Psalm 37:3-4 says, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (NKJV). I think for me (and maybe for some of you) one way to trust God and delight in Him is to pursue the dreams He put in my heart. When I don’t pursue my godly dreams because it’s too hard or it seems scary or impossible then I’m basically telling God, “That part of Your heart You gave me…those dreams…they’re not worth fighting for. I choose not to delight in that part of You.”

For so long I wanted to skip over the pursuit of my dreams and just receive them because I was afraid to step out and risk. But I’ve taken the first step out of the self-imposed box I’ve lived in for years. I encourage fellow dreamers to do the same. Yes, fear and opposition will come along to try and keep you in the box. But God wants us to fight the enemy and come out of captivity. (God is knocking on the door and He wants to know if you can come out and play!)

By pursuing what God put in your heart you pursue His heart for you. This can be (at least partly) what it means to trust Him, dwell in the land He has for you, and delight in Him.

Shagufta

As I sat in my car listening to this, I tried to imagine what it would be like to live in that kind of reality.  I went over in my mind all of the times during my daily routine I use clean water that is right at my fingertips.  I just couldn’t fathom the heartbreak of not having clean water to give to my child.

Then I started thinking about the joy these families must feel when they receive the water filter and realize they no longer have to worry about getting access to clean water.  What a wonderful experience to be there and witness this organization being the hands and feet of Jesus – not only providing clean water for physical needs, but also sharing the Gospel with these same families.

In John 4:13 Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman at the well:  Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  The water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Then the Holy Spirit gently reminded me…I don’t have to go to Rwanda in order to offer “the water of eternal life” to others.  God has placed me in my own little mission field…in my neighborhood and in contact with certain people in order to do the very same thing.  Sometimes in the busyness of life, it’s easy to forget that people we see everyday who do not know Jesus personally are thirsting for the water of eternal life that only comes from Him.  As followers of Jesus, we are called to share the Gospel with them so that they, too, can experience true joy and freedom in Christ.

Melissa

Hiding is rooted in fear. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe” (NKJV). In my recent hiding situation, I hid because I was afraid of what my parents would think of me and their possible negative reaction to me when I told them some things they may not want to hear. I’m thankful that they took it well and were kind about it all.

When we bow down to fear and hide, we’re serving fear and therefore serving the devil because “the fear of man” is from him. And as we unintentionally bow down to him we become ensnared. Spiritually we become like a trapped animal: unable to fully function as God intended.

Freedom and restoration of relationships don’t happen in the ‘dark’ where we hide. If you’re avoiding someone, remember that “…God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim 1:7 NKJV). The devil wants us to hide because then we’ll lack these things (power, love, and a sound mind) and we’ll be trapped… with him. Eeek! But God wants us to get out of our hiding places because His light can then shine on us more fully. In His light we’re graciously released from the snare and free to walk with Him again.

Shagufta

I was going to take this verse to the ‘bank’.  For years I struggled with the desires of my heart being idols.  My idols promoted lofty thoughts and feelings that said they could bring me greater joy than God.  God revealed my idolatry to me when I read Elyse Fitzpatrick’s book, Idols of the Heart. That was at least 5 years ago. (sigh).  Recently He showed it to me again. Even though I didn’t feel like placing the desires of my heart at God’s feet, I did.  It made me uncomfortable and even sad because I wondered if this meant I would never receive my heart’s desires. However, this sounded like a lie because God had previously spoken to me about a couple of my desires, but in a promising way.  The problem was that I held them too closely; closer than I held God.

I confessed my idolatry to a couple of Christian friends and they did the same with me.  Every day I cast down the lofty thoughts and feelings and I declared God to be on the throne of my life.  That Sunday in church it dawned on me that I was content!  God delivered me of my idolatry and I didn’t want anything more than Him!  I was so giddy that I thought I would come unglued.

I used to think being transparent was scary but Proverbs 29:25 (NKJV) says, “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.”  I’m sure this verse has more than one application but it spoke to me. The devil wants us to be afraid of confessing our sins to one another because he doesn’t want us to shed our strongholds. He wants us ensnared.  Part of my heart was ensnared because I had elevated the desires of my heart above God’s throne.

Let’s serve God, not only in deeds, but also in our hearts.  We don’t serve Him to get something, but in His generosity He says He will honor those who serve Him (John 12:26).  If there’s anything in your heart that’s not of God, I encourage you to be transparent to a fellow believer that you trust.  Our generous God wants to deliver us and even honor us.  God blessed me with this blog opportunity the day after I was delivered from idolatry.  I consider it an honor.

Shagufta

We traveled that beautiful country, from its capital city, Tegucigalpa; to Danlí, bordering to the east with Nicaragua; to San Pedro Sula, which borders to the west with my beloved Guatemala. We visited with, prayed for and met wonderful people – many of them pastors of the various La Viña (Vineyard) churches. How wonderful it was to see the ongoing work of the Lord in Honduras!

On our way back from San Pedro Sula, we stopped at the shore of Lago Yojoa – a majestic lake with gorgeous views, dotted with little stands where you can eat a mean plate of fried tilapia. Being a pair “healthy eaters”, DaNetta and I eagerly accepted Pastor Jorge’s offer to stop for lunch. (By the way, we stayed at Jorge and his wife Eva’s house while in Tegucigalpa, and they also graciously drove us all over the country. ¡Gracias, Jorge & Eva!)

Imagine our surprise when a young girl inside the stand motions for us to follow her, then opens up a freezer and begins to pull out these big, wide-eyed fish, and asks, “Which one do you want?”

