Two are better than one, because they have good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiastes 4:9
As you pray today for the Last Call service and those the LORD would draw in, also remember those who already attend CATG but have not connected with others in the church. Sometimes the loneliest place to be is in a crowd of people. Pray for eyes to see those who are hidden and the insight to invite them to a place where they can get connected.
Life Groups this term are in full swing, so pray for the leaders of these groups. Pray for wisdom and time for preparation and anticipation of questions and issues that come up. Pray for relational graces to always walk in unity with each other. Bind and take authority over the enemy that would cause these little tribes to implode.
Ephesians 6:18b – Be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.
The need for this week of prayer became obvious to me last week. For a few days there had been a series of events where things just weren’t right. People who normally get along were irritated and misunderstanding one another. Situations came up with opportunities for offense. A few people had stopped by to talk about struggles in life intensifying and job or financial struggles were increasing. As I talked with an faithful CATG intercessor, we finally put the pieces together and we wondered what was up that the enemy would cause such an upswing in the normal day to day life of people in our church family. The final straw was Thursday morning when I came in to find 5 urgent prayer requests that needed to be sent to our prayer team immediately.
What’s different than usual? A new service starting for one. Possilbly coming into conjunction with a new wave of prayer for an open heaven over CATG. When God is about to do a new thing, the enemy can read the signs. We are praying that the new Last Call service would be an open door for many to come into the Kingdom, for many who need to hear the Word of the LORD to have the opportunity to do so on a Sunday evening. What better way to render us ineffective than to scatter the flock and like a roaring lion seek those who are vulnerable to being devoured. (John 10:12, 1 Peter 5:8)
Pray for health and protection, pray for jobs and finances and safety. Pray for each other’s children and against accidents and mishaps. Pray for last week’s urgent requests and for anyone else you may know is vulnerable now.
Pray for each other this week. If someone should suddenly come to mind, pray for them. The LORD frequently uses those thoughts, which may seem a passing whim, to call us to prayer for someone. You may be His line of defense for someone else. Keep short accounts with one another. If offense could pop up, go immediately to one another so that the enemy can’t divide us. Remember that whatever has come up may be a strategy from the accuser, so get mad at him not one another.
I love the way Paul exhorts us in the above Ephesians passage to be alert. Peter echoes that in 1 Peter 5:8-11: Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
This week we will have the privilege of praying in the new Sunday night service at Church at the Gate. You can read all about Last Call at Steve’s blog.
Our job this week will be to cover this new start in prayer. We will focus on a new and different area each day, but our primary focus will be that this new worship time will reach out and touch people who desperately need the love of Jesus. For so many people times of desperation include one “last call” out to a God who, to a hurting soul, may or may not exist. One of the jobs of an intercessor is to stand in the gap to cry out for mercy and to petition heaven for lost souls.
Here are a few thoughts from the Argus Leader on how to avoid hitting a deer. Apparently here in SD we are the seventh most likely in the country to hit a deer.
Some of these gems are too good to pass up, so if you don’t have time to read the article, I’ll post them here. But do take a look at the article so you can guess what the deer is thinking of the guy interviewed for the story.
“As it gets cooler, the breeding season begins. The rut is going to push deer more frequently across the road. During the peak of the rut, they will be moving almost constantly, so even in broad daylight, you may see one on the road. They are quite focused on other matters and may not think to look both ways before they cross.” Thank heaven that when deer aren’t in rut they remember to look both ways before crossing the road.
“The Department of Transportation evaluates the number of collisions that occur in certain areas, and after a request, or after a high volume of accidents, they will put a deer-crossing sign up. The deer don’t necessarily read signs, either, and because crops change from year to year, the deer may move. The crossing points may move with it. But the signs are a good guide.” WHAT!??! You have got to be kidding me that the deer aren’t always reading the signs. What on earth are we wasting tax payer money for if the the stupid deer don’t even read the signs!
Did some editor at the Argus Leader not even read the story before it was published?
