Let's Go ALL IN for an explosion of faith! #10,000Laborers

If I said you can play at a role in 

helping someone encounter 

a saving relationship with Jesus Christ 

THIS WEEKEND 

would you feel apathetic, scared, doubtful or excited?

I want you invite you to join me in jumping out of a comfort zone. Maybe you're like me — a Christian with a passion to help others know the saving truth BUT not particularly comfortable with overtly "evangelical" conversations.  Does it surprise you that I'm not comfortable explaining the Gospel to someone who doesn't know it or hasn't accepted it yet? After all, I'm executive director of a Christian ministry that reaches people all over the world. Sure, my life's passion and work involves helping people experience more intimate personal relationship with the Savior, but I am not (underscore NOT) an evangelist! Yes, I have even written books and blogs about disciple making. But that rarely involves overt presentation of the Gospel message with someone who doesn't already follow Jesus. Nonetheless, I've jumped into an opportunity of a lifetime recently and I don't want you to find out about it later and wish that you could have come along (because, trust me, a lot of you reading this right now will be hearing about it later and will truly regret that you missed out)!

A few months ago, I was presented with an opportunity to go on a local mission trip in July 2014 sharing the Gospel with people in the Twin Cities and to do so as part of a team as large as 10,000 laborers!  So I started attending monthly prayer, equipping and sharing experiences that are an empowering privilege — connecting me with Christ-loving people who want to lovingly share Jesus with people of the Twin Cities who are lost, broken and without hope.

From the faith perspective, I have to tell you that this is one of the more challenging but exciting things I've done in a long time. I've already been out on a couple of practice runs with Time to Revivie and I'm being stretched and encouraged in ways that are very satisfying and God-honoring.  Just last weekend I spent some time in a hospital coffee shop and met a young dating couple who were visiting their grandpa who was in his last hours/days with brain cancer.  My team asked permission to pray for them and they accepted with awe and tears in their eyes. After we encouraged them and shared the Gospel, they thanked us profusely and went back upstairs empowered to read the Psalms and sing hymns with their loved ones.  

So with a training recap coming up this Friday night and Saturday morning, there's a fire down in my soul to share this really great opportunity with you. I am praying that you will take a hard look at what you have going on this weekend and consider whether God maybe leading you to participate in a few hours that could not only change your life but, more importantly, change someone else's life for eternity!

There's a FREE equipping session Friday night then Saturday morning involves worship, prayer, training review and practice within a small team!  You get paired up with two or three other people from churches all around the Twin Cities for an opportunity to pray for others and encourage them to go ALL IN with Jesus.  Even if you can only attend one session (Friday/Saturday), give it a go!  Larry and I will be watching out for friends and would love to see you there!  

Register here: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/revivetwin-cities-recap-training-registration-11436778713?aff=estw . 

And the beauty is that you can jump into the fun fray of this at any point (no prior experiences necessary). Adults, kids, grandparents...it's multi-generational!

To learn more about the Revive Twin Cities experience or learn about what Time to Revive is doing in other cities around the country (soon to be near you), visit their website at http://www.revivetwincities.org 

#10,000Laborers

#ALLin

On FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/reviveTWINCITIESmn 

On TWITTER:

@reviveTWINCITYS

As I post this right now, I'm praying that God grabs hold of your heart and time — spurs you into the adventure with us.  If you're still on the fence or just want to ask me more questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at lisa@walkrightin.org.  I would just LOVE to see you at Grace Church this weekend.

Prayerfully Pondering Life, Loss & Newtown

In the past few days (particularly in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, CT), I have found it helpful to chew on these quotes and verses about life and loss.  I pray that it may be helpful to you also as you take your own heart and mind to the feet of Jesus for comfort, strength and wisdom.

"The world needed a suffering Sovereign. Mere suffering would not do. Mere sovereignty would not do. The one is not strong enough to save; the other is not weak enough to sympathize."  From How Does Jesus Come to Newtown? by Pastor John Piper. 

"We were talking about the shooting and how it is devastating. They reminded me of all the babies America kills daily in women's wombs, yet we do not mourn over that."  From my friend Nathan Haugen. 

 "The life that we live falls short of the life God gave us."  From Tis More Blessed to Receive 12.16.12 by Pastor Dan Johnson.

