Satisfaction

The Powerball Lottery is up to $500,000,000! That's half a billion dollars!!! What would you do with that kind of money? Would it be enough to buy happiness? Would it be enough to bring you satisfaction?

Lewis Martinee wrote a song that was popularized by the Rolling Stones, that put it like this:

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

King Solomon wrote an entire book of the Bible, the book of Ecclesiastes, that same thing over and over again throughout the book. Even King Solomon couldn't get no satisfaction, but it wasn't for the lack of trying.

Why is it that the thirst for money and wealth is never satisfied? Why is it that the thirst for power is never satisfied? The things of this world can never satisfy what our souls long for.

Jesus said:

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6

 Jesus answered and said to her (the woman at the well), "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4:13–14

We are designed for greater things than what we settle for. We settle for stuff when we could have Christ. We settle for the things that feed our lust for power and glory that will last but for a moment then vanishes forever. We are designed for eternity and we settle for that which is temporal.

There is great satisfaction and contentment in Christ. Don't settle for anything less than Jesus. Everything else will burn up and be gone in a moment.

Take My Hand, Everything's OK

Last night Denice and I went to the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game with another couple. We had a nice dinner and came into the ballpark during the second inning. We glided up the escalator to the  upper deck. As we walked towards the doors we saw something I found very disturbing.

A man was trying to lead his son down the escalator. The little boy appeared to be about two years old. Each of them had a cup of soda in one hand and the father started down the moving stairway as his son stood at the top trying to figure out how this strange thing worked. I would start to step onto a step but then it would move away before he had time to get his tiny feet to move. The father finally walked back upstream where he took his son by the hand and the two went down the staircase, hand in hand. That's all the little fellow needed, his father's guiding hand.

When they were about half way down the escalator, a little girl walked up to the top of the escalator with a cup of soda in her left hand and the cutest little pink splint on her right hand. She was around four years of age. Just like her little brother, she was not familiar with the escalator. She kept trying to step aboard to get down to her father, but he kept moving farther and father away. She looked very distressed because she was too afraid to step unto the escalator and her father wasn't there to help her.

I ran over to this precious little girl and held my hand out to her. I asked her if she wanted to hold my hand and I would help her ride the escalator. She shook her head and raised her little pink splint towards my hand. I took her hand in mine and we stepped onto the escalator together.

Finally she was on her way down to her father. As we were gliding down the stairway I asked her what happened to her arm. She said, "I bwoke it!" She was the cutest little thing. I delivered her safely to her waiting father and she was happy once again.

That made me think about how we come up to times where we are afraid to take the next step and we are in need of our Father's hand. Unlike that father who was not there for his daughter, Hebrews 13:5 tells us Jesus said He would never desert us nor would He ever forsake us. As we are walking through life, sometimes we separate ourselves from Him but whenever we reach up to Him He is always there to take our hand and help us take that next step into the unknown.

Instead of pulling your hand away from your Father and going off your own way, how about holding tightly to the Father's hand and let Him guide you through this life. Unlike our earthly father, who have probably let us down and not been there when we needed them, our heavenly Father is always there for us. Just raise your hands and look up. He is always there waiting for us to reach up to Him.

The Heart Of The Human Problem

The Heart Of The Human Problem

This morning I found myself reading the latter chapters of the book of Exodus. This post is the result of meditating on God's desire to dwell with His people. The last few chapters of Exodus is a description of Moses receiving instructions from the Lord for the Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle was a large tent, a portable temple, where the presence of the Lord lived among the Children of Israel while they wondered through the wilderness. The instructions go into great detail for the design and construction of the Tabernacle as well as the furniture to be used in worship to the Lord Almighty.

This morning my mind wondered down a meandering path, not of the design of the Tabernacle, but the fact that the Lord desires not just a relationship with us, He wants to live in us. Here is how my meditation journey took place this morning. As I contemplated how God chose to abide with His people, the Children of Israel, I thought of how they camped around the Tabernacle. The Presence of God was at the heart of the encampment. When the Cloud/Pillar lifted above the Tabernacle the people pulled up stakes and moved.