“Are you ladies hungry?” Jorge asks jovially.

“Well, I was,” DaNetta responds, looking a bit green in the face.

Our last stop was at Comayagua, which is about 1-1/2 hours from Tegucigalpa. DaNetta preached during the Sunday service; we met with several friends, and we got to watch the Soccer World Cup final at Pollo Campero (a delicious fried-chicken restaurant). But the highlight of our visit was on Saturday, when we attended the wedding of Josue Hernandez, the La Viña de Comayagua worship leader, and Jenny Whitson, a missionary from the North Phoenix Vineyard.

I got to interpret for Jenny’s family during the ceremony and even got to say, “And now I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Oh, what I kick I got out of that! ;0)

The wedding was happy and lovely and Jenny looked beautiful. We ate and danced and laughed to our hearts’ content. But one event in particular touched my heart in a very special, unforgettable way.

It happened early in the morning, before the ceremony began. Esperanza, who is the groom’s mom and Pastor Antonio’s wife, asked DaNetta and I to help her transfer the wedding cake from the bakery to the hotel in which the nuptials would take place.

“And then I’m going to drop you girls off and ask you to put the cake’s top tier on its columns. It should be easy,” Esperanza said airily.

Never known for our hand-to-eye coordination, DaNetta and I seriously doubted we were the most adequate selection for the job. But since everyone else was busy with another wedding-related task, we prayed for steady hands and bravely accepted the challenge.

On our way to the bakery, Esperanza broke into tears as she shared how God had granted a very special wish of hers. “I’ve always wanted to pay for our son’s wedding cake,” she said, wiping her cheeks unabashedly. “It didn’t look like we were going to be able to afford it. But the Lord opened a door for me to make a little extra money at work, and now I rejoice in God’s faithfulness and provision.”

A big lump formed in my throat – part shame, part emotion. I don’t know about you girls, but for me “toughing it” mostly means not using my credit card. Yet this people face need and poverty and want, every day, and they do it with a grace that humbles me and puts my meager struggles in perspective.

Monday morning, we said good-bye to our dear friends and returned to Phoenix and to our families. It’s kind of funny how DaNetta and I talk non-stop on our way to Honduras. Yet on the way back we are uncharacteristically quiet. I guess we’re tired, and a little sad, but mostly in awe of the many wonderful things we witness God do during the few days we get to visit there.

It is awesome indeed, and we are so glad to be a part of it.

Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters and for the work of the Lord in Honduras.

Grateful,

Ana
PS. You can check out pictures of our trip on Facebook – look me up by name: Ana Stine

 Have you ever noticed that healthy things grow?  Plants, children, emotional lives, our relationship with God, and our relationship with other people are a few things that come to mind.  If these things are healthy, they are progressing, moving forward, changing, metamorphasizing so to speak.

 Years ago in a pastoral staff meeting, a pastor by the name of James Ryle addressed us and told us this saying which has had great impact on me over the years:

 “Healthy things grow

Growing things change.

Change challenges us.

Challenge forces us to trust God.

Trust leads to obedience.

Obedience makes us healthy.

Healthy things grow…”

 As you can see, it is a cycle.  Even in our relationship with God, it seems as soon as we get comfortable, there will inevitably be some change which forces us to trust God in a new way.

 For example….let’s say you step out and pray out loud for someone for the first time.  It is scary.  It is change.  (But it also helps you grow spiritually.)  The next thing you know, you might be leading in Children’s Ministry or leading a small group.   It is challenging. Things come up which you have no answer for.  It forces us to trust God and seek Him.

And then there are those times, when the person in your group does not get healed, the check does not come in the mail, _________(you fill in the blank) and easy answers just don’t come. And we learn to be obedient to God anyway.  It is healthy.  It is challenging and it forces us to grow.

 We must choose to remember, that even if it is not easy, growth and change can be good.  They may be challenging, but that forces us into the arms of our Father. (Or elsewhere if we make a poor choice)

 May your journey be filled with healthy growing things!

Blessings,

Thora

I love to plan.  I plan my menus for the week.  I plan my day.  As a family, we plan our vacations.  My husband even puts our trips on a spreadsheet.  I know that would freak out the spontaneous travellers, but it works for us.  As much as I enjoy planning, I never thought about planning my spiritual growth until yesterday. 

The Bible verse Pastor Brian read was Hebrews 6:1a.  It says, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity” (NAS). 

Brian asked if we knew anyone who had been a Christian for 5, 10, 15, or even 20 years who wasn’t very spiritually mature.   While I might have been able to think of someone else, my mind immediately went to those areas in my own life that I wish were different.  I can easily list a handful of spiritual fruit that is still unripe on the vine.  And I can see how  I haven’t applied as much consistent effort and planning to those areas of my personality, as I have to my to-do list.  

Today, I’d like to invite some conversation on the blog about this concept.  I’d like you to share one or two ways you have planned your spiritual growth.  Or maybe you have a habit or practice that helps you grow spiritually.  Please post a comment on the blog so we can all learn.

As an incentive, I’ll be giving away a book called ”His Princess Bride” by Sheri Rose Shepherd.  This is a beautiful little hardcover book filled encouraging words of love from Jesus to His bride.  On Wednesday at 5 p.m. I’ll randomly select someone who posted to win the book.  Please make sure you include your email address in the post so I can contact you.

As an editor of a magazine, I get lots of free books.  This is just the first of many we’ll be giving away. 

Have a great week in Christ!

In His Love,

Glynnis

www.GlynnisWhitwer.com