The Secret Place

We are home!  I want to thank you all so much for your prayers for us.  As many of you know I had a miscarriage while we were in France.  I really appreciate all of your prayers and kind words.

Much Love,

Jenniferlee

Christopher, Luik and I arrived in Longuyon, France on Friday. Christopher is speaking for E.D.E.N. which is a discipleship school run by Vincent & Marielise Fernandez. We are also doing a concert in the town of Longwy and Christopher will be speaking for a Youth Conference called “Radikal for Jesus”.

We appreciate your prayers! God is doing awesome things!!!!

Jenniferlee

Being The Bride
Also in the castle, is the beautiful bride of the King, she is his fair one, his beloved. It is this bride that he loves dearly. He shares his heart with her, His adventures always include her. He buys her the finest linens and picks her the prettiest flowers. It is her and only her that really knows the deepest part of this King. She knows what burdens him what brings him joy, what hurts him-because she listens intently. What breaks his heart, breaks her heart. What burdens his spirit, burdens hers. Their hearts dance to the same rhythm, because they are one.

The Lord desires for us to come deeper. To be more than just a servant in His kingdom, more than a friend and companion. He desires our walk with Him to be a romance!
Isaiah 54:5a “Your maker is your husband- the Lord Almighty is His name.”

Hosea 2:16,19 “In that day, declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master’.” “I will betroth you to me forever; I betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.”

If we really are the bride of Christ, if we really became one with him, we would transform every life we come in contact with. Our lives would be lived so selflessly, so lovingly.

This is why God’s call to intimacy is so vital in our lives, we need oneness with His spirit, we need to become like him.

For me I started as a servant of the Lord, doing good works.

Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

I wanted to please my creator, but yet I still found myself disobeying him.

Matthew 7:21 was my breakthrough:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day Lord Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.”
He called them evildoers!  Jesus said “I never knew you!”  They were performing miracles and casting out demons.   How could he call them that?  Because they did it without Love. They didn’t know Him so therefore they didn’t know Love.  For God himself is LOVE. (I John 4:8)

If we perform without Love we are nothing. (I Corinthians 13)

This verse stirred something in me to not just want to do things for God, but to get to His heart. I began to cry out to the Lord, “I want to know you!” I wanted something new, a depth, a secret place.

The more I talked to Him and listened to Him, the more I got to know Him,
The more I got to know Him, The more I fell in Love with Him,
The more I fell in Love with Him, the more I wanted to spend time with Him,
The more I spent time with Him, The more I became like Him.

Everything I did, I did with Him. I would take Him horseback riding with me, and we would talk and laugh together.  We would play basketball together and run together.  We would take walks together. We would go to the flagpole of my high school and weep for souls together. We would walk through the halls of the high school and love people, and say kind things.

As I got to know him, I fell head over heels in love with who he was, his character, his humor, and I just wanted to be with him.  As I was with him, I found myself becoming like him. I was becoming dead to sin and more alive in Christ. (Romans 6:11)

If you want to find the secret place where it is just you and Jesus, you must be willing to become like a child. To believe, to search, to play hide and seek, to act foolish like a child and to love because you are loved. You must be hungry to go on adventures, to discover who He is, and who you truly are. You must be prepared to be exposed before Him, to let Him sever your soul with his eyes of fire. You must be ready to go deeper, to trust stronger, and you must be ready to be refreshed, loved, rejuvenated, healed, forgiven and swept away.

Ask the Lord where He wants to take you, and go!

JH

John Knox used to pray “God give me Scotland or I die”

The meetings started this past Sunday and have been held every night. They have been going great, the Lord has really been moving!

Check out Christopher’s website for a nightly (sometimes hourly) recap of the meetings!

www.christopherhopper.com

Jenniferlee

We landed in the beautiful country of Scotland on Friday, May 16th. We are staying with the wonderful Meldrum family (David, Helen and Philip) and ministering at their church The Full Gospel Church of Dalkeith.

