Adam F. Thompson (Destiny Image)

Adam F. Thompson, co-author of The Divinity Code to Understanding Your Dreams and Visions, combines biblical insight with his unique personal encounters with God to explain how believers can connect with God through dreams and visions.

One: A Worship Collective (Integrity Music)

This Assemblies of God-driven album highlights worship from churches, ministries and movements around the nation. Recorded live at the 714 Conference, the CD includes original worship songs and leading from Ryan Williams, Clayton Brooks, Kurtis Parks, Elmer Cañas Jr., Micah Massey and Christine D’Clario.

When I got to work one morning, I looked down to realize I was wearing one black shoe and one blue shoe. No, I’m not kidding. I really was. I’m adding this to my list of reasons not to buy the same pair of shoes in more than one color!

Blonde jokes aside (I’m sure I’ll have to endure them perpetually as a result of this faux pas), I notice something interesting as I look at my “pigment-challenged” footwear choice. Other than their color, they are exactly the same.

Both shoes serve the same purpose. Both have the same quality of workmanship. The only thing that makes them different is their color.

Glancing down at my shoes, I imagine a correlation between what I see when I look at them and what God sees when He looks down on His children. His appreciation of and love for us transcends race, gender, social status and age. And regardless of our outward appearance, He equips each of us to fulfill the purposes He designed for us before the foundation of the world. In His eyes, we are unique—yet the same.

The challenge lies in how we see each other.

Evangelist Dave Roever travels around the world, speaking about his experiences during and after his service in the Vietnam War. One statement I heard him share when he was giving an account of lying in a military hospital with life-threatening injuries has always stayed with me. He said, “I noticed a black soldier lying in the next bed. I didn’t think I had anything in common with him. But then I noticed that in all the places where our skin was gone, we looked exactly the same.”

The bottom line for all Christians is our mandate to operate in God’s agape love. I once heard someone say, “Your Christianity is only as strong as the person you love the least.” Ouch.

Whether you struggle with prejudice or not, there’s someone—some E.G.R. (Extra Grace Required) person—who just came to your mind!

All of us have room to grow. But when we focus on outward differences, we hinder the unity of the Spirit Paul talks about in Ephesians 4: “I … beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (vv. 1-3).

As you go about your routine today, look around at the variety of gifts and abilities God has placed in those around you. His workmanship and purpose can be found in every believer. Ask the Holy Spirit for a paradigm shift to see others as He sees them.

And if, like me, you plan to start a new habit of turning on the closet light when you get your shoes out of the closet every morning, just think: Even a little shoe color mishap can become an illustration that humanity is God’s living oxymoron—same difference.

PRAYER POWER FOR THE WEEK OF 07/22/2013

This week thank God that when He looks at you His appreciation and love for you transcends your race, gender, social status and age. Ask Him to continue to order your steps, direct you to share His agape love with others, and move you toward fulfilling His special purpose for you.

Pray that believers everywhere would see themselves as one in Christ yet unique in design and purpose. Pray that the church would be an example of racial unity and love, that we would unite in prayer for global revival, and that our nation would turn back to God and seek His mercy, grace and forgiveness. Ask God to remove wickedness from high places and for His justice to prevail. Remember Israel, the persecuted church, and those who are grieving the loss of loved ones, health, homes and provision, through no fault of their own. 2 Chron. 7:14; John 17:21; Jer. 33:3

We asked a variety of worship leaders and Christian music artists what albums are currently on their playlist. Check out their picks.

Israel Houghton 

“I’m listening to Revealing Jesus, the new project from Darlene Zschech. Darlene has paved the way for so many people, including myself. As much as we marvel at ‘Shout to the Lord’ and all those Hillsong songs, I feel like the best has been left for now! There’s never been a greater time to hear the heart of Darlene. … From the time we started writing the songs to the moment we finished in Birmingham and since, I feel that we are being allowed to handle something very precious to the heart of God. I’m also listening to new music from OneRepublic, Elevation Worship, Johnnyswim and Alejandro Sanz.” 