Over the past several months I have been slowly digesting an amazing book called The Gospel According to Job.
This book has short two page “devotional” type chapters as it walks slowly through the book of Job. Just like Lays potato chips, you can’t read just one. But you can’t digest a whole chapter at a time either. They are rich and thick with deep truth and wisdom.
Last night I ran across this thought that I would love to shout from roof tops in order to help every single person think differently about prayer and to become more and more successful at prayer.
Most people, of course, have questions for God. But hardly anyone is willing to hold out and wait (let alone to wheedle and pester the Lord) for an answer. Most people will not wait on God for one minute. Why not? Surely it is because we do not really expect any answer. But the message of Job, of Habakkuk and Jesus’ parables on prayer is all the same: the word of the Lord comes without fail to those whose faith takes a peculiar form – the form of despair, honestly and passionately expressed, combined with stubborn persistence in holding out for consolation.
Wow! Take just five minutes and re-read that and allow God to speak it to your heart. For me it was conviction and hope all rolled into one paragraph.
For our dog, “go” is a pretty important word. What we have discovered here in Europe is that all the dogs get to go – everywhere. Dogs go to restaurants; dogs go to museums; dogs go on buses and trains; dogs go on tours; dogs just go! I have seen some dogs in old churches, but not often so someone must draw a line somewhere. One dog got refused at the door of the 95 thesis church in Wittenberg, but he didn’t look offended.
Even the signs tell you that dogs are permitted. This sign was at the entry to the Berlin space-needley-thingy. As you can see…dogs are ok – soccer balls are not.
So here are just a few of the dogs of Europe that we have taken pictures of for you. The pictures are a little odd, because people look at you weird when you are taking pictures of their dogs.
This is the dog that just came out of Burger King. He must have had salty fries, because he needed at big drink of water at his car.
This is the dog that is going up to the Wartburg castle tour to learn about where Martin Luther hid out and did spiritual warfare.
This dog is going into the ice cream store.
This dog just got off the train and peed on the wall inside the station, which no one seemed to think was a big deal. We are not sitting on the floor anywhere ever again!
This is the dog that couldn’t go into the 95 Thesis church. He seems ok with that.
I know. I know. I know. The more prolific of the family have plopped out many blog posts in the past several days and my blog has been stuck on the chocolate post.
(What a great place to leave things…with chocolate. Be sure to see Thomas’ post on our trip to the Lindt chocolate factory. We truly wished for smell-a-vision to send a sample of the marvelous odors wafting around. But their lack of tours at Lindt has left the Frey chocolates on top. Actually I’m glad they don’t just let the masses walk through where the product is being made. Keeps the bird/swine/whatever kind of flu germs out of my chocolate.)
Anyway all that to say, I’m kind of in the place on this trip where I’ve got to allow God to work on the things he needs to work on in my life. There is no getting to the restoration I need without allowing him to reveal and work on the junk. I have a couple of frivolous posts in my head, but they aren’t in my heart. And what is in my heart is just a little close to home to put out into the vast cosmos of the internet.
So I humbly submit these two offerings on my blog.
1) This awesome article by Bob Kilpatrick on the Cloud of Witnesses.
2) This youtube video of the greatest song ever: Restoration. If you listen to the song and then find yourself humming it or singing it to yourself, would you offer it up as a prayer for us, for all the people that you know who may just need the restoration hand of the LORD on their lives. Don’t forget to get all the way to the end of the 10 minute song…we all need the the hallelujah part!
In the search for amazing chocolate in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, there have been some developments.
First the loser: We’ve seen whole shops dedicated to the Mozart Chocolates. So I bought a couple of these:And ewwww, what was that stuff in the center? Rather a grainy texture without much flavor.
