Bittersweet!

Well, this is it. My last day in the office at Calvary Community Church. I will be teaching a couple of classes on Sunday but this is my last day working in the office. I will clean out my office on Sunday and Monday but I am taking this day in and treasuring it in my heart.

I have often said, "If your Christian life doesn't feel like a free fall most of the time, you are probably not doing it right."

Right now I feel like I am in a free fall. But the thing the Lord has taught me along the way is that He is faithful. I can trust Him to catch me. He consistently calls me to step out of my comfort zone so I have to rely on Him. When He originally called me into full-time ministry I told Him He would have to show up BIG because without Him I would fall flat on my face.

I still feel that way. If Jesus doesn't show up BIG I will fall flat on my face. That is just the place I want to be...dependent upon Jesus.

I will miss working with the staff of Calvary on a daily basis but I am glad I am not leaving the fellowship of my Calvary family. You have all been a blessing to me in more ways than you will ever know.

The ministry the Lord is leading me into is a continuation of what you all have poured into me over the last 5 years I have been on full-time staff, 4 1/2 years I volunteered in the front office, and the last 22 years Denice and I have been attending Calvary.

Please continue to pray for us as we follow the Lord as we commit to pray for you. We love you all from the bottom of our heart.

Little Graces, part II

A few weeks ago we received a call at the church office. A woman who attends the church had a three year old nephew who nearly drowned 36 hours before and was in the hospital on life support. Things were not looking good for the little boy I'll call Billy (not his real name). She was wanting a pastor to go to the hospital and pray for little Billy.

I took an intern, Jason, along with me. We prepared ourselves, as much as possible, for what would probably be the most difficult hospital visit we would ever make. We sat in my truck praying for the Lord to have mercy on Billy and his family. We prayed for the Lord to give us His strength. We prayed for the Lord to be glorified through us as we tried to minister to a hurting family who had no relationship with God. Then we drove to the hospital knowing God was going to use us...somehow.

We walked into the room and saw the lifeless body of this precious little boy surrounded by monitors connected to him by tubes and wires. His mother stood by his side while his father was standing apart, trying to strike a deal with God for the life of his son. The mood was somber as the nurse went about her duties with love and compassion.

We introduced ourselves and let them know we were from the church and who it was that had called us. We asked if it would be okay if we anointed Billy with oil and prayed for him. The father said it couldn't hurt and they were willing to try anything. They were desperate.

Jason pulled out his vial of frankincense scented oil. The room filled with the sweet aroma as we anointed little Billy's head with the oil. We laid our hands on his little body as we prayed for the Lord to restore him to health and that there would be no lasting brain damage.

Nothing special happened. No thunder. No shaking of the hospital building. No chills. Nothing!

Billy's 15 year old brother took me over to show me what some of the monitors we measuring. This is the brother who was watching Billy when he slipped away and found his way outside and into the pool. As he was showing me the line that measured Billy's ventilator activity, Jason bent over Billy and whispered a prayer into his ear while he held the little lifeless hand.

All of a sudden the monitor went from a small jagged zigzag line to a couple of high peaks with very low valleys. Billy was breathing against the ventilator!

Jason started shouting! I looked over to see Billy's eyes open and he was focusing on all that was going on around him. He was squeezing Jason's finger. Billy's mother started crying as his father ran out of the room to go tell the rest of the family gathered in the waiting room.

It only lasted for a few seconds but it happened. Hope was renewed. Billy had a chance.

I went to visit Billy the next day to see a marked improvement. Billy had to be sedated to keep from pulling at the tubes and wires. The nurse was preparing him for an MRI to see what kind of brain damage he would have.

Billy's father called me on Sunday morning to tell me they had taken Billy off all life support on Saturday evening. Billy was awake and alert. He recognized everyone and was asking to eat his fathers burrito. There were no visible signs of brain damage from observing him and the MRI was unable to show any areas of his brain that appeared to be damaged in any way.

PRAISE GOD!!!

God is so good! He has chosen to show Himself strong on Billy's behalf and glorifying Himself by raising little Billy up. I praise Him for letting Jason and myself to be a part of His work. In the business of ministry life God chooses to bestow little graces like this on me. It is not that I am a healer; I had one day where I prayed for three men and all three of them died the following day. No, there is no power in my prayer, there is only power in the risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

He just invites me along for the ride.

My Utmost For His Highest

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2013

What is your New Year's resolution? Here are a few resolutions I have never heard verbalized before but it seems as if it just works out in our lives as if we had.

I resolve to:

• read the Bible less this year.
• pray less this year.
• put on another 10 pounds this year.
• play more video games this year.
• exercise less this year.
• spend more time in a drunken stupor this year.
• smoke more cigarettes this year.
• watch more television while sitting on the couch ignoring everyone and everything else this year.

Here is the Bible verse I am going to keep in front of me throughout 2013:

Philippians 1:20 (NLT) For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.  

Oswald Chambers calls it giving My Utmost For His Highest. That is my resolution this new year. I know it will cost me something. It will cost me some extra time snuggled up under the covers in the morning. It will cost me some time watching sports or some meaningless reality TV program. It will cost me my utmost for His Highest.

I am not looking to accomplish great things for Christ this year. I'm looking to deepen my relationship with Christ this year and leave the results to Him. That does not mean I am not attempting to do anything for the cause of the Kingdom of Christ this year, but I just want to be available for Him to do with me as He sees fit.

Oswald Chambers

My heroes are not the guys who sipped from the thimble of mediocrity; they are the men and women who have drunk deep from the chalice of self-discipline. Those who have callouses from spending hours on their knees. People who have scoured the scriptures thirsting for a more intimate relationship with the Lover of their soul. Men who have seen the sick healed, the dead raised, the worshippers of idols turn to the true and living God.

This is the year I start seminary. This is the year I finish the devotional My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers. This is the year I read the Bible through from cover to cover.

This will cost me My Utmost For His Highest. Will you join me?

Click here for My Utmost For His Highest online.

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?

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