Clay Feet

Two weeks ago, I titled the message "Clay Feet." This was my image. This a reference to a passage in Daniel that I wanted to expound upon slightly. 

Daniel 2:31-45

“You were looking, O king, and lo! there was a great statue. This statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were all broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, 38 into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything, it shall crush and shatter all these. 41 As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay. 42 As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever; 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.”

This is a great image! It is meant to illustrate a weakness or character flaw. 

And it is this image that see Solomon. The great and wise Solomon, who has never had an equal before or after in regards to that wisdom, did not stay the course in his relationship with God. Instead, he listened to his 700 princesses (wives) and worshipped their gods. In doing so he broke the commandments in Deuteronomy 17. Go ahead. Read chapter 17 and then read about Solomon. He does everything that he is not supposed to do according to the Law. 

In 1 Kings 9:6-9 we see the pronouncement of what will happen as a result of Solomon turning away from God. 

Look at your feet. Are they clay? What character flaw have you been ignoring, are you blind to? 

How is that keeping you from living the life of a conquerer? Read Revelation 2 below:

 4 I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God. 

Shake the dust and clay off your feet. Come back to you first love. Repent and come back to God.

The Cali Experience 2013

It has been almost a month since we got back from our trip to Cali. I wanted to put into words some sort of wrap of concerning the trip in its totality.

A lot of what you hear when you get back is, "How was the trip?" And to be forthright, it is hard to answer that. How does one sum up an experience as full as a two week trip to another country.

I know my propensity to be verbose when I talk. I like to tell stories. I am aware of the problem so I tend to want to be sure that I am answering what is truly being asked.

So when I answered that question it was mostly to respond however I was feeling at that particular moment. You know. The short answer.

I had one person ask to meet with me over lunch and talk about the trip. Of course, I felt bad for them because I was still in the throws of being EXHAUSTED. So I don't even know if I can recall any part of that conversation. I hope I was coherent!

In short, I would say that the trip was incredible! I would say that it was eye-opening and heart-opening. I would say that it felt so good to be a part of a church, however briefly, that could teach me so much about prayer. So much! About what it is. About what it isn't. How to pray! Oh. Bless Nineje for being the prayer admiral she is!!

My expectations for this trip were to learn about the Master's Plan, help build a part of church (to bless them), and tell one person about Jesus Christ. If you have been reading this blog you know that all three of those were given to me in amazing ways. And there was so much more God had for us.

The hand of God was on me (us) the entire time. He moved in our hearts to refresh us (me) He rejuvenated me. Specifically, we got to be a part of a God movement that has been 30 years in the making. In some ways, it was like being brand new to the team and you get put in for the last quarter of the game. And yes! You get to be a part of the team that is winning the game.

I have felt in the past that I was sitting on the sidelines. Watching the game. Hoping to play. Hoping to make a difference in the goal of this team we call disciples. And to be in Cali for those two weeks was such a gift. We were just visiting, but we were in the game. God used me while we were there. He showed me and taught me.

And some of those things that God taught me, while it might edify others, are so personal that they won't be typed or listed here. My journal has daily entries about God's glory and his provision for me.

I will share this from a journal post on September 24th. I was reading our devotional book for the Cali trip and I started noticing some "themes" that God had been doing a work in me. Here are the themes that He gave me.

God is my Revealer.
God is my Redeemer.
I am to be a Life Builder.

He gave me these verses in Psalm 37:
          Our steps are made firm by the LORD,
    when he delights in our way;
    24      though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,
    for the LORD holds us by the hand.

And this from Psalm 100:
          Know that the LORD is God.
    It is he that made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

And this from Luke 2:
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

I am God's child. And my primary purpose to be on this planet is build life into others. That is a Life Builder. That is my role in being a disciple of Jesus. In being a parent. In being a husband. In being.

In summary, I loved going on this trip. And if you ask me, "How was your trip?" I will answer that it was fulfilling. Because on it, God filled me up. Infused me. An experience that I wish for all of you.

Start saving now. Go on a Work and Witness trip. You will never be the same.



If you would like to see some of the results of what we did in a concrete, analytical view. Go here!

The Journey Home - Cali Edition 2013

Tuesday morning was a very, very early morning! We had to be at the airport by 5 am. But even more important than that was that we get to go to 4 am prayer at the church. We didn't want to miss it!! 

So we got up at 3:15 am and got our bags downstairs to be ready to load. Then we walked to the church to pray. We climbed into the van and, after hugs, said goodbye to Vince.

After the van ride to the airport we got in line to get our tickets and board the plane. And said goodbye with hugs to Sandra.

After going through Immigration (Customs) with agents and guards, we found ourselves by an Oma Coffee Shop waiting to board. I could not go without trying a coffee from an actual Oma Cafe. After all, I had Oma coffee in my suitcase!  I got a latte de arequipe which is a caramel latte. And just so you know, very good!

After the plane took off we got some great pictures of the mountain ranges we were flying over! I think they are called the Faraliones de Cali and the Cerro Calima.

We were all exhausted but between the customs form, the juice cart and the breakfast meal going through the cabin I wasn't able to sleep any. I don't anybody else in our group got any sleep. I don't sleep well on planes! Never had. I was slightly jealous of the two asia girls in the seats behind me. They were zonked out the whole time!! 

After we landed, some of us (ahem, Ron!) got to go straight through from the airplane to the next boarding area. All the rest of us had to go exit the terminal, get our luggage and then go back through security. I think it was God showing Ron that he doesn't have to be too concerned about international travel, because with God all international can be easy. 

It was difficult (again, read frustrating) to have to do all that again, but we got to where we needed to be with a little extra time. Since we were all going back to our respective home arenas, Genell, Steve and Bob were headed out on a different airline at a different time. I think their layover was only 2 hours. The rest of us had a six hour layover. Which was fine. 

This is a good time to mention what the effects of those little bugs from the day before were. I do not and have never liked mosquitos. I hate the idea of mosquitos. I don't like that they transmit diseases. You get the idea, right? Well, I will take mosquitos over those little bugs anytime! Those of us that had bites were itching intensely!! All day long, beginning when I woke up, they itched!!! Bad! 

And the only thing I had to put on them? Sanitizer!! It would do some good for a while but ultimately all it did was sting bad enough that I forgot about the itching. 

Genell let me have some hydrocortisone to rub in and it did almost no good. So I just put up with them. (Edit- They finally went away three days after this!!) 

Then, it was time to say goodbye to our friends that were leaving early. Again, hugs went around. I will miss them. But I know I'll see them again at various district events. So only shortly parted. : ] 

While we were waiting we got an email from Vince about the house. The price had started out about twice what they could afford (found this out on the way to the airport in Cali) and by the time we were in Miami and waiting to board the plane, it had dropped to about 40% of the price! It was the elusive extra 10% that was not happening. But what a major drop in price! God was working!!

