Discover Life: Exciting Update!!!:
Hey everybody! I just wanted to give you something to be excited about as we bring in the New Year! I released our end of year update a couple of days ago and asked for you to join me in praying for Rob, a new inductee who was accepted into the discipleship ministry. He knew some things about the Bible but had never accepted, confessed, or even considered the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I am ok with that ... in fact, as far as discipling goes, I am excited about it. I've met a lot of guys who think they are Christians, but only serve themselves as lord ... and it is hard to get them to see it. This guy knows he is not a Christian but, after trying everything else, was willing to listen and decide for himself. After almost two weeks of time well spent, he decided tonight, while enjoying some laughs at my house after dinner (Michael Jr - The Man With a Limp ...) that he needed to surrender.
We went into the sanctuary (next door) and talked through some things ... and ... well ... all of heaven is rejoicing. It doesn't take coercion! If it worked, I would do it all of the time ... but it doesn't take that ... neither does it take well thought out speeches or sermons ... but it does take prayer! If you prayed for this man, I thank you. I ask that you would continue to pray. Pray that his heart remains soft as the process of sanctification and transformation continues!
God is faithful! Prayer works! Happy New Year!!!
Discover Life
What Starts In Here Will Reach The World!!!
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Monday, December 28, 2015
Discover Life: Wrapping Up 2015! Looking Forward to 2016! Should You Check That Again?
Discover Life: Wrapping Up 2015! Looking Forward to 2016!
Woohoo!!! 2015 is in the books! What a wonderful year! We had near twenty men come through our doors here at Discover Life. We have seen some impressive break through, healing, and freedom. It is a blessing to be a part of discipling God's wounded people. We had several decisions to follow Christ, even in baptism! We experienced the thrill of seeing people find healing and freedom from past pains, addictions, failures, and wounds! It hasn't been perfect, but God's perfect love has been prevalent! Please pray for Rob, a man who joined the ministry up here a week ago. Please pray that God will be intrusive ... that His light will penetrate ... and that Rob will respond to the love of God in Christ Jesus and repent!
Woohoo!!! 2015 is in the books! What a wonderful year! We had near twenty men come through our doors here at Discover Life. We have seen some impressive break through, healing, and freedom. It is a blessing to be a part of discipling God's wounded people. We had several decisions to follow Christ, even in baptism! We experienced the thrill of seeing people find healing and freedom from past pains, addictions, failures, and wounds! It hasn't been perfect, but God's perfect love has been prevalent! Please pray for Rob, a man who joined the ministry up here a week ago. Please pray that God will be intrusive ... that His light will penetrate ... and that Rob will respond to the love of God in Christ Jesus and repent!
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Discover Life: Wrapping Up October 2015: I Think You're Missing S...
Discover Life: Wrapping Up October 2015: One of our trucks was rusting through the cab and desperately need to be repaired before the damage was irreversible. Since I consider myself to be a decent shade-tree mechanic/body guy, I took it upon myself to fix the damage and reseal the truck. I am not sure why they don't just fiberglass everything with all of the salt and corrosion. My strategy was to grind down all of the rust-contaminated areas using a grinder brush, treat the remaining surface rust, then fiberglass the bottom of the truck (all of it up 6 inches on the door, and finally cover the fiberglass with truck bed liner. I expected all of this to take about 2 weeks. In Louisiana, I would have been successful. You have about 12 minutes to use fiberglass before it cures, so you only use a little at a time and just kind of work your way around the truck. I expected to go through a few cheap brushes (they are destroyed by the hardening fiberglass). I had all of the pieces of the plan together and in place. I had prepared for contingencies. I had all of my materials ready. With this level of preparation and my experience and skill set, what could go wrong?
It started bad. As I began to work on this golf-ball sized hole, the entire sub-surface began to fall apart. The paint was truly holding it together. My golf-ball sized hole grew to the size of a parking garage. Both sides were falling apart all the way up the doors behind the wheel and door trims. No problem, I had plenty of bondo, fiberglass, and plenty of the matting. I was grateful to discover it and to be able to treat it before the winter got it. I am confident it would have been beyond any help with one more winter.
