update about the conference

Ok, I went to this IHOP conference a couple of weekends ago and I have been putting off the update about it because well...it’s hard to describe. I really can’t find the word (or words) to really express my thoughts or feelings about it in the way that I really feel. I am glad that I went, very glad, but it was just A LOT. I mean A LOT! It was very challenging teaching! For instance, I started taking notes and by the time that we were about 10 minutes into the teaching, I had to stop because I couldn’t really get all that they were saying and take notes about it. It was like if I didn’t write the exact way that they worded it then it wasn’t going to have the same affect. Have you ever felt like that? Like all you could do was just listen? Well, that’s what happened.

It was everything that it said that it was going to be, specifically this part – “…Only when the church returns to our "first love" will we regain our spiritual authority and once again become an agent of change in the earth." So, that’s been the main thing that has stuck with me from the conference teaching. To say that it was good seems kinda weird, it just doesn’t fit, but I am so glad that I went. There was a call to fast and pray in deeper measure and that is always a sobering, yet challenging message. Who couldn’t do more in that area? Who couldn’t claim that is an area in which we all could weaken ourselves to see God’s strength enrich and empower our lives? I know that God challenged me in this area of self-discipline.

There were also classes offered for the children. Not baby-sitting services, but real classes for the kids! They learned about praying for the nations and seeing God moving through cultures and countries that haven’t seen the gospel. I saw two-year old toddlers praying for India! It was amazing! Very encouraging!

So, it was a “wake up” kind of conference. Not at all like anything I’ve been to in the past. I recommend it to all but I just wish that I had been more prepared to receive all that was a part of the teaching. Thank you for praying for me, if you did!

God's Names

"And those who know Your NAME will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You."

~ Psalm 9:10

If you know who God is, maybe it's easier for you to call out to Him based on His character. Yield to who God is and it will change the way that you live and how you pray!

• El
• This most fundamental form of the word "God" in Hebrew appears in the Tanakh or Hebrew bible. It is typically used in the poetic passages, and appears over 200 times in the Old Testament, mostly in Psalms and the Book of Job.

• Elohim
• This word is a plural noun. It appears over 2,500 times in the Old Testament. It is most associated with God as "The Creator" and appears as the third word in the Hebrew text in Genesis and throughout the Hebrew bible. God as the Creator, Preserver, Transcendent, Mighty and Strong. Jonah use Elohim almost exclusively.

• El Elyon
• The Most High God. Referenced eight times in the Psalms as well as numerous times in other books of the Old Testament.

• El Olam
• The Everlasting God, or God Everlasting. Forever.

• El Roi
• The God Who Sees. Hagar, in Genesis, used this name for God.
  El Shaddai:The All Sufficient One, or God All Sufficient.

• Adonai
• Lord or Master. Used over 300 times in the Old Testament.

• Jehovah (Yahweh or abbreviated YHWH)
• LORD (all capitals), the covenant name of God. It occurs over 6,800 times in the Old Testament.

• Jehovah-jireh
• The LORD will Provide. In Genesis 22:14: "Abraham called the name of that place "The LORD Will Provide", as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided."

• Jehovah-mekoddishkem
• LORD whom Sanctifies. From Leviticus 20:8: "You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you."

• Jehovah-nissi
• The LORD is my banner. In Exodus 17:15: "Moses built an altar and named it "The LORD is My Banner;"

• Jehovah-raah
• The LORD is my Shepherd. From Psalm 23: "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want."

• Jehovah-rapha
• The LORD as your Healer. In Exodus 15:26: "And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer."

• Jehovah-sabaoth
• The LORD of Hosts. From Psalm 46:7: "The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold."

• Jehovah-shalom
• The LORD is Peace. In Judges 6:24: "Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it The LORD is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites."

• Jehovah-shammah
• The LORD is There. From Ezekiel 48:35: "The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, 'The LORD is there.'"

• Jehovah-tsidkenu
• The LORD is our Righteousness. In Jeremiah 33:16: "In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness."

• Yesha:(Y'shua)
• "Savior" Isa. 43:3. Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew "Joshua." The latter is a contraction of Je-Hoshua. ("Christ", the anointed one is equivalent to the Hebrew Maschiah, or Messiah).

• Immanual
• GOD with Us. From Matthew 1:23: "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US."

• The WORD
• The WORD is God. In John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

• Alpha and Omega
• The Beginning and the End, The First and the Last. From Revelation 1:8: "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." In Revelation 21:6: 'Then He said to me, "It is done I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost." From Revelation 22:13: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." In Revelation 2:8: "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this."

• JESUS
• THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES!!

What a wild past couple of weeks it been on the blog! That is an understatement! Well, as Josiah would say "Onward and upward!"

This weekend I will be attending an IHOP (International House of Prayer) conference here is St. Louis. I'm totally excited! There are still available spots. It's free but you must register! So, if you are interested click here to register. Here's the just of the conference:

"There is a desperate cry emerging today in the barren, Western church for intimate, tangible, and life-changing encounters with the living God. Status-quo Christianity has hopelessly failed to answer broken and empty hearts and despair-filled communities. Orchestrating within the church a radical return to passionate love for Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is paving the way for unified prayer, unprecedented revival, and glorious transformation of hearts, cities, and nations. Only when the church returns to our "first love" will we regain our spiritual authority and once again become an agent of change in the earth."

Sounds awesome right? Well, I'm anticipating it to be. I'll let you know how it goes . . .