Silence is Golden, Shut up and Get Rich quick!!

It's edgy. It's not religious. It's free. I've seen it used during sermons to draw attention from the crowd. It's used in Christian songs. and it's sickening.

A few years ago, a Christian recording artist sent a shockwave through the community with his new song containing the word, "whore." It stirred up a mild controversy and childish giggles from believers because he said a "dirty" word in a song. More and more the language of the world has slipped into our language and I think that there is a subtle trend in the Christian world to use foul language. Here I'm not just talking about  using the word, "harlot," or "whore," but the whole gamut of filthy language. Maybe its shock value to try to get a message across, but I find it completely incongruent with the Word of God.

Being far from perfect in this regard, I've found myself sick with seeing Christians online using foul language. I can understand if someone slams their thumb with a hammer they slip out a foul word, but when the language becomes commonplace to the point of writing or singing it without any reservation its a problem to me. Even then, I don't think this language becomes one who is called to bear the image of Jesus.

The Scriptures make it plain that foul language doesn't become us. Maybe the question is whether the words we use are really bad words, or curses. If society is accepting of the words we use, would relevancy demand that we use them? In my mind, foul is anything that doesn't agree with the Word of God. If the Word disagrees with foul language then we need to disagree with it too (preaching to myself). Maybe I sound like I'm from the old world, I don't really care; I can't in good conviction say those things in the face of God and if you can, maybe you need to examine your own heart.

The God who created the world and holds your life in His hands is not threatened by the use of that language; but He isn't invited to break into your life either. At one point in my journey, I would sing foul language to God expecting Him to move for me. Our God isn't manipulated by what we think He ought to do. He is holy and no flesh can glory in His presence. Sinful nature can't live with Him and He can't support sinful behavior.

If you are "going through it" or having a rough time in life, try worshiping Him instead of judging and binding Him through heaping curses on yourself. And yes, they are curses you are saying over yourself. The Lord wants you to eat from the tree of life; are the words you are using producing life or death? He will give you according to your word. Speak the words of life and watch God move for you. You will come into alignment with Him.

One of my new favorite verses is Isaiah: 8:13-14: "The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary..." Let Him be your sanctuary as you fear Him.

Christmastime is here!

It's that time of year when the radio begins playing classic Christmas songs, when garland and tinsel take over retail stores, and when I have my annual Christmas blog. I have already pulled out my Tran-Siberian Orchestra CDs, along with Handel's Messiah and a little bit of Kenny G's Christmas album. And as always I'm thinking of what Christmas was like in time past. I think back to the era of Bing Crosby and Gene Autry; the era of war, family values, and a belief in God. I think back to the time of Handel proclaiming the glory of the Son of God in a way that makes the hearts of kings burn. I think of the snow-laden long, long ago with rich hymnody and sincerity and desire to proclaim Christ with the richness of feeling and divine affection found in those divine songs.

Then I come into our era. My first astonishment is that the word "Christmas" seems more edited now than it ever has been. Phrases like "Have a nice Holiday," "for your special Holiday," "holiday season," don't really anger me, but make me ask the questions, "to which are you referring?" And then when "Christmas" is used, it is spoken of as more of a fairy tale about the fat man in the red suit, seeking to inspire our children to belief something that takes way more effort than believing in Jesus. On top of that, people bring up the theological argument that Christ wasn't born in winter, but maybe in the spring or in the fall? That kind of takes the celebration down a notch, but really it doesn't matter. God came to earth in the form of helpless Babe. Who cares when, I just care that.

In all of the decoration and preparation for this season; in all of my thoughts and longings, I find myself anxious to put myself back into the story of Jesus' first coming again. The wonder, the awe, the mystery that God became flesh and dwelt among us is in itself sufficient reason to celebrate the day. Regardless of the official birth date, regardless of the blatant disregard of secular public celebrations of the fat man in the red suit, regardless of trying to reclaim CHRISTmas. I will celebrate the mystery and enjoy that He came to earth, died and rose again; putting my sin in the grave and giving me His new life.

So I say, Merry Christmas and offer the following: Hebrews 1:1-4; Matthew 1-2; Luke 1-3. Enjoy the God who became man to save us.

