Powerful and Loving: Our Father’s Provision

Minivan

One of our greatest needs as we’ve been prepping for our move to Vermont next February has been a van that would be able to traverse winter roads and accommodate our growing family (side note: you know you’ve moved into a different season of life when you really want a minivan. I’m in full blown fatherhood). One day, I got a call from a close friend of mine saying that he and his wife felt like God was calling them to take care of that need! I was blown away by such a selfless display of love and generosity – little did I know that this story would get better and better.

Once they surrendered to getting us a van, our God not only showed him the van to buy for our family, but He also provided the funds to pay for it through unsolicited commissions he made that same week! Surely our God multiplies seed to sowers, He waits only for our availability and willingness to give!

After receiving the van, we had TWO separate instances of God’s provision for taxes related to the van. In each instance, we received notice that we were given gifts for amounts that exactly matched outstanding taxes and costs related to the van transaction!  What was so moving about God’s provision in these instances was not only His power to meet every need we had down to the penny, but His love in caring so deeply for us and moving other believers to contribute Kingdom resources to meet our needs.

Equipment

Over the last month or so, the Lord has led the church that we’ve been a part of for the last 4 years, the City Church, to merge with a church of like passions with a similar heart for Kennesaw, Northstar Church. We are so thankful for our time at City Church and will always look on this season fondly as the first ministry we received from the Lord with people that we have loved.

We have seen God’s goodness and hand in the timing of Him bringing together these two local churches in the same town for His glory.  One amazing outcome of these two churches joining forces is that the two have generously agreed to give Rivertown Church any equipment belonging to City Church that we might need: audio/video equipment, furniture for kids space, etc.  These are major budget items in a church plant, and the Lord has graciously provided them all up front!

So, let the stories of His faithful provision encourage you this Thanksgiving season. Our heavenly Father knows what we need and has promised to provide for it all! (Matt. 6:32) How He loves us!! He is so faithful and so good and so worthy of our trust!

“Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,

  How I've proved Him o'er and o'er,

  Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!

  O for grace to trust Him more.”

Name of "The Church in Brattleboro"

If you've ever had children, you know that deciding on the name of your child can be quite an ordeal, especially if you're married and both you and your spouse had strong opinions and different tastes.  Round one yields no results as the spouse with a flare for trendy names resorts to creating new names after traditional-name-spouse shoots down possibilities for objects and cities that might sound cool.  The result is perusing baby name websites for hours on end, traditional-name-spouse suggesting the ridiculous in jest and the two resulting at a relative impasse between the two to five names that made the final round. The decision feels so big because names are important, and names last forever.

So what about naming a local church? Where do you start? What biblical concepts should be included? Should it be different than most other churches, or should we name it something similar to other churches we know of because we value the things mentioned in the name? Do you go with the name of your town (i.e. “Flippin Church of God” in Arkansas or “Half Way Baptist Church” in Missouri)?

In all seriousness, we believed that God had a name for this church that He’s called us to plant, and we really wanted Him to be the one to name it (which we have been creatively calling “the church in Brattleboro”).

We've prayed and thought through the name of this church plant, we acquired the conviction that the name should be something that the town could identify with and also represented the town in the name, much like "the church at Philippi" or "the church at Ephesus". Because Brattleboro is situated on the Connecticut River, I was praying through incorporating "River" into the name of the church.  I also liked the idea of including "Town" since we are being planted by Valley Town Church. As I was praying through it, I came across a webpage committed to the town's history, which said, "Brattleboro is a river town, rich in history". That was all the confirmation I needed. This body of believers that the Lord will raise up for the advancement of His kingdom in Brattleboro, New England, and among all nations will be called RIVER TOWN CHURCH.

Keep an eye out for future posts on the Mission, Vision, and Values that God has given us for this body of believers He is raising up in Brattleboro.

India and Vermont

I had the incredible opportunity to go to India this month with two good friends and my dad to encourage and equip seminary students and pastors from all over the country. The stories of the faithfulness of God in their personal testimonies and in His working through their ministries were both encouraging and faith-building.

I've heard that a few people who know of God's call on our lives to Vermont have asked, "Why India? How does this fit into the larger calling to Vermont?"

Those are really great questions. To answer these and other possible questions, I've created and answered the "Potentially Asked Questions" below. I hope they help explain our heart and vision for making disciples in Vermont and among the nations. If you have a question that I've not addressed here, please let me know!