I made the decision to do a complete strip and just fiberglass everything. As I began to work with the fiberglass, I noticed it wasn't tacking up. I mixed the hardener catalyst properly ... it just wasn't hardening. I at first thought that, due to the cold weather, it just took longer, so I continued to fiberglass the rest of the truck. I was actually pleased that I was able to use one brush and not destroy so many. I had expected to be able to come back after lunch and apply the bed liner. When I came back from lunch, it was all still very wet. I figured I would come back the next day and finish it all still way ahead of schedule. A week, later, it was still as if I had just applied it ... wet and totally unworkable. I was stuck and behind schedule ... so I began to ask the experts because obviously I had just been removed from that category. Guess what I discovered.
Did you know that fiberglass doesn't cure when applying it in temperatures under 60 degrees? I didn't know that. But now I do. I can take from days to weeks to cure ... it will cure, but in needs something ... it needs HEAT!!! I hooked up a space heater and employed the use of a heat gun on low heat with high air volume and wouldn't you know!?! As I carefully focused the heat on the fiberglass resin, I could see it hardening. I watched it cure! Wow!!
So what's the point? Let it sink in. I had all of the pieces in place. I had all of the skills, materials, plans, processes, etc ... but I was missing heat. Isn't that our lives. We have all of the things we can control in place for the plan to work and it doesn't because it's missing the one substance that is not natural to us or it ... so we can do all of the things correctly, have the discipline to do all things right and with excellence, and they still don't work out.
Have you ever obeyed God to the minute detail and the thing didn't work out? That's hard to deal with isn't it? Have you ever stepped out using a solid and well laid out plan that just didn't work out? That's hard to deal with isn't it? We question God's faithfulness. We question whether or not we can actually hear His voice. We question our commitment to Him and His commitment to us! Yet in all of these things we must remember that somethings just don't work out because they are missing something we are not responsible to provide! In those cases, the assessment of success must be on the grounds of obedience and not on results! Did you obey God and do what He asked? Then you are successful. Remember, as with King Asa, just because you get the results you want does not mean that God is behind it either. In all things, we must remember this key verse:
"Unless the Lord builds the house, they that labor do so in vain." (Psalms 127:1)
Heat can be a killer ... it can be destructive. It is merely a chemical reaction ... a transfer of energy - atomic collisions. We ask God to do a thing. We make the arrangements. We go through the preparations. We may even go to a few seminars. But when conflict comes we go through tirades to avoid it. Yet it may be that very conflict that God is bringing to serve as the missing ingredient that will cause all of the other parts to work.
The Bible speaks of love the same way (John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 4). "Let me get this straight! I can do all things necessary but, without love, none of it will matter?" Yes! That's exactly what it says. Jesus says (paraphrased) that I can perform the greatest miracles, most powerful services, etc ... but if I don't have an obvious and noticeable love for others, my discipleship is void and invisible ... therefore they can't see Him working through me ... therefore through me they can't see Him. That's something to think about!
When we move to obey the leading of the Lord we must get out of our head the thought or predictions of what that success will look like, or else we will adjust all that we do to cater to that thought. Instead, we must be content with assessing our success based on the merits of pure obedience. If He provides the ingredients we can't, the thing will work. But if in His perfect design He has decided that failure is the needed thing, we have to be ok with that ... even ready for it.
I can tell you, that when working on another man's truck who needs it back, who can't just go buy a new one, who has entrusted me with his valuable possession with the idea that I was going to make it better, and I can't either make it work or replace it ... that finding contentment is easier than it sounds ... and thank goodness for a heat gun. But I have seen plans in Christ fail ... and have seen Him right behind it all ... He always is ... and the result of the thing, whether success or failure, is always survivable and contentment is always attainable throughout the process.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus.
That's my take anyways, thanks for reading!!!
It started bad. As I began to work on this golf-ball sized hole, the entire sub-surface began to fall apart. The paint was truly holding it together. My golf-ball sized hole grew to the size of a parking garage. Both sides were falling apart all the way up the doors behind the wheel and door trims. No problem, I had plenty of bondo, fiberglass, and plenty of the matting. I was grateful to discover it and to be able to treat it before the winter got it. I am confident it would have been beyond any help with one more winter.
