A TRUE CALL FOR REVIVAL

Since I've been on this very topic this week, I thought I'd share something that I found on Henry Blackaby's Ministry page. Blackaby is one of the most humble and amazing teachers I've ever come across. In a time of fakes and losers that are always begging for our money, he is the real deal. It's because of his Experiencing God Course that I started being able to hear God calling me into a whole new world of being of mission for HIM!

A True Call for Revival
by Henry T. Blackaby

I've heard many "calls" for revival recently but with very little teaching and exposition on revival. It seems that in these urgent days there are too few leaders who actually are leading God's people corporately to repent, pray, seek holiness and return to God.

Do we not realize that scripturally it is impossible to have a call for revival without a call for repentance? This has always been God's requirement for His people. The passionate, unceasing corporate prayer that is always present in revival is desperately lacking as well. In short, I see little evidence of sincere brokenness among God's people for our present condition or the condition of our nation.

We call for revival without actually crying with tears and brokenness for revival. The "call for revival" seems almost like a spiritual fad, with no true passion and sincerity of heart. Many will say "amen" when they hear mention of the need for revival. But the "call" is fleeting and soon passes away. And then we quickly move on to other activity and return to our business as usual with no follow-through by the leaders of God's people.

We must understand that a true call for revival is first and foremost a recognition that we've departed from God. It demands a radical response from God's leaders and His people. Revival has always been, and remains to this day, God dealing with the sin of His own -– not the world.

Therefore, if we never recognize our need for repentance of sin, then our "call" for revival is in vain. Isaiah warned God's people: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from God; and your sins have hidden His face from you; so that He will not hear"(Isaiah 59:1-2).

This lack of recognition among God's people to see their present spiritual condition frightens me. The continued neglect of dealing with the sin of God's people is both obvious and appalling. Have we moved so far from God that we remain content in our sin? Do we not fear the judgment of God? Week after week, wherever I go, I hear no mention of our desperate need of God. There's no spontaneous concern or cry to God. It's simply not on the minds and hearts of God's people -– at least where I am and where I travel.

Let me draw to your attention to several things that God's people must do immediately.

First, we must seek God to grant us broken and contrite hearts. "For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones'" (Isaiah 57:15). And again, "[O]n him will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2).

Next, spiritual leaders must "return to Lord" –- and stay there. (Zechariah 1:3; Malachi 3:1-7; Acts 6:1-4).

Third, the people of God must pray corporately with one heart and one mind. (Acts 1:14; Acts 2:1; Acts 4:31).

Fourth, God's people must be immediately obedient to all God reveals to them. (1 Samuel 15:22-23)

Then, continually bear witness to God's people of all that God is doing. (Acts 1:8; Acts 14:21-22, 26-27)

Finally, we should expect and experience Christ's fullness of joy. Jesus said: "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:9-11).

The immediate need for revival among God's people is "life and death" for our nation. Apparently, there are too many of us who simply don't believe that, and there are far too few who sense the awful judgment that is to come if we do not see revival. Believe Christ's warning: "[U]nless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). Let us, therefore, repent and return quickly to the Lord.

REMNANTS AND THE CHURCH

When I hear the word remnant I think of carpet - that big piece of flooring that someone else didn't choose to use but it is still big enough to be used for something. You know they store remnants in the back of those carpet warehouses because they would rather sell you the new stuff instead of the remnants!

I started thinking about the blog that I wrote on EROSION OF A NATION (see below) and I was studying the picture that was posted with that blog. If you look, that tree has some of the roots exposed and broken off, while there was one larger center root going down from the center of the tree into the soil. This is the tap root of the tree that keeps the tree anchored and watered because it is the deepest of the tree's root system...if and when that tap root fails so goes the tree. That one root will keep the weight of the entire tree upon its shoulders....I promise I'm going somewhere here...

