Author: Dan Baker

As I sit here at my desk thinking over all of the activity of the last week I cant help but be in awe of the discipline and fortitude with which our Lord went through the last week of His life.
He was so stressed that as He sat in the garden awaiting the inevitable He had “sweat drops of blood”. Now I’ve had some stressful business meetings but none where I sweat drops of blood from my pores.
But knowing that Jesus was the Son Of God ,we know that there was a plan. God does everything in order, and as we look back through the annals of time I’m certain we would see notes pertaining to a beating, a beating unlike any that a normal man could survive. A beating whose stripes and the ensuing blood flow would heal every sickness or disease that the human body would be affected by through the ends of time.
We would see defamation by the mouths of the very people He was trying to rescue. And finally we would see His battered and broken body hanging on a crude and cruel old rugged wooden cross. As we see all of this there is one thing that we must realize; There was a plan for Jesus life and that was to glorify His Father in Heaven. Jesus death brought glory because it had to be done in order to break the curse that was on this world. God in love raised Jesus from the dead and He now reigns with Him in glory. Wow!
Now back to you. Your situation, trial, or circumstance most likely isn’t as pressing as being beaten and crucified, however you might feel that it’s that much. Know this and take this to heart. God has a plan for you. In His word He says..”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)”
I grew up on an island and one thing I know after walking the coastal beaches and coves is that we would find bottle corks that wash up from all over the world and would use them to create decorations and items of use..You may feel like a cork floating in the ocean with no land in sight but I assure you that you will find shore. Rest in the fact that a perfect God has a perfect plan to put your story, situation or test to a useful purpose that brings Him glory!
He has a “Plan”

Many times I wonder if we pray confidently enough or with enough understanding of how much impact prayer can have when we are specific.
I recently had a conversation with a person who had been praying very specific prayers about selling his business. He had been so detailed in his prayer that he had actually drawn out what the document would look like; including figures, terms, and signatures. Incidentally his business sold for a significant amount of money and he received every thing he had asked for in detail.
On the flip side I hear of people praying for other things, such as healing without detail or being specific and then they are shaken when the healing doesn’t come. I recently explained this to someone who recently lost a relative to cancer. The gentleman was a believer and had battled long with a prayer of healing going up to God continually. As I explained to this individual as realization came through the words I was speaking. We are Spiritual beings who happen to live here in an earth suit. God sees us not in the scope of our limitations here but in the long future that we as Christians have with Him in eternity. So in a sense this individual was given the healing he asked for when he passed on to be with Jesus, released from the bondage of this earth.
Whatever you are praying for, whether health, finance, or relationships remember to pray detailed specific prayers. Pray Big.

A dear friend of mine always ends his prayer like this,
“Thank you God for always answering my prayers”..-Pastor Alex Anderson

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20, 21 NIV)

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24 NIV)

I love that confidence. Lord inasmuch as we pray ,may we pray confident, specific prayers.
Amen

Sometimes we go out with the desire to achieve the vision that we feel God has placed in us and we come up against people who will speak against that vision or may even make fun of what we feel God has for us. Stand firm and go to His Word for confirmation and support. Surround yourself with wise counselors who understand what it means to follow God.
The Bible say that Gods word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
It is not a floodlight showing the entire path in front of you, however, it is a lamp revealing the next step in front of you..
Don’t build your life for where you are but for where God is taking you.”Quit letting people’s opinions of your vision dictate your destiny”
“Stop dumbing down your destiny to fit in with people who’s opinion doesn’t matter in the Kingdom scope of life”
Stand firm and take massive action on the vision that God has put in your life.The difference between a daydreamer and a visionary is action. Visionaries act on the dream God has given them.
A few of these statements have really hit hard in my own mind and really do help when the challenges come from those around you. These come from a sermon by Steven Furtick called “Dress For The Wedding”




“Press On”


Matthew 25;40….Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.

Today is Adopt A Block and we had the privilege to begin our day on the 17th floor roof of the building to pray over the city. What an awesome experience to see the view and lift up the people of Los Angeles to Father before heading out to minister on the blocks.
They had approximately 400 people show to help with Adopt A Block this morning. Many were regular volunteers and many were visiting from other Churches etc.
After boarding buses to your assigned blocks we then travel to different parts of the city . Once arriving there are food provisions and personal care items distributed to people waiting for us. Then the group is broken up and a portion goes door to door offering to pray and do services for the residents. Another portion of the group plays sports with the kids.
One observation while knocking on doors is that there is no time limit to the resident visits . You may be invited in a home or they may simply visit with you on the stoop.
The neighborhood that my group was in was the birthplace of the bloods gang. It is also the largest housing project west of the Mississippi with well over 2000 dwellings. Most of the residents have no work and they are fully dependent on the Government for support.
We did meet some shining examples of determined people however who despite the odds have survived and managed to bring home some money to live on.
Today was a great day and we are able to bring back some processes and things to make our Adopt A Block even better than it already is.
We are always looking for those “hands and feet ” moments.

