Faithful To the Core!

Read Joshua 14:6-15

I love the story of Caleb in the bible. Caleb was a classic model of how our faith should be lived out. His story starts in Numbers 13. He was one of the spies that Moses sent into the land of Canaan to explore the land. Out of the 12 there were only 2 that came back believing that with the help of God, we can take this land. It's ours for the taking! He knew it in his heart. Turns out he was absolutely right. At the time of their scouting mission, Caleb was around 40 years old. Now, fast forward 45 years to the scripture reading in Joshua. Along with Joshua, they were the only two that survived the journey from Egypt. Because of their faith in a God that's bigger than any giants, and is always good on His promises.

At this point in the scripture, the promised land is being divided into parcels for each tribe. Then Caleb shows up in verse 10-12 he says, "Now as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as He promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise-even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me, You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the Land, just as the Lord said."

Here he is, eighty-five years old and still knowing that God is going to make good on the promise He'd given them! And not only that, but he's ready to go in and take it, because he understood if God is for me, there is no man that can stand between me and that God given destiny! What a guy! What a faith! What a God!

What are you trusting God for today, right now! He's always good and loves you more than you can comprehend! Trust Him for that seemingly unanswered prayer!

Bogota Colombia 09

I'm excited to announce the Bogota Colombia trip for 2009. I am deeply honored to get to lead this years team. There will be a series of posts for you to read and pray through with us, as we prepare our hearts, minds and bodies to go. I was reading in Joshua this morning and thought of our team and where we are in the preparation process. We are currently in the fund-raising phase. We all need to raise $1500 in order to pay air-fare as well as cover other costs while we are there. The mission will be a continuation of our 2007 trip. You can still see some of that team's time on this blog, as I've not taken them down. The images of the children and our friends that we made in 07 are an inspiration and reminder to pray for them as we prepare to go. You'll get to know some of the team, as I plan to post some pictures and introduce the team on this blog. It's going to be an exciting trip to see how God uses us to be His hands and feet.

The scripture I ran across is found in Joshua 1:16. "We will do whatever you command us, and we will go wherever you send us."

There are several images that are painted through this section of scripture. But, I'd like to focus on Joshua's task, it was gigantic. It was a behemoth of a task! He was to lead a nation into a land that they didn't know, but God had promised centuries earlier to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses their leader over the last 40 years was now dead. Now, it's Joshua's time to lead. I particularly love God's admonition to Joshua. He first tells him, "Be strong and courageous, for you are the one..." (Josh. 1:6) God had called him and he was God's man for the job. Next, He told him, "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey..." God had laid out His plan for them through Moses. The admonition is to do the plan, God's plan. The third admonition sounds like the first two. "Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go!

If you are a team member reading this, you need to "BE STRONG and COURAGEOUS! It is easy to get caught up in the frustration of trying to raise funds and prayer partners and the fear of the unknown starts to creep in. I firmly believe God has called and set apart each and every person that has felt the call to go. He's also calling those whom will support us through prayer and finances. God calls us to trust Him. It's His mission! It's about Him.

So, if you happen upon this, and you are not a team member,first of all pray for us! We need your prayers! We also need the funds to do this mission. We need the faith to press on; to be strong and courageous. God has a mighty plan. Pray that we adjust to Him, and that He will receive all honor and praise!

Wide Awake

I recently finish Wide Awake by Erwin McManus. I would consider this a must read. I got copies for the whole family for Christmas. It is such an encouraging book. The subtitle is: The Future is Waiting Within You. If you have unfulfilled dreams, or feel like God has forgotten you, you must read this book. Essentially, it's about dreaming the dreams that God has placed inside you, and dreaming them "Wide Awake." I've moved it onto my top 5 list for sure. Stay tuned here, as in the weeks to come I'll be doing some posts on it!

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

"The Boy In The Striped Pajamas" comes with a 5 star rating from me. To say I enjoyed this movie is somewhat of a mis-statement. It is set in WWII at the site of a Nazi extermination camp, where an eight year old German boy befriends an eight year old Jewish boy who lives on a "farm" behind their home. The subject matter is dark to day the least. However, the way the story is handled paints the picture of how hatred for others, in the name of national bravado, leads to the death, in this case, of millions of innocent people. Grab a box of kleenex and rent or buy this one! James Horner does the score, which is excruciatingly plain at times, pensive and beautiful in others. There are some startling images that might be too much for small children. But, can stir up some great conversation about how hatred and prejudice kills.

Understanding Holiness

Read Deuteronomy 5:23-29

Along with two good friends, we're on our 4th lap of reading through the Bible in a year. I've grown to love God's work even more, literally can't wait to get to my daily reading time. I highly recommend it to anyone that has a desire to learn more about God, and themselves. I was reading yesterday in Deuteronomy and came across a passage that spoke to me in volumes. I'm going to attempt to condense what I gleaned in a couple of paragraphs, which could be tricky.

If I could use two words to write in the column of these verses, they would be, understanding Holiness. These verses come after Moses restates the Ten Commandments. Then he proceeds to tell the story of how these tablets came about. "He wrote His words on two stone tablets and gave them to me." In the verses that follow the "tribal leaders" came to understand that they had heard from God, "the heart of the fire" and lived to talk about it. We have experienced His awesome power and once is enough. Why should we risk it again? So, Moses was recognized as the leader/spokesman for Israel.

Starting in verse 28, God is pleased with their response. It's amazing, in their humility their came a great awareness of the Power (Holiness) of God. Their hearts were right and as long as they remained in a state of Awe, respect and holy fear, and obeyed God's commands, they would prosper. My translation says they would prosper forever!

The thought is this...how can I better understand His holiness today? What response should I have when I look into His holiness? Beblest!

Repenting of my slogging ways!

It's time! It's time to get back to blogging! I confess that I have become a slogger! Now that I have repented, it's time to turn from my ways and get with the program. It is likely that nobody will see this particular post, but it is once again a new start point for me! There is an absolute need for me to get back at this. So, if you happen across this, keep an eye on it, I'm praying to grow this ministry!