Pray, Don't Give Up -- Phil Tiews

¹Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. ³And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

⁴“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”

⁶And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”   Luke 18:1-8

I’m not sure this is most folk’s favorite saying of Jesus.  Personally I prefer, ‘You may ask me for anything in my name, and — BAM — I will do it.’ (Jn 14:14 - sound effects supplied by me!)  By fallen nature we long for instant gratification and our culture reinforces this at every turn.  Even in the passage from Luke, Jesus says that God ‘will see that they get justice, and quickly.’  And yet that is the punch line for a parable which he tells ‘to show them that they should always pray and not give up’!

The widow in the story is sometimes described as ‘importune’.  That is an old fashioned word which means to ask insistently and repeatedly, or as the judge says, ‘to wear me out with her coming’.

What is the mathematics of prayer? In Matthew 18 Jesus tells his disciples that ‘if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.’ (Mt 18:19)  In 2 Chron 7:14 God tells us, ‘if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.’  So which is it?  Just 2 of us or do we have to get the whole people to pray?  So how long is it?  Ask and it is done or pray and never give up?

I want to know the formula because I want results, and I want them with the least investment possible!  (Feel free to join in on True Confessions whenever you like!)  I like to find a bargain at the store or on the internet or at a garage sale — the thing I really wanted for less than I thought I would have to pay for it.  The same is true when it comes to prayer.  I want to see results, but I don’t want to have to pay more than absolutely necessary.  How about just finding one other person and we take a moment and ask in Jesus’ name?  Done!

Wanting what God wants God wants results, too.  And He will have them, even ‘quickly’.  My problem is that God looks for different results than I do.  I want health, provision, someone’s problems solved, a successful event, lots of people to respond, and on and on.  God wants people — people who are conformed to His Son, prepared as His Bride, united with Him forever.  This beautiful world, which He made and considers good, and everything about it, which so dominate our thoughts, is a tool and a workshop for achieving His goals.  He is going to toss it away eventually and provide a new one.  People are the only part of it made to last forever, and we are the object of His heart and His works.

I am tempted to look at prayer as a way to get a little supernatural help to deal with the things which press on me or which I desire.  For God, prayer is a way to work out His purpose of conforming me to, preparing me for, uniting me with His Son.  In the process of praying He changes my heart to be like His, He aligns my life with His purposes, He brings me to look at His face and not just the works of His hands, He reveals His power, and so much more.

More love, more power I am convinced that God wants us to walk in a lot more power and to see a lot more ‘signs and wonders’ than we do now.  This is simply because He intends the Body of Christ on the earth to more faithfully manifest the life and ministry of Christ!  He is the King and brings His reign, and when He does things happen!  I am also convinced that He is committed to His purposes IN us, as well as THROUGH us.  So, sometimes we will see immediate answers to prayer, sometimes we will have to persevere, sometimes He will heed the cry of 2 or 3, sometimes He will wait until many hearts are united.

What, then, should we do?  Pray, and then pray some more!  Pray with our faces turned toward Him and our ears open to His voice.  Pray for the things on His heart and which He has placed on ours.  Pray with warring and as well as waiting.  And this advice coming from someone who struggles to pray!

It is becoming increasingly obvious to me that ‘apart from Jesus we can do nothing’, but also that He wants us to do lots!  The key to community health and fruitfulness—prayer.  The key to ongoing effective NextGeneration outreach—prayer.  The key to Christian unity and transformation in the County—prayer.  The key to our conformation to Christ and entering into Bridal partnership with Him—you guessed it — prayer.  Not prayer as a technique but as living connection to the living God.  Jesus wants to us ‘pray and never give up’ so that we see His kingdom come quickly.

Importunity is important!            

A Prayerful Attitude -- Dave Mangan

When approaching prayer (or anything else for that matter), it is good to ask the question “Why?”  “Why am I doing this?”  “What is it supposed to accomplish in my life.” As I see it, one of the primary goals of all prayer is a changed life.  If our prayer does not affect our life then something is wrong.  After all, we do not spend time in prayer to change God or form Him, but rather, that He might change us and form us.  If this is indeed being done, we should expect to see our prayer time with the Lord spilling over into the other areas of our life.  Granted, this may take some time and we need to be patient, but it should happen.

One of the dangers, though, of having a specific prayer time each day is confining our awareness of God to that time alone.  It is easy to adopt the attitude that we have put our time in with the Lord and now we are free to do as we please.  But what we should be hungering for is the renewed mind that Paul speaks of in Romans 12:2.  We need to grow continually in our awareness of God’s presence in all the areas of our life.  As we do this we will find that we are much more able to do all things as “unto the Lord ( Col. 3:23).”

In this regard I believe that the gift of tongues is especially helpful.  When praying in tongues we do not need to bring our full attention to our prayer.  Thus, we can still give our attention to the task at hand, and yet unite ourselves to the Lord of All in active prayer.  It would be good for us to pray in tongues often – not necessarily aloud though depending on the situation.  As I have grown in praying in tongues I am finding that when I shift gears – like finishing a conversation and walking away, for example – my first inclination is to pray in tongues.   I must admit that I have embarrassed myself a few times when doing this.

A silent awareness of God’s presence is also desirable.  Our Father has chosen to unite Himself with us through Jesus by the action of the Holy Spirit.  So every action we perform, from formal prayer to taking out the garbage, is done in His presence.  As we become more and more aware of this, praise and adoration will become a way of life for us.  When I speak of an awareness of the Lord’s presence I am not necessarily meaning that we feel it.  As we know our feelings ebb and flow.  They are not always reliable.  What I mean can be described by something Bert Ghezzi often said: “I just know it with my ‘knower.’” As a married man I know that I am in union with my wife Barbara, regardless of how I am feeling at the time.  It’s the same way with the Lord.  As we grow in faith we just “know.”  It always seems to come down to faith, doesn’t it?

Let us not brand any of this as too difficult or impossible to achieve.  Jesus suffered, died, rose, and ascended so that it could happen.  It takes a lot of grace but He is generous with an abundant supply.  May we let Him have His way!

Thanks Giving … in all circumstances -- Stephen Lucchetti

Rejoice always      Pray constantly Give thanks in all circumstances      For that is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.    1 Thes 5:16-18

Give thanks in all circumstances Apart from some notable movie examples, I can't think of anyone who doesn't enjoy and look forward to Thanksgiving.  It is a wonderful time for family and friends to get together.  Not too cold, yet cold enough.  Often it's the end of Fall colors.  For some it brings the promise of winter fun.

I find it hard to think about Thanksgiving without thinking about delicious food and fellowship.  I find it hard not to remember Thanksgivings past when we had the opportunity to get together with family and retell old favorite family stories.  Occasionally it has been a time to remember loved ones who have gone on to be with the Lord. 

Thanksgiving is also a time for us to turn our eyes toward God and give thanks to the One who has given us all we have.  Ps. 92 reminds us "It is good to give thanks to the Lord".  How easy it is sometimes to find ourselves getting caught up in the busyness of our lives and forget (even as we pray for our loved ones) to give Him thanks for all that He has done and continually does for us.   As Ps 136 reminds us:  

Give thanks to the Lord,  for he is good For his steadfast love endures forever

The psalmist goes on to specifically enumerate the world of spiritual, natural, and man made things for which to be thankful – constantly reminding us that each of these are the result of His enduring love for us!

Pray constantly Prior to Thanksgiving this year, we were especially blessed with national and statewide elections as well as a life-changing embryonic stem cell ballot proposal.  We were faced with voting choices which will affect us for many years regarding abortion, life of the unborn, gay marriage and family values. 

For the past several years, as a community, we have joined with Christians around the country in 40 Days of Prayer for our city.   HOW fitting it was then THIS year prior to such a significant election to receive a call for 40 Days For Life.  Amidst the hustle and bustle of the election we were called to offer prayer, fasting and vigils outside abortion clinics and intercede for the unborn. 

Only the Lord knows . . . How many prayers have been offered and how much fasting have brothers and sisters done?   How many hearts have changed and how many of the unborn have been saved?  Without this prayer and fasting how many more babies would have died?

I believe that the impact of 40 Days for Life has extended far beyond just praying for the unborn.  I know in my life that this effort has spilled over into greater and more fervent prayer for the election and even for society.  I've found myself fervently praying for all the candidates running for office – both Democratic and Republican.  I've prayed for their personal protection against harm and also that the Lord reveal himself to them more and more clearly.  I've found myself putting the candidates into the Lord's hands and praying that they be blessed. 

I may be wrong, but I've got a feeling that prayers like mine have also been offered by many others!  How many minds of women and men have been swayed by people humbly turning to God and seeking His forgiveness and His love – Only the Lord knows.   And yet the call to pray constantly is still there -- all around us it is easy to see that abortion continues.  Women and men fall into sin.  Society continues its move away from the eternal riches the Lord provides . . . .

Rejoice always I'm writing this before the national election is over.  And yet without even knowing the outcome I want to rejoice and give thanks to God for what he has done during this period before the election.  I may or may not be happy with who wins in November and whether this, that or another ballot initiative fails or passes.

BUT I can't think of any other election which has caught up so many good men and women and directed them to the Lord.  How much rejoicing in Heaven there must be because of that. 

There won't be rejoicing because one party or another won but rather rejoicing because women and men sought and seek Him who is the be all and end all of everything.  There is rejoicing in Heaven because men and women, sisters and brothers have repented for their sins as well as the sins of our nation and world. 

Praise the Lord for his call to prayer!   Praise God that so many, many brothers and sisters have taken this on as the word of God for today.    By doing this we as Christians have acknowledged that Jesus and God the Father are in control! 

Ps 136 clearly reminds us that God is in command over Kings, Pharaohs . . . and yes even over our government.   His steadfast loves endures forever -- THAT is why we can rejoice and why I particularly want to GIVE THANKS this Thanksgiving.  Not because of one party winning or one party losing.  Irrespective of the election outcome, the love of the Lord does in fact endure forever.