http://mikefoster.tv/
Last night we had service at Angelus Temple. Mike Foster spoke about our being the ” people of second chances”.
With this message brewing in our souls we head out today to work with Project Prevention; a ministry of Dream Center that works with Dept of Children and Family Services to assist families that are on the edge of falling apart. This ministry works with the case workers to build strong and healthy life giving relationships. They provide food, personal hygiene, baby items to these families to release them of that financial burden. They also visit them weekly to build relationship and trust. We spent time with Tanisha. Tanisha was a prostitute all of her life and has had ten children. When she was brought before a judge 10 years ago the judge took all of her kids ANC put them into the system( foster and ward of state group homes ). On a bus ride home one afternoon she was asked if she needed help and was given a phone number to Project Prevention at the Dream Center. Fast forward to today.. Some of Tanishas children have been adopted out by the system however she has several with her at home including a beautiful 10 month old baby boy. She has not prostituted herself or participated in drugging in over three years. She currently goes to Church at Angelus Temple which sits on Sunset right down from where she used to work the streets. She is involved in prayer groups and has a burning desire to start a ministry to women working the streets of LA. To hear this beautiful soul testify to what the Lord has done in her life…drives us to be people ” Of a second chance”
Tanishas pimp has been sentenced to 134 years in prison. Please pray for his salvation and an opportunity to experience Gods Grace.

Wow today was spent on Skid Row LA.
To imagine that in the streets of Los Angeles County are living over 40,000 homeless souls; over 25,000 of these live on Skid Row.
Skid Row is nestled in amongst several blocks of the downtown wholesale district of LA. Wholesale florists, fishmongers, shoe stores, and industrial supply wharehouses sit on streets stained with human urine; the odor of which takes your breath away.
As you walk amongst these helpless souls your mind wonders to visions of Jesus walking through the streets of old Jerusalem, where the leprous, the infirmed, the starving would sit in the roadways and at the gates. Our Lord would pass through these groups and heal them and speak words of life into them, so that is what we did on the streets of Los Angeles. We represented our Lord well. On this day we fed over 300 people and had the opportunity to pray with many.
As we walked past sleeping bodies anesthetized with all manner of alcohol and drug we did see nuggets of gold in the form of special people; people with talent and desire, not wanting the lifestyle they are forced to live. One such man was a gifted artist whom we met outside of a shelter. He was drawing with a Bic pen and colored pencils but his work showed a skill honed over many years. We introduced ourselves and had a lovey conversation about life and God. Arthur Richardson has been living on the streets for years moving from shelter to shelter. He’s done nothing wrong but these are the cards he has been dealt. We asked if we could pray with him and he asked us to pray for work, a home, and a new pair of size 13 shoes. He said he knows God and wakes up every morning with a song to God in his heart. What a divine appointment. As we left Arthur that day we couldn’t help with two of his requests, however we did leave him with two new pairs of shoes thanks to the kind donations to the Dream Center Clothes Closet.
Another meeting was with a young man named Robert. We ran quite literally into him on the street outside The Midnight Mission from where he was just kicked out because he succumbed to the desires of heroin addiction and was high. He begged for help, describing his battle very vividly. He said that when he was desiring heroin it was as if a large opposing “devil ” would show up and oppress him into shooting up, and as soon as he did it would turn away almost laughingly and leave him to suffer the affects alone. We took Robert with us back to the Dream Center and he has been given entrance into their year long discipleship and recovery program, which by the way has had no openings recently. Another Divine Appointment.
Jeremiah 22:16
“judge the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this what it means to know me declares the Lord”

Day Number 2 in LA..
We were blessed this morning with the opportunity to do 2 tasks ; 5 of us in the kitchen, and Guy and myself in the marketing and promotions office. In the kitchen they were given the opportunity to see how the meal supplies and ingredients are supplied and stored, then prepared for 3 meal services. Amazing fact: dinner alone serves over 450 meals.
Guy and myself had the opportunity to call 115 donors who had recently donated to a campaign to remodel a floor of the building to house single moms. What an awesome opportunity to pray with these folks and to share gratitude for helping the needy.
This afternoon we went to 2 neighborhoods with the food truck and distributed food to over 275 people.
The highlight of my day was an image that we captured on film. A homeless man caught our eye while we sat at a traffic light under a bridge. He had all of his things stacked nicely in his shopping carts and he was sweeping up his entire area under the bridge to make it tidy. The image stuck in our minds all afternoon and this evening we brought him and his friend dinner. Now that was a blessing to be able to bless a man who shows such stewardship with the little that he has.
Amazing Day!

Today we began our first official day of serving here at LA Dream Center and the day began at 6:00 for breakfast. We then had the opportunity of doing the bedding and towel laundry for the Short Term Missions Dept. For this we piled ourselves and the laundry into our van and drove to the laundromat where we spent a couple hours completing the task. We turned it into a great opportunity to share personal stories with each other and create a nice building moment .
After lunch we got together with the kids ministry here and went out to two different “project” communities where we had the blessing of spending 3 hours playing football and sharing a Bible lesson about Gods creation of each one of them in His image . It was awesome to watch Georgia, the young intern who led the outreach, as she would look right into each of their sweet faces and tell them how special each one of them were to God who made them. After the lesson there was a nice prayer, some candy and then off to the next location.
We truly are blessed to be able to share in this ministry and to continue to gain insight on our own ministry.
We are blessed …