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Leigh Family Prayer Bulletin - May 2005 |
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April 27, 2005 |
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This month, I have but two requests; one urgent and the other very broad... |
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Standing in The Gap |
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Last week, we found out that a very dear friend of ours has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her name is Vanessa Stewart. She and her husband Brian and their two children Gabriella and Conner served with us while we were in Scotland. We developed a strong bond with them during challenging and stretching experiences. They live in England now and Rachel and I had the privilege of visiting with them, among others, during our trip to England recently. Vanessa is a prophetic dancer/worshiper, wife, mother, teacher, discipler and example of Christ's heart. She is scheduled for mastectomy surgery May 3rd. Now she and her family are going through the ultimate challenging and stretching experience. We all have the opportunity, as prayers/intercessors, to "stand in the gap" (Eze 22:30) for Vanessa and her family and walk with them in this. Please pray for Vanessa and the Stewart family. If any of you would like to get in touch with them directly, please let me know. |
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Invading the Spheres |
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This prayer request is multi-faceted and will take some explaining! It's something that is still confusing and still forming in me...God help me explain it to you! To be honest, it all starts back at Genesis 1:28 where God tells us all to "...Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it..." and continues in Ephesians 1:23 where Paul states that the Church is "...His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all..." God's desire is that the Church, or the Body of Christ fill all the nooks and crannies of the world He created with the fullness of the Kingdom of God. Each one of us has been given a piece of that responsibility to invade the spheres of creation in a full way. This speaks not just of geographical spheres, though that certainly plays a foundational part, but, as I heard often at Oral Roberts University, we are to "go into every man's world"; i.e. be where people spend their time and energies and bring the Kingdom there. I've recently been challenged anew in several ways by that original "creation mandate" and we would appreciate your prayers as to how that will concretely affect us in the months to come. To make it more concrete, I have to lay out some details. So, if you're a "quick-scan" reader...well...you might not like this! While in England, as I said, we visited our friends. These friends are two families and several singles in "full-time missions work" just like us. We also attended a significant conference about what God is doing and wants to do in Europe. Many "full-time Christian workers" such as pastors, missionaries, etc. were there as well. One of the things we heard God saying about Europe (and probably elsewhere) is that the season of certain "church structures" is coming to an end and that God will shake these structures so that only what is Godly remains (Heb 12:26). There are many reasons for this, but one is re-positioning and better positioning of the Church into society to be the blessing to the world that God has always intended for His people to be. From several different people (not everyone), we heard a similar story: they had or were about to enter into full or part-time employment. For some who had been in ministry all their adult life, it represented a "first" and for others, it was re-entering the work force in some capacity. We were challenged, including from the speakers in the conference, to re-consecrate all of our time and energies to the Lord during this season to see what sorts of "re-organizing" He might want to do with our time...including time we thought was already "His". For me and our circumstances in particular, there is enough about this message that rings true that it makes me want to pay attention and find out what changes, if any, we need to make in our life right now. The point was made by one of the speakers that there would continue to be those in "Levitical" or "full-time" ministry positions and that not everyone is called to "enter the work force". My reading of both the Old and New Testaments would agree that the Lord has reasons for people to be in full-time ministry as we know it but also in every other sort of position with respect to work/salary, etc. Some, like Paul, or Elijah, seemed to have several changes in how they earned a living or were supported...each situation with the purpose of God accomplishing His will in and through them. The indicator that change is imminent in this sort of re-positioning can initially come from finances. Finances are often used by the Lord to get our attention and to provoke us to seek Him and His will more ardently. That is certainly true for us. Our current financial situation requires us to really "pay attention" to God to see if He is saying to do something different and/or to have a different heart attitude. Another indicator that this may be a season to change is that we feel more established here in Alsace than at any time in our missionary odyssey. We have a confidence in God's planting of us here that lets us see that God desires to establish things in and through us that couldn't be done while we were in the process of "getting here". He did other things in and through us in the last few years but this is a new season for us that, I think, matches a new season for what God wants to do in Europe. So, you're with me still? Only 5 of you...ok...that's enough...God seems to bless the remnant! In our situation with visas and resident's permits, we do not have the right to "work" here in France...yet. May 12th, we have a meeting to continue the process to be more "correctly" administratively established in France. In particular, this is with respect to the children and their status. We've no idea how many more steps this process has in it or how long it will take. At the minimum, we hope that it will give us longer-term status in France. Our next desire is that it would connect us better with the French social system, which would actually begin to save us some money/bring in some government money. Finally, it might also bring us the right to work in France. Theoretically, I could work right now for someone in the States remotely (via computer). There would have to be a position or project that required my skill set and/or experience and could be accomplished remotely. I'm currently looking into that possibility. Please know that our vision for why we are here has not changed. It has certainly been refined, and if anything, it has expanded. The connection with things God has put in our heart has become more and more concrete as our life continues to take more shape here in Alsace. We can see more clearly now why worship, intercession, family, children, reconciliation, France, Europe, Germany, etc. have all been on our heart. They are vital here! My first thought is that I need more time to develop all these themes and ministry opportunities...not LESS! But, these messages we've been hearing and signs we've been seeing and the reality of our finances all make us turn to the Lord to ask what He wants during this time. So, please pray for wisdom and discernment to hear what God is saying and grace to take new steps of faith as He lays them before us in this time where we feel we are at a crossroads. This isn't a crossroads about going forward or backward but rather how specifically to go forward and how to be best positioned here in our new home to bring God's Kingdom in the spheres He directs us to.
Thank you for your praying partnership! David |