Last Shift in Tacoma

After 17 years as a medic in the state of Washington, I'll be moving to a slightly warmer location next week. I've taken a job in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm sorry - that's as much as I can say about the new job for now.

When I moved here in 1994, I was an atheist. I hated the people I transported and didn't like Tacoma, either. A lot has changed since then. Tacoma isn't the smelly, rat - infested town it once was and I'm not the same rat I used to be. God gave me a new heart, a new lease on life and a powerful way to touch people around me. He's pretty cool like that. I enjoy my job more than I did when I started the journey. That's a rare thing in EMS, but the Holy Spirit will add years to anyone's career.

I have a few stories from my days in Tacoma that have yet to be published. They should all be up in the next few weeks. After that we'll pick up from the new location.

I'm planning on trying some new things. One will probably be a live broadcast from this page. I may even broadcast a live street healing. I'll let you know when that will happen in advance, so you can tune in.

Now I want to share a few things that have been on my heart for some time.

Our nation and indeed, the world is at a crossroads. I'm not trying to be cliche'. I'm concerned about some things God has shown me. I'm concerned - but not afraid. We need to be prepared for major changes in the way we live. The times we're entering will require us to be united like we've never been before. I see darkness advancing swiftly, but I also see the light growing more intense. There is a separation coming; a defining of light and dark. Lines will be drawn and we'll be forced to stand on one side or the other. We need to prepare our hearts and minds for some big challenges and if you're just hearing about this, you're late getting started.

When you need food and there isn't any to be found, don't give in to fear. Know that God can provide what you need. His disciples multiplied the loaves of bread and fed thousands. We're going to need this kind of faith in the days ahead. Share what you have and God will give more. He knows your needs and cares for you. Remember that these difficulties aren't His doing; they come from the enemy. Don't blame God - trust Him. Be people of the kingdom.

When hospitals won't take the sick and injured anymore, remember what you've seen here and consider the miracles of Jesus. All this has been an example for you, to use in your community. Gather friends and heal the sick wherever they are. Be people of the kingdom.

When shortages come, don't go to the cities looking for what isn't there any more. Stay home and live off what you have. Don't give in to fear. God can provide what you need. Don't get caught in the riots or you'll become a casualty. Learn the lessons from those who have been down this road before you. Keep yourself and family in good spirits, help others in whatever way you can and God will be your rear guard. Be people of the kingdom.

Establish communities of safety when chaos comes. Band together with neighbors, share what you have. Live simply, not extravagantly or violently. Pray for one another. Heal one another, and watch out for the safety of the group. There is strength in numbers. Don't give in to corruption because lawlessness abounds; integrity matters. Be people of the kingdom.

Consider praying for my family as we prepare to embark on a new chapter of our lives. We greatly covet your prayers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for allowing me into your life. I never thought it would turn out this way. It really is a dream come true.

(In more ways than one)

Praying Medic

The Kingdom of God Revealed - A Dream

I've been a Christian for a little over 10 years. In that time, I've learned a great deal about the church. But only recently have I understood anything about the kingdom of God. I've been asking the Lord to show me this mysterious kingdom I read about in the bible. Lately, I've been having dreams in which God has been illustrating different parts of the kingdom. Some of those dreams have become notes. It's always hard to know who to tag in a note, because I write on different subjects. There is a feature you can use to subscribe to anyone's notes, if you wish. Click the blue button under 'subscribe' in the left hand column next to a note and you'll be notified when that person publishes a note.

I had a rather profound dream about the kingdom of God last night. I wanted to share it with you.

In the dream I watched as different people experienced the kingdom of God. I was one of them. The first person I saw was a friend named Pete. He was living as a drug addict, heavily involved in criminal activity. His life was one of watching for the police everywhere he went and living in fear of being arrested. He lived to have his own selfish desires met. It was a life of fear, selfishness and using others. He didn't make a positive impact on a single person. He had no rest and no freedom. It seemed like a miserable life.

Then I saw him enter the kingdom of God. He was dressed in a uniform, sitting on a stool at the opening in a wall. The wall separated a prison and the kingdom of God. The opening was a like a gate, without a door. It was about 4 feet wide. Pete was a guard. He got up and walked around in the kingdom which seemed like an endless expanse as far as I could see. He was exploring this new place. He looked for familiar things like what he experienced in the world but found nothing like those experience.