I believe that some of these frustrations we may be feeling with other fellow "Christians" is because we've always simply believed they were just like the rest of Evangelical Christians and now we're finding out they aren't. Now we can see these cultural Christians being exposed by the pulls of the world, just like those many smaller tree roots that were just hanging in mid air around the tap root. Their weak moral values, their watered down gospel and their consistent compromises on God's TRUTH as presented in HIS WORD are now exposing the roots they thought were so secured in the ground. Now, I think the Evangelical Christians are getting it. I think we've figured out that there is a very small number of real, Bible-believing Christians is all that's keeping the spiritual fabric of this nation together. Now we cry out for the Lord to forgive our land and heal us and it seems like the heavens are brass.

Pastor Perry Stone once said that Jesus was going to come back one day for His bride. He will not return to a bride who doesn't really want to be a bride. He's not going to return for anything less than a fully prepared bride (church). If you look at the state of Western Christianity today you will see that there is no way Jesus the bridge-groom would want to come back to this Church the bride. Seriously! Look at our denominations. Several allow and have voted on as a DENOMINATION to allow homosexuals to preach from the pulpits for the sake of "openness and political correctness." It's called compromise and it's happening in our church body's all over the USA today. Look at what happened so often to Israel in the Old Testament. They would go into a land and allow the people's beliefs in the land to creep into their belief system. Before too long they worshipped the gods of that land and mixed with the people to the point that God's chosen people were discern able from the others. Sometimes God would bring great trials upon Israel and many of them would die but God would always hold out a REMNANT that He would later us to bring back the morals and truths that He commanded them to follow and obey.

I believe that Jesus will come back for a glorious, mature Church. For that to happen, we should be prepared to see the Cultural Christian Church of America and the world fall away. That means that it's time for the Evangelical Christians to find their place among this new America that we are now seeing. We need to be a REMNANT that is DESPERATE for the ways and truths of the Most High to be brought back to the foundations of a nation. We need to be HUNGRY in our personal lives to be a praying people and a righteous people. We need to be willing to be refined and molded and used. We need to be willing to STAND with God's Armor on us and ready to fight. The Evangelicals are that tap root. We go down deep into the soil and are nourished with the well spring of LIVING WATER from the Holy Spirit and we must fight to keep the waves and terror away from our great nation, the very vulnerable tree that still stands --- today.

EROSION OF A NATION

So I'm flipping through the channels last night minding my own business and I happened across a network called "Free Speech TV." I had never seen this network before so I decided to check it out. Well apparently they were in the middle of a fundraiser much like PBS would do to gather support to keep the channel broadcasting.

The two hosts of the show were trying to get the viewers to call in and donate. Sounds like any other gospel channel I joke in my mind since that's all they ever seem to do anymore is beg for money (shame on them by the way!). Anyway, I start hearing them talk about atheism and so I hesitated before continuing my run on the channel up key on my remote.

Shock, mostly shock, is how I would just sum up the feelings I had as I watched their "pitch" for money unfold before me. For $150 they would send you a book on atheism and its doctrines. At this point I really wasn't sure if this was a Christian event trying to educate Christians on Atheism or if it was the other way around. Then I heard it..."For $250 we'll send you Atheism University -- a fascinating series of DVDs that tells you how to approach the fundamentalism Christians and how to have an intelligent conversation with these very interesting folks. For $350 we will send you the movie 'Jesus Camp' that shows how they have indoctrinated their youth and children with the Christian belief."

First of all what is fundamentalism in Christianity? We don't go out and hijack planes in the name of Jesus. We don't bomb airports and declare war on those that don't know who Christ is. We don't threaten to kill the family on a stupid newspaper columnist because they wrote some article, drew a cartoon, or questioned the sovereignty of God. What is it to be a Christian Fundamentalist? Is it that we sacrifice our time with family and friends so that we can go to Africa for two weeks and talk to people about the love and hope of Christ and the salvation that He brought to the world. Does THAT make me a fundamentalist? I wish someone would define this for me. Oh wait, maybe it's that I take my children to church? That I teach them right from wrong? That I teach them to respect and value human life? That I teach them to read the Bible instead of watch TV? Is that it? IS THAT IT!??! If that's the way that we would define fundamentalism in Christianity then fine, I will accept your label.

