A Little Tidbit About Fasting

A couple of years ago, our youth group had a 30-Hr Famine Lock-In. We fasted for 30 hours and spent much of that time praying, reading God's Word and worshiping together. It was an amazing event. During one part of that night, we did "Lectio Divina," which is where you select a passage of scripture and read it over several times focusing on it and spending some time on it. Since we were fasting, we chose to do John 6:26-40. Here is a link to that passage at BibleGateway. After reading through several times, we split up to spend some individual time meditating on this passage. I did a short journal entry during that time. Here is that entry:

Do not try to fill yourself up with inconsequential things. Do not seek after material gains and focus on feeding the body and yet forget about feeding your soul. Belief in God means accepting his truths and his direction for our lives.

And if we accept God and believe that he has a plan for our lives, then how could we not accept Jesus? And if we accept Jesus as the Son of God and we believe that he was sent from God to be our daily supplement for spiritual nourishment, then how can we not follow in his steps and pay close attention and give credence to his words and his message?

Do not demand a sign. Do not test the Lord your God or demand that he continue to prove himself faithful. Demand nothing -- because you know that God is without fault and blameless and that he will follow through on the promises that he has made.

Remember that God has nothing left to prove -- he has proven both his infinite love and his faithfulness. What else is there?

Who are we to question God or ignore when he grants our requests or blesses us? Do not mistake who it is that has given you these gifts and blessings. Do not forget that it is this same God through whom all things were made, through whom all blessings flow, that has given you what you have received -- and you have received much more than you deserve.

Do not think that you are anything. Do not think that you have the things you have because you worked for them.

"Give us daily this bread." Continue to infuse us with the Holy Spirit.

These people were foolish in their thinking, yet they were still wise enough to say that if there is a bread from heaven, and we believe it, then how could we not desire to partake of it daily?

Jesus should be the desire of our hearts. He will fulfill us. We know that we can always ask God for anything because he who comes to Jesus will never be hungry. Those who do not believe do not believe because they have chosen not to believe.

Jesus will never drive you away! Because Jesus has not come to do his own will but the will of the Father, he is compelled to continue loving us and he will not turn away from us. God is always just a prayer away.

"The shortest distance between a problem and its solution is the distance from your knees to the floor. The one who kneels to God can stand up to anything." -Anonymous

Proof that I'm doing my homework

Hey everybody. I just wanted to let you know that I've started a new blog. In one of my classes, it is required that we do a daily devotional on the book "Spiritual Disciplines Handbook" by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun and keep a journal for every day that we've read. The teacher said that we could "turn in" our daily journal via blog so that's exactly what I'm going to do.

I invite you all to read that blog as this blog is not very well kept up on.
:P

So, if ever you need a daily devotion, I pray that you will find it and that you will be edified through it.

My newest blog:
Practices That Transform Us

VBS verse

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. pslams139:14. The first night of vbs was amazing time to be with god , and it was a blast too. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. pslams139:4. the second night was even more amazing because god was with us thorw the hold night.

Relentless

Last Wednesday night, it was our honor and privilege to host the PR group Relentless, from MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) in Olathe, KS. It was a magnificent time of establishing friendships, playing volleyball, beating each other up gladiator style in a bounce house, and praising and worshiping our God and King.

An amazing thing happened that night: God showed up. In fact, He has been making regular visits to our youth group. You see, as we actively seek Him, He is found by us. He will never disappoint us. By living lives pleasing to Him, and expecting to meet Him when we gather together, we invite His Spirit to come among us, in His way. Our youth group has an incredible heart for worshiping Him, and He honors us with His Holy Presence every time.

If you have never had an encounter with God, come join us on Wednesdays. Prepare yourself to meet Him, because He will show up.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Life with Christ

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him. rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

so life in jesus christ all the time.

Lord, Lord

The Bible says that "we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." Romans 8:26

Sometimes, when we aim to pray for someone, we can pray with many words and never find the right words to express what the need is. We may not even know what to pray about or what to ask for. It is during these times that we should remember Romans 8:26 and just cry out to God, "Lord, Lord" and know that he will hear the cries of your spirit.

Don't worry about what to pray, just cry out to him and rest in his goodness and love.


“Be still, and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10

Greetings from Jabalpur

Our youth group has been sponsoring a child in Jabalpur, India for a couple of years. She is a young girl about 12 years old. She has been sending us letters every few months, but we have not responded in any way. Until now....

This Wednesday, the 20th, we read her two most recent letters to us and wrote our own letter back to her. And next Wednesday, the 27th, we will be having a special offering for her.

Bring your money and let's see who can stretch their offering farther across the sanctuary -- the boys or the girls?

