If I have you - Vertical Church Band

 Jesus, only Jesus

I don't neeed the riches of this world

I can't even take them where I'm going

I don't need a thousand empty words

I just need the ones that you have spoken

If I have you and nothing else

I have everything

If I have you and nothing else

I have everything

I don't need to see tomorrow's plans

I just need to trust that you are working

I don't even need to understand

I just need to keep you as the first thing

If I have you and nothing else

I have everything

If I have you and nothing else

I have everything

You are more

 You are more

 You are more than enough

If I have you and nothing else 

I have everything

If i have you and nothing else 

I have everything

John Paul Jackson - Forever changed

He taught us to hear. He taught us to trust. He taught us to see.

      

           It's hard for us to believe John Paul Jackson has passed away. JPJ was the first Bible teacher to speak into my life. His ministry inspired and challenged my husband and I since our early years. He understood us. He had experiences like us. He was humble. He was a spiritual father. Our hearts are broken.

        John Paul Jackson's ministry always  emphasized character as a key element in our spiritual lives. He challenged us to believe God and walk with integrity. He inspired us to live a holy life in every area of our lives. He is also one of the only teachers I know that spoke about spiritual integrity.  As a young teen, I remember throwing away all my magazines with horoscopes in the back, I haven't read another horoscope since. I got rid of movies, t-shirts and anything that brought blatant worship to anything other than our God. This has carried into our adult lives. I truly credit his ministry for many of the super natural events in our lives. He pointed us to holiness as teens and as we perused holiness, miracles continued to manifest in our lives. He never separated the two and we as adults have not separated the two.

         I'm filled with tears just thinking about him and his gentle yet bold spirit. He carried a calm and quiet confidence that is rare. I remember as a teen I heard JPJ share his heart about the rejected and misunderstood. He said he was not after the crowds and fans. He was committed to reaching the ones left out by the mainstream church. His heart was to show the outsiders that God loved them, God was speaking to them and God could heal them. He'd take a team and minster at new age conventions, to witches and people who were in the occult. He wanted them to know God was the true source of power and light, and our God loved them and created them with purpose. He would often say for every good gift of God the enemy has made a cheap copy to mimic it. 

           John Paul Jackson will forever be missed. I honestly can't believe he's not here anymore. I know we will see him again one day, but knowing I'll never read a new article, hear another live teaching, or take a class by him is heart breaking. We will never understand why some live a 100yrs and others pass away so young. Our times are in God's hands and we must trust him. 

          It's hard knowing new generations of Christians will never know John Paul Jackson the way we did. You will forever be missed. You taught us the power in holiness, you taught us to trust God radically, you taught us to hear and you taught us to see. We love you and will see you again.

Is this you?

But he was chosen...

Connections

  "Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless." 

- 1 Peter 3:8 MSG

        The enemy loves ruining God connections because he knows how powerful those connections would be if they were fully realized. The enemy often realizes a God connection before we do. This is one reason we should practice forgiveness. When we allow love to fill our lives the Lord is able to restore what the enemy tried to destroy. The enemy usually gets his hits in first because he's been scheming behind the scenes. The only way the enemy wins is if we choose bitterness, resentment and a judgmental attitude. But if we allow love to rule and reign - if we give second chances - God will fulfill what He intended.

     You see, the enemy knows it takes connections, it takes unity, it takes a healthy thriving church body to walk in fullness. The enemy is always looking for opportunities to to cause division.  He's always lying, scheming and desperately trying to destroy relationships, but he can't win unless we allow our hearts to harden.
      "I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I’ll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common." - 2  Corinthians 1:10 MSG

    When we allow love to cover the sins of our brothers and sisters -  realizing it's the enemy's goal to cause division, we stop his evil plans. What can the enemy do to a forgiving community? He can't stop restoration when we allow God to heal our hurt.  
      "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." - Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV

        I encourage you as I encourage myself, to always see past the obvious, past what the enemy may be trying to do and see what God's plan may have been. Then, forgive! God is a restoring God. It's our own sinful nature and hurt that stop His plans and the enemy knows this. If we settle in our hearts to be quick to forgive, quick to cover, quick to give out second chances, quick to love those who hurt us there is no limit to what God can do.
      "Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." - 2 Corinthians 13:11 NIV

How can it be

Unplug

         Many people struggle with bad habits, hangups and addictions. In America especially, the idea of demons has been washed over with science and self-help. The thing is, if the root cause is not addressed people will fall powerless over their dysfunctional behaviors. Getting rid of a demon is like unplugging or switching off a fan. Once the fan is unplugged it may spin several more times as it slows down and completely stops. Similarly, in our lives when we remove the demonic force empowering the behavior, your behavior will spin several more times out of habit but without the power it will complete stop. 

        After deliverance the dysfunction will be gone forever, unless a person plugs back in and allows the demon access again. Sometimes people allow demons access to their lives again because they don't know what to replace the dysfunction with after it's gone, "idle hands are the devil’s workshop." 

       Some will roll their eyes at what I'm sharing, but once they've experienced the freedom they will no longer doubt. The devil loves making people think he does not exist. An eye opening book everyone should read is, They Shall Expel Demons by Derek Prince. At the end of the book he even leads people in a prayer of repentance, forgiveness and deliverance over their own lives. 

       Admitting you need deliverance does not mean you are a bad person or evil. I know that is a fear for some. I'd actually argue the opposite. The enemy only attacks those he feels threatened by. God has great plans for your life that the enemy does not want you to fulfill. Plus, we are in a fallen world, some demonic strongholds begin in childhood, or generations earlier and are passed down. Admitting you need help in this area does not mean you are bad in any way.  There is no shame! :-)

       We can wrestle our whole lives trying to be set free without truly attaining it. God has already done His part and set us free. We must use our authority! I encourage the skeptics to try what Derek Prince suggests and see for themselves. It's a huge missing piece to mainstream Christianity.