Time passed and we got on the plane. I know I was seriously dragging. But yet, wide awake. I think Ron was too. : ] 

We got to our seats and it was time to close the hatch. Yet, strangely, the back row of the plane was vacant. Hmmmm. So Ron and I asked to move to those empty rows. Accepted. Happy! 

The flight was not very eventful and I still couldn't sleep!! But we were getting closer to home!!!!

After landing and then getting our bags, it was once again time to say goodbye to each other. Ron, Bill, April and I gave hugs and said our farewells. What a trip together! God was so very good to us.

Turning my phone off airplane mode yielded an email from Vince! The price had dropped down to exactly the price they could afford! It could still be a little cheaper but what an amazing answer to prayer! Look what God did in only 36 hours!

My original plan was to stay at a friend's house in Minneapolis and then drive home the next day. But I felt pretty awake and after a sandwich I decided to hand on home. I mean, I was this close to my family. I think Ron inspired me, as he did the whole drive home thing too and he had even further to go than I did. 

I got pretty tired around Rochester and had to pull over for some milk and those awesome Hostess chocolate donuts. You know the ones I mean!! Goodness in a row.

About five minutes from home, I debated whether to text Alissa and tell her. I decided not too. What are the chances she would even be awake at 2 am?

I drove up and the house had the extra lights that my wife leaves on when I am not home. I got my stuff and as quietly as possible I entered the house. 

I think I freaked her out a bit. Fortunately, I was NOT hit over the head with a baseball bat and am currently writing this, so you know I survived. 

But man, it was so good to be HOME. I crashed. At the time I arrived home, I figured out that I had gotten something like 6 hours sleep in 48 hours. And I needed to get up in 4 hours to help get the kids ready for their day. WOW. I was so tired. 

But that is for another post, another day. I plan on doing one last post that sums up the trip for me and the recovery time. As for this series, it is almost over and I am so glad that it may help you or entertain you or at the very highest of goals, inspire you to go on a mission trip of your own. 

May it be so.

(Will post a video of the trip home when I have more pictures to complete it.)

Surprise Monday!

(Note: This post has been backdated. I plan on doing two more posts after this one to complete the Cali Series of blog posts. Videos will follow as pictures are available.)

Monday began by finding out what we were going to be doing that day.

Our hosts (Vince & Alyson) and logistics officer (Miss Sandra) informed us that we were going out to Pastor and Pastora's family retreat house in the surrounding countryside of Cali. In fact, all the international attendee's of the Master's Plan were going!

So we all got ready and Vince also shared that they would like to go by a house that they have been praying for. This is a pretty neat story in itself and deserves more space than I can give it. They have been looking for a bigger place to do ministry out of God is moving to get one that they found that would do nicely. The trick is the price!

We went by the house and were able to go inside. We walked through and then met on the roof to pray for God's blessing in securing it for the right price. I'll have more information to share tomorrow!

After going by the house it was time to get to the church to catch our bus to Pastor's house.

It was a little bit of a trip out to their house. Backspace. Re-type. . . their AMAZING house! It was beautiful! I'll have pics in the video. So check that out.

We got to relax a bit and tried some fruit that looked like little "tommy toes" tomatoes. They weren't! They were some sort of little fruit that tasted like a cross between grapes and baby tomatoes. Tangy and then full and rich. Very good. I ate too many of them I think!

We sat and relaxed and talked to those we could talk to. Then we came inside. Pastor and Pastora talked to all of us and told us how excited they are to see this Plan going to other countries to help spread the Kingdom.

Then it was time to eat. (Eat? What's that? We didn't ever eat or have too much food!! LOL!)

Did I mention that we ate??!? It was a plate full of food. Four kinds of meat. Potatoes. Plus more. Also, we were offered soup that had a leg of chicken in it. This was not a Weight Watchers portion, people! Ugh. S-t-u-f-f-e-d!

The best part for me was talking with a youth pastor from Guatemala. Often on this trip, we would find ourselves, despite Vince's best attempts, at a time where we did not have an interpreter and a desire to communicate. I have decided I would like to study Spanish more and become fluent. God is gonna have to do something to work that out!! I digress. The point is that I found myself tired often and not knowing enough Spanish (often) to really have a conversation. So, I found it difficult (that's frustrating spelled differently) to communicate with any meaning or depth without Vince or Alyson or Linda Kimberly or Cesar or anybody else that translated for us. Not their fault, just part of it.

But here I was sitting at a table with Pastora's brother who spoke VERY little English and this youth pastor. As we tried to communicate with each other, I began to understand him and he began to understand me. We figured out that we both knew enough of the other's main language to sort of patchwork a conversation together in which we could get our meanings across. It was really fun to talk and laugh and tell stories. God was working in that I believe.

After that, the Cali 8 (that's us gringos from the Prairie Lakes District) got together to cogitate with Dr. Kraemer about the future and how all of the things we had experienced had changed us. And what we were going to do with it.

I have to insert one thing here. While we were talking, there was, unbeknownst to us, a small almost invisible bug that was biting our legs! It wasn't a mosquito. I think they call them (excuse the spelling) seczundos. They didn't suck your blood out. They bit you and left round blood marks on your legs, arms, chests or wherever! Nasty little buggers! But the bites aren't that bad besides looking yucky all over you. It was the next day that was horrible!! We were told that we would really start itching the next day and they were not kidding!!! But I get ahead of myself. : ]

After our talk and a wait for the bus, we left to go back to our "casa." We did see a flame eater guy at one of the intersections! That was cool. Or hot. Depending. Eh.

We got back and we were told that they normally do a banquet for the team's last night there. So there were little boxes on the table for us and instead of Alyson's awesome cooking, they told us they had heard us talking about missing pizza. So they had ordered us pizza, Cali-style!!

It was very good! One was a chorizo, ham and cheese pizza and the other was plantain pizza. Don't make that face!! It was pretty good. Surprisingly. Different, but good. There ya go. That's a good description! Well, you didn't have to eat it. So there. : p

Next, we gathered around the table again. Vince, Alyson and Sandra presented each of us with a box and a verbal accolade that highlighted how they had experienced us during the past two weeks. Nutshell alert:  They said nice things about us.

I think I speak for everyone when I say, we had grown together as a team, including Vince, Alyson and Sandra. This was the official moment in time when I realized that the trip was done. And we would miss them. They had become people that we had grown to love. Further, for me at least, it was a realization that the people that we had grown closer to, that lived all over three states, would be going back to those places and the closeness of serving/learning together would be a little more distant.

That part wasn't fun. It was sad.

We had experienced something together and there is a bond there. God orchestrated it. Train of thought here. Then, what is He going to do with it? God does amazing things. Wonder what He knows about this, that we don't know about it? Hmmmmm.

