The Sound of Playing Children is Important

Journal Entry 12-14-11

A childlike value system.

The sound of playing children is important. In Matt 18:4 Jesus talks about humbling ourselves as one of the children. He said that those who do that will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. We can't enter the kingdom of heaven without being converted and becoming like children. We can't even get in without becoming like a kid. I don't get it. I mean, I kinda do but.... not really. I mean I know what the words mean that Jesus is saying here but....somehow I still don't get it if I'm honest with myself.

What is it about kids that Jesus was talking about? I really need to know and I think we all do. It would be terrible to live my life thinking that becoming a crotchety, self righteous, theologian is the picture of greatness for us when all along the goal is being like a child. Jesus, in the same breath, with the same kid in their midst says "woe to the world because of offenses. Is He highlighting the unoffendedness of children? Sure. It looks kinda like it. I need help I guess because it looks like Im' a bit offended at the crotchety, theologian types. God, please help me. What about the children is the Lord highlighting? How can we be converted and become like a child. I want in and I want to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I want a great reward and I'm not bashful about that the same way a child isn't bashful about what they want and what they need.

A child looks to his parents for provision, for shelter, for teaching, for love. He just has the expectation that these things will come from them. A child looks to his parents to meet every need. A child's position in a family isn't earned by that child. Children respond well to established boundaries. They thrive where there are clearly defined boundaries. They are good at following when lead properly. They are little sponges. They take in everything around them. They are imitators of their parents. They learn by watching their parents.

God, help us become like children. Help me. I want to be converted. I want to be like a child. I want what Jesus was referring to. Give me eyes to see what Jesus was talking about it. I want it. I need it. If being like a child is the way into the kingdom and the measure of greatness, then I need to know as much as possible about it. I need to be a professional on the subject of children and being like them. I need to figure out what Jesus was talking about. If my theology takes me from being childlike, I need to abandon it for what's really important in the eyes of God.

I want to be simple. I want to be like a child. I need the value system of a child. God give me a child like value system. I want to humble myself like a child. I want Jesus' idea of true greatness and not the worthless religious robes of false righteousness that's currently acceptable in our smug little American/Christian culture we've established and called the kingdom of God. I want to not be offended and angry at the shenanigans anymore. I want that simplicity that children have. I like the bluntness of their speech and the honesty they speak with. The innocence in their eyes. I want that. I want the chlidlikeness that gets me to greatness in God's kingdom. I want the stuff Jesus is looking for in a person. I want that.

What does a child value?

They value quality time with their parents and with each other. They value play. They value the good things of life. They value dessert. They value good food.

Lord, what were You getting at when you had that little boy you set in the midst of the disciples? Give me eyes to see. Give us eyes to see. I really want to understand You. I want get what You're saying. I want to be found faithful giving myself to You and my neighbor in such a way that gets me great rewards on the day I stand before You at the end of my life.

Give me the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Jesus. In Jesus' name.

M@

The gift of today and value systems

Every breath we breathe is a gift from God. Now is a gift. Tomorrow never comes for anyone. Yesterday is a memory. It's always a perpetual state of today. We can choose how to spend today. We can waste it, complaining and bickering about and pursuing what we don't have. Or we can be grateful for the gift of today. We can come at today with a grateful heart and joyfully unwrap the present God has given us. ;)

Let us choose today to be grateful for what we have and live from the over flow to reach out to those who need help around us. There are thousands that died yesterday that never got to see today. All of them are looking at their lives with new eyes and seeing how they could have better spent their time on the earth. I had an experience a few months ago that brought that kind of perspective to me and it has changed the way I view life. It is one of my most precious gifts from God to date after the blood of Jesus and my wife.

I had been in a season where I felt the Lord "drawing me away to the wilderness" to speak to me about some things that are on His heart. After getting back from a ministry trip to Reno, NV, I found a retreat center in the middle of nowhere and I set out to encounter Jesus and hear what He had to say to me. So a few days after my wife and I's 6th anniversary (and my 29th birthday) I borrowed a car and set out to a rural area in southern Kansas.

I was driving down the highway praying as the Lord reminded me about the dreams of our heart as it relate to how we want to live and raise our family and I began to see I needed to be really intentional about pursuing that vision for our lives and not get distracted by other good things. I got to my exit and began to apply my brakes and to my absolute horror, the brake pedal went straight to the floor with almost no stopping power. (I had left the e-brake on from when I had gotten gas and drove 50+ miles on it. Don't do that. It makes your brakes stop working fyi. ;) I went to reach for the e-brake and it was already all the way up! My life flashed before my eyes as I thought I was going to die!

There was no phone signal, my gps thought I was in the forest and the brakes on the car were failing! I was freaking out and suddenly I saw my life with new eyes.

Well the car did stop somehow (evidence that God is real and my deliverer.) and I somehow made it out to the retreat center. I met the care keeper at the front of the property. I called my wife and told her what had happened and I was lead into the cabin I was to stay in while I was there. The property was close to 100 acres. It was huge and in the middle of nowhere. No cell signal, no internet, nothing to save me from encountering God and no one to talk to about what had just happened minutes prior but God. I was freaked out with adrenaline pumping through my veins and my heart beating a mile a minute, my life flashing before my eyes and then, the next thing I know, I'm alone in a room in the middle of nowhere surrounded by forest and darkness with no one to talk to but God. Being along with God sounds really romantic and holy and spiritual and all that but under the right circumstances, it is quite unnerving.