All Prayer -- Jack Flanagan

Paul uses a phrase in Eph. 6.18 that is striking.  He says ‘Pray at all time in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.’  I would like to consider ‘all prayer and supplication’ in our current context.  We’ve been speaking about worship and prayer at our gatherings recently and we have had prophetic input regarding ‘calamities’ (a time of challenge and uncertainty, personally and broader).   As a response the Lord has been insisting that we stay near Him.  The wider context for the above passage is our spiritual warfare, beginning with Eph. 6:10.  Paul, a veteran spiritual warrior, is giving us directions on how to prevail in trial and challenge.  Let’s consider the question of ‘all prayer’ together. First, I still have a clear sense the Lord is saying to us ‘Be near to Me, stay near to Me’

Remember the word ‘Be mine in 2009’?  Why?  Why stay near the Lord?  Look at Psalm 73 for insight on this:

For lo, those who are far from Thee shall perish; Thou dost put an end to those who are false to Thee. But for me, it is good to be near God;  I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works. (Ps 73:27)

Now this is how the psalm ended.  But it didn’t begin that way.  There was a measure of confusion and dejection with him.  Look at verses 1 and 2:

Truly God is good to the upright,  to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

He goes on for some time reflecting upon the prosperity of the wicked (they are a sense of ease and increase in riches) and the pangs of the righteous (all day long I have been stricken and chastened every morning.)

He acknowledges that his soul was embittered, pricked in the heart. (Not a good place)

I was stupid and ignorant, I was like a beast to you. (Vs. 21-22)

Thank God for his honesty. 

The turning point comes in verse 16:

But when I thought to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God then I perceived their end.

Oh, in times of pressure and challenge, trial and confusion, dejection and feeling out of touch, how we need

to connect with God, to get His perspective, to see how He has been with us.  And to NOT accept circumstances as they appear to be. 

The psalmist shows us it is in his nearness to God that he maintains his life connection, godly perspective, patience in well doing, balance and so on.

The Lord has room for us in His sanctuary too! What do you think the psalmist experienced in the sanctuary?  What was going on in there?  The scripture is silent on this, but I suspect he experienced in God’s presence an ability to let go of his skewed perspective and to simply surrender.  Knowing that the Lord knows his heart, I suspect he was quiet and waited before the Lord and simply gazed upon Him.  Perhaps he simply pondered a portion of God’s word, awaiting light.  Later, the apostle Paul would say in 2 Cor. 3:16 that ‘when a man turns to the Lord, the veil is removed … and beholding his glory we are changed.’  Sanity and sanctity restored!  I suspect something like this was happening.  Thank God for the sanctuary!  The sanctuary can be our prayer closet, our church, any place where we can encounter the Living God.

What gets you out of touch with the Lord and skews your perspective?  Worry, fear, reversals, sin - things don’t play out as you hoped?  Rejection?  And how do you deal with this?  Do you go to the Lord in the sanctuary, to seek His heart and understanding? 

Now, let’s look at Ps. 30.  A strong start!

O Lord my God, I cried to Thee for help, and Thou hast healed me. O Lord, Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from those gone down to the Pit. (Ps 30:1&2)

But look at vs. 6 and following:

As for me, I said in my prosperity, ‘I shall never be moved.’ By Thy favor, O Lord, Thou hast established me as a strong mountain; Thou didst hide Thy face, I was dismayed.

What does he mean here by prosperity?  Well, it probably means his own sense of comfort and security and wealth.  Things are going well.  Perhaps a sense of ease, even well earned ease. Perhaps he just accomplished something important...

What’s the problem here? It seems he took confidence in himself – ‘I shall never be moved... established me as a strong mountain’ -- and not in the Lord.  God simply hides his face. In his experience God withdraws, and he becomes unsettled, dismayed, lost and in panic mode!  Has this ever happened to you?

Now thankfully the story does not end there; he does the right thing - he cries out to the Lord...

Hear O Lord, and be gracious to me!  O Lord, be thou my helper.

And God hears: (Vs. 11-12)

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing...

In Psalm 30, then, the psalmist gets his eyes off the Lord, to the apparently ‘good life’ of the wicked or onto his own prosperity and good life.  When he does this, his perspective on reality becomes jaded and skewed.  Only when he goes to the Lord, draws near to the Lord, when he turns to the Lord and cries out to Him and surrenders again, does he experience God’s presence and joy.  How necessary to keep our eyes and hearts centered on the Lord!

Doesn’t it work the same way for us?  We are given a wise caution:

Not to find consolation in our prosperity, but in the Lord. Not to find confidence, or strength, or hope in our favorable affairs, our good fortunes, our lots ... but in the Lord only.  Where must our focus always be?  On the Lord! And not to lose godly perspective in adversity.

What can we do to cultivate & live in a continual sense of God’s presence? How can we continue to center on the Lord?  To keep our focus on Him?  I suspect there are a number of answers to this ... Let’s go back and consider ‘all prayer and supplication’ from Eph 6:18.

Again, the context for ‘all prayer and supplication’ is our spiritual armor.  It has been noted that ‘all prayer and supplication’ is the buckle that holds our spiritual armor together.  All prayer baths us in grace and light so that we have ready access to divine help:

To stand against the wiles of the devil, To keep the truth girding our loins and righteousness as our breast plate secure To keep the gospel of peace fresh in us And to enable the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation be strong and be ready.

Paul is encouraging us here to keep in a disposition of ‘all prayer and supplication’ as much as possible, to be aware of the Lord’s mighty presence in us, and to do this through the Spirit - ‘Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.’

What is ‘all prayer and supplication’ then? 

praying in the Spirit (the first part of versus 18) but also bringing to mind scriptures and praying accordingly (see Psalm 1) praying with all types of prayer: contrition, thanks-giving, petitions, supplications, praise, worship and intercessions. It includes praying publically and privately, solemn prayer, singing, prayer closet prayer.  Pleas for help and guidance and counsel and wisdom. It is our heart united with the Lord, in communion and communication with Him through our days.

To what end or purpose?

To keep alert (attentive, watchful) - He will bring us His wisdom.  And when his wisdom comes or He speaks, we need to be attentive to absorb His word.  Usually, His word comes to us in our thoughts.  We need to focus then, lest they become fleeting.  We need to stop then, to absorb them, and let them enter our hearts deeply. So we can persevere in supplication for all the saints - for our needs are great. And for right action, as in witnessing (prayer needs to precede action, not follow.)

Brothers and sisters, He will give us His grace for this.  Not on our own strength are we to do this.  But by the power of His Spirit He will mightily inspire within us.  The Lord is inviting us to ‘stay near to Him’ and ‘Be mine in 2009’.  ‘All Prayer’ is one way we can respond to this word.

The writer to the Hebrews encourages us to, with confidence, ‘enter the sanctuary’ and to ‘draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.’ (Heb10:19-22)

How can we stay near?  In His great love for us, He gives what we need: His Spirit, ‘all prayer’, the encouragement to enter the sanctuary and to draw near in full assurance.  Ask Him for the grace, the gift of ‘all prayer’.

Intercessors Lot -- Martha Balmer

Intercessors have a hard time of it. They are the vanguard, pushing the edge, hanging out in unsubmitted territory. They live in the realm of faith and hope—among things unseen, things not yet in their hands. By definition, intercessors are always sojourning in enemy territory — like Joshua sent ahead to scout, to declare the truth, and to lead the people in to possess the kingdom. “Don’t be surprised, as though something strange were happening to you.”(IPt 4:12)The warriors go into conflict, the plow cuts into the rough.

The intercessor’s enemy has a very simple and logical strategy—discourage him by stating the obvious, pointing out what is as plain as the nose on his face. Things like how long he has prayed without seeing an answer, the high fatality rate of thus-and-such a disease, the enormity of the task ahead, or the size of the enemy’s army. The things the enemy shows us are easy to see, because they are natural, physical things.

But we are given the task of seeing the unseen, knowing the unrealized, just as Elisha saw and knew and prayed for his servant to see the Heavenly Army. We have been given authority to declare things that are, but they are not things that can yet be seen with the natural eye, because at best they have only been partially manifested in the natural realm.

Prophetic intercessors receive the authority to pull down from heaven things that God has opened heaven to pour out. On His behalf, they claim what is His and take it back from the one who stole it—because God has shown them that it’s time! They manifest what existed long before in the heavenly realm and is now legitimately breaking into the natural realm. They bring forth in this age the first fruits of the age to come, just as Peter did when he told the lame man at the Temple to get up and walk. They make rough places plain, and then they move on to the next rough, unclaimed place.

“Don’t be surprised, as though something strange were happening to you.”

Doing things first Because they are the vanguard, intercessors have to do things first. If they are moved to pray for conviction of sin, they should not be surprised when their own sins are the first to bear the light. When they pray for repentance to fall upon the church, they will find themselves stricken with sorrow for sin. As they pray for God’s heart to be manifest in the church, they can expect the very challenges in their own relationships that will call for supernatural love. As they pray for healing gifts they can expect to start tripping over the sick. As they pray for outpourings of faith, they should not be surprised by an onslaught from the discourager that challenges them to exercise that faith before they see it around them. As they pray for change, they will feel the pressure of the resistance. As they pray for prophetic words, they may find that they are the ones who hear them and must speak them. Intercessors are the vanguard; they go in first.

An experienced complainer When I first heard the call to intercede I only had experience in complaining to God about my own desires and needs. I didn’t have anybody but myself on my heart, and I knew it. When I tried to pray for others, it was like walking through mud up to my knees; the suction was almost more than I could break, and I was always in a sweat. But I knew that God is a God who supplies what he requires, so I said yes. I didn’t even want to pray for others, but I said yes.

That was the first lesson. The territory we take is not illumined by natural light or seen by the natural eye or taken by natural strength. It is taken—against natural instinct and inclination—by spiritual sight and supernatural means. We are not guessing. We are not wishing. We are not idealists in a state of optimistic denial. We are standing on the Word of God Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth. We are acting in obedience to the Master of the Universe, going with a flow that is inexorable. We know the One we believe; we trust the word of the Absolute; we stand on the sure Foundation.

When we move within the authority of His name, we are inexorable as well. Cancer. Depression. Addiction. Perversion. Nothing stands against God’s Word; no stronghold survives against Him. No matter what we see with the natural eye or recall throughout a lifetime of unrealized hopes, we know that any enemy stronghold is so much tissue paper against the sword of the Word of God.

Seeing with spiritual eyes An intercessor has to give up using his natural eyes in order to see the answer. He has to close his mind to the liar. He does this more and more easily as his prayer life increasingly manifests Paul’s exhortation to “pray constantly.”

“Do not be surprised, as though something strange were happening to you.” The enemy will lie to us, but the more time we spend in God’s presence, the less time and space his lies can take up in our heads and the less credence we can give his nonsense. This freedom is the logical outcome, because the more time we spend in God’s presence, the better we know who He is. And the better we know who He is — in all His glory and majesty and power — the less afraid we are of His enemy. When the enemy says, “This depression is too hard, too entrenched, too habitual, too deep,” we’ll laugh. Because in God’s presence we have seen sorrow and sighing flee away. We know the enemy is just hustling for time. He’s powerless. He just hopes we’ll believe him long enough to leave him alone during our lifetimes.

