my review of it first on RockinGodsHouse.com on Friday if you’re thinking of taking the family. I wouldn’t recommend taking kids under 13 to see it.

My friend Josh Belcher just interviewed Kevin Bacon. Too bad the movie didn’t come out sooner. I could’ve asked Josh to ask Kevin if he knew about his notable presence in the new Marvel movie!

So, anyways, congrats Kevin Bacon on your smash-hit movie that came out this weekend!

(And it really was an amazing movie.)

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1qw2iCs

via IFTTT