The generational blessing

Today I fly to Bulgaria on a two week ministry trip. I'm really
excited beacuse I have my two eldest daughters, Jennifer and Emilie
with me. For the first time I'm leaving behind Wanda and Abigail and
am going on a ministry trip with Jennifer and Emilie.

They are coming with me to support me in the spirit. Not only because
they know how to interceed and pray things through. They understand
better than most adults the nature of the ministry the Lord has given
me. And they are 100% with me.

The generational blessing is not only about what the impartation they
will receive from their parents. It has also very much to do with what
the Lord has for us as parents to receive from them.

We'll be gone for about two weeks, returning to Minneapolis on January
15th. Thank you everyone for your support as I minister in Bulgaria,
pouring the word of the Lord on God's harvest field, strenghtening the
foundations and casting the vision for 2008.

George Bakalov

Missing something?

REVELATION: When we miss something, we are willing to pay a price. But not just any price. Not even the price someone else tells us is right. Our actions are primarily determined by our internal value system. Some are willing to pay millions of dollars for a painting. Last time I heard, Van Gogh's Sunflowers were sold at an auction for almost $40 million. Most people in the world, even if they had the money, wouldn't spend them on the "Sunflowers". That's because most people are not into art. Their internal value system will never appreciate the "Sunflowers" the way some art lover or an expert would.

And so is in our walk with the Lord. To follow Jesus will cost us something. It will cost one thing to one and a completely different thing to another.

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, sell what you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!”

Matt. 19:21

In this fellow's case it was money. Lots of money. All of his money! Jesus has never asked this of me. Probably not from most of you. But once I talked to a man in Holland who gave his life to Jesus while in a business partnership which generated millions of dollars. With a smile on this face he explained how he knew he had to walk away from all this money in order for him to experience deep and true salvation. I was impressed and moved with a testimony like this. How many people do you know whom Jesus has asked to pay such price for following Him?

But this man was missing something. He was missing internal, non-material realities and the cost of not having these was much greater than the cost of loosing millions of dollars. His internal value system overrode the value system of materialism and he was happy with his decision for Christ.

OBSERVATION: The other day I took my daughter Jenny to physical therapy and had to wait for her at a nearby cafe. Someone had posted a missing cat report on the bulletin board of the cafe. The missing cat seems to be a Seal Point Siamese and has all her claws. Good for her. She'll need them out there. The owners obviously love this pet. I mean they had gone out, posted these sheets around the neighborhood and are even willing to pay $100 for GEORGIA (the name of the cat). I can imagine how much they are missing the cat. If they have kids, that's probably even harder. But suppose someone called them and said they found their cat and now they want $1,000 to bring it back to them. How about $10,000? If Sue and Tom had the money, will they pay that kind of cash to get Georgia back? No one knows. But what we know is this: When we miss something, we are willing to pay a price mostly determined by our internal value system.

IMPLICATION: It is our decision to "die" to our own carnal values and allow the Holy Spirit through the teaching of Jesus to shape and form our hearts to a place of appreciating what Heaven appreciates. Friendships are most undervalued by our carnal minds. So many people have the tendency to treat the people that are closest to them in the worst possible way . Men beat their wives and kids. Brothers beat on brothers or sisters. Friends stab friends in the back over ambition, power and money. It's a crazy world we're living in and anomalies have become the mainstream. But hey, Jesus never promised all this will ever get all the way fixed up. He only promised He'll be with us in our efforts to change what can and should be changed - the hearts and minds of those who sit in darkness. 

Are you missing something? If it's wisdom, are you digging for it like a gold miner would dig to find gold? If it's a friendship, are you reaching out as a friend would? If it's the peace and the presence of Jesus, are you pressing in to come to a place of peace and awareness of His affirmation of you, or are you settling for seeking the approval of people?

Whatever you think you're missing, what price are you willing to pay to restore what's missing in your life?  

Get in or get out

REVELATION: Get in or get out! This is basically the teaching on covenant, less the sugar coating of today's religious teachers. God wants to show his goodness to all, but is able to do so only for those who come into a true covenant relationship with Him. Either get into a clear cut covenant relationship with Him or get out of the twilight zone of your deception. This is what a lot of our people need to hear today.

Gen. 9:9 (NKJV) “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you..."

Covenant is the basis of every true relationship. Now this can be confusing, especially for people who have a humanistic idea of who God is. Jesus spoke of God's goodness to all, but this expresses His heart to all, as in a general principle. In reality, the Lord has his specific dealings with every single individual and also with different groups of people, cultures and nations.

"...He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Mat 5:45)

What Jesus taught people is God's basic commitment to the well-being of the human race, which is very similar to Gen. 8:21-22. God says he will not judge the world as in the days of Noah (oh, yeah, the flood did happen!). Which shows that God is fundamentally committed to the well being of the human race. Having said that, let's allow Scripture to balance itself with Scripture.

Heb. 10:29 (NKJV) "Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?"

In other words, God wants to bless all people, but due to specific variables, He's really not able to. Looking at His relationship with Israel, God has always been seeking the well-being of the descendants of Abraham, but in reality He had to chastise them over and over again.

