Serving Our Supernatural God Miraculously

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Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. James 5:13

There are so many people hurting in our world today. The good news/scary news is (depending on how you feel that day), God wants you and me to be a miracle in their lives. For that to happen, we must be open to others as we listen for God's nudges. Most people have experienced one, or at the most, two miracles in their lives. I know in my life, God all but raised me from the dead after experiencing a dissected aorta. But, I have to ask myself is that the only miracle I can point to since I became a follower of Christ, or is there more God wants to do through me?

Our small group is studying a book and video by noted Christian author, Bruce Wilkinson. The book is titled: You Were Born for This: Seven Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles. The gist is that while God wants us to minister in His name, He expects us to allow His supernatural power to flow through us in order to touch lives around us. He calls these, "Everyday Miracles." At the end of our first session, we asked the group to be open to God using them, look at people around them, and listen in their minds and hearts for God's nudges. We  then prayed for each other to be used this upcoming week.

Monday is my day off. But, as all pastors know, that simply means you are on call. It doesn't surprise me when something comes up to take care of. The difference this Monday was I was actually expecting something to happen so I could be the supernatural conduit of God in someone's life. I didn't have to wait for long. My phone rang and a lady in our church and my small group said that her husband was having chest pains. We immediately prayed for him and her. I got up, showered, dressed, shaved, and got out of the house to get to the hospital. Once I was there, I waited, then searched, and then finally found them in an examining room thanks to a nurse's directions. Here I was, I thought, already being a supernatural conduit in a life. I was thankful. But God wasn't finished yet.

After we prayed and asked God to work in this man's life, I left them to get their things together. They were going to check out after having a good EKG. There were some problems, but not near what we thought. Thank you, Lord! So, I left the room, walked into the hall, and nearly bumped into a security guard. I had noticed a "segway" type scooter on the way in, so in that awkward moment, I asked if I she got to ride it much. She said she did and that was that. I walked out of the hospital on on towards the van. Just as I was reaching the van, I felt one of those nudges. If you've ever had one, at first you just think it's you. Regardless, this is what I heard (no, not audible...much louder than that!), "Ask her if she needs help." I didn't say yes or no, I just kept walking. Then it hit me again. This time I knew it was the Lord. So I spun around and looked to see if she was still there. She was. The next thought that came to me was, "I'll never reach her before she goes back inside to her station." But she just stood there and waited...for me? It sure seemed like it.

Finally, I reached her and asked, "This might sound strange to you, but is there anyway I can help you?" She looked at me wide-eyed and didn't answer. So I introduced myself and asked again if there was anyway I could help. She then said, you can pray for me. I said gladly. The lady and man I had gone to be with then walked out the door, so I called them over to pray with us. There in that parking lot, we met God. That asphalt became holy ground. Truly in that moment, heaven met earth. As we finished praying, the security guard looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, "How did you know I needed someone to pray for me?" My answer, I didn't but God did. She was so grateful that someone cared enough to pray for her in a desperate time of need.

Followers of Christ, God wants to use you. You don't have to be a pastor or a missionary. You don't have to take a trip in a time machine to go back to the first century. God wants to use you in 21st century America. God is waiting. Listen for His nudges and be aware of hurting people all around you who need a supernatural touch from God. He wants to, they are there, and you are His miracle providing servant.

Therefore, get your minds ready for action, being self-disciplined, and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:13 (HCSB)

Ready to serve, 
Pastor Trey Rhodes

www.MyOceansideChurch.com

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When the Going Gets Tough...Just Quit. Really?

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Here's one that goes against everything we've heard. According to a study published by psychologists Gregory Miller and Carsten Wrosch, when it comes to hard times, we had better just quit or it could affect our health.

In their most recent study, published in the September (2007) issue of Psychological Science, the psychologists followed teenagers for a full year. Over that time, individuals who did not persist obtaining hard to reach goals had much lower levels of a protein called CRP, an indicator of bodily inflammation. Inflammation has recently been linked to several serious diseases, including diabetes and heart disease, suggesting that healthy but overly tenacious teens may already be on the road toward chronic illness later in life. 

