Experiencing God: Its okay!

I'll just flat out say it. Revival meetings are awkward sometimes. If you have no idea what's going on, they can just either flat out look insane, or flat out confusing, or just wrong, or awkward.

I think it has to do with our perception--a common misconception, I might add--about our Creator. I'm guilty of it too, my friends. God desires for us to experience him. God desires for us to literally feel him touch us with his hand. He desires for us to literally fall down from being in His Glory. He desires for us to be filled with His Holy Spirit so much that we are intoxicated, disoriented, yet fully aware of His love.

I have been reading Bill Johnson's When Heaven Invades Earth recently, and he has been hammering on some good points that I feel passionate about, and feel like the Spirit has lead me to share. The main reference that stood out was in 1 Corinthians:

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. (2:4-5 NIV)

I know in the past I have been quick to give way too much value to man's fallible word instead of demanding to see and experience God's true power. Now I am definitely not saying that a lot of the time, our pastors and our ministers and our Sunday School teacher's lessons are not inspired by God, but I am saying that we place too much value on something that comes from man and not straight from God. I mean that passage means that, if we rely on men's wisdom, our faith will be easily broken; but if we rely on God's power, nothing can shake us.

So why are some so quick to discredit or curse those who experience God in all of His Power? We see people who are speaking in tongues and we say, that's foolish, its not interpreted so it cannot be from God (this is a whole other issue I could rant on for hours; tongues is a prayer language given so that we may each individually be edified. Look in Acts, many times it wasn't interpreted); we see people who are being knocked over in their seats from a wave of God's glory and say "they can't be serious;" we see people who are moaning and crying out to God at the top of their voice during prayer or worship and we say "they're just calling attention to their selves." Who are we to judge what God is doing in their life? Especially if they're experiencing Him the way He desires for us to experience Him.

When I read Acts, when I see what was going on in the early church, I cannot help but think to myself, this is how Christianity was meant to be; what happened? Well, what happened? Think about it; is it truly "not a religion, it's a relationship" if we don't even have tangible experiences? How can we know God's heart and love for us and for others if we don't prophesy--actually hear His voice? They do happen, they ARE for today, and any believer who asks for them will be given to them.

Jesus said himself:

"For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matt. 7:8

And He meant that quite literally, from stories I've heard and things I've experienced.

Friends, I'm not saying at all that its necessary for salvation, or if you don't experience Him tangibly you're doing something sinful; but it certainly does build up faith, and it makes one love Jesus all the more, and feel his love so thoroughly.

Experiencing God's Love is much, much more uplifting than simply knowing God's Love.

Freedom in His Fire!

Hey there everyone! It's been quite a while since I've posted, partly because of laziness, partly because of school, and partly because I didn't feel like I had something to say. But I do, and I should share more! So here I am sharing a little of what God put on my heart Sunday in a really cool way.

So, a kind of background if you will. I was really just kind of struggling with some stuff on my heart that I hadn't come fully clean with God about, and it was causing me to lose earshot of his voice. So while in church, I started praying for God's deliverance, and He showed me what I needed to level with Him about. And when I did, everything came clear as a bell in an intense wave of imagery and voice! So in that, I just want to encourage you to level with God with what you're struggling with. Bring it to others so they can help you and love on you through it! There is freedom in Christ and when we repent and turn back to Him our blurred vision becomes clear again!

So anyways, the prophetic word I have to share with the body of Christ (that means you!) this week is this:

While I was praying I saw a circular forest. As I continued to gaze upon it from an aerial point of view I saw it begin to burn. But this wasn't a catastrophic burning of a beautiful forest, it was a controlled fire, much like those that fire fighters use to create an even better place to grow forestry. This controlled fire is what God has in store for us in these coming seasons. He will be making all things new!

If you are struggling, hurting, seeking, wondering, confused, depressed, haunted, lonely, or you feel like you're just trapped in darkness all around you, know this: God is MOVING! He is burning inside you a controlled fire that will create new, better opportunities and circumstances in your life! Through these struggles God will turn the bad into good! You are made perfect through Christ!