Get this: God wants to bless all people, but is able to really demonstrate the fulness of His goodness only to those who come into a covenant relationship with Him.


OBSERVATION: It's heartbreaking to watch so many people respond to the Spirit of God, "try" to walk the walk and then jump ship in the middle of the journey. So many people want to reduce YHWH to a principle, tradition or an experience. But he is a real, actual person who wants to share his nature, power, zoe life and gifts with us. But he can only do this under the condition of covenant. This involves us stepping out in faith.

IMPLICATION: It takes faith to dig into the Bible. Too many people allow being busy, stressed out or lazy to get in the way of developing a real relationship with the Lord. Then they wonder why God's withholding His blessings from them. He's not. But He needs our pressing in before He can reveal Himself with us and share with us his blessing. Otherwise any wicked person would be able to just call out God the way people call out their dog, not?

So God, the ultimate Ruler of all things, won't respond to arrogance or casualness. There is protocol, as with any royalty.

Just going to church ain't gonna do it, my friend! If you want the real thing, you'll have to bare your heart, soul and life and come to terms with the One who spoke and the worlds came into existence. Still wanna fool around? Still want to do your own carnal thing? Go ahead! Make up your mind and either go all the way in sin and enjoy yourself, or step out of it and come into the light. Who needs the double life? Do yourself a favor and become single-minded. Choose covenant or reject covenant. But be in the clear what's going on, what your status is.

Jesus came primarily for this purpose: to cut a new covenant between God and mankind. He represented God to mankind and mankind to God. He was the Promise and the sacrifice all at the same time. Can't be in covenant with God without Jesus. Isn't it amazing how many people still don't get it?! If you don't understand God's covenant approach to his creation, you can't even understand His teaching or ways.

This is the time to get it right and align ourselves with the Chosen One through covenant!

God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life

We were really blessed today by CP Anderson's message "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life". It was baby dedication day so a lot of relatives had come to the service, some of them all the way from Chicago.

This was may be the best salvation message I've heard in a long, long time.

Check it out and may you want to link your blog to this message or forward it to some of your friends or relatives.

Click here to hear the message.

Wearing out God

"Wearing out God"

REVELATION: The last book of the Old Testament. The prophet Malachi allows us to peak into the minds and the hearts of the covenant people at that time. The picture is not pretty. The first two chapters outline the issues God has with his covenant people. Chapter 2, verse 17 nails it on the head.

Mal. 2:17 You have wearied the LORD with your words.
"How have we wearied him?" you ask.
By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them" or "Where is the God of justice?"

Can you imagine to weary the Lord with something? The prophet Isaiah says in Is. 40:28, that "the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth neither faints nor is weary. And weary here is the same word (hebrew - yaga') as in Malachi 2:17. What changed? Is this a contradiction? Actually not. Isaiah refers to God's creative powers and energy. Malachi walks us into the finest and deepest chambers of God's own heart. While no physical challenge is too great for His power, our attitudes, stubbornness and slowness to change can actually wear out even God himself. The next thing is that God speaks of sending the Messenger of the covenant to the temple. It's a day of judgement and purification. Good news to some, not so good news to the chronic rebels and hypocrites described so vividly by Malachi in chapters 1 and 2.


OBSERVATION: As a leader I've observed through the years number of people who begin their walk with God, invest a good amount of time in educating themselves Biblically and all of a sudden hit a ceiling of a sort, a spiritual limitation they don't seem to be able to break through. It's not a matter of accumulating more knowledge. It comes to a point where stuff in our lives has to go and too many of us choose to hold on to it. We go through deliverance sessions, we kick and scream, but somewhere there underneath all of this, there is a deep root of bitterness. It sounds like this: "Where is the God of justice?"

A lot of people abandon their faith because they can't reconcile God's claim of being just and righteous with their own life experience and a world full of injustices. It's a very deep, intimate issue and many people don't even realize this deep root of bitterness is operating in their lives. It affects themselves (depression), it affects others (anger) and ultimately it affects the Kingdom (grieving the Holy Spirit).

IMPLICATION: Realize that the temptation to start blaming God for everything that's wrong inside and outside of you is there and it's very real. Ask Cain and he'll tell you. "Sin lies at the door..." (Gen. 4:6) It will affect your relationship with God in the long run. This is a heart issue but it has implications in many other areas. Jealousy, anger and even murder begin at heart level. Don't neglect to look into your own heart. Be willing to accept God's diagnosis, however hard it may be. Even a donkey can speak out and identify what's wrong with you. Don't wait for the donkey, though. Start by asking yourself, the Holy Spirit, those closest to you (even Abel if needed). Acknowledge the hidden bitterness, bring it to open and get free from it. If this doesn't work, go cold turkey and confess all your sins to someone you trust and will love you beyond reason. (James 5:16)

And remember, this fallen world will never reflect fully God's Justice. That's why we have Judgement Day coming. And then the promise of Heaven and the ultimate justice of hell for those who have chosen to violate God and mankind in this life and forever.