Lastly, we all went upstairs and packed and packed and finally - went to sleep. If you can count going to sleep for three hours (from 12:30 am to 3:15 am) as actual sleep.

Stay tuned for another post tomorrow!

Our Last Sunday in Cali (For Now)

Our morning began with a great breakfast (as usual) and then we headed to church! We went in early so that we could experience what the church calls Consolidacion. We don't really have a word for it in english, so the best we could come up with was a cross between assimilation and incorporation. It is how they move people from being church attenders into disciples. It is the first step after coming to church.

The service was wonderful, as usual! The speaker was a pastor from a church in Kansas City. He delivered God's word. He spoke on the Master's Plan main theme:  Conquering the Impossible! John 11:38, Lazarus being raised from the dead. "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" Great stuff, as usual, from God!

After the service, we had lunch and then we went up to see Cristo del Rey. Christ the King. It is not a big a the Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro but it is second! Entonces (then), we went down to the city artisan market. We all had things that we wanted to take back with us to the US and this is the place to shop! They have so many handmade items! Ear rings, hats, clothes, coasters, sandals, etc! We shopped about an hour or so. It was fun to negotiate a bit.

After that, we had a change of plan (Be flexible!!) and went downtown to see the city center. It was a city square and many old buildings. After our little tourism jaunt, it was time to get back!

Bill and April had been asked to sing, play and drum for the service that night at church. We prayed for them and they went and practiced. We met back up with them for the service but only stayed until they did the offertory. Then we headed back home. As you can see in the video, they gave their best to the Lord. Pastora asked why they weren't playing the whole time?? LOL.

Vince and Alyson had changed the plan today for some secret thing they were trying to make happen tomorrow for us. We still didn't know and so we had to wait until Monday morning to find out. Whatever it is it will be very fun!

Today was the day that I thought more about the fact that our trip is quickly coming to an end. It is a strange feeling. Can't wait to get home to see the family! Yet, have had great experiences here with a dynamic church and dynamic people! It has been a time of renewing the soul. Drawing close to God and serving Him whole-heartedly. We will never be the same.

Post for tomorrow coming soon! And don't forget to go back and make sure you haven't missed a day!

Impact and Conquista!

This is the day that the Lord has made!

This was a photo I actually took Friday afternoon. Not bad for an iPhone! There are only two short rainy seasons during the year. And for the most part they happen around 4:30 pm. Almost clockwork. This was the first time we had seen the rain. We had really good weather most of the time. It was a little hot a few days. Being only 3 degrees from the equator, the sun rose and set almost the same time every day.

What an exciting day today was! Today was what the church calls an Impact event. We went so that we could experience one and help out. We had no idea what God was going to do!

Of course this event had been prayed for many weeks before at the prayer times and at the cell groups. An Impact event is an event that impacts the community around the church, or at a specific site in the city they are trying to reach into to make a difference (this means they share Jesus, not some event just to make themselves feel good). Everything this church does is to create an opportunity to tell people about Jesus. This is something I believe that most churches have lost. They are focused and intentional which is why they are growing!

The event we helped with was in a park that they had gone to for several weeks and walked around prayed over. This totally wowed me! The event was to give services that people in lower classes didn't routinely have access to. They had inexpensive clothes for sale (I don't know if they were gently used or new.), pet care, medical care, dental care, a bounce house, domestic abuse help, immunizations, diabetes testing, and help with insurance access. There was entertainment as well. The salsa dancers and a play from a group called Lifehouse that told the forgiveness of Jesus in a innovative way. Also, there were children's events that included a couple of the kids getting a chance to beatbox and rap. Chevere!

We all jumped in and helped out in different ways!

One of my prayers was that during this two weeks, I would have a chance to lead someone to Christ. Today that prayer was answered.

Ron, Genell and I were talking with Linda Kimberly, a church disciple that translated for us during this time. She is so sweet! She had an Evange-cube and asked if we would like to walk around a lead people to Christ. Of course we said yes! She gave us the cube and showed us how they use it to reach people. After a short introduction, off we went! Ron started. We walked through the crowd and Linda randomly picked someone.

Ron asked them if he could tell them his story. They agreed and we went over to a tree that made some shade. Ron walked them through the story of Jesus and his story with Jesus using the Evange-cube. During the course of the story, another lady, Mary, came up to the fence from the other side. She begin to listen and then she begin to cry. When Ron asked if they would like to ask Jesus into their life, all five listening said they did, including Mary. Linda led them through a repentance prayer and then their names and information was taken down for follow up. It was amazing to see God work!

Then it was Genell's turn. She talked with two ladies that prayed the prayer of repentance and asked Jesus into their hearts! God was moving in a mighty way! Others were talking with people and they were accepting Jesus as well! Children were raising their hands to accept Jesus! An outpouring of the Holy Spirit was happening as people asked to change their lives forever. It was too amazing to even describe properly.

I am only giving as much detail as I can give where I was, but I have one more story to share. Mine.

After Genell, it was my turn. I was nervous. But I had just seen the Holy Spirit move and I wasn't going to let Satan take away my chance to impact someone's live for Christ.

So Linda walked up to two of ether dancers and asked them (she is doing the talking for intros because we don't speak espanol) if we could talk with them. They said something I didn't understand and then we followed them toward a building. Then, they went into that building that had refreshments in it. I thought they must have said no and so we were going to get something to drink in the heat. We went into the building and then we walked into the back of it. As I walked into the room, there was the entire dance team, about 22 people! Linda had me stand in he he middle of the room and then told me that they all wanted to hear what I had to say. Gulp!

So I quickly said a prayer asking God to help me and started to talk. Linda translated for me and as I went along, God did something to my words! He gave them strength and meaning. They were still my small words, but He made them His words as they left my mouth. God used me to speak his Truth and Love into their lives! And as I finished with the cube and my short testimony, I asked them if they would like to have Jesus in their life. And they started nodding. All 22 of them!

Linda led them through a prayer of repentance and then people came in and took their information for follow up. Then, I walked around to each of them and met them. I got their names as well and told them I would pray for them.

What a feeling! God used me to advance his Kingdom. Me. And all I did was be willing to do what He asked me to do. He did everything else. Gloria a Dios!

God used the Conquista that night as well. This church used a secular comedian to draw people to an event where a simple testimony of a loving family led to people asking Jesus to come into their life.

Across the town that day and into the night, God continued to use people to reach people for Jesus and the number of people accepting Christ that day was around 4000.

This day made an impact in God's kingdom! One day changing 4000 lives! Wow. We prayed. God answered. Kingdom growth.

Check out the video below to see what we experienced.

Keep checking back as I continue to poster for Sunday through Tuesday!

