Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. Numbers 22:26

I marvel at this passage, but not for the reasons everyone else might think.  Most are shocked that a donkey could speak and that God used the donkey to save a man's life, but this morning I realized here in verse 26, that God so desired to see Balaam do the right thing he moved in front of him not so that he could follow him but so that he could keep him from making a huge mistake.  

Lord, I pray that you would not have to deter me from what I think is right in my own mind.  I pray this morning that you would speak to my heart and the hearts of my family so that we can see your salvation and run to it. May my heart and your heart be aligned.  

Through the Years

If I have learned one thing over the years it's that God is with me always, and once again I am asking God what the next chapter of my life will look like.  It's been a long time.  I just counted back the years since I first started in ministry and I realized that I have been in ministry for over 27 years.  But it really started before that.  As a young man of 16, God spoke to me and he quietly said in a meeting out at a little farm in Manassas, VA  that he wanted me to work with young people.  I wasn't quite sure what that actually meant but I wrote it down on a piece of paper and put it in my bible.  Not too long after I graduated HS I started an internship and spent time as an 18 year old working with a man named Jack Wojiech who taught me how to study the Bible using a Halley's bible handbook and allowing me to take the reigns of that group.  It was fifteen kids who needed to understand God's love so I started showing them what that looked like.  Years later Jack's son John said that I was the first person that showed him that you could be cool and chase after God.  I got my CDL license so I could drive a school bus and started taking these kids to concerts, putt putt, and whatever I could come up with so I could spend more time with them sharing God's love.

Not long after, under the mentorship of Jack, I ended up meeting a man named Bill Jeschke who taught me some leadership 101 principles.  He asked me if I'd like to be in a youth ministry internship.  I jumped at the chance as I could see this really lined up with what God had spoken to me when I was 16.  I jumped into some bible classes that Bill's Father-in-law, Professor Earl Morey taught at our church.  By the end of that summer I was leading the group and I was really hoping to get hired on as a youth pastor of our church.  I got the call from the Lead Pastor Derrel Emmerson and he wanted to take me out to dinner.  He took me out to a very nice restaurant and I thought for sure this was it.  But, as God would have it, he said at the end of the dinner that he and the elders prayed about it and they all felt that they should hire someone from the outside with a bible school degree.  I was upset and really started questioning God about whether I should just quit this idea of youth ministry and  move on.  And then this story happened.

At the end of my internship,  I was preparing for a youth/parent night, we decided to show a video on peer pressure and suicide.  It was a very cheesy film and the acting was horrible.  I remember reviewing the film with my leaders and they laughed their way through it.  I asked them if we should show it and they were most definitely against it.  But every night that week God said to show that video.  I mean it was a strong feeling that I should show it.  I told the volunteer staff that I felt this and they were again begging me not to show it.  That Friday evening we started showing the video.  Kids and parents were laughing and when I got up to speak at the end and ask if there was anyone who wanted prayer not one person came up.  It was horribly embarrassing and I felt like God let me down, until the next week when I came into work that next Monday morning.    

In my inbox was a letter, handwritten and no name or address on the envelope.  The letter basically said that this young girl was planning on committing suicide Friday night.  She had planned out her death step by step and had come that night to say goodbye to her friends.  After seeing the cheesy video she left the meeting and had an encounter with the living God and decided not to end her life.  She said if it wasn't for us showing that video she would have gone through with it.  As cheesy as it was, it gave her message of hope and that God loved her.  At that moment I was overcome with emotion.  I remembered how I didn't want to show this video but God was gently nudging me showing me that he can use anything to reach someone who is in need.  

From that point forward I was hooked.  Partnering with God to bring people into a relationship with Him through His son Jesus is such an amazing feeling.  It satisfied my soul.  I felt complete.  And 27 years later my family and I  are still in ministry and God is still inviting us to join in where he's at work to partner with Him.  It's been a crazy ride but we love every minute of it!  He's so faithful to complete the work that he's started.  

The Lord is My Shepherd

"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need."
Psalms 23:1 NLT  

If we have surrendered our lives to Christ and call him Lord, we are under his protection and care!  We have been grafted into God's family. You are a member of God's house. We can honestly say that we have all that we need because Jesus who is the ultimate shepherd is watching and caring for us.  So remember there is no want if you have everything that you need.  So why would you stray from the herd?  But, the cool part is this.  Jesus will leave that herd to go find you.  That's right.  You are valued that much by God.

I remember one time when I was just a kid, my mom took me to the grocery store and my "job" was to hold on to the grocery cart while she shopped.  In the Cereal section a certain box of Peanut Butter Crunch caught my eye and I let go of the cart and went over to gaze it it.  I looked up and the cart and my mom were nowhere to be found.  As I started panicking I was surprised when my name came over the P.A. system and I was told to come to meet my mom at the front of the store.  I was thankful to be reunited with her and I told her I was sorry that I left the cart.

Today, I don't want to stray from God, but I love having the knowledge that if I did, he'd be searching for me.  He'd be chasing after me until I was found.  If you have walked away from God, today is your day to listen to his voice and come to him.  He will welcome you back, with open arms.