We visited this beautiful castle on the left the first evening we arrived.

Saturday we spent the day in St Andrews, which is where David and Helen went to University and where they met and fell in love. It is also the “birth place” of Golf!

Here is a photo of me on the Pier at St Andrews!

Here in this photo on the right are our hosts David & Helen Meldrum, with son Philip (in the back) and son Steven with his wife Rachel and daughters Lois & Naomi! (Christopher & I on the left)  This photo was taken just after we enjoyed a meal at The Doll House at St Andrews!

More to come!

Jenniferlee

Being A Friend of God
In the same kingdom, are some of the Kings companions, they laugh together, and do business for him, and play chess on rainy days, they play golf, and tell jokes. But they only know of this King’s character and have only scratched the surface of His heart.

I was in Florida for a big conference in May of 2003. I went outside to sit under the stars with Jesus, and the Lord said this to me.

“Jennifer, I have so many pastors, teachers, evangelists, and missionaries, but
I have very few friends.”

My heart broke before the Lord, and I repented for striving to be someone in His kingdom rather than striving to meet His need as a friend.

I realized that the more I became His friend the more I was concerned about His personal needs rather than just listing off my own. (How many of you have friends that just list off everything to you and never ask how you are?) They are only concerned about themselves. In most cases, this kind of person wouldn’t be considered a dear friend. But how often do we do that to the Lord? Just list off our requests and problems?

I began to ask him, how was your day? What was hard for you to watch today? What broke your heart today? How can I be a blessing to you?

One day I was asking the Lord how he was doing, and he hesitated, and said
“I lost a lot of people today.”

I wept when the Lord said this to me. It broke my heart to hear his heart break.

If hearing the Lord say something like that to you doesn’t give you a passion for souls, I don’t know what will. It made me realize in a new way, how much he loves each individual and how much he desires a relationship with them.

Exodus 33:11 “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”

Genesis 5:24 “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”

John 13:23,25 “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.” Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord who is it?”

John the Beloved had his name for a reason, he was close to Jesus, and he wanted to sit near him, to sit back against him, to love him. All of the disciples had the opportunity to be just as close with Jesus, but John was the one who took the time to be closer; to sit back against Jesus’ chest, perhaps he was listening to his heart beating.

John 15:15
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends…”

Perhaps you feel you have served the Lord well, and now he is calling you friend, but don’t be content, there is more! Keep Reading!

JH

Last weekend (April 11-12) Christopher and I had the privilege to lead worship for the 2008 Regeneration Girls Conference. Which was held at St. James United Methodist Church in Niagara Falls, NY.

Friday night was kicked off with drama, videos, and prayer organized by Kathy Krajna. Then we went into a time where worship, exhortations, and meditation of four pictures of Jesus’ life were weaved together.

Sherri McCready (www.highlandchristian.com) was the main speaker. Her and her husband Shannon pastor Highland Christian Church in Asheville, North Carolina.

On Saturday she shared about finding the secret place with the Lord, and about how we have this treasure in earthen vessels. (II Corinthians 4). She is an incredible communicator and a dear friend to Christopher and I. We lead worship for the morning and afternoon sessions.

Saturday night the sanctuary was turned into the Old Testament Tabernacle. There was the cross which represented the brazen altar, and the table of show bread, the altar of incense, and the holy of holies, which was located on the stage inside a white tent. Each girl went into the holy of holies alone, and there inside was the mercy seat where they could write a message to Jesus. There were intercessions at four of the stations, and they prayed with each girl that went through. When Christopher walked into the Tabernacle, he gasped, it literally took his breath away. It was a beautiful evening.

Then the next morning, Christopher preached for both services at St. James UMC, and we led a couple of songs as well.

It was a wonderful weekend. Also a big thank you to the directors, Char Cooke, Lori Brosius, and Kathy Krajna.

JenniferLee