I made the decision to do a complete strip and just fiberglass everything. As I began to work with the fiberglass, I noticed it wasn't tacking up. I mixed the hardener catalyst properly ... it just wasn't hardening. I at first thought that, due to the cold weather, it just took longer, so I continued to fiberglass the rest of the truck. I was actually pleased that I was able to use one brush and not destroy so many. I had expected to be able to come back after lunch and apply the bed liner. When I came back from lunch, it was all still very wet. I figured I would come back the next day and finish it all still way ahead of schedule. A week, later, it was still as if I had just applied it ... wet and totally unworkable. I was stuck and behind schedule ... so I began to ask the experts because obviously I had just been removed from that category. Guess what I discovered.
Did you know that fiberglass doesn't cure when applying it in temperatures under 60 degrees? I didn't know that. But now I do. I can take from days to weeks to cure ... it will cure, but in needs something ... it needs HEAT!!! I hooked up a space heater and employed the use of a heat gun on low heat with high air volume and wouldn't you know!?! As I carefully focused the heat on the fiberglass resin, I could see it hardening. I watched it cure! Wow!!
So what's the point? Let it sink in. I had all of the pieces in place. I had all of the skills, materials, plans, processes, etc ... but I was missing heat. Isn't that our lives. We have all of the things we can control in place for the plan to work and it doesn't because it's missing the one substance that is not natural to us or it ... so we can do all of the things correctly, have the discipline to do all things right and with excellence, and they still don't work out.
Have you ever obeyed God to the minute detail and the thing didn't work out? That's hard to deal with isn't it? Have you ever stepped out using a solid and well laid out plan that just didn't work out? That's hard to deal with isn't it? We question God's faithfulness. We question whether or not we can actually hear His voice. We question our commitment to Him and His commitment to us! Yet in all of these things we must remember that somethings just don't work out because they are missing something we are not responsible to provide! In those cases, the assessment of success must be on the grounds of obedience and not on results! Did you obey God and do what He asked? Then you are successful. Remember, as with King Asa, just because you get the results you want does not mean that God is behind it either. In all things, we must remember this key verse:
"Unless the Lord builds the house, they that labor do so in vain." (Psalms 127:1)
Heat can be a killer ... it can be destructive. It is merely a chemical reaction ... a transfer of energy - atomic collisions. We ask God to do a thing. We make the arrangements. We go through the preparations. We may even go to a few seminars. But when conflict comes we go through tirades to avoid it. Yet it may be that very conflict that God is bringing to serve as the missing ingredient that will cause all of the other parts to work.
The Bible speaks of love the same way (John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 4). "Let me get this straight! I can do all things necessary but, without love, none of it will matter?" Yes! That's exactly what it says. Jesus says (paraphrased) that I can perform the greatest miracles, most powerful services, etc ... but if I don't have an obvious and noticeable love for others, my discipleship is void and invisible ... therefore they can't see Him working through me ... therefore through me they can't see Him. That's something to think about!
When we move to obey the leading of the Lord we must get out of our head the thought or predictions of what that success will look like, or else we will adjust all that we do to cater to that thought. Instead, we must be content with assessing our success based on the merits of pure obedience. If He provides the ingredients we can't, the thing will work. But if in His perfect design He has decided that failure is the needed thing, we have to be ok with that ... even ready for it.
I can tell you, that when working on another man's truck who needs it back, who can't just go buy a new one, who has entrusted me with his valuable possession with the idea that I was going to make it better, and I can't either make it work or replace it ... that finding contentment is easier than it sounds ... and thank goodness for a heat gun. But I have seen plans in Christ fail ... and have seen Him right behind it all ... He always is ... and the result of the thing, whether success or failure, is always survivable and contentment is always attainable throughout the process.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus.
That's my take anyways, thanks for reading!!!
Friday, October 2, 2015
Discover Life: Wrapping Up September of 2015: There are Rocks in ...
Discover Life: Wrapping Up September of 2015:
Discipleship is messy. It just is. This month we saw truth come to light in the lives of some of the guys up here, and it wasn't pretty. I wish I could tell you that what we are doing is 100% effective, but God expects me to tell the truth ... so ... but I can tell you that what we are doing here is 100% Biblical, and so are the results. He promises that what is stated in the shadows will be screamed from the rooftops, that all things hidden will be come known (Matthew 10:26; Mark 4:22; Luke 8:17). Up here we say, "the bubbles will rise."