Prophetic Songwriting

I woke up this morning and remembered that R.E.M. just broke up. Not that I really followed the band ever, but they have that song, "It's the end of the world (as we know it)" and so I wanted to youtube it. Because of the way that my mind works, I began searching the history of the band, doing the wikipedia thing. So I researched the song to find out that Michael Stipe, the lead singer, got part of his inspiration for the song in a dream.

I love the prophetic and so when I saw that he received part of the song in a dream I had to see what other songs were inspired in whole or in part from dreams. Generally I think that kind of information goes unnoticed or considered irrelevant. The common assumption is that dreams don't really mean anything except that your mind is active, therefore, a dream is an innocent zone to receive inspiration. Having had prophetic dreams I can't believe that the inspirations for songs in dreams are merely human creativity.

I searched a little into songs that were inspired by dreams and came across "(I can't get no) Satisfaction," by the Rolling Stones. Keith Richards woke up in the middle of the night after hearing the guitar riff in his sleep and suddenly the words were coming to him, "I can't get no, satisfaction." He heard the melody from somewhere and the song enjoyed a load of success.

These are only two examples, but there are several Beatles' songs that were shaped in some measure by a dream from the authors.

So the other night, as Jamie and I were praying she started praying that I would receive songs and melodies in dreams. Then I saw a picture of a guitar neck and certain notes being highlighted and I felt the Lord saying, "greater works than these (John 14:12)." It began to dawn on me that He can give songwriters melodies and lyrics with a specific design of unlocking hope and healing, and salvation to the hearers. So then the night before last I was asked to play a show, but because of fear I didn't want to perform. A familiar man and songwriter began rebuking me for that fear and told me in essence that crouching back in fear is like burying a talent in the ground.

Satan has no problem giving inspiration to songwriters; consider a lot of secular songs, with titles like: "Babylon" and "Kisses over Babylon." Those are real songs that I'm familiar with. They actually really alert me to the time in which we find ourselves. Songs help shape the mindset of cultures by causing the hearer to unknowingly or consciously meditating on subject the lyrics are pointing to. satan was the worship leader of heaven until he rebelled; he knows the spiritual dynamic of melody and rhythm. But he can go no further than that.

God created sound. God created melody. God created the human spirit to respond to sound and melody and rhythm. I think Papa is looking for a few good dreamers who will listen for the sound and declare what they hear by the Holy Spirit. I say, "a few good dreamers," all we have to do is ask, fall asleep, wake up and write the inspirations given to us.

Father God promised Jesus that the whole earth would be filled with worshipers making His name great throughout the earth (Mal. 1:11). Let's wake up and dream. Let's see. Prophetic Songwriters and dreamers arise.

Creativity and Sight

I am not an artist, nor do I want to be. I mean that I'm not an artist as in one who sketches or paints or sculpts. Most of my creativity rests in music. So last night I saw a picture in my head (vision) and I asked the Lord to help me draw it. This is what came out.

In the vision I saw a dove coming up out of a Star of David that was on fire. But because of my limited drawing ability, the Lord used my weak drawing ability to portray the message that was resonating in my heart. 

I see this picture as a dove, marked with a drop of blood, and set ablaze with holy passion. Or better put, the Holy Spirit by the blood of Jesus bringing revival and awakening to the Jewish people and the nations. 

Again, I'm not an artist and don't aspire to be; but I really began pondering why the Lord would give that to me. So I was talking to my soon-to-be( , but will be in 12-days-) wife about it and I said this phrase: 

"the first person said to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the Bible was an artist." I knew this, but then I said, "God instructed him to sculpt cherubim...how did he know what they looked like?" (Exodus 31). 

It then kind of dawned on us, God's Spirit releases creativity. That's obvious, He's the creator and He loves to partner with us and create stuff with us. But how does He do it? He opens our eyes and enables us to "create" what we see. If we set our eyes on Him, He will give us the sight to inspire the song, the vision that becomes the painting. 

My fiancee has a tattoo that reads, "Contamos tu gloria" (We proclaim Your glory). Let's create stuff and proclaim His glory. 

Remembering 9/11 and hearing God's heart

Today many of us are remembering where we were when we heard the news, and saw the jets fly into the Twin Towers. We remember the acts of heroism at Ground Zero and the Pentagon. And while many voices declare their interpretation of the events of 9/11, I find myself taking a different angle. 