Master's Plan Conference

Wednesday through Friday we attended the Master's Plan Conference. This conference is put on by the Casa de Oracion, the church we attended since we have arrived.

It is a leadership conference that inspires leaders through biblical preaching and by showing them how to disciple effectively. The conference is immersed in prayer before, during and after. We felt that we had been surrounded by God's provision, blessing and protection.

There were three main speakers: Pastor Fernando , Dr. Jorge Lopez and Dr. Roberto Motessi. Pastor Aldaberto Hererra and his son, Juan David also spoke. Pastora Nineja Hererra prayed frequently throughout the event.

One of my favorite points was one that Juan David made in his preaching. He said that, "Prayer is like a seed that you plant in fertile ground. Then [we] have to wait. That doesn't mean that nothing is happening." He asked why we don't preach on all the times in the Bible that prayer wasn't answered immediately. Awesome point!

My second favorite that was especially meaningful was one made by Dr. Lopez. He said that now is the time. Do not wait. Now is the time. He said that, "If you never begin a task, it is 100% failure rate." It is wrong to receive a word from God and then procrastinate it away. We don't do what God is commanding us to do and we sin in the act of doing nothing.

All of the conference was built around praise, worship and prayer. Every session included all of this because they are a staple of the church. They are the life of the church. It breathes them and exhales them on all of the people. We were so blessed to breath with this church for two weeks and to be a part of this conference.

It was a time of growth and stretching. We were reminded and challenged to again be filled with the Holy Spirit and what that really means.

The video below is a quick overview of the conference. Enjoy!

 

Prayer and Construction

Today is a great example of a full day!

We started our day at 3:30 am. I am starting to understand that whole thing about "we do more before 5 am than most people do all day!"

The prayer time went from 4 am to 6 am. The prayer time was incredible! I have learned so much about prayer! What it really means to pray. We prayed for all of you. We prayed for the church. We prayed for the city. We prayed for their impact event. We prayed for the nation. We prayed for our personal lives and relationships with God. We prayed for our neighbors. We prayed for those that don't know Jesus. We prayed that they would know Jesus. We prayed for our jobs and families. We prayed for our debts, to be financially free. At the end we walked around the worship center walls and prayed for our own concerns. The reason they do this is to claim the Joshua experience for themselves. That our own walls would fall down and God would rush in. I walked around seven times (then realized that they walked around it 13 times total). I have felt the presence of the Lord so incredibly powerful in my life as we have walked and prayed and worshipped and sang. So very powerful.

We got a chance to workout again at the park so many of us did that after coming back at 6 am. I ran around the track and Bill played basketball in a pickup game with some locals. Some walked and some went on home. It was refreshing and energizing.

Breakfast and devotional. Ron did the honors for the the devotional. God answered the prayer of our hearts through Dr. Kraemer. He was supposed to arrive at 11 am, but due to a schedule mixup he didn't arrive until EARLY Wednesday morning. What did God do?

God made it so we could go back over to San Judas to work on their concrete! We had been wanting to go back over and help them some more but did not see how we would be able to do it with the Master's Plan Conference beginning on Wednesday and Dr. Kraemer arriving in the middle of the day. God had His plan for us. He heard our hearts! Doesn't he always hear our heart??

So we went over to the church (San Judas) and worked from 11 to 6 pm. We continued to work on the rebar. Making many ties to get it ready to pour concrete. On the other side of the wall, it was ready to put the forms on for the concrete. Many of the forms were ready and we were almost ready to mix the concrete. When . . .

. . . we decided to have a quick sandwich so we could continue to get done as much as possible. However, on one side, we had four people coming across the support beam at the same time. This, in hindsight, was not a good idea! April was holding some sandwiches ready for us to take down and as Bob approached the middle, I was halfway to April and Ron was between Bob and the other wall. (This is confusing! I know. Picture April, then me, then Bob in the middle of the beam and then Ron.) The beam collapsed!! And the tin roof became a giant, HOT, slide. April stepped back just in time to the safe scaffolding and the sandwiches tumbled, becoming literal SAND-wiches. Very gritty!! Meanwhile, Ron, Bob and I dropped down the tin that now funneled us toward the second floor. Tin hit the support beam, the support beam hit the bamboo and the now broken beam caught on the bamboo below and corked the end of the slide. Bob soft landed in the corked hole. Ron and I came to rest on the sides of a pile of cascaded debris. Time stopped.

Quickly, Pastor and others began scrambling to get us off the twisted metal. We quickly reached out to Bob and helped him get over to safer ground. We examined ourselves. No one was hurt. There were a few minor burns, from the tin, and a couple of scratches and that was all! However, the sandwiches had third degree burns from cooking on the metal and had to be put out of their misery. We gathered on the second floor construction area, caught our breath and accessed the site.

We prayed and thanked God.

Now. What do we do? We've got a mess. The good news is that we were able, with God's help, to recover and still pour the concrete. After mixing and pouring, we had one more job to do. We needed to make it so the roof would not allow water, should it rain, to enter the worship area below.

After moving tin and creating supports, it was finished. In my opinion, we left them with a poured concrete beam and a more solid temporary roof to continue their work. After feeling down from moving two steps back, I now felt we had gotten to a good place to leave them to continue the hard work of building the third floor. I praised God for what we had done and what, now, He would continue to accomplish in this rapidly growing church. Gloria a Dios!

We said goodbye. Went home. Had dinner. Then most of us went to experience a cell group. I stayed home because I was totally done and emotional spent. The group that went was excited when they came back and said they had a wonderful time with the cell group!

Whew. Time for bed.

Watch the video below to see what was accomplished! Thank you, God.

Group Meeting

Monday morning we had a group meeting where we worked through what God is doing in us. We met as small groups and we prayed for each other to receive what we believe that God has for us this week. It was hard work, and good work, to be open to each other talk deeply about what God is doing in our hearts. There is something about praying and bonding with each other in pursuing God's best for our lives!

After lunch, it was time for an errand. On Saturday, if you have been following along, we cleaned up an area outside the city, I needed to have a way to get those pictures from Steve and onto my iPad. So to the mall we went. We took the bus and it was a very hot day. On top of that the bus was very full. The best way for most that live here to get around is to buy a motorcycle. They are cheaper and they get better gas mileage. Cars keep their value here. A car sold used in the States for $4000 would be $6000 here.

The mall was an open air mall and very pretty. It was hot so we asked if we could find a iced drink. That's when we saw the Juan Valdez kiosk. These are like Starbucks in their popularity. They are also very prevalent. While we were waiting, an armed security guard came by Guess to do a bank pickup. So of course there had to be a picture. Sawed off shotguns aren't displayed that openly in the States.

We found the store that we were looking for and got the accessory that I needed. Since my keyboard for writing these blogs died a sudden death the previous night (apparently gravity works in Cali the same as the US), we also went to a store kind of a cross between Walmart and Target. But we didn't find what I needed, and it was time to get back for the a portion of 12 Hours of Prayer. So into taxis and then home.

