Islamic Paradigm - Much thanks to Rick

It has recently become known via my Facebook that I, in my studies, have adopted a view of Daniel 2 contrary to that which is popularly held in modern Christian society. This post is an attempt to explain my view and provide insight to why I do not believe the “Iron Empire” to be Rome. I apologize to those of you who follow this blog and find this daft or uninteresting. I shall post something life-pertaining in the near future. Now for my statements:

Let us start outside of Daniel 2 in honor of true hermeneutics. We will use clear and succinct passages to determine the correct interpretation of difficult passages such as Daniel 2, 7, 9, and eventually (probably in a later post) Revelation 17 (the 4 primary passages that argue a Roman view-point.) Numbers 24:17-19, Joel 3:4-7, Micah 5:5-6, Isaiah 14: 24-32, Deuteronomy 28-30, Isaiah 9, Isaiah 13, Isaiah 14, Isaiah 18, Isaiah 19, and the list goes on and on for end times passages that have yet to be completely fulfilled that mention Jesus returning to crush nations such as Moab, Assyria, Edom, Seir, Babylon, and others that are all in the present day Middle East, and yet not one single prophecy is granted for Jesus coming to tread the winepress in Italy, or Scotland, so why then do we have a Roman Paradigm of the end times? Let us look at Isaiah 63:3, the passage quoted in Revelation 19 to see where Jesus’ robe becomes stained with blood. If we look at Verse 1 we see that He is coming from Edom, specifically from Edom’s capital, Bozrah. This is present day Jordan. So based on these facts and these facts alone, is it more wise to conclude that the Anti-Christ and his army will come from the Middle East out of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, or is it more intelligent to conclude that he is Nicolae Carpathia from Romania? (eat your heart out, Tim LaHaye)

Now I will dissect some of the challenging passages in Daniel with this Biblical precedent in mind.

We see in Daniel 2 a vision of a statue. Its head is gold, its arms and chest are silver, its stomach and thighs are bronze, and its legs and feet are iron and iron/clay mixture. We see Daniel lay out plainly that the golden head is Nebuchadnezzar and thus Babylon. In Daniel 5 we see during the ‘writing on the wall’ scene the invasion of the Medo-Persian empire lead by Darius which invades Babylon. Daniel 8 sets up the next empire for us as the Greek empire. We see a goat with one great horn coming from the west (Alexander the Great) who tramples the ram with two horns (Media and Persia). His horn then splits into 4 sections which represent the 4 Greek rulers who vied for power after Alexander the Great’s death. Now we come to the sticky part. Historically, any scholar you ask will tell you without any doubt in their voice that the 4th kingdom is Rome. I hope to show you that this view is not only inaccurate but in my honest opinion, absolutely impossible based on world history. Here are some maps that will help illustrate my point geographically.

Here we have a map of the Babylonian Empire. As you can see it occupies modern day Israel, Iraq, Iran, and a small bit of Saudi Arabia.

Here we have the Medo-Persian empire. It is quite obvious that this empire replaces that of Babylon. It occupies most, if not all, of the same territory and then expands on it.

Here we have the Greek empire. As you can see, this occupies just about all of the same land as the Medo-Persian empire and most importantly still encompasses the city of Babylon and the surrounding area (the region prophesied about in Daniel 2)

And here is the Roman empire. This is not the borders that most of your Bibles will show. Most of your Bibles will say something like “Roman Empire At Its Greatest Extent” and will contain a section called Mesopotamia that extends in between the Tigris and Euphrates into Babylon and the surrounding area. Why do I use this map, you ask? Because it is more accurate to the true Roman empire as it existed as an empire. In 116 AD, Trajan started an expanse East. He took Mesopotamia and Assyria and established a few garrisons there. In 117 AD, he passed away and rebellion forced his successor to remove his garrisons and re-establish the borders closer to what we see here: not anywhere close to babylon or the surrounding region. This is how Rome existed for a majority of its rule. Now, can you honestly still say that you agree that Rome is most definitely the next empire to rule this region and is therefore the Iron empire? If you can, don’t worry, there’s still hope. I’m not close to being finished yet.

Here we have a map (albeit a little blurry) of the Islamic Caliphate’s rule as it expanded after Mohammad’s death. I believe this is can easily say to have conquered the same territory as Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece as well as more. This is important because the Stone (Jesus Christ’s Kingdom) crushed all 4 of these kingdoms at the same time. If Jesus had crushed Rome in its glory major sections of what was Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece would have still been left standing. Now that I’ve geographically shown you how the Islamic Caliphate is a more reasonable idea to the Iron Empire, let us break down the traits of this empire and see if we can describe Rome, or rather if they better describe Islam.