So, their answer was to just quit. I do wonder if they quit the first they couldn't get their funding for this study, or was it just handed to them on a silver platter. Maybe the trust fund families do have it right...make everything easy for your kids. Maybe then, they'll live longer. But I have to ask the question, what kind of life is that?

It was Martin Luther King, Jr who said, "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals." (For more quotes on "struggle"). So, I have to wonder if it is the struggle that makes our life worth living. Life should not simply be breathing. It should be much more. Life is about finding our purpose in life and moving on that purpose in order to become all we were intended to be.

Thank goodness, they found out more than only how to stay alive. They found out that people that didn't quit found out that life is more...so much more from that same study:

While they did not find a direct link between re-engagement and physical health, they did find that people who readily jumped back into life had a greater sense of purpose and mastery and were less likely to ruminate about the past.

As we have been studying, examining, and agreeing to become more generous people, the first discovery we made was that to become who were intended to be, we were going to have to struggle to get our finances in order. Ouch! Yep, that's right, in order to be a generous person who can meet needs when they come up, we've got to get out of debt. Friend, that doesn't happen without a struggle for most of us. That's why we can't just give up. There will come tough times for all of us for all kinds of reasons. We've got to learn to push through in order to be all we were intended to be. To really be able fulfill the purpose we were intended accomplish, there will always be a struggle. It is probably a strong force of being able to live life to the fullest.

The Apostle Paul, of all people understood that when He encouraged Timothy during a tough time in his life:

All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we're in. 1 Tim 1:18-19 (MSG)

So, as we choose to obey God, there will come a time when you are “tested at the point of your obedience.” It is that moment when you find out what you really believe. It is then that you will have face a struggle. Will I push through and let God use me or will I just quit? For me, that moment happened earlier rather than later in life.

My wife, Kelly, and I had just arrived at seminary in Wake Forest, NC. We were doing what God wanted us to do. We were still in the wide-eyed, head in the clouds moment of our desire to do God's will. We had moved several hundred miles from home and had no way to return. After a week or so, my ministry position had still not come through; no one would hire me; and all our bills were coming due with no available means of money to pay them. It was at that very same moment that I cruelly blurted out to my wife, "We might as well go home. We can't make it financially here. I guess all my doubts were right. This was a dumb thing to do." Her answer? Although I don't remember the exact words, it went something like this, "Trey Rhodes. Did God call us here? If He didn't we should never have come in the first place. If He did, then He will provide." A little humbled I answered, "But honey, there is nothing...we have nothing to pay with. And I'm not just saying that..." I then walked out the door to get some fresh air to try and clear my mind. As I walked, I muttered half to myself and half knowing God could hear me, "Why did we come here anyway? No job...no money...nothing. I guess I just brought my wife and kids up here for...nothing." As I passed the mailbox, which was about 1000 feet from our seminary duplex, I thought I'd see what other bills had come in. I opened the box...still muttering...and spied a letter with a return address from back home. Once again, I complained, "They're probably telling me all the reasons I shouldn't have come up here." Reluctantly, I opened the envelope and discovered not only a letter, but a blue checked piece of paper that looked like some kind of check. Surely, I was seeing things. I bent over and picked it up, brought it close enough to read, and saw an amount that was exactly what we needed to stay the course...at least for now. Within the next week, a ministry position opened up at a local church. Soon I received my first paycheck, and 2 and a half years later, finished seminary. Tested, persevered, and with God's help passed the test.

Here's what I'm saying, many of you committed to the Lord to get your finances in order so that you could be those generous people God is calling us all to be. For that to happen, we must be faithful to God's call in our lives to obey Him...no matter the struggle we face. Never quit and never give up. God wants to do great things through you. Choose to be that funnel of God's blessing and impact this world like you have never imagined!

Never gonna' give up,

Pastor Trey Rhodes

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