I declare that I will be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. I declare that I am putting on the armor of God, to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For I understand that I do not battle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and against the spiritual wickedness in high places. I declare that I shall stand in the evil day, and having done all, I will stand.

Belt of Truth

I declare that I am girding my loins with Truth. Truth will be the foundation for my life, as I walk day by day. I will search the scriptures for Truth, letting the water of the Word wash over me, cleansing me from all unrighteousness. I will allow the Word to purify me. I will worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth.

Breastplate of Righteousness

I declare that I am putting on the breastplate of righteousness. I will guard my heart by walking in the righteousness of Christ. I will clothe myself in righteous deeds, motivated by love for Christ. I will walk in the Spirit, not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. I will have clean hands and a pure heart, and I will not lift up my eyes to an idol, but my eyes will be singularly fixed on Jesus Christ.

Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace

I declare that I have shod my feet with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace. I will be faithful to walk out my life where the Spirit of God leads me, proclaiming to all the good news of Christ’s resurrection. I will be ready to give my testimony as the Spirit leads me. My steps will not be warring steps, but will be peaceful steps. I will love others with a pure heart.

Shield of Faith

I declare that I am taking up the Shield of Faith. My faith will not waver in the face of adversity, nor will I allow fiery arrows of doubt to penetrate my faith. I will put confidence in my God, who is mighty to save. His arm is not shortened, that He cannot save, nor is His ear deaf that He cannot hear. My shield of faith will join up with others’ shields of faith to form a wall of faith, quenching the fiery darts of the wicked.

Helmet of Salvation

I declare that I am putting on the helmet of salvation. I will take captive every thought and submit it to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. My mind will be continually renewed, as I meditate on those things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, full of virtue and praiseworthy.

Sword of the Spirit

I declare that I will wield the Sword of the Spirit. I will learn the Word of God as a fencer learns to use a sword. I will be skillful, meditating on the Word constantly. I will sing psalms and spiritual songs, memorizing scripture. I will study to show myself approved, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

I declare that today I will pray always that God would supply my needs. I will look to Him for my needs, and to no other. I declare that today I will be faithful to watch as I pray, looking at the things the Spirit would reveal to me. I will intercede for the saints I am aware of, that God would supply their needs according to His riches in glory. I declare that I will speak boldly the mystery of the gospel, no matter my circumstances or condition, as I ought to speak.

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We’re getting ready to head to Nag’s Head after Easter service tomorrow. We’ll be there for a week with my family. It should be a good time. I’m actually looking to accomplish some very specific things during this trip.

First, I would like to finish up a website I’m working on. I don’t think I will need too much time for that, maybe 10 or 15 hours.

I also want to do a little bit of reading/studying. There are some professional development goals I have that I want to devote some time towards.

Of course, I will be spending time with my family, maybe playing some Settler’s of Catan.

However, the main thing I want to do is refocus my life on the only one worthy of my focus. I have been interested in The Power of a Focused Life teaching by Mike Bickle and I would really like to spend some time seeking a vision for my life.

It’s a simple premise, really. Basically, find out what you’re supposed to do and then plan your day doing things that support you in this endeavor. While I think this is a great teaching, I find it is similar to other principles of time management put out by Franklin Covey and others. I appreciate Bickle’s take on it, and his supporting scriptures.

I’ve been working from home for about 2 weeks now. It’s great, and I really enjoy being around the house and not worrying about driving or if I have any ironed shirts. Unfortunately, it seems to be easy to be unfocused throughout the day. I’m so used to going to the office for 8 hours, and only doing “work” stuff, and then coming home and doing “non-work” stuff. This actually isn’t my preferred method of working - often times I have an urge to do “work” stuff during “non-work” time and vice versa. With this new flexibility I have, I have a great opportunity to mix up my day between “work” and “non-work” stuff.

Of course, I want to make sure I get everything done I need to. I have more responsibilities at work, and I also have more responsibilities with my other projects. Unfortunately, I tend to let some things slip, and yet I also know that I have time during the day that I can “redeem”.

So I’m going to the beach with some goals. I have some broad categories: family, spiritual, ministry. Doesn’t it seem like I’m doing it backwards? How can I have goals before I know what my life vision is? Well, I think some things aren’t going to change. I will still have a family, and I still have obligations to people that I have committed to help in the short term. I’m confident that whatever God gives me for my life vision, it will not include dropping everything and moving to the hills and becoming a luddite hermit.

