Prayer that made a difference

I shared with you last week about a teen that I am working with that got hit in the eye with a rock and had to have immediate surgery. Well I have good news to report.

Yesterday her family drove to Halifax and had a meeting with the surgeon and he has seen very positive changes already. Kaitlyn is now able to return to much of her normal activities even less than two weeks since she was hit in the eye. The doctor originally said she would need to remain inactive for six to eight weeks and he was unsure what the outcome would be.

The prognosis is good for her recovery and she and her family are blessed and readily admit that see they have seen the hand of God touch their daughters life. So thank you for joining me in heartfelt prayer to the Father on her behalf.

I will be back to Gideon and his story tomorrow. Thanks for being warriors that have stood with me and this family.

Amazing talent

Today I had the privilege of listening to a young lady play piano and sing. Her voice was incredibly powerful and her piano playing was equally moving. She sang a worship song about trusing in God though she has never seen Him. She talked briefly about the worship song that was written out of incredible tragedy. She never wrote it yet she could identify with it.

You see the young lady that sang the song is named Becca. Becca is blind. She played the piano as if she could see it so clearly. She shared a bit of her story with me of how she has just finished her degree from Bible college and is looking for a job. She is happy to do office work or whatever else she can find. She is an inspiration.

I want you to realize like I was reminded today that God has given us each gifts. We can choose to make excuses not to use them or we can choose to use them and give glory to Him!!!

Who did this? Gideon!!!

Gideon takes a step of faith and tears down the Asherah poles and the altar and of course when the Midianites see it they are ticked off, probably an understatement. Have you ever done something for God that has really made someone mad. Well sometimes what we do is offensive to somebody. The reality is when we serve God and do what He asks us to do, people might not appreciate or accept what you do. Just be sure you have heard from God.

One thing I think is sad are the kind of things people get upset about. People get upset about the strangest things: moving the pulpit, a different style of music, the color of the carpet, not feeling like they are heard , you know the important stuff. Lets be serious!!!

Well this change really made an impact. They wanted to kill Gideon when they found out he was involved. It says they carefully investigated and they were told, "Gideon did it." Little did they know it was Gideon who did it but it was God's plan. They thought they could intimidate and destroy Gideon but now Gideon had God going before him. I don't like their chances.

They tell Joash, who is Gideons father,"Bring out your son. He must die." BUT Joash had a response as well. He basically says in v.31, "If Baal is all we say he is, he doesn't need someone to fight his battles, he should be able to fight them himself."

It looks like the battle lines are being drawn. Gideon and His God vs. the god of Baal.

You and I may be facing a battle in our lives as well. The good news and the truth is that God is more powerful than any army lined up against you. God and you can defeat the enemy in your life. God and you are a strong force. God and you can.......

Its all fun and games

You know the old adage, "Its all fun and games until someone loses an eye." Well that has become more true than I had hoped.

One of the teens I work with was recently struck in the eye with a rock. She had to have immediate surgery on her eye and the answer to whether or not she will regain her sight is unknown. It will be another six to eight weeks before the doctor will know the prognosis.

As a 12 year old going to school last week, she had no idea her life would change so drastically. She is not allowed to do any physical activity for the next six to eight weeks and she is already feeling the effects of not being able to do what her friends are doing.

To help her family out and help them cover the costs of trips back and forth to the hospital where the specialist is we are doing a fundraiser. This Saturday myself and some of the other teens from our youth group are going to do a walk of close to 10 miles. We will be walking from Kates house to the church. I must say physically I am not sure how I am going to do this, but I am asking the Lord for strength.

Please pray for Kate and her family. Pray for us this Saturday as we all sacrifice a little bit to make things easier for this wonderful family. My goal is to raise a minimum of $500 to give to this family.

We are praying that out of this senseless accident that God would do something special.

Making Gideon into the mighty warrior...laying a foundation

The Lord has begun the transformation from a fearful man in hiding into a bold mighty warrior. The Lord speaks to Gideon and reminds him in v.23 "Peace, Do not be afraid. You are not going to die." That was wonderful truth Gideon could lay down in his foundation.

That night the Lord continues to build the mighty warrior. v.25-26 The Lord speaks to Gideon and says, take a specific bull from your fathers herd, tear down your fathers altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah poll beside it. All of these things had become gods for the people. So the first assignment Gideon was given was to tear down. Tear down!!! He was going to start right in his own family. Gideon was having a struggle right in his family all this time. Now God was getting personal.

