He was the Truth

This reliable real-life story broke my heart. 

[SEEKER STORY]

There was a man living in Tehran who had always wanted to find the truth. He never had any contact with committed Christians. He never heard the Gospel.

At death's door

Old age approached and he had a very serious stroke. He was rushed to the hospital and was semi-conscious for three days. His family was by his bedside most of the time and his son was there day and night. The son longed for his father to say a few words.

The father never spoke, and after three days he died. From the human point of view he had known nothing about Christ. He was seemingly a 'lost' soul facing a Christless eternity.

The Jesus dream

A few days later the son had a vivid dream. His father came to him and spoke about those last days in the hospital. 'When I was in the hospital I saw Jesus. He told me He was the one I'd always been looking for. He told me He was the truth, and the only way to meet God was to believe in Him.'

So there, semi-conscious, this old man became a believer. Jesus didn't let him enter eternity alone.

The father went on in the dream to say sorry for not talking to the son - 'But for those three days, I was all the time with Jesus - that's why I couldn't talk to you.' The father's final words were - 'Go and tell the family about Jesus.'

The next morning the son was very excited but very nervous. What would the rest of the family say if he asked them to believe in Christ? With apprehension he sat down at the breakfast table. He noticed his younger sister wasn't there. When he asked where she was, they said she was upset.

So he went to get her. She was sitting on her bed, knees up, head down. As he knocked, she looked up, her eyes glistening with tears. He sat down and gently took her hand - 'What's the matter?'

'I've had a dream - but you'll be upset...' She looked at her brother, a little frightened...

'Don't worry - I won't get angry.' So she told him her story. They had both had the same dream!

All the members of this immediate family are now believers.

(taken from Briefings - The Silk Road by Glenn Meyers, pg 57)

Did you know that there are thousands of stories like this, maybe more? It's true, there can't be smoke without fire. And where many in the Middle East face darkness and total loss of hope and livelihood, they find Jesus.

"Now as we look to the future, it looks even brighter. We expect tens of thousands of Iranians and thousands of Afghans to be added to Christ's church annually. We now pray for 500,000 Iranian MBB.s and 25,000 Afghan MBB.s by 2015. This prayer is not just based on our imagination, but on how God has demonstrated that with Him all things are possible..." ~ Abe Ghaffari (excerpt from website Iranian Christians International)

Do you have Christ in your life? 

You need to know the Truth.

Then Moses said, "Now show me Your glory."

it's been a good 2 weeks in LA. flew over to  kansas city 2 nights ago - the heart of the USA. on occasion i ask the LORD, "what am i doin here?". it is good to ask. because you'll know when the answer comes.

yesterday i found myself seated with people from all over the world, congregating at a service by IHOP which they call Forerunner Christian Fellowship. couldn't believe my eyes. or my skin. or whatever way you wanna term it. i saw, i felt, i just couldn't believe that i was seated there. a sense of awe washed over me as i lifted my voice in worship. and for a split second, i go, "wow! i'm actually here..."

as the service went on, the answer came. 'cause those split seconds of disbelief, they occurred multiple times. put together, they probably make up one minute. so, yeah, as i was saying, the answer came.

see, i was supposed to be in kansas city for a summer training lasting 6 weeks that is an integral part of my learning in america. then the training got 'shrunk' to 4 weeks. i had the choice of either stayin in LA during those now-free days, or still fly over to kansas and see how i can occupy my time (at the lowest possible cost!). God, i wanna make the utmost best of the time i'm here, every single day. while i breathe and stay alive here, i ask for divine appointments/connections. lead me beyond human plans and finances. i refuse to waste the time away. kindle the fire, Lord. show me what You have in mind with this change. You brought me here, so what gives...?

mike bickle began sharing a bit abt the history of IHOP, and how the Lord moved him through transition after transition. "transition is not just a change in your position, title, or qualifications, or role. that's too narrow a definition. when God leads you through transition, He's positioning you to carry your heart before Him in a new way." woah. that hit me...

and the message went on to say, "maybe you're here wondering what you're doing here." bingo.

"maybe you're going through a transition in your life, a burden in your heart that no one else knows about or people don't seem to understand." yup.

"during these coming 6 weeks, you're hoping God would reveal Himself in a greater glory." yes!

the phrase 6 weeks kept getting repeated, and the challenge to set apart this time to seek His face like Moses did (Exo 33:18). my heart responded to Holy Spirit in a deep stirring. yes, Lord. You brought me here...i wanna see You.

may God give grace for a season of consecration, grace for deeper intercession and fasting, of seeking His face. positioning myself as He leads me to carry my heart in a new way before Him.

as Moses Your servant dared to ask, Lord, show me Your glory.

i encourage you to dig into the Word and see what God says about the Nazirites, and how we His chosen ones are to be set apart for His use, for His glory. may God give you grace to seek His face day and night, up on the mountain of God but facedown in worship.

that's what i'm made of.

love what the paper bag that contained my breakfast this morning says, a la Ryan Lochte (a US olympic swimmer).

if you can't read the print, here it is:
my dad gave me the fundamentals.
my team gives me the support.
i give it everything i've got.

we all need that reminder of what we're made of...
Dad's basic principles + dream team + ALL of YOURSELF.

precious times

both old...

and young...