I was alone. With God. My life flashing before my eyes. The only question that was resounding within my mind was "What's important to you right now?" Had I been the one to judge my life had I died that night, I would have called it wasted. I spent all my time on building my ministry and seeking out some kind of destiny. I spent most of my time for things like MacBooks, iPhones, guitars and things while I neglected my family. My value system was so backwards and I was living according to my true value system. I had valued, my career and things more than my wife and my kids. I've spent my life building on a faulty foundation. Had I actually died that day, I would have called my life a waste based on that one point.

It was clear what the Lord was bringing to my attention. My value system was (and still is) in great need of serious reformation.

All that to say today, let us evaluate our value systems today. What do we really value? What takes up most of our hours in the day? We can tell what we really value when we look at the way spend the hours in our days. What takes up our time? How we answer that question will tell us what really matters to us. Today, let us be honest with ourselves and ask; Are we really living for what's really important to us? Are we willing to stand by our value systems with no regret if we were to die today and stand before the Lord? If we were to die today, would we be happy with the way we spent this life? Would we have regret choices that we have made?

Today, let us take some time, a few minutes if that's what you've got and longer if you can and let's ask God to give us a view of our lives. Let's ask Him to give us eyes to see our value systems for what they truly and to give us grace to make the necessary changes that we might live with no regrets on the day we stand before Him. That day is coming sooner than all of us think. It's coming today for all of us. The day we die will be today. Tomorrow never comes. It's always today. Let's be grateful today for the gift that the present moment is and not waste it with worthless whining and chasing frivolous vanity. You are going to die today. How are you going to live the rest of your life? You made it!!! Your alive! Now live this day like it's your last. One day, it will be.

Bless y'all,

M@

Some tools to help ya:

- Take hold of a few minutes of your life and get alone with God, a piece of paper and a pen. (Or an open, blank TextEdit (notepad for y'all pc users) doc if your like myself.)

- Picture yourself at the end of your life and you are standing before God, your maker, sustainer, redeemer and everlasting Father.

- Then write out what you want Him to say about your life and the way you spent it. Take your time and write until your lil hearts content.

- Then take an honest look at your life and the way you spent your time. What are some practical ways you can order your life according to the testimony you want over your life when it's said and done.

- Write those things down and DO IT!!!!!!!!! You are going to fail. Over and over and over again. I call that kinda stuff education. Every time you get up and sit yourself off, God call that faithfulness and He will reward you for it. You'll back when it's all said and done and you'll have way less regret if you just keep reforming your value systems to what's really important to you and never give up.

Bless y'all!

M@

Living like an illegal immigrant with a US citizenship.

I was cooking eggs this morning for the family before they all woke up and I was talking with the Lord. I asked Him about being a new creation when I was baptized and born again. Was I really born again and am I actually a new creation since then? Why then do I still struggle and why does it not feel like I'm a new creation? Are we actually a new creation in Christ when we are born again? Is it real or is it not real? Am I a new creation in Christ and if so, why aren't so many people living like they have God living inside them? Why is it that the majority of Christians in America are so miserable and mean to people that need the God they not only serve but the God the actually abides in them?

It's been a season of asking a lot of questions in case ya can't tell.

The answer I got as I cooked those eggs, was "It's like a Mexican living in America. He thinks that he is still an immigrant but he's got a citizenship and he's had it his whole life. He was born an American citizen but he was told that he was an immigrant his whole life by those who raised him and by everyone that surrounds them. The citizenship was purchased and yet he still lives his life being afraid that immigration will come and take him from his job and employer that treats him like a slave. He doesn't know that he can have more or that the fight he's engaged in isn't necessary. He is free and has rights to things he doesn't partake of because he doesn't realize what's available to him. That he is no longer a foreigner but a citizen. He lives like an immigrant because in his mind tells him that that's who he is. He doesn't see or realize that he doesn't have to live like that anymore. Once he sees the truth of who he is and what's at his disposal, he will live differently but there is a process of changing his thinking and getting used to the truth of who he is and there is a process to changing his thinking and adjusting it to the truth. He's going to learn over time to rest and not fear the authorities the way he used to. He will see he has more opportunities available to him and he will live differently.

I wanted to take a minute to edify any readers that are believers in Jesus and yet live as the immigrant in the above illustration.

You have been made new. You are no longer a sinner. That sinner died when you were baptized. He was left in that grave with Jesus and you were raised with Jesus when He came out of that grave. (Read Romans 5 and Romans 6) Your sins were washed away and you are now clean and free to relate to God as his son or daughter with no hindrance. The wall between the two of you no longer exists. God is approachable and there is an open door to His office for you to come in at any time and talk to Him like a father speaks with a son.

You've been filled with the Holy Spirit. That means that God actually made His home inside of you. That means He believes in you. You are no longer a sinner. The blood of Jesus has washed you clean from all that sin and you have been made clean. You are now the dwelling place of God and the place where people come to encounter God. You are His house. He lives in you. People come to you to encounter God the way people come to your house to encounter you. He lives in you. Nothing is impossible to you because His name is Immanuel and He lives in you. With God, nothing is impossible. He is with you. He lives in you. That means you are the carrier of the solution to very problem man kind could ever face.