Intercessors become healers, teachers and encouragers. They manifest every spiritual gift—because they bring about what they pray for through their faith, and their faith is manifest in their works.

Rolling out the carpet of welcome Intercessors become prophets because they seek God’s heart and He reveals it to them. They become exhorters and leaders because they know what God is up to. And they know what He is up to, because they spend so much time in His presence that they SEE it. They see it unfolding like a red carpet before Him, and they put their hands behind it and PUSH! They push it on their hands and knees until it gets lighter, then they get up on their feet and push until it gets lighter still. Finally they give it a kick and watch it unroll away before them faster than they can keep up.

Witnessing At Work -- Dave Walton

THE BRAINI was standing outside the room that I was assigned to.  While getting instructions from the nurse, I heard the man inside the room having a heated argument with someone. When I went inside there wasn’t anybody but the patient.  He had just had a head operation.  His head was heavily wrapped.  His hands were also heavily wrapped to keep him from trying to unwrap his head. For many days he hadn’t been able to eat solid food because he couldn’t keep it down.

When I came in he began to cuss me out.  He told me to get out.  I found myself, by God’s grace, to be able to not react emotionally.  I could really see he was feeling insecure about himself.  I told him many times that I wanted to be with him.  He started talking to me.

He expressed many times how he was concerned about his wife’s love for him and how bad he felt he was acting.  I communicated to him that his behavior was what was to be expected because of the stress of the operation and the drugs.  I told him that he should not take too seriously the thoughts he had about his wife because of how hard it is to think clearly in the hospital.

He became really relaxed which helped him to keep his food down at noon.  I told him about Jesus and prayed with him to have Jesus come into his life.  His wife and his son came to see him.  He right away told his son to shake my hand because I had helped him.  I have found that hard times create opportunities for God’s love to be revealed.

We are usually able to help ourselves by speaking to ourselves what we know to be true.  When we are sick it is hard to talk to ourselves.  When we speak simple truths to those who are sick we help them to talk to themselves things that are true.

THE CROSS I was sitting with a young man named Mike who was dying of lung cancer.  He was obviously trying to find God.  I tried preaching the gospel but nothing seemed to be hitting home.  What bothered him most was what the cross had to do with anything.

I asked him if I could pray with him.  He said, “OK”.  All I said was, “Lord I ask you to heal Mike and reveal Yourself to him”.  The power of God filled the room.  I could see the Lord was doing something with him.  At one point along the way He blurted out with joy, “The cross is for me.”

After a while we were able to talk.  He said when we prayed that he felt himself falling backwards.  He decided to let go and found himself floating.  He said he saw Jesus on the cross and Jesus said, “The cross is for you.”  He now was Spirit-filled.  I heard he was bouncing around the next morning!

Extraordinary Faith -- Martha Balmer

It goes without saying that human beings have an enormous proclivity for seeking their own pleasure. We enjoy beauty and comfort and excitement through any or all of our five senses. Beyond our physical capacity, we enjoy and seek purely psychological pleasures as well, seeking things that pique interest, amusement, surprise, affection, and even fear. In our propensity toward sin, we often seek these pleasures over greater goods, we enjoy much that is evil, and at our worst we even take pleasure in the suffering of others. In view of all this, I find it wonderfully gratifying that a person can also have the God-like capacity to be delighted by the pleasure of another. I remember clearly the intense pleasure I felt when my baby laughed out loud for the first time. She had been smiling for weeks, and we played with and talked to her all the time. But one day, she was lying on the sofa and Jim leaned over her, put his hands on the cushion on either side of her and began to bounce. It was as though her smile got so big that it just started making noise. The chuckle that rose out of her belly was so amazing that we just couldn't stop bouncing her. Now that we knew what pleased her so much, it was our greatest pleasure to oblige.

It is possible to learn what pleases God and to set everything aside for the joy of pleasing him.  Ephesians 5:10 says, "Find out what pleases the Lord." He is happy to tell us. Scripture is full of clues both subtle and clear, but sometimes we just stumble upon something that delights him, and, just like a baby lets us know by her laugh, his Spirit in us responds with delight, we sense his pleasure, and the experience changes us.

The Bride's desire to please the Bridegroom In the fourth chapter of the Song of Songs, the Bridegroom spends many lines describing to the Bride what he finds beautiful in her, telling her that she has stolen his heart, that her love gives him more pleasure than wine. He likens her to a garden full of delicious fruits and fragrant spices. He describes being delighted by her and transported with love. And having heard what pleases him, the Bride responds out of an immediate and extravagant wish to give to her Bridegroom his heart's desire:

Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.

Song of Songs 4:16

I can testify that once I got a little taste of the pleasure of God, I knew what the goal of my life was. I knew there was nothing I wanted more than to see him pleased always—with me or with others, it didn't matter. His delight is mine.

What pleases the Lord? Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." So we know that an underlying characteristic of everything that pleases him has to be faith. If the Bride wants to please the Bridegroom, she must preeminently believe and trust him with her whole being.

So what is this faith like, which pleases the Lord? Jesus' words indicate that any quantity of faith in him is good and valid, or else he wouldn't lavishly empower faith as small as a mustard seed. But there are some examples in the Gospels that I believe illustrate a quality of faith that, for him, went beyond acceptable to thrilling.

We want the faith that gives Jesus a thrill. We want to know what makes his heart  race.

Faith that amazes Him Perhaps the example of faith that is easiest to think of was that of the Centurion in Matthew 8. In verse 10 it says"...he was astonished and said to those following him, 'I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith …"

Think about that. What does it take to astonish the Son of God? It must really take something to amaze the one who was with the Father from the beginning, through whom all things were created, who knew what was in men's hearts, and who knew from whom he came and to whom he was returning. What did it take to surprise someone like that?

If we want to exercise faith that gives the Lord extraordinary pleasure, we will do well to strive for faith that is like the centurion's. There are sermons galore on the attributes of his faith. But a characteristic that Jesus himself pointed out on the spot to everyone within earshot was simply its extraordinariness.

The faith that blesses his socks off sticks out. It takes risks that others aren't taking. It is determined and innovative enough to remove the roof tiles to get close enough to him. It climbs a tree to get a view of him over other people's heads. It cries out over the crowd noises until he hears it and stops. It even stamps its foot and insists on getting the last, blessed crumb that may have fallen from his table.

Faith that beckons his heart This kind of faith was so enjoyable to him that he was known to go out of his way to spend extra time with it. In Luke 19 we read about a short, middle-aged, publicly despised man was so eager to just catch a glimpse of Jesus that the indignity of hiking up his robes and struggling up a tree was nothing to him. The sight of Zacchaeus up in the sycamore tree stopped Jesus in his tracks. He loved it so much that it instantly decided the question of where he was to have dinner that night. He wanted to spend time with it.

Faith that refreshes Him Another example of Jesus taking extra time to bask in extraordinary faith is in the 4^th chapter of John. On the road near the village of Sychar in Samaria, weary, hot, hungry, thirsty and far from a kosher home, he sits down by a well, waiting for his disciples to return from the village with food. A woman comes to the well, and he asks her for a drink. But then he has a conversation with her that makes her not only forget to draw water but even to take her jar with her when she runs back to the village to tell everybody she just may have met the Messiah.

Now you will notice that Jesus hasn't gotten his drink. And when his disciples offer him the food they bought in town, he isn't interested in eating! What happened? Is he ill? No, he says. He has food to eat they know nothing about. Open your eyes, he says, and look—the fields are ripe with grain! When the disciples turn to see what in the world he's talking about, they see the whole village of Sychar following the woman back toward the well. Even at high noon under a blazing sun, after miles of walking on dusty roads, this stuff is better than food and water to Jesus. It refreshes him. Like someone in love, he forgets to eat. He has stumbled onto an oasis of faith, and the Samaritans of Sychar don't find it difficult to persuade him to stay and enjoy it for two extra days before he continues his journey.

If it isn't immediately apparent what was so striking about the faith of the people of Sychar, remember that in the preceding chapters of John, the Jewish people of Galilee and Jerusalem were coming to believe in him because he did miracles. When he taught them, they tended to argue with him, or at least with each other, about the validity of his teaching. But the account says nothing about Jesus performing any miracles in Sychar. Apparently, all these Samaritans needed in order to ask him to stay was the word of a disreputable woman. And then, all they needed to believe he was the Savior of the world was some personal time with him. It seems that the kind of faith he gleaned among the Jews took a lot of hard work and was often of a quality that couldn't bear any real weight (John 2:23-24), but reaping the faith of these Samaritans was pure pleasure.

Faith that pleases Him I don't have space to share all the examples in the Gospels that I've found so far of Jesus' pleasure and the faith that evoked it. But it's important to note in closing that I didn't really search for the examples, I mostly stumbled on them. Having become alert for signs of his pleasure (and having asked the Lord to show me what pleases him), I saw it in places I'd never noticed it before just while reading routinely. In these examples, I hear a personal call from the Lord to exercise

extraordinary faith that doesn't need anything but his word to stand on, risk-taking faith that doesn't care what happens next, even faith like impulsive Peter's, that blurts, "Can I walk on the water, too?"

Once, the call to extraordinary faith inspired mostly nervous musings about how hard it might be to speak the word where it isn't welcome or to pray over someone with an incurable disease. But already I feel fear losing its grip on my imagination as I abide in the perfect love of the Bridegroom, enjoying—and anticipating – the sheer pleasure of pleasing him.

Abundant Life -- Aimee Bacik

I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

One of the five main charisms that define The Word of God is that of being charismatic – open to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and actively seeking all that the Spirit has for us.  Jesus promised that he came that we might have life, and have it to the full.  This means that we cannot keep the “charismatic” part of our life with him confined to our Sunday prayer meetings or other times that involve charismatic worship. 

We are called to live lives that are characterized by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.  As Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”  (I Corinthians 4:20)  How do we live the life of the Spirit on a daily basis?  How do we live a life of power?

Pray for God’s direction - then listen!  I have always tried to pray about what God wants me to do and listen for his voice leading me.  He has spoken to me clearly in many ways throughout my life.  It was through his guidance that I was able to make major decisions in my life, such as deciding where to go to college, where to go to law school, and whether to join the community. 

