Update #81

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Romans 14:17

Buschart Gardens, Canada

I was chatting with someone awhile ago and when asked what they wanted they said “Peace. I just want peace.” I responded with “So ya want Jesus to come back huh?” They looked at me blankly.

She was a Christian so I asked her if she remembered the journey of the Israelites - they had three distinct phases during their journey; hallmarked by certain characteristics:

-Slavery – forced labor, no freedom
-Desert – favor, supernatural provision, refinement
-Promised Land – reap what didn’t sow, war, favor, provision

I asked what phase she was in. She laughed and said the third. Yep, I think that is where most of us are.

Once redeemed by the blood of Christ and brought into the family of God we are no longer slaves. We are sons. We are royalty in the household of God. We are no longer forced to do anything, but asked; and we do it out of love not obligation. We have freedom and are given abundant life. So, slavery relegates to the unsaved, un-rescued, un-revived lives around us.

As Christians we go in and out of the “desert” – we have dry times of blindly following, in seemly circles, through refining trials and tribulations. Our patience is tested. Our obedience is tried. Our faith is stretched. But during this time, God’s favor is abundant and his provision is supernatural in nature.

Once in the Promise Land the trials, tests and obedience assessments end. It is time for war. Sometimes we feel as if the Promised Land is the desert, with all the adversity we face, but it is different; the favor of God is still there, the supernatural provision is still there, but the refinement piece is missing…there is a lot more fighting, a lot more war, a lot more battle. We fire an employee, for good cause, and we get sued. We address a hard situation in our life only to have it misrepresented by another party and are slandered. We move forward in killing an addiction or bad habit and it retaliates with a vengeance. We fight for every piece of ground we conquer…in our family, in our relationships, in our workplace, and in fellowship with other believers.

Do I want peace? Yes. But in all reality I know that as a Christian – and Kingdom Warrior for the Almighty God that true and lasting peace is impossible until Jesus returns. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. When he rules and reigns his kingdom will be hallmarked by three traits – peace, joy and righteousness. I can’t wait!

Updates:
Living – I am living with my relatives, but the Johnsons have made an offer on a property in Los Gatos (close date next month – due to the sellers needing extra time) and so I will be moving soon! Check out the blog for details http://campus.inst.net/
Work – I leave for Indonesia tonight…right after commissioning!


Requests:
Housing – the house on the property will need remodeling/updating before anyone takes residence so a place close to it would be ideal.
Travel – I would love an upgrade! I am flying the longest I have ever flown with 4 different planes and airports involved! Yikes! Please pray that I can get some sleep, that my luggage arrives with me, and for protection from trans-flight colds etc.
Work – please pray for the ventures, consultants, our travel, team-leads, clients, contacts and host countries. We are doing something a bit different this time around (because God asked us to) in India and would appreciate your prayers. Also, we need a training lead for the next cycle (February start)…we won’t train without this person in place and need God to bring them in soon!
Purpose – I have been tasked to pioneer the rēp intercession effort in Indonesia. Pray for God to raise up the right people to carry the vision forward.
Financing – I rely solely on donor support. If these devotions have touched you, caused you to see God differently, or altered your outlook on life AND you are interested in contributing toward my day-to-day needs or to my travel fund, please see ‘Contribute’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Blessings,

Dena

Update #80

“Jesus Christ: The same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Viewpoint off Highway 280 in Northern California

When others describe you, what adjectives do they use? Have you ever played that ice-breaker game where you describe yourself using each letter of your first name? What descriptors do you pick (i.e. Dynamic, Energetic, No-nonsense, Altruistic)?

What adjectives would you use to describe God? There is a famous quote from A.W. Tozer stating “What comes to a persons mind when they think about God is the most important thing about that person.”

Your view of God is very important. Unfortunately our perceptions are tainted by filters of human experience – how our fathers treated us, how our government works, how justice is meted out, how authority figures function (or didn’t function) in our lives.

Some view God as a kind and feeble old man who welcomes children into his lap for stories. Some see God as the punisher, condemner, and record keeper of wrongs. Which view is truth – or is it somewhere in the middle?

My question was, “How does God view himself?” A few years ago I did a study on the names of God and what they mean (thanks Kathy) – and learned a lot about Him and his character. I discovered God is:

· The all sufficient one (El Shaddai)
· The God most high (El Elyon)
· The everlasting God (El Okam)
· Lord, Master (Adonai)
· The Lord my banner (Jehovah Nissi)
· Lord (Yahweh)
· The Lord will provide (Jehovah Jireh)
· The creator (Elohim)
· The Lord my shepherd (Jehovah Raah)
· Jealous (Qunna)
· The Lord who heals (Jehovah Rapha)
· The Lord is peace (Jehovah Shalom)
· The Lord is there (Jehovah Shammah)
· The God who sees (El Roi)
· The Lord of hosts (Jehovah Sabaoth)
· The Lord who sanctifies you (Jehovah Mekoddishkem)

Now the hard part…do we believe it? Do we believe that God is really all sufficient and can fix anything? Do we believe that God will really provide for all our needs or do we make back up plans? Do we really believe that God will take care of us like a shepherd cares for his lambs? Do we believe that God heals today? Do we believe that God is actually interested in our lives, is with us, sees us, and knows everything?