In Daniel 2:40-43 we get a description of this kingdom. It will crush all of the other empires. Did Rome crush Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece? Well first, we should define what makes up an empire. I think and empire is best defined by its borders, culture, and religion (specially in those days when religion was a major player). Did Rome crush the borders of Greece? No, I think we can safely say that it did not. Did Rome crush the culture of Greece? Knowing that Rome operated under a Hellenistic Greco-Roman culture and later even adopted Greek as their language, I would say that it did not. Did Rome crush the religion of Greece? In school, don’t you remember learning all of the Greek gods and yet also learning their Roman name? I would say that Rome adopted the Greek gods rather than destroyed them. Based on this, I do not think you could say that Rome in any way crushed Greece. Now let us ask for Islam. Did Islam crush the borders of what was the Greek empire? Absolutely. Did it dominate their religion? Considering almost every nation in that region has adopted Islam as their national religion, I would say so. Did Islam crush their culture? If we look at the language, they all speak Arabic. Egypt is now know as the Arab Republic of Egypt and it’s national language is Arab. Those few countries that retained their own language in the Islamic empire have had their language Arab-ized by using the Arab alphabet and other such nuances. Therefore, I think that Islam could be said to have crushed these other 3 nations rather than just occupied some of their Western borders.

Next we see that this empire will be a mixed empire. Was Rome a mixed empire? Some scholars will argue for East and West Rome, but I don’t buy it. Islam is made up of several independent countries and furthermore of Tsuni and Sh’ite. This seems extremely mixed with the inability to ever mix just as the prophecy says. This next part seems like a stretch, but I will let you figure it out for yourselves. The link below is to a parallel Bible study of Daniel 2:43. Go there and then click the word “mixed.” It will pull up the original word for “mixed” that is used in the Aramaic text.

http://www.studylight.org/isb/bible.cgi?query=Daniel+2%3A43&section=0&it=nas&ot=bhs&nt=na&Enter=Perform+Search

Now, turn with me to Daniel 5, the famous writing on the wall passage. We see that the writing on the wall says “Mene mene tekel parsin” this is translated as “counted counted weighed and divided” but interestingly enough we see some divine wordplay. The singular form of “Parsin” as we see it here is “Paras” or “Persia”, therefore, not only will they be divided, but they will be divided by Persia. This wordplay I feel sets at least a slight precedent for the earlier grasp at the word ‘Arab’

Now, how then do all of the scholars arrive at Rome? They do so by using Daniel 9’s description of the “people of the prince to come.” This is obviously referring to the Anti-Christ and his army. Right now you’re thinking that this is obviously Rome and that I’m a huge idiot. Track with me through this next part, it’s about to get rough. (The following information was assembled by a man I know named Rick who is the only person I know of who supports this theory. I have personally checked all of his facts and it all checks out.)

Let us first define the verse as it is most commonly interpreted by scholars. “The people (the primary followers) of the prince (the Antichrist) that will come (in the last days), shall destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the Jewish temple).”

Now in this time Augustus had been making sweeping reforms which led to a whole slew of recruits to the Roman army. We see that the only Italian soldiers protected the Emperor and the Leader’s tents, everything was made up of pretty much anything but Italians.

According to the Roman Historian, Tacitus:Titus Caesar… found in Judaea three legions, the 5th, the 10th, and the 15th… To these he added the 12th from Syria, and some men belonging to the 18th and 3rd, whom he had withdrawn from Alexandria. This force was accompanied… by a strong contingent of Arabs, who hated the Jews with the usual hatred of neighbors… —Tacitus The History New Ed edition Book 5.1 Editor: Moses Hadas, Translators: Alfred Church, William Brodribb (Modern Library; New York, 2003)

Now a second witness Rick has found in Josephus:So Vespasian sent his son Titus [who], came by land into Syria, where he gathered together the Roman forces, with a considerable number of auxiliaries from the kings in that neighborhood. Flavius Josephus The Complete Works of Josephus, The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem Book III, Chapter 1, Paragraph 3

and

Malchus also, the king of Arabia, sent a thousand horsemen, besides five thousand footmen, the greatest part of which were archers; so that the whole army, including the auxiliaries sent by the kings, as well horsemen and footmen, when all were united together, amounted to sixty thousand. - Flavius Josephus The Complete Works of Josephus, The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem Book III, Chapter 4, Paragraph 2

Now let’s examine the legions that would have been seizing Jerusalem under Titus.