Just like the the Children of Israel, you and I need to have the Lord at the center of our lives. When the Lord moves, we need to move. Where the Lord stays, we need to stay. Our lives need not be merely aimlessly wondering through life or driven by our own passions and desires for materialistic things, power, or prestige. God said He would give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). If God is dwelling in the middle of the camp He will be placing the desires in your heart. Those are the desires He loves to fulfill. The Lord's desires become your desires.

Then I started thinking how the Israelites camped around the Tabernacle. If you add up the numbers of each tribe and where they camped (Numbers 2) you will see that they camped in the shape of a cross with the bottom pointing to the east. I then stood up and held my arms out so that I was in the shape of a cross (Okay, a fat cross) and the Tabernacle would have been right where my here is. Try it.

Again, God was telling me that He needs to be at the center of our lives. Over and over again the Lord tells us of His desire to live life with us.



Isaiah 7:14 (NASB95) “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." (Immanuel or Emmanuel = God with us)




Matthew 1:22–25 (NASB95) "Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “'Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.'” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus."


Jesus goes on to tell His disciples John 14:16–18 (NASB95) “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans."


I am writing this post just a few days after the movie theater massacre where a young man with several weapons went into a movie theater and shot 71 people, killing 12 and wounding 59. We ask ourselves how someone can do something like that.


The news is reporting about a football coach from Penn State University was convicted of being a serial rapist of young boys and the university was fined and sanctions were handed down for their part in covering up the crimes so as not to reflect poorly on the university. We ask ourselves how could they do that.


I have heard it said, "The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart." I think that sums up the situation pretty well. The problem of evil and wickedness is that Jesus has been excluded from the middle of the camp of people's live. We live in a fallen world where Jesus is not at the center of people's hearts and lives and as a result people have to fill that spot with something. Some fill it with themselves. Some fill it with a false god who commands them to prove their devotion by running planes into buildings, killing as many people as possible.


Enough despair! God has called me and you to show people there is a better way. He has called us to help people put Christ in the center of the camp. Tell them there is a better way than being self-centered, being Christ-centered. It's called Christocentric. Everything was created by Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. Putting Jesus back in the center of the camp realigns everything to the way things were created to be.


To fix the problem of the human heart, one must first put Jesus back in His rightful place.

Is Your Back Against A Wall?

Have you ever been in a place where you found yourself with your back against a wall? I know I have. I was reading in the book of Exodus this morning about the Children of Israel coming out of the land of Egypt. I noticed something very strange about the story that I hadn't paid much attention to heretofore (I have been looking for a place to use the word "heretofore." SCORE!). God led them to the place where they would be trapped with their back against a wall. A wall of water.

Exodus 13:17        Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
   18       Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ex 13:17–18). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Has the Lord put you in a place where you are at your wits end? Has God lead you to a place where you are trapped with no way out? Watch and see what happens. Just like the Children of Israel with their back against a wall, He will not abandon you either.

Exodus 14:13       But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.
   14       “The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.”
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ex 14:13–14). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

The Lord is saying the same thing to you today, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today! The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent."

Don't forget about that last part. "Keep silent!" We all too often run around complaining to everyone, who haven't had time to scurry away, about how bad we have it. Just be still, be quiet, and allow God to be God. He has not abandoned you. He will fight on your behalf. Now it may not look like what you are expecting, but what God has in store for you is far better than what you have planned for yourself.

God fought for the Children of Israel and they would have missed out on seeing His great deliverance if He had not lead them to the place where they had no choice but to trust Him. God will make a way for you when it seems like all hope is lost. Just keep silent and watch Him work. You will be amazed and then like the Israelites you too will sing praises to your Deliverer. Read Exodus 15:1-18 if you need some help wording your own song of praise.