I pray that the Holy Spirit continues to work in each and every one of you, and you see the manifestation of His Glory in your lives! I pray that you dream dreams and see visions of God's mercy, power, and love. I bless you in Jesus name, for by His grace we are saved!

I hope that this encourages you in your tough times. Read the book of James! Especially the first chapter; it will help put things in perspective!

God bless you and keep walking with the Spirit!

Joey

Grace like Rain!

OOOOkay! I have some good stuff to talk about today! This Sunday was a very spiritually high moment for our church, as it closed out a prophesy-filled weekend for the church body (they had some meetings and stuff that the Lord was really speaking into earlier in the weekend). This last weekend words have been flowing concerning restoration and blessing upon our lives and our walks with God, and it has been so cool to hear them!

I got a word as I was in worship on Sunday that is for some specific people (whom I have already talked with) but also for the general body of Christ. The vision I had was as follows:

I saw a dark land suddenly be covered with clouds, giant, thick rain clouds. The rain came pouring out in the hardest rainfall I've seen, it was like as if a giant faucet from heaven turned on. It was Grace Like Rain coming down for everyone. I saw it wipe a man clean, a man who was covered from head to toe in the most disgusting mess, that clogged his joints, his pores, it simply bogged him down. The rain cleansed him of all the mess that had been hindering him from being truly able to do anything.

So this word I have for you, my friends, is that God is setting you free from your messes. Whether it be addiction, self-image, distractions, misdirection. His Grace is pouring from heaven for us all to access. Do not give up, do not back down. God's love is here ready for you to access. Even if your crap is as nasty as a man covered in garbage, it can be wiped away by the renewing of His Holy Spirit in you. God loves you with so much fervor; I wish there were words to describe it! Especially, my school-bound friends, as this semester begins (or has already begun), do not give up on God, because He NEVER gives up on you, and He is pouring out his grace more than ever this season.

I also was told to go through Colossians last night, and received good encouragement from it! I feel like God wants me to share that encouragement with you! You see, God wants us to focus this week and the weeks to come on love and diligent obedience. "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12-14

I feel like there are many of us who have close friends or know somebody who could use some loving this week. Share that with them. Share the love in unexpected ways with them, so that they may know the Lord!

God bless you all and may his Spirit shine down on you with grace! Again, email me at ubergeetar@gmail.com if you have quesitons and/or specific prayer requests.

Josiah

This is my song in the desert!

So God has been doing some amazing stuff in my life recently. We had a super good time at Winter Conference, and I was blessed with the opportunity to help lead the prayer and worship time in the mornings there. How rejuvenating it is to fill up with the Holy Spirit in the morning in stead of coffee! I had some strong connections with God there that I pray grow and grow everywhere I am; God has shown how much he loves speaking to people and encouraging his followers through the gift of prophecy, and I thank the Holy Spirit for providing its manifestation in my life.

I also gave up (in other words, I'm fasting from) video games for the next two weeks (I've already been in it a week). It's been tough, which is strange, but it shows how much I've let silly games take over my life when I can get into the Bible and receive words from the Lord. Today, what He spoke to me was just some more affirmation of what He's been working in me; that is, praising Him in all aspects of my life, the good, the bad, the ugly, the really good. He's taught me that though life may suck, He is still God and He is worthy of praise, and He is allowing dry seasons to teach me new lessons or prepare me for even more growth in the next spring season.

For instance, He had me read Habakkuk this morning. What a profound book! It is about the prophet Habakkuk's wrestle with why God allows evil to surround him and God's response to that wrestle. It ends beautifully with Habakkuk saying:

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NIV)

You see, though hell seems to be surrounding Habakkuk, he lifts it up to the Lord, knowing that God will provide. It is this faith that I desire all of us to have, for with it, God will move in unimaginable ways! If we can be faithful when we feel like there is nothing good happening around us, He will be faithful to rescue us and continue to grow us in the Spirit! There will be a time soon where I am in a dry spell spiritually, and God is revealing things to me to provide strength in those times! That is worthy of praise!