Legion V Macedonia: Judea or Moesia
Legion X Fretensis: Syria
Legion XV Appolinaris Syria
Legion XII Fulminata Asia Minor / Syria
Legion XVIII Egypt
Legion III Gallica Syria

Modern scholars of history will agree with these facts as well:

That Italians were increasingly replaced in the legions during this period by provincials is in itself no longer a novelty among scholars… In the East, that is Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt, it seems clear that local recruitment was well under way under Augustus [d.14 A.D.], so that by his death only a very small number of legionaries derived from Italy or indeed any of the western provinces… Under Nero [d. 68A.D.], when the eastern legions required supplementation…it was to Cappadocia and Galatia that [Rome] looked for recruits. This was doubtless standard procedure. [The] legions of the East consisted largely of “orientals” (Middle Easterners) (Phang 57-58)

To the Roman public, the army of 69-70 AD probably seemed little different than its counterpart under Julius Caesar. The legionaries wore familiar equipment, and marched behind the silver aquila, their legions bearing names and titles which reflected their origins and the exploits of earlier days. But in reality much had changed: What had been an army of Italians was increasingly becoming an army of provincials owing no particular allegiance to, or common bond with the Senate or the urbs Roma… Increasingly they began to identify their interests with those of the provinces in which they were stationed…. By AD 69 Gallica III, like other legions long stationed in the East, contained a very high proportion of men born in the eastern provinces.” (Phang page 44)

We see from the above list of legions that Gallica III was part of the raid on Jerusalem.

In case you don’t believe me yet:

The greatest part of the Roman garrison was raised out of Syria; and being thus related to the Syrian part, they were ready to assist it. The Wars of The Jews History of the Destruction of Jerusalem By Flavius Josephus Trans. William Whiston BOOK II: CHAPTERPara7

Now, it is important to note that the word “Peoples” in Hebrew from Daniel 9:26 denotes ethnicity. It does not refer to the kingdom or empire of the people.

Now let us look at what Josephus has to say about the sacking of the temple:

And now a certain person came running to Titus, and told him of this fire… whereupon he rose up in great haste, and, as he was, ran to the holy house, in order to have a stop put to the fire; after him followed all his commanders, and after them followed the several legions, in great astonishment; so there was a great clamor and tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly motion of so great an army. Then did Caesar, both by calling to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giving a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench the fire. - Josephus War of the Jews, Book 6, Chapter 4

Titus supposing what the fact was, that the house itself might yet he saved, he came in haste and endeavored to persuade the soldiers to quench the fire… yet were their passions too hard for the regards they had for Caesar, and the dread they had of him who forbade them, as was their hatred of the Jews, and a certain vehement inclination to fight them, too hard for them also… And thus was the holy house burnt down, without Caesar’s approbation. - Josephus, Wars of the Jew, Book 6, Chapter 4

…the multitude of the Arabians, with the Syrians, cut up those that came as supplicants, and searched their bellies. Nor does it seem to me that any misery befell the Jews that was more terrible than this, since in one night’s time about two thousand of these deserters were thus dissected. - The Wars of The Jews, History of the Destruction of Jerusalem By Flavius Josephus Trans. William Whiston BOOK V: Chapter 13: Para 4

Here I have presented the history surrounding historical events as well as unadulterated Biblical text. Please be a Berean with this material. Read it for yourself, research as I have. Most of this is not my own material, but stuff I have learned from an acquaintance via my house leader. I was appalled at first, but as I began to check his facts, everything played out biblically and historically. There are still a few points of contention I am not certain about, but I’m working those out. Hopefully within the next week I will post a write-up about the city on the 7 hills from Revelation 17.

