Do NOT underestimate the power of spiritual warfare....

Dominic — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:49:00 -0500

So I’m in Baltimore attending the NEXT conference - and listening to the speaker tonight, I was having the hardest time focusing on what he was teaching.

Then I started reviewing my notes, and boy, how I was twisting what he was saying when I was trying to write it down…. It didn’t make any sense.

Then my brain started playing tricks on me, and I was having these really weird emotionally self-destructive thoughts (for those not familiar with my newfound (thanks to therapy (and yes, I’m nesting parenthesizes)) self-examination and realizations, no — I’m not talking suicide or anything else, just… sometimes you start thinking of things and it goes downhill from there)….

And it occurred to me, it was time to pray.

I spent a good amount of time praying — in fact, I probably missed almost half of his teaching. But sometimes that’s just how things work out.

Later, as I’m sitting in my room finding the boarding pass information online, I overheard one of my roommates and his friends discussing how they felt disconnected during the session — just like I had. For one of them it was so strong that he ended up leaving, just to end up being ministered to by God outside showing him the falseness of his thoughts.

The moral of the story:

Do NOT underestimate the power of spiritual warfare, especially if you are in a room with some-3000 other Christians worshiping God at a conference that is being blanketed in prayer.

Sometimes Satan strikes when we think we are at our strongest….

What is NEXT?

Dominic — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:54:00 -0500

Too often Jesus fades into the background of our busy lives. But He hasn’t changed. And He invites us to meet Him again.

This is the “catch phrase” for this year’s NEXT Conference.

I do not know why, but the three sentences immediately resonated with me. It is a problem I struggle with every day. I always said “Oh, I make time for the things that matter” - which is often the case, but not always the case for God.

I have been praying the last 9+ moths that God would show me when he’s trying to tell me something. I think this was one of those moments - amidst struggles for how to pay off debt AND save money for my Israel trip, he told me “Oh, btw… you should go to this. YOU SHOULD GO TO THIS.”

Okay, God. I’ll go. You’ll take care of the rest. Money? Somehow. Vacation? Okay.

And so I registered. God is awesome, and I can’t wait to see what happens.

If you are curious about the speakers this year, one of the NEXT people went and tracked down the easter messages of the speakers this year:

Joshua Harris The Resurrection and the Life John 11:1-44

Sinclair Ferguson Does the Resurrection Really Matter 1 Corinthians 15:1-20

D.A. Carson Why Doubt the Resurrection - VIDEO Why Doubt the Resurrection - AUDIO John 20:24-31

Kevin DeYoung Worthy Is The Scapegoat Lev 16

C.J. Mahaney Death Swallowed Up In Victory 1 Corinthians 15:17

I look forward to going - to seeing God work in my life.

I’m giddy for God.

dominic eidson: Tag next

Do NOT underestimate the power of spiritual warfare....

What is NEXT?