As I was sitting with the Lord this morning a thought passed through my mind, then another and yet another. I began to think how easy it would be for my thoughts to get out of control.

Then, a statement passed through my mind, you are what you think about. I then put that statement in terms of my marriage. For those that are not married, think about relationships that you have or friendships, I believe that it works completely the same.

Has your spouse ever done something that upsets you? I have only been married for a couple of months but there are a couple things that my wife just does to get under my skin. When she does something like this, I begin to think about it in my mind. Next thing I know, I have allowed this thought to spiral out of control and either I have bitterness towards her or we get into a fight later on.

The reason that I bring this up is because our minds have the power to consume us. Our minds can either work for us or against us. If we think positive thoughts then we are positive people, if we think negative thoughts, then we are negative people. Some estimates that I have seen say 70-80% of all the thoughts throughout the day are negative.

This is why Paul talks about renewing our minds. The only way to actually renew our minds is to wash it with the word of God. Lies are the only weapon that the devil can use against us. If we believe a thought and give agreement to the devil, we give him access to our lives in that area.

How many times has this happened to you? You get upset with your spouse and then your thoughts rapidly move to other things that upset you.  What if we change that pattern? What if we reverse that thinking and think of everything we love about that person at that time and say it over and over in our minds?

Yes we might not want to think about that at the time but what if we forced ourselves to think it? Would we begin to act in love and allow God to move on that person's heart, trusting that He is for us and not against us?









(Garden of the Gods Kissing Camels)

This is so easy to preach on, it is another thing to live. I bring this up because I believe that we need to change our thought patterns. We need to become what the word of God says about us. We need to live it, we need to breath it and we need to consume it. It will only happen by renewing of our minds daily, by washing the word through our minds until we believe in truth verses lies.

Labor Day signifies an annual holiday devoted to the recognition of working people's contribution to society. To commemorate this holiday I decided to give my dedication to the Lord. I spoke to the Lord and vowed to give Him the beginning of everyday this week starting at 6:00am. Why did I do this? 

There has been something deep within my heart that has been telling me that I have idols in my life. What is an idol? As scripture has stated above, an idol is anything that takes precedence before God. I am saved, I love God, well then how can I have idols in my life?

Idols can come in any form; wife, husband, fiancé, girlfriend, boyfriend,  job, possessions, dreams, worries, fears, family, money, TV, computer, phone, debts, Facebook and internet just to name a few.

I have seen over the past couple of months that I have allowed idols to creep into my life. Although I love God with all of my heart, I have allowed worries, concerns and thoughts to creep into my relationship with my King. I have seen that worries of finances and thoughts of providing have taken the thrown of my life. I have given my heart and my life to my Lord, but He was not first at the moment.

My thoughts and concerns are natural but they are never to take precedence to my relationship with my King; am I in control or is He. My days are supposed to begin with my Father, my worries, my concerns; everything is supposed to be laid at the foot of the Cross. I NEED to be a leader first in the spiritual by being a son of God. I have to allow my Father to pour His love upon me so every concern; every thought will come before His thrown.

I bring this topic up because it is so easy to get idols in our lives without even knowing it. Laziness creeps in, busyness takes our quite times away and wham, the enemy has us right where he wants us; disconnected from the Most High God not able to hear the whisper from our Father.

This Labor Day I want to give my commitment to my God. I want to bow down to my Father with reverence and receive His love and blessings. He has given His church everything under the sun. It is time to rest and receive what He is giving. 

May your Labor Day be filled with rest, peace, happiness and the Fear of the Lord.

God Bless.

The "Generation Killer" I get most kick-back on, the one that literally makes parents angry with me, some violent; the "killer" that most adults will not accept is Dating.

Dating has "Killed" more youth groups in America then any other issue! I have been the pastor of a few youth groups, lead international youth ministries and discipled thousands... every time we would gain momentum; kids praying, fasting and moving as one in the spirit – we would hit this wall called dating!

One person starts going out with another and then of course, they break up. What do you think happens to the unity of a youth group when two teen-agers hate each other? Groups of girls rally for their friend – boys gather around their buddy and the spiritual momentum is gone. One body, moving as one in the spirit, gone.

This may not seem like a big deal to you at all... I know it doesn't to most because of the resistance I get from parents on this. However...

