Just hours ago we finished the great Upside Down1 national youth conf. God moved in an awesome way! It was to be expected that in the midst of great attack God would move in a sovereign way and confirm His hand of favor. Thousands of young people and hundreds of youth pastors came from all over America and even the world to be ministered to and touched by the precious anointing of the HS, and they weren’t disappointed. Jonathan recorded most of his new youth album and boy was it hype! Pastor Judah Smith and his family came to be with us from Seattle, Wa. and helped me to preach half of the sessions. What a blessing it was to have my brother in the Lord come and help me. He did a phenominal job and was used mightily of the Lord.

All of this just shows you that when God gets ready to do something incredible the devil will usually sniff it out and try to disrupt or distract. He did not succeed in this case, hallelujah! Tonight we laid hands on all the interns for graduaton and then Grandad (Bro. Clark), Bro. Rod Aguillard, dad and mom, Doc Crandall (my doctor from Palm Beach) all anointed Amy with oil and prayed the prayer of faith over her and I believe Amy is healed. Praise God! We followed the word in James 5 and we believe the results will be as promised.

So many people have been praying for Amy and I and I know that the battle has turned in our favor. Thank you for praying!

The Scripture on my heart to share is from 1 Cor. 16:8-9– In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost, for there is a wide-open door for a great work here, and many people are responding. But there are many who oppose me.
You mean God can open a door and the enemy can oppose you? You better believe it! When the enemy sees God has opened a door that is where he attacks the greatest. The enemy has seen a great release of anointing and favor for this generation upon Amy and I and he is fighting us tooth and nail to see that anointing get loose nationally. Too bad, devil, we will speak to a generation anyway! The door is open. Every time we have a national event it confirms God’s destiny and hand on us to shake a generation. Destiny will not be stopped in Jesus name.

If I had known just how upside down our lives would be at the time of this youth conf. I might have named it something else! I had no idea how prophetic that name would be. When approaching the subject of upside down (revolution) it is always appropriate to start with one’s own self. I know that if God is going to bring revolution to our nation it must start in the hearts of a few people who have been there and back. In this case I can truly say that my world has been turned upside down and God is shaking loose anything that is not attached to Him. Some of you have walked through times in your life where it seems all is falling apart but in reality God is allowing anything frivolous to be removed.

I can’t tell you how much closer I feel to Jesus in this time of crisis. He truly is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, even if things seem to be upside down! There is no substitute for the moments of feeling His precious presence. No alternative to feeding on His Word. No other way to find peace but in His everlasting arms.

On the eve of Upside Down, deep down, I know that this is not just a title but a testimony. Amy and I can truly say that we are not selling something that we have not walked. This is not a theory but a lifestyle. I pray that in the next few days God will give us the grace to communicate the radical message of surrender no matter the cost.

The verse in my spirit may seem unusual but I believe is fitting for this subject of upside down. Matt. 3:12- He (Jesus) will come ready to clean the grain, seperating the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into His barn, but He will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out. NASB

Many times we think of this verse in the context of saved people and sinners, but God is saying to us today that there are parts of our lives that are acceptable and holy to Him while other parts are fleshly and worldly. The only way to be purged from these impure areas is by going through the fire. Fire is hot and uncomfortable but produces purity. Thank God for His purifying fire! So if your life ever seems upsie down and the fires of tribulations get hot remember that God is purifying your life and preparing you to be a vessel of honor that He can use for His glory.

Here on this earth you WILL have MANY trials and sorrows. BUT take heart, because I HAVE overcome the world- Jesus (Jn. 16:33). Boy does that say it all! In this present moment of crisis it is such a comfort to know that Jesus told us to expect such and left us with the solution for all that would come our way.

Yesterday was one of the most difficult days of my life. Between Amy’s first chemotherapy treatment and a rough day at the dialysis unit for me (simultaneously) it all seemed to surreal. Even now, speaking about the situation with my darling wife seems like another person’s story or a book of someone else’s life. The emotional side of all this is too much to even try and handle and that is why we must not be led or controlled by emotions but allow our spirit man to take the lead. In my emotions there is anxiety, fear, and shock, but in my spirit there is peace, faith, and a calm assurance that Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the Father interceding for me day and night. What a grand thought!

All this leads me to the point I started with in my title that in the midst of tremendous crisis and battle you must take the stance of one day at a time. If you get to thinking about all that is happening, has happened, or may happen then you will go crazy. The only thing you can do is trust the Word of God and hold on to the Lord with all your mind, soul, and strength. I have found tremendous comfort in the Word of God as I have been preparing my spirit to preach and impart this next week. Digging into the Word and seeking the Lord has been a haven for me in this moment of distress. I can’t wait to see the victory that will come forth as thousands of young people and hundreds of youth pastors flood into Bethany North and receive things that will carry them for a lifetime in God. The devil will be depressed and demoralized as he has sent his best and we are not only standing but on the offense against him. Truly God’s grace is suffecient!

The Scripture the Lord has put in my spirit comes from Heb. 6:18b-19,20– Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to His promise with confidence. This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain of heaven into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the line of Melchizedek.

No matter what the storm may be all you have to do is throw out the anchor of His promise and hold on to the rope of His supernatural peace. Soon all will be over and the voyage of life can go on.

I won’t take the time to be eloquent, it’s time for war! For those of you who don’t know, my wife, Amy, has been viciously attacked in her body over that last couple of weeks. In the last week we found out that the problem is a low-grade cancer known as Hodgkins Lymphoma. This is a highly curable disease and we know that our God is the healer anyway! We are summoning prayer warriors from all over the nation to stand with us. The most important prayer is coming from our home base here in BR. It just is amazing to see, once again, how many people love and support us in prayer. It has truly been touching! I sit and read your comments and they just amaze me how God has put such a deep love in the hearts of so many of you for Amy and I. (and boy do we appreciate it right now!)

Never in my life have I seen such warfare, and you all that know me know that I have seen some serious battle days in my time, but this is something else! To be honest it is truly shocking in one sense but exciting in another to know that the enemy is so afraid of us that he has to go to all these lengths to try and stop us and still he fails! haha devil, take that!

I ask all of you to be praying tom. morning at 8 (Fri.) as Amy goes in for her first treatment. Pray that all goes well and her body takes to the therapy well. Secondly, I ask you to pray that God would strengthen my body as my blood levels are whack and I am having a blood transfusion tom. How crazy as both of us will be doing treatments at the same time, but God will carry us.

The final thing i ask you to pray for is for both of us to have the strength we need to host the Upside Down national youth conf. this next week. Thousands are coming from around the nation and God will meet them here even in this time of battle and brokenness. God has been laying some really powerful messages on my heart as I have been preparing. Pray for unction, power, discernment, joy, life, clarity, strength, stamina, and for HIs precious anointing to drip over everything said and done.

Paul said that he “counted it all joy” and if he could do it then so can we! The Scripture I leave you with is out of 2 Cor. 12:9- And He said to me (Joel), My grace is suffecient for you, My power is perfected in your weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknessess, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. NASB