So I want to encourage you, if you are going through dry spell--and I feel like some of you reading this are--that God is not gone, he is holding his arms open wide to you, so that you can fall in His divine embrace and walk with Him. When we feel deserted, it is because we are not seeing clearly that He has always been right here, waiting for us to step out in faith and trust Him! I encourage you to praise Him no matter what the circumstances. Our God is faithful and good! He has done great things for us, and He will continue to do so!

I pray for an anointing of His Holy Spirit on you so that you can see first hand His handy work! Because when we share Jesus's love with each other, the Bible says it is so that WE may believe, not just those to whom we minister. Signs and wonders follow when we believe and share this belief with others, as I have seen first hand in my life! I thank God for you all and care for you all very much. I hope that these words meant something to you! If you need anything, feel free to email me at ubergeetar@gmail.com

Love,

Joey

A change that shook the universe!

Well hello again, all! I hope everyone had a wonderful, amazing celebration of the birth of our Savior! I have been blessed with a church that wants to press in the fact that, while it is important to celebrate his birth, it is more important to celebrate that he is living in us and died for us!!! For that, I am so extremely thankful!

I had a passage stand out big time to me today in church, Romans 5:18-19 says:

¹⁸Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. ¹⁹For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Read that again for me. How powerful is that stuff? I just wanna eat it up! One man changes the course of history forever, and another corrects it, turns it 180 degrees around, all because He obeyed the will of the Lord (of course, He WAS the Lord, but He WAS a man too, so it counts).

So how can we apply this? What exactly spoke to me?

Well recently, a spirit of fear has been clouding my judgement on sharing my faith and expressing it freely and openly. The desire has been there; I want more than anything to see ASU radically changed by the love of God, but I haven't been acting on it. You see, the acting on what we believe is deeper obedience to God than any praise and worship song or any prayer given. And that's what we can take from this.

Understanding God's will has always been alien to me, but as I get more and more filled with Jesus and his Holy Spirit each day, I now know that prophetic ministry is really not that hard, and is SO accessible to believers, and that gets me excited! Because, as my pastor Rick said today, its deeply prophetic when our testimonies--things that happen to us or near us that are amazing, spiritual, and true--are shared with each other. It edifies everyone, believers and nonbelievers alike, when we shared testimonies. We can do this powerfully through obedience!

To not do anything with my faith would be direct disobedience to what God has fully enabled me to do. I feel like, as this year comes to a close and the next one begins, I am ready for that 180! I already have Jesus rapidly and radically changing my life, so I need to share it!

I encourage you, if you do not struggle with sharing, keep going! You deeply please God! If you are like me and are disobeying God, maybe even unknowingly, do not be discouraged! We're in this together, you and I! Let's dwell in his love and show the world how powerful the Holy Spirit is when it manifests through our obedience! Let's change our hearts! Again, those of you not struggling with this, I encourage you to encourage me and people like me! Invite them along with you (and FORCE them to overcome their fears!), because this world needs to know the man who changed everything ONCE and FOR ALL!

Never forget the abounding love that He has for us! It will help move us forward, as it is helping me understand more and more what His plans are for me, and if you don't know it! Ask! His love has no bounds, no limits, no qualifications! There is nothing we can ever do to get away from that!

If you have any quesitons, again, email me at ubergeetar@gmail.com and I'll be glad to point you in the right direction!

Also I want to plug the next Xtreme Prophetic meeting here in Phoenix. It's going to be at:
Grace Inn
10831 S. 51th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85044

On January 3 from 6pm to 9pm, 6-6:30 will be corporate intercession, and the speakers will start at 6:30! I hope to see you there for some amazing time with Jesus and edifying each other in the name of Jesus!

Love you all! (but not as much as HE does!!!!)

Josiah

Prophecy (oooo scary word!)

1 Corinthians 14:1 says "Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy." ... verse 3-4: "but everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort... he who prophesies edifies the church."

So if Paul is proclaiming this complete and total importance of this spiritual gift, why is it that so many believers do not practice it? Perhaps that is the wrong question. Why are so many believers scared to say the verb "prophesy?" Perhaps neither of these are the wrong question. I feel like, until recently, I have never seen anyone operate in the prophetic, or at least nobody has called it that. Or perhaps many people do not know what it is or what it does for others.