The fruit of dating is divorce. The mentality develops that says, "I go out with this one for a while, try this one out; give my heart and emotions to someone that has NO right to have them"... young people, it's not enough to be a virgin when you get married, you cannot even give your emotions away! So, when I get married; when things get tough, I am out... the 67% divorce rate in the Church should wake you up!

We set high standards for our own boys and the ones we disciple. You are not allowed to enter a woman, with your tongue or anything else, until she is your wife! When you are in your 20's and possibly find that person God has saved for you; you will call and ask permission of their father to hold her hand or for that first kiss.

Our girls know they are protected and covered because of the same standards. Church, raise the bar for this generation and start bringing life, not death! We are their parents before we are their friends...

We love it and would have no other way – they teach us a great deal about life and how their generation thinks and we teach them how you limp thru as a parent just trying to get it right! Community living with our natural, blended and spiritual kids; I feel a good book coming...

As I mentioned in my last blog, entertainment is one of the ways we are killing this generation; iPods, computers, cable t.v., iphones; they have 24 hour access to information, pornography, video's, etc. In our Church's we have taught them to two extremes;  Either show NO emotion and sit there, don't embrace the fullness of God, what He has for us and what He expects – or, if you don't feel it, if your not emotional, if you don't speak in tongues, it's not God. We have made them bored or overemotional and taught them it is about them some how... this generation reeks of narcissism.

Another, more intense "Generation Killer" is Abortion. Abortion has stolen more of this generations' brothers and sisters then anything else in history. Why do we have this murder and why does it continue? The natural always follows the spiritual.

In the 90's I held hundreds of conferences with my ministry called Rock The Nations; countless parents, business people, pastors, etc would come to me at the end of the conference and say the same thing – "I love what you are doing with this generation; I was called as a young person to go to the nations, to give my life to something bigger. When I went to my pastor, parent, leader they always said the same thing; stay here, go to school, get a job and maybe go later".  Their own parents were consumed with fear, and religion, wanting them to be successful in world terms, more than life.

When I would take the time to go deeper, I would always find the same theme – pastors, youth pastors trying to build their own little kingdom; wanting, needing the big numbers so they looked good and had a bigger gathering. (I was rebuked by many pastors who said I was "Stealing" from their congregations when I would ask the kids to come get discipled or go with us to the nations)! Our only motivation was to send them back to their local church and community better, stronger, and greater. 

We as the Church have aborted millions of people's "Destinies" and "Calls" for our own selfish reasons... Many of these that were called are sitting in cubicles all around America, dying a very slow death; I personally know hundreds. When we can stop being what Paul calls "Teachers" and become "Fathers", and stop spiritually aborting our own, I believe, with all my heart, we can stop physical abortion in our land...

Over the past week, I have not been able to get off of the subject of rejection. I have seen how evil rejection is and how it affects a person's life. I have seen first hand what it has done to my life, and I detest it.

When a person receives rejection, it is an agreement with the devil. Our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age. Because of Jesus dying on the cross, all weapons were taken away from the devil- the only thing he has is lies.

So, if the enemy only has lies then we see that our battlefield is in the mind. We see how powerful the mind is and how the mind can either ruin us or set us free. Whose power are you working in? How are you fighting these lies?

Numerous new age gurus and even motivational thinkers have it right in speaking positive thoughts and believing in what you can do. They are really taking what scripture has stated all along but have put ego on the throne instead of Jesus.

Rejection is one power of darkness that has haunted generation after generation. When a lie comes, nobody likes you, you are not good enough, you will never be able to do it, they hate you, your stupid, your husband is going to leave you, she doesn't love you anymore etc. Whatever the form of lie, IF one agrees with it, they give authority and permission for the demonic to torment them.

Some might be getting a little freaked out right now but this is a reality that we must face. Evil is very real, but it has no authority over you through the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross. "God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love and of a sound mind." 2^nd Timothy 1:7. Rejection is one of those spirits that will rapidly spiral out of control if agreed upon.

Once a person accepts being rejected they begin to push away the very thing that they want and love (wife, fiancé, family, friends, church). They begin to step into the mind set of the grass must be greener on the other side and the fantasies begin to play out. They step into a control mode because if they feel rejected they will make sure that they will not allow anyone or anything to expose hurt or pain. Control will guide their steps in life because of the fears and rejections that have been allowed to speak into their life.