One cultural thing: many, many stoplights have venders that walk between the cars and sell things like gum, drinks, fruit, ice cream and, well, just about anything. One time we got a stoplight and the vender walked by and put some gum on the windshield. If you take it, then when he or she comes back by, you pay. That's right! The windshield is now a marketing display. Pretty smart, huh?

Not all of us went. Some of us stayed back and did various things, like calling family, helping clean the home and resting a bit.

Twelve hours of prayer is done three times a week. 4 am to 12 pm and 3 pm to 7 pm. Every two hours they repeat the same structure with specific church needs. These days cover the times when there are not church functions, like Wednesday night groups for example.

After the prayer time, we had dinner and then met with Pastor's group of disciples and Pastor's wife's group for a group leadership meeting. They are having an impact event on Saturday and a leadership meeting was done instead of meeting as discipleship groups which is normally done. They went over the event from each person that has a responsibility, which consists of about 1/4 of the team. Every event to reach the community has a high level of planning.

We think that we like to have food? Well, this culture is more so. Every time we have had a meeting food has been involved. This meeting was the same. We had empanadas and juice.

After the meeting, we went back to the house, talked and decompressed. Tomorrow would be another filled day and would hold some surprises for us. We are excited what God is doing with us and among us as a group!

Worshipping at Cali

- Just a reminder to make sure you go back and check out any posts you might have missed since I am posting multiple posts per day in order to catch up.

On Sunday, we attended the service at the Casa de Oracion. It was quite an experience! Apparently there was a problem when they started to grow. How to get 2000 people out of the worship center and 2000 more into it in 15 minutes.

Pastor knew that our God is an organized God. He likes order. So they knew that it had to be done. They then made an extra sliding door that accessed the street for a main exit and created a line that folded around the building for an entrance. They have six services on Sunday so you can see why this is so important.

Another main focus of this Sabbath day, was a special Colombian lunch dish that is called sancocho. This meal is served by many families as a traditional lunch. The family helps prepare it. So we all jumped in and cut and diced and stirred and prepared lunch.

It is a chicken, beef or fish soup with yucca, carrots, plantains and corn pieces. Very good!

After lunch we had a little free time to rest or to explore. Some of us went to the grocery store with Alyson and then also to see some areas, within walking distance. Some took naps and caught up on a little lost sleep. Others went to go play some basketball. I haven't played in a long time so I didn't make a single shot. But it was very fun!



Unfortunately, after a rebound from the goal, Wellington ran across the court just as Vince was grabbing the ball. They got tangled together and Wellington hit his head. He didn't have a concussion. Praise God! But he did get a big goose egg. We prayed for him. And, it was time to go back anyway, so we went.



I have to take a moment to mention three things in particular. First, it is very beautiful here. Please notice the pictures of the flowers, trees, vistas and mountains. Steve has a wonderful eye for capturing God's beauty here.



Second, here there is a tiny lizard that is frequently found around the house. It is called lagartija. They chirp a lot and it tends to echo around the house. It is completely harmless and stays away from people. It is just unique to see it around the house. There is one at the end of the video.



Lastly, they have amazing fruit here! We have been blessed by having many different types of juices and fruits. Most of them were very good. And my favorite is not exported. Very sad. I wish you could try them all. But wait! You can! How about praying about coming down here on a mission trip? Start now! And be open to what God may call you to do. Think of the fruits you could bear from a trip like this!

Saturday in Cali

Wanted to let you all know that we have been very busy since Saturday and it has been difficult to find time to post. We have also had some tech problems (my keyboard broke and we had a photo transport problem). So here it is! I have post dated it back to the original day!

We started this day at 12 am! The House of Prayer is truly a house of prayer. There were around 800 people that showed up to pray for three hours that morning. The people are so passionate for God and want his direction.

We came back home and we back to sleep for a few hours, but we had more to do. So we got up, had breakfast, and went to the Northwest part of the city to help a church impact it's community around it.

The pastor of this church has focused on prayer, the Word and reaching the community. And it is making a difference! No surprise!! It is biblical!!

We cleaned up alleys and gutters! Handed out food staples kits and hygiene kits! And yes, even pulled weeds (God teaches lessons about your past even in the weeds!)

While we were having empanadas with some of the local people (very hospitable), one girl hurt her leg and Ron was able to look at it and tell them what he thought could be wrong. It was awesome that he was able to minister to her and her friends as helped her. Also, we gathered around her and prayed for her.

When it was time to go we gathered up and the local people wanted to take pictures with us. These people love God and are serving Him. There's a reason that this little church has grown from 40 to 320!

Next we came back for a little rest time where we had some free time. This didn't last long though!

We got ready and went to the Youth Service. It was the release of the Worship Team's new DVD and CD. En Esta Cruz. It was a concert in form, but not in the way they gave God the glory and genuinely praised him as we all sang the songs and praised God. It was very good music and lyrics!

After this we went back and collapsed. Very busy day and a very fulfilling day!! God was with us and worked in and through us. God is doing amazing things!!

Enjoy the video!!

Saturday in Cali from Dave Foshee on Vimeo.

Construction Day 2 in Cali

We started the day with what has become the routine. Devotions and breakfast. Everyday is so full so we get started pretty early. Today, (Friday) we worked at the church again to try to get them closer to pouring the first horizontal beam for the third floor. Our hope was to actually pour, but that didn't happen. Here is a quick video of what the day was full of.

At the end of the day it was difficult to leave. We had worked together with the people of the church for two solid days and gotten to know them. They had been so hospitable and truly loved on us.

The people of the church would just come by and stay for awhile and work. Some came out for the whole day. They worked on the third floor or cooked food to sell to the community. This day they made $120 dollars to go toward building the roof. Their passion is amazing!

It was such a joy to work toward a common goal in the name of Jesus that we did not want to leave. In fact, I personally wanted to do "just one more thing." But it was eventually time to go. Muy triste! There were tears shed. It had been a ministry to them, but in turn it ministered to us.

We came back and Alyson had made chicken and rice soup with cabbage salad. It was very good. We then rested as we were going to Casa de Oracion for midnight prayer. We were exhausted!! It has been a very full two days.

One last note. When the people of the church pray here they pray together at the same time. The Spirit was so heavy on us as we joined together in prayer. It was such a blessing!

 

Construction Begins! (For Us)

One project while we are here is to work at a church where they have been praying for people to help build the next level of the church, literally. Today I decided to put some of our pics into a video instead of typing it all out for you.

Cali Construction Day 1 from Dave Foshee on Vimeo.