Why India?
If we’ve ever shared our story with you, you know that God has given Kayla and I a desire to proclaim Christ and make disciples where people are unreached with the gospel. You’ve also heard us say that we believe in partnering with and training indigenous missionaries to reach their own people where indigenous believers exist.

Consider the following:

• There are over 1.2 billion people in India, comprised of 2,600 people/ethnic groups, almost 2,400 of which are unreached with the gospel (2% or less evangelical and less that 5% Christian adherents)
• 1,795 of these people groups (over 279 million people) in India are completely UNENGAGED with the gospel (no church planting movement planned, no missionary, no commitment to working in their language or culture)
• 27,000 Indians die every single day, the vast majority of which do not know Jesus Christ, and He shed His blood so that they might worship Him.

For these reasons, the Lord has laid India on our hearts for many years now. I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to train and encourage indigenous pastors and students to challenge and encourage them as they hold their ground on the front lines of the battle for souls among the unreached of India.

How does this fit into the larger calling to Vermont?
While God has made clear that, in this season, He is calling us to the unreached of Vermont and New England, any ministry that I’m given the privilege to lead will have a heart for making disciples of ALL nations because God’s heart is for all people.

My desire is to establish longterm international partnerships for the church in Brattleboro that will serve one of two functions:

• Disciple those who are THERE: Provide opportunity for leaders and teachers in our church plant in Vermont to go to other countries train, encourage, and equip indigenous peoples to reach their nations with the gospel of Christ
• Disciple those who GO: provide opportunity for lay people within the Vermont church plant to serve in a foreign context, helping them to acquire God’s heart for all peoples as they serve alongside ministries that are making disciples of peoples from other nations.

Though this trip accomplished the function of training indigenous missionaries, it also served as a foundational vision trip for developing relationships that I believe could be used of the Lord to accomplish both desired functions of our international partnerships in the future.

My dream has long been for those who are currently far from God in Vermont to be so gripped by Jesus that they go with me to take His gospel to the ends of the earth. This is one of the first steps to realizing that vision.

Were any funds that were raised specifically for Vermont used for the India trip?
No. God graciously provided for the trip to India apart from funds previously given to provide for our family and for the church plant in Brattleboro.

I get the need in India. Why include details of the India trip in your VERMONT partnership update?
Aside from it giving me the opportunity to explain that the church in Vermont will have a passion for reaching the nations, the Lord has given us a prayer team that now consists of over 150 people. We desperately needed people praying for us and the pastors and students there so that the week we spent in India would have drastic implications for the advancement of the Kingdom of God in India for years to come. We view you as our partners in ministry, not just for Vermont, but for whatever Jesus calls us to, so we wanted to have you praying for us and with us as we went!

I praise God for what He’s doing in India, I’m grateful for the opportunity to play a very small part, and I look forward, Lord-willing, to the church in Brattleboro partnering with believers there for years to come!

8 Simple Ways to Be Missional (from Verge Network)

Here is a really simple yet challenging post from the Verge Network on living intentionally in the places where God has you for the sake of the gospel. The Lord has been working this into the hearts of the people of City Church in Kennesaw, and viewing all of life as mission and as opportunity for discipleship will be part of the fabric of the church in Brattleboro. Take a minute to read this practical post, and let it serve you in equipping you to be a better missionary servant in your community.

http://www.vergenetwork.org/2011/06/08/8-easy-ways-to-easily-be-missional/ 

Everyday Opportunities for Discipleship

A book I'm reading right now just posed this question:

    "What little things do you do all the time that can become missional?"

One of the goals of the CityGroup that Kayla and I help lead is to challenge each other to live as a family of missionary servants. Our goal is not to add activities to our schedules, but to see us take the things we already do and let them serve our mission of making disciples in the places God has placed us.

Right before Kayla and I made dinner tonight, I got a call from our neighbor, Nick, who wanted to check in on us and see what we were doing.  I told him we were about to make dinner and then I was going to try to catch some of my brother-in-law's football game.  He said "Okay, have a good night," and I hung up.  When I told Kayla about our conversation, she said "Why don't you invite him to come eat with us?"

So simple.  Here was a perfect opportunity to take everyday life and use it for the sake of the gospel.  The ugly truth was that I didn't want to.  I wanted to enjoy a dinner with my family.  By myself.  We had already started to make dinner.  I had shared with Nick before, and didn't seem to get anywhere.  The excuses (lies from the enemy) were rushing through my head. But the more Kayla and I talked, I knew it was of the Lord.  I called Nick and asked him to come, and he was at our door almost immediately.