***

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

John 14:1
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

John 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

1 John 4:12
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

1 Peter 3:13-14
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.

Luke 2:10-11
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

***

I am empowered and comforted to FEAR NOT! No matter what circumstances surround us, God stands in authority and is the suffering Sovereign.

Hebrews 4:15-16
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Back to Basics

Reading Jesus’ teaching about the fruitful vine has always been a helpful way for me to start a new year:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:1-5

Periodic, intentional and aggressive “pruning” is always important because it serves to keep us firmly rooted in and thriving in our Vine. But getting back to the basics of life and faith are especially critical when confronted with things like crisis, chaos, discouragement or fear. Since that’s how Larry and I are starting 2012 — at times, overwhelmed and fearful — we’ve been re-anchoring on some of Jesus’ foundational teachings:

• Abide in the Vine
• Love others
• Have faith like a child

These aren’t resolutions. These are a matter of survival and the way to thrive. And that’s not our theory. That’s God’s Divine promise.

NOTE: Due to a very full January calendar for our family and ministry, I am trimming my Blogging schedule for the next several weeks. I don’t like it. Writing is my passion and I have a lot of ideas about things to share soon. So even as I pray that the Lord keeps this quiet season short, I am praying that He is using the fresh start of a new year for each one of us — to train us toward the most critical things and shape us according to God’s heart. 

Mission Disentangled

We have all experienced moments, seasons and degress of discontentment, have we not? It’s not difficult to get caught up in the daily grip of busy schedules, a sense of insufficiency, or a longing to feel more appreciated, more rested, more financially secure. I remember times when I believed I would be happier if only my kids were better behaved, if my spouse or friend was a better communicator, if I could lose more weight, if I had a more satisfying career or was more talented, if I could make a more signficant difference in helping improve the lives of others, and if my family was safe from encounters with things like cancer, disability or accidents.

Along the way I have discovered that God’s expectations are even higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-10) yet He never makes impossible demands of me (Ephesians 4:11-13, Hebrews 13:20-21). Somewhere between trying to measure up and growing up in my relationship with Christ, God keeps reminding me His power is made perfect in my weakness through two invaluable tools — His Word and in His Holy Spirit alive in me.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

This truth is the same for me as it is for you. Do you believe this to your core?

Reality Check: Sometimes life gets hard — sometimes REALLY hard. And, without God, I will never be sufficiently equipped to live it well. That’s why I appreciate the perspective and insight these verses bring.

2 TIMOTHY 2:3-4 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Consider these facts for yourself:

Fact #1 — God is my Creator. Jesus is my Savior. The Holy Spirit is my empowerer. (Hebrews 11:6)

Fact #2 — To be disentangled, I must embrace God, myself and others in view of mercy. (Romans 12:1-5)

Fact #3 — Keeping focused on my relationship with Christ influences my ways of thinking, my attitudes and my behavior. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Fact #4 — Recognizing God’s sufficiency, sovereignty and indwelling releases me and mobilizes me for a life of freedom! (John 7:37-39)

The Word of God is our Divine weaponry in the enemy’s battle for our minds. Whenever we have questions or doubts about who God is or who we are in relation to Him, that’s where we must go to re-align with the truth. It’s in growing that kind of personal relationship with God our Father and in fixing our perspectives about life on His perspectives about life that we develop passion for our mission. And, because the Holy Spirit dwells in those of us who are in personal relationship with God, God energizes us for things that please Him. That’s a powerful combination! That’s an arsenal where I can anchor my life, satisfaction and freedom!

Clues for me that I am becoming re-entangled with the world are: self-indulging, taking on too much, feeling stuck in shame, becoming critical. What does it look like in your life when you become “entangled in civilian affairs”?

As we disentangle our focus from things of the world, we find freedom in a life with Christ that fills our aching souls and honors our holy God.

ALMIGHTY GOD, You are my Commanding Officer and I want to participate in Your mission. Please strengthen me in heart, mind and body to fully engage in my relationship with You and to increasingly share Your perspectives about sin, suffering and stuff! Please make my aspirations HOLY. Mobilize me, by the power of Your Holy Spirit in me, to do the things that delight You and to serve others on behalf of the spiritual freedom I have available to me through You. AMEN

Merry Christmas!

Fear & GLORY

—by Luke Hinrichs

Everything rests, then,
on whether you,

with spongy heart
and openmouthed meekness,

hear with aching ears
the heaven-sent announcement;

and whether you act,
taking it in like food,

making way for
your own nourishment.

