Jordan Crossings

God Evening Family!

I know of a certain man who has a passion to win souls for Christ. He loves people and the desire to touch a life for the Kingdom burns like a fire shut up in his bones...all day, every day.

I have heard people remark wistfully (including myself), "I wish God would give me such a passion." I am afraid that most of these will wait a lifetime without seeing that sort of fire in their lives.

Let me explain.

Human nature waits to act until motivated by emotion. This is not God's way.

If I am waiting to "feel" a passion to win the lost (or diet, build a business, forgive someone) I will wait forever. All the prayer in the world will not ignite that fire. God expects us to walk in faith in the areas He has already commanded us to move forward. Jesus said to go into all the world and make disciples unto Him. The only prayer this requires is repentance for not obeying this command.

As Joshua was leading the people into the Promised Land, the river Jordan was overflowing it's banks. God told them to march right into the power of the flooding river. (Josh 2) After they had stepped in, THEN He would show His power.

Dangerous...Risky...God's command.

When Israel first fled Egypt God parted the Red Sea and then they crossed over. A miracle for an immature people.

But now Israel had 40 years of getting to know their God and His power. He demanded they show their trust in Him, their obedience, before the miracle. He is the same yesterday and today.

The more we step out in obedience the more God fills us with His passion for whatever task He has set before us. The more I reach out to the lost, pray with them, bless them...try to connect that I may win them, the more the weight of that needful responsibility fills my mind...daily.

I have no great love for people. It started with the conviction that it is simply the right thing to do. But every step of faith is wood that fuels the fire.

If I stop reaching out I will lose what little passion I have, but if I continue...

The mature do not wait for the emotion. Step out into the Jordan, before you feel anything, and watch the God of the Angel Armies move on your behalf.

Stay in Prayer and in the Word!

Love in Our Lord,
Lauren

Save Us The Unclean

God Morning Family,

Three Easters ago a young woman, tattooed and pierced with children and a boyfriend in tow, came to our church. She didn't want to be there but was brought by boyfriend's mother.

I noticed her resistance and after service went to speak to her about salvation. I prayed for her trying to discern the Lord's leading. God simply asked me to simply stay connected with her. So I began to visit and pray for her.

Since that time she has not come any closer to the Lord but has suffered much with the sin and pain of this world, much through her own doing. I must admit, having seen no fruit, I had given up on her.

This past two weeks God had laid her strongly on my heart to pray and visit. Yesterday I grabbed some snacks for her children and went to her house. It was filthier than ever. As I walked up the steps to the porch the smell of urine was overwhelming.

I knocked on the door and another woman came to the door. A small, black dog came to the door barking angrily and a large, toothless man loudly shoved him away. When they opened the door the stench almost made me sick.

The couple came out onto the porch to speak with me. Both of them unwashed, greasy haired, and wreaking of cigarettes, alcohol, and urine began to explain they knew this young woman and a social worker had told her the house was unfit and she had to move or lose her children.

The house was unfit for the living.

I left the snacks and politely invited them to church. Not really wanting them to come.

When I got back in my van my daughter Shannon held her nose. I had not gone into the house yet the smell clung to my clothes. I could almost taste it in my mouth. As my daughter looked at me questioningly I explained angrily that this is what the devil does to those made in the image of God. He leaves those who ought to walk in the dignity of being a child of God in filth. They ignorantly accept their station in life.

Immediately I silently began to converse with God.

Normally I go out of my way to invite people to my home for Bible Study. This couple, however, was filthy...disgustingly so. I thought of my couches stained with the dirt and smell of their presence long after they had gone. I thought of them in my church, sitting next to people, wreaking to high heaven.

I asked God to help me. My heart went out to them. If I didn't reach out who would? Who would stand before the gates of hell and plead with them to let God give them life.

But the smell....

This was the first time it occurred to me that the lepers in Jesus day were not only sick but filthy. Cast out from their towns they lived as best they could, but unless they had loved ones who would help them with fresh clothes, bandages, and washing, they most likely were

UNCLEAN

Yet our Lord went to them, touched them, loved them, and brought healing...He brought His life.

This is where my Christianity is now in question. Am I really Christs? Do I bring His power to heal to the broken, lame, and blind? Or do I just have a form of godliness?

This people are on my mind and yes I must pray, but that is not enough. I pity them but compassion demands I do something about their problem. Can I be the hands of Him who touched the unwashed despite the fact that the filth would cling to His flesh?