Christology 101

As we move into Fall (we’re certainly feeling cooler weather up here in Kansas City. It’s wonderful) I can’t help but ask “How long until Christmas?” This isn’t due to any large anticipation over gifts that I’ll receive or be blessed enough to give. It isn’t about the never-ending Christmas Carols for a full month on every radio station. It isn’t about the ham or the snow or anything like that. It’s about the scandal that occurred in Bethlehem 2015 years ago. I realize we are still months away from the twenty-fifth of December, but I can’t help but meditate on what took place 2015 years ago in that small town in the land of Judea. A man was born... We always celebrate this fact, but do any of us know what it means? Can any one of us even begin to comprehend what took place on that day? Have you ever sat and really thought about God becoming Man? If you have you’ll know how quickly comprehension leaves you whilst meditating on this seemingly simple fact. I love in Luke 2 when it simply says “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2:40 ESV) Jesus grew! Have you ever looked at your birth certificate and seen your tiny footprints? Jesus had footprints that small at one point. He had tiny toes, and while I doubt Mary ever played ‘this little piggy’ with them, I’m sure she did something similar. He had diapers she had to change. He lost teeth. He got haircuts. He was a man! Did He have her cheeks, or her nose, or maybe her eyes? What happened on that day? What took place in the conversations of the trinity leading up to this event? What compelled Jesus to eternally take on a human form? You see, it was just a 33 year one-and-done deal. Jesus, right now, is in the third heaven and He is FULLY MAN, yet fully God. There is a MAN at the right hand of God. A human being. The more I meditate on these facts, the more my heart melts with the love displayed in that manger on that cold December night. I read a very stirring poem about it in the prayer room Wednesday. Here it is:

“My Jesus, supreme and true God! What has drawn Thee from heaven to be born in a cold stable, if not the love which Thou bearest us men? What has allured Thee from the bosom of Thy Father, to place Thee in a hard manger? What has brought Thee from Thy throne above the stars to lay Thee down on a little straw? What has led Thee from the midst of the nine choirs of angels, to set Thee between two animals? Thou, who inflamest the seraphim with holy fire, art now shivering with cold in this stable! Thou, who settest the stars in the sky in motion, canst not move unless others carry Thee in their arms! Thou, who givest men and beasts their food, hast need now of a little milk to sustain Thy life! Thou, who are the joy of heaven, dost whimper and cry in suffering! Tell me who has reduced Thee to such misery? Love has done it. The love which thou bearest us men has brought all this on Thee.”

Jesus loves us so much that He would give up the relationship He had with God to come and justify our flesh to prepare humanity for the union that is coming with Jesus’ return. This event creates what Hans Urs von Balthasar describes as “the ecstasy of non-comprehension.” To quote him fully:

Anyone contemplating the life of Jesus needs to be newly and more deeply aware every day that something scandalous has occurred: that God, in His absolute being, has resolved to manifest Himself in a human life. He must be scandalized by this, he must feel his mind reeling, the very ground giving way beneath his feet; he must at least experience that ‘ecstasy’ of non-comprehension which transported Jesus’ contemporaries.

Jesus took part in flesh. How scandalous is that?! But He did it for love. Love for you and love for me, 1995 years before I even existed. This is even an object of contemplation for the angels (1 Peter 1:12). Paul in his letter to Timothy said “And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16 NKJV) Paul says that without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great. This wasn’t an uninformed guy. We see in 2 Corinthians 12 that Paul has been to the third heaven. He had seen the Lord, yet Paul emphatically proclaimed that there was no debate around the magnitude of God becoming a man.

I urge you all to meditate on this. It will plunge you into the depths of God’s love for us. Imagine a redwood tree planted in a 3” flower pot and the redwood tree being allowed to grow to its fullest height unconstricted, and yet the flower pot remaining in tact and absolutely containing this redwood tree. It is impossible, but that is a small fraction of what the hypostatic union is like. Words cannot describe the magnificence of Jesus’ perfect union of flesh and divinity. I will leave you with 25 questions Max Lucado said he would ask Mary, but try asking God and see what happens. Seriously, meditate on this. It will blow you away and catapult your prayer life.

“What was it like watching Him pray? How did He respond when he saw other kids giggling during the service at synagogue? When He saw a rainbow, did He ever mention a flood? Did you ever feel awkward teaching HIm how He created the world? When He saw a lamb being led to the slaughter, did He act differently? Did you ever see Him with a distant look on His face as if He were listening to someone you couldn’t hear? How did He act at funerals? Did the thought ever occur to you that the God to whom you were praying was asleep under your own roof? Did you ever try to count the stars with Him ... and succeed? Did He ever come home with a black eye? How did He act when He got His first haircut? Did He have any friends by the name of Judas? Did He do well in school? Did you ever scold Him? Did He ever have to as a question about scripture? What do you think He thought when He saw a prostitute offering to the highest bidder the body he made? Did He ever get angry when someone was dishonest with Him? Did you ever catch Him pensively looking at the flash on His on arm while holding a clod of dirt? Did He ever wake up afraid? Who was His best friend? When someone referred to Satan, how did He act? Did you ever accidentally call Him father? What did He and His cousin John talk about as kids? Did His other brothers and sisters understand what was happening? Did you ever think, ‘That’s God eating my soup?’”