Imagine yourself, then,
one of the shaken shepherds—

“Fear not, for behold,
I bring you good news

of great joy that will be
for all the people.

For unto you is born
this day in the city of David....”

WHAT ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF?

A woman in a very strained marriage once shared with me an important insight she had unpacked. For years she had been in an emotionally abusive relationship. Although she had grown to fear her husband, she also feared losing him. The idea of surrendering her hopes and dreams for her family was, understandably, so overwhelming that she had become stuck and unable to make decisions or take steps that God wanted her to make.

Then God prompted her with a newsflash: “You are more afraid of man and your circumstances than you are of ME.” It was as if God was asking, “How much do you really trust me? How much do you even KNOW me? Do you believe that obeying me will be worth surrendering every other fear? ”

I appreciated her humble, teachable spirit. In such extreme circumstances of suffering, it can be very tempting to justify our own comfortable and preferable strategies.

Her perspective challenged me to consider what I fear. Do my worldly concerns exceed my concern for walking according to God’s best for me?

• Am I so afraid of having children who like me…that I fail to provide them with godly discipline and boundaries?
• Am I so afraid of being able to pay bills…that I dwell on anxious thoughts and chase man’s wisdom without waiting on the Lord for answers and trusting Him to provide?
• Am I so afraid that things won’t turn out the way I want them to…that I fail to consider that there will be holy consequences for my rebellion?
• Am I so afraid of being misunderstood or rejected…that I try to keep others satisfied rather than being who God made me to be?
• Am I so afraid of what establishing boundaries might cost…that I am unwilling to trust how God may use them for healing in my relationships?
• Am I so afraid that following God will rob me of “fun”…that I am willing to cheapen His grace for me by taking advantage of the fact that He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love?
• Am I so afraid of the “what ifs”…that I fail to walk in faith and risk offending God?

My list could go on and on.

My heart is divided. I waffle my way through so much of life weighing every command of the Lord like a cost-benefit analysis. I want an undivided heart! I want the Lord to be able to depend on me as someone whose obedience to His ways is swift and unwavering.
“Here I am, send me!”

HOW MUCH DO WE REALLY TRUST HIM?

PSALM 86:11 Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

UNEMPLOYED? ...or now fully in ministry?

Last Wednesday around noon, as I was making final preparations to speak at a Women's Retreat this weekend, Larry came home. In the first seconds after he rounded the corner of our basement office, I hoped he was just home for lunch but, since he's been in the banking industry for 9 years and the last 3 years have been very challenging, my heart tends to skip a beat whenever he comes home unexpectedly during the day. On this day, one look at his pale face said it all. His job as Vice President of Consumer Lending had been eliminated. For bank security reasons, an employee was required to watch him pack his belongings, clean personal things off of his computer and then leave.

Grief. Fear. Anger. Relief. Anticipation. Disappointment. Shame. Confusion. Hope. Exhaustion.

We were both feeling a range of emotions. And, I'll admit, we looked at each other in those first moments as the news was sinking in and said, "Really, Lord? You're going to do this too?" Honestly, we were laughing and crying. With heads shaking and tears streaming, we both found it almost comical that this would come at such a time. The last 9 months have been unusually difficult for us as a couple and family. From health issues and depression challenges not typical for us to decreased earnings and the increasing weight of old debts, this has been a long year already. It seemed we could only hold each other and wonder what delightful things the Lord was going to do next. Yes, I say delightful with some sarcasm. But I can honestly say that we really do have a certain excitement about what new thing(s) may be in store.

Several years ago, a study of Joshua 3 and 4 powerfully illustrated for us that God is FAITHFUL. The Israelites were, once again, arriving at the Promised Land. This time, however, after 40 years of wandering around in the consequences of their rebellion, they would actually enter that awesome place they had longed for. But first, God required they step into a raging river at floodstage. In fact, they were to walk right in to that river carrying the Ark of the Covenant! God was faithful to provide a way to cross. As their feet hit the water's edge, it parted and He showed them which way to go to a new life in freedom. This is a story Larry and I delight in over and over again. Our ministry — WALK RIGHT IN Ministries — is inspired from it.