	Korey Cooper (Skillet) “We are currently listening to Bethel Music’s The Loft Sessions, because I love being refreshed and refocused with their anointed worship music … and I love, love, love Jenn Johnson’s prophetic sensitivity. I find it helps me get through my days with the proper eternal perspective.”
	Aaron Shust  “Will Reagan and United Pursuit have produced a worship album, Endless Years, that sounds unlike any other in my experience. It breaks standard formulas and seems to rest for a while on thoughts or concepts without rushing past them to the next. The use of lyric repetition is one of the more artistic and healthy that I’ve ever heard.”
	Desmond Pringle  “I absolutely love Anita Wilson’s album Worship Soul. Her music is fresh, scripturally sound, and she always represents the gospel genre appropriately. I think her next single should be ‘It’s Done.’ It’s a prophetic affirmation that every believer should add to their musical and spiritual vocabulary.”
	Steffany Frizzell-Gretzinger (Bethel Music)  “I still listen to Jonathan David and Melissa Helser every day. I feel like my spirit and my soul come alive when I hear their music, their worship. Their album On the Shores is honest and raw, and I’m so passionate about that! They know how to push past the typical structure of a song and find a refreshing stream that always leads to the River. Makes me want to come out of my skin when I listen, and I’m pretty sure that I actually do. They’re the real deal. Whether their style is what you’re used to or whether it’s brand new to you, it’s guaranteed to take you to a deeper place in worship and in God if you’ll let it.”
	Lisa Page Brooks “My favorite artist/minister lately is Jonathan Butler. I’ve been listening to ‘You Are My Everything’ on his CD Brand New Day. It really speaks to the heart of worship. Also, he sings with so much compassion, it’s just crazy! I love real, heartfelt singing.”
	Matt Fuqua (The Afters)  “The song ‘Words’ from Hawk Nelson has been stuck in my head for quite some time now. I love the melody and the lyrics!”
	Yancy “I love the simplicity and the honesty of All Sons & Daughters’ Season One. The songs draw you in to worship in a different way than you’re used to. It’s really refreshing music.”
	John Elefante “I’m really impressed with Lecrae and his latest project, Gravity. He’s relevant, and he’s reaching kids with something really positive.”
	Bryan Wilson  “I first heard Tim Rogers & The Fellas on Pandora radio, and I really like them because they have their own style, which is sort of traditional gospel quartet, but it’s contemporary at the same time. My favorite song on Change is ‘Happy’ because they’re singing about Jesus making them happy, and I think sometimes we forget that God wants us to be happy. We shouldn’t act like living an authentic Christian lifestyle is something where you give up happiness and fun to serve God. Their music reminds us that serving God is not only a mission, but it can be a fun mission.”

What mystery, marriage and materialism have to do with our response to God’s divine nature

Though Paul Baloche may not be a household name in Christian circles, his songs have been sung in churches around the world for more than 20 years. The worship pastor at Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, Texas, has written such modern-day worship classics as “Above All,” “Open the Eyes of My Heart” and “Your Name,” and he continues to mentor countless worship leaders around the world through his travels and popular website, leadworship.com. Despite Baloche being on tour in Canada, Charisma recently caught up with him to ask about a few fundamental truths of worship.

CHARISMA: How would you define worship?

Paul Baloche: Worship is defined in Romans 12:1-2, where we present our bodies as a living sacrifice each day to the Lord in the context of relationship with Him. God is ultimately after our heart.

CHARISMA: How is God’s divine nature a part of that definition?

Baloche: God is a divine being, of course, and we’re made in His image. If we’re born again, we have His Spirit, so part of our walk of faith—and our worship—is learning to walk with the divine encounter, with the divine perspective, instead of getting up and living in a three-dimensional reality of what we see, hear, taste, touch and smell. We respond with worship because when we’re born again, our spirit is awakened and becomes alive to the divine aspect of who we are in Him.

When we combine this worship with music, it primarily becomes a matter of us singing a prayer to God. Music is an expression of an outgrowth of our prayers to God. We’re essentially married to God. We wake up every morning, and we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, as you would in a marriage relationship. Regardless of our feelings, regardless of what’s going on, we present ourselves with commitment. At times we experience His presence, and at times it’s a matter of doing this out of obedience. 

CHARISMA: Many of today’s worship songs center on the worshipper’s experience—“I feel this,” “I love it when You do this”—yet your songs stand out because most are exclusively about God’s divine nature. Is this an intentional response on your part to the trend?

Baloche: As a worship pastor, I’m cognizant of the fact that our theology and our image of who God is, is very much shaped by the songs we sing. And as a songwriter, I’ve been aware of that through the years and tried to keep the worship Scripture-based so we’re at least singing words about the Lord that are accurate. It’s important that we sing biblical truth.