In New York after more than 10 years

Last week I was in New York. It's been more than ten years since the last time I've been in this city. We used to go through New York in the 90s because Wanda's brother David used to live there and also because of Joan, her friend from Bible School. Manhattan seemed so crazy every other time we've been there. I remember shopping for our first camcorder on 5th Avenue at one of the electronics shops. Oh, what a crazy time that was!

Well, this time it was altogether different. For starters they have really upgraded JFK airport. Really nice actually.

I was in New York at the invitation of bishop Joseph Mattera of Resurrection Church. He's also the presiding apostle of Christ Covenant Coalition. The Lord has been bringing us into a closer relationship since last year and it was such a blessing to be in New York with him, the leaders of CCC and also with the Mattera family. They are such an inspiration and a blessing to be around!

On Sunday I had the honor of ministering at Resurrection Church. This is a great church! They have really made a huge difference in Brooklyn. I was telling one of the leaders there that they really should be in one of those Transformation videos that George Barna put out in the late 90s and later on. Resurrection Church has definitely brought transformation to Brooklyn. It was so awesome to be around such precious people who are in a daily battle for the souls and the well being of people in Brooklyn.

I also had a chance to visit downtown Manhattan and the Memorial Site of the former World Trade Center towers.

Special thank you to Robert and Lucy Sepe who took the time to go with me to downtown. I really enjoyed it and will remember this visit forever! Thank you guys!

Check out some of the photos I took.

How much do you love your mama? Probably not as much as Italian men.

So, young man, you love your mama? Well, Italian men love their mamas more than anyone!

This is what the government in Italy has discovered and they want to reverse the trend.

The Daily Telegraph reports that 8 out of 10 Italians aged under 30 still live at home and that the average age of moving out is 36. THE AVERAGE! Not the minimum or the maximum - THE AVERAGE! This means that there must be men who live at home with their parents until they are 40 years old or more!

So the Italian government will now give tax breaks for men who leave home early. Why? Because staying at home with mommy may be good for your selfish, infantile ego, but it ain't good for the economy.

One Italian man, television quiz show host (this means not poor, i.e. having enough dough to live on his own) is quoted by saying that the reason he's living with his parents at the age of 42 and with his girlfriend is because he "never felt the need to leave" and because "he loves them".

So, next time you tell your mom you love her, think again - do you really? Then what are you doing actually moving out, renting or owning a home, having a wife and kids and all that comes with it?

George Bakalov

A Bulgarian man who's been living on his own since he was 18 years old, got married at 22 , had his first child at 24 and has little sympathy or understanding for big mama's boys, regardless of their country of origin or residence.

Bulgarians least happy of all EU member countries

My wife loves Bulgaria and the Bulgarian people. She also likes to talk to taxi drivers when we are in Bulgaria. She says that most of them sound so much alike. Wanda thinks that one of the biggest problems in Bulgaria is the fact that people have such a deep mistrust for each other. So even when someone good comes along, people can't recognize what has come their way. In case you think she's wrong, here is a study the EU commissioned earlier this year.

In fact I've been thinking about this lately. True, the curse in this world affects all of us. Sickness, poverty and violence are so common these days. Sin has affected every faced of human life, in every culture in the world, throughout all known history. The general analysis of the human experience can be summed up by the word struggle. Our life is a struggle against various adverse realities. First of all, the struggle is against sin itself. Sin lies at the door, said God to Cain. YOU must rule over it! Did you hear that? You and I must rule over it. We can't do it in our own power, but we can certainly join our will with God's will and then His power will help us keep the destructive force of sin away from us.

Enough preaching, right?

But look at what God tells Cain before that. "Why has your countenance fallen?" Sounds to me like Cain was unhappy and it was easily visible. Which means that God in a way expected him to look better, happier. In spite of Adam and Eve's mess. In spite of the tragedy of the fall, Abel had found a way to connect with God and therefore connect to hope.

I'm asking those of you who are Christians: tragedies and tough situations aside, are you a happy person? What makes you unhappy?

Wanda thinks that may be if the taxi drivers or people in general in Bulgaria felt like they can actually change some things in this country, they would be happier. And I agree. The reason people feel depressed is because they have no hope. And even when they become Christians, they must develop a mindset of freedom. Not just to have experienced spiritual freedom. But to also develop a mindset of freedom. To a point where being oppressed is no longer natural.

It's time for people here to realize THEY HAVE the responsibility to take advantage of their freedom. To realize they have been given such freedom by law and rise up against the oppressive system in this nation - the mafia, the corrupt government, the corrupt politicians.

Do read the study though, it's pretty interesting.

Footbaths coming to an airport near you...

Hi everyone from Vienna. This is the city where in 1683 the 140,000 strong army of the Ottoman Empire lost to a much smaller army of (30,000) brave Austrian, Polish-Lithuatian and Prussian troops.

Well, today Muslims are roaming the city unhindered by anyone. Many of them have lived here for many years and have never assimilated. They never will.

Modern day Austrians pride themselves in being tolerant and all accepting as a society. Not to mention that Islamic protectionism has now become an official policy of the European Union (the political covenant of the European Commonwealth). What these people don't understand is that the Muslim build up can easily lead us to a day when some fanatical "Osama" style freak may ignite religious zeal in all these masses and then Vienna may not be able to save the day.

