Spending March w/ Jesus 3-8-09 "Jesus Speaks To Us"

Jesus Performs Many Miracles

Read Matthew 8:1-13 and Luke 7

Its my anniversary. Can you believe that it has been 6 years since Beth and I tied the knot. Wow.

Anyway, something cool happened with Daniel tonight. Jen put him to bed at about 8:30pm so that Beth and I could go and grab a cheap anniversary dinner to celebrate. When we got home, Daniel yelled to me to come up to his room. When I walked in he told me that he was scared because he had a bad dream. Funny how he was able to have a bad dream but never fall asleep yet. Anyway, I asked him what it was about. He said that he was hanging from a tree and nobody would help him for 7 weeks. RANDOM.

My response was typical. "Daniel, you know that wouldn't happen because you know who'd help you?" (I was thinking that "I" would help him) Of course he humbled me and said, " Yes, Jesus would help me." Then he got all skeptical, which I love by the way.

He said this, "How is Jesus going to ever help me when he doesn't know that I need his help? I can't see him, so how can I tell him that I need him to help me?" I answered, "You pray and believe that Jesus will hear you and and answer." "But Dad, I can't hear Jesus because I can't see him."

Then I went out on a limb. I said, "Yes you can hear him, lets pray right now and asks Jesus to say something to us." So I prayed and just asked Jesus to speak." We were quite for about a minute and then I asked Daniel what Jesus said because I thought that I heard something. Daniel answered with a huge smile, "He just told me that he would always help me and be there for me and I don't need to be afraid."

Funny enough; that just about the same thing that I heard.

My son is already learning to hear the voice of God.

Netcast Church (Crazy Cool News)

NO

On Sunday I got a call from my mother-in-law. She told me to come over because she wanted to talk. Now for any of you out there with a mother-in-law you know that this can go only 1 of 2 ways. You did something wrong and your about to get the smack down of your life or you are did something right and are about to get some major brownie points.

Anyway, I got to the house and right off the bat I could tell that something was serious. We sat at the table and she started in. She began to ask questions about the church plant in Boston. Why Boston? Why now? etc etc.

Let me give you a little background: For the past 9 years Steve (Father-in-law) has been a guy who has played a major role in my walk. He has indirectly taught me how to serve Beth, he has indirectly taught me the importance of humility, as well as the importance of standing firm on the Word of God regardless of feelings. For that I am blessed. However for the past 2-3 years as God began to call us to move and plant, Beth and I would tremble at the thought of not having them with us. So, I have been practically pleading with them to move and be a part of the church plant. On my Birthday 12/2/08; God spoke to me very clearly that they were supposed to move with us; however I felt I heard just as clear that it was possible that although God would say to Go, that they would not. (Don't act like you do everything that God tells you to do.) From their perspective, this would be a very risky and make no sense.

Here is why:

1. They have been in ministry for 30 years and have not build much of a retirement. Moving would probably mean selling their house and losing their main investment.

2. After years of financial struggle; God has blessed them with a dream home in NC and great jobs that provide them well.

3. They are older than us and the older you get the less risk most people are willing to take.

4. Our church will be very different than what they have typically been a part of.

5. Steve has been a senior lead pastor for 20+ years. Now he would be playing a support role for a guy 30 years younger than he is.

6. There is no guaranteed money involved. We are to like Abram, stand firm on the promise of God and allow him to do the impossible.

Anyway: On Sunday at church; God spoke. He clearly communicated to Karen that they are to move. Her natural reaction has been to fight this because of how uncomfortable it will make life for them. However, on Sunday, she submitted to the Lord and has decided to move forward with being a part of a Church Plant in Greater Boston.

I will close with a statement that Karen made to me with tears streaming down her face while explaining what God had spoken to her. "Matt, I know that although being in the center of where God wants us is not the safest place to be; it is always the most beautiful place to be."

Come On Now; that's good stuff!!!

If you wouldn't mind. Leave a quick comment for both Karen and Steve on the is blog. I will then forward those comments to them. This is a great opportunity to commend those who are willing to take a risk and follow the voice of God. To many people in today's christian culture shrink at the thought of trusting in Christ when the odds are against them. (Me included)

Dunkin Donuts; Cool Stuff

Beth and I went to the first Dunkin Donuts in Greensboro. It just opened up 3 days ago. It is so cool because there is the picture of the 1st Dunkin Donuts in Quincy which Beth and I used to live next to. Pretty cool.

Anyway, when we were waiting in line, I saw the guy talking to this girl. He was hitting on her like something I never seen before. He was pretty obnoxious. He was whispering in her year, talking loud and real sexual to her. It was kind weird to witness in a line at DD's. Anyway, what was the weirdest of all of it was how this women was totally responding to his disrespectful way of coming onto her.

Then this guy walks right by me and says to the girl standing besides us, "Jesus loves you", "Now pay me your tithe." It was just weird. Finally he got his drink and donut, got this girls phone number and walks out.

Now we're waiting in line and I go up to the girl that he was hitting on. Scared out of my mind, I leaned over and said, "You need to disregard everything that guys just said to you. You should never accept his call, and instead find a man that is going to pursue you for who you are as a women, and that will love you and respect you, not treat you like a animal in a Dunkin Donuts line." I then said, "God wants you to wait for a man who will first run after him and in turn then be able to pursue you, lead you, and treat you the way that he calls him to." Not knowing how that was going to go over, I kinda just freaked out and shut up.

She looked at me and said, "thank you, a lot of people have been telling me that lately." She said that it was weird that I would just say that out of the blue but she thanked me.

Cool stuff.

If you read this, I encourage you to get in the lives of people. Maybe God wants to use you to encourage someone today.

My Birthday / God's Voice

Yesterday I turned 25 years old. Wow, I am still such a baby. Yesterday was a great day. Beth and her mom made me the greatest gift. Beth bought a down-comforter and created a personalized quilt out of it. She took all of my college T Shirts as well as printing some things on a fabric sheet and made me the coolest quilt. You have to see it to believe it. Its awesome.

Anyway, it was a great Day. We went to church in the morning, Daniel had his first ever basketball practice. Yeah, my boy is the best on his team already. Then we had a few people over for cards and cake. After that Beth took me out on a date. It was a great day.

One thing that was so cool in my conversations with Beth at dinner. She told me that the other day God gave her this burning desire for ministry. That was so cool. As a husband, it is the most encouraging thing to know that my wife is hearing God. As the leader of my home, there is nothing that can lift me up more than knowing that my family is hearing from God.

Habakkuk 2:1-2 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.
Key #1 - God’s voice in our hearts sounds like a flow of spontaneous thoughts. Therefore, when I tune to God, I tune to spontaneity.
Key #2 - I must learn to still my own thoughts and emotions, so that I can sense God’s flow of thoughts and emotions within me.
Key #3 - As I pray, I fix the eyes of my heart upon Jesus, seeing in the spirit the dreams and visions of Almighty God.
Key #4 - Journaling, the writing out of our prayers and God’s answers, provides a great new freedom in hearing God’s voice.
http://www.cwgministries.org/Four-Keys-to-Hearing-Gods-Voice.htm