February 28, 2009

30 Hour Famine Day 2

What an unexpected turn of events this day had for me. I spent late morning and early afternoon with a friend of mine, just reconnecting. That was a good thing.

The unexpected was when God began to change the message He had for me to deliver in the evening at The Famine. It is funny to me that the thing that I have always struggled with is having everything ready to go for each place I am going to be. That has been my struggle in ministry forever. So I am getting to the point where I am for the most part ready, and yet God has recently been changing things and making me wait on the exact thing. For instance, I had exactly what I was going to speak about this evening till this morning, when God started to change the topic, and the direction.

Last week, I had a couple of ideas for the Lock-in, and came up with what seemed to be the perfect one as I continued to listen to God all the way up to the end. The same thing with preaching at Lisbon. I had a couple I wanted to do, and God gave me the go ahead on the way to church. It turned out to be the exact one that the church needed to hear, from the feedback that I got.

It is nerve racking to me to get up and not have the whole thing thought out completely, and when I mean completely, not having enough time to at least have an order of where I would like to go, knowing it won't always be in that order, and when I don't have my computer with me up front, not always remembering what is coming next.

The jury is still out on what the folks at Damascus thought about tonight, and yet it is exactly what God wanted me to speak.

Let God rock your world,
Scott

30 Hour Famine

I arrived in Damascus, OH last night to speak at a 30 hour famine event that continues through this evening. I cannot give an exact number but somewhere around 140 students and 30 adults.

Last night I spoke to the group after an awesome worship set by a band called the One80 band.

Towards the end of the talk, I asked if anyone wanted to for the first time say that they were sorry for the things that they have done wrong and want to follow Jesus with everything that they are to stand up on the count of three. When I got to three there were around 15-20 people that stood. It was amazing. I then opened it up and asked people to be unsatisfied with thier relationship with Christ, because it was not about following a bunch of rules and laws, but about developing a relationship with God. That doubled to trippled the number standing. God was definitely present and moving.

As Alex the Youth Pastor said when he came up, "God always meets us where we are at." That is what happened.

Doing it for Him,
Scott

February 21, 2009

Sleepless in North Canton

So, I am writing this at 5:30 in the evening on Saturday with a total of 1 hour of sleep since 9:00 am on Friday morning. I am extremely tired as I am visiting with some friends and preparing to preach twice tomorrow morning and once tomorrow evening.

Had a great night last night. I spent 12 hours with a group of Junior Highers in North Canton, OH, from 8pm to 8am. It was nuts and full of activities. I had the chance to speak 2 times during the course of the night. The first time I spoke, God was giving the word to go ahead and give a call to those who wanted to for the first time to let God know that they were sinners, they were sorry, and wanted to follow God with everything that they have. There were 5-6 people that accepted Christ for the first time. It was awesome.

The second one was a call to be unsatisfied and to actively and aggressively seek to make our relationship with God stronger. The majority of the teens raised their hand in response. It was amazing.

I am so glad that God is using me, and I pray that he will continue.

Where is God using you in these days.

Scott

February 20, 2009

Trust

God made a promise to me a couple of years ago when I quit my job to take care of my family. He told me to not worry, he will provide for us. The problem is, I am a man, and I don't want to rely on anyone but me to provide for my family, but God to date has not let me do that.

This reminds me of the story of Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice Isaac. On their way up the mountain, this is what transpired.

Gen. 22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Gen. 22:8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

Abraham did not take a different sacrifice with him beside the one that God asked for. Even though he did not understand, he answered his son, when he asked about the sacrifice, "God himself will provide". That is one amazing answer. I hope I remember that answer. When They got to the place where Abraham was to sacrifice, and he had put his son on the altar. God stopped him, and there was a ram caught in the thicket. God did provide. Abraham trusted God even though he did not understand.

I feel like such a "poser" most days. I always hear that I have so much faith to step out and do what I am doing, and yet most days I am "threatening" to go and get a real job. My trust seems to last long enough after God provides till the next time I think about what bills, repairs or upcoming costs are coming, which is not too long after. I feel like such a fake sometimes.

2 weeks ago, I was in the same boat.

That day a few things happened. I talked with a director of a camp in New Hampshire that books camps and retreats all year long. We seem to be on the same page, and will begin to receive offers to speak there.

I had a friend from North Carolina which I have not talked to in a couple of years call and ask me if I was available in the middle of April. I told her that I was open and she asked if I wanted to come speak at a retreat that she was planning for. She proceeded to tell me a couple of times that her Senior Pastor and others around her were giving her names and suggesting people to come speak. She then told me that God continued to lay me on her mind and so she called.

We needed to pay rent, and we only had a few dollars to pay. I arranged to borrow some money for it. That evening, someone called that I have never met, and Tauni knows very little, and told her that God spoke to her and told her to help pay our rent for the month. She pretty much paid the whole thing. I told Tauni that it almost doesn't effect me any more just because it happens all the time, and yet it amazes me everytime.

All of these happened in one day. That day, I looked to heaven and said, "OK God, I get it"!

I need to continue to Trust in the one that made me the promise, because he always follows through.

Are there things that God has promised you, either through direct revelation(God speaking directly to you), or through the scriptures that you need to go back and believe and trust God to follow through on?

That is all He wants me to say.
Scott

February 19, 2009

Computer

To be able to continue the ministries that God has put in my path, I use a computer for just about all of them, including the updates here. My Mac Powerbook was failing. The charging was difficult. It just just shut down on me a few times, and even while speaking. The memory was not being recognized anymore and so the video program that I used was not able to be utilized. It is about 4-5 years old, and has been drug all over the place. It was about time. I was praying that God would give me the money to go buy a new laptop. It was evident that it was time.

A few months back now, I got a call from someone who told me that they had just bought a lap warmer. Went on to tell me about the particulars of something that had x amount of memory, hard drive, and some other geeky things that I will not go into.

This person went on to tell me that he bought this computer for me. It is a brand new Macbook Pro. It has given me the opportunity to be confident while speaking that my computer will not shut down and will charge properly, video stuff and a myriad of other things.

God is an amazing God. I continue to marvel at his provisions.

That is all He wanted me to say.
Scott

February 18, 2009

Celebrate Recovery

I spoke at a group called celebrate recovery last night. It was a group of around 15 people that meet together to basically go through a christian 12 step program. It is designed to deal with addictions and everything.

I had a particular talk about how we fall for cheap imitations of what God has designed for us. It was really weird. I got through what I was going to say in like 10 minutes or so, which for most of those reading this, would be pumped if I only talked for 10 minutes, so I began to ask God, "what do I say now?" He laid on my heart to walk through what seemed like to me, 86 different topics or so, but of course God used all those "words" to share his love.

I had them take some time and pray through some things that God was laying on their heart personally. During that time, God gave me some words to continue with which were new to me. I told them that I have fences that I put up to help me stay on the right path with God, but it is not the fences or rules that save me, it is Jesus Christ who saves me, and only he can save you. I asked if anyone wanted to follow Christ for the first time and to do it with all your heart. I had several raise their hands and led them through the prayer to follow God.

It is a little more nerve racking for me to speak in front of adults, and even more when it is a smaller group, no matter what age, but to ask the question of accepting Christ in a small group feels like I am exposing myself for some reason. Especially if I don't know the group. So when God wanted me to ask the question, I questioned God, and he told me to keep going and ask the question.

It is great to serve a God that knows everything, and everyone.

That is all He wants me to say.
Scott