Today after 3 years of full time ministry serving faithfully with the Tauranga House of Prayer in Tauranga New Zealand, my little sister Kari is leaving.  Her final destination for this journey is the Middle East where she will be boldly declaring the goodness of God [...]]]> . . . and sorrow.

Today after 3 years of full time ministry serving faithfully with the Tauranga House of Prayer in Tauranga New Zealand, my little sister Kari is leaving.  Her final destination for this journey is the Middle East where she will be boldly declaring the goodness of God and the gospel of the Kingdom.

This is not a typical short-term visit to a forgin nation to experience a different culture and help some local missionaries for a couple weeks.  There are no local missionaries (or very very few) She is committing her life, along with a group of about 20 spirit filled young adults, to minister to a people who hate Christ and are hostile to the truth of the gospel.  She is being commissioned and sent out by the Holy Spirit and our community with prayer and fasting, after a season of prayer and fasting, unto calling a generation to the values of prayer and fasting.  This is the biblical model of commissioning missionaries (or messengers, or witnesses) to unreached people as found in the book of Acts, chapter 13.

I am filled with joy today because the commitment to sell everything and go preach the word is being acted upon as one member of that group of 20 gets on a plane bound ultimately to land in a nation of beloved people who are significantly hostile to the message that is being carried to them.

I am filled with sorrow because the one going today is my little sister.  As her brother I am sending her with my blessing to do the work to which the Lord is calling her.  There is a small chance that she may never return.  The reality is that she understands the risk involved and is going joyfully because of her knowlege of who God is and the hope that is found in Him alone.

What is happening today has not been the norm over the last 100 years or so but I would urge you to prepare your hearts n0w to see this become the norm over the next numbers of years.

I believe that unprecedented revival is coming to this generation across the face of the earth.  As it comes so also will come an unprecedented calling of this generation to follow the same example laid out in the book of Acts.
This is what I believe and am contending for day and night: that as we quickly approach the return of the Lord, the reality and promise of the words of Christ found in John 14:12 – 14 will increase and become the norm.

“MOST ASSUREDLY, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (NKJV) (emphasis added)

Hallelujah!

I’ve been feeling my life getting a bit cluttered and unorganized lately so I sat down to have a serious think and pray about my priorities. I wanted to do this right and be quite serious with the Lord about it. As I started to think about a the different projects and personal comitments [...]]]>

I’ve been feeling my life getting a bit cluttered and unorganized lately so I sat down to have a serious think and pray about my priorities. I wanted to do this right and be quite serious with the Lord about it. As I started to think about a the different projects and personal comitments I was getting stressed. I sat down, prayed and just waited on Him. Here is the list that came:

“Current Priorities”
1.  Know God
2.  Know the Word
3.  Seek His presence

I sat for a while to wait again but for the life of me I couldnt think of what to add to the list. I started to get frustrated but heard the Lord calmly say, “I like this list.”

I believe revival is typified by ten things. Two are direct functions and eight are the fruit.
The visible signs of revival to man are:

The fruit of revival in the eyes of God are:

As I write this first sentence my mind is racing with thoughts of how vast and complex this topic is.  By default I added “Part 1″ to the title knowing that to look at this topic as accurately as an average guy writing a blog can, there will be at least two parts, if not five or six. [...]]]>

As I write this first sentence my mind is racing with thoughts of how vast and complex this topic is.  By default I added “Part 1″ to the title knowing that to look at this topic as accurately as an average guy writing a blog can, there will be at least two parts, if not five or six.  My ultimate goal

though, is to keep the information accessible and easy to understand.  Let me give you just a bit of background though. (which may be all that this part 1 consists of)

I am now 34 years old.  A few years ago I noticed that I was starting to get a bit more over weight than I liked.  Not much mind you but more than what I liked.  I started to excersize a bit more and began to assess what I was taking in as part of my diet. During that time I quite randomly stumbled onto a documentary called “A Beautiful Truth”.  It highlighted a number of extremely shocking things dealing with nutrition, modern food modification and the industries that promote them and beinifit from them.  I had never heard any of this stuff before.  I was fully intrigued and dove head first into trying to find more information on the topic.  I was quite surprised to find nearly nothing at that time.

Dairy was one of the topics that the documentary touched on which struck a particular cord for me because I had grown up drinking milk and lots of it.  My grandparents had been dairy farmers since they were born and when my parents, two sisters and I moved from Canada to Minnesota when I was about 6, we started drinking unprocessed milk from the farm almost exclusively.  So when I watched this documentary nearly 15 years after high school I had a rather startling revelation.

