2009 starting off strong!

What an amazing year it has already been for me! As you know, I taught the book of 1st John the first week back from Christmas break. It went very well. One of the main things that the author and original readers were dealing with at the time this book was written was false teaching: People were denying the full humanity and Deity of Christ; and believing that one could earn their way to heaven through knowledge rather than faith in Christ alone. The book of 1st John addresses just such issues by facing lies head on with truth and love. My main application point for the book was this idea of truth and love. So often we think of love as pleasing other people but this book demonstrates that true love is modeled by what Jesus did on the cross; in sacrificing himself for the salvation of those who would believe. I believe that we are to follow this model if we are to love properly. True love is not always pleasing others, or doing what they want us to, but rather doing what is best for them, regardless of what it costs us. True love is doing what is highest and best for the other person. That is how God loves: as modeled in Jesus. This is how we ought to love. Often this is difficult for us. We hate to be confrontational, and lot of times would rather not say anything, than to make others upset with us. I think it is unloving to avoid speaking truth to someone out of fear of how they might react. The most loving thing is to speak truth into others lives, no matter what that costs us, or how much they don't like it. Truth and love cannot be separated. Speaking truth to others however needs to always be lined in hope, pointing others to hope in the endless grace of Christ. Jesus is always willing to forgive and we cannot offer rebuke without also offering hope. That too is unloving. At the end of the lecture, I had the students pray about how they can walk this out; whether that means to pray for boldness and opportunities, or to call a specific person that they need to share the gospel with, or confront about something. I stressed that this must be done by the leading of the Holy Spirit and not in ones attempts to prove how smart they are or something like that. This also is unloving. I challenged the students with the fact that as they are gaining great knowledge about God and the bible through SBS, none of it matters if it is not executed in love. No one cares how smart they are, people need to hear that God loves them. As I have been studying this book, God has been challenging me to walk out this application in some specific areas of my life. I have seen God move through that and am excited about what he is doing! Thank you to all of you who prayed for my lecture - My next lecture will be the book of Psalms in March.

The other exciting thing is that Justin proposed to me that evening after I taught! So we are now engaged and are getting married in May! Yay! We are so excited! We have seen God move so much in our relationship, and truly believe that this is where he is leading us next. He has already opened so many doors, including providing a beautiful ring that we did not have to pay for! God is so faithful and we are both so thrilled to serve him and give him glory together in this next phase of our lives.

Prayer points:

1. FINANCES!!!! This is a big one! We are praying for God to provide the money for our so far non -existent honeymoon. Also, we are going to need more monthly support, now that we are getting married. It looks like we are going to have to rent a place off of the base which will be more expensive. All of the couples' rooms on base are full, so unless something opens up in the next few months this is our plan. If you feel so led, please join us in praying that God will provide for us in these two areas. Also, if you are someone who believes in supporting missions, please pray about how you might be a part of our monthly financial support team. You can contact me with any questions you have about that.

2. Wedding Plans: I am going to be juggling alot between SBS staff, time invested into my relationship, and planning a wedding, so please pray for God's grace in that.

3. Teaching: Please also pray for the preparation over the next couple of months that will go into my Psalms teaching.

4. Students: They are finishing up the new testament over the next two weeks and then it is on to the Old Testament. This was my favorite part of my SBS, but they could definately use your grace as they transition into bigger books and a new style of charting.

I love you all, and am always happy to pray for you. Please let me know how you might have need. May God overwhelm you with the abundance of his grace!

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Checks can be sent to me, but made payable to YWAM MT
Memo line: Project # 3581
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Prayer Needs:

Hello to my faithful prayer warriors!

I am calling on you once again for your prayer support. I am teaching 1 John on Fri Jan 9th and am asking you to help me by covering it in prayer. I really felt your prayers for my last teaching: the Holy Spirit did a huge number in our hearts that day! So I ask for you once again to pray for me as I am busily preparing and anticipating the lecture ahead of me.

• I still have lots to do in order to be ready and not as much time as I would like, to do it all in. I cannot do this without totally dependence on God. Please pray that I would accomplish what I need to in the time that I have. Pray that I would have his peace and reassurance in the midst of it all.
  
• Pray that God will use this book to speak something precious and life changing to the students. He has already done this in me since I have been studying this book. Now I just need his grace to be able to effectively communicate what he has laid on my heart to them. Pray that their hearts would be open and ready.
• Please also pray for my hands and wrists. My study and prep involves lots of typing and my hands, wrists, even arms have been getting sore from all the typing. Please pray that this pain and whatever is causing it would be taken away (if it is God's will) and that this pain will not get in the way of my studying.

Thanks you so much for being a part of this ministry through prayer. It works! Your prayers are helping to change lives and touch the world with God's transforming power! You guys are the best! Hope you are having a happy new Year!

"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. " - 1 John 5:14-15