I’m urging you guys to give yourself to this. Don’t just merely say “Wow, CJ, that’s cool.” It’s not about me. It’s not about what’s cool. It’s about allowing yourself to be lost in the ecstasy of non-comprehension and thus have a greater respect for what happened that night in Bethlehem. I can’t stress enough how much this contemplation has skyrocketed my prayer life. Just try it for 30 minutes and stand in awe of how quickly comprehension leaves. Thanks for reading. Sorry this post was longer. Hope you guys have a blessed week.

In Christ,

CJ

Prayer Watch 2010

Sorry I’ve been infrequent with my blog updates. A lot of the same thing happens up here in the sense that God is continually moving and delivering and healing. That compounded with my lack of internet doesn’t promote very frequent updates. That being said, I was able to take part in a historic event this weekend. 85 evangelical prayer ministries called up IHOP (regarded as charismatic which is basically the opposite of evangelical.) and wanted to host a 66-hour prayer meeting using our prayer room. We agreed to provide the prayer room, students who are eager to pray, and the worship bands and we would let them guide us in 66 hours of intercession (praying for others). Needless to say, it was mind-blowing. To be sitting within feet of Glenn Shepherd, Dick Eastman, Vonette Bright, as well as other was phenomenal. The fact that Glenn Shepherd (YWAM) has had over 1,000,000 missionaries sent out through his organization, Dick Eastman’s ministry (Every Home for Christ) is quoted as having accidentally planting 25,000 churches as well as being on their third cycle of door-to-door preaching in India (that’s twice they’ve gone to EVERY house in India with the gospel and they’re working on number 3.), and Vonette Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ) and her late husband Bill Bright, who are responsible for so many prayer furnaces on college campuses, have a combined total of souls attributed to their ministries that is mind-numbingly large was enough. Within three hours of them being here with us, they said they wanted to pass on their mantle, so to speak, to us. They asked for all the young people to come and stand in the aisles and then proceeded to lay hands on us and pray for our future ministries and bless us. To say it was a blessing from God would be a severe understatement. It was easily the most life-changing thing I have ever partaken in. Through it, I had a few brief conversations with Glenn Shepherd who refused my thanking him for coming and blessing us by saying that it was us who were blessing him. I am currently exploring the possibility of going with him to Nepal on a short-term missions trip. It was such a blessing. For the first time in my life I felt like a part of the body of christ on a bigger scale than my home church back in Wichita.

It was phenomenal that all of these 85 organizations, as well as IHOP, could put aside their minor doctrinal issues and theological qualms with each other and band together and see the bigger picture. That it’s not about Pre-Millennial or Post. It’s not about baptism. It’s not about speaking in tongues. It’s about a world of hurt and a mandate from the living God to spread to the gospel to all corners of the Earth. That was not a suggestion, that was a mandate. It’s about the fact that one day, Jesus WILL return to this Earth (for the record, most of these 85 Evangelical ministries as well as IHOP believe that it will be within my generation or the generation after mine’s lifetime) and that we want to be the bride that He deserves and the only was that we can do that is through corporate prayer, fasting, and intercession. Christ did not ask for a body of believers that disagrees with each other, bashes each other’s view on minor doctrinal issues, but a body of Christ that can look past all of these differences and pray in unity for the burden that is on God’s heart, rather than passively praying selfish prayers. Now, that’s not to say we shouldn’t pray for ourselves, because we need all the help we can get, but we should NEVER neglect an opportunity to join together with a body of believers and seek God’s will for our church, for our city, for our state, for our nation, and for our world. God has an opinion on all of these things and He’s dying to share it with you. Are you brave enough to ask Him? This is a perfect time to proclaim this message. We are on the brink of two MAJOR event that draw the body of believers together through prayer for our communities and further. I’m not sure what order these occur in but one is See You At the Pole. There should not be one professing Christian that attends a school, or teaches at one, that does not show up for this event. What a better chance to see the professing Christians at your school so you can hold them accountable as well as to join together in your prayers as you all, regardless of denomination, pray for the same thing. For teachers, it’s an amazing way to stand before your students as a believer and open up the door to become a spiritual father to them and encourage them in their prayer life and their walk with Christ. The second event is the National Day of Prayer (there is also a World Day of Prayer but I’m not sure if that is in the fall, or when it is. Do some research). There should not be a confessing Christian who does not participate in this to some degree. Whether it’s tuning in to IHOP’s webstream as we participate and praying with us, or whether it’s looking for your city’s event. I know in Wichita they usually host a prayer meeting at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Get involved. Do not treat these events passively. If there’s anything I learned at the prayer watch this weekend it was the fact that when you pray with fervor and come together with events such as these, your prayers feel ten-times more effective, and I’m almost certain they are. It’s easy to get with your youth group and pray for your church. While these are great prayers, and God hears every one of them, there is a bigger plan on His mind. Tapping in to cross-denominational prayer meetings connects you deeply into the heart of God and His desire on a bigger scheme than you’ve likely been made accustomed to, or cared to pursue. This is a great time to change that. So that’s my call. Get out there and pray. Organize prayer meetings in your school, in your work place, in your city, in your state. Dream big and God will fulfill them in His timing. I hope God is moving deeply in all of your lives as you continue to press in wherever you may be. God will meet you there if you continue to run the race and don’t give up no matter what. God bless.