While I seldom forget to pray about the big choices that I make in my life, I find that it is sometimes easy to forget that God wants to be involved in the small choices, as well.  The evangelist Benny Hinn wrote that he began each day by saying, “Good morning, Holy Spirit!”  This was his way of inviting the Holy Spirit to guide him and lead him throughout the day. 

While not all of us might feel led to say those exact words each morning, we should begin each day by giving it over to the Lord and inviting him to be in control of what we do and say.  Not only do we need to begin each day this way, but we should also continually ask the Holy Spirit for guidance as we go about caring for our families, interacting with our co-workers, doing our daily work, or even simply being with our friends or family. 

We have heard many prophecies over the past few months about the divine appointments that the Lord has for us.  However, many times we are too busy and too distracted by our daily lives to notice ways in which the Lord might be presenting us with divine appointments.  Just by taking a few minutes every hour or so to come before the Lord and ask for the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can become more sensitive to his leading, and allow him to work through us.  I think that we will be amazed by the ways the Lord wants to work through us, even in the small, day-to- day details of our lives.

Expect God’s grace “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:13)  This was probably one of the first scripture verses that I can remember memorizing as a child.  It is one of the verses that is included in the Life and the Spirit Seminars that The Word of God has given over the years to many thousands of people. 

How many of us really believe this passage?  I do not mean just know that it is true, I mean believe it with all your heart, and be willing to stake your life on it?  Do we really believe that God is just waiting to pour his Holy Spirit down on us?  Do we live each day expecting the power of the Spirit to be manifest in our lives?  I know that I do not always find it easy to believe this.  Yet, Paul tells us that the Lord is “able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine by the power at work within us.”  (Ephesians 3:20) 

I believe that the Lord wants to do powerful things in and through us.  If we come before him in faith, asking for his Holy Spirit, he will hear and answer our prayer.  Jesus wants to give us the Holy Spirit more than we want to receive him.  If we come before him with open hearts, we will be filled.  Paul tells us to “strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.”  (I Corinthians 12:31)  He would not have urged us to strive after spiritual gifts if the Lord did not want us to have more gifts.  I believe that we have only just begun to see the gifts that the Lord has for us.  There is much more that he wants to give us.

Broad view of  “gifts of the Holy Spirit”  The Lord does not just have one gift for us, he has many gifts for us.  Often, however, we do not have a broad enough idea of the gifts that the Lord wants to give us.  There are many places in the Bible where gifts of the Spirit are listed.  For example, Isaiah 11:2-3 lists wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.  In Romans 12:6-8 Paul lists prophecy, ministering, teaching, exhortation, generosity and acts of mercy.   In 1 Corinthians 12:28-30, Paul also lists apostles, mighty deeds, administration, healing, assistance, tongues and interpreting tongues. 

Do we limit God by our definitions of what are gifts of the Spirit?   When I was in college, I spent a great deal of time doing administrative work for University Christian Outreach.   Although I was good at the work, I did not especially like it.  Once I realized that it was a gift of the Spirit, my attitude towards doing the work totally changed.  I was able to view my work in an entirely different light.  Rather than being something that I was just good at doing, I began to view the administrative work as an opportunity to exercise a gift from God. 

I believe that the Lord has given us many of the gifts listed above, as well as many other gifts that I have not listed.  If we ask God to open up our eyes to the gifts that he has already given us, and to the many gifts he wants to give us, I believe that we will see many amazing ways in which the Lord wants to use us.

Share the life of the Spirit.  God did not give us gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we could hold onto them for ourselves.  He gave us the gifts so that we could build up the body of Christ.   As Paul says, “he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ….”  (Ephesians 4:11-12)  Not only are we called to share our gifts with one another, but we are called to reach out to those around us and share the good news. 

We have been given the amazing gift of abundant life in the Spirit.  We have not been given this gift because we are worthy, but we have been given this gift because we are amazingly loved by God.  This is a truth that the world is dying to know.  God is calling us to reach out and tell those around us of the good news of his love, and of the gift of his Holy Spirit.  Soon, we will have an opportunity to act on this call.  In May, The Word of God will be sponsoring and running a Life in the Spirit Seminar.  Is there someone who the Lord wants you to invite to come?  Is this something that the Lord would like you to attend so that you can be refreshed in the Spirit?

Intimacy and Mission.  In the last few months we have heard many prophesies about intimacy with God, and reaching out to evangelize those around us.  Both of these things are impossible to do without an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds.  I think the question that the Lord is asking us right now is, “How foolish are you willing to be?”  Are we willing to look foolish in the eyes of the world in order to show others what it means to live life abundantly?  Are we willing to allow the power of the Holy Spirit to work in and through us in mighty ways, in ways that we have never imagined?  If we are, I believe that we will see the power of the Lord in ways that we have never seen before

Healing Neck Growth -- Keith Dwyer

In March of 2009 I noticed a small growth on my neck. Initially, I thought it was a pimple and that it would go away. When it grew and began looking ugly, my wife encouraged me to have my doctor look at it. He said that it appeared to be a keratoacanthoma growth. In most cases, keratoacanthoma grows rapidly, is benign and disappears within 6 months, usually leaving a scar. He said that it some cases, however, this type of growth is cancerous (squamous cell carcinoma) and should be quickly dealt with. He ordered a biopsy to be taken a few weeks later. I subsequently saw my chiropractor for something unrelated and she advised against the biopsy in favor of a homeopathic treatment of oil of oregano (a natural antiseptic) applied directly to the growth. Well, I was a bit torn about what to do, but prayerfully cancelled the biopsy appointment.  I had to cover the growth with a band-aid so others wouldn’t have to look at it. My wife was still concerned about cancer, so I was happy to hear that Tom Naemi was coming to our prayer meeting to pray with people for healing. I received prayer and felt the presence of the Lord immediately. As Tom prayed he said, “You don’t have cancer.” He continued to pray and said something to the effect that this growth would be gone within a week. I felt a lot better about the situation and continued with my treatment. The growth appeared to be shriveling up and within four days it dropped off. There appears to be no scar. I believe that I am healed. Praise the Lord!

Bless One Another -- Martha Balmer

Blessing and the Call to UnityI don’t remember when I first developed my passion for ecumenism. I suspect the seed of it was planted when I was conceived. But at some point, when I was perhaps in my late teens, I think God touched it and it burst into bloom. I felt I was made to reconcile and bridge. When I put my hand to the cause of unity, it fit me like my own skin. It is a part of God’s heart that he has shared with me, a facet of his image that he made me to reflect.

As I suppose any of us do with regard to our personal passions, I experience things that affect unity or division very deeply. Setbacks can inspire painful levels of grief, and victories provoke joy and gratitude that is nearly inexpressible. It seems to me that my spirit is always on the alert for signs of reconciliation, because whenever I witness or hear about one, whether as small as a personal conversation or as large as a Pope’s act of repentance, I cannot observe it passively.  My heart leaps and all my faculties fix on it. It’s personal. It has happened to me. I have to rejoice; I have to praise God; I have to bless it.

I believe that this nearly visceral need I have to touch moments of unity by blessing them has its origin in the Holy Spirit. I am convinced that there is a profound connection between blessing and the healing of the Body of Christ.

Learning about the Power of Blessing It’s tempting to think that ‘blessing’ seems pretty passive, just a well-meaning word that has no more power to bridge centuries of denominational mistrust than a chorus of ‘It’s a Small World’ has to reverse continental drift. But I’m not talking about just saying ‘God bless you’ to someone. Like real loving, real blessing is not so much something you feel or say as something you do, probably in as many ways as there are people to bless. And it is the acts of blessing that do the work of dismantling walls, building bridges, healing wounds, and reconciling hearts.

At some point a few years ago, I heard God tell me to start encouraging my fellow Christians to bless one another. Looking back, I think the Lord tilled my heart for this word, preparing me to understand it by exposing me to acts of blessing that showed me their powerful reconciling potential. He primed me to appreciate them.

The first and most important such exposure happened when I was serving on the prayer ministry team at the Catholic renewal weekend in Sarnia, Ontario several years ago. As a Protestant with an ecumenical itch, I’ve always loved serving in Catholic contexts, but at this one, I had a seminal experience of the kind of blessing I believe God intends for us to practice.

During a talk that afternoon, a young priest told the story of his meeting with a Protestant minister in his city. The minister had requested the lunch appointment, and while they were eating together, he disclosed to the priest that he had been brought up in a Catholic family. He went on to confess that when he was very young he had had a profound sense that God was calling him to the priesthood. He had responded to this sense with a promise to the Lord to become a priest. As a young adult, however, he wandered away from his relationship with the Lord. Eventually, he recommitted his life to Christ through the evangelistic efforts of Protestants, married, entered seminary and finally became ordained as a pastor. But now he was eaten up with guilt. Unable to forget his early promise, he was now nagged by the thought that he had broken his vow and that God could never really be pleased with his ministry or his marriage. The priest responded with a compassion that the minister may have hoped for, but the words he spoke had a more powerful affect than mere sympathy could ever have achieved. He reached out to the minister and said, ‘You have fulfilled your vocation.’

Those words lifted a burden of guilt in a way that I suppose any Catholic might expect priestly words of absolution to do. But because of the denominational gap, and because they did not come with any conditions, they were an act of blessing with more reconciling power than the priest who spoke them may have imagined.

Certainly he didn’t suspect the affect they had on me. I wept. I was overcome with a personal gratitude to this priest. I felt as though I myself had been unburdened, as though my own ministry had been declared valid and valuable. I felt that a subtle but solid barrier that had stood between this Catholic and me, a barrier that had gone all but unnoticed because it had been accepted and taken for granted, had suddenly crumbled.

I had been blessed.

The Call to Bless One Another As I look back on that moment, it amazes me that I knew I was experiencing a blessing. I don’t remember anyone actually using that word at the time. But the experience was so profound, so tangibly of the Spirit, that I can literally call it a defining moment. Through that experience, the Holy Spirit provided me with a definition of blessing far beyond any of the hollow impressions I had had up to that point.

But I got a lot more than a definition; I got a foretaste of my heart’s desire. That blessing had the power to unite far more than two individual men. I know this because it carried an anointing of reconciliation that touched me and is still reverberating in my life. It left me with an increasingly tender heart toward my Catholic brethren and a reasonable hope for the unity of all Christians. It left me with an irrepressible desire to emulate it. And it left me with a mandate from the Lord to tell all my brothers and sisters in Christ to bless one another.