Back to the point of this fundraiser...After hearing this plea for atheism right there on my TV set, I'm sure my mouth was open far enough that you could have driven your car in there to park for the evening. I guess I just couldn't believe that in front of my very eyes there was a TV channel discussing us "interesting Christians" and how to "overcome us." No, I'm not used to hearing a lot of that talk on my TV. You see, I've been to Ukraine where atheism is alive and well. I've seen the complete horror and destruction that it has brought to families, the culture and the entire government and nation. It is appalling that the Soviet government would indoctrinate their people that there is no hope and no God. They are still reaping the bitter harvest of that teaching today with a declining birth rate and dying nations.

Now, here we are in the land of the free, the land that was literally built on the spiritual foundations of God, here we are on TV promoting a terrible doctrine of darkness. Our nation is in trouble friends. We are on the verge of spiritual and moral collapse. We tolerate the promotion of everything that is not of God and build it up and make it a god. Look at the picture above. Just like that strong tree whose roots are exposed because of erosion, our strong nation has seen an erosion of faith. Our foundations have eroded away and now our very roots as a Bible-believing, God-fearing nation are exposed. Once the roots are exposed, it takes less and less effort by the force creating the erosion to affect the object. How many more waves and storms will it before we are no longer standing and relevant?

So the atheists have a tv network now...yes we have our "Christian" networks, but let's look at that. They are full of fluff-and-stuff preachers who halfway teach the Bible and lull those who aren't smart enough to read His Word for themselves into a spiritual void and stupor. If these TV preachers aren't preaching prosperity and what God can do for you instead of how you should be worshipping and doing for God, they are preaching that you should give-give-give to their pathetic and anemic ministries. Oh the "sheep" of the USA are being led into pastures that are no longer green - they are being led to the slaughter from some of our very own non-Bible preaching TV 'preachers' who are more interested in building up THEIR OWN KINGDOM instead of God's! It's no wonder we vote for weak-minded and morally corrupt politicians who would rather save a baby seal on the Alaskan tundra than to save a baby human growing in a woman's womb. No! We vote for these people because we don't care anymore. We believe that we should all just get along and sing "We Are The World" as we hold hands and cry.

It makes me MAD that Christian TV networks are furthering this decline!!! I'm sure at this point my frustration is obvious. I don't blame the atheists. I blame the Christians. The Christians of the USA are blending in more and more with the surroundings. How many times did God warn Israel not to "mix" and "marry" with the unclean of the lands around them? Oh He warned them and warned them and every time they would start worshipping the gods of the pagans around them. Every time they would start marrying people outside of the tribes of Israel. What is happening to us?

The atheists and other cults and false doctrines of the world have sat back and watched the Christians of this nation bend and buckle to the pressures of the world and become silent at a time when our voice should be louder than ever. Now that our edge seems to have diminished they go in with their teaching to pick up where we the Christians are leaving off. The enemy has a plan to destroy this nation friends and he will do it on TV channel, one movie, one politician at a time...the time is now and unless Evangelical Christians get real and get busy being Evangelical Christians the enemy will accomplish what he is setting out to do.

Call me a fundamentalists if you will. I will wear it proudly if that's the label that we get now for believing in HOPE, believing in LOVE, and believing in SALVATION that comes only through faith and belief in Jesus!

Ron

STILL SENSITIVE

I told you a couple of weeks ago just how sensitive the baby is to my hand just being placed upon the womb. Well Sarah has started noticing something different. She started picking up on it a couple of weeks ago and at the women's retreat last weekend she said it was very obvious. Apparently whenever someone is praying or reading the Word the Bible starts kicking and punching.

At the women's retreat someone read out of Psalm 139 and the baby went wild...when I read it and think about the baby going wild it just about makes me want to take "a lap"!

Psa 139:1 For the choir director: A psalm of David. O LORD, You have examined my heart and know everything about me.
Psa 139:2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.
Psa 139:3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
Psa 139:4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
Psa 139:5 You go before me and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head.
Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
Psa 139:7 I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your presence!
Psa 139:8 If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there.
Psa 139:9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
Psa 139:10 even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me.
Psa 139:11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—
Psa 139:12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from You. To You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to You.
Psa 139:13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
Psa 139:14 Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
Psa 139:15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
Psa 139:16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Psa 139:17 How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
Psa 139:18 I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!
Psa 139:19 O God, if only You would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!
Psa 139:20 They blaspheme You; Your enemies misuse Your name.
Psa 139:21 O LORD, shouldn't I hate those who hate You? Shouldn't I despise those who oppose You?
Psa 139:22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for Your enemies are my enemies.
Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Psa 139:24 Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Last night as I read a story out of 1 Judges about Samson's (not Sampson) mother conceiving and the circumstances surrounding his birth, the baby would go nuts every time I said "The Angel of God" (which in Old Testament is usually a reference to Jesus). I'm telling you I could hardly finish reading it thinking that just the very reference to Jesus made our little girl jump in her mother's womb! Isn't it amazing! Isn't it awesome!