Discipleship is messy. It just is. This month we saw truth come to light in the lives of some of the guys up here, and it wasn't pretty. I wish I could tell you that what we are doing is 100% effective, but God expects me to tell the truth ... so ... but I can tell you that what we are doing here is 100% Biblical, and so are the results. He promises that what is stated in the shadows will be screamed from the rooftops, that all things hidden will be come known (Matthew 10:26; Mark 4:22; Luke 8:17). Up here we say, "the bubbles will rise."
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Discover Life: Wrapping Up August 2015: Don't Feed The Horses!
Discover Life: Wrapping Up August 2015: Don't Feed The Horses!:
Well folks, it's been a year since we left Louisiana and arrived here in upstate NY. We left on August 13th and arrived August 16th ... and it has been an adventure with twists and turns since our boots hit the ground. Allow my to provide a simple bullet - form recap.
Well folks, it's been a year since we left Louisiana and arrived here in upstate NY. We left on August 13th and arrived August 16th ... and it has been an adventure with twists and turns since our boots hit the ground. Allow my to provide a simple bullet - form recap.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Discover Life: Wrapping Up June/July 2015: Plan Your Garden!
Ask The HAZ!!!: Discover Life: Wrapping Up June/July 2015: Plan Yo...:
Where does the time go? June felt like it was only 10 days long and it was mid July before I realized it! There is so much to do around here during the warm months to prepare for the long winters that we could easily fill every sunlit moment of every day with work and still have things left undone. Yet we press ourselves to keep the task of making sure that the people ministered through Discover Life are "thoroughly prepared for every good work." This means that we have to continually view the person as the focus of the ministry, and not as a resource for getting ministry done. These two months we saw some good transition within some of the men who have come to a place in their transformation where they need real world environments to properly apply what they've learned and what they must continue to learn in their discipleship. Transition is part of the nature of this type of discipleship, and this month we said farewell to Justin as he moves forward with his life in his walk and welcomed Ken into the ministry here. I ask that you pray for both.
Where does the time go? June felt like it was only 10 days long and it was mid July before I realized it! There is so much to do around here during the warm months to prepare for the long winters that we could easily fill every sunlit moment of every day with work and still have things left undone. Yet we press ourselves to keep the task of making sure that the people ministered through Discover Life are "thoroughly prepared for every good work." This means that we have to continually view the person as the focus of the ministry, and not as a resource for getting ministry done. These two months we saw some good transition within some of the men who have come to a place in their transformation where they need real world environments to properly apply what they've learned and what they must continue to learn in their discipleship. Transition is part of the nature of this type of discipleship, and this month we said farewell to Justin as he moves forward with his life in his walk and welcomed Ken into the ministry here. I ask that you pray for both.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Discover Life: Wrapping Up May 2015 - Could Have Used Some of Tho...
What happened?? I thought April flowers brings May showers! What a month we had. The students of Discover Life had a couple opportunities to help the local fire departments put out some fires that started in the mountain brush. It has been dry for most of the month. But what a testimony!! The men who come up here for ministry are often in need of help yet in their need they can minister to the local community by helping. This is on going throughout the year. Each season brings its own situations that create needs that the men can meet throughout the mountaintop community. Fortunately as we watched the month close, we also saw some good rain that our gardens needed pretty desperately. The students also served in other various capacities to include (but are not limited to) serving the Huntersfield retreat center in meal preparation, facility and grounds keepings, and wood preparation as well, serving the mothers of the church a breakfast, various ministry opportunities within the church such as door greeters, youth and children’s ministry, worship team, audio and visual, and facility and grounds maintenance and cleaning. It is our pleasure to serve those within the community.
Monday, May 4, 2015
The Beatitude and Exodus teachings are live and online!
As promised, you can listen in on a great week of Biblical teachings on both the Exodus of Israel and also a detailed explanation of the Beatitudes by Bible teacher Drew Crowell.
Just visit our website at http://discoverlifeministry.com/lessons-from-the-saw-mill.html and enjoy your learning!!!