Rejection must be faced and truth must be brought to the surface. Grieving through the pain of a lie, accepting what scripture says about you, and allowing God to come into those very private parts of the heart is the only way to freedom. 

This has become a passion of mine because I saw what rejection tried to do to my life. I tried to leave my now wife three times before getting married because I was trying to push away the very thing that I loved the most. I couldn't see that I had agreed that I wasn't truly loved. I needed so badly to see who I was in Him, that I couldn't fight these battles on my own strength.

My challenge to you is to not run in fear because God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and of a sound mind. Do you want these things gone in your life? You must want it so badly that you will never let it affect you again. 

Romans 8:16-17 " The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

Do I believe that I am a child of God? Do I believe that I have a Father that will never leave me nor forsake me? Do I have the confidence that I am always accepted and never rejected? Am I really co-heirs with Christ?

This has been one of the hardest lessons that I have had to learn in my walk with Christ. Am I accepted and not rejected? I look around and see so many broken families, so many men that have left their wives, so many couples that have cheated on their spouses, so much abuse, so much hurt. How do we overcome it?

I have come to the conclusion that no matter what the situation, rejection is a personal choice chosen by the person that feels rejected. You may think, ‘How can you say that? He hurt me so badly and ripped my heart apart.' Or... ‘My parents never accepted me and I never was good enough in their eyes.'  That might be the case, but the end result is receiving rejection.

I have seen, in my personal walk, that in order for me not to receive rejection, I have to know who I am in Christ. If I know that I am a child of God, I know that my true Father in Heaven will never hurt me, will never leave me, and will always accept me. Hurts from man will never touch me. I have to be so convinced in my heart that my Father loves me. 

People are not perfect and will always hurt us. Our parents raised us the best way that they knew how. Their parents raised them the best way that they knew how. When we know who we are in Christ we can overlook the faults of man. We can see past the imperfections, and then grace begins to overflow in our lives.

No matter what the rejection was- business, personal, spousal, parental, or the world. If we are receiving rejection, we are not resting in the perfect love of our Father. No one is perfect except our Father in heaven and only His love will give us the confidence we need to get past man's imperfections.

Do you know who you are? Are you still seeing your Father in heaven through the pain of your childhood? Have you ever released your parents' mistakes? Is your heart closed off from ever being hurt again?

I am part of a ministry called the 42^nd generation. This ministry symbolizes a generation that embraces the fullness of Christ and takes their inheritance. What does the generation need to embrace before it can take their inheritance? I believe the answer can be found completely in the Fear of the Lord.

"The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who Fear Him, and delivers them." Ps 34:7 This scripture says that there will be angels around those who fear the Lord. The angels will be fighting everything that comes against you. 

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride arrogance and the evil way...." Proverbs 8:13. If you don't hate evil then something is wrong. What is coming against your marriage, what is coming against your family, what is coming against your parents, what is coming against your destiny, what is slowing you down? There has to be a hate that wells up within all of us that is directly towards the destructor, the devil, the one that wants to steal, kill and destroy everything in your life.

"The Fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil." Proverbs 19:23. The answers are all there. The generation that understands the fear of the Lord will have life. It's not about right and wrong it is about life and death. He who has the fear of the Lord will dwell in the fullness of God. This is the best part; he will not be visited with evil. Are you serious? The word is truth and this is for a generation who believes who they are in Christ. There was no devil that could come against Jesus Christ and there is a generation that understands the fullness of the incarnation of Jesus Christ within them where no evil will be able to come against them.

The answer lies in the Fear of the Lord. It is the beginning that needs to be engrained into who we are. So the question for everyone is this, Father what does the fear of God look like.

For me it is this. Love your wife like the church. "When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed. It is better not to vow than to vow and not pay." Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 

My ministry is my wife. My dedication is first to my lord and savior and second to my wife. If my marriage is not right then I need to figure out how to make it work. I need to figure out how to make my wife smile the way that she did when she said "I do". I need to go back to my vows and remember every single one of them and engrain them in my spirit. The beginning of the Fear of God for me is doing what I said that I would do and following through with it.

What does the Fear of God look like to you?

So here we are, Colorado Springs Colorado. The Lord has taken us through an amazing journey of ups and downs with an open future off in the distance. We sit amongst the 14,000 foot mountains revering God for his Creation.

