One of my students sent me this and it tugged on the old heartstrings. It is a great example of the fact that our God is in the business of bringing hope, restoration, new life, and ultimately eternal life. How has God changed your life? What is your cardboard testimony?

We are still working hard on the Pesina Project and would greatly appreciate your prayers! Check out the website from time to time or go there and subscribe at HelpThePesinas.com Once you are there, click on the latest news part of the site.

This was a powerful message brought to us on Friday night at Midland Ministries Super C Camp this weekend. It is so relevant. Please take the time to listen not just with your ears but with your heart! Be blessed!

I thought I would share with you, my brothers ans sisters in Christ, what God has been teaching me the last few months and weeks. God has opened my eyes and spoke to my heart in a life changing way!

As a minister of the Gospel, I was sort of finding myself in my own personal “comfort zone”! As I’ve been very busy going about my organized and structured areas of ministry, I found myself sort of too tired or too distracted by all these areas of ministry to really care about the people out in the world. I know that the “ministry” things that I have been working hard at have been really beneficial to the youth of our city and to our community. But I’ve been finding myself caring less and less about random people that I meet in the community.

I used to be the type of person that just loved witnessing one on one to any random person that would listen. Many times over the years I have taken groups of youth to go to large malls and pass out Gospel tracts and just spend time sharing with people. I have witnessed to people on airplanes, teenagers, parents of our teens, waitresses at restaurants, and random people at Wal-mart or wherever. But honestly it has been months since I have stopped and taken the time to witness to someone in the community who wasn’t part of the ministry that I work for. I have been feeling kind of complacent in my walk because of this!

After coming to Christ 7 years ago I was so on fire for God and so thankful to know JESUS! Then receiving God’s call to be a full time youth minister I grew in Christ so fast and got so busy in the ministry which I love so dearly. But what think I have done is that I “have forsaken my first love” (Revelation 2:4). Jesus goes on to say to “Remember the height to which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”

So that is what I did this Sunday. I set my pride aside and stepped out from the pew that occupy each Sunday morning and walked to the front of the church and repented at the altar. I told God that I was truly sorry for being “too much like Martha and not enough like Mary”. I asked God to renew my love and zeal for witnessing to all people, not just girls in my Bible study, kids at camp, or the people on short term mission trips!

It was at camp a few weeks ago when my friend and the amazing camp speaker, Jack Hager, talked about “a plethora of good things that can keep us from the best things”. He also talked about those who look so forward to short term missions trips but ignore the mission field all around us. I could relate to that because I am working hard to raise the money to go to Panama for 10 days to minister to the Kuna Indians yet I hadn’t been in much of a mood to witness to people here in this community, outside my circle of regular ministry that is. I knew it wasn’t fair for me to think that one of the people in Panama deserved to be reached out to more than say the single mom/cashier at Wal-mart.

Lord knows that there is organized religion and ministry of all types going on all over the place. This country is not at a loss at all for churches, Christian music and concerts, Christian conferences, retreats, camps, and short term mission trips. But God help us if we lose sight of those people who are on the outside of these “seemingly good things”. Many people in this country will not set foot in the doors of a church if they are not reached out to with the love of Christ. I think what the American Church and what our nation is at a loss for, is people who genuinely love Christ enough to put aside their busy “Christian lives” long enough to share about the great Christ that they are supposed to be living for.

How dare I get so spoiled in the “comforts of faith” that I would ignore the spiritual needs of those who know NO faith at all!!!!

That reminds me of a book I once read by Mark Cahill called “One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven”. Of course the one thing we won’t be able to do in Heaven is to reach out to lost people. There won’t be any lost ones there. So I guess some of us need to spend a whole lot less time worshiping God at retreats, conferences, and concerts and start worshiping God by sharing Christ with people who don’t know Him yet. Out of the comfort zone…..YES…..but W.W.J.D.????

I am curious to hear your thoughts as well….?

I thought this was pretty cool!

While in Minneapolis at the 2008 National Bible Quiz Tournament, I took advantage of an opportunity to share Jesus with a worker in the hotel gift shop.  I was there with my friend Irene, who is one of the girls that I minister to.  The guy working behind the counter was being friendly and asked me a question or two about the tournament and commented on our team shirts.  I explained what Bible Quizzing was and I asked him if he went to church.  He said “no”.  I asked him if he had ever considered going to church?  He said “no, that he believed religion should be kept to oneself and not shared”.  I just listened for a few moments as he explained so as not to cut him off.

Then I shared with him my testimony of how I came to know Christ and how I didn’t realize really how to get to Heaven until my brother showed me in the Word of God.  I shared with him what Jesus has done for us and that I too didn’t want much to do with religion 8 years ago.  I told him how lost in sin I was when God reached out in love to me.  I knew he couldn’t argue with my testimony, because it is what God has done in my life.  As several people began to line up in the counter at the gift shop and were ready to check out, they just listened to us talking about God.  Irene was standing by me also listening to us talk.  The man then said “I just sort of follow my own way”.

I felt the need to go as the gift shop had filled up with people and the guy seemed to be pretty set in his ways (at least for now).  So Irene and I left and told him to have a great evening!  I do pray he will think about the things we talked about and that he will learn and accept the Truth of the Bible!

All I could think is how DECEIVED this guy was that he thought religion should be kept to yourself and that he could just follow his own way.  I don’t remember his name and I didn’t see him again at the hotel working while I was there anyways.  But maybe he will begin to question his personal beliefs and consider the love of Jesus.

As you probably know I am stepping out in TOTAL FAITH right now, as we are underway on this project to provide a home for the Pesinas. I believe God wants them to have a permanent home in the south end of St. Joseph, and I believe that God has a GREAT plan for their lives! I have the chills right now as I even think about what exactly that might be with the growing number of Hispanics in the “Southside”. My dear friends, I implore you and request your prayers. I believe God wants to do an amazing thing in this community regarding His Kingdom.

There is a mission field right HERE in our midst!!!!

Please join with us and pray, spread the word for this project to give the Pesinas there home back. A home for their beautiful children!!! A home that is a testimony to Jesus Christ and of those who claim His name as Christians! Lets show this community just how much we mean what we say when it comes to following Christ and the Word of God!!! A new home their in the southside for the Pesinas would not only meet their needs, it would SPEAK LOUDLY for years to come as a testimony of what God can do through people who want to do HIS WILL! I am soooooooo excited about this. I know without a shadow of a doubt this is what God wants!!!!!!!!!!

Will you help?

I say give sacrificially (till it hurts), pray till the knees are worn out on your pants, share the vision with others until you have talked so much that you lose your voice, and love other people so much that your heart is completely overwhelmed with JOY! That is what I plan on doing!

I don’t believe that God needs us to accomplish this but I believe He wants us to accomplish this task. I also believe that it is just going to be an incredible and unforgettable blessing to be a part of God’s plan for this project and how He will use it to reach people for His Kingdom! This is a BIG BIG DEAL!

Please check out the website for other updates!!!

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God Bless You All!