Now comes Robert Spence from Jihad Watch bringing us the news of .... footbaths coming to US airports. You don't need footbaths? Well, some folks do. Like radical American Muslims who are bent on taking over - culturally, politically and economically.

Watch this:

This is so sad...

I know blogs are supposed to be upbeat and positive. I believe most of my postings are such, so I hope I've established that already as the predominant flavor of this section.

But tonight I'm sad.

Wanda and I watched Carman's interview with Paula White on TBN. We're sad because here's this woman, 17 days after her and her husband announce their divorce, she is being reinstated and brushed up on national television. She has a word from God and she ends up preaching a message. Former pastor of Without Walls Church, the second largest church in America is back on track. Her husband has said that he assumes responsibility for the split. Does he? And what does this "taking responsibility" really mean? Did he have an affair? Did she?

Now don't get wrong. I normally don't stick my nose into smelly stories like this. That's just not my style. Honestly, I feel sorry for the Whites. And I wish they got their lives back together as I would wish that to anyone in that situation.

The problem is this: too many Christians today have no clear understanding of what the Word of God teaches on marriage and divorce. What happened to the standard of holiness we see in Scripture?


2Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

3"What did Moses command you?" he replied.

4They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."

5"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. 6"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'[a] 7'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8and the two will become one flesh.'[c] So they are no longer two, but one. 9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

10When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery." MARK 10:2-5,10

Jesus teaches that if a man leaves a woman, he's the moral and spiritual equivalent of an adulterer (unless there was unfaithfulness). Same goes for the woman. In other words, unless one of the partners has been unfaithful, there is no Biblical reason for separation. In fact, if a husband and wife splitting up by mutual assent, as cordial as it might be, that doesn't make them more than two cultured adulterers in the eyes of God. To make matters worse, the White's marriage was their second marriage for both of them. But since Paula wasn't as famous back then, we don't know what the deal is there.

Now please, please hear me right! It could have been me or you or your pastor. I realize that. But that's not the point here. The point is this: "Zeal for your house will consume me." (John 2:17) Can we please look at the bigger picture? Does anybody care what are the consequences not only of these people having multiple divorces but also of the way the religious system almost celebrated (in some perverted way) the fact?

It grieves me to see the Church become the laughing stock of the world. It grieves me to see the religious system needing her preaching "stars" so badly (and I assume the "stars" needing the system as well), that they can't even wait for few months before they reinstate someone and set them back on track on the preaching circuit.

Phil Cooke had set up a little poll on his blog on the Paula White issue and had given four options. The poll is now gone from the blog, but the options were smth like: 1) she should never preach again 2) she should take time to get her life back under counseling 3) she should just keep preaching like nothing happened and 4) it's none of my business.

Very interesting!

Most people thought that Mrs. White should have sat down for a season and tried to get her life together under the counsel of others, hopefully more stable people. Significant number of people had decided that it's none of their business.

In one way, it isn't mine or yours business. What grieves me is that Mrs. White will not even miss a beat. She's back on the platform after 17 days and she has a "word from the Lord' for all those who are downtrodden and in need. Carman, obviously hired specifically for the job, most probably reading the script of the PR damage control planners, likened Paula to Princess Diana. Not once, twice in the same conversation he went on and on how Paula is like Princess Di coming from a humble origin and then rising to fame and then getting divorced from the Prince. Wow! I'm impressed. What a teary story! And what does this have to do with this couple and Mrs. White in particular? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm sure the reinstatement is considered a success by the PR team. It was professionally planned, announced and executed. It was released around 9/11 which is another psychological moment, a time when people are more mercy motivated.

While Mrs White's team may label this campaign as a success, the Father sees it as a tragic tale of foolishness and vanity. The worst is that milestone events like this one establish a precedent in the continued degradation of the Church. Whether they like it or not, whether they realize it or not, the Whites, TBN and every other preacher who chose to be politically correct and quiet on the subject, are sending a message to the Church and the world. It goes something like this "it's OK to have multiple divorces and still make big on the preaching circuit. You didn't write the script but you have to do your best to live it."

Oh really? Was it God who wrote it in the shameful script of this demise? Or was it the devil? Who was it? Why the half-way messages? Would the real God please stand up and speak for himself because I'm a bit confused!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the tragedy of Randy and Paula White is not only their tragedy. It's our tragedy as well. It's tragic because the bearers of moral standards in the Church are not only not challenging the culture and it's fallen state, we're actually following it. This highly visible ministry couple could have demonstrated divine order even in their ordeal. They could have been honest. They could have stepped down and saved the little of integrity and legacy of true faith they might have had. Their supposed spiritual authorities could have stepped up and helped mend the situation. But no - they chose to hold on the what they've got going for them and are keeping each other's backs. Unfortunately, all of this at the expense of our true Christian heritage and mission in this world.

Think of the message young people are getting. "So dad, what are you saying? The pastors are splitting up but business is as usual? Oh, wow. So if they can do it, why can't I"?

