AS WE PREPARE FOR MEXICO
Our church is will be taking it's first ever missions trip to Mexico this coming spring to build a house for a family in dire need of a new home. I want to say "thank you" to all of you who have signed up to go on the trip. It is encouraging to me and Jim to see so many with a heart to reach out beyond the walls of our church and the comfort of our American community to His precious "least of these" in Mexico. When we show love through our actions, we are showing love to Him who layed down His very life for us. What an honor to serve Him in this way!
Yesterday we had a meeting and besides going over some logistical matters, Jim asked the team to set aside the first Tuesday of every month for a special day of prayer and fasting.
For some on the team, fasting may be a brand new thing. If so, you might want to ease into it. Perhaps you just want to fast (don't eat) only one meal. Maybe you'll not eat any food but just do juice. Or juice and crackers. Whatever you feel God is leading you to do is fine with us. With many spiritual disciplines, usually the more often you fast, the easier it becomes over time.
Some of you might want to include more than just fasting from food. You might want to consider fasting from tv or secular radio/music.
Whatever you do, do it with a heart intent on praying boldly, honestly, and humbly. Bold and humble at the same time? YES! Bold in your declaration that God is a mighty God who can and WILL do amazing things as we prepare and then go. Humble in the acknowledgement that we need HIM to make this an effort with eternal impact. And honest in our admission that apart from Him, we can do nothing truly good. Humble in our admission that we are sinful, selfish people who need Him to step in and prepare us as only the Holy Spirit can do.
So pray as you feel led tomorrow, but here are some specific areas you might want to talk to the Lord about:
1. That those who are supposed to be on the team will sign up and that worries about finances, concerns about time off from jobs, etc. will not stop them if GOD wants them to GO!
2. That God will bless our fundraising efforts and will move on the hearts of many to give freely and extravagantly even for the glory of HIS KINGDOM!
3. That Jim, Janine, Angie, and the others involved with making decisions and bringing things together will have Godly wisdom and insight.
4. That our team will begin to be knit together. Some of us are close...even family. Some of us are new to the church. Some of us have been here years but don't really know each other. Pray that we'll get beyond the surface and get to know each other's stories and learn to love each other deeply.
In closing, I want to share a quote I found in an old issue of CHRISTIANITY TODAY. It says:
For some on the team, fasting may be a brand new thing. If so, you might want to ease into it. Perhaps you just want to fast (don't eat) only one meal. Maybe you'll not eat any food but just do juice. Or juice and crackers. Whatever you feel God is leading you to do is fine with us. With many spiritual disciplines, usually the more often you fast, the easier it becomes over time.
Some of you might want to include more than just fasting from food. You might want to consider fasting from tv or secular radio/music.
Whatever you do, do it with a heart intent on praying boldly, honestly, and humbly. Bold and humble at the same time? YES! Bold in your declaration that God is a mighty God who can and WILL do amazing things as we prepare and then go. Humble in the acknowledgement that we need HIM to make this an effort with eternal impact. And honest in our admission that apart from Him, we can do nothing truly good. Humble in our admission that we are sinful, selfish people who need Him to step in and prepare us as only the Holy Spirit can do.
So pray as you feel led tomorrow, but here are some specific areas you might want to talk to the Lord about:
1. That those who are supposed to be on the team will sign up and that worries about finances, concerns about time off from jobs, etc. will not stop them if GOD wants them to GO!
2. That God will bless our fundraising efforts and will move on the hearts of many to give freely and extravagantly even for the glory of HIS KINGDOM!
3. That Jim, Janine, Angie, and the others involved with making decisions and bringing things together will have Godly wisdom and insight.
4. That our team will begin to be knit together. Some of us are close...even family. Some of us are new to the church. Some of us have been here years but don't really know each other. Pray that we'll get beyond the surface and get to know each other's stories and learn to love each other deeply.
In closing, I want to share a quote I found in an old issue of CHRISTIANITY TODAY. It says:
"When we set our minds on the needs of others, it's impossible for us to be
divided, and even in our churches the wolf and lamb, the calf and the lion, can
lie down together...The kingdom comes in fractions, but it comes. God's will is
done on earth when his people seet their minds on the needs of others. That's
all it takes to provide a meetinghouse of friends." --- Lawrence Wood
And by the way, even if you're reading this and not going on our trip, we still covet your prayers. We will definitely need all the support we can get!
Thanks in advance and looking forward to sharing this adventure with my Restoration family,
Elysa Mac
No comments:
Post a Comment