Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
- James 1:27
There is no rhyme or reason for me sending this song, I just love it and wanted to share it with you. It's Fred Hammond singing Awesome God. Fred Hammond was in the Group Commissioned with Marvin Sapp . Fred Later went on to for the Radical for Christ Jesus Choir. I hope you are blessed by this song, and hope you are doing well!!
Did you get a chance to listen to the Friend song by the Winans? I'm sure from that you know that I want to talk about the greatest friendship you could ever have, a friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I love how in the video you see them about to burst with the joy in the Lord. I knew I was going to talk about friendship this week but the focus changed slightly a couple of days ago I was awakened by the radio and the person speaking was encouraging people not to give immediately I knew I was to share about fighting for your relationship with Christ.
You hear on talk shows about fighting for relationships with husbands and wives, and there are books about fighting for time with family. After listening to that plea on the radio I started to think about what it means to truly press through to get the relationship we were meant to have. Truly the best thing you can do for any personal relationship is be sold out for Jesus Christ. I had an experience in college where I was praying with a friend in her dorm room. That night I felt the presence of God stronger than I have ever felt it before or since; he was almost tangible. I felt love that made my heart just melt. It was a thousand times greater than any love or acceptance I have ever felt. I intuitively knew that all my needs were met and I could have stayed there forever. When we finally stopped praying four hours had passed. I have been reflecting on that night this week and wondering why It has been so easy for me to let life overwhelm me. I have been caught up in pressure and what I can see. I Sometimes become like an Israelite forgetting my friendship with God and taking him for granted.
I have found there is a spiritual cry in each one of us that desires a closer relationship to God. Psalm 42:7 addresses this:
Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
There is a part of you that cries out for the living God. Only he can filll that space, and if you are not filling it with Christ you will feel an ache, a restlessness and dissatisfaction with life in general as you try to fill it with relationships, money, television, or anything that keeps your focus away from God.
I used to work in an office that received beautiful floral arrangements every week. One day a beautiful tulip broke away from the branch. I tried to save it because it was so beautiful and put it in a bowl of water. My efforts worked for a couple of days because it became disconnected it died. This reminds me of the metaphor the true vine in John 15:4:
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I had a co-worker that was a beautiful Christian woman at my old job. She was beloved by the company so much that before she got married the Company had a bridal luncheon at an exclusive hotel the year before I joined the firm. Though we weren't that close but her faith was evident, and we had several conversations about God and went to lunch occasionally. She was a member of an awesome Church with several of my friends. She was laid off about five years ago and never quite recovered. After she left the company I would see her occasionally and we would talk about getting together. I would think about contacting her but then would get busy and forget. I found out a couple of years ago that she died due to complications with bulimia. She was devastated by the layoff and had some things going on in her personal life that caused her to give up on life. I had no idea she was in such pain. I wish I could have spoken to her back then as the person I am today. I had no idea how tough her situation must have been, but now that I am in a similar situation understand. Her story could just have easily been mine, but somehow God's grace I have been able to navigate through these challenges and trust he will continue to give me strength. It's so easy to give up and want to throw in the towel. Sometimes thoughts come to mind when I am feeling my weakest; it is all I can do to just stand. I am staying accountable to Friends and family and have even been through counseling as things continued to get rough. I love the story of Blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10: 46-52:
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging.
47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
One of the reasons I am so intense with my worship is that my heart is crying out to heaven for the presence of God.
The are many studies on Spiritual warfare. The greatest warfare is a life that is yeilded to God. James 4:7 :: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The greatest weapon is praise as I shared with you earlier in 2Chronicles 20:20-24. Don't focus to much on the Enemy and what he is doing, but focus on God becoming his friend. He will let you know the secrets of his heart and amazing things he is about to do before hedoes thim as in Revelation 4:1
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this
I have experienced that you begin to stand not because of stories people have told you, or being guilted into how you should feel, but because God becomes so real to you and your story becomes a walking epistle.
As I talked about in an earlier message. I reminded of the one of the Stories of Smith Wigglesworth, an incredible man of faith that performed many miracles in the 1920's. He awakened one night to find Satan in his room. He was not shaken in even the slightest way but turned over and went back to sleep completely confident in the promises of God. If you are interested look at www.smithwigglesworth.com. This website is a record of his faith walk and his life and sermons. It will encourage and build up your faith.
As always have a blessed week!! May you get a deeper revelation of what it means to be a friend of God and feel the true embrace of his spirit.
-Kamaria
The song today is God is Able by Smokie Norful. The first time I heard this song I was stunned. I'm not sure what his story is, but you can hear his heart crying out to God.
He has been another one of our amazing translators. I've gotten to know him on the past 2 trips I've been on and I can tell you he's my brother from another mother! He is a jokester and love to tease. He's also related to my boy Narin, I knew I liked him for a reason.
Not only is he a great translator he is also a leader at New Life Church. He works with Peter and Sam in the student ministries and he is amazing with the children. Please add him to your prayer with all the work that he does with the ministry.