As I prayed (I recommend it for every Christian) I realized I do not put myself in the same category as these people. Most of us don't, but without Jesus we are just as filthy. When Jesus came to me I was spiritually living in filth and shame, but didn't really know it. I was bound by ignorance and sin. Yet He loved me, touched me, and made me clean.

Let me go another step further. Even with Jesus, if we say we are righteous but ignore the unclean, the lost, then our righteousness is no better than an old, used, menstrual pad before God. We are Pharisees too holy to be touched lest we be made unclean as well.

So many of us long for the romance of the mission field. We long to go to foreign lands and bring Christ to heathen nations lost in poverty...yet when God brings us someone to love, right here, right now, we turn away as we politely remind them...

"...be warm, be filled. Jesus loves you!"

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:41-46

Stay in prayer and in the Word!

Love in our Lord,

Lauren

It's a Process

God Evening Family!

Christmas 2010 is now behind us as we look toward the coming of 2011, however, I still am pondering a thought that came to me as I was preparing for Christmas day.

Jesus, the promised Savior of Israel came as an infant.

The King of kings came as a baby that needed to be nurtured and rocked, fed and burped, changed and dressed. How....natural.

Is it just me or am I the only one that looks for something huge and NOW when God makes a promise? When God speaks words like deliverance, blessing , or calling I have always presumed that something immediate and supernatural will occur.

God never thinks the way I do. God likes the words process, patience, and timing. I personally hate those words....admit it, so do you.

Perhaps you're not certain of where I'm going with this, so lets imagine for a moment a man that has lived in financial difficulty for most of his life. This person gets not just one Word from the Lord promising financial prosperity, but several over the course of some years and from different sources. He is convinced that God will bless him and is waiting for the financial windfall. A check in the mail, a winning lottery ticket, gold found hidden under the floor boards of his house.

Instead one day a door opens for him to start a business. Now this is no grand, fully developed company. It's just a little store, with little inventory,and he's going to have to invest some of his own money, lots of hard work, as well as endure disappointment to get it going.

At this point the man throws an angry fist at God for not keeping His Word to prosper him and like the servant with one talent walks away from an amazing chance to partner with God in His blessing.

God is in the growing business, He likes to start small, and it's His love and wisdom that makes us go through the process.

Jesus was the answer to God's promise to save mankind and restore man's intimate relationship with Himself. Yet, He wasn't born in a palace with servants attending to His every whim. He was born a regular guy whose parents couldn't even get a decent room for Him to be born in. Like everyone else He had to grow from baby to manhood and God was pleased with the process.

God can and does deliver people in an instant. About two weeks after I got saved I wanted to get rid of my two pack a day smoking habit so I gave my cigarettes to a friend and prayed for help. I woke up the next morning with no desire to smoke and except for the occasional fire in my kitchen I've been smoke free for over 15 years.

Ever since then God has chosen to drag out my promises and make me go through processes that normally take me years. As a single woman I asked for a godly husband but it took me about 10-12 years after the honeymoon to realize I really had actually married one and I needed to stop trying to create him in my image. I asked for the fruit of the Spirit and He took me through alot of misunderstanding, accusation, and what I considered unfair treatment for 3-5 years until I finally started exhibiting some of that fruit. I asked God to use me in some awesome ministry and He put me in the cleaning and children's ministry. It took me years for me to realize God was honoring me and not punishing me.

You know God is eternal and not bound by time. He is in absolutely no hurry. So when we ask for Him to fulfill His promise He gets to work. The problem is we are not like the three wise-men who beheld the baby Jesus and knew right away He was the Great King. We ask for great things and God sends our answer, yet we can't at all perceive how scrubbing a toilet or teaching kids is going to prosper us or make us great people....but, you know something, it does.

In the process of growing from babe to manhood Jesus was tempted just like we are, and became our compassionate High Priest who lives to make intercession for us.

In the process of just obeying God in whatever assignment or hardship He puts before us we too learn compassion and mercy. We also learn courage, fortitude, and patience. We learn to simply take God's will and go through the process....cheerfully.


After that, the Word of God came to me: "Zerubbabel started rebuilding this Temple and he will complete it. That will be your confirmation that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me to you. Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They'll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!" Zechariah 4:10 (The Message)

The Separation of Thanksgiving And God.

God Morning Family,

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving as a nation. However most of us do not truly give Thanks to God but rather celebrate the gathering of family and friends by the breaking of bread.

Our appreciation has nothing to do with gratitude to God for giving us a nation where we can worship, obey, and serve Him freely according to His express command.