These teaching would make great for personal, home group, and church studies. I encourage you to make good use of them!
Just visit our website at http://discoverlifeministry.com/lessons-from-the-saw-mill.html and enjoy your learning!!!
These teaching would make great for personal, home group, and church studies. I encourage you to make good use of them!
Friday, May 1, 2015
Discover Life: Wrapping Up April 2015 - Who Muddied The Waters??
Ask The HAZ!!!: Discover Life: Wrapping Up April 2015 - Who Muddie...:
What a month!!! April was a fast and exciting 30 days. I don't know where to begin.
I'll start with the fact that we witnessed the baptism of Nick and Taylor as they made their professions of their faith in Jesus Christ public. I have been blessed to view their transformation. It is said that it is difficult to see change when you are with people daily ... you know how change comes slowly and sometimes it takes separation to truly see the change. While there may be truth in that, it is not absolute. It Christ, change can be drastic ... He is in the business of making all things new starting with the soul but spreading to our character ... and I have been privileged to watch some pretty awesome changes of character. Please continue to pray for Nick and Taylor as they deepen their understanding of their identity in Jesus.
We also experienced some fantastic growth this month. Craig, one of the mentors here graduated into his transitional period and is currently serving in ministry at an undisclosed place with the hope of successful transition. Please pray for God's will in Craig's life. If this doesn't work, Craig will return and we will regroup and launch again. Wait ... the leaving of a person is growth?? Absolutely! The end goal of this ministry is to launch people back into society fully equipped for every good work! Within a few days, we received four new men up to The Hill for induction into ministry here at Discover Life. Evan, Mike, Bob, and Jonathan all came up within days of each other ... which also was a stretching for Stephen, Nick, and Taylor. Stephen (our only mentor) was on a much needed break so it fell on Nick and Stephen to take on the responsibility of helping new inductees transition here ... that is no easy burden ... in fact it can be extremely stressful. But they rose to the occasion ... their compassion for the needs of the new men was more of a priority to them than their discomfort and perceived lack of preparation and readiness to lead ... they were stretched but they were successful. Evan, unfortunately, was not successful in his transition and he returned home. Please continue to pray for him as well as he continues to search within himself and before God. We also received another student for our school of ministry, Justin. Please pray for the men on the hill during their induction and continued transition. Please pray for the well being of their families in their absence. Please, above all, pray that their hearts are softened and shattered by the grace of God and that they will receive that grace.
We were privileged to bring in Drew Crowell this month for a week long retreat that ended with a joint retreat with our sister organization, Discover Life of Grace Church. Drew taught the men an in depth teaching on Exodus which will be available online very soon (I just finished editing the last teaching session). It was amazing to sit and listen to Drew break down the importance of each step along the way, starting from the life of Joseph and ending with the Exodus of Israel. God promised it to Abraham and He kept His promise as He always does. It was encouraging to hear the men respond and ask questions. They were obviously affected by his willingness to pour into them. Every work of man and the demonic only serves to play into the hand of our Great and Loving Father. God is in control. After the Exodus, Drew blessed us with a double header by teaching on the Beatitudes (also soon to be available on the website www.discoverlifeministry.com). We are extremely grateful for Drew's obedience, willingness, and compassion he showed for the people of Discover Life, both here on The Hill, and extended to the Mountaintop and Grace Church communities.
I was privileged to share at two regional churches, Horizon Fellowship (Greenville) and Grace(Washingtonville) and look forward to sharing the grace of God shown here on The Hill at Discover Life to churches in the future. If you are interested in supporting the ministry here at Discover Life, you are encouraged to reach out to us by visiting www.discoverlifeministry.com. I also want to remind you that we have opportunities to help us help others. For more information on how you can support this ministry of reconciliation, CLICK HERE!
Lesson From The Saw Mill: "Who Muddied The Waters???"
1Samuel 17:40 Then he (David) took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine (Goliath).
