I’m the kind of guy who is fairly active and I like to stay busy with tasks and taking care of business. Since our family just recently moved to Michigan, we have been wanting to join a gym to exercise at and more importantly build relationships with people. So we finally settled on a place which allows us to have total access to the gym at anytime, which we thought was pretty cool. 2 am and have a burst of energy, go to the gym. Anytime day or night. Pretty cool.
Today I meet a guy who was just getting back to the gym himself after months of being off of his daily regamine, like myself and so we began to talk. I’m still amazed that every time God puts someone in my path to connect with how He just leads the way. You know, its those God moments when you just know that it was a “God thing”. Well we talked and had a lot in common, I told him what we were up to here in MI and that I was a Christian and shared my testimony in about 3 mins. He was definitely excited and by the stare in his eyes I could tell that he was listening intently.
We talked for about 15 minutes or so, he shared with me his life for the past few years. Needless to say, I could tell that he was searching for more to his life than what he was living. I ended up inviting him to a sermon series that I will be doing in the month of Aug. entitled “Religion Bytes”…that got him laughing and some what curious. As we parted ways I told him that we would probably see each other around the gym some more and we decided next time to work out together.
Who knows if he will come in Aug. for the sermon series…that’s not the point! The point is, that we stared to get to know one another as people and that sure does feel good. Whether or not he ever becomes a follower of Christ, is in God’s hands…For me I just love people and share life with whoever crosses my path. That’s missional membership.
The family just got back from a night down at the lake, where there was a summer festival taking place. You know the kind that have all the venders set up selling their arts and crafts, kids face paintings, great greasy food, and awesome funnel cake…ya those ones.
Anyway my wife and I where taking a walk along with her parents after we had a bite to eat and were making our way down towards the Lake to walk out on the pier, when all of the sudden I heard two women in front of us cussing up a storm,,,mother F… this and mother F…. that, and all of the sudden I had this righteous indignation rise up with in me wanting to tell them to “SHUT IT” to put it nicely,,, I mean come on, doesn’t anyone care anymore? Doesn’t anyone have any kind of respect for others around them, maybe they don’t care what kind of language they use around their family and friends, but I sure do. Just as I was about to politely ask them to watch their filthy mouth around my daughter,(who is still to young to understand,,but that’s besides the point) they suddenly stopped and we thankfully slipped on by.
Then I really started thinking about the entire situation and came to this conclusion…If given the opportunity again instead of asking them to keep their filthy language to themselves, I would have asked them this question. What are you angry about?
You see I had a similar situation happen with me one other time about 8 months ago when we were moving into our new apartment. I had a young boy who was around the age of 12 ridding his bike around the truck as we were unloading and so I asked him if he would like to help and he did. So as we were unloading I noticed that he kept cussing every so often obviously looking to get some attention, and so I asked him the question. It just came from within me, the Holy Spirit told me to ask him what he was so mad about. It was unbelievable what happened. He went on to tell me how his step-father had just left him and his younger brother and mother, and that his mom has severe MS. I could hardly beleive my ears, and all I could think about was how this kid is going to hold this anger and resentment for the rest of his life, unless he comes to know Jesus.
The rest of the night we had a great time hanging out together and he would come by our apartment often, we talked, prayed, and I wish I could say that I lead him to the Lord, but I never got the chance. He moved shortly after, back to Pittsburg, (which is where I am from) and I never got a chance to say goodbye.
And so back to my question from the beginning Does Anyone Care Anymore? The answer is “YES”. God cares and his people who are continue to walk closely with him and know his voice care and are caring about people who are hurt, confused, angry at the world, sick, those who talk like fools because thats all they know….GOD cares and so I learned a valuable lesson once again today and that is, there is more to people’s hurt’s, hang-ups and habits than meets the eye. God help us to see beyond the surface and not be so quick to judge.
“I must preach the kingdom of God to ther other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose. So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” Luke 4:43-44.
“They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. Mark 1:21
“He entered again into a synagogue…” Mark 3:1
I find it interesting that throughout Jesus’ ministry He was always going to the religious people first, taking the gospel first to the Jews and then to those outside the synagogues. Paul did the same thing as we can see from his missionaries trips in Acts. According to Lukes account of the gospel we can see in the fourth chapter that launching into his ministry Jesus really ticked some religious people off from the start and He continued to challenge their ritualistic ways and thoughts throughout his minstry.
I’m just wondering that if in our farsightedness and all our missiological theologies and endeavors in the name of the “lost” that we are missing the opportunity to first help those who are in the church see that change is a must in order to stay alive in our “ever changing” society and culture. To those who have ears to hear and eyes to see let them do so with clarity.
“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord will protect you from all evil
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.”
Be encouraged today all who read this post, this is the word of the Lord. It is He and He alone that will be with you always, He knows all your going through and He will surely keep you. Be blessed.
Have you ever wondered, Why? Why this, why that? Why God takes us down certain paths and then on the way we discover things we never thought imaginable. One of my best friends and mentor told me one time and I am becoming more and more akin to is this, “I’m convinced that God is more concerned about the process (journey) than he is the end result” He already knows the end result, its what happens in the journey that counts.
And so as I reflected this morning on some of the past, present and future journey that God is leading us on, that song (not sure of the name) from the Red Hot Chili Peppers came into my head, “Twisting and Turning Your Feelings are Burning Your Breaking The Girl…” At some point along the way God breaks us time and time again, and brokeness of God is a great thing! The scriptures tell us that He is close to the broken-hearted and he hears the cries of his people. Man, that is so comforting to me. To know that God is near and that in the same way that I come to the rescue of my daughter, Olivia, when she is bursting in tears and I comfort her like no one else can, so God is to all of us who are broken hearted and cry out to him.