Prophesy is a way for us believers to tell others what God want's them to hear; Prophesy is a way to hear (then tell) words of encouragement directly from the Creator; Prophesy is a way to feel the heart of God and to share it with a person or people; "he who prophesies edifies the church." It's not always telling the future, as I know I used to associate the word with that, though it happens.

I feel like believers do it all the time. I know I have tried before asking God to reveal his wishes to me. But I've always doubted the first thoughts that come to my mind as my own in stead of His. And I know people in the church do it all the time. But why does nobody call it what it is, or operate in it more frequently?

This Spiritual Gift is real, folks. Its available to all believers. I have first hand had words spoken to me by other people that only someone REALLY close to me (as in only me or God) could know. A girl I have NEVER met in my life, never told her my name Joey, let alone my whole name, approached me and encouraged me about the EXACT thing I had been struggling with in my heart. A guy who had never before talked to my girlfriend more than first greetings told her how her artistic abilities (which we had never mentioned to anyone!) were going to be used for The Kingdom! This stuff is real and alive in all of us! I even made my first prophecy over my (unknown at the time because my eyes were closed and he came and sat in front of me) friend Ricky about how God is going to bless his family with children! Which is the EXACT thing he has been praying about and wrestling with for the last 3 years! It's real, folks, and we're SUPPOSED to practice it (Paul URGES us to!), as it edifies other believers and shares deep love within the Church that I feel many churches lack.

The Bible says that there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. The same Spirit that resides in me resides in all believers. The same spirit that resides in even the most prophetic of believers resides in all believers, and it just takes faith and practice to manifest the gift of prophecy.

So as you finish this up, shoot me an email @ ubergeetar@gmail.com. I wanna hear your thoughts. Why do you think so few churches these days practice the gift of prophesy? Do you think people are scared to say such a weird word? Does the church operate in it more than I think? Do people associate this God-given gift with demonic psychic ability? Because I can tell you this much. I seek first the KINGDOM OF GOD, the LOVE OF JESUS, and this is of HIS SPIRIT. This is given to me, and given to all believers, thru faith and by grace. I love you all. I hope this is thought provoking, and I hope to have good conversations!

God Bless you and keep you safe,

Josiah

WOW!

I've officially decided that I'm terrible at blogging. If any of you read this, you will agree. But man, Jesus has been doing so much amazing stuff in my life recently. I overcome temptation like its nothing (I don't wanna be prideful about this, it is of course, because of Jesus and the power of his Holy Spirit). I am super joyful, especially when I'm in His presence or studying about Him. I really don't look at school as "get the best grades possible" anymore; it's simply "glorify His name as much as possible" now. The stress level is down because I have a peace that surpasses knowledge thanks to the Holy Spirit. It's all been amazing and songwriting worthy!

I have had the amazing opportunity of being baptized in the Holy Spirit by some good friends of mine two Sundays ago, and that really set the tone for these last two weeks. I have found a new church, where I think I will call my home this winter and next semester, where everybody is flowing in Jesus' love and expressing it so freely and joyfully. Nobody is held back and it's so alive! There are no awkward moments, there are no reluctant feelings coming into it. The last (and first) service I was at lasted 3 hours long and it felt so quick! I didn't even notice!

I feel so happy to be alive and so joyful! Nikki and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary this last week and that was amazing too! I think God is really moving in our relationship and our lives and it's so fun! Every day I just feel complete longing to be in God's thick, tangible presence, and I feel like I have him walking by me the whole way! There is something amazing about being hand in hand with Jesus, for those of you feeling down or on a plateau, I'd be willing to chat! You can shoot me an email at ubergeetar@gmail.com; I'll be happy to reply. There is so much the Holy Spirit has to offer, I just feel the fruit of The Spirit manifesting in my life and I hope to be able to manifest the Gifts that it freely gives too!

Until I post a new song, God bless you and keep you safe.

Joey