Show your compassion to our sister in Christ in another country. We can have a pen pal in India. And that is exciting!

The Healing Power of God

We had revival this weekend, with my long-time friend Rocky Meo. After Friday's message about expecting the deliverance and healing of God (Psalm 107:19-20), Rocky met with we menfolk Saturday morning for breakfast and challenged us to stand in the gap for our teens and children (Ezekiel 22:30). This morning, we talked about freedom in Christ, from sin, addiction, affliction, sorrow, strife, anger, depression, ailments, sickness, and anything else that hinders our walk with God (Galations 5:1). Finally, tonight, we gathered together to worship our Redeemer, our Savior, our Healer, and Rocky took us to Acts 3 to hear about a cripple healed in the name of Jesus Christ. Following a message on the power of His precious name, Rocky invited us to the altar to lay out before God any unconfessed sin or troubling afflictions. We offered our prayers up to the King of kings, and He brought healing to His people. Praise the Lord! He is so good, and I truly love Him with all of my being.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Love of the Father

This week, I had a wonderful moment with God. He wrapped His arms around me and kept whispering in my ear, "I love you. I love you."

God is not a god of wrath or judgment. He is a God of Love. It is the core, the very heart, of who He is. And it is out of this abundant love for us that He made a way for us to join Him in perfect, loving relationship: the blood of His Son, Jesus the Christ. Praise the Lord! So this morning, I look forward to expressing my love for Him with my church family. He is worthy, He is Lord, He is love.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16

Chasen On and On Tour

Last night, Josh C, KindGirl15, and I went to see Chasen in concert at Grace Bible Church, and it was an experience! Josh won a CD for being the loudest person in the crowd (who'da thunk?) and it was an awesome time of serious worship. From Crazy Beautiful to the title song Your Love Goes On and On, we poured out our hearts to the Lord. Afterward we went to IHOP for some post-worship grub. All in all, it was a great night of praise and fellowship, and I am grateful to the King of kings that He overwhelmed His people with His presence and love.

A prayer from Nehemiah

Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.
Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
You alone are the LORD.
You made the heavens, even the highest heavens,
and all their starry host, the earth and all that is in it,
the seas and all that is in them.
You give life to everything,
and the multitudes of Heaven worship You.
Nehemiah 9:5-6

God truly is an amazing and loving God. Today I was privileged to see Him answer prayer in a powerful and glorious way. And tonight at church, He moved among His people with power and grace. We got together to worship Him. We read from His Holy Word, sang songs of praise and adoration, and shared our talents with one another for His glory, and in return, He blessed us. He revealed His message to us through Mickey's lesson. He taught us that no matter how far we fall, or how often, we are NEVER too far for His nail-pierced hand to reach us. Thank You, Jesus, for loving us so much more than we deserve.

We don't mourn like those who have no hope...

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Earlier this week, our church lost a dear sister. She is now resting comfortably in the arms of our Lord and Savior. We rejoice with her, yet also grieve her passing. She will be missed, and always loved, but we know that we will see her again on the other side of Glory.

I am taking this loss pretty hard. Nita was a good friend, and adopted me as her nephew in Christ. It has not been easy to cope with the sadness, and I am at times overwhelmed with sorrow and pain. But God is good, no matter how I feel, and His love and goodness surround me. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4)." The psalmist wrote that "weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5)." I know that my sorrow is temporary, and it does not take away the joy that comes from knowing my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love Him, I praise Him, and I thank Him. Nita isn't hurting anymore. She is in her glorified body.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21

Psalm 41

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
The LORD will protect him and preserve his life;
He will bless him in the land
and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I know that You are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.
In my integrity You uphold me
and set me in Your presence forever.
Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.

God's Protection and Provision

Matthew 6:25-34 (New International Version, ©2010)

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I was truly blessed this week to see God's hand at work in my life. See, a few weeks ago, He asked me if I would let Him use my truck for His purposes. I told Him, "My truck is a blessing from You. You can use it any way You want."

So here comes the blizzard. And God used me, my sister, and my truck to provide for people. And He blessed us. He has provided food, gas, even boots and gloves, because we have been faithful to follow His will for us. And, this is the part that I find amazing, when others have been stuck, even 4x4's, God has kept us rolling. His hand of protection has been over us. And I am so grateful to Him.

I know the weather has been rough for a lot of people. But I am glad to know that the God who controls the storm is the same God who is watching over me.

God is bigger than the Boogieman, bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV. God is bigger than the Boogieman, and He's watching over you and me.

god works in good ways

youth service was a really good service last night, and it was amazing too. God works in the most amazing ways to me . i love god for what he stands for.