There was no crime or drugs and no police. Everywhere he went he experienced freedom. He could walk anywhere he wanted and there was no fear or guilt. He was never afraid of getting caught doing something wrong – nothing wrong ever happened in the kingdom. All his needs were met and he was filled with peace. He met the Father who had only good things to say about him. The Father provided everything he needed in the kingdom. Pete went back to the stool and sat at the gate. His new position was to tell anyone who asked how they could enter the kingdom. His life was profoundly changed by his experience. Although the daily problems of his life didn’t immediately disappear, Pete began living from the reality he experienced in the kingdom. The freedom and acceptance he found in the kingdom allowed him to live free in the world. He never lived in fear of anything again.

I was also in the dream. In the world I was looking for acceptance and to be understood by others. I sought popularity and wanted people to like me. That was until I entered the kingdom. In the kingdom, I found immediate acceptance. Everyone I met seemed to instantly understand me. Even more amazing was the fact that they all liked me. I had no enemies and there was nobody I didn't get along with. I never argued with anyone. I made friends everywhere I went. When I met the Father, I encountered absolute acceptance and love. He had an endless list of wonderful things to say about me. I was the apple of His eye. Everything I did was perfect in His sight. He could not be more proud of me. This experience profoundly changed how I lived in the world. I no longer went around seeking acceptance from others. I lived from the reality I had experienced in the kingdom and never again wondered if I was good enough.

Another person appeared in the dream. I don't recall who this person was, but they seemed to be another friend, who lived with the fear of never having enough money. Although they had a good job and invested their money wisely, they lived with a nagging fear of poverty. Thoughts about earning and saving money plagued them continually. This person also entered the kingdom of God.

In the kingdom, they traveled from place to place. Money was the last thing anyone worried about. In fact, there were no worries of any kind in the kingdom. Citizens of the kingdom had piles of cash. My friend found that they could easily get as much money as they wanted from any stranger on the street. Nobody hoarded money. No one cared how much they had or how much they gave away. There was abundance for everyone. This experience in the kingdom profoundly changed the way he lived from that time forward. Experiencing the provision of heaven and knowing that God’s economy never lacked resources, gave him a freedom with money he never thought possible. Their fear of poverty instantly vanished. He began living from the reality he experienced in the kingdom and began to give abundantly with gladness.

I hope you're encouraged by this dream. The kingdom of God is within and around you. I hope we will all live from the unseen reality of God's eternal kingdom.

Training For a New Level of Healing

It's a little over a month before God pours out the Holy Spirit on Olympia. The voice in the night warned me to stay here and wait for it. I expected to hear news of revival in other areas by now and thought that was why I was told to stay put. Perhaps the revival will begin here. If you're not aware of the message I'm referring to you can review it here.

I've had so many dreams in which I'm praying for people to be healed. God keeps hammering away at this issue. The coming revival must be a move in which we're going to see a lot of healing miracles.  Right now I'm in training. I hope you are too. I had another dream on October 23rd. This happens to be one month before the date that God said my friend Scott would be healed of Lou Gehrig's disease. I know He said it would happen  November 23rd, but I don't know the year. Please pray for him to be healed this year.

In the dream I was with another medic who looked like a friend named Kevin from AMR. We seemed to be working together as partners in King County. There was a new set of protocols he was teaching me about. We had a patient with a dislocated shoulder. He showed me a (mysterious - non-existent) device we put on the patient that immediately reduced the dislocation. We didn’t give the patient anything for pain, or even start an IV. It happened very quickly. The medic seemed very confident and comfortable in this new approach to treatment. I can only interpret this as God’s way of illustrating a new thing He wants me to do. The county we worked in was King County -  symbolizing this is a Kingdom of God thing. Healing severe orthopedic injuries in the rig is way outside my comfort zone right now. How do you explain to a base station Doc that you just reduced a dislocated shoulder with prayer and want to leave the patient at home? Never done it, so if God wants me to do it without soiling my uniform pants,  I need some training. I'm glad He's able to run me through a few practice scenarios in my dreams. Funny thing about God's practice scenarios is, I never fail!

The dream scenario was about learning a totally new set of protocols. A set means plurality. As in, there are many new things God wants me (may I say us?) to do. The shoulder reduction is just one of them. Who knows what other amazing miracles God wants to show us in the future. I've had several visions about resurrections....come ON! You know you want to see at least one!! Well then start praying for it. Ask God to make you one of the people who will show his wonderful works in the coming revival. And seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness - everything else you need comes as a result of that.

The Bride and The Kingdom

This message isn't about healing. It's what I hear God saying about the season we are in. One of the gifts Jesus gave to the church is teaching (Eph 4:11). I believe God would have us learn about the time of preparation we are in and what we are to be doing. Leaders are held accountable to God, I want to be faithful to him in all things.

