More Lord!!!!!!!

So yesterday Pastor Tom was talking about the Lords Prayer, specifically, "Your Kingdom Come Your will be done."

First thing - It's the Fathers will that His Kingdom come. So saying, "Your kingdom come" and saying "Your will be done" are pretty much saying the same thing. Evangelism, personal transformation, new levels of experiencing the Fathers love, healing, and miracles are all a part of advancing God's Kingdom. So first thing Jesus asks for in the Lords Prayer, right after addressing the heavenly Father, is that His Kingdom would come. Luke 12:32, which is one of my favorite verses in the bible says, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." That's pretty much just awesome.

Second thing - Bring your Kingdom/Come Holy Spirit are saying the same thing. The Gospels talk about things like, The Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, and bringing the Kingdom. After the Gospels, the rest of the New Testament (specifically the Pauline letters) focuses more on the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes in Power, God's Kingdom breaks through and is pressed forward. So when we pray, "Come Holy Spirit" What we are asking for is that God's Kingdom would come.

Third thing - be filled continually. Many people think that because we have encountered the Holy Spirit that we don't need to keep asking for more. Ephesians 5:18 says, "be filled with the Holy Spirit" The Greek speaks more to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. D.L. Moody was asked why we needed to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit when we received Holy Spirit at conversion. His response was, "Because I leak." Yeah. Me too.

Fourth thing - More Lord. Jesus was the only human who walked on the earth that had the full measure of Holy Spirit. The rest of us need to ask for more. That's not to say we're ungrateful for anything God has already done, but we want more. My son loves pancakes. LOVES THEM. He's out of control about his pancakes. He's woken me up several times in the morning with his hands on my cheeks and his nose close to mine saying, "Daddy, PANCAKES!!!!" The more he eats them (and eat them he does) the more he loves them and wants more of them. That's how it should be with us and our desire for the Holy Spirit! We get a taste and we just want more, and more, and more. We partner with the Father in his desire to see HIS KINGDOM COME.

Matthew 11:12 - 12 - And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force.

More Lord!

El Morro

So like every other pretentious (look it up) person on the planet, I've decided to start a blog.  Here's how the thought process went...

-the world will be a better place if more people knew what the heck is going on in my brain

-I'm prepared to tell everyone...but no one asks.  I wonder why not?

-There must be another way...I could shout it out in quiet coffee shops, or print up literature.....Or I could start a blog.

Here I am.  I'm sure you all understand.  

Disclaimer: I will most likely have two very different kinds of entries in here.  The first being serious and the second being lighthearted, sarcastic, and meaningless.  

First an explanation.  El Morro.  What is it?

El Morro is a Puerto Rican fort that was built in San Juan.  It was built in the mid 1500's and helped protect Puerto Rico from sea attacks for a few hundred years.  Now it's like a museum.  You can walk through it and they even have a little shop where you can buy mementos.  Even though I'm the whitest guy I know, I am half Puerto Rican (Mom's side).  My wife and I visited Puerto Rico three years ago and I got the opportunity to visit El Morro.  I fell in love with it.  It had a majestic old feel to it.  From the top you could see for miles out to sea and view most of Old San Juan.  Pretty sweet.  

I've been married to an amazing beautiful woman named Betsy for the past 9 years.  We have two awesome kids.  Jessica (7) and Jaden (2). I'm also a youth pastor for the Vineyard Church in Elgin, IL.  The past year or so I've felt more and more my responsibility as protector.  Not only over my family, but over my students.  I am the first line of defense over those under my care, and I will do whatever it takes to protect them and keep them from harm.  Kind of like the people manning that fort.  So there you are.  

El Morro.