Reflecting Christ

At my house we have a stove that has a glass door.  It's awesome because you can see the fire and it warms the heart.  My favorite thing to do is to sit in my chair and do my devos while watching the fire. After each fire a film gets on the glass and impedes my ability to see the fire fully.  I have to take a moment, get the cleaner and spray the glass.  When you look at the paper towel that I used to clean it you can see the black soot that came off the window.   I am learning more and more each day that I need to be careful not to let my life get so crazy busy that it disturbs my abiding in Him.  I need to constantly be watchful and continue to be a mirror that is clean. That only happens when I abide in Him.

I was reading Oswald Chambers this morning and he states, "When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors."  As a servant of the Most High God I want to mirror and reflect God.  We need to keep our lives open to God.  But there are times that the cares of the world like work, clothing, food and my general busyness gets in way of that position of  beholding Him.  Colossians 3:3 says, "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."  I don't want anything to obscure someone from seeing Christ in me.  Go God!

-P. Andy

What Seems Impossible to Us is Possible for God

26Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26 NLT

This scripture in my estimation really clarified something for me.  Right before this scripture Jesus is talking about how hard it is for a rich man to enter into heaven.  But then, it says here that Jesus looked intently at them.  intent means having the mind and the will focused on a specific purpose.  In this case Jesus' mind and will was focused on His disciples.  Having that kind of attention is amazing even if he didn't say anything after he gazed at them.  But his words were directed to his disciples.  If you are a disciple, listen up!  We need to understand that God's ways are not our ways.  Period.  If He decides to show up in the miraculous, it's because the Father intended to do that.  If He doesn't, it's okay!  What's important here is the fact that Jesus attention is focused on His disciples.  His gaze is upon us.  Jesus.  Looking intently.  Wow.  Thanks God for showing us your love by gazing intently and letting us know that with you EVERYTHING is possible.  The impossible is possible for God.

Prayer: Let your will be done in my life and the lives of your disciples.

It's a New Day

It's been four months since my life turned upside down.  My life will never be the same.   I'm reading a book right now called A Place of Wonder: Preparing Yourself for Suffering: A Place for Weakness by Michael S. Horton.  One great quote from this book is the fact that "Our weaknesses really are an opportunity for God to show his strength." I started meditating on this early this morning and realized that God's strength is more than a nice peaceful thought.  God wants to show himself strong in our lives.  As I thought about this I looked back over the last few months and marvel at how God answered all the prayers that were lifted up.

I realized that there were people literally all over the world that responded to our plea for prayers.  We saw people respond to our need, inside and outside of the church.  God uses people in our lives for his purposes.

Missy was the "rock" during this ordeal.  She pretty much waited upon me hand and foot plus looked after the family and still kept up with her kindergarten class as she sent sub plans each day.

During this time she hid her own grief over the situation and purposed to be strong for the rest of us.  It was amazing to see how she responded in the midst of the battle that we were all thrown into at the beginning of the year.  We both didn't realize that the grief went so deep until my daughter got sick with Scarlett fever about three months after my surgery.  Her body was covered in red bumps and she was in so much pain she couldn't even swallow.  It was too much for Missy to bear.  Not another situation. One person can only handle so much.  And that was the moment that I believe that God stepped in and held her up and let her know how much she loved her.  I was able to shoulder the load with her and but God was the one that took her and showed her his undeniable power to provide peace in a situation that was pretty unsettling.

As we unload our burden's to the Lord he replaces that burden with peace and prepares us for the next battle.  Life is hard.  But God's strength is evident in the journey, if we are willing to give it over to Him.

Horton says, "Without trials, faith is not really roused to grab hold of the God of promise."

True.

An Affair of the Heart Part III

Tomorrow is my four week mark since I had open heart surgery.  I wish I could tell everyone that I'm back to normal but I have another 8 weeks to go according to doctors before I can confess this.  Everyone now has returned to their normal routines.  Missy will go back to work this week and then I'm left alone to get well.  I'm on a variety of medications and the doctor's seem to think it's fun to play around with my dosages.  I started taking double what I normally took last Friday and my blood pressure went way up and my pain factor seemed to get more intense.  Maybe I'm trying to get back in the swing of things too soon.  I feel like I'm starting to feel better then I take two steps backward.  Today was one of those take two steps backward kind of days.  I did one task today and then I totally went back in bed and rested the rest of the day.  (don't you wish you could do that?)

I liken this to my spiritual walk.  I take my dosage of spending time with God and expect my life to take a turn for the better.  Instead I seem to move forward and then there's the feeling that I'm not making any progress spiritually at all.  So, how do I become heart healthy in my spiritual life?  I know that for my physical heart I have to be on a heart healthy diet which is low in sodium and like my physical heart my spiritual heart needs to be on a healthy diet.   I need to be in the word and not just say I did a quiet time and then start eating junk food the rest of the day.  I need to get some real "meat" in my diet and start to chew on it, think about it and apply it to my life and most importantly ask the Holy Spirit to fill me and speak to me and lead me.  Life change happens when I decide to allow God the reigns of my life and start to say "yes" to him.  I need to keep asking him for more, please!