Greeting Beloved!

God is marvelous!  I am writing to you at the end of a glorious, yet exhausting week.  These last seven days have been packed with adventures in the Lord, as well as more than a few opportunities to experience His goodness and faithfulness in a dynamic way.  I am in a true state of awe.

The week began almost like any other week.  Encouraged after a good and relaxing Sabbath, I woke up on Monday morning not too excited to go back to the 9-5.  By the way, I work a literal 9-5.  Rested and glorious quickly turned to mildly stressed and mundane as I continued my daily work ritual.  I honestly can’t remember much of Monday, but starting Tuesday evening during prayer the Lord began to stir something within me.

Wednesday followed with the usual work routine filled with mild stresses and mundane motions.  Nevertheless, after some evening prayer and good fellowship with my brother, Mark, the Lord began stirring inside of me again.  As the stirrings continued, I began feeling more alive and confident that the Lord had planned something unique and special for the week.

The next day I was more expectant.  “Oh, Lord, what do you have in store?”

That evening, Mark and I met a man named David.  We had a great evening eating tacos, talking about the Lord and praying.  I truly felt a connection with this man and was greatly encouraged.  Still, I knew this wasn’t ‘it’.

Ah, Friday!  My day off.  Regularly scheduled plans quickly fell through, but the Lord filled the house (and my brothers) with some great expectancy for the evening’s events.  Friday is our ‘bible study’ night.  The Lord had been speaking to me about ‘repairing age old foundations’ and He had given Mark a message about the Holy Spirit and revival.  As we waited on the Lord, I began to believe that revival was going to break out in the evening meeting.  Such great expectancy was washing over me.

Evening came, we packed the living room with about fourteen or so people, and started with some dinner and fellowship.  A little later, we started what became a two-hour bible study about revival.  During the study, one main theme resonated within me.  Every significant revival throughout history was birthed through unity and prayer.

Unity and prayer!  This is what the Lord desired for us to lay hold of.  After study, we continued the meeting with some prayer… all kinds of prayer!  Then we worshiped the Lord, prayed more and took communion.  We continued to pray until we decided to take a walk to the beach at 1am and then we prayed and worshiped at the beach.  We prayed some more back at the house and then some of our guests went home.  Eventually the rest of us crashed at about 4am.

Something great is transforming the hearts and minds of a small group of friends on a little island in the Pacific Ocean.  This transformation is called true unity.  It greatly differs from almost anything the western church offers.  God is uniting His children through prayer and the seeking of His kingdom.  We entered the high praises of God, even for a moment becoming fixated on the heavenly Zion of which we will one day dwell.

God is restoring these age-old foundations!  He is raising up a people who have set their hearts on pilgrimage, who yearn to dwell with Christ in His courts.  Oh, such unity and prayer centered around the power and presence of God!  It is this for which we are contending.

Even in my flesh, something of a doubt rises up.  Maybe nothing too special happened this week.  Ha!  But that is just my flesh.  God began a miraculous work that He fully intends to complete!  Something truly changed.  I don’t say this lightly.  I am not the same.  God knit hearts together and He is beginning to build His house of prayer (hopefully just one of many!) in Oahu.

We live in the generation that will see the greatest manifestation of God’s love and power.  The testimony of Jesus will be glorified!  Once again we find ourselves in a critical juncture of history.  Now is the time to accomplish the great exploits we have read about and only dreamed could ever happen in our day.  May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob arise and glorify Himself in you!  May the God of Peter, John and Paul move mightily through you!

Bless you, beloved, and may the peace of God rule in your hearts!

-jm