Interdenominational Blessing -- Martha Balmer

I am absolutely confident that the Lord is calling Christians of all denominations to bless one another across the denominational lines that separate them. I believe that this mandate has a glorious purpose beyond anything we have imagined possible for the Church as we know it. Doctrinal arguments, cultural biases and historical resentments all have a very real hold on the Church’s throat, but in our lifetime we have seen an outpouring of grace for unity across denominational lines that as far as I can tell is unprecedented. I believe that the exhortation to mutual blessing is not only authentically prophetic, but that it is being delivered on a tidal wave of this timely grace. If we obey and bless one another, we will see a greater harvest than we can plant—a restoration of the Body of Christ that our imaginations are too limited to picture. If we hope to be obedient to this word, we need to make a decision to turn our current church-view over to God for a possible overhaul.

Implications of being the Body The Apostle Paul loved to liken the Church to a human body. In I Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and Romans 12, he used this image to illustrate both our variety and our unity because the metaphor worked on so many levels. We are a single body, made up of many distinct organs that perform essential and interdependent functions for the health of the whole. None of us can survive alone, and each of us is necessary to the others.

It is a fairly simple thing, and quite correct, to apply these passages to the local church body, since the gifts Paul lists are all ministries that may belong to individuals or to small groups of believers in a single congregation. It is also easy to apply them to an entire denomination, with its governing body, delegated ministries, and missionary efforts. But in order to bless one another interdenominationally, we need to apply these passages interdenominationally. I don’t believe that Paul intended to exclude their application to the worldwide Church in all its diversity.

Such an application is not far-fetched, because Paul himself uses the body illustration in a greater sense. We are not just any old body. We are the Body of Christ— male, female, Jew and Greek, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free. Since our Lord’s ascension, we together are His incarnation to the world. A lot rests on our health and well being. Christ himself prayed for our unity (John 17), and Paul’s pastoral letters are full of exhortations and instruction specifically aimed at encouraging or restoring the unity of the body.

Unity under attack So much rests on our unity, in fact, that our Enemy has been waging an intense battle against it since the Church’s earliest days. Satan has attempted to tear the Bride limb from limb and has had great success, as any perusal of Church history will prove. The first century Christians were repeatedly harassed by division (see for instance I Corinthians 1:10-12, Acts 15, Philippians 4:2-3, and I Corinthians 11:17-22). Doctrinal arguments rose over the ensuing centuries, along with geographical and political divisions that finally did split the church into East and West. Infighting and corruption within the western church even resulted in the short-lived embarrassment of having three simultaneous popes in the early 15^th century. Eventually, with the Reformation—like a man who allowed himself to commit a sin for the first time and then never again enjoyed his former level of self-control—the Church began to splinter into its current, multi-denominational form.

But for those who love God and are called according to his purpose, all things work together for good, even things our enemy meant for our destruction.

Looking back at our history, it is possible to see that many times our conflicts and alienation chastised us, eventually producing the very reforms that we had so vehemently resisted. (Catholic clergy no longer sell indulgences, and Methodist churches no longer charge a fee for the use of a pew, for instance.) And though sometimes we seem to have become so different that we can no longer see any family resemblance, isn’t it the gaps between us that have brought our varied gifts into sharper focus and often made us painfully—and fruitfully—aware of our insufficiency? Could it be irrelevant, for instance, that during the last century so many liturgically conservative denominations had an influx of Pentecostal experience?

Together reflecting His glory We are not meant to function on our own. At the very least, none of us is attractive to the whole pool of the unconverted. Some of us excel in scholarship, others in evangelism, others in prophecy and still others in ministry to the poor. Some of us are liturgical, some spontaneous, some mystical, some pragmatic. Some of us lean into tradition and others tend toward innovation. Some of us are pacifists. Some of us are militant. Some of us love simplicity and others delight in lavish expressions of praise.

I guarantee that if we are meant to reflect the complete image of Christ, none of us can possibly imagine the richness of variety we will have to contain. God is greater than we think, and more than any of us can represent alone. Our personal experience, tradition, culture or taste cannot possibly encompass his attributes, and yet he has called us to reflect his glory.

I suspect we can pretty much take for granted that none of us will be comfortable with all of it. I doubt that any of us is currently capable of complete fearlessness at the prospect of genuine unity. Our opinions are strong and have centuries of history behind them. In my experience, for example, the average Protestant can’t tolerate the idea (I’m putting this mildly) that the Body of Christ is ultimately meant to look Roman Catholic. Likewise, no devout Catholic can envision the solution otherwise. Pentecostals may be unable to imagine that our restoration could possibly include “dead ritual,” and Lutherans might shudder at the possibility of unfettered “disorder.”

Gaining through giving I believe that the essential function of the acts of blessing God has prepared for us is to restore the mutual benefit of each part to the whole. The prospect before us is not one of loss, as though we were being asked to give up the very distinction that we love about ourselves. It is rather a prospect of riches unimaginable, as we receive from one another out of our storehouses and find ourselves able to do all things in the One who strengthens us.

I believe that as we contemplate the restoration that mutual blessing will bring, our greatest temptation will be fear. But if we entrust the results to God, we know we are committing ourselves to someone who is absolutely trustworthy—and whose ultimate plan for us is not only utterly good, but also simply right. What greater aspiration could we have as a people than to reflect His image purely at last? As the Apostle John wrote, “Dear friends… what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when it is made known, we shall be like Him.” (I John 3:2)

Small Groups -- Jack Flanagan

Brothers and Sisters, I wanted to pass along to you some of my observations of our recent small group leaders meeting.  The Leadership Team encourages everyone in the community to participate in small relational group that “fits” into the parameters of our lives.  Different needs—different groups For example, many folks come to the Lucchetti/Flanagan home meeting because it meets on Sundays, 4:00 - 5:30 PM when we don’t have our regular prayer meeting.  Maybe this works for us because most of us are on the older side, making this easy to remember!  And there is a convenience factor too - no additional night out. 

The small group leaders have agreed to meet twice per year, to check in with one another, to share what’s happening in their group and to learn from each other.  What impressed me during our recent meeting was the variety of group activities, and the number of folks who participate.

For example, there’s a men’s group that is into biking, as in bicycling!  Most of the brothers enjoy biking, even occasionally allowing their wives to come along!  Being together for over five years, they not only relate well together, and find friendship and support in their relationships but also regularly pray for each other, covering work challenges, personal issues and home front concerns.

Then there is a group for those who have overcome various addictive behaviors; this group keeps the focus on Christ and loving one another, providing support to stay free.

There are groups for parents, supporting one another in their parenting venture, and addressing those with special relational challenges on the home front. 

There’s a women’s tea gathering, where in addition to their tea together, they look to invite others into their circle to offer mutual support and care for them.  Anybody for some tea?

Then there are those who meet early Friday morning at the Community Office, to pray and to study the Word together.

The group that meets at my home worships together; we keep in touch with each other for prayer as well as any practical needs that we can meet.  We also usually have some study focus.  For example, we are now beginning Neal Lozano’s The Older Brother Returns.  By the way, we will be meeting at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church on Washtenaw for the winter season.  This provides us easy same-floor access with always a shoveled parking lot.

There are one or two other small groups.  Overall, I was impressed with the diversity and scope of our small groups, how each serves the needs of its members.  They are elements of vitality and joy, and a brotherhood and sisterhood supporting our life in Christ together.  I am thankful for this element of our community life. 

Improving ’calamity-resistance’ In light of the recent prophetic words about coming calamities and darkness, I think it wise we stay connected with each other. There are any number of personal and wider national events that we will better face when we are in supportive relationships rather than on our own. 

In tough times, I think we will all find it helpful to become a little closer with a little more time on our knees as we are reminded how we need the Lord, and that He alone is our refuge and strength.  I think our recent Prayer Conference was just in time with its intercession focus!  Certainly the Scriptures encourage this too. I am reminded of Acts 2.42: And they devoted themselves to the prayers, the breaking of the bread, to the teaching and to the fellowship!  Hasn’t the Lord provided well for us?

When the Lord was speaking to us about coming calamities, He also spoke to us about keeping our eyes fixed on Him, living our lives authentically for Jesus, and loving God and neighbor.  Our small groups can help us to do just that! 

Widening our hearts A final mark of our small groups is their openness.  We want to keep them open to new members as much as possible.  If you would like to learn more about small groups, or if you think you’d like to join one, give Phil a call at the Community Office. 

We recently celebrated our 41^st Anniversary together.  We read the community’s Covenant.  And we were reminded to “...not neglect to meet together...”  (Heb. 10.25).  Brothers and Sisters, God intended these elements of our life to enable and empower us to walk with Him faithfully.  I would like to invite any not engaged in a small group to do so.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever!

Spiritual Gifts

The Bible tells about special gifts given to Christians by the Holy Spirit. These are not for our own personal benefit but for the benefit of the whole body. "As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God's grace. " (1 Pet.4:10) Every Christian is given some gift so that together we can be complete. "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. " (I Cor. 12:12,13) We in The Word of God have experienced the goodness of the Holy Spirit giving us gifts to serve one another and those around us.  Read on to learn more about the Spiritual Gifts and how you, too, can open up to the power of the Spirit in your life.

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. I Cor 12:7

Here are a few of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible: Preaching:      Understand, explain, and apply God's Word in the Bible to the lives of listeners. Tongues:      Express praise and worship to God in an unknown language. Singing in the Spirit:      Spontaneous worship in song led by the Holy Spirit. Prophecy:      Receive and communicate God's truth for His people through an anointed proclamation. Words of Knowledge:      Receive and share revealed knowledge that was not otherwise known. Healing:      Restore health to an individual in the physical, emotional or spiritual realms through a direct act of God. Giving:      Contribute money and material resources to the work of the Lord with cheerfulness and liberality. Helping:      Attach spiritual value to the accomplishment of practical and necessary tasks that support the Body of Christ. Faith:      Test God's will and act on it with an unwavering belief in His ability. Evangelism:      Share the Gospel with people in such a way that they respond and become followers of Jesus Christ.  

All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each oneindividually as he wills. I Cor 12:11

  You too can experience a full life in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to all who give their lives to Christ, and each believer is given gifts so they can serve the Body of Christ. If you want to find out more about the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts, go to the Library, come to a Prayer Meeting, or Contact Us to find out about upcoming seminars on the Holy Spirit.

