AMAZING God

Amazing God

I have to tell the story because God is amazing!

We have been trying to get into this major assessment for church planting. It is the next step in planting a church so we NEED to do it. The original plan was to do it in August but miracles happened and God gave us a job for Alissa!

We needed to ask for days off and the we didn't have anybody to care for our girls while we were at the assessment/training. So by the time we had the days off approved the assessment was full and no further signups were allowed.

So we planned to go to the September one. It would give me time to complete my application and church planting profile. Plus, we now knew that we could get off from our jobs. However, we didn't have the child care figured out yet.

So we began to pray about child care. And also sitting on the couch going through the people we knew. Our first thought was my dad. He is retired and is family.

We called and it was a no go. There were too many things going on during that time frame for him to pull away. So we went back to the think tank.

I had some specific things that I were looking for for criteria. First, I wanted them to be safe for our kids. Family or good friends or well credentialed was going through my mind. Second, I wanted them to be invested in us. They needed to believe that what we were doing was important.

We thought of a church planter coordinator that had been instrumental in helping us see God's plan in church planting. His wife is such a sweet lady and so I called her. She said she would love to but that particular week she was watching her grandkids! It just seemed like it was hard.

Side note: I learned long ago that you do everything you can to pursue God's path. But don't pursue without God or get ahead of him. When life gets difficult it doesn't mean that the "door" (hate that analogy) is closed or open. It may mean that God is working but it isn't time yet. I believe that God's will is more fluid than some old door! /ramble

On Monday August 31, I got a text from a friend that learn so much from. He is a man of closeness with God. But, I didn't really have time to read it on Monday. So it lay dormant in my Messages app.

Tuesday came and here it was September 1st! No prospects to keep our girls. But I knew the time frame to register and get flights was getting shorter. I was starting to get antsy. I was talking to God on a daily basis about it and nothing was happening yet.

But God wanted to show us again that the easy way is not the miraculous way (most of the time).

On Wednesday, I woke up around 4 am. I couldn't sleep and like he normally does, I believed that God wanted to talk with me. So I went to my quiet prayer place and asked God to give us someone to watch our girls.

God responded by reminding me about my text message. The text said:

Good morning bro. I just wanted to let you know that God is impressing on me that we need to bring our prayers and petitions to him with FASTING. In case their is something you need to break loose. I encourage you to FAST and pray. I am doing this now and felt the need to share with you. Remember man of God, you are truly blessed!

I felt that God was calling me to fast over this. So I followed the leading to fast until dinner.

I got ready and headed off to work. I work around food and beverages all day long. Did you know when you are hungry that everything smells extra good??

But in my spirit, every time my stomach growled I would say to God, "You are all I truly need. I trust you, God." My stomach growled a lot.

I made it through the day and headed home.

I looked at my phone and had received a text from my wife 30 minutes earlier. It said:

I love it when God just hands us things on a silver platter!!

I called her and she told that a lady she works with, who I had meet the previous week, had come up and asked how the church plant was proceeding. (She has a friend that is going to a Wesleyan seminary and they had talked about the plant and this spurred her to ask my wife about it.) My wife told her about how we need to go to this major assessment/training for our next step and we have everything in place except . . . And the lady finished her sentence . . . childcare.

The lady simply stated, "Well, I will watch your kids."

My wife's jaw hit the floor. She is credentialed and safe. And she sees our kids everyday!

And now it is all arranged. We are going to the assessment/training! God is amazing!

I told my wife with what God had done that morning. See what he did there?? He grew both of our faiths. He gave glory and honor to himself. He provided a way (when there didn't seem to be one).

Day Eight 2012

Eight days in. It has been a very hectic week. That's not a moniker to put on my jacket. Just admitting that I'm tired. I didn't get a day off this week so I need to focus better and prioritize. That is to say that I'm going to have to not do some things this week that I would like to do. Or delegate them out. I am also not completing my goal of posting once a day.