That's right. It make take another 10 or 15 years, but the day will come when you try to confront your teenager for making poor decisions in their life and then they give you this hard look and say to you: "So, I can't do that, huh? Well, what about the Whites, dad? Remember, you said God was OK with them going their separate ways? You kept watching their programs. Who cares then? There is no right and wrong. It's - ....whatever"

This was truly a sad evening and a sad event to have witnessed.

Rest for the rest of us

We just came back from our summer family vacation. This was indeed a lot of fun. You're welcome to watch the slideshow I put together quickly and get an idea. This was a very quick 30 min job and no editing whatsoever, so please have mercy with the blips.

I personally really enjoyed this vacation. It was one of those rare vacations where you actually come back home rested and you don't need to rest from the vacation. Everything was low key, really easy going time. But I had to also discipline my mind to stay away from all the things that are going on in ministry, business and personal. It does take spiritual strength and wisdom to actually keep at bay all these thoughts that come to your mind when you go to bed. With more than two dozen of to-do's in my organizer, it took a major effort at times not to run to town and start checking emails. It was actually refreshing to be in the middle of the woods, with no signal, no phones, no sms and no email for a whole week. Sure, I did get to check my email once or twice, but I didn't even have the grace to do anything. My dad was in the hospital for some test last week so this was really my main concern, wanting to make sure there was nothing urgent on that front.

We didn't go on this vacation because everything was so perfect, we had all the money or all the time. It was something special to our family. We've been talking about taking a trip to South Dakota now for years. It was going to be something special to be able to go to the lands where Crazy Horse roamed and General Custer camped with his expedition. I'm so grateful to God for giving me this opportunity as a father to be able to bless our kids with this trip.

Looking at the Black Hills of South Dakota, reading and learning of the Native Americans and their ways of living was truly a fascinating time. And before you think I'm so high minded and only think about reading books, let me make it clear that the most fun part was going fishing. Both with the whole family and once actually totally on my own. On this trip I caught the biggest trout I've ever caught and I think I also missed two very large specimen.

I kept thinking of the love of Jesus and the fact that he does want us to rest. Not only once day a week from the weekly pressures of life, but once in a while to go somewhere where there are no ring-tones grilling your brain and no emails captivating your mind. A time when you actually hear the birds singing, see the deer running and feel the fish bending the fishing rod of your lucky cast. Thank you Lord for true rest, which can only come from you!

Now here's a verse that has been feeding my spirit in the last few days:

Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have,
for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”

So that with good courage we say,
“The Lord is my helper. I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”

Heb. 13:5-6 (WEB)

Photos:

1) bison at Custer National Park 2) with Wanda at Crazy Horse Memorial 3) our kids are learning Lakota words from a native woman at the visitor center at Crazy Horse Memorial

Thank you Theresa!

What kind of a blog entry this might be, you may ask. Let me explain.

I'm on my way back from a ministry trip in Charleston, South Carolina. This is my second trip there. My host is prophet Samuel Rivers from Voice of the Lord Church International. We've been developing a relationship since and it's been a blessing to get to know him and the people he leads.

This was really a wonderful and very refreshing ministry trip because there were several covenant friends who were able to join us for the meetings. Last but not least, we ministered together with prophet John Isleib from Jacksonville, FL. John of course is my best friend and governmental prophet to Harvest Breakthrough Network. I love to minister together with him. Not only that, but he was there with his wife Davia and their son David, so it really felt like a family.

I really enjoyed ministering at Voice of the Lord Church Intl, not least because our host prophet Samuel Rivers gives you complete freedom to minister as the Lord leads you, without putting pressure on his guest to perform. I've grown to really appreciate this, especially here in the United States, where in so many churches there is so much performance driven ministry going on. Something I can't stand and I try to avoid at all cost. I don't know what it will take for the Church here in the US to come out of this performance driven pattern and get down to the bottom of this raw apostolic Christianity we see in the book of Acts.

And as fun as it was on this trip, it was really hard for me to be away from home again. The more time passes, travel doesn't become easier, it becomes harder. I ask myself these questions all the time - what is this all about? Because I feel like there's nothing worth making me go away from my family and be separated from them, even if it was only for 3 days, if it wasn't for the Kingdom of God. Honestly, that's how I feel. And I've done a lot more than being gone for only 3 days. This year alone I've been away from family for 3 full months out of 7. That's not little.

But then again, right there in the middle of it all, something happens that just gives you new strength and joy in serving the Lord.

Like for instance Theresa.

Yesterday Theresa, one of the sisters in the church in Charleston, started to talk to me after the afternoon service. She thanked me for coming and sharing the word of God. She has a ministry in the prison. She said: "I don't know what's wrong with the Body of Christ. Why are there so many churches who are so ... dead! I see more people who have life from God when I go to minister in the prison, than in the people I see in the Church."

Right on, Theresa! Isn't this what we're declaring to the Body of Christ? And yet so many leaders just don't have the ears to hear it and the eyes to see it. For way too many pastors success is there as long as there are enough bodies to keep the place full and the bills paid. And then what we do is wait on God to do something as if were somehow despite of us, not because of us, the Church.