You are now His body. (Romans 6:3) That means that you are His hands and His feet on this earth. You are to be the ones executing the will of God on the earth. His will isn't spooky and mysterious and hard to discern. It's very simple. He wants dead people to be made alive. He wants those that are prisoners to be set free. He wants justice for the poor. He wants hope in the nations and His plan for pulling that off is found when you look into the mirror. He decided to cleanse YOU with His blood and live inside you. You are the answer to the prayers of your suffering neighbors. You are the answer to the prayers of the poor on the earth. You are the answer to the prayers of the single mother up the road that needs help. You are the answer to the prayers of the hopeless. You are the answer to the prayers of the orphans in the earth. You are the answer to the prayers of the suffering. You are God's solution. God living in man. God living with man. Fellowship with God is the answer and yoga re to embody that. He washed you clean and now lives inside you. If you know that God needs to show up somewhere, then GO! He's with you! He lives in YOU!!!!!!!!

You are the light of the world! (Matthew 5:14) If there is darkness in a city or nation, you are the answer!!! GO! and it will no longer be dark! You are the light! If it's dark, it's because you aren't there! GO!!!! God is with you! You are the light of the world! The world will see the light by what we do! The darkness will be dispelled by the way we live our lives. let us go and live in light of the truth of who God is and who we are in God and not settle for anything less than the fullness of what Jesus purchased with His pain, His blood and His tears!!! May the Lamb of God receive the reward of His suffering!!!! Let's live a life that's worth Christ dying for! Let's put on display the truth about the fact that we are made new and washed clean by the precious blood of the Lamb of God!

We aren't to live lives of mediocrity and apathy! Not when we've have been bought with such a high price of the suffering of the Son of God. We need not live as a slave to sin and sinners!!! We have been made new! Let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds and live lives that shine a light so bright that all who see us will know that there is a God and that He is with us and willing to wash them clean!!! That the Lamb would receive the reward of His suffering!!!!!!

M@

The Spirit of The Lord God us Upon Me: The Purpose For The Anointing of The Holy Spirit Upon His Church

Isaiah 61

9-5-2011

I had a dream that I was at the Burning Man gathering. In the dream, there was a room full of “burners” and there were Christians mixed in with them. I began to preach Isaiah 61. I began to declare why the Spirit of the Lord was upon us. As I began to preach, all the burners began to leave. They didn’t have time for another preachers sermon. Very soon, all that was left were the Christians. In the dream, I was devastated because I had come to draw the “burners” to Jesus and now I was “preaching to the choir”. I immediately understood that it wasn’t my job to preach Isaiah 61 to people that don’t know the Love of Jesus but to preach it to the church, that the church is to do Isaiah 61 for those that don’t yet know Him and in that context the lost would turn to Him.

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” -Isaiah 61: 1-3

“He has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor.....”

Bridling Our Tongue

Preaching requires the skillful use of the tongue. It is what James is talking about when he teaches about the tongue in James chapter 3 (read it).

What are glad tidings?

In Luke 2:10 those glad tidings were that the deliverer of mankind that would save us all from our sins was born. The war was beginning to end. The war between man and his creator. The good tidings in Luke 2 were that the Messiah, the deliverer of Israel was born. There was one born who could set captives free and wash away the sins of mankind. The angel of The Lord told them that He brought them good tidings of great joy. Great joy was associated with these good tidings. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is on us, as Jesus’ church so that we could bring a message of good news, a message of hope. If this what we are using our mouth to do? Do we use our mouths to bring hope to hopeless people? Or do we use what God gave us for another reason? Do our words bring hope in the hearts of the hearers?

Another way of saying glad tidings, is good news. They are one in the same and they basically mean the same thing.

“As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country” -Proverbs 25:25

As Jesus’ church, we are anointed for the purpose of bringing good news to weary souls and our words are to be to them as a cup of cold water to a weary soul. The lost around us are weary under the tyranny of sin and the oppression of the harsh task master of the spirit of the age. We, as Jesus’ church, those that Jesus has delegated authority to, are to be the ones loosing them from the prison system of sin and to bring them the glad tidings of the Savior of mankind. To bring them the good news that there is a deliverer that can set them free and that they don’t have to live under the oppression of the powers of sin and death. We can tell when we are doing this right when our words are like cold water to a weary soul. I want my words to have that kind of effect on everyone around me. This is our calling and one of the primary reasons for the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Christian, do your words have that kind of effect on lost, weary souls? Do your words bring relief and hope to those around you? Or do they break them down? Are your words that of the God that so loved the world that He gave all the wealth of His own house, His only begotten Son that they may be saved? Or are your words that of the accuser of the brethren? Are your words furthering the interests of Jesus Christ or are they furthering the interests of that satan that wants all lost souls to burn in hell for eternity? When you examine your life, do you look more like a liberator of the lost or a prison guard, holding the keys to the freedom of lost souls and pointing your finger at them, thus keeping them in prison and marring the character of the God you say you represent? It’s time to repent and return to the Lord our God as a church that this broken generation would know the Love of their Savior through us.

Why is it that every time we try and picture a revival preacher that saves souls, they are mean and angry looking. Why are they always yelling? Where do we get this picture from? The last time I read my bible, the only time Jesus talked to and related to lost people the we do, that is being really mean to them and making them feel bad about themselves is when He was speaking to the hypocritical religious leaders of His day that named the name of God and totally marred His character. The Spirit of the Lord wasn’t on Jesus so that He could point fingers at and be mean to lost people like we have been doing.

