Matthew 28: 19-20 says >"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
I have a close friend who I had a long visit with the other night and he is a devoted Christian man, trying to be involved in church and wanting to be obedient to God and he said to me that he has been praying for some time now, searching for an answer from God as to what ministry He wants for him and just cannot seem to hear God's leadership at this point in his life. Well, I could not let it go unsaid, and so I said it. You don't have to pray for God's leadership in your life. In most cases with Christians today, that seems to me to be just another method of delaying the obvious in our Christian walks. God has told us very plainly, in the above verses that we have an obligation to "GO" and "Share" and "Teach" EVERYONE "...to observe all that has been commanded to us..."
I look at this as what I refer to a "normal traffic pattern" of life. As we "Go" we "Share"; as we "Share" we "Teach"; as we "Teach" we "Win" the lost of the world over to the Lord and they become His disciples so He can command "Them" to "Go, Make, & Teach" the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sure there are other things that need to be done within and outside of the church, like feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, ministering to the lonely, (we just delivered another chemo "Goodie Basket" to a handful of patients today) but we DO NOT HAVE TO PRAY about what God wants from us. He has made it very clear. "Go, Make & Teach" disciples about My love so they can go in return and do the same for someone else. What we fail to see is that God never said, as you fellowship within the confines of the church building "Go, Make, & Teach"
In the book of Acts, chapter 1:8 He says ..."you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth". That pretty much covered the entire map at that time. Don't find yourself so "heavenly conscious that you are, no earthly good"! You don't have to pray about your ministry. Everything you do inside and outside of the church is secondary to the action which Jesus gave to us when He said "GO".
So what does "Normal Traffic Pattern of Life" mean, anyway? Well, it means that when you are standing around the water cooler at work, the football game last night should not be the "hottest" topic. It means when you share lunch time with someone who is hurting, helping them find a "life mate" is not what God wants. It means that you must, without fear, and with the strongest conviction, open your mouth and introduce Christ as the "end all, fix all" to this life's difficulties and disasters. Don't be afraid to say what you know about Christ. The blind man who received his sight, knew ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and he walked away from that event declaring, "...all I know is that once I was blind and now I see." Do you see the events of the world today? They are one disaster after another and we all sit back and say, "Man, Jesus must be coming back soon." But do we believe it? Do we need to pray about it? I don't believe so.
Here's my story! All I know is Jesus! Once I was blind and then I could see (Jesus)...because someone introduced Him to me. I've knelt on a cold chemotherapy room floor in front of a chair of a lady receiving her treatment while I had a needle stuck in my chest receiving my own treatment and we prayed and asked Jesus to save her, and guess what? HE DID! Her discomfort turned to peace all at once and nothing else really mattered. Have you experienced that joy? In the "Normal Traffic Pattern of Life" God has commanded us to "Go". And when we "Go" tell His story.
What are you waiting for?
I'm even happy to help you get started. Just tell your friends to read this blog. Then have them search the verses. See if what I have said is not the truth. Then let them pass it on to their friends and tell them they got it from you. Only DON'T JUST SIT THERE AND WAIT FOR GOD TO SPEAK! HE HAS ALREADY SPOKEN!
Dave
Crazy Papa
I'll make 'um an offer
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
A Blessing of Unspeakable Generosity
In the book of Malachi, Chapter 3, verse 10b it says "...test Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." What the prophet is speaking of here is the completeness, not only of the "tithe" but of your whole self for God's bidding and He will bless you with unspeakable blessings. Most of you who have followed our story over the last several years are aware that it is the desire of our heart to "bring our whole selves" into the house of the Lord to be used as He sees fit. And there have been many situations where He has, most assuredly, used Barbara and I for His Glory and we are grateful for these opportunities. We have dedicated ourselves to the ministry of those who continually suffer pain and grief and God continues to be faithful. The stories and praises are unending. And they continue tonight.
Most of you are also aware of the assault against me here in this apartment complex in March of this year and our children's desire to help us be relieved of this "anxious" situation. Well, this evening, our Son & Daughter-In-Law, with the support of our daughters and their husbands, have presented Barbara and I with our very own, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home, situated very near to their homes for security. It is a newer home and very beautiful. It is exactly what Barb would have picked out, had she been doing the house shopping herself and we are overwhelmed with gratitude and love for this wonderful thing that has been done to help bless me and Barb. Similar to the grace that has been bestowed upon us by our Lord Jesus Christ, our children, by their love and respect have secured our safety and peace for the rest of our lives. What a tremendous earthly blessing. Some of you have read my writing for years and tonight, I am having trouble finding words to express my feelings for the actions these precious kids have taken and how they have shown great care and respect for us. As I weep with great joy, I find myself speechless.
What I can say is that Barbara and I have tried for decades to be faithful to God and His direction in our lives. We have been willing servants, stumbling and falling from time to time, but never feeling that God ever one time, has turned His back on us. Tonight with such a precious action, Barb and I want to renew our commitment to God's every little detail in our lives, and continue our commitment to His work in our lives.
