Sunday September 8, 2002
To all my praying friends,
Hello all! I hope you've had a great summer! It's been beautiful, hasn't it?
I'd like to thank the many of you who have been praying for me in this last while, and asking me how things have been going. I so value your interest, and prayer in my life. As most of you know by now, I send out a prayer update every so often to people I think might be interested in hearing about what God has been up to in my life. For a few of you, all of the stuff you're about to read may come as a surprise. I'd love to tell you more about it if you'd like. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested. If you'd rather not receive this for any reason, please let me know.
A little over a month ago, I sent many of you an email to tell you a bit about a ministry opportunity I've been considering getting involved in, and asked for prayer regarding that. Well it's been an interesting month. God has been teaching me lots, I've had a lot of good conversations with many people, received a lot of good advice, had a lot of good questions, and am quite excited to see what God does in the coming months. I'd like to thank all the people who took the time to talk with me. Your words have been so valuable.
The position being considered is in a new program a fairly large Missions Organization has started up. The "pilot program" just finished up a few weeks ago, and they are now spending some time discussing what was good & bad about it, how they could do things better for future ones, and what sorts of people they'll need. If you could be praying for them as they work through quite a number of things with this, I know they would very much appreciate it.
I have had several discussions with them in the last month, and at this point, they are quite interested in considering what sort of role I might play. This will involve first determining what sort of people they'll need, what sort of person I am, and whether I'm a match. If you could be praying for them as they consider these things, and at some point start checking my references, that they would have much wisdom in determining whether I'm really a fit, we would all appreciate it.
Over the last month, it's been impressed on me that there is a real spiritual battle going on for the hearts and minds of men. If this is where God wants me to be, you can be sure Satan will do what ever he can to keep me from it. I know I've seen spiritual attacks much more than I had before. There are areas that I hadn't struggled in in quite some time that have become more challenging to deal with. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't always stood up as well as I would have hoped, although God has been very good in helping me through it all. Lately, I've been reading through the book of Nehemiah. This morning, I was reading chapter 6, where it talks about the opposition Nehemiah faced from neighboring rulers who didn't want him to be doing what God had called him to do. It was neat to see the insight he had into their various attempts to derail him, and how he was able to recognize and deal with those attempts. If you could be praying for me for God's protection, wisdom to clearly see and deal with these attacks, and extra accountability from those around me as I prepare to enter into what ever God has for me, I'd really appreciate it.
Speaking of accountability, I very much want to become more rather than less like Christ as I go forward. If I'm going to do this, I need to -- through God's strength -- be continually growing to be more like Him. I've come to realize that I can use all the help I can get. Rather than just having a few people I'm accountable with, I'd like to ask you all to, on occasion, ask me how I've been doing. The more people checking up on me, the more encouragement I'll have to press on.
Here's a quick summary of stuff you can be talking with God about:
- Praise: Safe return of the first team, and the great things that have come out of it
- Praise: A lot of good advice, questions, and feedback from many people
- Praise: How God has been directing me
- Prayer: Wisdom for those evaluating the pilot program and beginning to plan for future ones
- Prayer: Wisdom for those making decisions and "checking me out"
- Prayer: Continued spiritual growth and God's protection
Thanks so much for all of you who have been praying and are continuing to pray. It's so wonderful to know I have so many who care about me. God is so good, isn't he?
If there's anything I could be praying about for you, please don't hesitate to ask.
Have a great week. I'll look forward to telling you more as it develops, and hearing about what God has been up to in your life.
Your Friend,
Steve.