Do You Hear God's Voice?

I was reading in the book of Exodus this morning about God calling Moses from the burning bush. He told Moses that He had a job for him to do. Moses had all sorts of excuses why God needed to move along and go bother someone else. Moses finally relents and obeys the call of God.

You read of similar things happening in the New Testament. Jesus calls Peter, James, John, and Matthew. They immediately leave their jobs and follow Jesus. But you also read of the rich young ruler who hears the call, weighs the cost, and decides it is a price too high to pay. How incredibly short sighted this guy was. He had it all and found he wanted nothing more than what he could hold in his hand right then and there.

Have you heard the voice of God? The first call is the call of salvation. God never stops there though. He continues to speak to us. How we wish His voice was as clear and distinct as a voice coming out of a burning bush. Jesus will often speak to us in soft whispers gently spoken in our ears. He has a job for each of us. Are you listening?


You may say, "He doesn't have a job for me. I don't have the skills needed to go do what other people are doing." Excuses! God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Matthew 5:14–16 (NASB95)

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

There! There is your calling. Start right there. You are a light to the world. Notice He doesn't say, "Would you consider being a light to the world?" You ARE a light to the world. The world is watching you.

Since you ARE a light to the world, don't you think you need to listen for the voice of God? He speaks to each one of us, it's just that we distract ourselves and cover up His voice with all kinds of other things. Get quiet and alone with God. Spend time reading His Word. Spend time with the television, radio, iPod, and video games turned off. Spend time in prayer and meditation. Learn to cultivate your listening skills. He is speaking to you, learn to hear His voice.


Don't settle for the stuff of this world that you can hold in your hand here and now and miss out on the riches of Heaven. God is calling you. Are you listening?

Stories From The Road - Seeking The Blessing

Stories From The Road

I have been asked to write down some of the stories from being a truck driver for 25 years. This is the first of these stories. I will post more as I can remember them and I have time to write them down.

Seeking The Blessing

I had a habit of taking my Bible into restaurants to read while my meal was being prepared as well as while I was eating. One evening I stopped at a restaurant that had some extra space around back where I could park my truck and avoid truck stop food. I can’t remember exactly where the diner was located. It was either in rural Missouri or Iowa.

When I entered the café there were only two tables occupied. The waitress walked me past the first occupied table and seated me next to the table where two couples were engaged in a deep conversation. One couple was older and the other was a young couple.

Just before I finished my dinner and time in the Word I overheard the younger couple say the name of a town that I had heard of before, Baborigame. I have friends who had been translating the Bible, at that time, for 20 years into the language of the Tepehuan Indians. Baborigame is a small village high up in the mountains outside Chihuahua, Mexico.

I gathered my things to leave and as I passed their table I paused for a few seconds as I debated whether to interrupt their conversation or not. I finally asked for their forgiveness as I broke into their discussion. I asked them if I had heard them correctly and they all looked very surprised when I said, “Baborigame.” I told them of my friends, Kevin and Wendy Case, who had been serving the Lord in this tiny village for so long. I asked if they were praying about going and serving with the team there with New Tribes Missions. The younger couple said they were praying about it. I let them know I would be praying for them and I left.

Several years went by when I was attending a mission conference where Kevin and Wendy were being featured, telling the congregation of their work in Mexico. Kevin came up to me and said he needed to talk to me. We went out for lunch after the service and he asked if I remembered the incident at the little restaurant with the two couples. I did not remember encounter until he started recounting to me what had happened. He told me that the younger couple was asking her parents for their blessing to go to the mission field where they felt the Lord was calling them.

Her parents were against them going to Mexico. They felt their daughter and son-in-law were too young and were misinterpreting whatever it was the Lord was doing in their lives. Kevin told me that when I spoke up they were forced to realize that God was at work. The older couple came to see how many things God had to arrange to accomplish this divine appointment.

