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!!!