What more do I say beyond the very testimony of this? Oh that the Lord would use this child for great things in His Kingdom...pray it be so!

Have a great weekend!
Ron

HEARING GOD

I get a great devotional in my e-mails from www.jesusfreakhideout.com and I wanted to share one with you that is always timely when seeking out God's direction.

PSALM 25:12 Who are those who fear the Lord? he will show them the path they should choose.

The Bible tells us that the Lord created us with His own divine plans in mind. "For we are God's handiwork, recreated in Jesus Christ, that we may do those good works which God predestined for us that we should walk in them [Eph2:10). If we are wise, we will align our plans with His and agree to cooperate with Him to bring them to pass in our lives. God rarely shows us the big picture so we need to walk in close fellowship with Him on a daily basis, and to become sensitive and obedient to His Spirit's leading in every area.

Prayer is an essential element in the cooperation process because one of the basic purposes of prayer is to discover God's will. When we pray, it should be with an open heart and mind. Many believers go to God with their plans and ask Him to bless them. This never works and only leads to frustration and disappointment. Instead we must surrender our own plans to the Lord and adjust to His plans because they are already blessed. As we commit to every aspect of our lives to God each DAY, asking for His wisdom and guidance, He will direct -- and, if necessary, even redirect our steps so that we won't have to miss out on any of the extraordinary plans for us. Scripture says "the stops of a good man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step]. When we give God the green light to have His way in our lives, He gets busy weaving His will into every step we take. It's only a matter of time before we experience the victory and success that He had in story for us all along.

Another important part of the cooperation process is having a working knowledge of God's Word. It's the Word of God that renews our minds and helps us to think and act more like Christ. Romans 12:2 tells us to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the entire renewal of your mind so that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect. In order for us to discover what plans are right for us in the Lord's sight, we must adopt a godly perspective and become attuned to His voice. Satan will try to create "spiritual static" so that we have a hear time discerning God's still small voice. Study the Scripture and apply its principles and it will sharpen your discernment skills and strengthen your resolve to follow the Lord's leading. We need to remind ourselves often that ignorance of God's Word will cause us to stumble in the dark, when it is the Lord's will to light our way. Remember Psalm 119:105, Your Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."


Well there you have it friends... I trust that whatever you are seeking the Lord over that you will keep these things in your mind and heart and take away the static of satan as you listen closely for the Lord to speak! Ron

South Africa Profile

Today I want to profile some of our missionaries that are working in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Rich and Michelle Franzen have been serving in the country for a number of years and they are doing an amazing work. They have 3 beautiful young children who serve with them and just like the MacDonald kids are an absolute joy to be around!

As you know we served alongside of them back in October and November. It was a really amazing adventure as we watched God melt hearts of the lost and add them to His Kingdom.

Rich and Michelle have a mature ministry. By this I mean that they are organized and have a plan for implementing the vision that God has given them. It sounds like they have good partnerships with individuals and churches and have lots of visiting team support as well. They have made many good connections and networked with the right people, but they have the best "connection" of all of the them and that's the Holy Spirit.

Please pray for Rich and Michelle about the following items:

From Michelle..."Safety, we live in a crime ridden city and the crime statistics only increase this time of year. There is a lot of desperation and need. We daily plead the blood of the Lamb over our children, each other, the ministry and those involved with us, and our belongings but the extra prayer support is encouraging to us!

Impact Kids, We’ve begun work on our first daycare center in one of the squatter camps we are involved in. We’ve had interested partnerships along the way so prayer that those would come to fruition and that we would have the resources and funds to complete this first school and open its doors by March- 2009.