I wanted to share this with all of you right away and we will be posting photos as soon as they are available. Our phone remains the same and we will be getting new email addresses as we change our internet service at that time to Cox Cable Service. We will keep you posted. I will never forget that this has happened because all of you have prayed and our Father in Heaven has heard your prayers.
We love you all,
Dave & Barb Stallings
Most of you are also aware of the assault against me here in this apartment complex in March of this year and our children's desire to help us be relieved of this "anxious" situation. Well, this evening, our Son & Daughter-In-Law, with the support of our daughters and their husbands, have presented Barbara and I with our very own, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home, situated very near to their homes for security. It is a newer home and very beautiful. It is exactly what Barb would have picked out, had she been doing the house shopping herself and we are overwhelmed with gratitude and love for this wonderful thing that has been done to help bless me and Barb. Similar to the grace that has been bestowed upon us by our Lord Jesus Christ, our children, by their love and respect have secured our safety and peace for the rest of our lives. What a tremendous earthly blessing. Some of you have read my writing for years and tonight, I am having trouble finding words to express my feelings for the actions these precious kids have taken and how they have shown great care and respect for us. As I weep with great joy, I find myself speechless.
What I can say is that Barbara and I have tried for decades to be faithful to God and His direction in our lives. We have been willing servants, stumbling and falling from time to time, but never feeling that God ever one time, has turned His back on us. Tonight with such a precious action, Barb and I want to renew our commitment to God's every little detail in our lives, and continue our commitment to His work in our lives.
I wanted to share this with all of you right away and we will be posting photos as soon as they are available. Our phone remains the same and we will be getting new email addresses as we change our internet service at that time to Cox Cable Service. We will keep you posted. I will never forget that this has happened because all of you have prayed and our Father in Heaven has heard your prayers.
We love you all,
Dave & Barb Stallings
Friday, May 9, 2008
A Praise of Wonderful Value!
May 8, 2008
I want to share a praise about a close friend of mine in Colorado. His name is Bill and a short time ago he was suspected of having a cancer on his body that was a very dangerous kind. My wife can pronounce the name of it but I cannot. I have prayed for my brother and in his own faith, he too, has prayed and God has answered our prayers. His wife's name is Mimi and they both are two very special people in our lives and we have had to give them over to God and so it has been done, in God's timing.
Yesterday afternoon, God chose to give us the wonderful news that even though the cancer was of the more serious in nature, the "margins" were all clear, meaning that during the procedure, they were able to remove all of the cancer and my good friend Bill is left with none. PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFTS! Now my friend is clear and should suffer no difficulties from this event in his life. And what is so remarkable is that he is a brave, yet God fearing man, who has placed his life in God's hands to do as He sees fit. I constantly pray that God would strengthen my faith to this level of comfort. God has been gracious to Bill in healing him and just as Jesus tells Peter in Luke 22:31-32, "after Satan has requested permission to sift (Bill) like wheat, God told Bill to help his brothers when he recovers" (paraphrased-its 4am and my eyes are not open well but I just had to share).
Bill is a vibrant, fun loving, evangelist who is very much needed in today's world for the purposes of God and His developing plan for us and I am overwhelmed with joy for my brother's good report. You might continue to pray that Bill continues to heal from the actual procedure and that his recovery will be complete.
God is the greatest physician and I wish we could all get a dose of that type of medicine. Just going through a "valley" like that cannot help but strengthen our faith. Thank you so much for your prayers. I am a selfish man and there are people in this world I want God to handle DIRECTLY.
Well, "It Is What It Is" and God is still on His throne.
God bless,
Dave
I want to share a praise about a close friend of mine in Colorado. His name is Bill and a short time ago he was suspected of having a cancer on his body that was a very dangerous kind. My wife can pronounce the name of it but I cannot. I have prayed for my brother and in his own faith, he too, has prayed and God has answered our prayers. His wife's name is Mimi and they both are two very special people in our lives and we have had to give them over to God and so it has been done, in God's timing.
Yesterday afternoon, God chose to give us the wonderful news that even though the cancer was of the more serious in nature, the "margins" were all clear, meaning that during the procedure, they were able to remove all of the cancer and my good friend Bill is left with none. PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFTS! Now my friend is clear and should suffer no difficulties from this event in his life. And what is so remarkable is that he is a brave, yet God fearing man, who has placed his life in God's hands to do as He sees fit. I constantly pray that God would strengthen my faith to this level of comfort. God has been gracious to Bill in healing him and just as Jesus tells Peter in Luke 22:31-32, "after Satan has requested permission to sift (Bill) like wheat, God told Bill to help his brothers when he recovers" (paraphrased-its 4am and my eyes are not open well but I just had to share).
Bill is a vibrant, fun loving, evangelist who is very much needed in today's world for the purposes of God and His developing plan for us and I am overwhelmed with joy for my brother's good report. You might continue to pray that Bill continues to heal from the actual procedure and that his recovery will be complete.
God is the greatest physician and I wish we could all get a dose of that type of medicine. Just going through a "valley" like that cannot help but strengthen our faith. Thank you so much for your prayers. I am a selfish man and there are people in this world I want God to handle DIRECTLY.
Well, "It Is What It Is" and God is still on His throne.
God bless,
Dave
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)