Davan - age 16 - Davan’s mother and father are both deceased and he was living with his grandmother who was extremely poor. She attempted to find other relatives who could look after Davan and his brother, but no one was able to help support them, so she brought them to the orphanage
Seyla - age 18 - brother of Davan
Raksmey - age 14 - Raksmey’s parents are divorced and his father moved away after the divorce and has not been heard from since. Raksmey’s mother was too poor to care for him, so she left him with his aunt and grandmother in the hopes they could provide his needs. His relatives, however, were also very poor and were unable to give him the care he needed. Therefore, they brought him to the orphanage so that he would be cared for on a daily basis.
Peter has been another one of our translators and is an amazing brother in Christ. He works for New Life Church in the student ministries and while we are in town he as been an amazing guy to get to know.
I love to look on his Facebook page to see all of the work that he is doing with the students in Cambodia. I love his heart for the children and I'm so looking forward to seeing him again soon!
Huo - age 13 - Huo’s parents are divorced and he and his brother lived with their mother after the divorce. Even though his mother tried to provide for Huo and his brother, she was too poor and could never provide them with enough food to eat. She was also unable to pay for them to attend school. She brought them to the orphanage so that they would both have a better life.
Heing - age 10 - brother of Huo
Srey Kim - age 10 - step-sister to Huo & Heing - Srey Kim’s parents are divorced and she was living with her mother who was unable to provide enough food for her to eat on a daily basis. Srey Kim also had to be pulled from school. Because Srey Kim’s mother wanted to provide a better life for her daughter, she brought her to the orphanage so that she would be properly cared for.
'Same same but different' is a typical Khmer saying. Well, when Sam introduced himself to my team last year he said his name is Sam, like "Sam Sam but different." Just to give you a glimpse into his personality.
Sam was one of our amazing translators last year. He is Khmer and is a full time missionary for New Life Church working with the college ministry. He recently told Erin, one of my teammates last year and a great friend I have made on the mission trip, that he loves working in the college ministry because "if we change college students today, tomorrow Cambodia will change."
He also told Erin why he loves having the mission teams come to the orphanage. He said that we are superheros to the kids. That the love we bring helps to break all of their problems. We are able to show God's love to children who are in need of seeing it. In the end, I think all of the adults who go on the trip would say that the children are OUR superheros!
Forever all of our lives are changed for the better. Please pray for Sam and all of the challenges he faces as an in country missionary. Please pray for the students that he leads, that they come to know Christ as he does, and that they will bring Christianity into mainstream in Cambodia.
We are in the middle of our fundraising efforts and we are so grateful for all who have decided to partner with us. Last night we had a fundraising event that went really, really well! I, or someone on the team, will hopefully upload a few pictures of the event soon but in the meantime I wanted to update everyone with an email sent out to the team from our leaders:
We know most of you wake up very tired this morning. We hope that you also woke up very proud! We pulled off an incredible evening! Thanks so much for all you guys did to make it happen. From ironing sheets, to blowing up balloons, writing trivia questions, pouring water, washing dishes, trips to wal-mart, inviting friends and family - well, you get the picture: we did a lot! THANK YOU for partnering so well to create an incredible environment where people had the chance to laugh, to connect and to hear about God's story in Cambodia.
I was thinking this morning that b/c of last night our lives as teammates are even more "tangled" b/c our friends and family had a chance to spend an evening eating dinner together. It's so awesome to think that Christina's family got to meet Noelle's friends who got to meet Jen's family who got to meet Kristie's friends who got to meet Melanie's family and on and on and on.
So, because several of us took off a bit early to help with the "finding Pelham" effort (as Kristie mentioned earlier, Pelham came home this morning), we didn't get a chance to celebrate as a team. We'll correct that moving fwd. Until then, here are a few things to celebrate:
Lives impacted: 45 including ours.
Fist bumps and high fives: 743
Ice teas filled: 103
Waters filled: 121
We use this word a great deal, but last night was amazing. It was not amazing b/c of the money raised, however (and we raised a lot). It was amazing b/c last night we truly became a team. We learned to work with each other when we were stressed. We learned to give each other grace when we would have done a task a different way. We learned to trust each other when communication wasn't perfect. In short, we learned that as a team we can accomplish so much more than we can as a group of individuals. Let's hold on to this thought as we move fwd so that we can continue to revel in lots and lots of AMAZINGNESS!
We are so grateful to be on the journey with you guys!
-Stuart & Noelle
Please keep us in your prayers as we continue on the journey. Please pray that we continue to grow and come together as a team. That all the busyness of our daily lives around us doesn't distract us from our mission in Cambodia. And that we keep our hearts open to God and to the Cambodians during the entire journey!!
