Mighty To Save

If you're in the Indy area and you've ever thought about serving at Brookside, I've got a perfect opportunity for you.   Join us this Sunday Nov 23rd to help prepare and serve a Thanksgiving dinner.    It truely is a great experience and good for kids of all ages.   We'll be there with Camden and Caleb (5 and 2 years old).    They love to help out and help serve. 

Here are some details: 

Dinner is being served immediately following the morning service.  We expect to start serving around 11:45.  Obviously, dinner for such a large group is going to take a lot of preparation.  We will be arriving at Brookside around 8am.  We WELCOME any of you who are willing to come down at that time to help us begin setting up the gymnasium for the meal.  If you can't make it at 8am, just come when you can.

For lunch we'll be serving turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberries, and either cake or pie (we're still working out that detail).  We are going to need assistance in the following areas:

1. Setting up

2. Preparing food

3. Serving food

4. Clearing tables

5. Cleanup

6. Preparing drinks

7. Cutting/serving desserts

We would like to prepare and serve many of these dishes from either crock pots or roasting pans.  If you have either of these that you're willing to lend for the afternoon, we'd really appreciate it.  It will be helpful to keep things warm while they're on the serving line. 

For those of you who have never been to Brookside before, the church is located at 1035 N. Olney St.  There is a parking lot directly across from the church as well as street parking.  If you have any questions or concerns that morning, you can reach me at 513-7070.

Leave me a comment below if you think you want to come, so we can help in planning volunteers and tasks.    It truely is a blessing to serve at Brookside and I really encourage you to come.   It will be a great time. 

I got this email forwarded to me.  I don't know these people, but I thought it was something that should be promoted.  Regardless of your world views, I think this is something that should concern most people.

Here's the text:

This  is a  request for prayer for YWAM (Youth With A Mission) missionaries and  their churches in Orissa,  India.  The  request came from Mable Hurst, an associate of HCJB Global.  Please read and make  this a matter  of urgent prayer.

Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News  India.We have never seen anything  like this.  We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned.  And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as  we went about His work. But none of  our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage.... And it seems  to be totally under the  radar of the Western Media ....

Let me  explain.... A  militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were  zealously going  around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back  to Hinduism, were  gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa  last weekend. Immediately  the Christians  were blamed.. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!'  And the  horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of  churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian  tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of  Christ.

Night and day I have been  in touch with our Good News India  Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in  Orissa... they are right in the middle of all this chaos.  In Tihidi,  just after the police came to offer protection, a  group of 70 blood-thirsty  militants came to kill our staff and destroy the  home.  They were  not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our  Dream Center  by throwing rocks and  bricks and smashing our gate, etc.  They  have promised to come  back and 'finish the job.'Our kids and staff are locked  inside and have  stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3  days. It has been a time  of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer.  More  police have come to  offer protection.  In Kalahandi, the police and some local  sympathizers got  to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice  to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any  personal belonging. As they fled,  the blood thirsty mob came to kill   everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for  His grace.

In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away  by saying that there were no  Christians in this area.  So they  left..  We had favor.The same thing  happened in Balasore.  All our  dream centers are under lock down with the kids and  staff huddled inside and police  outside. The fanatics are circling outside  waiting for a chance to  kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby  Catholic orphanage, the mob  allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a  computer  teacher in house and burned them to death. Many believers have been  killed  and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and   children.

At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled,  leaving all  the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI  directors that I have  spoken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but  we will never abandon what God has called us to  do.' More than 5000 Christian  families have had their homes burned or  destroyed. They have fled into the  jungles and are living in great fear  waiting  for the authorities to bring about  peace. But so far, no peace is  foreseen. This will continue for another 10  days.... supposedly  the 14 day  mourning period for the slain Hindu priest.  Many more  Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches  will  be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and   perhaps things will calm down.

We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand  of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution.  But now our  kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids  coming from Hindu  backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what  is happening around them.  So many of their guardians have fled into  the jungles and are unable to come  and get them during these trying  times.

Through all this, I am more  determined than ever to  continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by  transforming  its children. Orissa will be saved...that is our heart's cry. If  we  can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become   disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is  a long term  goal, but it is strategic thinking in  terms of the Great Commission.

What can you do?  First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on  to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and  increase  our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning.  We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom.   The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across  Orissa.