Theresa went on to thank me: "Your last coming to our church was really life-changing for me. I had been coming to this church for a while, but had not committed myself as a member. Last time you came, I was one of the people to whom you ministered prophetically and the word released was what I needed to complete my shift. I'm now a member and am so blessed. I also want to go to Russia and China on missionary trips."

Teresa made my day and really my weekend. There may be many more testimonies and we know there are. But it's just such a blessing and such an inspiration for me to hear this firsthand - that someone's life was changed for the better as a result of my travel and ministry. That this sister, who goes and gives out to the people in prison, was also ministered to and blessed by the Holy Spirit.

Isn't the Lord amazing? Truly, as parts of the same body, when we allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us, He will bless and minister to other, who will minister to other, who will minister to others.

So, I thank you Theresa for sharing your heart with me. Thank you, Lord, for using me to speak your word to someone who ministers to others, in places I can't go personally. And finally, the glory truly goes to Jesus who is the reason and the essence of our life and ministry!

I'm OK now. It doesn't matter that I'm now crammed in a tight airplane seat on my second flight back (delayed). That the man next to me on the last flight was breathing out into my direction. That my back is hurting me because of sitting in a very uncomfortable regional jet, having to put up with the loud flight attendant announcements coming through the speaker systems, blasting my hearing to the max.

Knowing that the Father can somehow, in someway use me to inspire, encourage and minister to His children, fills me with hope that it's all worth it and it will all bear fruit, regardless of how difficult it is for us sometime to see it and appreciate it.


pictured above: Theresa

You can see the photo-set from the ministry time here.

Falling in love with Colombia

I've just come back from Colombia and have fallen in love with this nation and her people. There are places you can't wait to leave and there are places you can't wait to come back to. Well, for me Colombia is a nation I can't wait to come back to. What makes me feel this way are the people I met, all of them. If the Colombian coffee has the aroma of God's blessing on this nation, I can tell you that Christ in all the Colombians I had contact with has graced them with so much more aroma from Heaven.

Below is the official slideshow from our visit, for more please visit our ministry web page at: www.gohbn.com

My seven little miracles; to Chicago and back in 8 hours

Well, visitors (hopefully mostly friends :) ), I'm getting ready to travel to Colombia where I will be speaking at a major national conference organized by the Apostolic Coalition of Colombia and in particular pastor Roosevelt Muriel, President of Cedecol. I'll be taking part of the conference at the invitation of Dr. Naomi Dowdy, who is the main speaker. Other speakers include Dr. Bill Hamon and Dr. Allen Vincent.

So today I had to fly to Chicago for a day and get my visa. As a Bulgarian citizen I need a visitor visa for Colombia. What an 'adventure' that was!

In order to appreciate this 'story' keep in mind that the Consul of the Colombian Embassy (Sarah, she never mentioned her last name) told me I have to be in the Consulate no later than 9:30 am because she has to travel somewhere. In fact she didn't even want to receive me at first when I asked for an appointment for visa the other day. THE OTHER DAY! Did you read that? I found out I can't apply for a visa by mail and I have to go there in person. In Chicago that is! From Minnesota. Whatever. So I get online and I buy me a last minute (last seat on the outbound flight) ticket to Chicago. I have to land there at 8:30, get a taxi, pray there's no traffic on North Cicero (that's a miracle) and get there (somewhere downtown Chicago on 500 North Michigan Avenue), hoping Sarah will still be there.

So I get ready in the morning and I'm all ready even had my coffee nicely warmed up and ready to go to the airport. Wanda jumps in the car and . . . oops! the battery is dead! It's 6:00 am and my flight leaves at 7:00 am.

[ the next 10 minutes are nothing to talk about so I'll skip]

I search franticly for our battery charger. Yes, if you live in Minnesota, you better have a battery charger. We use those in the winter A LOT. Well, there it was, catching dust in the basement and what's worse - UNCHARGED! We try once, we try trice, nope! Dead!

[another 3-5 minutes of my comments, sounds and actions worth skipping]

So I call this cab service we used once and the guy says no problem, will be there in 15 minutes. Usually it takes 30 minutes he says, but if you're missing a flight, we'll make it there in 15. Which is a different way of saying, it's going to cost you more, pal! Whatever, as long as I catch my flight.

Miracle 1 - the man comes in LESS than 15 minutes!

Miracle 2 - he's in a good mood and even asks me how the family is!

Miracle 3 - he actually THINKS rationally and figures out there's construction work going on on Hwy 77 and using Palomino Dr. will jump us ahead of the slowest part of the line of cars crawling up north on their way to Minneapolis (non Minnesota residents, I realize you can't appreciate Miracle 3, but trust me, it was one indeed)

Miracle 4 - the man drives OVER the speed limit and properly takes turns with up to 68 miles an hour.

$45 bucks, 15 minutes and FOUR miracles later, I'm standing at the check-in line.

Here comes my favorite MIRACLE 5!

The Ethiopian security guy who checks people's boarding passes and their IDs looks at mine and thinks hard.

"What's your first name?"