Then he was told to build a proper altar to God using the wood from the Asherah pole. God was going to take what was being used improperly and begin to give it a purpose. Then he was going to take that same bull and offer it as a sacrifice. You see God was giving Gideon specific instructions on how he was to do things. If Gideon was going to try and change things in his own family without knowing how and what to do he would be in big trouble. With God leading he knew he was on the right course.

We know Gideon was bold right. Not yet!!! In v.27 we read that Gideon took some others with him and that he did it at night because he was afraid of his family. I believe that God does things in the right way and the right time to build us into the people He wants us to be. It is a process. You and I are being groomed today for what we are to do today and for what He has for us in the future. He is adding more bricks into our foundation.

I hope you can sense the way this servant of God is being empowered. Little by little the mighty warrior is becoming a reality. He is no longer the weakest of the weak. Understand that God wants to do the same thing in our lives. He wants to take us from where we are and how we feel about ourselves and make us into the person He has created you and I to be. Allow Him to do the work in you!!!

I need a sign

Gideon begins to understand that their is a stirring with in him. He is beginning to sense that God wants to do a new thing. God is going to deliver his people and He has told Gideon, he was the man.

Yet Gideon being the human he is wants a sign from God. In v. 17 Gideon says that he wants to know this is indeed God speaking to him. I can understand that. Whenever I am sensing God leading me in my life, I really want to know it is God speaking and not just some thought I have convinced myself is a good idea. Good things are nice, BUT God things are awesome. I have been guilty of doing good things that have not necessarily been God things. Gideon, I can identify with you!!!

Gideon tells God don't leave me now. Let me go and prepare an offering and set it before you. The Lord said in v.18, "I will wait until you return." How many times has the Lord waited for you and I. Has the Lord ever given you an assignment or laid something on your heart and you have made God wait. Again human nature seems to often say to God,"I need a sign from you God. Ok, now I know what to do!!! God can you wait? I need to be sure I heard from you."

Off Gideon goes v.19-21 and prepares an offering to God of goat meat, broth and bread and brings them out under the tree to offer to God. The angel of the Lord speaks to Gideon and tells him to put it all on a rock. Gideon did it. The angel then takes a rod and touches the offering with the tip of the staff and instantly the offering is consumed by fire. Then the angel disappeared.

Well, he wanted a sign. He got one!!! Man the decisions of life would be so much easier if we got a sign like that. Most often we don't. Maybe if we got a sign like that, we would be too overwhelmed. Maybe there are people who do see signs like this. Either way Gideon understood he had been in the presence of God. His response is very telling in v.22 when Gideon exclaims, "I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face."

I have never seen the face of God face to face. I do know this. It is an amazing experience to be in the presence of the Lord. There is nothing more powerful in life than to be in the presence of God. I have had those times where I have indeed been speechless and all I could do is weep. I want to encourage you to spend some quality time in the presence of the Lord today.

Gideon...The Mighty Warrior?

Have you ever had someone say something about you and you thought "are you serious, I don't think you really know me." I had that happen recently when I was asked to lead worship at a service. Can you imagine me leading worship. My wife for sure, me... well if you have ever stood by me in a worship service you know that I am not a worship leader. Don't get me wrong, I love to worship God but not as the leader.

As we saw yesterday the angel of the Lord came and told Gideon he was a "mighty warrior". Gideon certainly did not see himself like that. In fact Gideon says to the Lord in v.15, "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Israel and I am the least in my family?" Does this sound to you like he feels like a mighty warrior? If you looked at him and listened to him would you want to go into battle with him? I don't think Gideon was ready to lead people into battle, BUT with God leading the way, the impossible can become possible.

Gideon tells the Lord what he thinks about himself. Gideon is seeing things from his own perspective. God is about to give Gideon a new perspective. You know sometimes we need a new perspective on the challenges we face. So here is the new perspective.

In v. 16, the Lord says, "I will be with you and you will strike down all the Midianites together." Now that is awesome. God is with us and will be with us, and you and I can do so much more when we understand God is with us.

Last night I was sharing at our home group on this scripture. I challenged one of the men there to get a new perspective. It seems that he often feels like Gideon, overwhelmed, defeated and worn out. I asked him if he felt like a mighty warrior. Not really was his response. I encouraged him to allow God the proper place in his life, to really get to know him and invest time in building a deeper relationship with him.