I remember learning as a child how flowing water makes rocks smooth, but I have to admit, even though I took Earth Science and Geology in high school and college I have always had a hard time understanding how water can make rocks smooth ... especially in relatively short amounts of times...until the thaw this winter. You see, we have several rivers that run throughout our mountaintop region with multiple off shoots of creeks and springs. When we moved up here in August, I was amazed at the clarity of the water ... it was crystal clear! The springs on the mountaintop are drinkable without filtration! They are desired swimming and fishing holes for the people of the community ... so refreshing! Yet, when the snow began to melt, the silt and mud content of the rivers reminding me of the Mississippi River ... almost pure dirt ... and the volume and velocity ... the river was a raging.
The silt and soil came from the breakdown of the rock exposed and gathered by the melting ice. The very same beautiful demonstrations of ice encapsulating the rock walls on the mountains were the destructive force of the rock itself. The water comes from springs coming within the rock and when it freezes, it expands against itself,crushing the brittle sections of rock into silt. This silt remains in the ice, but once melted, it is transferred to the rivers with the escaping water. All along the scenic routes are piles of this silt that were trapped during the melt and couldn't get to the river. Some of that will be gathered by the local people and used to repair and replenish their roads and paths, the rest will continue to break down and be spread through natural erosion and transfer to rebuild and replenish the ground.
The temperature of the water itself is barely above freezing. The cold temperature mixed with the silt concentration combined with the sheer force of the water volume transformed this life giving source into an obvious source of death and destruction! So what's the point???
Well it's simple really...unless you've never witnessed the use of a wetsander or a sandblaster. We intentionally use water with course materials to maximize a surface's ability to carry a perfect. Dry sanding will always show scratches when glossed, but by wetsanding, we can prepare a surface for a scratchless and seemingly flawless surface. We use sandblasters to thoroughly strip surfaces to their original look. To attempt to use sandpaper for that result destroys both the sand paper and (often) the surface. God is the perfect craftsman. When He says in Scripture that He is working both in us and for us to bring about in and through us His good purposes, He is doing just that.
You see, it is the very nature of the water ... the temperature, the silt, the volume, and the velocity ... that cause the rocks in the water to be stripped, cleansed, and smoothed. The rocks don't see the change in the water as a threat ... yet we do. We ask God to do His work in us but don't want anything to change ... we want comfortable ... yet it is in the comfort of our lives that we develop deposits and become contaminated by foreign elements that do not belong joined to us. It is only through the introduction of a force stronger than that which is binding us that we are freed from the things in our lives that cause us to compromise the purity and integrity of our lives. In nature, we see all kinds of animals and plant life that seem to purposefully attract lifeforms that purify them of parasites and toxic buildups that appear invasive and intrusive yet are performing a vital, live preserving function. God says He uses nature to reveal His splendor in and to us so that none of us are without excuse (Romans 1:20)!
Do we see times of tribulations ... the muddied waters in our life ... as times of punishment? Do we go into depressions when things get hard blaming God for abandoning us? Of do we welcome the turbulent waters as God's method for cutting away from us the sharp ends that wound ourselves and others returning us to the purity of His creation at work in us? I encourage you to remember the following verses when things seem to be getting tough:
Rom 14:4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
Php 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Heb 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Trust in the goodness of the Lord to be at work in your life knowing that, as His child, nothing can come in your life apart from His permission. The answer to the question "who muddies these waters?" is often God saying, "I did." The men that are up here and all of us who are ministered to by the ministry of Discover Life, or any other discipleship ministry, thrive on the fact that God purposefully muddies the waters in our lives to strengthen, purify, and deliver us from things we have accumulated and characteristics we need broken off in our lives to be better useful for His purposes.
Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
I trust that He will even use the muddied waters of my life to bring about in me His purposes ... and that He will bring me to the end He has prepared for me ... since the beginning! I encourage you to do the same. That's my take anyways.
Thanks for reading!!!
What a month!!! April was a fast and exciting 30 days. I don't know where to begin.
I'll start with the fact that we witnessed the baptism of Nick and Taylor as they made their professions of their faith in Jesus Christ public. I have been blessed to view their transformation. It is said that it is difficult to see change when you are with people daily ... you know how change comes slowly and sometimes it takes separation to truly see the change. While there may be truth in that, it is not absolute. It Christ, change can be drastic ... He is in the business of making all things new starting with the soul but spreading to our character ... and I have been privileged to watch some pretty awesome changes of character. Please continue to pray for Nick and Taylor as they deepen their understanding of their identity in Jesus.