1. Truck driver from Phoenix at that particular restaurant at that time.

2. Truck driver knew one of the couples on the Baborigame team.

3. Truck driver actually remembered the name of the village although he had never been there.

4. Waitress sat truck driver close enough to overhear their conversation.

5. You could probably see more God workings than I have noted here.

Kevin said that her parents figured if God had orchestrated everything needed to put me there at the same time as the blessing was being sought that He must have the whole thing under control. Therefore, they gave the young people their blessing. Kevin said that that couple had joined them in translating the scripture in Baborigame.

I knew God had called me into ministry, yet I was getting very anxious about still being out on the road. I thought I was out there not being of any use the kingdom of Christ. The Lord used this to illustrate to me that He was in control and I was right where He wanted me.  Just think of the blessings I would have missed out on if I would have been impatient and tried to do what God had called me to do but in my timing rather than his. I pray I never get running ahead of the Lord and bypass the divine appointments He has ordained for me.

Are You Stoned?

The Apostle Peter tells us in his letter we call 1 Peter chapter 2, that we are stones the Lord uses to build a temple for spiritual sacrifices and that Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone. Let's take a look at what it means to be a "stone" and what preparation we need to undergo to be useful in that spiritual temple.

Have you ever thought about how a stone is quarried and made useful for building? First it is rough cut from the side of the quarry. Then the stone mason cuts it into the shape he needs for the building. Not all the stones will look the same or have the same purpose. The mason is the one who decides what the stone will look like and how it will be used.

God has chosen you and me. It is up to Him to decide where and how He will use us. He also is the one who is chiseling away on us to conform us into the shape He wants. We don't always like either of those processes. We tend to want to tell God how to use us and where we will and will not go.

We also despise the shaping process. We look at the trials that come our way as coming from the enemy. We need to change our focus. If you are a Christian, nothing can happen to you unless it has first been approved by the Master Stone Mason. Even if your trouble comes from the enemy God will use it for His purposes in conforming you into the image He has designed for you. Do you really think Satan can destroy God's work? Never!!! As Joseph told his brothers after they had sold him into slavery and God used him to save their family from starvation, "What you meant for evil, God meant for good."

Christian, the Father loves you more than you could ever know and you are not out of His care for even one moment. The chiseling process hurts and is not any fun at all, but it is the Mason molding us into the shape He wants for us. Sometimes He will even rub two stones together. Friction may arise between brethren. Instead of fighting with a fellow Christian we need to see it for what it really is. It is God just using another fellow Christian to knock some of the burrs off each of you.

King Solomon didn't want the sound of a chisel on the temple mount. All the stones were quarried and chiseled into shape offsite then brought to the temple mount and put into place. That's the way God, the Master Stone Mason, has chosen to do it. He will shape us here on earth to fit us into place in that heavenly temple.

Are you stoned? If not, you should be!

Bob's Story

BOB'S STORY

THE STORY OF A FATHER'S GRIEVING OVER

THE DEATH OF A LOVING DAUGHTER

PREFIX AND PURPOSE

I fear that if Karen's life and death is not put in writing, future generations will not know her. I believe that would be a great loss. As I talk with friends it is as her passing is the huge elephant in the room that no one can mention. I love to talk of her and the direct point she had for her life, to bring honor and glory to her Savior.

Another purpose in putting these thoughts on paper is a selfish reason. Maybe there can be some closure in some part to this matter of losing someone so sweet and precious in the prime of her youth, so to speak. I must admit that many times I cried, “God, you got the wrong one….what about that drunk or that self centered person ….you are calling the wrong person from us.”

I trust that this story will be factual and therefore truthful. We had times of joy, precious periods of prayer and comfort in seeing our grandchildren, though in heavy sorrow learning to lean on the Lord. There were times of disappointment as we walked a lonely road that we had not been called upon to tread before. As I reflect this painful journey, I must be real as to my hurts and pains.

I will write this from my prospective. If you see something different, please feel free to write your own story.