We had a great time eating and hanging out, and ultimately God opened the door for us to talk through the Creation narrative and read about the Fall of man into sin in Genesis 3.  We got to talk about God sending Jesus to bear the sins of the world so that we might be saved through Him.  He said that he had heard of Jesus coming to die for us, but he had never heard the story of Creation or the story of Adam and Eve.

Nick didn't respond to the gospel tonight, but seeds were planted.  Seeds were planted that would have never been planted if Kayla didn't think to take a little thing and turn it into an opportunity for mission. It wasn't the easiest or most comfortable option.  It didn't seem convenient. But it ended up being for our joy, and Lord-willing, will lead to Nick finding life and hope in Jesus. Please join us in praying for Nick, and join us in praying that God would open all of our eyes to using the little, normal parts of our days into opportunities to make disciples of Jesus.

     "What little things do you do all the time that can become missional?" What keeps you from turning those things into opportunities to make disciples?

May 17th

Approaching May 17^th each year feels a little bit like walking out of the mall after shopping only to find that it is absolutely pouring outside. You have no umbrella - your only choice is to dash to your car and embrace the inevitable drenching of you and all your belongings. You are safe once you get to your car, but the process is always a little messy.

This day feels the same to me – there’s no way to avoid the tears, the remembering, and the revisiting of scars that many times go unnoticed. It’s not fun. I will get wet, but on the other side, usually the morning of May 18^th, I feel cleansed and at peace after tasting of His faithfulness once again.

12 years without my daddy.

Has it really been that long? In some ways it feels just like yesterday that mom came downstairs and told us through tears that we had a new daddy. On that day we joined the privileged group of people that are particularly protected and cared for by God – a Father of the Fatherless and defender of the widow is God in His holy dwelling… “Do not move the ancient boundary or go into the fields of the fatherless. For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.” (proverbs 23:10-11.) I never would have chosen to make the trade between a natural daddy and having God only as my Father – but I’m so thankful that God decided for me.

Every year the loss is felt in a new way. Last year it was the pain of not having him here to know my husband; this year it hurts that he isn’t here to rejoice in this pregnancy, and I know next year I will long for him to be able to know and love my son.

The thing that hurts the most is that he chose to leave. He took his own life – no one but the enemy influenced his death. He didn’t have to do it. Yes even in this, my soul is at rest because of what I know of my God:

1) He is sovereign. Nothing can happen to me outside of His concsent and all-wise plan.

2) He can do me no wrong. Only because of the cross am I experiencing such grace in this life. Even the most severe trial is a taste of mercy because the pain doesn’t even to compete to the wrath I deserve but will not experience because Jesus drank it all for me.

3) Knowing Jesus better because of this is totally worth it. If this is the way God has chosen to introduce me more deeply to Christ, if this is His preferred method of making me more like Him, and if there are lessons and treasures that can be gleaned from this trial that can be obtained in no easier way…then I am grateful. So. Very. Grateful.

4)

Knowing Jesus even just a little bit better is infinitely worth any amount of pain I must experience in the process. He is just so good.

I will definitely cry a lot today…I always do. But even in the pain I know that I do not grieve like someone who has no hope. I will see my daddy again. My pain can only go so far – and no farther, because Jesus is coming back and I will see my Savior’s face and He will wipe the tears from my eyes…and then I will always be with the Lord.

"Bless our God, O peoples, and sound His praise abroad,

who keeps us in life and does not allow our feet to slip.

For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.

You brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.

You made men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water,

Yet you brought us out into a place of abundance.

Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul."

Psalm 66:8-12, 16.

Engaged - Brittany & Patrick

Getting to take the engagement pictures for this beautiful couple was quite a privilege. Getting to see this girl and this guy enjoy being engaged is even more amazing. Brittany and I have been talking about our husbands and planning out our marriages since middle school, but last year at this time, it seemed that Brittany's man was nowhere in sight. We prayed together for this unknown man often - and she waited patiently. Then all of the sudden, out of absolutely nowhere, Brittany's prince charming arrived on the scene and slowly swept her off their feet. I'm so excited about being apart of their wedding day in July!

The Chase, Pt. 3

In yesterday’s post, we talked about the fact that we make what we think will satisfy us most our primary pursuit.