The first time the Israelites' experience touched our hearts was when the Lord was prompting us to take a step of faith and begin a new therapy program with Carly. God quickly showed us a sort of "Promised Land" in that experience and we are continuing to live in the joy and progress and abundance of that yet today. But on another level, especially financially, we have yet to experience the healing and progress and joy that we have hoped for. It is very hard to believe that God has a "Promised Land" for us in that way also.

We feel at a crossroads. I want to reach out and touch the hem of Jesus' garments and have all of this go away. I want to step into the proverbial "river" and see God "fix" it all. I want a JUBILEE year! I crave the opportunity to be free from the bondage of ANYTHING that could hold Larry and I back from doing exactly what He is calling us to do, whether that is full time ministry or corporate jobs. Certainly, our heart's desires are to do as much ministry as possible. I have to say, as I stood among over 100 women this weekend sharing Christ with them, I felt BORN for that very moment. I felt the overwhelming privilege to be standing there alongside my husband having all of our talents, experience, skills as well as our relationship colliding together in an way that was being used beautifully for God's glory. I want more of that. It feels impossible.

I know many of you reading know all too well what it feels like to be in place of financial and vocational stress or confusion. We share your burden and anticipate with you that God is ready to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (see Ephesians 3:16-20)!

Larry and I desperately want to be responsible stewards of all the resources God has given us. We are prayerfully trying to understand what to do with this closed door because our hearts and minds get caught in the tug-of-war between what seems practical or responsible and what seems like it could be God's prompting to take what sometimes seems like one of the most absurd steps of faith we have ever pondered taking.

Is it no coincidence that we are within just a few weeks of releasing the Group Discussion Guide which is a companion to Finding Glory in the Thorns? Also, the original book, Finding Glory in the Thorns, will be available in Apple's iBookstore and Amazon's Kindle in October. Last night Larry wondered, are products like these and speaking engagements going to be like the "tentmaking" part of our vocations — the part that provides foundational financial support so that we can continue in ministry without being so dependent on charitable giving (which has been virtually non-existent)?

Please understand, this is NOT a guilt letter or a plea for money. Yes, we WILL be asking people for contributions towards our ministry but this "blog" is not about that. Today, it is just about sharing from the raw truth of my thoughts. It is about sharing our life vulnerably with you in hopes that you will both pray for us and be inspired by us to draw nearer to Jesus in your own needs for strength and comfort.

Would you please pray this prayer for us from Colossians 1:9-14 (NLT)?

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. THANK YOU, JESUS! —AMEN

Kloster "Sunrise Devotion" — Our Perfect High Priest

The following devotion by Deneen Kloster is reprinted with her permission. Deneen's husband, John, received a very serious cancer diagnosis in October. To follow Deneen's "Sunrise Devotions," go tohttp://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnkloster. Pray for miracles and God's glory revealed!
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HEBREWS 5:7-9 "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be High Priest in the order of Melchizedek."

What a model we have in Christ, fully human, fully God, submitting to God's will in all circumstances. He has the full ability to take His cup of suffering (Matt 26:42) and dash it to pieces. Instead, in loving submission, with complete trust and obedience He participates in His Father's perfect plan.

That doesn't mean the fully man Jesus doesn't cry out and shed tears for His own life and that of the people. He is our fully empathetic and feeling Savior who hates sin and death more than we do. He created us and calls us by name. He adopted us as His children of faith. He will not stop interceeding and crying out on our behalf (Heb 7:25).

Lacking faith and fearing the worst is meant to be, I hesitate to fully cry out for myself and my husband. I fear disappointment in the outcome and of appearing to be a disobedient or greedy child, not submitting to the Father's will. I am wrong. I need to follow Jesus' example and fully go to the loving Father with all my loud cries and tears.

In what area of your life are you fearing the worst, so you hesitate to go fully to God for your need...finances, health, broken relationships...will you join me today by following Christ's example as our Perfect High Priest and "approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Heb 4:16)?

Where Faith Meets Obedience

JOSHUA 3:15 "Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing."

Are you facing a decision or needing to take action on something that will require you to go where things are uncertain, even scary? If the direction you are headed is aligned with God's purposes, He will certainly make a way just as He parted the waters for His people over 3,200 years ago. Not once but twice God made a way where the route seemed impassable (the Red Sea and the Jordan River). At the Jordan, God's power to move the raging, flooded river was not released until the Israelites took that first step of faith-filled obedience. What "first step" is He asking you to take today?