We are not expressing gratitude for the forgiveness of our sins through the suffering and death of the Lamb of God. Instead we are grateful that we are free to be heathens and are convinced that we can do as we please with no penalty.

While the following passage is wordy I encourage you to take the time to read it and meditate on the intent of our founding fathers to worship God (of the Old and New Testament) and honor Him in our government, schools, businesses, churches, and homes.

Pray for the revival of the church and the salvation of unbelievers.

Thanks be to God for the sacrifice of His Son and the blood that cleanses us from sin.


On November 1, 1777, by order of Congress, the first National Thanksgiving Proclamation was proclaimed, and signed by Henry Laurens, President of Continental Congress.

The third Thursday of December, 1777 was thus officially set aside: "…for solemn thanksgiving and praise. That with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor;… and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them (their manifold sins) out of remembrance… That it may please Him… to take schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety under His nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth of 'righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost'…"

Then again, on January 1, 1795, our first United States President, George Washington, wrote his famed National Thanksgiving Proclamation, in which he says that it is… "…our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue is… our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experienced…" Thursday, the 19th day of February, 1795 was thus set aside by George Washington as a National Day of Thanksgiving.

Many years later, on October 3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, by Act of Congress, an annual National Day of Thanksgiving "on the last Thursday of November, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens." In this Thanksgiving proclamation, our 16th President says that it is… "…announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord… But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, by the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own… It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people…" So it is that on Thanksgiving Day each year, Americans give thanks to Almighty God for all His blessings and mercies toward us throughout the year.

Peter Moments

Hi Family...I wrote this in 2008 and I thought it was worth re-sharing :)

God Evening Family,

I haven't written in two weeks. Some are breathing a huge sigh of relief. Some weren't aware of that because they delete the email unopened. But perhaps there are one or two of you who actually were wondering why you haven't received Revival Prayer in two weeks.

I'll tell you why. I'm having a Peter Crisis. Let me explain. Peter was not the beloved desciple, that was John...you know, the one always leaning on Jesus' breast. No, Peter was the one with the big mouth. He was always saying the wrong thing, putting his foot in his mouth, or offending folks. Well I've been doing the same for two weeks now. No matter what I do it's wrong.

So as I sat down to write the first week and then the second week I found myself second guessing every word. A little fearful lest I offend, I deleted everything. Cowardly? Maybe...ok, yes, somewhat. But also a Godly fear has crept into my heart. You see I don't want to say just anything. I don't want to spout off my opinions anymore. I want to speak as the Spirit gives me utterance, as an oracle of God. James asked if both bitter water and sweet , salt water and fresh flowed from the same source? How terrible when the same mouth that just uttered Thus sayeth the Lord with such annointing and boldness then begins to complain about the price of eggs and the broken washing machine.

I want to be not just Spirit led but Holy Spirit possessed. I want to forsake the pleasures of this world and throw myself with abandon off the precipice of earthly wisdom. I want to own nothing but the Knowledge of who He is and what He says. I want to trust Him completely and cast off every weight that keeps me tied to the natural. I want to take God at His Word. I don't just want to operate in the supernatural...I want to be supernatural. But I am not.

Even now in frustration I want to delete this as well. To hang up writing for good. But yet He said... write.

There is someone who questions as I do. "Who am I to do anything for God when I'm such a mess? Who am I to speak to anyone of God?" The devil says quit and accuses you of every sin and weakness. He calls you that word that causes you to cringe..."Hypocrite!".

The Word says agree with your adversary quickly. Admit your failures...nod your head swiftly at the devils long list of accusations. But then turn your eyes to the cross. He is your Champion. He did not die because we were perfect but because we couldn't help ourselves. How much more will He help us now that we are His. Paul boasted in his weaknesses because it was only when he was weak that he could be truly strong in Christ.

So march onward soldier and do not faint but continue to abound in the work of the Lord. And when you have a Peter moment...smile, you're in good company!

Continue in Prayer...

Love,
Lauren







God Evening Family,

I haven't written in two weeks. Some are breathing a huge sigh of relief. Some weren't aware of that because they delete the email unopened. But perhaps there are one or two of you who actually were wondering why you haven't received Revival Prayer in two weeks.

I'll tell you why. I'm having a Peter Crisis. Let me explain. Peter was not the beloved desciple, that was John...you know, the one always leaning on Jesus' breast. No, Peter was the one with the big mouth. He was always saying the wrong thing, putting his foot in his mouth, or offending folks. Well I've been doing the same for two weeks now. No matter what I do it's wrong.