I wonder how many times God has a specific task he desires for us to do and yet we have all the excuses why we can't do them. Remember if we try to do it alone based on our natural abilities we will fall short. BUT if you do it in partnership with Him, you can do the impossible.

God is with us? Seriously?

Corporately the people of Israel did not listen to God.There was good news though. There was a remnant of people who still understood that following God was crucial to having any kind of real life, free from oppresion and hopelessness.

God sends an angel in response to the prayers of His people. The angel of the Lord is sent with a purpose. To meet with the man, Gideon. So what was happening in the life of Gideon when the angel appeared to him. He was hiding from the Midianites, threshing wheat so the Midianites wouldn't sweep in and steal that from them too.

My guess is that Gideon was tired of having to live in this type of situation. I think he was probably praying to God often for his deliverance. Little did he know that he would be the one to deliver Gods people from their oppresion. In fact God viewed him much different than he viewed himself.

When the angel talks to Gideon in v. 12 the angel says" The Lord is with, you mighty warrior." Gideons response is very telling. He certainly does not agree with the assessment being made of him or the sitution of his people. He starts by using the word BUT. But if the Lord is with us, what in the world is going on all around us.

You know in life there are things that happen all around us and we wonder where is God. In Christian circles we hear those words often, "God is with you". We look around and say,"OK, BUT". Well the truth is God is with us. He is with us more than we know. It may not feel like it but it is something we can count on. As we will see God is indeed with Gideon and has never left him or his people.

Gideon continues his reply, and I will summarize. You can read it yourself in v. 13, he basically says, "we have heard about his miracles but I haven't seen them lately. In fact if anything the Lord has left us to ourselves abandoned and alone. We have to fight the Midianites ourselves, so where is the Lord in this situation?" Now maybe thats a rough translation but I hope we can catch the point. Gideon is frustrated, disillusioned and questioning whether God is really all others have claimed him to be.

I think that if we were honest we would agree we have all been there. Life is challenging and difficult sometimes for all of us. We wonder "where is God, can I really trust Him?" You can!!!

Was Gideon really a mighty warrior? The Lord said so, but did Gideon really believe it? He was, he just didn't know it yet. Tomorrow we will look at the man Gideon.

Response to the cry for help

The Israelites had reached the end of their resources and they have cried out to the Lord for help. (Judges 6:6) In 6:7 we see the Lord has a response for His people.

He sent them someone to help, this time it was a prophet and the prophet had a message. First the prophet reminded them (8-9) of God's previous deliverance from the hands of the Egyptians, and all their oppressors and how God had given them the land. He also says in v.10 that God told them not to worship the gods of the Amorites, where they are now living. BUT they did not listen.

I have a friend that is going through a very difficult time in his life right now. His life seems to be falling apart. He turned his back on God and began to worship other things. Things that he knew would lead to destruction but he chose to idolize them and turn away from the way that he knew he should go. So here he is today, living in fear, under a deep oppression, feeling beat down and condemned and hopeless.

He has been like the Israelites, in that he has expereinced God's deliverance in the past, he has seen the favor of God rest upon him and yet he chose to turn his back on God. I have reminded him though that God is not done with him yet. He too finds himself in that "Again place." He needs to be reminded that God is still in control and that God desires for my friends true worship.

The power of Midian...desperation

Judges 6:2-6 tells us of a very powerful group of people, the Midianites. It says their power was oppressive(2), caused the Israleites to live in hiding(2),destroyed their crops(3),took and destroyed their cattle(4), and ravaged the land(5). Wow that seems incredibly powerful to me. I think if I were one of the Israelites back then that I would have been intimidated too. Especially if I thought they had ultimate power to do whatever they wanted.

The truth is, the reason the Midianites had any power over the Israelites was because God allowed it and because the Israelites were "evil in the eyes of the Lord." The Midianites power was strong because God had a purpose.

What was God's purpose in this? I think I have an answer. It is found in verse 6. In desperation the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.

Desperation, frustration, hopelessness, and destruction, day in and day out for seven years. Now that would be hard to deal with. I am sure there were many days they wondered if things would ever change.

During that time I am sure there must have been a remnant of people who were still committed to God. Yet they remain silent in this passage. Where were they? Maybe they felt too overwhelmed to do anything. Maybe they had given up. Maybe they were silently praying. We don't really know. But God knew!!!