I thought about my classmates and the different sports I was in with them.  I discovered that all of my friends who lived out on dairy farms around town were also the best at sports and did better in school and had the most active lifestyles.  But most of my friends who lived in town were not as athletic and generally did not do as well at school.  Obviously there was a lot of overlap but in general I could see the difference in performance of those who would have been drinking raw milk from their farms as opposed to those drinking processed milk.  I am sure there were other dietary factors and behavioral factors that played a role but my revelation was not a scientific study, it was just my thoughts about my past.

This revelation inspired me to start digging a bit deeper, and in fact my over all hobby of studying nutrition really began with Dairy and the dangers of MSG and aspartame, but thats a whole different blog for another day.

By this time I had some serious reservations about simply believing everything I heard about nutrition: The Food Pyramid, dietary supplements, soy, fat and even dental work.  I found that what most Americans believed about their nutrition was a carefully crafted message delivered to them by someone, somewhere and I was choosing to step outside of that influence and look at things from a different perspec

tive than what they wanted me to. I would encourage you to do the same.  You could start by turning off your TV for a year or so.  I know it all sounds very “conspiracy-like” but I assure you, doing a bit of research for your self will only benefit you.  In fact, seeking the truth is one of the things I have found to be specifically discouraged by those doing the influencing.

Anyway, that’s a bit of background.  I really want to put all that aside and look at this topic of dairy very objectively and from as much of an unbiased perspective as I can.  My goal is to help you.  I hope that I do.

In my next post I will somehow start to tackle this vast topic in the mean time go have a watch of “A Beautiful Truth” on Youtube.  Its an “interesting” movie.  Meaning, I am not a big fan of the film maker’s style of movie making, nor do I ascribe to every detail portrayed, but it is still an eye opener. (specifically, the film maker’s tone of voice was a bit weird for me at first but I got used to it)

However, in my spare time I do a bit of nutritional study [...]]]> Of course sardines are food.  I know that, but who eats them?  Not me.  I dont generaly go to the grocery store and grab my milk, butter, veggies and sardines.  Its just not what I think about buying, ever!

However, in my spare time I do a bit of nutritional study and reading.  I know that may sound a bit weird but I have really started to take a lot of interest in nutrition and finding out about different misconceptions that people have about whats good for you and whats not.

Anyway, I was reading an article called The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating and saw Sardines listed in the #8 spot.  I hadn’t really thought about sardines as a health food.  Just a “gross” food. So after reading a few more articles like this one, this one and a couple medical studies like this one I decided to give them a go.  Here are some of the highlights of the nutritional facts then I will get a bit more into my personal experience.

EPA, systematically called all-cis-5, 8, 11, 14, 17-icosapentaenoicacid, is a carboxylic acid with a 20-carbon chain with five cisdouble bonds (sometimes denoted as C20:5(n-3)). This FA is involved inthe production of eicosanoids, which are hormone-like substances which actas vasodilators and anti-platelet aggregators. EPA is a precursor to theeicosanoids known as series 3 prostaglandins and thromboxanes and series 5 leukotrienes.

Just kidding, here are some of the basic nutritional facts:

Of particular note is the high amount of Vitamin B12 which is an extremely important component in preventing nervous system diseases and promoting brain functions.  It is also one of the very best ways (nutritionally) to naturally boost your metabolism, which can translate to natural weight loss and better muscle building.  Also the extraordinarily high amount of Omega-3 fatty acids occurring naturally is massively beneficial. A few of the more in-depth scientific studies I read cite sardines as actually being able to help naturally fight cancer and other degenerative diseases.  The main reason that sardines are so filled with beneficial nutrients is because of the types of plankton they eat.

Anyway, on to my first real sardine experience.  I read that I should buy the sardines packed in olive oil rather than fish oil, water or soy oil. There is a tomato packed option as well that does not appeal to me one bit.  So I picked up a can from my local super market  (I was a bit freaked out and didn’t want to buy more than one can just in case I hated it).  I read online that one cooking option is just to fry them up in a pan. This option is very handy since they are already soaked in olive oil making it easier (and cheaper).  So in they went, fried up for a few min with a bit of natural sea salt and some black pepper and that’s it.  I also sliced up a tomato (just because it was there staring at me in the fridge) with some salt and pepper too.