The Spirit of the Lord was on Him and is on us so that we could be the answer to the poverty that has stricken the human race. The Spirit of the Lord is on us so that we can in turn, use that strength to serve the lost and lowly. It’s not so that we can be known, but so that the heart of God would be made known. It’s not to build our reputation but to display the goodness of the God who’s name is Love that those that don’t know Him might turn to Him and find live. That the Son of Man would receive the reward of His suffering!

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon us so that we can have what it takes to truly comfort those who mourn around us.

The lost have no strength to deliver themselves. They need a deliverer. This is why the Holy Spirit has anointed us. That the lost would be delivered. That the poor would be comforted. That those stuck in prisons would go free in the name of Jesus.

The Church = The Light of the World

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. -Matthew 5:14-16

The Church = The Light of the World

In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus calls those that followed Him up the side of a mountain, “the light of the world”. The people He was speaking to were the first followers of Jesus. They could be called the first Christians. The earliest church, even before the church in Acts. Some of these very people on they the side of the mountain in Matthew 5, 6 and 7 were no doubt present in the Acts 2 prayer meeting. Jesus is also called “the Light of the world in John 1:9, 8:12, 9:5, 12:46. In John 8:12 Jesus is found forgiving the sins of a woman caught in adultery. In John 9:5 Jesus is healing a blind mans eyes. In Isaiah 42:6 God is speaking of Jesus, the Messiah and refers to Him as “A Light to the gentiles”. The word gentiles is interchangeable with the word, nations. It could also be said in Isaiah 42:6 that Jesus was called the light of the world or a light to the nations. Even in this very context, the function of the “the Light of the World” is opening blind eyes and bringing out of the prison house and establishing justice and righteousness.

Bill Johnson says in one of His books that “Jesus is the most normal Christian in the bible”. As followers of Jesus, we are also imitators of Him. As He is, so are we in the world. We are to accurately re-present Him to a hurting and broken world. This is our primary role as His church. We are the very answer to the darkness in our cities and nations. When light is present, there is no fight with darkness. When you turn the light on in your house, there is no struggle, there is no warfare. When the sun rises in the morning, the darkness is immediately dispelled. Shadows exist only when there is something in the way of the light shining. When we put our light under a basket. When we, for whatever reason refuse to let our light shine, darkness prevails. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

God is glorified in us by us doing what we have been told to do. People will celebrate our God when we do good works in His name.

If darkness is prevailing in a city or region, it's because the church isn't letter her light shine. Once the light starts shining, the war is over. If the church is doing what it is called to do, the city will reflect that accordingly. Therefore the level of darkness in a city is a direct witness to the level of negligence of the church to walk in it's calling as light. That isn't to say that a city with an obedient church won't have lost people in it but it is to say that prevalent darkness is a sign of negligence.

The word of God is true. It says in 2nd Chronicles 7:12-14 that if the heavens are shut ,darkness is prevalent and famine and pestilence run rampant, it is the people of God who need to repent and turn from their wickedness. Not the unsaved people that don't know Him. If His name isn't made great, it is because we haven't been making it great by obeying His word and relating to the world as the word of God clearly teaches us to. It is in the context of the people of God returning to Him and committing to obey what He has told them to do that God heals the land that once was plagued by His judgements.

It is impossible to impart darkness. You can hinder light from entering but once the decision is made to let your light shine, the fight is decided. Light always wins and there is no argument. As the church of Jesus Christ, we are condemned to victory. If we would just get in the ring, we would be victorious and darkness would no longer reign unchallenged in our cities. All warfare from the enemy is only to serve to distract us from our place of unstoppable victory. The enemy many times keeps the church distracted by chasing little pip-squeek demons around. This keeps us from walking in our true identity which is victorious over darkness by default. how then should we live knowing that we have been ordained by God to be an unstoppable force for the advancement of God’s Kingdom. We have been commissioned by Him to go forth in this calling while we have breath in our lungs. Woe to us if we neglect this calling for any reason. There is no good excuse for being timid in this age, knowing that God is for us. May the Lamb receive the reward of His sufferings!!!!

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me...........now what?

After Jesus was in the wilderness fasting in the desert, He arose from that place and went straight to the synagogue (Luke 4). He was handed the scroll and read from Isaiah 61:1-2. He declared that He was the fulfillment of this scripture. If we go back and read the whole chapter of Isaiah 61, we will get a very full description of Jesus’ ministry while He was on the earth and, knowing that we as the church and as followers of Jesus, are called to imitate Jesus in every way, this our job description as well. We are the light of the World. The Spirit of the The Lord God is upon us and it is for a very practical reasons.

When we are born again, we receive the Holy Spirit so that we can accurately re-present Jesus to those around us. We are given the grace to walk as Jesus walked (1st John 2:6) and being that we are given grace we are also now expected to live in light of the grace that was given to us. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon us so that we would have the power to bring everyone we come in contact with into an encounter with God.

In Isaiah 61:1-3 there are 5 reasons that the Spirit of the Lord is upon us. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon us to:

preach,

give,

deliver,

heal

and comfort.