Vision India Photos

Here is a link to some photos from my trip to India. I will post some stories of the trip as I am able. Enjoy.

https://plus.google.com/photos/108706225526463464309/albums/5712659720221098241

Vision India 2012 Prayer Points

The time is drawing near for our departure to India. I appreciate your prayer for Darrell and myself as we make the final preparations. I am listing our itinerary and some strategic prayer points for the trip. God has provided for us in some amazing ways but we are not fully funded as of today. We are resting in the Lord for His provision. His budget for us is not always our budget. As my pastor says, "Where God guides, God provides."

ITINERARY

2/4  Leave Phoenix
2/6  Arrive in Bangalore, India
2/6  Leave Bangalore for Vijayawada in a prop plane
2/7  Visit a ministry in Guntur
2/8 thru 2/9  Visit ministries around Vijayawada
2/10 thru 2/11  Visit ministries around Khammam
2/11  Leave Khammam for Chennai by overnight train
2/12  Visit a ministry in Chennai
2/12  Leave Chennai for Bangalore by overnight train
2/13 thru 2/18  Visit ministries around Bangalore
2/19  Leave Bangalore
2/19  Arrive in Frankfurt, Germany and visit family in Aschaffenberg
2/20  Leave Frankfurt
2/20  Arrive back home in Phoenix


PRAYER POINTS

God's direction
Spiritual insight and discernment
Health
Our spouses while we are away
Travel - Planes, trains, and automobiles
Finances
The ministries we will be visiting - Rural village and city churches, orphanages, leper colonies
The people God will put in our path


Thank you all for your interest in what the Lord is doing in and through us. I covet your prayer and your encouragement has meant more to me than you could ever know. This is a grand adventure Jesus has us on. Thanks again for being a part of it.

Brian

Vision India Prayer Letter

It all started at a football game. I was sitting next to a friend of mine, Darrell, when out of left field he said, "You and I should take a mission trip to India."

Being a seasoned churchgoer, I mustered up my most spiritual answer, "Yeah, sure. I'll pray about that." Of course I was really thinking: "I don't want to go to India. I never have and I never will. I'm just saying I'll pray about it in the hope that you’ll forget about it by the next time I see you." But, as usual, God was several steps ahead of me in the process.  During the next 48 hours He orchestrated a series of events that not only confirmed my call to India, but also changed my heart toward the people and the mission field there. You can read the full story at my blog, truckstoptheologian.blogspot.com, under the Vision India 2012 post.

I cannot ignore the fire that God has kindled in my heart for the people and land of India. I believe He is calling me to go and see the work He is doing there already, and to show us how we, the community of believers in Phoenix, can be used to further that work.

Darrell and I are going to India for the first two weeks of February 2012. We will be visiting several ministries throughout southern India. From city churches to rural churches in Hindu villages, orphanages, leper homes, and school ministries.  We will even be visiting an orphanage that is raising girls who were rescued from infanticide because the parents wanted a boy.

We desperately need and cherish your prayer support. India is saturated with millions of false gods and idols; behind each is a demonic spirit. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we do not war against flesh and blood but against "spiritual forces of wickedness." King David said in 1 Samuel 17:47, "The battle is the Lord's." We trust the Lord will protect us as you lift us up in prayer.

Would you please commit to pray for us as we go? There are several specific things that you can join us in praying for: 1) We have a great deal of preparation to do before we leave in terms of logistics, packing and communications with host ministries. 2) Please pray that we receive the funds we need for the trip. 3) Pray for the people the Lord will put in our path while we are there. 4) For our health and safety. And 5) Pray that the Spirit will give us clarity as to the nature and extent of our future involvement with the ministries we encounter.

The Lord has called us to step out in faith, so here we go. I look forward to sharing with you how God uses us, and you, on this trip.

God Bless,

Brian Gandy

briang@calvaryphx.com

602-284-4193