Yet I also realize there’s a poetic, creative aspect that makes music interesting and inspiring. It’s challenging: How do you combine what can be “cold doctrine,” if you will, in an inspirational, pop-song format so that when people finish singing a 3 ½-minute song, they have another perspective on, for example, God’s infinite nature or His mercy or the lordship of Christ? As a worship pastor, I just try to write or choose songs that will inform our congregation of biblical doctrine without it feeling like, “Oh, we’re singing doctrine—how boring.”

CHARISMA: You mention the infinite aspects of God’s nature that we’ll be worshipping for eternity. What aspects of that divine nature have personally captivated you the most throughout your life?

Baloche: I grew up Catholic. I was an altar boy. It was understood that the mystery of God can’t be completely defined or neatly packaged into a little box. When I was born again at 18 or 19, I developed a heart relationship with God and it became a little different, but I honestly don’t think that aspect of being fascinated by His mystery ever changed for me. The longer I’ve been a Christian, the more comfortable I’ve become with not knowing certain things, with not being completely certain. I don’t have to have an absolutely didactic answer for every question there is in the Bible.

So often in the church we find people digging in their heels and creating division over scriptural interpretations, but I think there are many parts of the Bible and God that we can at least acknowledge that we don’t completely understand, yet we can continue to embrace the God of mystery, the God of creation, the God who Jesus spoke of when He came to earth and said, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” Those are the aspects that a worship leader or someone who’s often in ecumenical or multidenominational settings can center on and say, “Hey, for tonight, let’s lay aside our doctrinal differences and focus on what we truly know about God, about Jesus and about the Holy Spirit.”

CHARISMA: Today the emphasis on the church’s call to social justice is challenging the notion that worship is about more than just “me and Jesus” within the church walls. How do we balance this intimacy in a corporate context while also understanding what it means to worship God in spirit and truth?

Baloche: You can do all kinds of good works apart from the spirit of Christ and apart from His initiation. But it’s like being in a marriage—it’s possible to approach it purely from a contractual perspective. It becomes all about works, and you never actually spend intimate time as a couple.

The social justice thing can get clouded by politics and, frankly speaking, can almost become a false religion. It becomes a way to avoid intimacy, like in a bad marriage. You can stay in a bad marriage because of the kids and because it would be financially impossible if you split up—so you end up staying together and going through the motions, but you don’t do it for relationship, to try to build a healthy, godly marriage.

I see extremes of that in the social justice movement, where it’s become the trendy thing. I’m on tour right now and have been standing up every night representing Compassion International and talking about child sponsorship, and last month I actually got to meet one of the children that we’ve sponsored in India. It was profound. These days you hear a lot of talk about social justice and social change. You can’t change the whole world, but you can change the world for one child.

But the difference between just mailing a check to some big corporate charity in the sky and supporting an individual child who writes to you and you write to them—the difference is you’re building a relationship. What you do is based out of relationship. A lot of people are doing social justice, but they’re angry and think worship is a waste of time. 

We’re wired for intimacy—and it has to be there for true relationship.

CHARISMA: What lessons do you think the church in America still needs to learn when it comes to worshipping God’s divine nature?

Baloche: I want people to realize that most of us just live in the dimension we can experience around us with our five senses. But there’s a whole other realm, another dimension, and it goes beyond what scientists are aware of. Yes, there’s a microscopic realm. There are layers of things that we can’t see that exist—molecules and atoms and everything else. But there’s also a spiritual realm Jesus talked about when He said we could be born again in the spirit. That part of you that was dead becomes alive, and it causes us to see all these things we never saw before.

So the question becomes: How do we inspire people to yearn for this mystery, to be curious and pursue the divine that Jesus spoke about? And how do those of us who already believe embrace this journey of looking for the divine potential in each day, through the people we run into, the situations that come our way and how we respond to them? Because we’re not just responding out of a Buddhist or Muslim perspective; we’re responding out of an ever-progressing relationship with the living Holy Spirit. And in the process, as our relationship gets closer to God, we acquire the ability to discern His voice. As we spend more time with Him, as we read His Word, as we spend time in quietness and as we spend time fellowshipping with other healthy believers who are trying to pursue a relationship with God, we get better.