Out of any given situation we find ourselves in where there are broken, lost or hurting people in front of us, we are to be operating in one of these 5 expressions in the name of Jesus. As followers of Jesus, this is to be our response to suffering and all of it’s manifestations. We aren’t called to be mean to lost, broken and hurting people, or to judge lost, broken and hurting people. We are called to comfort, heal, deliver, give to them and to preach the good news to them.

So much of the contemporary churches response to the poor and the lost is inspired by satan and not by God at all. When we take into consideration that satan is the accuser of the brethren and that Jesus is the one that has not dealt with us according to our sins (see psalm 103) but removed them from us, we can see that in most cases, the modern western church looks more like the devil then God and this ought not be so. We are all called to prophets of hope to everyone around us. We need to stop putting our fingers in the faces of the ones who need what’s in us and start doing what we can to display the goodness of God to them instead. (Read Romans chapter 2. Paul is talking to the church and not lost people.)

“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance”? Romans 2:4

When we live lives that are a walking testimony of the character of God to the broken and lost people, God is glorified. It’s by what we do that brings glory to God. As ones that name the name of Jesus, we will either cause God to be celebrated in our cities as a result of people seeing God’s goodness displayed through us or the name of our God will be blasphemed because of us using His name and walking as judges and accusers. If we live and walk like Jesus did, people will turn to Him and God will be celebrated in our cities, if we name the name of God and act like the devil, the name of God will be blasphemed in our cities. The choice is totally ours and we will give an account to God for what we did or didn’t do in His name. (See Romans 2:24)

It's a fixed fight and we are condemned to nothing but victory. We are commissioned to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every living creature." We are commissioned to make disciples of the nations. This is not a suggestion but if we call Jesus "Lord", this is our full time job description in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our work places and in our cities and nations. There is not one Christian that is exempt from this commission.

God is for you! Who then can be against you?!? Go forth now and take your city for God!!!

Never give up.

M@

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi (Mother Teresa's version)

Make us worthy Lord to serve our fellow men throughout the world,

who live and die in poverty and hunger.

Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread

and by our understanding love give peace and joy.

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace.

That where there is hatred I may bring love,

That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,

That where there is discord, I may bring harmony,

That where there is error I may bring truth,

That where there is doubt I may bring faith,

That where there is despair I may bring hope,

That where there are shadows I may bring light,

That where there is sadness I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted,

To understand than to be understood,

To love than to be loved.

For it is by forgetting self that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven,

it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Amen.

Running sound, Healing Innards, Helping new mama’s and going to Reno again!!!

The Latest on the Bond family

Life has been going at an even pace here in Bond Family as of late. I’ve been running sound in the Global Prayer Room with Marcus Meier and the team and leading worship for the Foundations department (The inner healing department here at IHOP-KC). Erika has been ministering at a new mom’s group, teaching new mothers about breast feeding and ministering to new moms when they are having a tough time. All the while, the kids are growing like a bunch of weeds and they’ve been going to classes twice a week with the new Global Prayer Childcare. Erika has been able to get into the prayer room for 4 to 5 hours a week now because of this new department that has been put into place for members of worship teams. Since I’m on a worship team, The GPC workers watch our kids while I’m in my sets and that frees Erika up to get into the prayer room. It’s really great having her in there with me. Its doing a lot to unify our family and it’s been good to have a time where Erika can clear her head from all that comes with being a full time mom. It lets her recharge her batteries a few times a week.

Upcoming Ministry Trip

We have another ministry trip coming up at the end of August. Both Erika and I are going to be spending 5 days in, Lake Tahoe, CA and Reno, NV. We are going to be attending a prayer meeting with leaders in the prayer movement from the entire region to seek God’s face for what He wants to do in the region. There are going to be pastors and leaders from Sacramento, Reno and all over the region there and we have ben invited to come along as well! After the prayer meeting, we will be going “down the hill” to Reno to preach at the church of Pastor Terry Fred. I met them on my last trip to Reno/Tahoe and God really knit my heart to what God is doing with these guys out in the desert. We are also looking at doing some prophetic training with some of their small group leaders while we are there.

The thing I’m really looking forward to on this trip is that Erika and Tirzah are going to be coming along with me. Erika has never been out west and it’s ben a dream of her heart to see the west one day. I am really grateful that I’m going to be able to help fulfill that dream! ;) While we are in the midst of one of the most beautiful places on the earth, I figured it would be a good time to take a day with Erika in Lake Tahoe for our 6th wedding anniversary. We may be able to get a pretty cheap place to rent for the night up there on our day off on this trip. We are really looking forward to this as well.

The Days Ahead...

I’ve also never traveled in ministry like this with Erika and it’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for a few years now. I want us to do ministry together more. This is what is to be the first of many trips where Erika comes along with me. Eventually I’d like to take the whole family on the road with me. I can see a day coming where we get in an RV and tour the country preaching the gospel as a family, building and strengthening missional prayer communities everywhere we go. I’ve got vision for ministering at Burning Man and the Rainbow gatherings down in Florida (we would leave the kids with the grandparents for those I think. ;). I’ve got a dream in my heart to put the goodness of God on display at these gatherings of many of the fatherless of this generation that they may see the goodness of God and turn to Him and receive eternal life in Jesus.