Secondly there was my booze chocolate fiasco:
We were nearing the end of our day in Lucerne and Mt. Pilatus and everyone was starting to get a little crabby. So just as we were about to board the cog train down the mountain, I rushed into the gift shop and grabbed this chocolate bar.I love cherries and there are tons of trees all over the place that are ripe right now. So I thought, hey, we’ve had cherry cereal and fresh cherries, this chocolate with the “kirsch liquide” center will be excellent. But apparently the word at the top of the wrapper “alcool” means alcohol. So when these beauties were bit into the liquid center dribbled out and the kids spit the whole kit and kaboodle out.
Third – We have a winner.
Up until now, nothing has compared in any way to the Lindt Lindor chocolates. These little wonders are available everywhere in the US and are great rewards for getting the grocery shopping done, cleaning the bathroom, mopping the floor, and successfully navigating just about anything. The Lindt chocolate factory is in Zurich and I hope to visit there before we come home.
But then yesterday…I discovered this little gem:and the angels sang, and there was an open heaven! This little piece of heaven is a Frey chocolate (same last name as our friend Pastor Desmond – pronounced Fray not Fry). It has a slight chocolate shell and an amazing melty center.
So lessons learned: Mozart should have stuck to music; learn German so as not to make mistakes or intoxicate children; and figure out if Frey chocolates are available at World Market (they have an super selection of European chocolates.)
Well, here I am as everyone back home gets ready for my favorite holiday of the year, and there’s not an Oscar Meyer hot dog anywhere to be found.
The Fourth is my favorite holiday for quite a few reasons. Here are a few:
1) fireworks/explosives/fire
2) a holiday that is not focused on the meal (Thanksgiving – hours to prepare – consumed in 20 minutes – clean up another hour or so)
3) fireworks/explosives/fire
4) no gift pressure (Christmas – did I get them the “right” gift and how far out of my budget did I go?)
5) fireworks/explosives/fire
6) grilling – the very best way to cook and keep the kitchen clean, and most of my favorite foods
7) fireworks/explosives/fire
8 ) relaxing day of family with converation, fun and blowing stuff up, and mostly outdoors so that the house doesn’t have to be as tidy
9) fireworks/explosives/fire
10) childhood memories of fireworks, cookouts, and services at the little country church cemetary to honor vets.
11) fireworks/explosives/fire
12) a holiday that does not require an extra church service (makes sense if you are part of a church staff family)
So as you can see Fourth of July is the best holiday ever!
Here’s a little clip from my favorite comedian, Jim Gaffigan. Remember, he’s rated PG 13. He gets to the Fourth about 2 minutes into the clip.
As you can see…dogs are ok – soccer balls are not.
This is the dog that just came out of Burger King. He must have had salty fries, because he needed at big drink of water at his car.
This is the dog that is going up to the Wartburg castle tour to learn about where Martin Luther hid out and did spiritual warfare.
This dog is going into the ice cream store.
This dog just got off the train and peed on the wall inside the station, which no one seemed to think was a big deal. We are not sitting on the floor anywhere ever again!
This is the dog that couldn’t go into the 95 Thesis church. He seems ok with that.
This dog was at a wedding.
We’ve seen whole shops dedicated to the Mozart Chocolates. So I bought a couple of these:
And ewwww, what was that stuff in the center? Rather a grainy texture without much flavor.
I love cherries and there are tons of trees all over the place that are ripe right now. So I thought, hey, we’ve had cherry cereal and fresh cherries, this chocolate with the “kirsch liquide” center will be excellent. But apparently the word at the top of the wrapper “alcool” means alcohol. So when these beauties were bit into the liquid center dribbled out and the kids spit the whole kit and kaboodle out.
These little wonders are available everywhere in the US and are great rewards for getting the grocery shopping done, cleaning the bathroom, mopping the floor, and successfully navigating just about anything. The Lindt chocolate factory is in Zurich and I hope to visit there before we come home.
and the angels sang, and there was an open heaven! This little piece of heaven is a Frey chocolate (same last name as our friend Pastor Desmond – pronounced Fray not Fry). It has a slight chocolate shell and an amazing melty center.
