Relearning Everything

I'm pretty sure the whole process of life itself is to learn what you thought you knew all over again. You take what you think you know, and actually learn what it means for real. Over and over again. That has been eighty percent of this whole DTS for me. Taking things I know as truth, and taking them to make them a reality I can now live out of. From possibility to reality. Pulling the dream world into the real world. Because God lives in a "dream world." Us humans just refer to it as the supernatural. I believe what Walter Wink said: "History belongs to the intercessors who believe the future into being."

Last Saturday we spent 7 hours of travel time from Mobay to Kingston. It's almost across the whole Island of Jamaica. We magically fit 17 people into a 15 passenger van. It didn't feel very magical, but we all got here in one piece. We had the joy of staying at a town house on the outskirts of Kingston (which is the Capitol of Jamaica). It is very nice, but hard with so many people inside a single house. Let's just say alone time is more valuable than a trained T-rex who happens to be your pet and a vegetarian. We got to spend our days at the Jamaica House Of Prayer (JaHOP). We learned about using the Bible to pray, how worship is an overflow of our relationship with God, and how to actually meditate.

I cannot use words to describe how much the worship at JaHOP is one of the most beautiful things to enter my ears and exit my lips. It is no surprise to believe that worship will be the currency of Heaven. I especially love spontaneous worship. If you don't know, spontaneous worship is when you simply sing out a chorus to tell God how amazing He is. It is a song you've never heard before and is usually a song God "downloads" into your heart. That is what I believe music was created to be: an outpouring of the heart through the lips; with instruments. That is the worship I am most passionate about. And it was amazing to experience that every day at JaHOP.

The teaching was also very good. It was mostly facts I know, but facts that needed to impact my heart and change my life. The most simple things are the most profound. Like, worship is just an expression of our relationship with God. Prayer is a two way conversation
Or the fact that Jesus loves me. I will never stop being taken aback at those truths. My passion is to allow those truths to grip my heart and never leave my life the same. The glory of those truths is that when they imbed themselves within your soul, your whole life reacts and is changed. Do not expect me to come back to Colorado the same. Because these truths are changing me every day.

Before we left JaHOP for evangelism, we watched this video called Sons of God. It is about healing and evangelism. God still heals people today because He loves them. The purpose of healing is to tell others of God's love for them, and show them that God cares enough about them to actually fix their sicknesses. So we went out into the streets in Kingston with that on our minds. Now, my group didn't heal anyone, but evangelism was still good. We prayed for people and encouraged them to be bold in their faith. Then we worshiped on the streets of Kingston and declared over Jamaica that it would conform to God's purposes. It was also a time to remind me. I was reminded that I know of God's healing power, but I don't act with that knowledge in mind. God gives knowledge and then we are accountable to that knowledge and ought to live out of it. It was a reminder that I have so much, it is foolish and selfish of me to keep it all to myself. If I claim to love people, I will show them the love of God. It is something I need to learn to live in.

One of my favorite teachings was on meditation. Before I came to JaHOP, I didn't know how to meditate. Real meditation is taking a verse and reasoning through it with God. It is basically a Bible study with God. I wish I could tell you all he told me, but that is literally pages full of information. It is one of my favorite things ever.

On Friday we got to help JaHOP with an event they call ignite. We went to Calabar high school and had a time of worship, prayer, and testimonies. I got to share my testimony. Can I just let you know of how awesome God is for a moment? I used to have a fear of public speaking. A real, sincere, can't-keep-my-thoughts-together fear. But God just took it away within these past 6 months and I can now speak to a crowd without shaking and wanting to sit down RIGHT NOW. So it was cool to share my testimony and tell the students of the reason of missions. ("Missions exists because worship doesn't" - John Piper. God wants everyone to know His love. If people don't go and tell others of a God worthy of worship, they can't know God or worship Him. Because they have never heard His name, they are missing the whole purpose of life itself.) It is also amazing to see Jamaicans pray. They pray with such passion, I love it.

We also got to go to a conference called "God Centred." The conference talked about how if we actually believe in Jesus our lives should be changed. We should live radically different life than just a "Good lifestyle" but God's lifestyle. Not to live Christianity on our terms, but on God's terms. A call to Christ, nothing less. Depending on the Holy Spirit, and allowing Him to change us. I enjoyed it and was challenged by it.

Also, Karissa has been at an evangelism conference in Melbourne Australia. Told White was there and he shared a lot. Karissa shared with me how evangelism should just be an overflow of God's love within us. I've actually learned a lot just by what she told me about it. It complemented my weeks teaching really well. It's really cool to see God work like that. God is awesome. Karissa is doing really well, of you are wondering. She's growing into an amazing woman of God. I'm so proud of all that God is doing in her life. And I'm proud of how she is responding to God's love and living out of it. I'm dumbstruck that I get to be pursuing this beautiful woman of God. There are moments when I find life almost too good to be true. Yet, it is true. Leave it up to God to make things too good to be true the reality I get to live out.

Keep praying for me and my DTS. Passion and pursuit needs greater unity, especially with outreach coming up so fast. I cannot believe it is a week into November. Outreach is coming up so fast. Also pray that the changes God is working in life will not fade but only grow stronger with time. Thanks!

In Christ,
Timothy David