If we mistakenly pursued a wife thinking that marriage would ultimately satisfy us, it left us wanting like pursuits for ultimate satisfaction in things that aren’t God always do. The ultimate need of every man is to pursue fullness of joy and satisfaction in daily communion with Jesus Christ and then to let his other pursuits grow out of that one pursuit that will always satisfy him.

But you may have also misunderstood the goal in your pursuit of your wife, which is the topic of this post.

We mentioned that many men feel like the pursuit of a woman is over once they have "caught" her and married her. Marriage was the goal, and they arrived at that goal; therefore, the pursuit is over. Mission accomplished. But their desire to pursue is not satisfied, so they go looking for adventure in other pursuits. But what was the goal of your pursuit? A marriage? Or a wife?

The choices may seem similar, but they are infinitely different. While no man would say that all he was after was a marriage, when he stops pursuing his wife, the message that he sends to her is that he has conquered her and is now moving on to pursue other adventures.

It doesn't have to be this way - nor should it be.

The call of God on every husband is for him to love his wife “like Christ loves the church” (Eph. 5:25). That is the goal - to love her like Jesus loves His bride. That means all the time. That means when she doesn't deserve it. That means that in any and every season, in any and every circumstance, you lovingly treasure her, explore her, and pursue her until the day one of you dies.

If that seems impossible, it is because it is.

That is, it is impossible apart from Jesus being that kind of husband in you. Jesus is the only one capable of being a good husband in you - capable of serving, loving, and wooing her when you're tired, when it's inconvenient, or when you're busy. You must throw yourself in dependence on Him, pursuing Him through His Word and seeking Him in prayer so that you might decrease and He might increase (John 3:30).

Do you see how the solutions to the problems fit together? You will never be infinitely satisfied by pursuits that aren't Jesus, but your pursuit of Him will enable the second greatest pursuit that He gives you to enjoy - your pursuit of your wife.

When you believe that you will find ultimate satisfaction in God alone, you will make Him your primary pursuit. When He becomes your primary pursuit and you stop looking to your wife to meet your desire for ultimate satisfaction, your marriage will become less about you and more about her and "us". You will be free pursue her in loving obedience to your greatest desire - Christ Jesus - and He will enable to you pursue her like He pursues us. In the first pursuit, you get Jesus. In the second pursuit, you get to show your wife what He's like - helping her to fall more in love with Him (and you) in the process.

For the glory of Christ in our marriages and all who look on them as parables of His great love,

Ben

The Chase, Pt. 2

In the previous post, we said that we are consumed with the pursuit of what we think will satisfy us. When we catch the thing we are pursuing, often times we find that the pursuit and the thrill of the catch was more exciting and enjoyable than the possessing of the object of our pursuit.

The post concluded by saying that this is often a problem for men in relationship with their wives / future wives, and that there are two underlying problems if you are one of these men:

1. Your pursuit of your wife was/is the primary pursuit of your life

2. You misunderstood the goal of your pursuit of a wife

The first problem is rooted in the fact that no object of our pursuit, no matter how moral, noble, or virtuous it may seem, can satisfy the ultimate desire of our hearts to be satisfied in God alone. Our hearts’ desire for satisfaction is unquenchable outside of Him who is infinitely satisfying. Psalm 16:11 says of God, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever” (emphasis added). That is to say that, in God, joy is not left wanting or lacking, and in Him alone dwells satisfaction that is not fleeting. When we do not believe that, we pursue satisfaction outside of Him.

Just as we pursue what we think will satisfy us, we make what we think will satisfy us most our primary pursuit. So, if as a single man you thought that marriage was the end-goal and marriage would solve the longings of your heart, you made getting married your primary pursuit. The pursuit distracted you from your deeper need to be satisfied in God, and once you got married and you realized that everlasting, full joy could not be found in your wife, you place above her another pursuit that you think will satisfy you.

That your wife could not meet your deepest need or satisfy the longings of your heart is normal – she was never meant to.

God is the only one that can bear up under the weight of our unquenchable desire for satisfaction and joy. God alone can satisfy the deepest longing of our souls and yet do so in a way that leaves us thirsting for more of Him. Ultimately, pursuing Him is the only pursuit that will not leave us disappointed or with joy that is fleeting, and yet because of the infinite nature of the joy found in His presence, our satisfaction in Him does not remove our desire to pursue – it warrants further pursuit!