Community Vision -- Jack Flanagan

“And they devoted themselves to…the fellowship.” (Acts 2.42)  Many of us take fellowship and our community life as a fundamental, after all, we‘ve been at it for some time now.  It derives from the Trinity who is the ultimate community and family!  We view it as an essential support; it is one of the spokes in the wheel diagram, all the way back to the Life in the Spirit Seminars!  Perhaps this is why I found it remarkable that an article, written by a commission consisting of social scientists and child health experts, stressed the need for communities in raising youth. The secular case for Christian Community The article appeared in the American Family Association Journal, January 2005.  It is titled Hardwired for religion.  Its basic premise is that Christianity has the truth about community, so necessary for our youth and their need to grow in wholesome environments.  I would like to highlight portions of this article and then comment how our community life addresses our significant need, not just for young people, but for all of us, who are always young in the Lord!

The article opened with a series of provocative questions aimed at our youth: what if we could find something that would make teenagers less likely to become involved in crime, drugs and alcohol abuse?  And what if this little miracle “something” would turn adolescents into safer drivers, make them more likely to participate in extracurricular activities like sports or student government, and give them a higher sense of self esteem?   (Having served in a variety of jail and prison settings, these questions could as easily be asked of adults!)

The article goes on to state definitively that Christianity has the key – more specifically, Christian communities that are able to transmit the beliefs, values and morals that help give young people a sense of the transcendent, an ordered universe and their own place in it. 

Surprisingly, the source of this conclusion is secular, the Commission on Children at Risk that described itself as an independent jointly sponsored initiative of the Dartmouth Medical School, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and the Institute for American Values.  The 33 members consisted of a group of children’s doctors, research scientists and mental health and youth service professionals.  Their report is titled Hardwired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritarian Communities. 

The Need This commission considered the following: “In the midst of unprecedented material affluence, large and growing numbers of US children and adolescents are failing to flourish.”  It cited a number of troubling indicators: increasing mental and emotional difficulties, such as depression, anxiety, conduct disorders and suicidal thoughts, as well as a series of physical aliments rooted in emotional disorders, including heart disease and ulcers.  Related to this are high rates of behavioral problems, such as substance abuse, school dropout, interpersonal violence, premature sexual intercourse and teenage pregnancy. 

It commented on the long-term ramifications to these disorders and breakdowns.  “Large numbers of children, even including those who could be considered privileged, are no longer developing the empathy, moral commitment and ability to love necessary to maintain our society at the level that has always been our dream.” 

So what’s the problem? The commission observed the “crisis” is due to teens’ “lack of connectedness…to other people, and the lack of deep connections to moral and spiritual meaning.”  It states from our earliest years we are essentially “hardwired” to form close attachments to other people, beginning with parents, and then expanding this to include a wide group of people.  The authors note that parenting trends of the last 30 years promote “the development of unattached, uncommunicative, learning impaired and uncontrollable children.”  These trends have compro-mised children’s “opportunity for the connections and rituals and nurturing that are so necessary to children’s healthy development.”  Consequently, they grow up in a moral vacuum, one eventually filled with media values and a consumerist culture. 

What a deadly concoction: home and family breakdown, with pop culture and MTV media values filling in the gap!  As a consequence, the church continues to lose ground in our culture, and lose its youth to the world.

The solution…  What was surprising to me is that the commission actually stressed the need for moral values and religion in community settings!  It acknowledged that “we are hardwired for meaning, born with a built in capacity and drive to search for purpose and reflect on life’s ultimate goal.  The need for young people to connect to ultimate meaning and to the transcendent is not merely the result of social conditioning, but is instead an intrinsic aspect of the human experience.”  And these religious beliefs strengthen young people, putting them on a more positive path.  Such youth are actually safer drivers, more likely to wear seatbelts, and less likely to become juvenile delinquents or adults criminals.  They are less prone to substance abuse or to engage in other high-risk behaviors.  They are more likely to participate in sports, student government, volunteer in the community and take on more positive attitudes about life.  “If America continues to secularize the environments in which children are raised, Hardwired insisted that teens will pay the price.” And what’s the solution?

The commission went on to speak of “authoritative communities” as key to the solution!  They define these as “groups of people who are committed to one another over time, and model and pass on what it means to be a good person and to live a good life.  It is warm and nurturing, establishing clear limits and expectations; is multigenerational, with a long-term focus.  It encourages spiritual and religious development and is philosophically oriented to the equal dignity of all persons and to the principle of love of neighbor.”  Wow!  Sounds a lot like…Christian community, expressed in sociological terms.

Such communities lend support and strengthen values that teens are also hopefully getting at home.  We need, then, healthy homes and families, as well as wider, nurturing communities of faith to reverse these eroding cultural trends.  And they believe this is our “best strategy” for addressing this crisis and improving the lives of U.S. children and adolescents.

Reflections Isn’t it striking to see a scientific body and experts on children’s health make such a clear call for a change in public policy and acknowledge the positive role of religion in culture?  By extension, I think many of these above statements apply to adults as well.  We, too, need some form of vital, faith-imparting Christian community to thrive.  I have a number of thoughts:

God’s word is true: yes, I know that we all know this.  But when I see the culture affirming fundamental scriptural realties, I am struck!  How essential for us to grasp “ultimate meaning and the transcendent” and to identify this as “an intrinsic aspect of the human experience”.  It spoke of our need for meaning and purpose and our ultimate end.  We primarily find this in the Gospel!  The report noted the need for nurturing, authoritarian community.  How critical to be incorporated into Christ’s living Body, to be built into that living Temple and to devote ourselves to “the fellowship”.  God’s word is true and it is life for us!

How good God has been to us: He has brought us to this.  God, who is Trinity and community, has made His Body a vibrant and formative reality for us.  He regularly meets us there; He dwells in our praises!  He is the one who invites us into this.  I am grateful and awed.  How rich and life-giving our life has been here in The Word of God Community for my family and me.  This has been a place of nurturing for us.  Huron Valley School was a place for my children to encounter the Lord and grow straight in Him.  Pine Hills Camps and various youth programs have radically affected our children. The brothers and sisters who served there were models for my children of godliness and wholesome maturity.  The community offered teaching and training for my home and family life.  There was the consistent touch of the Holy Spirit in our community worship and church life.  How good the Lord has been to us!

We are created (and recreated) related.  John 1:12 states: “Those who received him, who believed in his name, he gave them power to become children of God.”  If children (sons and daughters) of God, then brothers and sisters together.  This is a fundamental reality we have known and accepted over the years.  No Lone Ranger Christianity here!  It’s about being family, God’s family together.  Paul’s closing blessing in 2 Corinthians 13 is noteworthy: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  “The fellowship” we have known derives from the Holy Spirit!  With His release in us, our spirit’s DNA changed, to desire the fellowship.  He has made known to us the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God.  This fellowship has the power to make the crooked straight, to sanctify and redeem human lives, and to make us children of the light.  Here God Himself dwells among us and we take on the very image of Christ.  Of course, there is God’s power here to heal our dysfunctions and woundedness, to transform our character, and to bring the blessing of God upon our homes and families and to raise up youth strong in the Lord.  We partake of the very fellowship of the Father and Jesus, from whom all life and blessing flow.

“The fellowship: then is not simply on an “authoritarian community”.  Yes, our community does share some of it’s elements (“groups of people who are committed to one another over time, and model and pass on what it means to be a good person and to live a good life.   … philosophically oriented to the equal dignity of all persons and to the principle of love of neighbor.”)  But it is much more than all this because it is something God Himself is in.  It is not that God is part of our community, we are actually part of His!  For our community is already a participation in Trinity.  This is why it works!  This is why lives transform and we experience release from evil.  And this is why “they devoted themselves … to the fellowship.”  Here one encounters the Lord of heaven and earth.  Here one finds rest and peace, and comes to know why he exists.

Let us not fear what the Lord has called us to; let us not hold back.  Rather, let us give our lives to Him again, trusting as a good Father, He knows what is best for us.  Let us embrace one another, for this is the People the Lord has given to us to love and serve. 

“Lord, we trust you.  We thank you for your wonderful salvation.  We thank you for “the fellowship”, for our home groups and districts and district dinners and our community gatherings.  Please continue your work among us, keeping your hand upon us and making us your family!”

Ecumenical Vision

A Broken BrideThe wedding march swells as all eyes turn toward the back of the church in anticipation of the Bride’s grand entrance.  The Groom’s heart swells, too, as He eagerly awaits His love’s coming forth to be joined together forever.  There is a scuffling sound and down the aisle scurry two feet beautifully adorned in white satin shoes.  They are followed by a pair of legs, but before they can make it to the front, they are overtaken by arms, each with hands waving for attention.  The torso comes next, hopping and rolling forward awkwardly, but forcing a place in the middle of the appendages due to its greater size.  Lastly the head processes, chin held high in a sense of dignity and beauty, at least as high as it can be given the absence of a neck which refused to take a subordinate position and is up first, glad to be ahead for once.  As the various members of the body of the Bride jockey for position closest to the Groom, the look of pain and grief on His face, still mingled with undying love, can only be imagined.

The Bible tells us that all God’s work in history is moving toward the great wedding feast of the Lamb when Jesus will have His heart’s desire, to be married eternally to the Bride the Father promised and He purchased by His own blood.  If the wedding were to take place today, I am afraid that it would be more like the one pictured above than the glorious feast of Revelations.  Jesus’ Beloved is divided along theological, racial, ethnic, and cultural lines.  She is further broken by disputes, prejudices, and damaged relationships.  What cause we have for mourning and humiliation over her state!

In our shame and consternation, though, there is great reason for rejoicing.  God promises that

…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  Eph 5:25-27

Jesus will complete the work He began on the cross, removing stain, wrinkle, blemish – to say nothing of brokenness and division – so that on the great wedding day, the Bride will be radiant.  We live in trust in His power and love to bring this transformation about.  And in the meantime we cooperate with every movement of the Spirit in our lives to prepare us for that day. 

This is the first reason that we are an ecumenical community.  We are looking for the day when the Bride will reflect in her wholeness, devotion and radiance the love which flows from Jesus to us.  Only God can resolve the divisions and heal the brokenness, but we can cooperate with the grace He has extended to us to walk out in a limited way that Bridal radiance by loving and serving each other across lines of church, tradition, culture and more.  Christian unity is not an exercise in tolerance; it is the heart response of the Bride as she is being prepared to be presented to her Groom.