~CJ Heintz

Week 1 and then some

Well it's been almost 2 weeks wince I started my internship here at IHOP. God is showing up in mighty ways. Already he has healed me of my anxiety, insomnia, stomach issues, and depression. He has healed my heart from emotional trauma and has lavished me with the love He has for me. As I dive into His heart, He is showing me the burdens He has for the world and breaking my heart for the things that break His heart. He is showing me true hatred for sin and a true love for righteousness. As I draw into Him, He is drawing into me tenfold. I praise God for the time He has allowed me to spend here already. In the last 10 days He has done more in me than I had hoped He would do in a lifetime and He has told me this is just the beginning. He is a God who is consumed with love for me and for all of His children. He doesn't just desire to forgive us, but He desires to sit us on His lap and give us the world. As Mark says in chapter 16, "'These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;

they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."'

This is not a God who we have to beg to forgive us, it is a God who desires to lavish us with His love and to pour out His power through the use of His spirit within our lives daily. As I look at the season of life that lays in front of me, I am reminded time and time again, both by God and by the leadership here at IHOP, of the story of Mary of Bethany. She did the one thing that was necessary. She sat at the feet of God. It wasn't service or ministry that allowed her to follow God wholeheartedly, but the fact that she actively sought to cultivate a wholehearted passion for the word of Jesus. She was the only one in the company of Jesus who knew He was going to die even though he directly told His disciples that he was going to Jerusalem to die three times in scripture. I thank God that he has allowed me the finances and the desire to have a Mary heart for the next six months and I pray that He continues to allow me the time and freedom to sit at His feet for the rest of my days. So many pastors "burn out" because of their ministry. They give up time at Jesus' feet because they decide it is a waste. With the 2 hours a day they spend in prayer, they could build houses, feed the poor, serve at orphanages. While all these are great things, they are not the one thing which God has deemed necessary for wholehearted devotion. If more leaders would cultivate a Mary heart in this Martha world the life of the church would propel itself into an era that would be far beyond even what the church described in Acts experienced. This is the calling on my heart, to usher in a life of wholehearted devotion for God. To be even more tender and vibrant at the age of 50 than I am now. The "burn out" described by church leaders of today is merely a bitterness at God for not fulfilling them in the way they desired because they neglected the biggest non-negotiable thing God called them to in the New Testament. It is my hope and prayer that all of those who follow my blog would begin to cultivate this Mary heart and "waste" time in the presence of God that he might open up the doors to heaven in the church today and bring a manifestation of His glory that is unprecedented on this Earth.

God Bless,

CJ Heintz

Preparing to Leave

Well I leave Monday morning for Iowa and I still haven't even started to pack... It's been an amazing month and it's ending bittersweetly. I'm excited to begin this next phase of my life, to move on from Wichita and experience life outside of my house and on my own, but it's also a somber moment, a moment where I wish I hadn't had all those times where I took my family and friends for granted and had just taken time out to enjoy their company more. The more I think about moving up there, the more I am reminded how much we've all grown up with Courtney and Wesley getting married soon, life is changing. I praise God for this, but it's also somewhat scary and also a little sad, but I know it's a necessary part of life and we'll all stay in touch as we head out to advance God's kingdom in our own unique and powerful ways.