It’s refined obedience, if you will. It’s not just “Thou shalt not,” but it’s more like in our heart of hearts, we begin to pick up on spiritual hunches. We pay more attention to those spiritual hunches when we feel like, for example, we need to go over and ask that person if she’s OK—despite it seeming crazy at the time. Developing that relationship with the Spirit involves that kind of spiritual sensitivity, where you discern what’s going on around you and respond like Jesus would respond.

Paul Baloche explains the difference between performance and worship—and why performing isn’t always bad. Visit baloche.charismamag.com.

Brazil’s evangelical church has grown more in the past 16 years than at any other time, and worship has been key to that growth because we understand that our worship clears the heavens. Prophetic worship is a distinct characteristic of Brazilian worship. We not only sing worship songs to God, but we also sing our prayers—especially prayers for the healing of our nation. We have many native songs in which we cry out for the healing and restoration of our families, our government, our economy—and these songs often have preceded a move of God, as they’ve literally broken open the heavenly realm.

Since 2001 we’ve held large gatherings across the country to worship and pray for our nation, just as we’ve seen the Holy Spirit do with similar movements around the world. It’s nothing that one person is organizing. In the U.S. there’s been TheCall and similar events; ours began in 2001, and since then we’ve seen Christians gather to worship and pray in public arenas. 

Virtually every major city’s soccer stadium has held gatherings—which says a lot in Brazil, where soccer rules! Our largest gathering to date was in 2003 in São Paulo, the nation’s largest city, and drew 2 million people. Last year we were in Manaus, the capital of the Amazonas state. Though Manaus is much smaller than São Paulo, with about 2 million inhabitants, out of those 2 million, more than 800,000 people showed up—almost half the city!

I believe that as we’ve cleared the heavens for much of our nation with our prophetic praise and worship, people have been saved. We give altar calls in our local churches in every service and see hundreds of people come to Jesus every day in every service. We have altar calls at weddings and altar calls at birthday parties. We have small groups meeting on college campuses, in schools—everywhere, we have people evangelizing. 

Brazilians’ hearts are open to the gospel more than ever. They’re open to break traditions that have bound them to nominal Christianity, and they’re coming to a new birth in Christ, both evangelicals and Catholics. They are also breaking the traditions of witchcraft, which is still strong in Brazil, and Brazilians are stepping forward to receive Jesus as their Savior.

Brazil is naturally a musical country. It blends different cultures, different styles, and our music reflects that. Though worship is much more than music, music is an instrument for our worship expression. And that’s why I believe worship has been such a key part of this revival. But it’s not just casual worship; it’s strategic, prophetic worship. We’ve been strategic with where we’ve held these worship and prayer gatherings.

Brazil is also known for its many national festivals, such as Carnival, and at their core these are worship festivals. They involve men seeking worship, but what we’ve seen is that God is redeeming our gift of worship so we can turn that expression back to Him. In fact, one of the strategies God gave our ministry was to go to these festival sites and gather God’s people. Wherever there’s a pilgrimage festival, we worship Jesus there. Wherever there’s a dancing festival or parade like Carnival, we celebrate the Lord there. Even soccer can be an idol that Brazilians worship. So we’re going to every soccer stadium and transforming it, redeeming it and declaring that everything in the earth is the Lord’s. Because of this, we believe everything will be converted to true worship of God.

Out of this worship movement we’ve seen incredible unity among believers. These open-air gatherings bring together worship leaders, pastors and believers from every church group and denomination. Many of these pastors come from regions where church growth is challenging, so to help them we have prophetic gatherings where we specifically pray for those areas. We use Scriptures such as in Daniel where we ask God for the forgiveness of the fathers, and we identify the spiritual curses behind the corruption and poverty in many of these regions. We expose hidden sins. Though those leaders may have different doctrines, the meetings bring them together like never before with a focus on the Bible and a common cry in intercessory prayer.

God is obviously moving, and it’s increasing. In the process, He’s giving us more wisdom, as believers—particularly worship leaders—enter the secular media like never before. Secular shows now regularly include Christian worship leaders and artists—singing worship songs, mind you—and we’re doing concerts in very popular settings. From television to newspapers to radio, everybody is talking about us and looking at us. It’s a privilege, yes, but also a big responsibility, which is why it’s been so important for these worship leaders to remain committed to our local church with a community that keeps us humbled and grounded. 

But as our culture is engaged in spiritual warfare—for example, we’re currently battling legislation involving same-sex marriage—worship leaders are a voice to reinforce biblical principles. With so many people listening to us and watching us, even people struggling with homosexuality, our worship is a vital link to teach the truth and expose darkness. That’s why our songs reinforce biblical principles about family, the value of life and other key issues. Our worship is intercession for a nation. We believe it’s the key to keep us from a corrupted religion. Worship is leading the way in the declaration.