The Latest on The Bonds (March 2011)

Our Year in KC in Review

We have been in Kansas City for one year now and I can say that it has been a great year and everything has gone as planned so far. We came here about this time last year and we went through the intro to IHOP-KC internship. After that Erika got connected with the natural childbirth/natural mama's community here and she is thriving and walking out her calling with diligence and joy. I have joined staff at IHOP as a sound engineer and I have been working on writing a book on prayer and revival as well as traveling and teaching and preaching at churches across America. Everything is going as planned so far. The lease on our house is up and we are now looking for a new place to rent by April 1st for our next year here. If you all could keep that in prayer, that would be great. We have got some options we are looking out but nothing that fits our time frame, geography, specs and budget yet. There are a lot of irons in the fire but nothing firm yet. We are asking, seeking and knocking while trusting God to provide like He always has and always does. He's good and dependable. I like Him :).

The Growing Family

Tirzah Bethany Bond

As many of you may know, our baby girl, Tirzah was born on January 25th of 2011. She is so beautiful and she makes my heart melt! Her name means, "she is my delight" and she lives up t her name every day. She was our first baby born at home and I've gotta say that I wouldn't have had it any other way. There was so much joy and peace in the atmosphere the night of her birth. So contrary to the hospital atmosphere. She was born in the midst of a beautiful atmosphere of worship and contrary to all circumstances, she was born a perfectly healthy baby. Her umbilical cord was attached to the placenta in a way that normally results in a still birth or miscarriage. She was born with out any issues at all. Erika was calm the entire labor (with the exception of when there were actual contractions happening of course. But even then she was in control and able to relax to a pretty good extent.) She was chatty between contractions and smiling and happy and excited until the baby came. Tirzah was born a "double footling breach". This is another intense part of the labor that normally results in complications however there wasn't enough time to panic as right when we saw her feet come out the rest of her came out really fast with no issues and after it's all said and done, Erika says it was the most gracious labor and delivery she has ever experienced.

Asher

Asher is also doing well for the most part. He is such a fearless little guy. He is at that age when he is climbing on everything and jumping face first into everything. He is so hardcore. When he gets hurt while climbing something, he refuses to be comforted, he MUST CONQUER! If he falls off of something and hurts himself, he will go back to the thing he hurt himself again and he will do it over and over again until he can do it without getting hurt. I love that kids determination to conquer and overcome. He is such a little overcomer that refuses to be denied. I love this about his little personality. This kid is going to be an intense guy yet he carries so much joy!!! He is going to be a great leader and overcomer in the days to come. He doesn't let his limitations get him down but he is determined to overcome. He is going to be an inspiration to all who encounter him. he is going to be and already is such a light in this world!

He went in recently to have a small surgery to have the hole that was in his stomach for his feeding tube closed as it was leaking a bit. That went without a hitch. He is recovering well from surgery and living life as normal. We found out that one of his vocal chords is still paralyzed and is one of the reasons why he still isn't able to swallow normal liquids without thickener. He is learning to communicate better with his sign language and we are teaching him more and more words. He is doing well for the most part but can still use prayer to bring total healing of all his health issues that include his kidneys, his paralyzed vocal chord, continued heart health and strength for his immune system.

Joel

Joel is 4 and amazing!!! I love this age he is at (his birthday is the 16th of March). We hang out a lot as he is old enough for me to start taking him places with me to do life together a bit more than when he was younger. We are teaching him loads and he is learning really fast as well. He is such a great big brother to his little sister. He loves her, and is always hugging and kissing her on the head and looking out for her and making sure she is okay. He is such a tender hearted kid with such creativity and a gift for leadership. He has to have things go right and in proper order. I can see God using him in the days to come to bring order to chaotic situations and doing it with a kindness and gentleness that makes men great. I am so humbled and blessed to be entrusted with this little man. Pray for me, for grace to raise this boy to be the man God intends for him to be.

Traveling Ministry

While we were still in Florida, some friends got together and started to have these worship and prayer meetings in the back of a restaurant/tea room in Mount Dora. During these meetings, we would seek God and worship Him and pray and fellowship around tasty goodies and the occasional meal. During one of these meetings where we had lined up something like 6 hours of live worship, I was laying on my back outside the tent (the meetings we held in a wedding tent when it was set up some times. It was truly beautiful.) looking at the stars. I told God that I would give my life for this, to establish an incense ministry that would be global and unceasing. My heart was and still is burning for God to be worshiped and adored 24/7 night and day. If for no other reason, because He's worthy of worship that never stops. He deserves to have people paying attention to Him at every minute of every day and I am willing to give my life to see to it that I do my part in making sure that happens. I am giving my life to provoke Jesus' Bride to look at Him and connect with Him. God has given me this vision of being a friend of the bridegroom. My goal is to get Jesus and His bride in the same room so that they can talk and then make this happen as frequently as possible in every geographic place He has given me influence.

During this season, (Let's call it the Garden Gate season. That sounds pretty cool.) During the Garden Gate Season, My spiritual mama, Lorraine, got a word about the circuit riders, that God was going to be raising them up and sending them out across America and the nations. I know that this word was for me and I feel that I am now starting to walk into that invitation to walk with God as a circuit rider. As God gives me influence in regions, I am planning on setting up circuits where I can go and do whatever He strengthens me to do to establish literal sacred spaces that are set aside for people to encounter God. To go and get the love of Jesus' life's eye's fixed on Him knowing that at some point that gaze will eventually provoke His return and along with it, the answer to all injustice. The Spirit has been releasing a global cry to the church "come" to Jesus and know Him for centuries, the culmination of this age will take place when the church harmonizes with this groan of the Spirit and in that day, "The Spirit and the Bride" will cry "come!" (Revelation 22:17).