A Team Divided on Itself There is a second motivation for our investment in unity.  Imagine an all-star football team, something like the NFL Pro-Bowl.  Representatives from many teams have assembled, a few from the Patriots, several from the Eagles, only one from some teams, but each gifted and accomplished in their own way.  The whistle blows and the ball is kicked off, the game begins.  But there is something wrong here.  The Colt quarterback will only throw to the tight end because he is also a Colt, ignoring all the other receivers.  Meanwhile the right tackle decides he won’t block for the running back because his team was beaten badly by the back’s team earlier in the year.  So it goes, players working with those from their own teams or a few others who they like for one reason or another, but without any overall unity or cohesion.  You know what the result will be, a shellacking of the All-Pros by the All-Foes.

We are in a contest far more serious than any Pro-Bowl – a war for the souls of men and the revelation of the kingdom of God on the earth.  Our spiritual enemies take advantage of the gaps in our lines and those who we hope to reach pull back because the message of the Gospel is marred by the rancor of the messengers toward one another.  Jesus said

 I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me? John 17:20-21

The world looks at us to see what they can learn about Jesus.  When they see a unity rooted in the love for one another such as the Father and Son have for each other, Jesus says it will be a sign testifying to Him. 

A Family Discovered We find ourselves in the back of a van on a long trip.  Around us are all these other kids who look different and act different than we do, and who frankly are beginning to get on each other’s nerves.  We cry out to the Driver, ‘Dad, these kids are bothering us!’, only to hear, to our shock, all the other kids crying the same thing!  Something is wrong here.  Where did Dad pick up all these others and why are they on the family trip with us and who do they think they are addressing our Father as ‘Dad’.  Just then Dad turns around and shouts “Don’t make me stop this car and come back there!!!” – no just kidding!  Dad actually turns around and addressing all of the kids at once says (adjusting the pronouns just a bit):

¹⁹You love because I first loved you. ²⁰Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment you have from Me is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. 1 John 4:19-21

A third reason that we are an ecumenical community is that those who have known the love of God and love Him in response, also must love what He loves.  And it turns out that what He loves are all those other folks who are alive in His Son, Jesus, but are not like us!  We have discovered that in Jesus we are all brothers and sisters, children in the same family and we can’t do a thing about it.  Now, like it or not, we need to love one another!  But actually, the more we are conformed to the image of Jesus, the more we like it!  We might not agree, but we don’t need to agree in order to love.  If we did, marriage would never work!  We just need to lay our lives down for one another as Jesus did for us.

A Costly Calling It is costly to be an ecumenical community.  It is simpler and more efficient to work with those who agree with us theologically, organizationally, culturally.  And God loves and blesses the different expressions of his Church on the earth who share these traits in common.  But he has blessed and honored us with a costly call – to try to express in our limited way that unity which we shall all someday have in fullness at the wedding feast of the Lamb.  Living this call is inconvenient, it makes extra demands on our schedules, at times we hurt or aggravate one another – but it is worth it!  We get to experience imperfectly, in humility, but prophetically the oneness for which Jesus prayed, hopefully as an encouragement and a testimony to the whole Body of Christ. 

Christ The Source Of Body Life -- Peter Williamson

15 Rather, living the truth in love, weshould grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body's growth and builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:15-16

Verses 15b-16 sums up 4:11-16, which in the Greek forms one long sentence. The result of “living the truth in love” is that we will grow in every way into him, who is the head, Christ.  Maturity, “living the truth in love,” means growing in union with Christ himself. Again, we see there are degrees of unity and maturity.

Christian faith entails an “already” and a “not yet.” Although the Church is already “in Christ,” united to Jesus, there is plenty of room to be more fully united with our Lord, “to grow in every way into him.”  Christ, as the head of “the body, the Church” (Col 1:18), is not only over the Church, he is the source from whom the whole body, the Church, derives its growth and flourishing.

The term head can mean either authority or source, as in “the head waters of the Nile.” This body, the Church, is joined and held together by every supporting ligament— other translations say “joint.” These ligaments are the individual members of the Church. They provide structural support for the body, but the Greek word translated “supporting” (also in Col 2:19) suggests that nourishment is part of it. “In this way, the writer pictures the ligaments functioning to provide the connections between the various parts and thereby mediating life and energizing power throughout the body” (Andrew T. Lincoln. Ephesians. Word Biblical Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1990. p 263).

Notice the intensely communal vision of the Church’s nature—the parts are touching one another, fastened together, in a way that supports and energizes the body’s activity. This activity depends, however , on the proper functioning of each part. As in 1 Cor 12:15-21, no part is indispensable. The ministers with gifts of teaching and overall leadership must do their part of equipping “the holy ones for the work of ministry.” So must every other member of the body fulfill their role. This cooperation of Christ and all the members of the body brings about the body's growth and builds itself up in love. The final word of the   sentence both in Greek and in English is placed there for emphasis. The Church can only be strengthened if her members conduct their relationships and fulfill their ministries in love.

To summarize, Paul is saying that the goal of the diverse gifts Messiah gives the Church is for ministry that leads to Christ-like maturity in the body as a whole and in its members. This maturity is characterized by a unity in doctrine and in relationship with Christ himself. It entails stability regarding the truth. It involves sincere conduct and love, and it requires that each member of the body of Christ fulfill his or her role of service. If we want to see our local communities and the Church as a whole flourish, these verses tell us how.

 Peter Williamson is using his scholarly expertise and pastoral experience to help produce a set of Bible commentaries for use by Catholic clergy and pastoral workers. These will fill something of a vacuum in what is currently available. He is serving as one of the editors for the whole series and an author of several volumes, starting with the book of Ephesians.  Let’s join in praying for the fruitfulness of this effort

Dominican Republic Mission -- Keith Dwyer

I am thankful, humbled and absolutely exhilarated by what I experienced on my musical mission trip to the Dominican Republic. God worked wonderful blessings and miracles in the lives of many people through our MOST Ministries team of eight. We got underway a day late as our scheduled flight from Detroit to Miami was cancelled. The next day we were routed through Puerto Rico and I witnessed an amazing sunset with beautiful cloud formations as we flew west from San Juan to Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Music breaks down barriers

Our team taught classes in choir/voice, guitar, keyboard and worship principles to people from 3 churches. We taught one group in Santiago (a city of a million people) and the other in Palmar Arriba (a poor, rural village of 4,000 people). I taught large group worship classes in both locations and had the benefit of having a translator for all my sessions.

We also taught 2 daytime seminars in how to use Kindermusik techniques (song, rhythm and movement) with Gospel songs for 50 professional caregivers who serve the mentally and physically impaired. It was a blessing to see these ladies assimilate the material and absolutely wonderful to think that they will be communicating the Gospel in song to hundreds of families and ultimately thousands of people through their work!

I worked closely with 2 Haitian men who came up from Santo Domingo to take part in our workshops. These guys were so eager to learn anything that I could teach them about worship and music! I was able to communicate with them using French, Spanish and English. We agreed that Jesus had broken down the barriers between us (rich/poor, black/white, language differences, etc.) and celebrated our unity in Christ. I was able to pray over them and encourage them with Bible verses before we parted.

Tremendous progress

God worked wonderfully through our classes. At first, most of our voice students sang in a loud, enthusiastic monotone.  A few of the guitar students had held a guitar before, but only one of the keyboard students had ever had a piano lesson. The students were so enthusiastic, attentive and willing to do anything we said.

At our final “concierto” we were so thankful that most of our choir students could match pitches, the guitar students could play 10 - 12 chords and the piano students could play basic chords in 3 or 4 keys. The choir sang a 3 part round (“Padre, Te Adoro”) accompanied by the guitaristas. When we gave out certificates of completion, you could see the self-esteem growing within the students as they were recognized before the group. Parents and neighbors applauded enthusiastically, as they were truly proud of these kids and their accomplishments. The students will cherish these certificates, as they may be the only official piece of paper that they have with their name on it.

Didn’t want to stop worshipping

Some of the highlights of my classes included teaching Spanish worship songs that were very well received by the participants. They liked one of the songs (“Hosana”) so much that they wouldn’t let me go on with my talk until we had sung it 4 or 5 times in succession.

Another song I brought with me (The Horse and Rider) was a 3-part round that I had learned in Spanish over 25 years ago, but had recently taught to my daughter in our morning prayer times. They loved it and asked for it to be sung at the end of our final “concierto.”  While teaching about Biblical worship, participants were eager to clap, raise their hands, play instruments, dance and joyfully praise the Lord. When I invited them to bow and kneel while singing a song of consecration directly to the Lord, I could sense the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit coming down upon us, leading us to penitently lay our lives before Jesus. When the session ended, a group of them continued to pray and sing for awhile, not wanting to leave.

Following the Spirit’s lead

In many situations, the Holy Spirit directed my speech and actions. When one of the men connected to the rural church told me that he hadn’t eaten in awhile, I was devastated. Though I had a granola bar with me, we had been asked not to give food, money or gifts to the people we were working with, so as not to undermine the work of the local church. When I asked God what I could give him, I was directed to lead him in the Lord’s Prayer (Padre Nuestro). When we got to “give us this day our daily bread,” I stopped and told him that if he would ask his Heavenly Father every day for provision, that God would take care of him. I believe he understood me.

In another situation, a blind woman asked me if she would be able to see if I prayed with her. Wow! The Lord led me to tell her that if she would believe in Jesus as her Savior, she would be with Him forever in heaven and be able to see everything. I asked a church member who was with me to share with her the words to a song that we had sung during the week, “Open Our/My Eyes, Lord” (“Abre Mis Ojos”), and also to tell her that the most important thing in this life is to see Jesus with the eyes of faith. After I prayed with the woman, she was deeply moved and grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let me go for awhile.

Thank you for your prayers and support. I couldn’t have done any of this without you! So much was provided to these Dominicanos through you – rhythm sticks and hand-held percussion, guitars, strings, scarves for caregivers, a case of Spanish hymnals (I cried when I saw our choir class stand up in front of the congregation, joyfully singing out of their new books)!, etc. You also gave us an opportunity to share the life-changing Word of God as we imparted new vision and hope to churches in Santo Domingo, Santiago and Palmar Arriba. You also enabled us to share the Gospel that sets men, women, boys and girls free.  What a joy it was to teach music and worship while freely sharing the Good News of Jesus!

It is my prayer that you will grow in faith and joy as you use the gifts, skills and resources that God has blessed you with to give Him glory! Thank you for blessing my life so wonderfully and making a powerful difference in the lives of these others through partnering in this musical mission to the Dominican Republic.