Also, when our souls are satisfied in Him who is infinitely satisfying, it frees us to pursue the things that He gives us to pursue for His sake. The pursuits that God gives will, as a way of life, enhance our pursuit of Him and will satisfy us to the extent that they keep Him as the ultimate reason for the pursuit. When searches for satisfaction have anything else besides Him as their ultimate object (i.e. pursuing a wife ultimately for your sake and not His), the result is idolatry that is ironically unsatisfying.

So many men feel a temporary joy from pursuing a woman and beating out every other guy that was vying for her affections, but after they win her hand in marriage, the excitement dissipates. If that’s your story, rest assured that your primary problem is that you were (and may still be) looking to her to satisfy your desire for love and joy that can only be satisfied in Him who IS love and in whose presence there is fullness of joy (1 Jn. 4:8; Ps. 16:11).

But you may have also misunderstood the goal in your pursuit of your wife, which is what we’ll talk about in the next post ...

The Chase, Pt. 1

The madness of March basketball was as crazy as ever this year, and yet the championship game couldn’t have been more disappointing. At the end of what was otherwise a very exciting tournament, I was hit with the same thought I had at the end of the college football season – IS THAT IT?

All of the excitement leading up to one moment of crowning glory – one team is left celebrating; all others leave disappointed. What’s worse, I’ve had a favorite team win championships before, and even the excitement of the ultimate win is fleeting. What about next year? Will we get a good recruiting class? Will we be able to repeat? We barely pause to enjoy the win before it is back to the pursuit of another that will also leave us either disappointed or with fleeting satisfaction.

This is not a post about the futility of sports or their inability to provide lasting satisfaction. I love sports. What the tournament and its abrupt ending got me thinking about is this: we are consumed with the pursuit of what we think will satisfy us. When we catch the thing we are pursuing, often times we find that the pursuit and the thrill of the catch was more exciting and enjoyable than the possessing of the object of our pursuit.

This is especially innate in men. We are born loving to hunt, to pursue, to chase. The more difficult the hunt or the challenge, the more we want to rise up to overcome that challenge as a testament to our manhood.

This is true in sports. It’s true in hunting game. It’s true in pursuing a business deal. I am not saying that we do not enjoy the wins. I'm saying that we enjoy the process of winning more than the win itself because with the win always comes the letdown of not being as satisfied as anticipated or for as long as anticipated. When we find that the object of our pursuit didn't satisfy us according to our expectations, however unrealistic those may have been, we move on to another pursuit.

The implications for men and their marriages are staggering if men view(ed) their getting married as the goal of their pursuit of a wife. Once the wedding day is over, so is the excitement of the pursuit. As soon as the excitement of being a newlywed wears off, men go on to put other pursuits above their wives like business, a "successful" church plant or some ministry challenge, or in many cases, other women.

They'll explain exchanging her for their business as trying to provide for the family, and the prominence they give to the ministry as "prioritizing the Lord's work," but really the first two examples can be just as adulterous as the third. All in the name of a good chase - the pursuit of what they think will satisfy them at the time.

How can this problem be avoided though? How are you, as a man, supposed to flip a switch and change your entire disposition from loving a good pursuit to being content with your catch “till death do us part”?

If these questions resonate with you, you most likely have a twofold problem:

-Your pursuit of your wife was the primary pursuit of your life

-You misunderstood the goal of your pursuit of a wife

We’ll deal with these in the next post. To be continued …

Adrian

This sweet little baby was born into our family on March 18th. I've loved watching my sister become a mommy and it's made me so excited about meeting our little Levi in September!

Reaching the Nations ... at KSU

More than 1,600 international students from over 140 different countries.

That's over 72% of the countries in the world being represented on ONE college campus.

Kennesaw State University.

God has called every single Christian on the face of the planet to make disciples of all nations. What are you doing right now to be obedient to that command?

No doubt many of us are called to actually go across the seas to take the name of Jesus where it has not been named before. Others will be senders of those who go. All others will be living in disobedience.

If you're anywhere near the North Atlanta area, God has given us an unbelievable opportunity to reach the nations in our own neighborhood. This is no substitution for going if that's what He's calling you to do now, but for those whom He is keeping stateside for a season or for a lifetime, here is an awesome opportunity to be used of Christ to impact the whole world for His glory, right where you are.

Please go to this site, and PRAY and dream about if and how God would have you serve alongside or as a part of Campus Church to proclaim Jesus to the nations He's brought to us.