This last year, I've taken 3 trips to Florida, one to Alabama on the way back from Florida and I'm going to be traveling to Nevada to speak into and equip the leaders of 2 prayer ministries in Reno and in Lake Tahoe for a week. I am really excited about this as God totally made this connection in a way that only he can do. I've met one the pastors of an Assemblies of God church in Reno that has made the decision to focus on prayer and establishing a prayer furnace. He has been here at IHOP going through our commission program. My heart is really linked to what God is doing in Nevada and I am humbled to be able to join them in their journey into the heart of God and His plans for their city. I am stoked about Lake Tahoe as well. I don't know as much about the work up there but what I do know makes me really excited. The Lord has been giving me some clue as to what He is up to up in that mountain and from what I can see, it's quite beautiful. I will have to make sure to update this blog again after this upcoming trip. It's going to be amazing and I feel that it will be very fruitful and that there will be some great stories to tell from this trip that will be an encouragement to you all.

Erika's Ministry

When we moved into our house here in KC, we moved right next door to the best possible family to live next to. Erika found a great in friend in Shannon, who is really connected with the natural childbirth/natural mama's community here in KC. They share the same heart burning for healthy living and for mom's. Erika has been work with Debbie, our midwife and one that works with a lot of the naturally minded women here in KC and they have been having a breast feeding support group weekly as well as a biweekly natural childbirth group. Erika and Shannon are working on putting together a biblically based, natural childbirth teaching model that will help to equip women to give birth naturally as God has always intended. I am so proud of Erika as she walks this calling out. I wanted to ask you all to join me in praying for grace for Erika for strength and anointing to walk out this calling of hers to the fullest.

I am so proud of my wife. She is so much more than I could ever ask for. We are a blessed family indeed to have her as the woman of the house hold. :) ( I Love you Erika!!!!)

So, that's pretty much our year and the latest on us and what we have been doing here in KC. I wanted to take a minute to thank all of our supporters and those of you that have encouraged us over the past year whether in word, deed, prayer or finance. God's grace and your support is what is strengthening us in this ministry God has given us as a family. I wanted to take this opportunity to express my gratefulness for you all. Thank you. In Jesus' name, thank you.

Blessings,

M@

P.S.

Let me know if you would like to receive our paper newsletter. We have been working on getting that out more regularly. For those that have been getting it, I wanted to apologize for not getting them out the last month or so, we have been making adjustments to living as a family of 5 and getting back into the newly established newsletter rhythm.

So I am posting some pics and commentary on our trip to Florida and what not. I wanted to share the highlights of this trip with you all out there. The trip has been really long, but GOOD and I really can't wait to be back home to catch KC in the Fall. ;).

"Get out of my eyes sun!!!!!"

Asher chillin watching baby Einstien on the portable DVD player w/ his massive headphones.

We found the best rest stop at a place called "Rend Lake" in Illinois. It was the perfect place to stop for some much needed play and food. This was our lunch stop. The boys really enjoyed the play ground and not being seated and moving at 80 miles per hour. :)

ASHER!!!!!

JOEL!!!!

Here is Erika preparing our lunch for us while the boys and I play at the park. I found this peanut butter at Target that was amazing. It was Cranberry Vanilla peanut butter. It had really good ingredients too for being Target brand. The fewer ingredients the better and this one only had 5 or so.

I talked Erika into getting on the see-saw with Asher and me with Joel. I got her trapped in mid-air and decided a pic was necessary. She didn't agree so much but was very gracious and she smiled for all of yall. She loves me. (Erika: it was VERY high and Matt was bumping us....scary!)

After a 12 hour day of driving on 4 hours of sleep and monster energy drinks. We were ready for a break. We stopped at my aunt and uncles house in Huntsville, Al for some much needed rest. They fired up the grill and made us cheese burgers. As beautiful as it was, I forgot to get pictures for you. You wold have loved them. These burgers were a work of art. My uncle Mark knows how to make some burgers. We didn't get any pic of our time in Huntsville. Taking pics was the last thing on my mind. I'm getting better at this whole blog thing and I'm trying to remember to keep this thing updated with pics. So with that said, pray for me to get the anointing to take good pics for this here blog. :)

One of the places I did get the camera out at was when we took the kids to Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. My mom works there so she was able to get us all in for free. It was such a blessing for the kids to be able to have this day on the front end of our trip here.

Erika, My mom, Alli and the boys when we first got into the park. I'm behind the camera. ;)

This pic was taken of Erika and Asher on the Safari ride. He actually fell asleep on this ride. So did Alli. It was a very bumpy ride and definitely not one you would think kids would fall asleep on.

This is a great pic of Asher and cousin Alli looking at the fishies.

Joel and I discovering things in the bug/creepy crawly cages.

Joel and I looking at the Black Swans

We ministered at The Garden Gate Tea Room in Mount Dora the first week we were in town. Here are some pics of the night of worship we did. Erika and I shared with our family in Orlando what's been up with us over the past 6-7 months since moving to KC and the whole Intro experience. It was a really refreshing time catching up with friends from Florida. I love my Garden Gate people!!!! Can't wait to see them again!

I was the first person to ever worship on this stage. It is an honor to come back and do so again!