Eating the sardines was a bit weird at first because you eat it with the bones in and scales on and everything.  The bones are very soft though and didnt really bother me. Same with the scales.  They dont still have the heads on (usually) so its just the body.  The flavor was not nearly as “fishy” as I was thinking it was going to be.  I feel like because they were packed olive oil that it significantly softens the “fishy” flavor.  I fried them till the outside was slightly crispy which made them quite nice but they are slightly weird for me at first just by themselves. After eating most of them quite happily I ate the rest by just wrapping them up in the sliced tomatoes.  That was really nice actually!

It was a nice experience over all and I am interested in trying other methods of preparation.  I am quite stoked about the health benefits and plan to include them in my regular diet.

Since then my ability to serve the ministry of The Tauranga House of Prayer has been sigificantly hurt.  My primary role with The House of Prayer is as Director of Media.  This means that I manage [...]]]> In November of last year my laptop was stolen during a friends wedding in Auckland.

Since then my ability to serve the ministry of The Tauranga House of Prayer has been sigificantly hurt.  My primary role with The House of Prayer is as Director of Media.  This means that I manage all audio and video production for the ministry.  This may seem to many to be a negligible issue for traditional missions but I am not a traditional missionary.  My ministry is not to a localized people group necessarily, my ministry is to an entire generation of unreached youth across the whole earth.  I do also minister locally here in Tauranga as a leader for the House of Prayer internship but it is not my primary outreach.  We are using media in the form of audio and film production and the internet to send the message of the gospel in places where a local missionary can not reach easily.  I can confirm that we are having significant impact with this method.

Since my laptop was stolen, my primary method of outreach has been completely stalled.  This was a significant attack of the enemy.  Because of this, I am now boldly making known my need to you.  In order to continue here effectively in ministry I need to replace my laptop as soon as possible.  Many people have given to help with this but I have seen an unfortunate trend.  I have found that the people who have donated to me the most are those who do not have the means to do so.  It has been those who are along side me in ministry who also live off of the very little that they receive in donations.  I have been so blessed by those who have donated to me and I know that the Lord is in complete control and holds me in the palm of his hand.  I know that He will provide everything I need just in time.

I am making a bold call to those who have been on the edges of supporting me to jump in and take part in being a blessing.  I am asking those who have the means to give to take the burden off of the people who have been faithfully giving out of their own lack.

Some will read this and think that I am being greedy.  I can tell you clearly that I have no desire to have an abundance of money.  For two years I have enjoyed living in relative poverty with out luxuries and the Lord has blessed me in it.  My desire is only to glorify God and be effective in the ministry that He has called me to.

If you would like to donate to help me replace my laptop please do so now via paypal by clicking here.  If you would like to donate another way towards my computer please email ASAP: nathan_buchanan@live.com

If you would like to commit to supporting me on a regular monthly basis please click here to find out how to get signed up via Interlink Ministries.

Thank you and bless you!!

This is a short video update I made for my sending church Bethel Assembly in Fosston, MN.  However, if you dont happen to attend Bethel, this update is just as much for you as them.  Please visit the donate page to find out how you can support me in my ministry.

Result? The feeling of helplessness.

The shower was cold, the coffee spilled, no time to eat breakfast, co-worker decided to not show up, can’t afford a snack, pulled into a meeting for something, the something was our fault, cant go back and get sympathy from the co-worker who isn’t there.

Result? The feeling of helplessness.

Our heart is screaming in pain! Our response is the same as last time: to quickly find something thing that we know will get our mind off of it for a few minutes, make us feel a bit better and give us time to think about how all this is our co-workers fault anyway. How can we make sure they feel the pain of it? If only we could get them fired, this wouldn’t happen!

Poor in Spirit is the moment that we recognize that pain, our heart screams then suddenly, somewhere inside of us there is a whisper that says, “there is nothing you can do to fix this or make anything any better.” We close our eyes and instantly, flashing in our mind is the last 10 times we felt this way and what our natural response was every time: to run to the thing that numbs the pain, justify ourselves, be bitter, manipulative and deceitful”.

“Wait, my first response has been sin? Every time?”

Something breaks in us in that instant. This is Poor in Spirit.

 The cubical, the classroom, the bed room, the car is suddenly filled

with the presence of God. We feel His greatness, His holiness, His majesty and that we have nothing to offer in return. Our past numbness, bitterness, manupulation and deceitfulness feel like a weight that pulls our face right to the floor. We see what we have to offer and we mourn because it will never measure up to what He is. Our barrenness has led us to mourning.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted . . .