Tuesday, June 28, 2016

My Elijah

I was recently prompted by God to look for a particular book in my nightstand.  But what He really intended, as I dug through the many papers, books, and other keepsakes, was to find a very special postcard hidden in the bottom of the drawer, that I had completely forgotten about. 

The postcard was from my grandmother, who sent me the card while I was in college in the mid-1990s.  She was vacationing in Hawaii with my grandfather, as they did every September for many years, and sent me the card just to say hi:



What she wrote on the card reflects very clearly who she was as a person: "God is so good to answer my prayers.  His works are all around."  Why would she write that in a note to her grandson? It seems a little random to throw that in there.  But that's what happens when God has activated your life - He is always on your mind, and you are constantly reminded of your relationship with Him in everything you do. 

That's why my grandmother is "My Elijah".

Elijah was a powerful prophet in the Old Testament.  His showdown with the prophets of Baal, where God proved to be the one true God in the eyes of the nation of Israel, is one of my favorite stories in the Bible (1 Kings 18:16-40).  Elijah was also priviledged to stand on a mountain and witness God's presence pass by.  Finally, he was given the gift of not having an earthly death, as he was taken up to heaven by chariots of fire in a whirlwind, in the sight of his protégé, Elisha. 

Elisha was chosen by God to be Elijah's successor to his prophetic ministry.  And when Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted before Elijah was taken to heaven, Elisa responded, "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit." (2 Kings 2:9).  While it was a difficult request, Elisha was granted this request by God and had his own dynamic ministry.

When my grandmother died in 2007, I was able to speak at her funeral. At that service, I asked God for a double portion of my grandmother's spirit.  When I look at the way God has activated my life and given me the same passion for His presence as my grandmother had, I see now that God answered my prayer, and I'm sure the very similar prayers of my grandmother as she went on her many walks around her condo and spoke with God.

Who do you have in your life as a role model for walking with God?  Have you asked God for a double portion of his or her spirit?  I can't wait to see what happens when you do!

Adam Gellert

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Hearing (and Sometimes Missing) God's Voice

I've been fortunate to hear God's voice during my life, both audibly (just once) and in my thoughts and prayer time. Until this year, these instances were very intermittent, which meant it could be several months or even years in between the times I heard God.  But in my book, Activation: A Story of God's Transforming Power, I describe the first time I was able to hear God daily, during the 30-day devotional time my church had in January 2016.  This has led to a daily quiet time with God where He has given me things to write down every day, and it's been an amazing time of revelation, closeness to God, and peace and comfort for the daily journey of life that I have never experienced before.

However, despite this increased frequency, there are times when I've put a question mark next to something I've written down, because it just didn't make sense or I couldn't quite tell if it was God.  I even had one day where most of what I wrote down was very discouraging and negative, and it wasn't consistent with the pattern of comfort, peace, and love I had received the other days, so I scratched out those messages.  In other words, despite our best efforts to hear God, we are being constantly barraged with our own thoughts, and thoughts from the devil, that will try to drown out the voice of our Father.  Tuning into the right frequency to hear God is always a learning experience.

And one time recently, I really got it wrong. During a program at my church, I saw of vision of my brother Peter and his family being marked by Jesus.  His wife is pregnant with their second child, and I thought God was revealing the gender of the baby to me.  It was unclear, so I strained even harder to "see" what the vision would show me. I then saw a picture of a child from behind, with long blonde hair, so I thought, "It's going to be a girl!" In my excitement I told my brother, who had been hearing from others that they thought it was a girl too, so this confirmed it for him.

The problem is, when they went to the doctor to find out the gender, it was a boy!  I was shocked, and it really shook my ability to hear God for a period of time. How could I miss it? 

Ironically, during the time of this increased hearing of God's voice in my life, Pastor Robert Morris at Gateway Church, where I am a member, has been preaching a message from a series called Frequency, based on the new book he released by the same name. It's helped confirm my experiences hearing God, in both the challenges and confirming messages I've heard.  During one sermon, he told the story of someone else who missed it too, and he talked about how sometimes we mix up what we are desiring from God's message to us, or want to hear something so badly, we aren't really picking up the right signal from God.

So I've learned that hearing from God isn't always easy, and I'm going to get it wrong sometimes. But this shouldn't keep us from trying - that's just what the devil would want us to do.  For those times when I do question if a message is from God, it means I have to wait for some kind of confirmation that it's really from Him, either from reading the Bible, having the word come to pass correctly, or in the other ways God speaks to us.

Getting to hear from God daily, and taking time out of my day to do so, has been one of the most precious gifts God has given me in my life.  I wouldn't trade that time for anything.  So start today - find some quiet time to ask God what He is saying to you through his Holy Spirit, and you'll be amazed at what He says back. He loves you and can't wait to tell you so Himself!