My involvement in the prayer movement in the past 4 years has given me the opportunity to see different trends that develop while we all seek the knowledge of God. The Lord is teaching His body His heart and how to operate with prophetic understanding of the times and seasons He is bringing about in the world. With that, I'm finding that I have a bad taste in my mouth whenever people prophesy judgment. I have come to understand that Jesus will judge the earth, set up His Kingdom and reign. My point is not so much the idea that God is the Righteous Judge, but in declaring Him so I want to articulate the heart of mercy found in the Majesty on High. 

On this day, my hopes are that some will seek the face of God and many turn to Him. The face of God is found in Jesus. He is the exact image of who God is, what God feels and what He is like. If that's the case, then I can know His heart regarding the judgment of the nations. 

In Matthew 23, Jesus lays out harsh rebukes to the leaders of His day. I find that to be like a father with his children. At first, a gentle reminder, then more stern, and if the child continues to ignore that father's words, then very strong words before releasing the punishment to teach the child. I think that's how Jesus dealt with the Pharisees all through Matthew. He constantly was giving them the Scripture, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." His point was to get them to meditate on His heart so that they would turn. 

Ultimately the Jewish people of that era did not heed Jesus' words. What did Jesus feel for them? "Jerusalem, Jerusalem,...how I long to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks....you were not willing...therefore your house shall be left desolate." Jesus wept over Jerusalem while issuing the decree of judgment. Did God hate them? Absolutely not. And I think that He cared a lot to see children fall in the streets, young and old terrified for their lives and driven from their homes. Jesus wept over the desolation of Jerusalem. He wept over the successive deaths of every generation since that refused to turn to Him. He took no pleasure in seeing the Holocaust take place and I think He takes no pleasure in releasing judgment in our nation. 

We ought to be cautious in issuing words of judgment as psuedo-prophets of the End-Times, lest we offend the heart of God. He doesn't need us to condemn the world with our words. He needs us to bring understanding of the judgment He is releasing, while extending the invitation to receive mercy from Him. 

If Jesus perfectly reflects the person of God in His life and actions, then His weeping over Jerusalem has to be how He feels over our nation and the nations of the earth. Christianity is not a relationship like a captive feels toward a captor, as if we had Stockholm Syndrome and fell in love with our captor. We are born again unto a living hope, not a dying judgment. Nor are we spared as Jesus' cronies who will help Him get the message across that He is coming. We are spared by mercy, we have been saved in this hope and we partner in intercession with Him to see mercy triumph over judgment that many would turn to Him. 

On this day, I find no place for condemning judgment but the opportunity to turn to Jesus today, to find living hope today, to find resurrection today. The same Lord over all is rich to all who call on Him. May we find mercy and rest in Him and reach a dying world for Him. Amen. 

The Father's House

Yeshua (Jesus) has brought me into the Father's house. 

In the Father's house, I find where I belong. 

I know His instructions in His house. 

I learn His ways

I become like Him. 

There is no competition in the Father's house, 

no one can compete with anyone dwelling in the Father's house. 

In the Father's house, I know that I have overcome all things

 and need to prove nothing. 

In my Father's house I know that I am loved. 

My Father's house is the house of wine. 

It is the house of my rest. 

In my Father's house I know true and lasting pleasure. 

No experience can fade before another begins. 

From glory to another glory, to another and another still. 

In my Father's house I live for Him alone because there is none better. 

He is stronger than all, smarter than all, more loving than all, more giving than all. 

There is nothing that He isn't; He is mine. 

There is nothing He does not have; I am His. 

In the Father's house, is the beginning of no end. 

Limitless boundaries only lead to Him.

Seeing dimly like the eyes of a newborn, this is just the beginning of vision. 

April/May Support Update

March Update in May

In March, Rosemary Schindler, great niece of Oskar Schindler, along Dror Vichansky, a tour guide from Israel spoke at RIHOP. Dror shared about current political issues regarding Israel and gave us his testimony of how He came to faith in Yeshua. We celebrated Shabbat (Sabbath) with Rosemary and Dror the next evening. It was just like a family get together with REALLY great food and then we entered into a spontaneous time of prayer and prophecy for the city of Richmond.

Now on to April and May!

The months of April and May have been part of one of the busiest seasons in RIHOP. For months we were planning our I3 Internship which turned into us hosting a few mini-conferences for the general public, members of other houses of prayer, city pastors and leaders, as well as all of RIHOP staff becoming stu- dents in I3 as well!

Jewish History Seminar with Rabbi Jamie Cowen

We began our mini-conferences with 25 hours of intense teaching on the history of the Jewish people. Just like with every culture, in order to minister to them you have to know about them. Rabbi Jamie Cowen, a Messianic Jewish believer and Rabbi of Tikvat Israel (a Messianic Congregation in Richmond), reviewed the entire history of the Jewish people beginning with Noah up to the present time. Jamie (Harner) and I were struck with how much the Jewish people have gone through and how God has faithfully been calling for them to come back to Himself. We were also impacted that the church is called to stand with Israel.

Doug Hershey

CityWide Passover Seder and Drama

Immediately after Jamie Cowen’s history course, we hosted a citywide Passover Seder at the Robinson Theatre in Church Hill. Rabbi Jamie Cowen facilitated the Seder and RIHOP, along with students from the YWAM-Va base’s April Discipleship Training School and volunteers from our community and church (Legacy Fellowship International) performed a short drama displaying God’s faithfulness to Israel and ultimate redemption of the Jewish people. The main purpose behind the citywide Seder was to declare God’s heart for Israel to the pastors and leaders of the city. We had 135 pastors and city leaders in atten- dance, many of whom left dramatically touched by God for the Jewish people, making a declaration that Richmond stands with God’s cove- nant and chosen people.

After the Seder, we had a little rest. With so much information to process, we had to sit and ask ourselves, “what does this mean for us as Spirit-filled Chris- tians called to serve the Jewish people?” The Lord helped answer that question for us by bringing us a man named Doug Hershey. Doug and his wife Rebecca, are the directors of The Ebed Network based in southern Maine. The vision of The Ebed Network is to demonstrate love in practical ways to Israel and her neighbors. Doug has authored a book called The Christian's Biblical Guide to Understanding Israel, published by Creation House and is an amazing Bible teacher with a heart to serve God’s chosen people. He taught at RIHOP on Jesus and the Torah (Law) and the New Covenant. He showed us that Jesus did not put an end to the Law but rather fulfilled every single aspect of it, giving us power as Jews and Gentiles alike to fulfill His Word. We felt that this was an appropri- ate and exciting end to the Spring Root Awakening Series.

Dover Baptist Association

We are also involved in a church plant along with RIHOP called Legacy Fellowship International. At our church we want to raise up disciples who will in turn also raise up disciples. A local Baptist association called Dover caught wind of what we are doing in downtown Richmond and

began approaching us about supporting our ministry. On May 1st, we attended to the 228th semi-annual Dover Baptist Associa- tion meeting where they officially welcomed us in as a church plant and pledged to begin financially supporting our church. We are very excited; however, what most excites us are the relation- ships that the Lord is building across denominations to reach our

city for the gospel.

Personal Updates!

Plans are going really well for our wedding. In May we are beginning marriage counseling with our pastors Matthew and Sherrie Moore. Hav- ing been immensely blessed by seeing their marriage, we are really ex- cited to learn from them; they are incredible examples to us as a married couple in ministry. As we see their ministry gifts working together, we are learning how to let each other flow in our areas of giftedness. We will be meeting with them twice a month until October.

We are also still in “high gear” for raising support. However, we are seeing our support base grow monthly. We are so thankful! Please con- tinue to pray for us for the full provision God has promised.

We have a combined monthly income of about $685. We believe the Lord is going to give us the 3rd floor apartment above RIHOP to be our first home together; we also believe that we will be fully supported be- fore we are married in October. Our goal is a monthly income of $4000. Would you consider supporting us monthly?

Monthly partners! We love and appreciate you so much.

You can also donate to us online via Paypal by visiting www.paypal.com or thru Jamie’s blog at soundignified.blogspot.com and using this Paypal ID (for both websites): jamie.harner@yahoo.com.