To Know God...and Make Him Known

New Year

New Clarity...

Save The Date: June 9th @ 6:30p Dessert

(Southern California Location TBD)

Moments of clarity

Aloha !There are moments in life that bring incredible clarity to what is truly important to us. One of these moments happened for Liz and I the morning of January 13, 2018. We received an emergency alert that caused chaos, uncertainty, and fear all around us. As we assessed the timing of a seemingly imminent ballistic missile, we decided to invite our neighbors over for breakfast and worship.  Liz, myself, and our neighbor Vicki, prayed together for a supernatural move of God. Vicki went upstairs and brought her family down to our house.

Psalm 46 kept running through my mind. It says…

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. ‘Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

35 minutes later…

We had an incredible time together and 35 minutes later we received the “false alarm” alert. In the midst of it all, we had incredible peace. It was a great teaching moment with our kids about the certainty of God and what is truly important to our family. 

Going to Indonesia…

I was invited, last minute, to come to a gathering in Bali, Indonesia of our Fire and Fragrance hub communities. These are our long-term missionaries around the globe. Some are in difficult parts of the middle east. It was a time of refreshing, encouragement, and aligning of vision from the words of God for the 2018 year. Francis and Lisa Chan were coming to teach and pour into these missionaries. I was asked to help lead worship with my dear friend Lindy. I had been putting off making the decision due to finances, but the missile crisis had ignited something in my heart. It was like a log had been thrown into the fire burning in my heart. A fire that longs to see God be exalted among the nations; for God to be exalted in the earth! Liz and I spoke some more, we booked my flights to Indonesia, and I left 6 days later. A clearer focus of our purpose in this world and a zeal for the Lord consumes us even more than before. One thing we know; God is faithful and He always provides.

Unity…

Coming back from Indonesia the word that I can’t shake is unity. Around 150 of us were gathered as Francis gave a word about unity. It was one of the most profound, deeply biblical words on unity I have ever heard and it cut straight to the heart. After he spoke, the whole room broke into prayer and joyful repentance for all the ways we have cut down, backstabbed, and struck the other parts of the body of Christ (the temple of God) for about 15 minutes. This was individual, personal repentance and it was amazing. If only the global body of Christ could experience this kind of repentance and unity. I believe the power of God could be released into the world in ways we can’t imagine if only His body actually did His will. To be one with Jesus as He is one with the Father…that was His prayer for us! Our unity will cause the world to believe that Jesus was sent by God the Father! Let it be Lord!

Norway…

On Feb 13th Kai and I are traveling to Norway to visit our friends and teams at the Molde and Grimerud YWAM bases. We will be encouraging Christians, fueling the flame that has begun in the established prayer room (that I help paint the last time I was there), and partnering in ministry with the current team from Kona evangelizing in Norway. From there, Kai and I head to the Grimerud base for a prayer and worship conference being hosted there. I was invited to join in contending for the nation of Norway at this prayer conference and will be helping to lead worship throughout the 4-day gathering. I’ll also have an opportunity to gather with my friends from Bergen (at the Grimerud base) to plan and hear how the plans are going for the stadium gathering in Bergen this summer. What an exciting time this is and so grateful that my son has the opportunity to come with me this time around! 

Pray for…

Your prayers for us are highly felt here. We are grateful for the way you contend for us and lift us up as we do the will of the Lord for our lives! Pray for our travels as there have been many. Kai and I return to Kona on March 1st and that very evening our YWAM Kona Music crew will be doing the first of a two-night live recording event. I will be helping lead worship for both nights…pray that I stay healthy throughout the travel and that when I return I will have the energy and the voice to lead with excellence! We are doing all original songs with the hope that we capture it well enough to release a live album; hopefully by June 2018.

Lastly…

I forgot to mention this. While we were in Indonesia we, the group gathered, were able to pass out over 300 sim cards as gifts to locals. They could put the sim cards into their phones and hear the Bible in their own language! As we partner with many organizations, such as The Seed Company, it’s a privilege and an honor to work hard towards the initiative of #ENDBIBLEPOVERTY all over the earth. We do what we do because we want To Know God and Make Him Known! 

One last story…

When I left for Indonesia I decided that I wouldn’t even consider trying to surf. I didn’t want to be distracted from the task that God was sending me there to do. We serve a great God and He knows our deepest desires and longings. My friend, Andy, blessed me by paying for me to go surfing in Indonesia along with our friends Tiger Hill and Francis Chan. What a thrill it was to live out a lifelong dream of surfing in Indonesia...and with Francis! 

May the Lamb who was slain receive the full reward of His suffering!! 

Peace be with you,Chris, Lizzi, Malakai, Laila, and RhemaPS: As noted above. Please save the date on June 9th @ 6:30! We would love to share dessert with you that evening, to connect in person, hear what God has been up to in your life, and tell God stories! (Location in Southern California TBD)

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