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