God's Kingdom On Earth -- Phil Tiews

For three decades I have been part of a group of pastors and ministry leaders praying together for our County.  Initially our focus was on Christian unity and we met once a month.  But as important as that need is, the Spirit would not let us contain Him and He expanded our hearts to include all the County, and all the people in the County and all the concerns of Jesus, the King of Washtenaw County.  This is what I think of when I talk about ‘transformation’ —  that our County would come to express the life of the Kingdom of God, not only in every church, but in every home, and business, and school, and neighborhood.  That early group of praying pastors had our hearts ignited by seeing the videos about transformation taking place in cities and regions and even nations around the world.  Most recently we have been encouraged by seeing what God is doing in the island nation of Fiji.

Is it too much to ask for?  Are we being ‘unrealistic’ or ‘spiritually greedy’ or delusional?  I don’t think so.  Jesus taught us to pray ‘your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven’.  What else can this mean except a complete transformation of human life as we live it in the society of the United States to be the society of the King of Kings?

It is a huge prayer.  It is hard to have faith for it to be answered.  I find the Spirit encouraging me to remember that Jesus told me to pray this way, that the God to whom we pray is the maker of heaven and earth, and that people in places around the world are experiencing substantial, miraculous answers to this very prayer for their areas.

The Word of God was birthed out of a movement of renewal.  The Lord gave us a vision for the renewal of the church.  That in itself is a gigantic prayer—and one with a long way to go before it is fulfilled.

Over the last number of years, I believe the Lord has been inviting us as a community to refocus our attention on this particular County in which He has placed us.  Without losing a concern for the renewal of the church, He has been giving us a heart to ask for the full transformation not only of the church, but also of the society of Washtenaw County. 

This is why we have invested in Pastors Alliance for County Transformation, in Hosanna and the 40 Days of Prayer, in IMPACT and Operation Jumpstart.  This is why the Lord has us planted in jail ministry and Hope Clinic, in Family Life Services and 12 step groups.

We are under no illusion that we are the only ones God is using to lead to transformation.  He is the one who passionately longs to thoroughly save.  He is organizing and empowering and bringing His Kingdom.  I think that all we can do is follow a simple strategy: surrender ourselves, join with all those who have a heart for transformation, pray, and obey. 

It doesn’t sound like a great strategy for organizational advancement, but I believe it is the way to Kingdom advancement in our midst.

Below you will find some thoughts on transformation by George Otis, Jr. who is the man behind the ‘Transformation’ videos.  I think they help to give vision for what we are praying for.

In Matthew chapter six Jesus declared to his disciples, “This is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done,  on earth as it is in heaven.”

With these brief words we are reminded that God’s presence and purposes are to be the central focus of human society. They are to be realized and promoted not in some limited, religious manner, but as they are in heaven. In the words of the prophet Isaiah we are to “give (ourselves] no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem (or Chicago, Richmond, London or Singapore) and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7). We are to “renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations” (Isaiah 61:4). If we do this, Ezekiel promises, “the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE” (Ezekiel 48:35). While many Christians assume transforming revival is about growing congregations, it is actually a matter of renaming or re-identifying our cities!

Because transforming revival is a principle-based enterprise we can anticipate what God will respond to—namely humility, holiness, repentance, prayer, worship, compassion, faith (II Chronicles 7:14, Isaiah 58:9-12, Isaiah 62:6-7, Hosea 6:3). This allows us to prepare the way of the Lord with confidence: “If my people will..” then “I will heal their land” There is no presumption here, only obedience. He has removed all mystery from the discussion. We can also safely predict what the fruit of transformation will look like—because, again, God’s Word describes it for us (Psalm 144:14, Isaiah 1:26, Acts 11:20-24, Acts 19:18-20) and because we have seen it in microcosm in the lives of redeemed individuals. What we cannot be certain of are the means by which God will accomplish his purposes. These are as unique as snowflakes, fingerprints, and... cities.

The concept of ‘transformation’ has its most relevant and compelling application however as a descriptor of God’s broad spiritual handiwork.  On a personal level He transforms our lives through the renewing of our minds (see Romans 12:2).  On a family level He recasts our relational dysfunction into models of mutual respect and support.  On a church level He replaces forms of godliness with genuine spiritual life and power.  And this is only the beginning.  In many parts of the world God’s transforming grace is now touching entire neighborhoods and villages.  Indeed there are even reports of newly transformed cities, regions and nations.

Although rapid and substantial church growth is an important part of these corporate transformations, it does not fully define them.  For the term transformation to be properly applied to a community, change must be evident not only in the lives of its inhabitants, but also in the fabric of its institutions.  In the end, it is dramatic social, political, and even ecological renewal that sets these cases apart from common experience. For the term transformation to be properly applied to a community, change must be evident not only in the lives of its inhabitants, but also in the fabric of its institutions. In the end, it is dramatic social, political, and even ecological renewal that sets these cases apart from common experience. In short, a transformed community is:

A neighborhood, city or nation whose values and institutions have been overrun by the grace and presence of God. It is a place where divine fire has not merely been summoned, it has fallen.  A society in which natural evolutionary change has been disrupted by invasive supernatural power and a culture that has been impacted comprehensively and undeniably by the Kingdom of God. A location where kingdom values are celebrated publicly and passed on to future generations!

George Otis, Jr. 

Sisterhood -- Martha Balmer

Community life in The Word of God has always fostered deep relationships among women. The monthly Women’s Breakfasts are one of the ways those relationships find expression and grow deeper. Sisterhood is a blessing I haven’t always been capable of enjoying. When I filled out my housing forms as an incoming freshman at U of M, nothing could have persuaded me that an all-women’s dormitory could be anything but a catty, cliquish, shallow nightmare. Even though I was a Christian, junior high and high school had all but ruined me for genuine, supportive relationships with other women. But as I became increasingly immersed in The Word of God and began to participate in the women’s households on campus, I began to heal, my perspective changed and I became capable of loving and being loved by women.

Rootedness Sisterhood has become a habit of life because of the patterns that community created in my youth. I learned that without the bonds of sisterhood functioning in a regular way week in and week out, I would begin to drift toward isolation and the self-pity and distorted perspectives that came with it. So whenever a change disrupted the resources of one season—such as when my family moved from Ypsilanti to Ann Arbor—I found myself seeking out new connections.

Even before we moved into our new house, I had checked the directory for my nearest community neighbors and been delighted to find four other women living within a couple of blocks. When the business of life didn’t allow us to connect without effort, I made some calls and we began to invite each other to tea parties — a sisterly habit that has continued to keep us connected and enabled us to reach out to other women as well.

Enduring relationship Over the last 34 years, a continuously deepening abundance has been pouring into my lap through my relationships with women in the body of Christ. Although I have lived through many changes that altered or even disbanded my various women’s groups, I can honestly say that there have been no ultimate losses, as even those women who have moved away or whose paths seldom cross mine any more remain connected to me by the deep sisterhood that our common life established between us.

Refreshment for the journey This is the context in which the monthly Women’s Breakfasts continue to nourish my soul. As we share casually over our coffee and bagels, we support and enjoy one another. As we tell our stories, we identify with one another in our trials and help one another on toward greater faith and love. As we worship and pray together, we draw life from the Lord and convey his life to one another.

In a world where women have suffered deep wounds and are applying all kinds of misguided remedies, the Lord has created a true sisterhood among us in which our simple breakfasts offer refreshment for our journey and sanctuary to our guests.

If you are not in the habit of attending The Word of God Women’s Breakfasts, consider putting them on your calendar. If you haven’t considered bringing a friend to a breakfast before, look around among your neighbors, co-workers and relatives for a woman in need of refreshment. God provides so much for us in one another, and when we come together we open ourselves to an ever increasing blessing.

 

Pine Hills Girls Camp -- 2009

Spending a week at Pine Hills was the best thing that happened to me in my summer! I met so many friends there. There were so many activities for us that the councilors and staff put together, such as game day and workshops, but most importantly there was the prayer meeting which was where I and other girls could just say “Yes” to Jesus. As I said before, I met so many new friends at Pine Hills. I thought I knew everyone there, but I was mistaken. We had 125 campers this year and 50 counselors which is the record. I met girls I had never met in my life and girls that I saw before at Pine Hills but never spent time talking with them. There were campers that traveled from Florida and Ireland to come.  I have so many new friends who are going to the same high school as me.

There were so many activities that we could do at Pine Hills. In the morning we would have initiatives, which were different obstacles for cabins to try and overcome. We would have to work together as a cabin and listen to each other, or we wouldn’t be able to finish it. Those were one of my favorite parts of the day.

My favorite initiative was the 12 foot wall. The 12 foot wall was a wall (of course), but we had to climb up it with nothing to hold onto just our cabin mates pushing from below or pulling up at the top. The catch was that only three people were allowed at the top.  The extras had to go down the latter and ‘spot’ for the ones who hadn’t climbed yet. You were not able to help them up. We had so much fun doing that.

Other activities were workshops which would last most of the afternoon. Earlier during the school year we signed up for what we wanted to do during workshops. My favorite workshop was swimming. They had a high dive that was 15 feet high, which you could jump off. Other workshops I did were Broadway Revue, which was dancing. We would perform that later at the talent show. I also did Pine Hills Scrapbooking. They had all sorts of activities from dancing to sports to arts and crafts to horseback riding even to a high ropes course.

Most importantly at Pine Hills we came closer to God through morning and night prayers and on Wednesday and Thursday night prayer meetings. During morning prayers they would introduce a new chapter to us because our theme this year was: The Greatest Story ever told. The counselors would perform a skit for us and then one of the leadership team would give us a talk about the chapter. 

For example, one chapter was the Entrance of Evil. Ruth Dirkes gave a talk to us about because of the fall of Adam and Eve, Satan is going to tempt us, but we have our guardian angels to protect us from Satan. After the talk we would have a some time to praise Jesus.

On Wednesday and Thursday we would have one night to just praise Jesus. It was exactly like morning prayers with very moving skits and a talk. The only thing that was different was that we had so much longer to praise God. There was prayer ministry in the back of the tent. I saw so many girls slain in the Spirit and almost everyone was crying (in a good way). I felt so much closer to God.

Before I went to camp,  I was very anxious about high school, but after those two prayer meetings I felt so much more peaceful. God worked through so many girls and especially in me. I feel that I can praise Jesus without worrying what my friends think of me.  The prayer meetings were by far my favorite part of Pine Hills.

Pine Hills was so much for me and I bet for all the other 124 campers there also. I can’t wait to be a counselor there someday.