I’m curious to know if anyone else out there has come up with a “life vision” or something similar and goes through different aspects of their life every 6-12 months or so refocusing. Does it work for you? How long have you been doing it? What methodology do you follow?

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I think everyone should go read Mike Bickle’s dream on Rev 12. Go on, read it. I’ll wait.

This has hit me hard - if the leadership of a day and night continuous prayer movement is not ready for the coming trials, what about those of us just struggling to “get in the game” on a Wednesday evening? It is sobering to realize that I am not ready. I can look to my actions just today - my selfishness, my anger, my hardness of heart - and see clearly that there is quite a lot of soul and precious little spirit in my day-to-day walk.

The other thing that struck me from the dream is that Bickle says the church needs to be moving in power. I agree wholeheartedly. I am very frustrated at attending prayer meetings and seeing people walk away still suffering. Interestingly enough, I think that when I see a change in my life as described in the previous paragraph, then I’ll see a change in the prayer meetings I attend.

How glorious will it be to see the church rise up in power and authority? How glorious to see that happen today?

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I was able to watch the inauguration on Tuesday while waiting for over 2 hours in a pass & ID office on Ft. Monroe. While I was not moved to tears like more than one person in that office, I do believe this is a significant event.

In 2007, Raegan and I (and many others) prayed specifically that the curse of slavery would be broken in this country, and that any racial wounds that still existed would be healed. In 2009, an African American has been sworn in as the president. Answered prayer, anyone?

Itzhak Perlman (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano), and Anthony McGill (clarinet) played a musical arrangement Air and Simple Gifts by John Williams. Simple Gifts is a hymn that I know as Lord of the Dance. Because the inauguration was running about 5 minutes behind, and the president-elect officially becomes president at noon, President-Elect Obama became President Obama as the musicians played Lord of the Dance. Can God get any more explicit that He is in control? I suppose a thunderbolt or something could have been employed, but I like this method.

There are many policies of the current administration that I disagree with. Taxes, health care, energy, etc. I believe it is impossible to find explicit energy policy in scripture. “And yea, thou shalt drill for oil in coastal regions only in a manner consistent with the environmental protection agency’s guidelines. An area of 3,000 cubits on each side shall be used, and no more. Thus sayeth the Lord,” is nowhere to be found. So I understand there can be disagreement in some matters of national policy. Sure, guidelines & principles can be found (good stewardship of resources) throughout scripture, but not explicit policy.

However, some issues I believe can be found explicitly in scripture. I believe that the blood of innocent babies cries out to the Lord day and night. I believe any nation that blesses Israel will be blessed, and any nation that curses Israel will be cursed.

I also believe that President Obama can be the conduit through which God sends the end of abortion to America. I believe that President Obama can encounter the living God and become a man that will stand for justice and God’s will. God changed the heart of Nebuchadnezzar, a decidely ungodly man, into one who would declare openly that God is Lord. God can certainly move President Obama to defend the innocent unborn.

This inauguration marks a significant time in our history, and I believe is a miraculous answer to prayer. I believe many more prayers will be answered before this administration is over. The Lord of the Dance is dancing right now.

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A while back, while watching Ezra and eating some grape nuts & yogurt, I glanced at the cover of a Parents magazine. The story was called “The New Face of Fatherhood” and the gist was that it was now cool for a dad to be seen in public with their kid. They cited examples of celebrities - Brad Pitt, Spike Lee, Will Smith, Matt Damon - that were not afraid being seen doing activities with their children would diminish their masculinity. The story went on to talk about how we have changed from the Fifties when child-rearing was entirely the domain of the mother and how progressive we are as a society.

I nearly wept.

I was not overwhelmed by the writing of the story, nor am I particularly concerned with the relationship between Spike Lee and his child. What touched my heart was that God spoke Malachi 4:5,6 to me as I read that article:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

God will send an anointing to the earth before Jesus returns. This “Elijah anointing” will be on certain people who will help prepare the way for the return of Jesus. One of the things that will happen is that the hearts of the fathers will be turned to their children, and vice versa. How do I know we are in the last days? Because even Parents magazine recognizes that fathers’ hearts are being turned towards their children!

Many people have told me that “every generation though Jesus would return in their lifetime” and that I should just concentrate on my responsibilities here and now and let those things work themselves out. Well, I refuse to let the editors of Parents be the only ones that recognize the signs of the times. My friends, we must be vigilant, continually watching and praying. The more we desire His return, the more we will watch for Him, and the more of these signs we will observe.

Even so, come quickly Lord!

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