Samnang (big) - age 11 - Samnang’s parents both died from AIDS. Relatives attempted to care for Samnang and his two brothers after their parents passed away, but everyone in the family was extremely poor and no one could properly provide for the boys. An aunt brought the boys to the orphanage so they would all have an opportunity at a better life.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Phil 4:6-7)
This scripture is one that truly breathes in life to me as one of my struggles throughout my Christian Journey has been dealing with stress and anxiety. In the past I have stressed myself to the point of blindness, and at one point was so stressed I vomited blood. For me learning to develop the peace of God in my life was a matter of life and death. I am by no means perfected in this area but when I look at where God has brought me from I can give him praise. I don't know exactly when the change happened but I know that day by day as I spent time in his presence I began a metamorphosis. I can truly say that If you abide in the word of God you will grow roots that will help you stand against any circumstances. (psalm 1: 2-3) (Joshua 1: 7-9)
Life From inside the Fiery Furnace
The last couple of weeks were challenging. As you know I have been two years in a job transition. Around Memorial Day I lost my financial licenses from being out of work two years. While I wasn't completely devestated, it was a tough blow as I have come so close to being hired several times only to be let down at the last minute. I have felt like I am at the breaking point for a while,and that something needs to happen for me job wise. For a few days I would wake up in the morning and just stare at the ceiling. With God's help I was able to encourage myself and I am in a different place today. In my own strength I would have crumbled a long time ago because as I continue to pray for this trial to end, more and more things seem to be spinning out of control; sometimes I feel like I am free falling. I have moved to the eye of my storm if you will. In the eye of a hurricane it is completely calm, and if you move to far from the center you will get swept away by the storm. I have moved into the eye of the hurricane with Christ and locked into his presence praying and reading the word. I am continuing to be pressed and molded. Everything and every person I put my trust in is continuing to be stripped away and I am seeing Christ clearer every day. I think back to the day I was informed I was losing my job. I went straight home home and stayed in the room with my Bible for two days only coming out to eat. God showed me that like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3: 24-26 I was in a fiery furnace and he was right there in the flames with me. He told me when I emerged from this pit of despair that like them I would not even had the smell of smoke. God also spoke to me about forgiveness that Jesus forgave those on the cross because his destiny was more important than his current situation. I had to release the people who laid me off and the only reason they could let me go was because God allowed it and had greater things in store for my life. I have held to these two truths throughout my struggle. As I have continued in the furnace I have found the tighter I cling to God, and the more I open my tightly held fist and pour out my heart to him more and more of my worries disappear. The words to this scripture are true:
5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. 6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. 7 My salvation and my honor depend on God[c];
he is my mighty rock, my refuge. 8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm (62:5-8)
This is definitely not the path I would have chosen but I am so much stronger and wiser for going through it!!
I can truly say that whatever you are going through the more of your heart and situation you can entrust to God the more he will give you peace that passes all understanding. Step into the eye of the hurricane! step out of the boat and keep your eyes on him! Reach out and grab his hand while you are in the furnace! You will make it!! You will come out stronger than ever!!!
The song for this week is Strength with Pastor John P. Kee with the New Life Community Choir. This song makes me want to box for Jesus! (in the spirit of course!) Some of the words are Be strong in the Lord and the power of his might/know in your heart every battle he will fight!!
Vay - age 19 - Vay’s mother is deceased and her father – a farmer – was attempting to provide for himself and his three children. He was never able to provide his family with enough food nor could he afford to send his children to school. Wanting his children to have a better life, Vay’s father brought them to the orphanage so they would all be properly cared for.
I will have a message to you next week, but I wanted to share this with you. Several years ago I heard this track of Marvin Gaye singing His Eye is on the Sparrow and it gave me chills. I had no idea he had ever recorded this song.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.[a]30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31)
I saw this scripture lived out several years ago as I was returning from lunch and a baby bird had fallen from it's nest. The security guard on duty showed me where the bird had fallen. The tiny bird only looked a few days old and was sadly tweeting. I prayed with the security guard for the little bird and went upstairs to call the Audubon society hoping to find another way to help the bird. The representative on the phone told me not to worry, that the mother would find it. Sure enough when I left to go home that evening, the Security Guard informed me that the mother indeed found her baby and swooped down to get him and take him back to the nest. That was so amazing to me, and spoke to me about God's love. If God cares this much for a little bird, how much more does he care for us. God knew us and loved us before time began, beyond the concept of time. Even before the creation of the world our names were engraved on his heart. We are made in the image of God, descendants of the first man formed from the dust of the earth. (Genesis 2:7) If you look at psalm (139: 13-18), It shows how much thought God took to create you and me. We are not accidents in time. We are true expressions of love. Today meditate on the fact that you are loved of God truly and deeply.
Jeremiah 31:3 says:
3 The LORD appeared to us in the past,[a] saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." Whatever you are feeling today spend some time thinking of God's love for you and meditate on who you are to him. You are a priceless treasure and you were created at this time because God knew the positive impact you would make on this Generation. He knew you would yield your hearts to help encourage and inspire the beautiful children of Cambodia.
Know that God rejoices over you, and he smiles when he remembers your name.
Zephaniah 3:17
Today's song is Israel and new Breed I am not Forgotten. This is a song that truly makes me dance.