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. - John 10:27

Adam Gellert
adamgellert.com



Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Spiritual Maturity at the Water Park





"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

I recently went on a trip with my family that involved a stay at a hotel with an indoor water park.  My kids, at 8 and 6 years old, are a little more cautious than most when it comes to theme park rides, water slides, and such, so I wondered how they would handle this new opportunity to take a risk, to stretch their comfort zone.  Would they go for it, or would they sit back and watch the other kids go down the two story water slides that loomed ominously up the stairway?

At first things went as expected; although they both climbed the stairs with me to see what this whole water slide thing was, they refused to take part when they saw the rushing waters trailing off into the darkness of a large plastic tube, with only a few feet in view and the rest of the slide an unknown path of winding ups and downs.  They could also hear the echo of other kids (and adults) yelling and screaming on the way down the slides and wanted nothing to do with it.  I trudged back down the stairs with them, ready to head off to the section of the pool where the smaller kids played in the splash pads, wondering when my kids would finally take a chance to enjoy the fun of these water slides.

Then something changed.  They continued to be drawn to the slides, as they saw their family members the same age going up and down the slides, screaming and laughing in delight when they came crashing into the final leg of the slide into the pool.  Finally, they both went back up the stairs to the top of the slides.  They both took the plunge into the unknown.  AND THEY LOVED IT!  After that, they must have climbed up those stairs dozens of times.  I sat back down and watched them go over and over again, without my help, and it didn't take long for them to become completely comfortable taking on this adventure on their own.

While sitting in a chair watching this phenomenon, God showed me that our walk with Him isn't much different.  As we grow in our spiritual maturity, God wants us to venture out and take risks, to try something new that initially makes us uncomfortable.  Jesus asked us to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).  This means going beyond attending church on Sundays, hearing a good message, and returning to the others things we have on our agenda, as we check the box with God for that week.  That's playing in the kids' pool.  The real fun begins when we step into the water slides of life - sharing your faith with others, wearing a shirt, wristband, or bumper sticker that professes your faith, volunteering at church or another non-profit opportunity, praying for others, carving out quiet time with God, paying for someone's meal while in line at the drive thru, etc.  And like my kids being influenced by their friends and relatives at the water park, you may be encouraging others to seek more in their walk with God when they see your example.

As I describe in my book, I also experienced this same period of learning to stretch, to do something that many people would think was a little crazy.  And I know I still have a long way to go in this area.  But like my kids in the water park, once I took a bold step with God in an area of my life that He had given me to work on, I couldn't go back to the old way - I was hooked, and it was a lot of fun! I realized that it wasn't so scary after all, that God wouldn't let me do anything He knew I couldn't handle, and He honored my faith with unexpected blessings I would have never experienced had I not jumped into the unknown. 

Ask God to take you to the water parks of life, where He can stretch you to do more than you thought you could ever do.  He won't ever leave your side, and He knows which slides you can handle, and which ones you aren't ready for yet. 

If you want to live an activated life, it's time to leave the kids pool!

Adam Gellert
adamgellert.com

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Hearing From Ravi Kandal - A Story From My Book


In my book, "Activation: A Story of God's Transforming Power," I dedicate a chapter to my favorite story from my Activation adventures, at least so far.  It's called "Hearing from Ravi."  It really demonstrates to me that God can make unexpected connections in your life that can lead you to a life of adventure and fun surprises.  Here is an excerpt from the chapter:
I was introduced to a series of amazing documentary movies in 2012 beginning with Father of Lights. Darren Wilson and his company, Wanderlust Productions, began creating movies in 2007 with the release of Finger of God and have gone on to produce Furious Love, Father of Lights, Holy Ghost, and most recently, Holy Ghost Reborn in the fall of 2015. Each movie is unique and awesome for various reasons, and it’s a great opportunity to see how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together as One for the love of God’s children in the world. If you haven’t been exposed to modern day miracles, this is a great opportunity to see them first hand.

While all of these movies are great, I think my favorite may be Father of Lights, which features Ravi Kandal. Incredibly, God speaks to Ravi audibly each day, giving him instructions for his ministry. In the movie the film crew follows Ravi as he embarks on amazing adventures that were directed by God’s instruction. If you get a chance to read Darren Wilson’s book, Filming God, you can read about many more adventures with Ravi, including times Jesus himself has appeared to and spoken with him!

Who wouldn’t want to know someone like that? Well, that’s where the story gets nothing short of crazy. In October 2014, I received a request from Ravi to connect with him through LinkedIn™! I was shocked and amazed, but then I wondered if it was even legit. Why would he contact me? Is this a scam? But God talks to him audibly. Did God speak my name to Ravi?

His profile showed he was connected to several people from Darren Wilson’s movies, so I took a chance and accepted the invitation. I sent him an email asking how he found my name, and I didn’t hear back right away. My family started teasing me about being so gullible. “Adam, it’s obviously some kind of joke or scam!” I wasn’t convinced and emailed him again asking how he got my name. Several days passed, and I then received an email from Ravi:

“Thank u for accepting me. My brother the fun part of our father is
1. He talks,
2. He connects people for a reason.
Be blessed.”