An award-winning worship artist, Ana Paula Valadão is the founder of the music ministry Diante do Trono (Before the Throne). She has recorded multiple worship CDs in Portuguese and English, serves as a worship pastor at Lagoinha Baptist Church in Belo Horizonte and has led millions in worship throughout the world.

Watch as Ana Paula Valadão sings “Isaiah 40” live. Go to anapaula.charismamag.com

“Honey, quick! I can’t believe this!” Terry, my astonished husband, called out.

Even though I was in the middle of unpacking from our recent move, I wanted to see why Terry was so surprised. I raced from the bedroom to the living room and stopped in my tracks. “No way!” was my response.

There, atop our 10-foot tall armoire—looking down at us, big as you please—was Big Sam, our 20-pound, grey tabby cat. After several years of attempting and failing to jump from the floor to the top of the formidable armoire, Big Sam had finally made it to the top of his mountain.

Now this was no small feat for Big Sam, whose double-wide body and unusually short, stubby legs had made it downright impossible for him to ever scale anything, much less the tall armoire.

But how did such a big old guy with too-short legs manage a 10-foot jump? Then it hit me, AHA! Mystery solved! In plain view was our 2-foot lamp table that led to the 4-foot sofa table, which in turn, led to a brand-new 8-foot cat tree.

The secret was in the steps! The new arrangement of furniture now made it possible for Big Sam to go where no double-wide cat with stubby legs had gone before—not in spite of the steps but because of them!

Big Sam’s secret to conquering his mountain gave me a fresh revelation from the Spirit of the Lord about those impossible mountains we face. How many times had I looked at that mountain that loomed before me—whether it was a dreaded or insurmountable daily task, or God’s calling me to ministry—and had shrugged my shoulders in defeat because I couldn’t take it in one fell swoop? Or how many times had the steps for me to take to conquer my mountain actually been there, laid out by God, but instead of seeing the steps, all I had seen was the formidable mountain before me!

Have you ever faced mountains and felt overwhelmed, psyched out or defeated by their size, whether negative or positive?

Perhaps you are facing some today. If so, I challenge you to join me in not just facing your mountains. Believe the faithfulness of the One who has called you to conquer them, whether it be to stand firm knowing that the negative ones are no more, or that the positive ones—involving His great call on your life—will be reached and conquered!

Jesus has promised us such victory over mountains: “For assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt. 17:20). And He has promised us the actual steps to take to conquer anything, mountains, I am sure, included: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Ps. 37:23).

You have heard those popular words “to make a mountain out of a molehill.” Perhaps it is more comforting to know that there is a word directly from God that promises us that we can turn a mountain into a molehill—and see before our very eyes the impossible made possible!

PRAYER POWER FOR THE WEEK OF 6/03/2013

This week thank God that He is still on the throne and in control, and that there is no mountain—no piece of negative news too negative, no call of God too massive—that God cannot help you to conquer! Continue to pray for God to pour out His Spirit over the nation, revive His church, call the lost to Himself, and fill government posts with those with a heart to serve Him and govern in righteousness. Remember the persecuted church, Israel and the Middle East, as well as those in our nation affected by the recent tornadoes, floods and wildfires. Thank God for uncovering terrorist plots against the nation and for His continued protection on our borders, ports, cities, food, water and energy sources. Matt. 17:20; Ps.37:23; I Thes. 5:17

Tish Hagee Tucker 
(Charisma House) 

Tish Hagee Tucker, daughter of well-known pastor John Hagee, shares her inspiring message of total healing in overcoming the “insurmountable” diagnosis of cancer—and she offers the hope for healing available to all believers today. 

Jack Hayford, ed.
(Thomas Nelson)

Jack Hayford and a team of biblical scholars present a fresh look at the work of the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures in this study Bible, now updated more than 20 years after its original release. This version includes practical charts, extensive verse-by-verse notes, definitions that pull the original Greek and Hebrew language into contemporary English, and the study of 41 themes that extend kingdom values into our world. 

Bob Larson
(Destiny Image) 

The world’s foremost expert on cults, the occult and supernatural phenomena explains not only how to break every curse over both your life and future generations, but also how to walk in consistent victory.