IA Headquarters, Continued wisdom, clarity and understanding of this timeline. We are biting at the bit to have our own offices and property yet the finances tarry. Please pray for God’s continued guidance for the next steps in securing our own headquarters for the ministry.

Support, we hate having to mention finances so much as this is a difficult time for so many but it is also a reality for us. Over the past 3 months we have seen the toll the economy has had on people, specifically those that support the ministry as our monthly support has decreased. Please pray that our funds would be sustained and would even flourish during this hard time so we can continue to bless those on this side of the world.

Staffing, we are looking for some key staff to come alongside us and help in areas of ministry. Please pray that we would connect with the exact right people and in the right timing."

So there you have it...some specifics for prayer over IMPACT AFRICA!!! Thanks for your continue prayer support of this mission. For more information you can check out their blog at www.impactafricablog.blogspot.com.

Ron

A NEW DAY

Well today is the day! Today we say goodbye to President Bush and hello to President Obama. It just doesn't sound right when you say President Obama. I'm not saying that out of any political feelings, I'm saying it because it doesn't roll off of my tongue the way "President Reagen" or "President Bush" does.

Now that President Obama is going to be our Commander in Chief, I will do my part as an American to support him as much as I can. I will not be like the liberals who so disrespected President Bush after he was elected that they refused to even call him "President." Instead they and the liberal media referred to him as MISTER Bush. No, I will not stoop to those levels because President Obama has earned respect because he IS the leader of our nation and nothing can change that. Acting like I'm full of anger and hate just because I don't necessarily agree with all of his choices doesn't solve any problems. In fact, behaving in this way only creates more.

I am proud to be an American who took part in an election. Even though my GAL didn't win (sorry McCain, but my entire vote was for Sarah!) I'm proud that we have choices and people that WE THE PEOPLE elect whether "my choice" wins or loses! Voting is one huge freedom that so many don't have. The voice of the people is silent in places like North Korea and China. Imagine what it would be like for our nation if someone decided that they would be the next President, they raised up a force, overthrew Washington DC and took power. Then they eliminated all of the powers of Congress and the courts. What would life be like then?

Some of you may have just read that and said jokingly that it doesn't sound like such a bad idea considering the incompetence of the people that are in these positions, but in all reality it would be a disaster for this nation if we weren't governed by people that WE elected. NO I MAY NOT LIKE the results of the election that I was a part of but I appreciate and respect the process and I honor the results with my allegiance to this GREAT GREAT land of ours. My dad and my grandfather fought in battle for the freedoms that we continue to enjoy today and while that may sound like a cliche in these times, it is the hardened facts.

Yes today, we inaugurate the first black President. Today we put to rest the years of division and hatred between races. Today we no longer will permit the past insanities and mistakes of our nation to be drudged up and held against us. TODAY WE MOVE FORWARD not backwards.

Today, I stand with an expectation that we move FORWARD always forward, no longer looking behind us or backwards, but always forward. I don't like the politics of Obama and I don't like his moral compass going so far in the opposite direction of me, but today I will honor him as I President of this free land.

Today a new chapter is written in America. Pray for President Obama as he leads and governs this land and pray that he will do so with the truths and standards of God's Word behind him. Also pray for our beaten up and bruised President Bush as he steps out of the limelight and finds a well-deserved rest. May history honor him as the frim and resolved leader that he was. May God be with them both.

Ron

Palin/Allen 2012 LOL!!!

CROSS AIN'T CHEAP

Hello my friends! I trust you are finding ways to stay inside and stay warm. The Arctic blast that's been hounding most of the globe is edging its way into our area. It's only supposed to be 13 for a high tomorrow! Yikes!

It has been a sporadic few weeks for me in the blog-writing department. After the holiday chaos and our family vacation, I think I'm about to get back on track. If there's anyone out there still checking in on me then I say a big "Thank you!"