On that note, God has been moving mightily in my life over the past several weeks as I prepare to leave for IHOP. He blessed me with the financial means to be able to go on Desperation with the youth group at Asbury. It was a difficult trip, but I was so bless to be able to invest in those kids and watch them grow exponentially. Seeing a youth group unified by hearts crying out to proclaim the glory of God is a beautiful thing and something I'm glad I was a part of. God's really been showering me with His love lately, sometimes a little too much I think, haha. He's really been focusing on breaking me down and removing the garbage from my life as I prepare to head off for a consecrated period with Him. It's been a cleansing process but also extremely exhausting and painful. I've spent the last few weeks in close communion with the pastors and mentors God has put in my life and gained ample amount of spiritual and just general life guidance. It has been a season of immense change and growth even without the help of IHOP and I'm more than excited to see what God can do while I'm at IHOP. I will try to update again after my first week there! Hope you all have a safe 4th of July and may God continue to increase in every one of your lives!

The Beginning

For the first post I will attempt to explain what God has been doing in my heart over the last month and half and hopefully I will be able to elaborate on that as I blog about my preparation for One Thing in the next 53 days. I'd also like to talk about my hopes and prayers for what will occur while I am there to give any readers some ideas to be praying for.

It started at the beginning of April. After having a brief discussion about life with Courtney Klaver she asked about my feelings towards IHOP. I expressed how dreadful several hours of prayer a day sounded to me. She conveyed that by spending all that time in direct contact with God really lets you see how God sees you and provides healing for the areas of your life that need it. God really hit me then. The thought of seeing myself as God sees me at first terrified me. I was afraid God would see me as a kid who screwed up every chance he had and was of no use to His kingdom, but I knew that couldn't be the case, and at that moment I felt an unexplainable desire to do everything it took to find the heart of God.

The Bible refers to David as "A man after God's own heart." I don't know what David did to get that description, but it's exactly how I have felt for the past month or so. I went home the next morning and told my parents my plan. I thought they would be apprehensive, but they were overjoyed. I knew I was making the right choice for the first time in years. I had my application for Fire in the Night in by Monday. I really started to see God move in my life almost immediately. He really started to pour His wisdom and love into me and showed me that all of those years I thought he had forsaken me, he was just giving me exactly what I thought I wanted: a life without Him. As terrible as that sounds, I wouldn't have the attitude I have now about Him had I not attempted life in his absence. I now know that He is the only thing that won't let me down, and that I felt so abandoned by Him because I abandoned Him.

As I started to pray I really felt that this was where God was calling me. Then one day I got a letter saying that my acceptance to the Fire in the Night internship had been postponed. I called to explore my options, and it turns out that due to my insomnia I just needed to apply for One Thing instead, due to the day-time scheduling as opposed to the night. This is when I really started to see that God just wants me to let go and let Him be in control. I was petrified when I read that letter, but everything turned out okay, and I'm slowly learning to relinquish the controls of my life to Him and for His glory.

As I prepare for IHOP a big thing I'm hoping God can deal with is my past. I've made a lot of mistakes in past concerning decisions with just about everything you could make bad decisions with. One of the biggest things is deep emotional scars from various relationships that went bad when I was in high school. They've made me put up extremely thick walls to prevent the same hurt from occurring again, but I know that to achieve the full benefit from my time at IHOP, I need to become transparent and remove those walls. I already see God starting to remove them, but the process isn't going to be complete without a lot of prayer. As the departing date approaches, I develop more and more of a spirit of doubt. I start to doubt that God can overcome my past; that he can heal my wounds; that he can allow me to open up to people. I know this is false, but it keeps just pecking at me. I just need some prayers that I could remain faithful to His calling and remember that He is the God of the universe and that if He wills it, it will be accomplished.

I suppose this is a pretty decent first post, so I will leave it at that. I'll try to update every week or 2 before I leave just to let you all know about upcoming events that I'm planning for fundraising, as well as keep you posted on my milestones and struggles so you have things to praise God for, and thing to offer up prayers for. Thank you all SO much for you extended support. I wouldn't be half the man I am today without each and every one of you, and I know that I'm not even half the man that God needs me to be right now, but with your continued support I know I can get there. Thank you all so much. You meant the world to me. I will keep you posted!