This church has grown to the point where they need more space. The bottom floor is kind of like a garage type area. They dug out the sides to put footers down in the ground about 8 feet so that they could build up. After pouring the footers they then have been pouring the concrete supports that will give them the second and third floor. The second floor will be a balcony and the third will be classroom space for small groups for kids and adults.

Much of the time it is only the pastor that can build it because most others work during the day. It was a JOY to serve alongside these highly passionate people. There were two teens there that were so on fire. I would look over at them during the course of the day and they would have their eyes closed and be praising God or praying to God. Instead of being out playing or running around, they are working with us. This is their church family and they clearly love God with all their hearts, mind, soul and strength.

Pray for us tomorrow! God is answering prayers here. Steve and Genell arrived safely and are with us now. God is moving here. He is good.

 

On a Plane. No snakes. : ]

 

Yesterday, we spent most of the day on the plane. We went from Minneapolis to Miami and then to Bogota. The plane above is the international leg (Miami to Bogota). There were free movies to watch (I watched Star Trek Into Darkness.) and the food (below) was pretty amazing. Again included. Very nice.

The dessert was very good! International flight was a very nice thing! After we arrived at Bogota, we went through Immigracion.

One of the most obvious things we noticed was that Ingles was not the primary language anymore. Note that English is below Spanish on the signs! It was very humbling. Worldview = Expanding!! We went downstairs to get to our Domestic flight (Coneccion). We had to stumble through a smatter of espanol to get directions to the flight.

The flight from Bogota to Cali was a good flight. I thought I would get to blog a bit and read. But instead I got to talk with Estella. She was traveling with her nephew to Cali and then to smaller city. The funny thing is, I learned all about this without her knowing more than five words in espanol! In fact, from Miami to Bogota and then to Cali, there were not that many people that I encountered that knew english. Estella (means star) and her nephew, Camilo, and I had a good talk and I was so humbled on how little I knew in espanol and how lost I was in the conversation. She was patient with me and they laughed at me a few times. This is her below.

We arrived uneventful! God walked us through. Below is a photo of Cali from the airplane. It is a city of 2.7 million people. Muy largo!

The plane was full (as you can see below). We got off the plane in Cali and claimed our luggage. Since Cali was a smaller airport it was easier to navigate. And, all of our luggage arrived at the same place and at the same time!

We meet up with Vince, who picked us up from the airport and we went back to his house. Lastly, for this night, we took this picture below (add me) as we loaded into the van and headed to their house. We were exhausted! On the way we had a light snack that Alyson had prepared for us. It was refreshing to have some fruit!! I think travel food makes you appreciate the simple things!

These days are long and full with lots of pics! I will do my best to keep them short, but make sure you go and look at the previous posts to make sure you haven't missed one!!

Buenos noches!

 

Off We Go!

 

Got up this morning really early! And didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Imagine that!

Got to the airport and was checking in and ran into Ron Keysor! We went through security (fun) and made it to the gate at 5:10 am. As we boarded, we ran into the rest of the Minneapolis crew, Bill and April Hodge. Got on the plane and took this photo right before takeoff.

 

On our way to Miami for the first leg of our trip!

More later!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Packing!

Hello all,

Thought I would give a heads up!

Today I have been packing and getting ready to leave. It is an interesting balance. I need to get this done so I can spend time with my family before I leave.

They made me a little note envelope to give me 15 days of sunshine in my day.

If you were one of the ones that said you would pray for me on this trip, please remember my family as well. I have never been away from them for this long and having them brought before our LORD as often as possible is a good thing!

So thank you!!

Tomorrow I leave for Minneapolis and VERY early on Wednesday morning, I get on the plane for Miami. Meet up with everybody else and then on to Cali.

Pray for us!

Will write again soon and keep you posted.

Here is a picture of my daughter rolling my clothes for me as I packed. : ]

A Week Out

Hello again!

I now have all my shots done. Glad I met my deductible already!! Those are spendy!

In case you were wondering, that means I've had Hepatitis A and B (and a booster), Tetanus and a Typhoid shot(s). Yes, me! The human pin cushion! Got in tacks you would like me to pick up?

In case you have not had these in your life, let me tell you. As you would expect, the Hep A & B are not bad. Barely notice them. The Tetanus burns as bad as it did when I was a kid (almost). The Typhoid was almost warm feeling when I got it. But it also caused me to be the most sore in my arm in even into my back a bit. So there ya go. Just what you wanted to know today. Go forth and spread the word! : ]

Aside from some small things, like deodorant and other weird things like that, I'm ready. Don't get me wrong! I'm not packed. But I think I've got everything I needed to have to be ready. It is so exciting!

It is strange to be away from Alissa and my girls that long. It has raised my level of awareness in every moment with them. Audrey has it marked on her calendar.

Then I think, what is God going to do? How can HE use this?

And I think, I can't wait.

Cali Update

Hello!

Wanted to give an update on where I'm at in regards to the trip.

The airplane tickets were purchased last month and they got them for about $100 or so less than they thought! Given God the glory!

After the price adjustment, my balance left was $698.60. (Again, praise God for this! God has used you awesome people to get me this close to the goal.) I am so grateful to God for this coming together. I have been praying that it would all come together.

This morning I called Extreme Nazarene and made a payment. I had been given some monies from my congregation and needed to get it in. So! I am happy to let you all know that after that payment, I had only $250.00 left for the trip. And that just blows my mind.

Really. Those of you that know me well, you know that I am not great at accepting gifts. I know what that is and I am working on it, but I am still overwhelmed at gifts and acts of generosity. They are hard to accept. And so, I have had a lot of practice in graciously accepting gifts lately because you have all blessed me, GOD has blessed me through you all. So thank you God! And thank you for listening to God's prompting.

The story doesn't end for today, yet. I have more to tell you!

I got a phone call from a friend this morning. They live on a very tight budget. Very tight. He has a second job to support his family. He was calling to see how I was and ask me a tech question.

We were sharing some details about our lives and I told him how much I am looking forward to this trip. He asked me when we leave and I told him about how I was just about to call make the aforementioned above payment. And let him know how God had blessed me with this trip and I only had $250.00 left. We chatted some more. And then we got off the phone.

About 30 minutes later, I got a call back from my friend. He had been praying and felt led to send me a check for the last $250.00!! I didn't/don't know what to say. God IS so good.

I'm sitting here as I type with tears on my cheeks because I am humbled by God's care and provision. 

My trip is fully funded. Praise the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! The great I AM!

So VERY humbled by God right now. Thank you, God!

Not too Late

Hello again!

Some of you have mentioned that you wondered how I was doing toward reaching my goal of $2100.00. I wanted to include this information in this post so as of this date, if you thought that you missed your chance to help, you haven't. : ] 

I am about $800.00 away from my goal. It is not too late to give because I had set the August 1st deadline in order to have the money for the airline ticket to Cali, Colombia. Half of the cost of going is the airline ticket! Wow! The rest is for everything else. So that, once we get there, our expenses are relatively low. 