I believe we are entering a new era. There is a bride that God is preparing. There is a kingdom He is bringing to the earth. That kingdom will have rulers. Some, but not all of us will be those rulers. I believe the rulers will also be ‘the bride’. Through a collection of observations, I’ll try to weave together a picture of what I think God is doing to prepare the bride and the kingdom.

When I was first converted from atheism, I began to hear the voice of God. It was very loud. It was constant. And it was very convicting. But it was also very comforting to finally know that I didn’t need to make all the decisions; God wanted to steer the boat for me. For about 6 weeks I heard that voice 24/7. It was always there in every situation telling me how to act and what to say.

The voice gradually became silent. That concerned me. Why did this happen? I was comforted when I read an explanation by C.S. Lewis; “God needs us to stand on our own two feet. He gradually removes the voice that holds us up and we must walk by faith.” It made me feel better, but lately I’ve come to think Lewis was wrong.

After 7 years of discipleship under bible-believing- fundamentalist teachers, I was introduced to the charismatic wing of the church. I began to meet folks who seemed to hear God’s voice on a regular basis, like I once did. That provoked me to jealousy.

I’ve been following the life of Todd White lately. I’m amazed at what God has done in and through a former criminal and drug addict. In him I see a man who hears God constantly, every day, in every situation, as I once did. He was saved almost 4 years ago. The voice of God hasn’t faded away, but seems to have taken over his life. This challenged my thinking. I’m coming to grips with the fact that much of what I've learned isn’t God’s heart, but man’s traditions and plausible explanations for personal experiences – much of which are contrary to scripture.

Todd’s explanation and his life stand as one big challenge to the church. He says his ability to hear God’s voice in words of knowledge, in prophesying and healing are due to one thing – holy living. He says his connection to God and the degree of anointing upon his life is directly proportional to how he lives his life in either righteousness or unrighteousness. He has chosen righteousness. He declares that for us to see the miracles and revelation Jesus did, we must walk out our walk as Jesus walked. In the words of Todd, “We must never give in to compromise with sin on any level…ever.” He refuses to tell even little white lies, “all lies are black and nasty” he says, "Satan is the father of all lies." He obeys the speed limit…always.

That challenges me. And in thinking about his theology, I’d say this: The Holy Spirit is the voice of God. He speaks God’s heart to us; both the good and the bad. He’s the revealer of God’s secrets when dispensing prophetic revelation. He’s also the One who convicts me when I’m living in sin. If revelation from God is like a river, we are in control of how much we receive. We can open the gate and let God speak to us in full measure on any subject without restrictions. But if we’re allowing sin to remain in our life, He’ll speak to that issue as well. We don’t like being convicted of sin. This makes us shut down the flow. Our conscience is safe from the voice of God convicting us, but we now struggle to hear what God wants to reveal in other areas too.

I want to hear the voice of God again, no matter what it takes. I'm not happy with a trickle, I want the river. I tend to fast when I want to hear God more clearly. It works. I thought I was going to enter another time of fasting recently. A couple days into it, God told me to eat. We 'discussed' it briefly. He won the discussion. He said that I can only fast for so long - what then? He said there's another way to do it. "If you walk in righteousness, you'll hear my voice again like before."

Let’s admit to a few things. Once the protestant reformation had its way in the west and the gospel of grace was restored – it was soon corrupted and became a license for the church to live any way it wanted to. Some have tried to live in holiness, but these are rare cases. I’ve been told for years that I’m a wretched sinner saved by grace, and I’ll never be more than that. With this identity firmly planted in our minds – is it any surprise there’s little holiness among God’s people?

The word is full of hundreds of verses telling us to live in holiness. I'll give a couple here; "Pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which, no one will see the Lord." (Heb 12:14) I think ‘holiness’ has lived with a bad rap for a long time. This message is about a bride that God is preparing in the last days. That bride is beautiful because of her holiness. She is without spot, wrinkle or blemish. God said, “Be holy, just as I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) Does this describe the church you see?

I don’t want to be a slave to the law. I believe the blood of Jesus has taken away the punishment for all my sin. Grace is awesome. I believe we have been given the righteousness of Christ. But I can no longer live as if I’m a wretched sinner whose salvation is nothing more than a change in my eternal address. I want to be a man of purity, honesty, integrity and love because it pleases my Father. How do we become holy with out becoming a slave to good works?

