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Dec 31
Love0

Looking Ahead

By Envision, Headfirst

What does God have in store for you this year?  And for His Kingdom?  Are you anticipating it?

The Scriptures are filled with the historical accounts of His supernatural intervention in history and thoroughly documented.  The Bible is complete, but God’s work is not.  What could be written about how He will work in and through you in the year to come?

  • In the year King Uzziah died…  (Isaiah 6:1)
  • In the 480th year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel…  (1 Kings 6:1)
  • And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus…  (Daniel 1:21)
  • In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar…  (Luke 3:1-2)

Will you look ahead in faith and anticipation?  Will you follow the King into battle?

How will you use your freedom?  How will you use your resources?

As you welcome the New Year, as you hear the trumpet blow, join us in running headfirst into God’s calling on our lives!

Nov 25
Love0

Water into Wine

By Envision, Personal

Worship leader Chris Tomlin

I’ve had Chris Tomlin‘s new worship song Our God stuck in my head for a month now, which has been a great thing.  It has a driving melody with inspiring lyrics, reminding God’s people of His power, majesty and unshakable love.  It begins with a reminder of Christ’s first miracle – turning water into wine.  Usually when I hear those words, I think of the wedding in Cana, as it is historically recorded in the Gospel of John.  This week of Thanksgiving, the Holy Spirit has been nudging me in another direction.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus began His ministry and publicly substantiated His divinity with supernatural demonstrations.  His first terrestrial display, essentially making something from nothing, echoed His act of creation when He literally made the universe out of nothing.  And this theme of transformation extends beyond the physical world; indeed God is spiritually bringing life to the dead and redeeming His creation.

Nearly 25 years ago, in 1986, at the end of my rope, I made a decision to end my life but God supernaturally intervened and gave me salvation, hope and purpose.  He gave me eternal life and began a process of transformation in me.  Once again, God made something out of nothing.

Jesus continues His work of redemption and transformation every day.  Capture today by taking a moment to pause and give thanks for His work in you.  How has God turned water into wine in your life?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ65aNv28Jc

Sep 23
Love0

When you can’t get along

By Equip, Personal

Anger.  Frustration.  Anxiety.

What happens inside you when you experience conflict?  And what do you choose to do with the relationships that bring this conflict?

This isn’t meant to be a treatise on conflict, but I do have a few thoughts as it relates to ministry.  Whether accurate or not, haven’t you heard the contention that the number one reason for missionaries to leave the field isn’t lack of fruit, opposition or finances – but conflict with teammates?  Or watched a church split that wasn’t really about theology or ministry philosophy, but actually about personalities? Read on about dealing with conflict

Feb 16
Love0

In the streets of Port-au-Prince

By Envision
Collapse of the Haitian Presidential Palace

Before and after the earthquake

The sun was still overhead, but the sensation of spiritual oppression was all around us.  We walked from the presidential palace, whole floors collapsed, past the piles of rubble which had been the Haitian treasury building.  A caravan of military vehicles made its way through the recently plowed streets. More than three weeks after the earthquake of January 12, 2010, very little had changed.  Broken cinder blocks and twisted rebar still covered city blocks, and a look upward revealed rooflines at every angle to the sky – but none of them as they should be.  These buildings, businesses and homes were now unintended mausoleums, housing the bodies of thousands of children and adults.  The living were still wandering in the streets, Read More

Feb 11
Love0

17 Minutes with Hugo

By Envision

He was wearing a black shirt with a drawing of a cross.  It said “Killed in the line of duty” and had a quote from Philippians.  Hugo had been wandering the streets of Port-au-Prince, but when he saw us he motioned for us to come to him.  My teammate Ted was taking video and stills in front of the collapsed Treasury and Hugo saw something he thought we’d want on film.  More than 3 weeks after the earthquake, a young man’s body lay covered with dust, trapped beneath shards of concrete.  I could see his face, his ear, his arm.  It was heart-piercing and unforgettable.

Hugo’s home was crushed and his family was dead.  He asked if we could pass word to his cousin in the U.S. that he was still alive.  He didn’t seem to know where he was going.  I asked him about his shirt – was he a Christian; did he have a church?  While we spoke, Haitians continued to wander up and down the streets.  A young woman balanced a hardshell suitcase on her head and just watched us from the corner.  Military convoys passed by, the Red Cross, the UN.  Two CAT earth movers were parked next to the twisted rebar, unmanned.  Ted spoke softly with Hugo as we tried to offer him compassion and aid.  Then we had to leave.

The media reports the numbers: how many dead, how many orphans, how many homeless.  There is tremendous darkness, tragedy and pain.

Only Christ can bring hope.  No amount of darkness can consume light.  For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness” made His light shine in our hearts…

We can build the Kingdom together.  Offer the Gospel to the lost.  Build new communities.  Bring healing and hope.  Get ready to join in – you can find your role as the Church comes together for Haiti.  More very soon…

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