We also experienced some fantastic growth this month. Craig, one of the mentors here graduated into his transitional period and is currently serving in ministry at an undisclosed place with the hope of successful transition. Please pray for God's will in Craig's life. If this doesn't work, Craig will return and we will regroup and launch again. Wait ... the leaving of a person is growth?? Absolutely! The end goal of this ministry is to launch people back into society fully equipped for every good work! Within a few days, we received four new men up to The Hill for induction into ministry here at Discover Life. Evan, Mike, Bob, and Jonathan all came up within days of each other ... which also was a stretching for Stephen, Nick, and Taylor. Stephen (our only mentor) was on a much needed break so it fell on Nick and Stephen to take on the responsibility of helping new inductees transition here ... that is no easy burden ... in fact it can be extremely stressful. But they rose to the occasion ... their compassion for the needs of the new men was more of a priority to them than their discomfort and perceived lack of preparation and readiness to lead ... they were stretched but they were successful. Evan, unfortunately, was not successful in his transition and he returned home. Please continue to pray for him as well as he continues to search within himself and before God. We also received another student for our school of ministry, Justin. Please pray for the men on the hill during their induction and continued transition. Please pray for the well being of their families in their absence. Please, above all, pray that their hearts are softened and shattered by the grace of God and that they will receive that grace.
We were privileged to bring in Drew Crowell this month for a week long retreat that ended with a joint retreat with our sister organization, Discover Life of Grace Church. Drew taught the men an in depth teaching on Exodus which will be available online very soon (I just finished editing the last teaching session). It was amazing to sit and listen to Drew break down the importance of each step along the way, starting from the life of Joseph and ending with the Exodus of Israel. God promised it to Abraham and He kept His promise as He always does. It was encouraging to hear the men respond and ask questions. They were obviously affected by his willingness to pour into them. Every work of man and the demonic only serves to play into the hand of our Great and Loving Father. God is in control. After the Exodus, Drew blessed us with a double header by teaching on the Beatitudes (also soon to be available on the website www.discoverlifeministry.com). We are extremely grateful for Drew's obedience, willingness, and compassion he showed for the people of Discover Life, both here on The Hill, and extended to the Mountaintop and Grace Church communities.
I was privileged to share at two regional churches, Horizon Fellowship (Greenville) and Grace(Washingtonville) and look forward to sharing the grace of God shown here on The Hill at Discover Life to churches in the future. If you are interested in supporting the ministry here at Discover Life, you are encouraged to reach out to us by visiting www.discoverlifeministry.com. I also want to remind you that we have opportunities to help us help others. For more information on how you can support this ministry of reconciliation, CLICK HERE!
Lesson From The Saw Mill: "Who Muddied The Waters???"
1Samuel 17:40 Then he (David) took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine (Goliath).
I remember learning as a child how flowing water makes rocks smooth, but I have to admit, even though I took Earth Science and Geology in high school and college I have always had a hard time understanding how water can make rocks smooth ... especially in relatively short amounts of times...until the thaw this winter. You see, we have several rivers that run throughout our mountaintop region with multiple off shoots of creeks and springs. When we moved up here in August, I was amazed at the clarity of the water ... it was crystal clear! The springs on the mountaintop are drinkable without filtration! They are desired swimming and fishing holes for the people of the community ... so refreshing! Yet, when the snow began to melt, the silt and mud content of the rivers reminding me of the Mississippi River ... almost pure dirt ... and the volume and velocity ... the river was a raging.
The silt and soil came from the breakdown of the rock exposed and gathered by the melting ice. The very same beautiful demonstrations of ice encapsulating the rock walls on the mountains were the destructive force of the rock itself. The water comes from springs coming within the rock and when it freezes, it expands against itself,crushing the brittle sections of rock into silt. This silt remains in the ice, but once melted, it is transferred to the rivers with the escaping water. All along the scenic routes are piles of this silt that were trapped during the melt and couldn't get to the river. Some of that will be gathered by the local people and used to repair and replenish their roads and paths, the rest will continue to break down and be spread through natural erosion and transfer to rebuild and replenish the ground.