So as I sat down to write the first week and then the second week I found myself second guessing every word. A little fearful lest I offend, I deleted everything. Cowardly? Maybe...ok, yes, somewhat. But also a Godly fear has crept into my heart. You see I don't want to say just anything. I don't want to spout off my opinions anymore. I want to speak as the Spirit gives me utterance, as an oracle of God. James asked if both bitter water and sweet , salt water and fresh flowed from the same source? How terrible when the same mouth that just uttered Thus sayeth the Lord with such annointing and boldness then begins to complain about the price of eggs and the broken washing machine.

I want to be not just Spirit led but Holy Spirit possessed. I want to forsake the pleasures of this world and throw myself with abandon off the precipice of earthly wisdom. I want to own nothing but the Knowledge of who He is and what He says. I want to trust Him completely and cast off every weight that keeps me tied to the natural. I want to take God at His Word. I don't just want to operate in the supernatural...I want to be supernatural. But I am not.

Even now in frustration I want to delete this as well. To hang up writing for good. But yet He said... write.

There is someone who questions as I do. "Who am I to do anything for God when I'm such a mess? Who am I to speak to anyone of God?" The devil says quit and accuses you of every sin and weakness. He calls you that word that causes you to cringe..."Hypocrite!".

The Word says agree with your adversary quickly. Admit your failures...nod your head swiftly at the devils long list of accusations. But then turn your eyes to the cross. He is your Champion. He did not die because we were perfect but because we couldn't help ourselves. How much more will He help us now that we are His. Paul boasted in His weaknesses because it was only when He was weak that He could be truly strong.

So march onward soldier and do not faint but continue to abound in the work of the Lord. And when you have a Peter moment...smile, you're in good company!

Stay in prayer and in the Word,

Love in our Lord,
Lauren

That's Word

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.

If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.

Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."

Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

Romans 12 (The Message)

Stay in Prayer and in the Word!

Love in our Lord,
Lauren

A.R.K.S.

God Evening Family,

Yep, still stuck on ARKS only this time it's an acronym.

My favorite movie of all times is Evan Almighty. (Yes I suggest you see it.) Evan is a man elected to Congress. He appeals to God for help him make a difference, only it never occurred to him that God would take him at his word. God shows up and gently but firmly insists that Evan build an Ark.

I won't ruin the movie for you but I will say it was through this movie that God first spoke to me about Arks or in this case A.R.K

Acts of Random Kindness.

More and more I am convinced that I have a responsibility to help people not only come to Christ, but to stay saved.

This world is cruel, calculating, and indifferent to the pain people endure. There are times when a word or gesture of kindness is like a crust of bread to a starving man.

The problem lies in agendas. True kindness has no agenda. It just is. Jesus healed countless men and women he knew would later reject Him simply because He was moved by compassion.

Those with agendas do not waste their time on people they know will never be saved, never achieve their destiny...never be a "successful" Christian. They look for those with the right qualities and then they begin the work of conversion. Discipleship means reproducing themselves which is kind of strange since none of us is the standard...

Jesus is the standard.

Jesus was the Master A.R.K. builder. From raising a widow's son from the dead during the funeral procession to making sure his mother would be cared for by John, while hanging on the cross mind you, Jesus was always sensitive to suffering of others. He did what He could to ease that suffering.

The command from God to Noah was, "Make yourself an ark..."Gen 6:14

The command from Jesus for 2000 years has always been make yourself an A.R.K.

Love everyone. Be kind to everyone. And as much as it is up to you be at peace with all. Honor all men and suffer even the least to come to Him. Make yourself that compassionate person who does all you can to ease the suffering around you...with no agenda.

Whether people come to Christ or not, whether they do grand impressive things for God or not, whether they just can't seem to mature in Christ we are to show the kindness of God.

Why?

Because, for now, the Ark door is still open. Just as they can come in they can also walk out. God's will is all be saved and for those who walk out of His Ark there is no promise of tomorrow.

What if all it takes to keep a soul saved is a not so random, Holy Spirit inspired, act of kindness from me? What if that soul is my spouse, my child, my mom or dad, a pastor, or a new convert? What if I hold back that kindness and someone goes to hell due to my lack of compassion? My refusal to just be...

... kind?


"Make yourself an ark..."Gen 6:14

Stay in Prayer and the Word!

Love in our Lord,

Lauren