"U-u-h, George, sir...but it really is Gueorgui as you can see on my driver's license..." I pull out my wallet while he's staring trying to figure me out...the line is building and the time is already 6:40 am...I'm trying not to think that the rule says you must be on board of the aircraft 15 minutes before departure and they close the gates at exactly that time unless there's a delay.

"But you have a different first name here!", declares the man with a voice that says something like "I think I'm going to have some fun here."

"I know, I know, they are working on it, believe me, I had to deal with this the last time I flew, seriously! And they are updating it in the system so it can be the same as it is on my passport and driver's license."

He's now looking at my passport.

"But as you can see, here's all my credit cards, you see, they all say George. So, that's why."

He thinks, thinks, thinks, thinks...."OK I'll let you go!"

Miracle 6

I rush through the terminal and I actually make it on the airplane. All my worries were for nothing. We board, I get into my seat and . . . we wait for 30 minutes for them to add more fuel and fix some knob, as the captain explains. We left exactly 45 minutes late!

I'm trying not to think about Sarah the Colombian Consul, who sounded really casual and unwilling to wait for me if I was late.

The captain did well and made up for lost time, landing at Chicago Midway only 10 minutes late.

I run to the taxi area and jump into one REAL Chicago taxi and we have a nice talk with the driver who is from Nigeria and has a Bible on the front row. He began to preach to me but his variation of the English language was way too different from what I had the nerves to try to interpret at the moment. He goes to the Celestial Church, though. I got that. [. . . the Celestial Church?! No time to ask more what kind of an animal that is]

I call Sarah and let her know my flight was late but I am in Chicago and am in a taxi on my way to the Consulate.

I end up at 500 North Michigan Avenue at exactly 9:30 am. I hope this is good enough for Sarah the Consul.

She received me 30 minutes later and lets me know she really doesn't like the fact that the 3 photos I'm supposed to bring for my application are not on glossy photo paper. She tries to make me feel guilty using the professional bureaucrat tone # 14, so typical for bureaucrats all over the world. It's like they all went to the same academy or something.

"No, it's really is on Kodak paper, seriously!"

"But it looks like a photo copy. Isn't it a photo copy?"

"No, no! It is on Kodak paper, even if it's not glossy."

She puts on the "I'm a little offended" look and hesitantly sends me to Citi Bank accross the street to pay the $100 for the visa.

At 11:00 am I'm out of the building with a brand new snapping Colombian visa in my Bulgarian passport. Thank you Lord! Time to go back home.

Then comes time for my Miracle # 7

I actually pull out the travel itinerary to see exactly when is my flight back. I knew it was either 1:00 pm or 1:30 but wasn't completely sure. May be I'll have time to sit down somewhere downtown and get a snack before I head back to the airport!

Wait! Could this be true? My itinerary tells me that I fly back to Minnesota from O'Hare! This is the first time I see this information. OK then, I think, this was really close. Someone has been praying for me today. So I jump in another cab with another (not so friendly African driver without a Bible on the front row) and he takes me to O'Hare.

I land in Minneapolis and find out that the battery of our car is still dead. I have to head out for my fourth taxi ride for the day.

What a day this has been!

May be my SEVEN little miracles are not such great miracles for you. But if even one of those had gone wrong, I could have had a very different kind of day. And I wouldn't have been back home so early to be with my family. I could have easily been rushing between airports, missing flights, sweating at even more cabs and talking to even more folks to who go to who knows what kind of Celestial places.

But I'm blessed and instead I'm kicking back, reflecting/blogging about my day and thanking the Lord that he truly is with us even when situations pop up and we start fussing.

How many little (or BIG) miracles did you count in your life today?

Accordionist in Paris

I just came back from my last trip to Europe. The first thing I did was to go to Paris and pick up my mom after her operation there at a French clinic. All I could think about is how I would like to visit some day with my wife and have few romantic days in Paris by ourselves. It seemed like the city is definitely not as crowded or stressed out as London for instance. With France having voted a new, conservative president, I believe this nation is heading in a good direction.

On may way from the airport to the city, I was working on my laptop when this poor man got on and began to play his accordion. I thought he was actually good. No one seemed to mind, regardless of the noise he was making. Of course the accordionist probably doesn't care who is the new president. It's comforting to know that Jesus DOES care about everyone, including the poor and broken. Otherwise it would be too much for me to take, looking at our world.

Trainwreck

I decided to learn something about May Day. Growing up in Communist Bulgaria, it was quite a big deal in those years. Forced by the authorities, tens of thousands of people would line up and march in front of the mausoleum of the founder of the Communist party in Bulgaria. It was a grotesque picture of the horror we were all living in. I remember hating all this hypocrisy and cursing the Communist leaders with my friends as we marched amidst the noise of school bands. Watch this 26 minute video if you're interested more in Bulgaria and her Communist stigma.

Pictured here: one of the many public manifestations (as they called them) in Communist Bulgaria.

They used to call it Day of Labour, as in honoring all those who work. What a joke! Come to find out it was the Nazis who first made May Day an official holiday in Germany. Oh, and let's not forget the Haymarket Riot and the role it played in establishing May Day as a rallying day for all socialists and communists around the world. Interestingly enough, the Haymarket Riot was all about the eight hour working day. As a person who usually logs an average of 10 hours of work a day, I've always wondered how in the world some folks manage to do what they have to do in only eight hours. Well, it's very simple. If you're not an entrepreneur and are simply "going to work", I guess you would love the socialist eight hour ideal.