I also wanted to update some information that we received about the trip. 

We will be more specifically assisting with the expansion of a small church in the neighborhood of San Judas. Also, we will be participating in an event with one of the cell groups of the Cali Church, "Casa de Oracion." 

Please remember to keep us in prayer!

Lastly, I thought you would enjoy this video that I made for District Assembly about the Cali trip. 

Cali Update

Hello all!

I just received my passport and so I am now able to leave the country. Woo Hoo!

Thank you for journeying with me on this road! I really appreciate the support. I have heard the stories of people going on mission trips and having very real and very physical manifestations of evil.

It is through prayer and intercession that God brought healing and opportunity in those situations. I thank you for your prayers!!

I know that many of you have also decided to help me out monetarily. I am about halfway to my goal of the $2100.00 needed. So thank you for your help!! Praise God!

We are almost about to buy the airplane tickets and I have to have $1000.00 just for those. I have never been out of the country before (Canada doesn't count) and thus have never needed a passport. That was a spendy thing!! Nice to have though.

I am excited to go and know that provision is being given! It means a lot to me to be able to go and minister, learn and experience all of this amazing, incredible movement that God is doing in Cali.

I hope to bring what God gives me back here for His glory!!

Thank you again!

Share your Faith!

Here is an interesting video:

Way of the Master Questions Week One

Question 1

Imagine that you are sound asleep in bed. You smell smoke. The smoke detector goes off and you quickly think of the fire station next door.  What virtues would you want those firefighters to have? Alert? Special training? Courage? Compassion? What else?

Now which ones of these do you think you possess and which ones do you need to work on?

Question 2

Call two people that you know that go to church (could be our church) and ask them this:

"I'm taking an evangelism course and as part of the homework , I need to ask someone a few questions. 1. Do you share your faith regularly? i.e. Do you go out of your way to verbally share the gospel with strangers?
2. What is the main reason you don't share your faith more often?


Bring these with you to class Sunday!

Passport

So yesterday I went and completed my expedited request for my passport. One of the critical steps to preparing for my trip to Cali, Colombia.

I've never had a passport before and had no idea that it was that expensive!

At least it is good for ten years!

I wanted to thank those of you who have already donated to help me get to Cali! Thank you for your gift! I will keep updating information as it becomes time to get the tickets and then to pack and such.

I do have a bit more information about what we will be doing specifically.

The first week we will be spending time helping to further build a church in the rural part of Cali. Also, we will be helping with cell groups (small groups) and beginning to get them going. My hope is that we get to talk to others about how important they are and possibly our testimonies about God working in our lives.

The second week is pretty intense as well. There are workshops every day twice a day that week and then on Saturday (Sabado) we will help with an Impact event.

We will be learning more about prayer, cell groups, encounter events and impact events.

I can't wait!!

Prayer Book

"Prayer is hard."

This is my thought! Have you ever dealt with this? Have you had a hard time praying and staying focused? Or maybe it is just a matter of discipline for you? So the problem becomes making time for prayer.

How about when altar time comes around? The prayer person at the front is leading us in prayer and you feel a disconnect. The words seem hollow. You don't know how to "join" with them in prayer. Then, your mind wonders. It just can't seem to stay connected.

I think we have all been there.

Some people are able to pray from the heart but it isn't easy to attain. Prayer therefore seems detached and looses it's luster. I mean, it shouldn't be this hard, should it?

I have started reading a book. And when I say started, think 15 pages so far. I got the book free as a pastoral gift from NPH. They gave something like 16 books and I put them up on my shelf with no idea when I would get to them. One of them caught my eye while I was placing them up there and I pulled it out and placed it on my desk in a hope that I could check it out to see if it was worthy of a boost up the pile.

The book is called Dawn to Dark. It is a Book of Christian Prayer (self described).

I am telling you all this, not because I expect you to go out and buy it, read it and know it. I say this so that you may know where I am going and invite you along.

Here it is in a nutshell. Want to add prayer to your life with me?

The book is about going back to practicing fixed-hour prayer on a regular basis. This is a very ancient practice and here are seven benefits that the book lists:

1. Becoming saturated in Scripture
2. Joining with the (big C) Church in prayer
3. Setting aside our individualistic prayer agendas
4. Marking time as sacred
5. Finding words for our prayers
6. Learning to pray
7. Fulfilling Paul's exhortation to "pray without ceasing."

The book suggests maybe not going all in at first but building in the prayer times over time. Here are the prayer times it suggests:

• Prayer at Dawn: Upon waking
• Prayer at Daylight: Between noon and 3 pm
• Prayer at Dusk: Between 5 and 8 pm
• Prayer at Dark: Between 9 and 12 am

I am looking to first add the Prayer at Dawn time. This is the easiest for me to add. You know how it is. Dark house. Quiet house. No one else is up! Good time to pray! The Prayer at Dawn is around 15 to 30 minutes. The Prayer at Daylight is 10 to 20 minutes. The Prayer at Dusk is 15 to 30 minutes. And, the Prayer at Dark is 10 to 15 minutes. These are all suggestions by the book. 

I will use this forum to keep you up to date on how it is going. I am very excited to add this to my life! The book even has prayer for each time of the day and also a prayer plan. 

How many of us can say we have that? A prayer plan!

I Think. I Can.

Here is a reprint of an illustration that was used for a sermon. I thought it was appropriate to use it as part of my message:

In Search of Watty Piper: A Brief History of the “Little Engine” Story
Celebrating More Than One Hundred Years of Thinking I Can!

Story of the Engine that Thought It Could. Published in the New York Tribune on April 8, 1906, this story is attributed to a sermon by the Rev. Charles S. Wing to the Norstrand Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church in Brooklyn; the church had just paid off its mortgage after many years. This is earliest full version I have discovered to date:

In a certain railroad yard there stood an ex
tremely heavy train that had to be drawn up an 
unusually heavy grade before it could reach its
 destination. The superintendent of the yard was 
not sure what it was best for him to do, so he
 went up to a large, strong engine and asked :

“Can you pull that train over the hill?”

“It is a very heavy train,” responded the en
gine.

He then went to another great engine and 
asked:

“Can you pull that train over the hill?”

“It is a very heavy grade,” it replied.

The superintendent was much puzzled, but he 
turned to still another engine that was spick
 and span new, and he asked it:

“Can you pull that train over the hill?”

“I think I can,” responded the engine.

So the order was circulated, and the engine
 was started back so that it might be coupled
 with the train, and as it went along the rails it
 kept repeating to itself: “I think I can. I think
 I can. I think I can.”

The coupling was made and the engine began
 its journey, and all along the level, as it rolled 
toward the ascent, it kept repeating to itself:
 “I —think —I can. I —think —I— can. I —think— I —can.”