Today I want to share some comfort, that's Ray Comfort. Ray is a street preacher and evangelist that I enjoy following. He's bold and he's courageous. He isn't afraid to put himself out there when sharing the gospel. People heckle him and mock him as he stands up on a stool on some street corner in America and shares Jesus with anyone that listens. The one thing that I like about him is that he doesn't try to cheapen the sacrifice of the cross with all of the other hype and happiness that tv "preachers" seem to enjoy doing so often. Now I'm not saying that once we get saved we won't find happiness, but we don't get saved to get happy, we get saved to be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity in heaven...don't tell Joel Olstean this as he may be shocked and actually change the way he preaches.

Ray Comfort in his book, "The Way of the Master" says this: "The gospel is a promise of righteousness, not a promise of happiness. Instead of preaching the Good News that sinners can be made righteous in Christ and escape the wrath to come, we have settled for a "gospel" that implies that God's primary purpose in saving us is to unfold a "wonderful plan" for our lives; to solve our problems, make us happy in Christ, and rescue us from the hassles of this life (p.19)

The law demands death for sin. If it didn't we wouldn't need a Saviour. Right? Right! The true covert comes to the Savior simply to satisfy the demands of a holy law (p.74). The Savior came to satisfy the demand of a sinless, spotless sacrifice so that sins can be forgiven. He was tempted in all points (Heb 4:15). Yet 1 Pet 2:22 says He committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth. This is also stated in 2 Cor 2:51 saying that He knew no sin. Jesus then, through His obedience to the cross, became the acceptable sacrifice. If he had sinned then it would mean he wasn't the spotless lamb that Scripture says He was; that His sacrifice wasn't perfect and that God would have accepted a "contaminated payment." This goes against God's requires for sacrifice that He revealed in Malachi.

Jesus was the perfect sacrifice and through your faith and belief in Him and Him alone can you ever find eternal security. Budda can't give you that, a cow can't give it to you, and your tv preacher can't...but Jesus did. The cross that He died on wasn't cheap. Anyone that makes it appear that way needs to be in the Word. His blood was shed...that means he bled and bled a lot in agony so that when you applied the blood sacrifice your sins would be forgiven! That's a price most of us wouldn't pay ourselves.

May there never be any doubt in your mind about the perfection of Jesus. May you never doubt his payment of himself on the cross for your sins. May you never fear death again because you have believed in him.

KICKING AND SCREAMING!

Last Wednesday morning I felt the baby kick on Sarah's belly for the first time. I rested my hand gently over her belly button and then I felt the oh so soft and gentle tap. It was very exciting to feel. It's been a week since I began to feel our little girl as she jumps around inside her mother's womb. I wanted to share with you something neat that's been happening. Every time I put my hand on Sarah's belly, Chloe or Annalee or whatever her name will be, has responded to me. There have been times that she hasn't moved in hours and I can put my hand down and it's almost she snuggles right up against me and then gives me a nice little love tap! What makes it even more special is that she won't do it for just anybody. Sarah's mom tried to "feel" her last week and our little sneaker wouldn't budge for her, but when her daddy put his hand down she would kick. It was so cute and so comforting all at the same time.

I think it's pretty neat to know that even in the womb, the child is responding to the touch of her father. It makes me feel good I have to confess to know that all it takes is one touch of my hand and she knows it's me just by the touch and then she responds. She's not fooled by the hands of strangers or even grandparents. She knows the real thing!

Sarah and I were lying in bed praying together the other night and as we prayed the thoughts of her little hands and feet reaching out to meet mine really moved me. I began to cry out to the Lord that He would use her hands to serve Him, her feet to GO to the ends of the earth to share Him, and her heart to love Him and the lost. I prayed that He would prepare us as her parents, even now, for that day when we say goodbye to our little missionary and watch her go do His work.

I pray too that she remain as sensitive to her heavenly Father's touch on her as she is to her earthly father's touch. Imagine what would happen if we were all that extremely sensitive to every time HE was reaching out, calling out, and speaking out to us that we responded immediately. I guarantee the state of the Body of Christ and the Church would be in far better shape and the world would be turned upside down in great ways.

I ask you this...are you so hungry and so seeking after the Lord that you can sense His every touch and His every word spoken through the Holy Spirit. Do you respond accordingly or do ignore Him? Pastor Neal has been preaching on being hungry for God the last two weeks and so all this has ME asking MYSELF...am I hungry enough? am I seeking Him enough? am I responding to His every touch upon me? I challenge you with the same thoughts today and hope that you too will not "bring to the Lord that which cost you nothing." Use your hands and use your feet "kicking and screaming" for the Kingdom of God!

