For Erev Shabbat (evening of the sabbath) the city closed down. We celebrated and welcomed Shabbat together at the apartment. Today we rested. It's such a precious thing to have Shabbat here. We're staying in a heavily jewish area, so the streets were bare and quiet all day, shops closed. I sat outside a while, only occasionally seeing a tourist. The silence was so sweet. In the US it's just the opposite. The Lord instructs us to remember Shabbat and keep it holy, saying, "If you turn away your foot from (trampling) the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it...then you shall delight in Yahweh; and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father," (Is 58:13-14). Our culture, in direct opposition to the knowledge of God, makes it the busiest, most entertainment filled, go-your-own-way day of the week. But this Shabbat, I didn't have to contend against those things. I rested as the city rested. (Or at least the jewish areas of it). Below is a picture out our apartment window of a usually very busy intersection, and many shops- all closed and covered as if nothing was within them.

It's now 1:18am Yom Echad (Sunday) and the streets are filled with celebration. Out the open window I hear a crowd singing together. If you can imagine the chanting of a school song after a great game of football is won; then you might get close to what I hear now. This is Israel. Oh how I desire that was all about Yeshua (Jesus) out there! One day. One day the streets of Jerusalem will be filled with even more celebration, for a righteous King who will reign forever.

We traveled home from Nashville after a blessed breakfast and fellowship with our friends Jason and Rachel. I've thought a lot about yesterday. So glad I was there; it's a day I'll remember, an event that will long be a marker in my life and in the history of the Bride. I'm grateful to be back at IHOP Atlanta. At our Encounter Service I felt revived in worship. I kept the fire burning tonight during the message. That's IHOPese which means I was hiding in another room worshiping while the message was presented, so that the fire of worship would never cease. We have one 'service' each week, and Sunday night at 6pm is it. I so enjoyed the opportunity to sit with my guitar and just worship my Jesus. I sang two new songs tonight, and tried to write as much down as I could remember afterwards. It was a sweet time with my Savior, but I missed the message, so I'll have to get the CD. The night watch has begun, and I'm heading home soon. Tomorrow I leave for Israel, so I might not get the Blog uploaded for a couple days. There's much to do before we leave Atlanta at 10:40pm.

What just happened? How do I explain it? For over 12 hours Christians from across America gathered and filled a stadium for one man, the god-man Jesus Christ. We fasted in the heat, and pressed on to worship with all our hearts, souls, and strength. And my strength is all gone- I'm exhausted, but I must report as well. As we begin with a call to repentance, and wept for our sins and the sins of our nation, I saw today a gathering as vital to the people of God as the ancient gathering in Jerusalem, with Ezra declaring the word of the Lord. We wept over this nation's sexual immorality, it's bloodguilt from abortions, it's sins against the native americans, blacks, and immigrants, and it's rebellion against God. The church gathered to renounce it's fellowship with baal, and to covenant again with Yah. As three hundred shofars (the size of Gideon's army- Judges 7) blasted out an alarm in the night, the entire assembly of ~80,000 erupted in dance and the joyous shout. The sound resonated in my heart. As I looked up, my eyes beheld angels in the sky above. That's when something new of eternity was written on my heart that I do not yet understand.

Early this morning I thought I might be riding my bike to Nashville, after our daughter was running a bit of a fever last night. But she was feeling good this morning and Ashlee said, "we'll go!" So the three of us loaded up and took a loong (with 2 "o"s) trip to Nashville. Traffic was impeded in Atlanta and Chattanooga, but corn and carrots and green beans at Cracker Barrel gave Grace the energy she needed to finish the trip. So we traveled on and arrived at our hotel six hours after leaving Atlanta.

This evening has been a wonderful reunion with two of our dearest friends, Jason and Rachel Shore. It's been a joy hearing about what God has already been doing in Nashville this week, and catching up each others' personal lives. I'm sitting in a hotel room sensing the nearness of the Lord as strongly as I do in the prayer room back at IHOP-Atlanta. That's an unusual thing. I have great expectations for the assembly tomorrow.

May the people of God hear the alarm, the urgency of the hour! It's easy to fall into drunkeness with the energy of a large gathering. My prayer and meditation is that heart's are being stirred in the night with groanings. That 100,000 would bend the knee and weep between porch and altar on the day before us. This is the way of the Kingdom. He who humbles himself is exalted. The one who bends the knee (barak), is the one who receives the blessing (baruch). A dream came in the night to many people just a few months ago. From one night came a multitude of reports about the same dream: of a vessel in heaven being poured out on Nashville, and spilling /spattering into pools all over the world. Open the floodgates of heaven, Lord. Do it this day! Though I was not one of the ones to receive that dream, it's as vivid in my mind right now as if I had dreamed it. 40 years ago the "Summer of Love" opened the door to the lie that freedom means 'do what you want to do'. It opened the door to sexual immorality, drugs, and rebellion that has grown in name of 'love' into the sewage of our culture: pornography as the number one addiction of 12-17yr olds, 5000 youth are losing their virginity every day, there's a rapid spread of STDs, rape, child sex slavery, horrific numbers of abortions, adultery, divorce, lifestyles of escapism and indulgence that are directly opposed to the knowledge of God. Tomorrow marks a new generation (40).