Then it reached the grade, but its voice could 
still be heard: “I think I can. I—– think—–I—–can. 
I —–think—– I—– can.”

Higher and higher it climbed, and its voice
grew fainter and its words came slower:

”I ——-think ——–I——-can.”

It was almost to the top.

“I ———think”

If was at the top.

”I ———can.”

It passed over the top of the hill and began 
crawling down the opposite slope.

’I ——think——- I—— can——I—– thought——I——-could I—– thought—– 
could. I thought I could. I thought I could.
 I thought I could.”

And singing its triumph, it rushed on down 
toward the valley.

Letter about God moving at MAX @MNU

Here is a letter from Dr. Spittal, President of MidAmerica Nazarene University:

Board of Trustees,

I wanted to forward the message I sent to the regional NYI council this morning.  The youth from your districts are on our campus today, and nearly 1,000 are in attendance, almost 200 more than last year, here for the events and activities related to MAX. 

But I especially want to give praise for the moving of the Holy Spirit in our opening service last evening.  The altars were lined with hundreds of students who began to come forward even before the speaker concluded his message.  Throngs of your young people gave their hearts to Christ last evening, and we celebrated and cheered as they came.  In essence we saw revival, and the Holy Spirit moved in a way I have not seen in years. I am sure many of your youth have never witnessed a moving of God like we experienced last night.

We have been praying all year for our campus, and especially for our athletes.  Our desire for them is that God will move into our athletic programs and speak to the hearts of the outstanding young men and women who have come to utilize their unique talents to play a sport they love.  Our desire is that through athletics at MNU they will discover God for themselves and be radically transformed through Jesus Christ.

In the midst of the altar call last night, I looked up to the balcony where a large number of our football players were sitting, because their coach had told them to be there last night.  Throughout the evening I watched as the speaker engaged the crowed and spoke directly to the football players in the balcony.  When the altars began to fill with young people, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the football players begin to leave as a group and was sad to see that they were leaving.  But to my surprise and delight, I was thrilled when they came to the main floor and together came down the aisle to the altar and there joined the hundreds of others who were seeking God.  Praise the Lord.

We must realize that many of our students and yours have never witnessed a moving of the Holy Spirit in revival.  But last evening the presence of God was very real and the moving of the Spirit on young hearts was amazing.  As our football players walked down the aisle of the church, our students and your young people cheered, with tears, as they watched God move in response to their prayers.

Please continue to pray for the Lord to reach the rising generation in a new and powerful way.  My prayer is that as these young people return to your churches they will bring the spirit of revival with them and in doing so bring revival to our churches.  I have great confidence in the rising generation of the church because I can see God at work in them for their time and for his purposes.

If there is any doubt why our passion for MNU must be sustained…we witnessed the basis for that commitment last night. 

We give praise for what God is doing on the campus of MNU.

David J. Spittal

President

Palm Sunday Followup

Hello again!

I was thinking again about Jesus going up the Mount of Olives. 

So the question is:  What did you change in your life between Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday? What new thing did you commit to do? 

Did you fast from food so that you could read your Bible? Did you add family devotions? Did you cut out TV time so that you could read more of a devotion book? How about covenanting to memorize Scripture each week? 

Another way to put this is, what discipline did you do so that you were more disciplined in your time with God?

When we give up our time to make time for God in this busy world and culture, we set aside ourselves for God's use. We consecrate ourselves to Him. We say to God that He is more important that the schedule of our lives or in fact, the preference of our mind and/or heart. 

God becomes more important. We become less important.

As Jesus went over the top of the Mount of Olives, that is what he was saying. Jesus was saying that the road ahead of him was more important than what He COULD do. He could have stopped on the top of the Mount and glory could have filled the air as multitudes of angels filled the skies and heavens. 

That isn't what happened. 

He did the hard thing. He disciplined himself. He gave it all up. Himself. Completely. 

Wow. 

So when we come down from this time of setting ourselves in the backseat,  I realize you were only asked to do this for 40 (+6) days, the challenge is not to come down from the mountain and jump back into being the same person you were before the challenge. The challenge is to come down from the mountain and CHANGE who you are. Let the change, change you. Let the change become the NEW you. Jesus makes all things new because Jesus changes things. (I think I've heard that before!!)

So when you sat in the pew this past Sunday and you heard me talk about going UP the Mount and then going through the valley (Kidron) and then into Jerusalem, I was talking about the challenge that we made to God and how the ultimate end of that challenge is to let it change you. Jesus changes things. He sacrificed himself. We sacrifice ourselves for Him. 

Pretty amazing stuff! 

It is our choice what to do with the discipline we added to our lives. It is our choice whether to enjoy the mountain and then to do nothing with it, or to enjoy the mountain and then come down, sacrifice ourselves (just as Jesus did) and, ultimately, to choose to die daily for Him. 

And that is a mighty choice.

A Plain Account

Bo Cassell writes a paraphrase of John Wesley's Plain Account of Christian Perfection. The two lists below are from that book.

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Here are a couple of areas that I find to be challenging and helpful and go with the holiness message that God gave for this past Sunday.

We have to be continually aware of our heart condition. It is easy to forget to evaluate where we are spiritually. Paul references these six areas that may draw us away from God, if we let them.

1. Conversations that don't build up others or offer grace

2. Falling back into bitterness or an attitude of unkindness

3. By rage, continually putting others down, lack of tenderness

4. By anger or lack of immediate forgiveness

5. By speaking harshly, or using rough, hurtful language

6. Speaking evil, gossip, hurtful stories, needlessly talking about the faults of another behind their back

 

My prayer this week for each of you is that we, as a church family, continue to hold ourselves up before God as the mirror of His image. That we continually be looking to be renewed into the image of God. That perfect image that at first may reflect with a "dingy" type of reflection but ultimately, through adopting His perfect love, an incredible, righteous reflection. The Imago Dei. The image of our God. Our Lord.

 

John Wesley gave advice on what to do to not only to walk with the perfect love of God in your heart, but also to grow in that love.

 

Advice:

1. Watch and pray against pride. (example, not willing to own up to our mistakes and faults)

2. Don't get carried away with excitement. Stick to scripture. Search them! Know them.

3. Don't sit and soak up God's blessings. Do something with them.

4. Sin of Omission - not doing something you know is right. Inviting people to church, telling them about Jesus, Be active in God's work. Do good. Live out Love.

5. Desire nothing but God. Deny yourself and take up your cross daily.

6. Build unity.

7. Be an example for others.

 

I have been thinking lately, and maybe I've already shared this, that it would be an honor that when I die this physical death, that as an epitaph the words "He Died Daily" would be true and valid for my life.

 

"Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?" Luke 9:23-25

 

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