Out of this brokeness comes a freshness that is hard to descibe only to say that there is much, much more to come. When it is God who starts, it is God who brings it to pass. Somethings on the burner.
Feeling refreshed and back on the Vox again. It has been a crazy passed month for our family with moving from Philly, to Michigan. We are finally setteled in and excited for what God has for us as long as we are here.
This morning in my devos I was lead of the Lord to read a passage of scripture that really spoke to my heart. You know those ones that really hit home, well that was mine this morning. The Lord challenged my heart once again, in a call to build. Just as God’s people were called by God to rebuild his temple, while they were so concerened about there own needs and houses, God rattled their chains through the prophet Haggai calling the people back to what should be there real concern (the house of the Lord). And so God calls them out on somethings and tells them that they are not recieving the natural blessings that God wants to bless them with because they are so selfish and self-centered that they are missing out on what God has for them. How true is this in our own lives at times. God’s people were sowing seeds in the wrong places, they were building on the wrong construction site so to speak, and God in his loving kindness shows them the way and in the end they are obedient to him and He brings them together for His purpose and His glory.
How many of us are sowing seeds or building things on the wrong site? And we wonder why God hasn’t blessed us and why we struggle to pay the bills or we struggle to have peace and joy, or why our marriages are on the rocks. Well, maybe its because we have been to self sufficent and not God dependent. God keep us desperate for you and always dependent upon your ways.
This is exactly what I said to myself as looked over all my mail/email/websites/vox, etc., today (Two weeks, What?). Time flies so fast anymore, I guess moving had something to do with it. Well, we are here now in Sodus, MI. and we are really looking forward to everything that God has for us while we are here. There is so much to do and so I find myself wondering where to start. God simply and softly reminded me this morning to start by spending time with Him first. I need to hear from Him first before I can start to do anything or even begin to be organized.
These past two weeks have been crazy and now its time to gather our thoughts and collect ourselves once again and begin to focus on what God has called us to. We are totally excited and can’t wait to see what God has in store for us.
Hello, my name is Todd and I’m a starbucks junkie…well I shouldn’t say that I’m a junkie,(only because I can’t afford everyday, although I have been known to scrap the seats of my car to get a cup of the lushish java), but beyond that I’m ok., really.
Last week I was on one of my crazed fixes when I suddenly noticed a sign in Starbucks that read “Life’s better on the Porch” and I looked at my wife and repeated to her what the sign said, and then said, “that will preach.” I could hardly beleive it, Starbucks, gets it! They understand, grasp and market the idea of community. Life is truly better on the porch, the front porches are where people in the community gather on a hot sunny day…it’s where late night conversations take place…it’s where you have your first date with your girlfriend or boyfriend…it’s the first place people see when they come to visit you…it’s…..well you finish the sentence. I could go on and on, but the point is the front porch is where community and relationships take place. The important thing here is to know that front porches don’t necessarily have to be connected to your house. So where are the front porches in your town? For me its the local Starbucks, Bookstore, Cafe, Open mic nights, etc… When was the last time you thought life was better on the porch? THINK ABOUT IT.
Have you ever worried yourself sick? Have you ever felt so anxious that you got dizzy or a tightness in your chest that just wouldn’t go away? Have you ever had trouble turning off your brain at night so you can actually get a good nights rest? If you have ever had any of these problems or ones like these then your probably suffer from the “worry wart” syndrom…BUT before you panic and allow this to overwhelm your thoughts and add to all your worries, God has a cure!! Jesus says in Mt. 11:30 “…my yoke is easy and my burden is light”
You know that Matthew dedicates an entire section on this “worry wart” syndrom in the 6th chapter…Now lets think about this for a minute…Ask yourself this one question, What is it that I worry about? And I think that you will find that what most of us worry about is addressed directly in Matt. 6:19-34. MONEY & POSSESSIONS!! Earthly things, and that is why this section of Matthew starts out with a strong command to store your teasures in heaven and not on earth…easier said than done, right? Well not really, you see he goes on to tell us how to go about this storing of teasures in Heaven and how not to worry allowing the worry to consume you and your day. I found comfort in these words this morning, Mt. 6:31-33 “So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father ALREADY knows all your needs, and HE WILL give you all you need FROM DAY TO DAY IFyou live for him and make the Kingdom of God your PRIMARY CONCERN. (NLT).
Our citizenship is not on this earth but in Heaven and that is where our treasures should be stored, by keeping his kingdom first. The following verses go on to say that there is enough troubles in one day and what good is it to worry about anything but todays trouble.
Jesus is always probing our hearts and the depths of our being, always wanting our fullest devotion to him, that is why he said, “where your treasure is there your heart will be also” Live one day at a time and acknowledge him in all you daily lives and he will make your paths clear and straight.
The Johns’ family is on the move! As of July 1st we are offically on board at GO International!! being based out of Sodus Michigan, we will take the following 6 months to itinerate, raising support and networking with churches in the Michigan/Indiania area. Our goal is to be in Wilmore, KY by the end of the year or early Jan. of next year depending on how the Lord leads us. Please pray for us as we take this step of faith, knowing that God has called us to take the gospel where He leads us. At Go InterNational I will be focusing on the young adult ministries, leading mission teams, campus ministries at Asbury College, Outreach to the Univ. of KY, traveling the states as an evangelist and loving people where ever I go. I will be sending out more details when they come, until then, please pray with us and if the Lord is leading you to contibute to this ministry you can do so through Go InterNational with our account “Todd Johns/Missions”
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