OUT OF THE CARPENTRY SHOP

I found this in a book and had to share with you guys...it's a little longer than most blogs, but don't miss out on some great insight on what it was like for Jesus to leave for His ultimate mission trip FOR the ends of the earth!

Out of the Carpentry Shop


(Written by Max Lucado)


The heavy door creaked on its hinges as He pushed it open. With a few strides He crossed the silent shop and opened the wooden shutters to a square shaft of sunshine that pierced the darkness, painting a box of daylight on the dirt floor.


He looked around the carpentry shop. He stood for a moment in the refuge of the little room that housed so many sweet memories. He balanced the hammer in His hand. He ran his fingers across the sharp teeth of the saw. He stroked the smoothly worn wood of the sawhorse. He had come to say good-bye.


It was time for Him to leave. He had heard something that made Him know it was time to go. So He came one last time to smell the sawdust and lumber.


Life was peaceful here. Life was so . . . safe. Here He had spent countless hours of contentment. On this dirt floor He had played as a toddler while His father worked. Here Joseph had taught Him how to grip a hammer. And on this workbench He had built His first chair.


I wonder what He thought as He took one last look around the room. Perhaps He stood for a moment at the workbench looking at the tiny shadows cast by the chisel and shavings. Perhaps He listened as voices from the past filled the air.


"Good job, Jesus."


"Joseph, Jesus - come and eat!"


"Don't worry, sir, we'll get it finished on time. I'll get Jesus to help me."


I wonder if He hesitated. I wonder if His heart was torn. I wonder if He rolled a nail between His thumb and fingers, anticipating the pain. It was in the carpentry shop that He must have given birth to His thoughts. Here concepts and convictions were woven together to form the fabric of His ministry.


You can almost see the tools of His trade in His words as He spoke. You can see the trueness of a plumb line as He called for moral standards. You can hear the whistle of the plane as He pleads for religion to shave away unnecessary traditions. You can picture the snugness of a dovetail as He demands loyalty in relationships. You can imagine Him with a pencil and a ledger as He urges honesty.


It was here that His human hands shaped the wood His divine hands had created. And it was here that His body matured while His Spirit waited for the right moment, the right day.


And now that day had arrived. It must have been difficult to leave. After all, life as a carpenter hadn't been bad. It wasn't bad at all. Business was good. The future was bright and His work was enjoyable. In Nazareth He was known only as Jesus, the son of Joseph. You can be sure He was respected in the community. He was good with His hands. He had many friends. He was a favorite among the children. He could tell a good joke and had a habit of filling the air with contagious laughter.


I wonder if He wanted to stay. "I could do a good job here in Nazareth. Settle down. Raise a family. Be a civic leader." I wonder because I know He had already read the last chapter. He knew that the feet that step out of the safe shadow of the carpentry shop would not rest until they had been pierced and placed on a Roman cross.


You see, He didn't have to go. He had a choice. He could have stayed. He could have kept his mouth shut. He could have ignored the call or at least postponed it. And had He chosen to stay, who would've known? Who would have blamed Him?


He could have come back as a man in another era when society was not so volatile, when religion wasn't so stale, when people would listen better. He could have come back when crosses were out of style, but His heart wouldn't let Him.


If there was hesitation on His part of humanity, it was overcome by the compassion of His divinity. His divinity heard the voices. His divinity heard the hopeless cries of the poor, the bitter accusations of the abandoned, the dangling despair of those who are trying to save themselves.


And His divinity saw the faces. Some wrinkled. Some weeping. Some hidden behind veils. Some obscured by fear. Some earnest with searching. Some blank with boredom. From the face of Adam to the face of the infant born somewhere in the world as you read these words, He saw them all.


And you can be sure of one thing. Among the voices that found their way into that carpentry shop in Nazareth was your voice. Your silent prayers uttered on tear-stained pillows were heard before they were said. Your deepest questions about death and eternity were answered before they were asked. And your direst need, your need for a Savior, was met before you ever sinned.


