Monday, June 30, 2014

Who are you?

Last blog we were living in the bungalow.  This blog finds us moved into the Sending House.  I wrote about the actual house last blog.  It has been a great move for us.  As much as we liked our bungalow we are now right in the middle of everything going on.  You all know how much we love people and to be right in the heart beat of what we want to do here has been amazing.

We have done many different outreaches with the Reach Global team that is living in the house with us for 7 weeks.  Our team from IHOP comes this week.  We are so excited to have OUR first official team come.  Having teams come from the states has been a dream since we started this whole process. We thought it would be at least another year or two before we would be able to see it fulfilled...God loves to surprise us :)  We will also be working closely with another team from the states for a week.  So this summer we have worked with 3 US teams (surprise)!!  

There is never a dull moment.  If we are not going on outreaches then we are spending our time getting to know the German family that lives in the house with us.  We are also very intentional to reach out to all the people we have met in the different house churches.  We have them over for dinner, go to events with them, or just hang out.  We enjoy just being with them, whatever that might look like.  Relationships have a very high value here and are so important to the German people.  We are happy to oblige.

Last Sunday we took the Reach Global team to a brunch filled with churched and non-churched Germans.  The 4 Reach Global teammates were sitting on the couch together.  A German was talking to me and asked where the Americans were he heard had come.  I pointed to the 4 teammates and said 'they are right there.'  He said 'oh ok so those are the Americans?!' Later I was thinking about it and had to laugh because Ummm Hello I am an American too... I love how comfortable I am here.  I really don't view myself as "different" then the Germans around me.  To me, he and I were just chatting and I didn't feel set apart...like 'Oh I am American and you are German'...why...should I? 

We will bring home many cool God stories from the outreaches and everyday life here.  God has walked with us step by step. We see His hand all around us.  He is so clever in all He does.  Oh a quick God story...I wrote about our "land lords" from the bungalow in my last blog...welllll they came to the German vs USA game party we had HERE at the Sending House a few nights ago.  They got to talk to all the church people here!!! They felt very welcomed and kept saying how much they enjoyed it.  We have invited them back over Friday night for a 4th of July cook out!  How cool is that?  We hope by the time we leave they will feel comfortable enough to start coming to church here.  We are in Germany for over a month and have already started bringing guest to church events!  I love it!

Now that "that part" of my blog is done let's get to the real reason your reading this ;)  I am so grateful and humbled to hear from so many of you about how these blogs reach out and minister to you or how God has been showing you the same things.  I love to hear your stories.  It really encourages me to keep writing. 

I have still been reading Acts (refer to last blog...lol I'm going to have you reading all the blogs to see how everything ties together before to long ;) and I stumbled over a very, very cool sentence. YES, of course, we have all read it and all heard messages preached on it but it hit me hard this time.

WHO ARE YOU?

Acts 19:13-16-quick story background-people were starting to really get into this Jesus fellow. Seven sons of a leading priest were trying to cast out evil spirits saying "I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches to come out."  But one time when they tried the evil spirit replied "I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but WHO ARE YOU?"  I am fixated by this question.  "I know and fear Jesus, and I know all about Paul-he is quite the guy walking in the full power of the spirit, BUT WHO ARE YOU-in other words who do you even think you are trying to come up against me." *ouch* that had to hurt..oh wait it did they got the snot beat out of them!!!

These guys thought they got it.  They wanted to borrow someone else's 'power'.  They didn't understand who Jesus could be in them.  That the same power that ran through Paul's veins could run through theirs.  They thought 'it works for Paul so we'll just throw his name in there and maybe it will work for us too.'

WHO ARE YOU?

What a loaded question!  I almost can't wrap my brain around that question.  Who am I?  Who was I created to be?  Who do others say I am?  Do the demons know my name?  Do I know who I am in Christ?  Do I understand the power inside of me or do I try to piggyback off the power of others?  Who am I? 

The next day after I read this Job, a German musician, came to lead morning worship.  He sang a song that really made this come alive even more to me.

      I don't want to ride on somebody else's passion.
      I don't want to find I'm just dry bones.
      I want to burn with unquenchable fire, deep down inside see it COMING ALIVE.
   
      Help me find my own flame.
      Help me find my own fire.
      I want the real thing.
      I want Your burning desire!  (Will Reagan)

WHO ARE YOU?

'We were born to rule-rule over creation, over darkness-to plunder hell and establish the rule of Jesus wherever we go by preaching the gospel of the Kingdom' Bill Johnson

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