Maybe you have been feeling like the Israelites lately. Desperate, frustrated, hopeless and overwhelmed. Maybe you have felt like giving up. Maybe you have been silently praying for help to come. I want to encourage you that help is on the way. God is still in control.

We will see tomorrow, that God's timing is near and that a miracle is about to take place.

Conversations

Today I was in a lengthy conversation with a teen that has been going through some pretty intense personal trials the last three years. She has no relationship with her dad at all and her relationship with her mom is very strained. She is bullied at school and is completely overwhelmed with life.

Right now all of our conversation is via the internet. Pray with me that the Lord gives me guidance and the right words to know how to encourage her. Sometimes it seems like life is unfair. How could one teen be hit with so much and have so few people that really seem to care about how they are doing. Brothers and sisters this is not right.

I would ask you to look around the areas you live. Look into the faces of hurting people and ask God how you can make a difference in someones life today. To quote something I said a while back on my blog, "to the world you may be one person, but to one person you mat be the world." Be a world changer!!!

Again...place

I enjoy teaching God's Word for two reasons: 1. I always learn something new when I prepare and 2. I love to help others go deeper in their knowledge and relationship with God.

I am going to do a short teaching on the life of Gideon, found in Judges Chapters 6-8. I have thought about his life and how God used him powerfully and yet he was faced with many challenges.

When we get to the book of Judges the Israelites have finished their years of wandering in the desert and have reached the promised land. One would think that since they have finally reached their desired destination and that they have seen the Lord's provision that they would follow Him and His teachings, We understand though that this is not the case.

The people lost sight of their identity as God's people, chosen and called by Him, and their role in His army. You know this sounds alot like us. Sometimes we forget who we are in Christ, his calling and purpose for us in our lives and that we are soldiers for the king.

As we begin to read in Judges 6, we see the condition of the Israelites. It is based on their realtionship with God. Judges 6:1 says, "AGAIN, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites."

Is it just me or do we often see that pattern in humanity. We seem to be doing well, are focused on God, are seeking his face and then we become complacent. We begin to allow things to get between us and our realtionship with God. Then we find ourselves in that AGAIN place.

God is always concerned with us when we get in that again place. He wants so much more for us, He wants us to really live a full and complete life in Him. If you are in that again place, then come before Him again. Begin anew to go deeper with God.

Making cookies, check the ingredients

Today I had a youth event planned where I invited teens to my house to bake cookies for a church function. I thought I would have four teens show up but I was wrong. It turned out that 11 teens showed up, nine guys and two gals.

One of the guys mixed all the ingredients together and then asked me if there was another bag of flour, so he could add more flour to the mix. I said to him well you havent even used the bag of flour I bought. He said yes I did. Then he discovered he had added 2 cups of baking powder instead of two cups of flour. Needless to say we could not use the mixture he had put together and we had to throw it out and start over.

I think that there is an illustration here. Sometimes we add things into our lives that we think are good and then we determine that we added the wrong things. This can be friendships, choices we make, music, or whatever else fits. There are times the best thing we can do is start over and start fresh. A fresh start can be very empowering.

Well the cookies finally were "put togther right" and the finished product turned out to be quite good. We all shared some of the cookies and had lots of fun. The kids were great but it was hard to keep so many occupied. When you go from four to eleven that is quite a challenge but one I hope to face often.

Risk taking teens

Last night we were together again for our home cell group on the first nation. It was and is such a blessing. We were blessed to have two new teenagers join us for the first time. It was an answer to prayer for me as well as their parents.

One of the teens became our scripture reader. He was excited to read the Word and it was possibly the first time he had read God's Word. Awesome!!!

Both of the boys participated throughout our time together and both of them said they enjoyed what we did. I have been asking them to join us for a number of weeks and they finally took a risk and came out.

Risk is something that people often try to stay away from. Teens are often risk takers. At times they are negative: drugs, alcohol, sex, wreckless driving, violence etc... At times they are positive: trying out for a sports or drama team, singing, applying for a job, going to church or standing up for what is right. We need to encourage our teens to take positive risks.

At the end of our service, I took a risk. I went around to each of the six people including the teens and layed hands on them and prayed for them. I felt it was a positive risk I needed to take. I believe that God wants to and is doing some new and exciting things amongst us. I am blessed to be able to minister with my first nation friends.