We all know "Be still, and know that I am God," but what does the rest of the verse say? What is the reason for our being still before our Maker? So that we can see and understand that it is by His power that "[He] will be exalted among the nations, [He] will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:10).

For His name and renown,

Ben

Trip Lee's Overview of Philippians

It's amazing how well he catches the content of this letter in such a short amount of time!

Like he says, it's only scratching the surface. Come join us on Sunday nights in June and get plugged in to a Campus Church small group so we can all "read it, live it, learn it like the back of our hands" together!

Christ is all,

Ben

New Series at Campus Church!

This Sunday, May 30th, we'll be starting a new series at Campus Church - "To Live is Christ: A Study in Philippians." It will be the first series that the Lord has had me preach at CC. Please pray that He would anoint me with the power of His Holy Spirit and that He would speak through me so as to please Him, and not those who hear. Please pray that He reveals Himself to people's hearts - that He would increase and that I would decrease. Pray that, as Jesus is lifted up, that He would draw all men to Himself. He will do it, but not apart from believing prayer.

"All of God's works are done through believing prayer ... God will not do apart from prayer what He has promised to do in answer to prayer" -Armin Gesswein

Let's pray and watch Him act!

For the glory of Christ,

Ben

Engage in Good Deeds!

It seems that a huge problem in evangelicalism today (beginning with my own heart) is the appearance of doctrinal understanding without the accompaniment of works of love. We rightfully cling desperately to the doctrine of "justification by faith [alone] apart from works" (Rom. 3:28), but in reacting to those who believe works play a role in salvation, we place far too little importance on them.

Paul understands this tension and warns a young pastor he left in charge of a church in Crete named Titus. Paul tells Titus that Jesus "gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:14).

Do we get that? Jesus came to redeem us from our rebellious independence. We lived without regard for His Word and with absolutely no power to obey it even if we read it. He set us free, breathing the purifying life of His Spirit into us, and as a result, a defining characteristic of our lives should be that we are eagerly desiring to engage in acts of love and sacrifice!

Paul continues to instruct Titus concerning works:

"Remind [people of all ages within the church] ... to be ready for every good deed" (3:1).

"God saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" (3:5).

"Concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believe God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good a profitable for all men" (3:8).

A couple of quick observations:

1) We have to be ready for them. God has prepared good works for each of us to walk in before we were ever born. Lets pray that God would make us ready by opening our eyes to see the works He's prepared for us.

2) These works have no role in our salvation. We were saved because God is merciful. We continue in that salvation in the same way, walking "by the washing of water with the Word" and by the power of His Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:26; Gal. 3:2-3; 5:16).

3) The knowledge of that salvation, that God has justified us as a free gift of His grace, frees us and enables us to engage in good deeds. So we engage in good works, not out of guilty obligation, but out of hearts that are free to pursue Jesus with joy and are empowered by His Holy Spirit to obey Him in loving and serving others!

4) It requires care. Paul instructs Titus to warn his people to be careful to engage in good deeds, because the only thing that the devil would love more than keeping us distracted from the need to engage in good works is making us feel like they will happen naturally and that no attention to them is necessary.

Works do not make us righteous; that is clear. They are the overflow of the Holy Spirit inside of us. If He lives in us, He will will point out works that He's prepared for us to walk in and empower us to do them. As such, good works are a thermometer of our spiritual condition. They function like fruit - telling us if we are, in fact, children of God, and if so, how healthy we are. Jesus can't help but engage in good deeds. If He's living inside of us, what should our lives look like?

Praying for greater surrender to His indwelling life,

Ben

TAKEOVER!

Last week, we posted a link to a blog post asking "what if the church of God came together to give generously to the students of KSU?" What if picking up their tab for them at Waffle House and Starbucks led to the opportunity to pray for them and share the gospel with them? What if we could reach hundreds of students with the love of Christ and it created a buzz around campus, not about Campus Church, but about their God?

Praise God it happened!

This past Sunday night, God brought one of the smallest crowds we've had in a while at Campus Church to show to everyone that what He was about to do was of Him, and not of us. That small group of students and some other loving adults gave the largest offering we've seen at Campus Church with the knowledge that every dime was going to bless the students and the staff at Starbucks and Waffle House the very next night!

