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!