We have a couple people in the hospital right now. Remember to pray for Char and Shirley. Char just had her knee operated on for replacement and is doing well. Will  probably come home tomorrow. Home is not literal. She will be staying with her sister. Also, her mother just went in to the hospital and Char is concerned about her. If you would like to send Char something, Tom S. has the address. Also, Shirley is in the hospital with an infection, influenza and pneumonia. They are giving her meds and she is recovering. She has good friends and family come see her and seems comfortable.

God has answered our prayers with Char and Shirley as well. Both are doing well and recovering. Char feels really well and is healing. Shirley's cough has improved a lot!

Today we are going to talk about Service. Servanthood. I am applying the text from John 13:1-17. I wanted to list out some things that I can't fit into the sermon. Here is a list of Self-Righteous Service determiners, not Self-Giving Service determiners.

1. Make a Big Deal
2. External Rewards
3. Pick and Choose
4. Moods and Whims
5. Temporary
6. Insensitive
7. Fractures Community

I will briefly explain them.

1. If we make a big deal and draw attention to ourselves then it is about serving yourself not the thing or person you are serving.
2. If there is a reward for you. You get something out of it. A new car. A piece of candy. If the question in your mind is "What am I getting out of this?" then you are not giving with the right heart.
3. When we choose who to help and who or what not to help or do, we are neglecting God's work in our lives and theirs. Walk with God and you will know the right ways to help. Sometimes it is not apparent in what they are saying they need, or the perceived need. God will help. Ask him.
4. "I don't feel like it." Many are those that receive no help or do not receive the gift of love through service from others because of this attitude.
5. "True service is a lifestyle." It isn't something that is orchestrated necessarily (out of necessity via laxity). It comes from within and floods others.
6. Self-giving love is sensitive to staying tuned in to others. Sometimes the best service is listening. Doing nothing. Being there.
7. Self-serving is all about the one person. Or the group. It divides some or one from others. The thought is that I did this and I am better than them. Even if we don't say it. We think it.

If you find yourselves serving others and one of these thoughts goes through you mind, it needs to be expunged. It is not from God. It is either the evil one spurring you or your human self coming through. Ask God to remove this spirit from you. Ask him to cleanse you from it and give it over to Him. He is a God that sanctifies.

Celebration of Fasting

I thought I would post some more information about Fasting.

Here are all the references I found in the Bible. I know there are more in there, so feel free to add them in the comments!

Scripture	Fasting Content
Nehemiah 1:4	Confessing, mourning, petitioning
Daniel 9:3	Seek Answer, petitioning, sackcloth and ashes
Isaiah 58:1-14	Fasting as Duty- True Worship!
Zechariah 7:1-7 and 8:18-19	Fast for God, No Hypocritical Fasting! Joy Filled Fast
Deuteronomy 9:9	God sustained Moses
1 Kings 19:8	Elijah was sustained by God and went 40days/n
Esther 4:16	Consecrate, Esther and People
Luke 5:33-35	Bridegroom is here, Feast! Fast later.
Acts 14:23	Consecrated to the Lord, church
Acts 13:2	Holy Spirit Answered, Paul and Barnabas consecrated
Acts 9:9	Saul fasted after Damascus
2 Corinthians 11:27	Suffering for Christ, Paul, fasting often.
Matthew 9:15	Parallel to Luke 5:33

Scripture	Corporate Fasting Content
Joel 2:12-15	Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Set apart yourself for a fast. Sanctify the congregation!
Leviticus 23:27	Day of Atonement Fast! Commandment.
2 Chronicles 20:1-4	Jehoshaphat proclaimed a corporate fast to seek help from God!
Jonah 3:4-10	Repentance. Petition.
Ezra 8:21-23	Corporate Fast, Petitioning God for safety.
Luke 2:37	Anna living in temple. Way of life. Presented to God.
Acts 13:2	Consecrated for service. Paul and Barnabas
Zechariah 7:5	Fast for the people’s relationship with God. Don’t fast for God. Fast for yourself.
Psalm 69:10	Petitioning God. Humbled my soul.
John 4:32,34	My food is the will of God who sent me. Complete his work. God sustains. Food does not.

I thought it might help to see how pervasive fasting is in the Bible. I think I have a couple of these duplicated because they had to do with fasting and with corporate fasting both.

Have a great week!