Last night, hundreds of students came out for free food and coffee, and God gave us the opportunity to pray for them and share the gospel with them. Our desire was that they would see a God who loves them in our giving to them without expecting anything in return. Many seeds were planted as we told the students there that God wants a relationship with them now and that we didn't want them to miss out on the joy of knowing Jesus. We told them that entering into a relationship with Jesus does not promise prosperity, but that He promises to be with them and to hold them up in the midst of what they're going through. We're praying that God uses last night, a very small spark, to start a huge movement of His Spirit on the campus of KSU - one that is grounded in the Word of God and centered on the cross of our Lord Jesus.

It was an AWESOME night that I am praying sets the standard for how we do ministry at CC ... to lavish love on others for the sake of telling them about the matchless joy we have in knowing Jesus! That is the first part of the Campus Church vision: to REACH, DISCIPLE, and LAUNCH!

Would you just us in praying that God would water and grow the seeds that were planted last night? Would you also take 5 minutes and pray over the requests (see below) that the students gave us? We want to see God move in their lives and draw them to Himself, and He will do it as we join in the privilege of asking Him to do so!

Let's live to make Him known!

Ben

Caris Loving

For those of you who have never met Caris Loving Stubblefield, here she is. If this doesn't make you smile/make your day, you officially have problems. We're all so thankful for this precious new gift from the Lord!

Cool Opportunity to Love on KSU Students

Y'all check this out and join us in praying for the Spirit of God to move in the hearts of students all over KSU!

We'd love for anyone who feels like God is leading them to do so to join us in giving to the students and ministering to them this coming Monday night!

Hope in the Midst of Suffering

Are you going through suffering? Do you ever wonder why you are experiencing the pain or persecution that you have been trying to endure?

Paul sheds an interesting light on this in Romans 8 when he tells his recipients that the whole creation has been subjected to futility in the hope of future redemption (8:18-21). He literally says that the entire creation is enslaved to corruption that has entered the world by sin. It's important to note that, even though believers have been set free from the penalty of sin and have received the promise of the Holy Spirit, even they are subjected to the suffering along with the rest of the world (8:23). The result is that we groan now, in this life, because the suffering produces in us a desperate longing and hope for the glory that is to be revealed to us when we are finally redeemed and glorified with Christ (8:17-18; 23-24).

In addition to producing in us a longing for our true and better home with Christ Jesus, suffering gives us opportunity to magnify the goodness and the grace of God as we exalt Him in the midst of what we're going through. God uses our trials to test us and to grow us into maturity in Christ. It's for this reason that Peter gives us the following instructions:

1 Peter 4:12-16
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;
16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.

So God ordains persecution and pain in our lives to test us and to give us an opportunity to glorify Him.

How can you glorify Him in the midst of your suffering?

When you exalt Him as good and as sufficient to satisfy your heart in the midst of what you're going through. When He can strip everything else away and leave you with Christ alone and you still have joy because exalting Him is the aim of your life. Suffering provides a platform for us to say with Paul that our expectation and hope is that "Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:20-21).

So how does this help us in the midst of suffering?

It is meant to encourage and strengthen your faith. These truths are to stir you up by way of reminder of the things that you already know so that you might read them and believe them so that you might have victory over our adversary who would have you believe that God is unjust, uncaring, or has somehow lost control. This is what the devil does. Paul sends Timothy to encourage and strengthen the faith of the Thessalonians concerning his and their sufferings for fear that the tempter might have led them to believe that God had not ordained their sufferings and that they had no hope (1 Thess. 3:2-5).

But He has ordained our sufferings and we do have hope! Do not let the devil succeed in tempting you away from believing that God is sovereign and working all things together for your good and His glory (Rom. 8:28). He has a purpose for our suffering! He is working in us perseverance as we run the race of this life with our eyes on Jesus, conforming us to His image along the way and bringing about the hope of glory by revealing His Son in us in the process (Rom. 5:3-5; Col. 1:27c).

So rejoice, my brothers and sisters. The King is coming to make all things new. We go through pain now, but we will have Him for all of eternity. He is more than worth every ounce of suffering. Let's magnify Him and rejoice in His goodness and grace in letting us have the privilege of pointing others to Him!

Happy Birthday Dad and Gavin!

Today we celebrate the birthday buddies - my Dad and our little nephew Gavin! Gavin is 3 today, and Dad is, well ... older.


Gavin loves his Aunt Kayla ... and is very excited in this picture!



I'm so grateful to have this man of God for my dad!