"fare thee well"

skies i will miss...

the infamous kopitiams

ahh..precious times. nuff said.

all worth it

there is a sense of finality as i prepare to leave my beloved sabah. i'm one of those who have never left for long. not that i don't love globe-trotting. but it's God. "it's time to go, my dear"...and there's that sense of finality, in the goodbyes, the sharings, the prayers, i can feel it.

it's hard to put into words what i think so much about lately, because it's not meant to be shared just yet. but tonight as i think about Eklektos goin on in kyrugma house, while i spend time at home, my heart goes to them. Father, i pray Your presence and power be on them increasingly as Your children seek Your face...in one accord. let Your Holy Spirit fill them and fire them up, because You are their shepherd and King.

i asked the Lord 4 months ago whether the past few years spent serving Him the best way i knew how alongside His precious Eklektos beloveds have pleased Him. was it worth it, God? He said a firm yes. and that was it, i knew one of the biggest lessons any of us should learn is that your closeness with God far outweighs your 'performance', or ministry results. fruit does matter, but sometimes what we call results do not equal lasting fruit.

God is the One who grows and brings success. every church, especially those of young people, must never lose sight of the Kingdom purpose. we're the training ground, the training force, the trainers. every young person who grows up in Christ belongs to the Kingdom, not merely to a local church or to a youth group. people come and go, no group stays together forever. every church is a missionary-sending workforce, and each member's identity and significance come from grasping that Kingdom perspective. each disciple carrying his/her cross, that "though none go with me, still i will follow". then everything done in the name of God will not be short-sighted, me-focused, pastor-centered or results-oriented yet minus Kingdom power and purpose.

it must not.
and then, it's all worth it when people grow up, mature, are sent out, fulfilling His Kingdom dreams for his/her life. they belong to God. the ministry belongs to God.

i, too, belong to God.
it's all worth it. Eklektos has been worth it. God's the One.
every tear, every joy, every pain, every season - because you change lives the best when you're the one who is the most changed. invest, invest, invest in people. young people, that includes YOU.

i shall live that way.
(i shall leave that way)

Passion Conference

God, make it real.


May 30 to June 1
a group of young people headed off for Passion Camp, first of its kind in Kota Kinabalu - an interchurch youth camp where 140+ young people stay together wanting an experience of God in their lives...

It was amazing! Every session deepened conviction for God's move in our land, especially in and through the youth of Malaysia, as well as those involved in raising up this generation. During prayer meetings leading up to this camp, we were receiving insights into the emphases for the camp, and more importantly the youth movement. Then in a sense stuff at the camp really confirmed these insights.

Session after session, came a stronger and stronger conviction that it was the kairos time for such a camp! The OPPORTUNE TIME - repeated over and over. Again, there was a confirmation of God wanting to restore His Word, worship and witness (works) into His Church, like Josiah brought reformation for his generation of followers. And NOW is the time for such a restoration, to build strength in these 3Ws, and see whole nations turn to God. That means 2 Tim 2:20-22, a time of preparation, readiness for Kingdom use, the 7 years of abundance before the 7 years of famine. A time of preparing the people in prayer, like Joel 2. The trumpet is sounding.

UNITY, PROPHETIC INTERCESSION and SCHOOLS - that's how I would summarize what Holy Spirit was impressing on us. There was unity in the teams where students from VARIOUS churches got together to talk and pray about their schools, and in the committee a oneness in Spirit that was inspiring. I'm excited for what has happened at Passion is so significant and representative of what will be taking place as we continue to seek God's face these coming years. There were times when the youth released prophetic words and worshipped God so deeply that many were moved to tears just by sitting still. It was great! And as I watched, my heart broke because of the whole scene, God was pleased. All of them talked for the first time about setting a time for prayer on their campuses, and some of them had already started!

Pr Kenneth Chin preached his heart out about THE END, and during the last session we did a bridge-the-generations prayer. So we got those who represented the: senior pastors, the youth pastors & leaders, and the youth at large to stand together - in formation, extending their hands to pray for unity. Revival's gonna happen across the generations! Reconciliation > Restoration > Revival & Reformation - yeah!

(check out http://bobssaviour.blogspot.com/2008/06/post-passion-conference.html)

At the final session some of the youth shared their testimonies, every heart was touched by what God was doing in the people who stepped up boldly to testify. A shout out to those who worked hard during the camp!


Fan the passion, guys. God is real :)