But for those of us who have decided to charter the risky waters of living by faith (the ultimate entrepreneurship, I think), you know that working only 8 hours a day could never do it.

Now to lighten things up, here's a piece of Matt Kearney's song Trainwreck. Is Matt working too much like me, I wonder?

"... Where could I turn from you
The darkest nights, you know you'd find a way
What else have I to do
What words are there left to say
You are the air that I breathe in
Here is my heart I give
You are all of my reason
You are my reason to live ..."

Mat Kearney, Trainwreck

Family vacation

Well, as you can see, not much journaling going on. Life has never been more busy or challenging. I've been practicing gratefulness lately. Just waking up each day and thanking God for so many things. We live in a terrible world. So much deceit, violence and horrible injustices all around. It can be overwhelming. But then again, I have to look at the word of God and realize we are called to be thankful people.

We have just returned from our family vacation in Florida. It was so much fun! We liked it all a lot. Below is just one of the picture we brought back home with us. This one from Arabian Nights, one of Orlando's attractions. If you wish, you can go to our Flickr album to see more photos available. Aren't I blessed with such a beautiful family?

You can click on the tiled photo set to your right to go to our Flickr set.

It's spring in Spain

The city is a madhouse. It never fails to amaze me how people can live day in and day out in this massive mix of humans, fumes, concrete and the Tube. It's not uncommon to see people in the tube eat, sleep and kiss all within a few rows from each other. (Gross, I know!)

Gatwick is getting worse by the year. The last time I flew through this airport, there was hardly any room to even move around. I mean it was full of people. I try to avoid Gatwick and Heathrow at all costs, but unfortunately it's inevitable when you actually want to get to London.

Then I was in Bulgaria. They now have a new airport. Still clean and boring. The border police looks less barbaric then ever. It's almost starting to feel civilized coming into Sofia.

Now I'm writing from Madrid. I ministered in Madrid over Friday and Saturday and Saturday night we took a train trip to Chiclana, which is in the south of Spain. This is where my friends Paco and Sieglinde Garcia live and are based out of. I traveled accompanied by pastor Kaloyan from Sofia.

We also got to see a bit of Cadiz, which is also on the Atlantic coast. Cadiz has important history. It's considered that the first European constitution was written here. We had lunch with Huancho, Paqi and their son David at this lovely and jam-pakced restaurant on the beach. The picture above shows you just how busy it is on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

It's been a great trip so far, with the exception of today. So, we take the train back to Madrid, the ride took close to 5 hours, the train was almost 15 minutes late and I had to jump into a taxi to go to the airport, which is on the other side of town. Few people speak English here in Spain. I managed to explain to the driver that I need to be at the airport in like 15 minutes and he seemed bent on making it. The man drove with 150 km/h down the freeway, once we got there. At one point I actually reached out and put my seat belt on. He was taking curves with over 100 km/h. Scary!

Nevertheless, I missed my flight! I usually have a high rate of successfully convincing the check-in ladies to break the rules, but those two were adamant. I wouldn't be able to make it, they said, in-spite of being there 45 minutes before the fight took off. They were lying. Anyhow.

I end up having to spend 6 hours at the airport and then take an Iberia flight directly to Frankfurt. Sometime by midnight tonight I should be sleeping in a nice bed somewhere in Frankfurt. For now I have to be happy with the benches here at the airport. Thankfully, it's the new terminal they built recently and there are plenty of good shops and restaurants to help keep you awake. The food in Spain is good and that goes also for the airport. I can't help but feel like all the Spaniards care about is to somehow gain the bliss of a carefree life, completely consumed with themselves. Sorry, if this hurts someone's feelings. The same is true for my native Bulgaria, so there, we're even now!


Today in History:
03/12 Gustav Robert Kirchhoff born, 1824, physicist
03/12 Commonwealth Day in Swaziland
03/12 Independence Day in Mauritius
03/12 Moshoeshoe's Birthday in Lesotho
03/12 Renovation Day in Gabon

Amazing scenes at airports

It's been a week since I've come back from my latest European trip. At 23 days, this was one of the longest ones I've done ever. For a family with young kids, that's not easy. I love doing what I'm doing. I log an average of 11 hours of work while I'm on the road. I know this because I'm tracking my time. When I'm on the road I want to get things done. I do tons of meetings ministering to people, building up leaders, moving projects forward, etc. But at the end of the day it's the thought of my family that gives me comfort and motivates me to go on. I think of them all the time.

One of the things I try to do while I'm on the road is to snap photos of things I see when I travel. This time I filmed this guy at the airport in Amsterdam who was cleaning these pillars while at the same time walking on the moving walkway. I thought it was quite funny and amusing. I mean, it's actually a real art to be able to do this, not? Bless his heart, I hope this is only a temporary job for this fellow. Now please don't get me wrong, I respect the man and his work. But I still hope he doesn't have to do this for the next let's say 20 years.