Our journey began with a radical 11 month journey around the world as friends and then through a 7 month amazing, challenging and life breathing engagement with a wedding set for the 5^th of July. Normal temperatures in Indiana at that time were 98 degrees with nearly 100% humidity, with thunder storms a normal occurrence.

The day of the wedding was 77 degrees with nearly no humidity. There wasn't a cloud in the sky; perfect. I was an emotional mess from the get go because this was the most important day of my life- covenant with the woman of my dreams.

My groomsman lined up behind me, as tears began to roll from my face. Erin's song, "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" played by the string quartet, as I saw a glitter of a white dress coming my way. My heart began to pound as I saw the vision that God had given me months prior, Erin walking through archways in her beautiful white dress. 

Although Erin was about 50 yards away from me, our eyes connected as though this was the first time that I saw her. She walked closer and closer as I came down to meet her and assume headship as her father gave her to me. Tears rolled off my face knowing what a pearl of great price I was getting and what a life I was about to begin.

Andrew Shearman started by saying that by totaling the combined faithful, monogamous years of marriage from Erin's parents, my parents, my grandmother who was in attendance, Andrew and Pastor Ron Johnson Sr., the blessing in covenantal marriage totaled over 250 years. My heart rejoiced as he said that because I gladly received that blessing over us and our children and our children's children. It was a generational blessing.

The ceremony was amazing and filled with the love of the Holy Spirit. We partook in communion together, lit unity candles, worshiped our Lord and shared our vows to each other. It is a day that we will forever remember.

















After the pronunciation of man and wife, the party began. We danced the night away, cried, laughed and rejoiced over the speeches and the dances. 

The end of the reception was amazing. 120 people lined the exit of the castle as they lit 120 sparklers. Erin and I ran out into the amazement of lights with smiles from ear to ear. We heard laughter, and joy and shouting and celebration and at the end awaited our limo to take us to downtown Chicago. The sensation from going from 120 screaming people to complete silence with your new bride is something that I can't explain. 

We then headed off to our honeymoon in the Caribbean on the island of Saint Martin. My father and mother so generously provided us with their ten day time share in complete paradise. We enjoyed the sunny beaches, sunsets every night and a much needed rest before we started our new life.

So here we are, Colorado Springs, beginning our life together, not as two separate people but as one, willing and ready for anything the Father has for us.

Our new address is. 89 Paloma Heights #204 Colorado Springs, CO 80921.

“Or else how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.” Mathew 12:29

I challenge you to ask yourself, who is the strongman of your house? 

The reason that I ask this is because I believe it is time to act and stop the demonic from ruling our lives. I believe that it is time for us to get angry at the devil and do what it says in proverbs, the fear of the Lord is to hate ALL evil. I believe it is time to regain control of our thought life, our home life, our marriages, our families. The only way to do this is to become the strongman of your house through the power of Jesus Christ.

It says in Ephesians that we do not war against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

You see, when first Adam went against Jesus and allowed sin to enter the world he gave the title deed to the devil to rule and reign everything. The devil became the god of this world. Praise Jesus (second Adam) because he came back and snatched the title back with power and gave possession to the church. 

Who is the church? If you have Jesus Christ as Lord and savior of your heart, you are the church. He gave you the title deeds to the world to show the love of Christ and take dominion back from the devil.

So what do we do? The answer is that we fight. Mathew says that the violent take the kingdom by force. The violent is the church. We are the ones that are supposed to be getting violent against the enemy, the devil. 

I am violent in my spirit right now because I can feel what the enemy wants to do to my marriage that I am drawing near to. He wants to destroy it. Marriage is the number one thing he wants to destroy because it is the root of procreation. It is the root of building sons and daughters for the kingdom. From the very beginning satan lied to eve to split the marriage apart. Satan succeeded and he continues today to destroy marriages.

I am sick and tired of bondage. I am sick and tired of fear, I am sick and tired of timidity, I am sick and tired of seeing families ripped apart by divorce, I am sick and tired of seeing kids separated from there parents, I am sick and tired of seeing lazy men not leading there wives. I am sick and tired of being defeated by the devil. 

So who is the strongman of your house? What is it that is trying to stop you; fear, fear of man, shame, guilt, slothfulness, un-forgiveness, rejection, pride, greed? What is it that haunts you and tries to take ownership of your house? It is time to stand up to your giant and claim victory in the name of Jesus Christ with power and authority. It is time to violently take the Kingdom by force.