And not only did He hear you, He saw you. He saw your face aglow the hour you first knew Him. He saw your face in shame the hour you first fell. The same face that looked back at you from this mornings mirror, looked at Him. And it was enough to kill Him.


He left because of you. He laid his security down with His hammer. He hung tranquility on the peg with His nail apron. He closed the window shutters on the sunshine of His youth and locked the door on the comfort and ease of anonymity.


Since He could bear your sins more easily than He could bear the thought of your hopelessness, He chose to leave. It wasn't easy. Leaving the carpentry shop never has been.

SAYING GOODBYE

Well I had to give myself a day to be able to write this particular blog so that I could separate my emotions from my thoughts. Yesterday morning at 3AM my wife and I got up and met our friends JOHN AND JANE TRAILBLAZER at the airport. After a year of waiting and growing in the Lord they were finally departing the safety and security of the great nation of the United States for a world far away and far less free.

As we walked in the airport they were there waiting with their little girl standing so patiently beside of them, hugging a car seat. As we approached it just didn't seem real that this would be the last time I'd see them for many years.

In reflection of the goodbyes I’ve come across in my lifetime I realize that I’ve never had to say goodbye to Christian friends before. I’ve let plenty of bad ones go, but never had to part ways with fellow believers. Not too many years ago when my life was in the gutter and I turned my everything over to HIM. I pleaded with God to bless me with Christians in my life - People that were real and grounded and secure in Him. I needed people like that so desperately you can’t even imagine. God so obliged and brought in a flood of people that surrounded me and showed me how to live for Him in a not-so-tolerant-of-Jesus-freaks type of world. JOHN AND JANE were part of that flood! They came into our church body and by their example as missionaries showed me standards that I constantly look to as guides and measures.

As far as I’m concerned their “story” so far reads something like this…God called them to Peru first before I even knew them. Then He called them back to the states to some dinky town named Wytheville (pronounced Yth-vill by the Yankees) on another 3 year + mission to befriend, encourage, and minister to a single dad named Ron Gibson. Now He’s sending them on in their march to the land of East Asia! Their coming to our area was no accident and no chance. God had a plan and purpose for their journey to these mountains and I’m so thankful that I was just one small part of it.

We said our final goodbyes in the airport and fought tears like we were fighting for our lives. I held on to their little girl and patted her on the head one last time. She hugged tightly back and my heart broke even further. The rain was pouring outside as Sarah and I made our way to the car in short term parking. We were getting soaked, but we didn't care. Our walk was in silence as we held each others hand and wiped away our own tears with the other.

On the way up the road the silence was just as obvious. The only noise was from the downpour of rain on our windshield and some praise music. I tried to hide my sadness, but a flood of bittersweet heartache broke over me like a rogue wave on the sea. On the radio a song blared out, "O for a thousand tongues to sing of my great redeemer King as heaven and earth join in one song." I wept as I listened to the song over and over proclaiming the holiness and worthy nature of our King. I realized that God was once again trying to get my attention off of my own feelings and emotions and remember that the thousands of tongues in East Asia have yet to sing a new song to HIM!!! He is our great redeemer and King and He looks for praise in all tribes and tongues. John and Jane Trailblazer had to go so that the thousands of tongues in their target area could hear of HIM and worship Him.

So I melted at these very thoughts. I still felt the pain of separation from my dear friends. My heart ached low in the top of my stomach. I cried and I found myself trying to worship God. I tried raising my hands in surrender and worship as the song proclaimed, "You are Holy". It was hard to praise at first, but I knew God was saying "Praise Me even in this sadness." At first only the words "Awake my soul and celebrate" was all I could muster through the tears. He continued to minister to me deep in my spirit and finally I was able to give my sacrifice of praise.

No matter what the storms of life may look like whether it's a job loss, divorce, losing great friends, or whatever, God still asks and expects us to praise Him through it all. No matter how much rain or how much sunshine we may experience on any particular day, He is and always will be worthy of our praise.

Be blessed today! Take time to worship HIM today! Put yourself aside and give Him the honor that He deserves as your redeemer!

Continue to cover John and Jane Trailblazer in your prayers!

In Christ,
Ron