It was so incredibly exciting to enter the world of the documentaries I was such a big fan of, and I couldn’t wait to see where this connection would lead!

Since I was still mystified and wanted to better understand why this connection with Ravi happened, I perused his connections to see if there was anyone that I should connect with. I had been interested in writing another book at that time, so I was immediately drawn to one of his connections, who is an author and book editor. I ended up not moving forward with that book idea, but when Activation came into focus in early 2016, I reconnected with Jackie to help with my book. I’m excited that Jackie Macgirvin, nationally recognized author, helped me put together the book you are reading now!

Even with this connection already made through my linkage with Ravi, I have a feeling this is not the end of this story. I look forward to learning more about why God made this connection and what further contacts this will bring in the body of Christ!

Then incredibly, I was able to add the following update to the book just before finalizing the manuscript:

Well, the story doesn’t end there. As I was looking for a publisher for my book, I noticed from my church’s bookstore that we have our own publishing arm called Gateway Publishing. I found someone on LinkedIn™ who worked for the group and sent an invite to connect. He responded the same day, and I learned that Gateway was making an effort to expand its book publishing capabilities using Burkhart Books, founded by Tim Taylor.

I looked Tim up on LinkedIn™, and saw that he shared three connections with me — one of which was Ravi Kandal!!!

When I connected with Tim, I learned that he had also received a random request to connect, and had not known Ravi. So the story has come full circle, with God connecting me to my editor and book publisher for this book through Ravi!

Better yet, given all of these connections, I emailed Ravi after not hearing from him since late 2014, to tell him about my adventures with his connections. You can imagine my surprise when I received a call on my cell phone from an unknown number, only to have Ravi on the other line! After spending a few minutes talking about my book, he explained to me that in the fall of 2014, God had given him the names of 682 people to connect with on LinkedIn.  I was one of the names God called out to Ravi! 

Latest Update: I was fortunate to have Ravi write the foreword for Activation, and I met him in person in late 2017 (pictured here).  I've connected through LinkedIn with many of the 682 people Ravi was given, and I'm looking forward to learning more about how these connections fit together!

-Adam Gellert
adamgellert.com

Monday, May 30, 2016

Activation Prayer

The definition of "activation" is so appropriate to describe what has happened to me in recent years, and what happens to anyone who God activates:

ACTIVATION:
  1. the process whereby something is prepared or excited for a subsequent reaction
  2. to accelerate a reaction, as by heat
  3. to set in motion
  4. making active or effective
  5. putting an individual or unit on active (military) duty
I believe God is moving strongly during these times, and wants to activate all His children for more - more of His presence, more of a closer relationship with Him, as well as his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, more boldness in sharing your faith with others, and more amazing connections, miracles, and encounters as you grow in your walk with the Lord.  God is on the move across the whole earth, and if you open yourself up to all He wants to reveal to you, an incredible transformation awaits!

If you're ready to experience God's activation today, all you have to do is ask in prayer.  This prayer is in my book, and is a great way to "seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)

ACTIVATION PRAYER

Father God, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sins, and the sins of the world.  Now I can have a direct link to You through Jesus' saving grace.  I'm ready for more, for all that You intended for me when I was knit in my mother's womb.  I submit to Your authority over my life.  Baptize me in the Holy Spirit through the atoning blood of Jesus.  Fill me with Your power, so that I will no longer be lukewarm, but will be filled with fire and passion to do Your will every day of my life.  Give me the courage and boldness to show others the light that shines in me, so that they too will want what I have.  I look forward to the surprises You have in store for my life. 
In the name of Jesus Christ I pray.  Amen.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about how God has activated your life, so send me an email, or post a comment, as we build an Activation Movement across the world.  I know God is going to bring people to Him, along with healings, signs, and wonders through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we go on this journey.  God is on the move!

- Adam Gellert

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Welcome to the Activation Movement!

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for checking out my new blog inspired by the book, Activation: A Story of God's Transforming Power, due for release this summer! I'm excited to share this amazing journey with you, and will use this blog to update you on the latest news and insights from my activation story, and share testimonies from readers experiencing their own activations from God. 

After God "flipped with switch" on my life in 2012, I started journaling the amazing experiences and adventures I encountered as God showed up in incredible ways, not only in my own life, but with my family, friends, and co-workers.  These examples of God’s transforming power brought the book, Activation: A Story of God’s Transforming Power, into view, as it told a story that has important lessons and application for all of us.  Activation is about God’s desire to fill each of us with fire and passion to know Him, to share our passion with others, and to fulfill the destiny he has in store for each of us. 

This isn't just a story or a book - it's a calling for each of us to get closer to God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and experience what's it's like to know the Creator of the universe, only available through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  Get ready for your ACTIVATION!

“But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.  I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
– Jeremiah 20:9

- Adam Gellert