God’s character never changes – it is the same yesterday, today and forever. He has been the same since the beginning and will be the same in the end. I can’t say that about myself…how about you?

Updates:
Living – I am living with my relatives, but the Johnsons have made an offer on a property in Los Gatos (close date next week, October 28th) and so I will be moving in the next few months. Check out the blog for details http://campus.inst.net/
Work – the South African team is on the road and impacting the Johannesburg area, and the Indonesian and Indian teams are prepping to take off in the next two to three weeks. I am trying to stay on top of donor receipting as well as prep for the venture (not an easy task!) I was able to secure a retreat center for our next training weekend (thank you for the prayers!). Also, our home office is thinning out; the Dube’s are moving to Canada (and taking their adorable twin boys with them…sniff)!
Travel – heading to Indonesia the 31st of October through the first part of December and then home to Seattle for Christmas.

Requests:
Housing – the house on the property will need remodeling/updating before anyone takes residence so a place close to it would be ideal…for me and for the Johnsons.
Work – please pray for the ventures, consultants, our travel, team-leads, clients, contacts and host countries. We are doing something a bit different this time around (because God asked us to) in India and South Africa and would appreciate your prayers. Also, we need a training lead for the next cycle (February start)…we won’t train without this person in place and need God to bring them in soon!
Purpose – I have been tasked to pioneer the rēp intercession effort in Indonesia. Pray for God to raise up the right people to carry the vision forward.
Financing – I rely solely on donor support. If these devotions have touched you, caused you to see God differently, or altered your outlook on life AND you are interested in contributing toward my day-to-day needs or to my travel fund, please see ‘Contribute’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Blessings,

Dena

Update #79

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

I was playing a game with some friends a while back and one of the questions asked was “How do you waste the most time?” We anonymously wrote our answers and the person who was “it” guessed who submitted what. Some of the answers were “MTV, email, listening to music, watching television, procrastinating, surfing the internet” etc.

What do you do when you are caught with a few minutes of time? My mom tidies, a friend of mine knits, another grabs a book that she is currently reading…my current time-suck is Facebook. What’s yours?

I was chatting with a good friend the other day and “appetites” came up. (She is an accomplished chef so I thought we were going to discuss some new culinary delight she had recently dreamed up, or better yet cooked up, for me to try – sigh - not so). She made the poignant statement that appetites drive what we do. If we gravitate toward television we spend hours sitting in front of it. If we like gaming – we can spend hours and hours and hours honing our skills. If we are into cooking, learning a new languages, mastering a new skill - these are the activities that take our time. She sighed and said wished she hungered for God more and that her appetite would drive her in that direction.

I agreed. I wish my appetite drove me to hunger and thirst for more of God – to improve myself in him, to learn more of his character, his ways and his thoughts. In Matthew 5 it talks about the “blessed” – and one of the “blesseds” hits this topic. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” When I looked up the key words the verse became more meaningful to me. It actually says (Dena paraphrase) when you are famished and pining for God, so thirsty after him and his ways, he will fill you to overflowing, with abundance; you will be able to gorge yourself and be satisfied – not only once, but forever.

In America hunger happens – but not like I have witnessed abroad. In America there are those that feel hungry and are on close to a starvation diet – but not like I have witnessed in Africa. I don’t think Americans, 90% of the populace, really know what it is like to experience “my brain is numb, I can no longer think or function, I want to die” hunger. I, personally, have never been famished. I have been hungry after a three day fast, I have been nauseated and felt “icky” – but I have never been ravenous to the point of pining for food. Have you?

Back to the appetites thing - what are you hungry for? What are you pining for? What are you ravenous for? What would you give anything for? What are you seeking to fill and replenish you? A lot of single women today would answer that question with “beauty, a fine figure, a husband” – wrong answer. A lot of men would answer with “sex, success, power, prestige, money” – again, wrong answer. Nothing but God can fill you to overflowing today, tomorrow and forever.


Updates:
Living – I am living with my relatives, but the Johnsons have made an offer on a property in Los Gatos (close date October 28th) and so I may be moving in the next few months. Check out the blog for details http://campus.inst.net
Work – Our “training weekend away” went incredibly well – thank you for praying! Lives were radically changed, people discovered God in a new way, and prayer became a working component in their lives! And logistically everyone got to the airport! Whoo hoo!
Travel – heading to Indonesia the 31st of October through the first part of December. I am recruiting some dedicated intercessors to cover me while I travel…let me know if you are interested.

Requests:
Housing – the house on the property will need some remodeling/updating before anyone moves in so a place close by would be ideal…for me and for the Johnsons.
Work – please pray for the pre-venture/travel prep for the consultants, team-leads and host countries. Also, I am scouting facilities for the next training weekend (April) – I would appreciate prayer as I negotiate contracts and fees.
Purpose – I have been tasked to pioneer the rēp intercession effort in Indonesia. Pray for God to raise up the right people to carry the vision forward.
Financing - If you are interested in contributing toward my day-to-day or travel fund, please see ‘Contribute’ at www.repurposing.biz on the left of the page, or visit www.denaandrews.blogspot.com and read the footer for additional info.

Dena

P.S. Several “readers” have encouraged me to publish. Thank you for the encouragement – I am praying about it but am clueless on how to proceed – if you have any insight or remark please reply to this mail…or if you are reading this on the blog (www.denaandrews.blogspot.com), please leave a comment. Thank you!