The temperature of the water itself is barely above freezing. The cold temperature mixed with the silt concentration combined with the sheer force of the water volume transformed this life giving source into an obvious source of death and destruction! So what's the point???
Well it's simple really...unless you've never witnessed the use of a wetsander or a sandblaster. We intentionally use water with course materials to maximize a surface's ability to carry a perfect. Dry sanding will always show scratches when glossed, but by wetsanding, we can prepare a surface for a scratchless and seemingly flawless surface. We use sandblasters to thoroughly strip surfaces to their original look. To attempt to use sandpaper for that result destroys both the sand paper and (often) the surface. God is the perfect craftsman. When He says in Scripture that He is working both in us and for us to bring about in and through us His good purposes, He is doing just that.
You see, it is the very nature of the water ... the temperature, the silt, the volume, and the velocity ... that cause the rocks in the water to be stripped, cleansed, and smoothed. The rocks don't see the change in the water as a threat ... yet we do. We ask God to do His work in us but don't want anything to change ... we want comfortable ... yet it is in the comfort of our lives that we develop deposits and become contaminated by foreign elements that do not belong joined to us. It is only through the introduction of a force stronger than that which is binding us that we are freed from the things in our lives that cause us to compromise the purity and integrity of our lives. In nature, we see all kinds of animals and plant life that seem to purposefully attract lifeforms that purify them of parasites and toxic buildups that appear invasive and intrusive yet are performing a vital, live preserving function. God says He uses nature to reveal His splendor in and to us so that none of us are without excuse (Romans 1:20)!
Do we see times of tribulations ... the muddied waters in our life ... as times of punishment? Do we go into depressions when things get hard blaming God for abandoning us? Of do we welcome the turbulent waters as God's method for cutting away from us the sharp ends that wound ourselves and others returning us to the purity of His creation at work in us? I encourage you to remember the following verses when things seem to be getting tough:
Rom 14:4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
Php 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Heb 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Trust in the goodness of the Lord to be at work in your life knowing that, as His child, nothing can come in your life apart from His permission. The answer to the question "who muddies these waters?" is often God saying, "I did." The men that are up here and all of us who are ministered to by the ministry of Discover Life, or any other discipleship ministry, thrive on the fact that God purposefully muddies the waters in our lives to strengthen, purify, and deliver us from things we have accumulated and characteristics we need broken off in our lives to be better useful for His purposes.
Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
I trust that He will even use the muddied waters of my life to bring about in me His purposes ... and that He will bring me to the end He has prepared for me ... since the beginning! I encourage you to do the same. That's my take anyways.
Thanks for reading!!!
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
March 2015 in the Books ... April in the Sights ... CAREFUL!!!
Ahhh ... the last day of March ended with some expected (though thought by certain weather authorities unexpected) snow up here in Prattsville, NY. It has been a beautiful winter and, though according to the calendar it should be spring, you wouldn't just know it yet here.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Discover Life: Wrapping Up February 2015 - Watch Your Gauges!!!
Discover Life: Wrapping Up February 2015 - Watch Your Gauges!!!: February is behind us! What a month it has been too. The students were instrumental in their support of several retreats, including a minister's retreat. They were also able to attend and glean from the minister's retreat. The students were intensely challenged by the speakers' call for ministers to find contentment and balance in their lives and let that have its effect on their ministry. The support for these retreats is exhaustive. The students cut and stack the wood, clean the whole facility, help with the kitchen, maintain and repair all facilities and equipment, etc. It is a pleasure to serve. We refer to all menial labor as "worship" because that is what it is. The labors of the students provide much of the platform for every person who receives ministry up here in any way. It is a thrill to see people praying for someone who has relaxed enough to open up an issue while sitting in front of a huge fire place with a warming fire on wood cut, split, stacked, and replenished by our students. That's just one example. There truly is no end to the wide reaching effects resulting from a person being willing to labor in love.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Discover Life: Wrapping Up January 2015 ...and 2014
Discover Life: Discover Life Newsletter is up!!!: Wow! What a year! With 2014 behind and January 2015 also closed down, I think it's high time for an update ... or in this case, an initial post!!! So keep reading!!!
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