What I like about Todd’s White is his passionate, untamed love for God and those around him. I know people who talk about love all day long. Talking and walking are two different things. I can’t think of anyone who displays love the way Todd does. He loves the kind of people most of us in the church won’t even look at, much less hold their hand, hug them and pray for them. Todd excels more in love than anyone I can think of. Love is the only way the bride will become beautiful in her holiness. There are a million reasons why we do any given thing. And love is the supreme motivational force – period. Holiness comes from having an extreme love for God.

Jesus has much to say about our hearts in his letters in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation. Some of us are lukewarm, some live in compromise, some in outright idolatry, some in blindness, some in pride and some have let their hearts grow cold. But where He chastises us, He also remarks about the few who haven’t compromised, who’ve kept themselves in humility, meekness, faithfulness, love and holiness. He gives them special promises and these believers are the ones who will be the bride of Christ. They will be a handful of people who’ve embraced total and complete surrender of their lives to the husband of the church - Jesus. They do it because they love not their own lives, but passionately love God and thus, they love others.

A bride spends a lot of time in preparation for her wedding. It’s about becoming beautiful. This picture is what we are supposed to be doing right now as we hear that the groom is approaching. We are in the last moments before the Lord will see us face to face and take us into the promised kingdom. Beautification and holiness come through sanctification. That can only take place through the power of the Holy Spirit as He removes the garbage in our lives when we lay ourselves on the altar of sacrifice and become a love offering to God.

I had a series of dreams over the last few months I didn’t understand. In each dream I spent a weekend in a hotel with a woman who wasn’t my wife. My concern forced me to ask God what was going on. I was afraid there was something wrong in my life that I wasn’t aware of. My fears were confirmed. God said to me, “Don’t you think I see what you see? Don’t you understand that I know your thoughts?” The dreams of fornication were symbolic of a problem with my thoughts. I wasn’t having an affair, living in fornication or viewing pornography. Yet I do at times entertain thoughts in my mind of women I see. It goes no further than merely thoughts, but that’s how we begin to compromise with sin. God wants to remove it from my life. He wants me to be sanctified and holy.

God has great plans for my future. I’m going to love doing all He’s planned for me. That’s how He is. His plans for us are perfectly suited to our talents, desires and personality. They’re also bigger than anything we could plan for ourselves. But there are dangers. We watched Todd Bentley walk in an insane amount of power and revelation – but he fell hard. What he lacked was holiness. Revivals come and go. Outpourings of the Spirit seldom last. The road is littered with the names of people who fell into sin and brought the move of God to shame. God doesn't want me to be another example of a ministry and life ruined by careless living. He is purifying my life because the challenges and temptations ahead will be more difficult than the ones I face today.

If you look at movements in the church over centuries you’ll find this phenomenon. Denominations arise and establish permanent status. They’re founded on doctrine, teaching and discipleship. Revivals spring up unexpectedly and enjoy short-lived blessings, then quickly fizzle out. They’re founded on the operation of the Holy Spirit. Their lack of sound doctrine, teaching and discipleship prevent their long-term success. This has to change. We won’t experience a permanent culture of revival until we’re fully committed to the rigors of teaching the word consistently, making disciples who walk in holiness and operating in the gifts of the Spirit.

Matt Sorger is trying to get us to see the need for developing maturity of character and walking in holiness. There are others doing it too, but they aren’t getting much support. Most people don’t want to hear it. Like the church in Corinth, they just want to see miracles and have fun with the glory. It reminds me of the time when Jesus told the crowd of thousands they had to eat his flesh and drink his blood to be his disciple. It thinned out the crowd quickly. The only ones left were those who burned to follow after the man who had the words of eternal life, no matter how hard those words were to receive. Few in the church are interested in holiness. That’s unfortunate. But Jesus can do a lot with a few people.

I believe the few who receive His words of correction and repent will reap an incredible harvest. There is much at stake. As the world systems fall apart, and the earth is shaken, world leaders will look for someone who has the answers. God’s wisdom will be given to those who are walking closely with Him. These people, like Daniel and Joseph, will receive unexpected promotion from ungodly men who recognize the spirit of God is upon them.

There is an unprecedented soul harvest just around the corner. Those who are living in righteousness will be given the power of miracles, signs and wonders and a message of hope to those who are lost. They will see revival unlike anything in history.

There is a kingdom on its way. Those who haven’t defiled themselves will be given the keys of authority to rule in the kingdom. Many people are receiving keys through dreams and visions in this hour. I received one, with the promise of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in my town. I also received a sobering warning about the key – don’t lose it.

I’ll bring this to a close by thanking you for going this far with me. My prayer is that God will speak and we’ll be moved out of love for our groom to make ourselves beautiful and lovely in holiness. He deserves our best, doesn’t He?