That's my buddy Edwin playing the djembe. He's pretty much the most awesome person on the earth (besides my wife and kids of coarse;)

I will try and post more pics when we get back from KC from this trip.

Till then, Blessings in the name of Jesus!!!!

M@

What's been up with the Bonds over the last 6 months.

Greetings from The Bond Family!

It has been a LONG TIME since our last email update so I figured that since we have done so much and so much has happened in the last 7 months that it was about time to update you all. So here it goes.

We have moved to Kansas City!!!

For those of you who do not know, The Bond Family have moved from Orlando, Florida to Kansas City, Missouri. We moved here to join with the International House of Prayer and have been in the Intro to IHOP-KC internship. Our whole family has been in this internship and it has been life changing for all of us, even the children. We have been through so much over the past year with the passing of Erika's Father and all of Asher's health issues so this last 6 months has been kind of a "selah" season, a time to heal and reflect on the last year as well as to look forward to what is next for us and our family.

Intro to IHOP-KC

During this internship, all of us have been equipped to live lives as intercessory missionaries for the long haul. We went through an 8 week inner healing course called "Pure Heart" which helped us sort through our life wounds of the past and really press into God, unhindered by walls we may have built to protect our hearts. We were also trained in the IHOP prophetic and healing ministry and now walk in fresh confidence to operate in a prophetic spirit to be able to further edify the Body of Christ. During the last 6 months, we have ministered as ushers and ministry captains during the IHOP-U Student Awakening Services and received hands on experience in ministering to the sick and broken hearted. It was freeing to not only witness, but partner along with Holy Spirit, in meeting the needs of God's precious children.

We also received some much needed training in Forerunner Partnership Development (The IHOP way of saying support raising ;) During these classes we were challenged and educated about the biblical model of missionary support and were shown the profoundly biblical concept of support raising for full time missionary work. This series of classes had such an amazing impact on our hearts and mindsets. We have been doing this type of ministry for the last 4 years without having any type of real training on how to go about raising support. We have had to learn the hard way about what is and is not an acceptable way of raising support and it has been such a blessing to us to be taught a biblical model by people that have been successful at it for a number of years. It has been helpful to learn the right way to go about this necessary part of our ministry calling that is edifying for the whole body of Christ and not just a necessary evil in the church and missionary community.

The Children's Track

What is even more exciting is what has been happening in our children. Joel and Asher have been taking classes through IHOP's Children Equipping Center. In their classes, they have been taught to pray and to even lead some of their peers in prayer (Joel particularly). I was in our office reading an email from a friend that was requesting prayer one day and Joel was sitting on my lap and I asked him to pray with me for our friend and he said, "Father, I ask you for ____ and I ask that you would direct her heart into the Love of God and into the patience of Christ. In Jesus' name. Amen". My jaw dropped as my son prayed an apostolic prayer over our friend that was a direct quote from scripture. This is the type of thing that he has been taught in the CEC and we cannot be more delighted. We cherish each of the CEC teachers and look forward to one day being able to fund then in their work here.

So What's Next?

We are preparing to take a trip down to Orlando, Florida. While there we are going to be ministering in churches and serving the body of Christ in Florida with the tools we have just been given for ministry and building up our team of ministry partners. We are looking at rolling out of KC this Monday and plan on returning to KC at the end of the month where we will then officially join staff and begin in our service here at IHOP-KC. Erika will be serving in the CEC and looking into joining a team for prenatal prayer and I am looking at serving in the prayer room and getting some more training for ministry. I'm interested in furthering my education in ministry so that I can be better equipped as a messenger for the day and the hour in which we now live.

Prayer Requests

So, this Monday we are on the road again and we would like to take this opportunity to share with you some prayer requests;

- ...Pray also for us, that God would open to us a door for the Word, to speak the mystery of Christ... Colossians 4:3 Pray that God would open doors for us to minister to the Body of Christ in Orlando and that He would lead us to the people that are in need of what we have so that we can be a blessing to the church in Orlando and in Lake Tahoe where there has been a door opened for ministry along the lines of establishing prayer and preparing the region for a move of the Holy Spirit.

- Pray for effectiveness in our support raising. That we would be able to raise up our entire budget and gather together all the people that God has called to partner with the vision He has given us. Pray that He would direct us to those who's hearts are moved towards our ministry in the area of partnership, both financially and in prayer support. We are in need of both.

- Pray for safe travels, joyfully patient children, favorable driving conditions and for no breakdowns along the road.

- Pray for us, that we would get the full provision needed for not only our trip down but for our expenses while in Orlando.

- Pray that God would lead us and fill us with His will out of Colossians 1:9-11.

So that is the latest info on the Bonds. Now you're pretty much caught up with what's new with us. It would be great to hear from YOU as well!!! So feel free to drop us a line. Especially if we haven't heard from you in a while. I pray this update has been a blessing to you. Please contact us with any prayer requests you may have. We are intercessory missionaries which means a significant portion of our ministry is done through prayer. It's what we love to do ;)

Blessings from The Bonds!!!!!!!!

M@

P.S.

Erika is pregnant with #3 now!!!! She is 21 weeks as we speak!!!! I've got a name in my Spirit that is very masculine. We will see indeed!!!! We welcome all to join with us in prayer for the continued health and wellbeing of this precious new life!

P.P.S. If you would like to give a gift towards our trip to Florida or for anything else on your heart you can do so by clicking here. ;)