Thank you for taking the timeread this. Please pass  it on and help  us to get as many people to partner with us on this  cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all  nations....

Blessings, Chip  & Sandy Wanner    Col 2:2 MBI  (Team  Facilitators to YWAM frontlines)

 

Who wants to eat only rice and beans for 7 days straight?   I don’t want to, but I’m choosing to do it.   Holli is going to do it too.  Anyone want to join us?

As part of the Life on Loan campaign, Northview’s West Lafayette campus is doing a 7 day fast where everyone is eating just beans and rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner.   One cup per meal. 

Holli's mom and step-dad attend the West Lafayette campus and were telling us about it.  As I understand it, the idea is two-fold:

1.       Be more externally focused this week as you pray to think about others that are not as fortunate as you.  Many people only get a small amount of beans or rice to live on each day.   Think about this as you eat your meager meals each day.

2.       Take the money you would have spent buying other food and save it to give it away at the end of the week to a hunger-focused mission. 

If there is anything else I’m missing, someone chime in on the comments section below. 

I thought this was a great idea and a great way to sacrifice.   I think it’s going to be hard, but what a way to re-train and re-focus how you think for a week.   

I didn’t hear this publicized too much at the NVCL Carmel campus (maybe I missed it), but I think it’s something very worthwhile.  Come on, who else out there wants to join us in this?  Live Freaky.

Holli recently got me a new devotional book called "5 Minute Bible Workouts for Men".   I'm really enjoying it.  It's easy to read and the contents are great.  From time to time, I'll share on the blog some of the things I'm reading.

Did you know Abraham Lincoln was a failure?  He ended up with an amazing presidency, but he had many failures on the road to the white house.

I found this really interesting and I never knew this about old Honest Abe:

• Failed in business in 1831
• Defeated for legislature in 1832
• Second failure in business in 1833
• Suffered nervous breakdown in 1836
• Defeated for speaker in 1838
• Defeated for elector in 1840
• Defeated for congress in 1843
• Defeated for congress in 1848
• Defeated for senate in 1855
• Defeated for vice president in 1856
• Defeated for senate in 1858
• Elected president in 1860

That's a 30 year span.   Talk about diligence and perseverance.

Makes me think of 1 Cor 9:24 -- "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."

Northview is gearing up to start a church-wide spiritual campaign in September called "Living a Life on Loan".  I'm reading the book right now and really liking it.   I'm excited to see what God has in store for us. 

I came across something else that Hillsong is doing that I thought was really cool and relevant to the Life on Loan concept:   The I Heart Revolution.

From their site:  "THE I HEART REVOLUTION is a movement of people seeking to help people, showing God’s love in a practical way with no strings attached."

Yesterday we were driving in the car listening to a Lincoln Brewster CD.   Camden asks:  "What does worship mean?"   

The song Majestic was playing:

And I will worship You
I will worship You
I will worship You (I will worship You, Oh God)
I will worship You
We will worship You (We will worship You, Oh God)
We will worship You 

As he sat waiting for an answer and as I tried to navigate traffic, I came up with this answer for my 5 year old:

"Worship is when we give all of our attention to God.   It's when we love Him with all of our heart and our strength.   It's when we put all of our thoughts on God."

He seemed to be satisfied with that answer and I think he was processing on it.  I wish I would have thought to take a few minutes to ask him what he thinks it means and how he could worship God.   Hindsight is 20/20.

It made me think though, how would you answer that question?    In your mind, what does Worship mean to you?  Post a comment and let me know.   Plus, you get more time to think about it and I bet you're not driving in traffic as you read this :)  

Here's what Dictionary.com says:

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

What do you think?   I'd love to read your comments.  I think I'll ask Camden and post his reply as a comment too. 

This story has been posted on a few blogs and I heard it on WGNR in Indy as well.  I thought it was pretty cool and a great story of faith.

Just watch the video and then think about how you would have handled this situation.

I heard something pretty cool today.   Play along with me for a minute:

Stick out your arm in front of you.   Now point your index finger out as if you are pointing at someone.    

Notice how there are 3 fingers pointing back at you?    I never thought about that before, but it's a pretty cool illustration of why we should not be so quick to judge others.    The very thing we're judging could be something we're dealing with in our own life.  Or if it's not that, it's something else in our life that we need to examine.

For something else to ponder in a similar realm, check out a post my friend Matt wrote that got me thinking.