Dono's Doings

Why won't God just make me a better, mature christian right now?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 02:47:00 +0000

Have you ever asked that question? To God? To a friend? To a pastor? As growing christians, we tend to get frustrated with our "spiritual" shortcomings.

We don't wake up as early as we need to in order to spend quality time in God's word.
I'm so lazy!
We can't bring ourselves to share the gospel with that co-worker we know needs Jesus.
I'm so dad-gum scared!
We determine our actions and appearances based on what others think.
Why do I care so much!

There are so many examples of stuff like this. Things that we think because we have been christians for a minute we should be over. We shouldn't struggle with this anymore. We should be more "mature" than this. I've asked myself questions like this all the time. I've asked God why, I've asked friends why, I've asked pastors and men who have discipled me why. "Please God take these weaknesses away so I can get on to advancing your kingdom and be a 'better' christian!!"

Just this morning I was reading in Deuteronomy chapter 7. FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm currently trying to catch back up on a bible reading plan my small group started back in October to get through the Bible in a year. I am really behind, like three books behind (God why do I always get so far behind when I do reading plans?)!! I came to verses 21 and 22. It says:

You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little.

These verses come from when the Israelites are waiting on the plains of Moab to enter Canaan, the promised land. God is speaking thru Moses telling them that he will give the peoples of the land of Canaan into the hands of the Israelites when they enter the land, that he will "clear away" the nations before them. What stuck out to me though in these two verses was the phrase "little by little." What is that about? Then I read later in chapter 8 verses 11-17 the following:

Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statues, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, "My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth."

Thanks for bearing with me there. So after I read that little passage, some dots started connecting for me. What if God had not said "little by little?" What if he would have just destroyed everybody in their way and desolated every city and army that Israel would have to face all at once? I think the passage in chapter 8 helps us out here.

***Before I go any further, I just want to state that this is my personal interpretation that I believe to be accurate and consistent with other biblical texts. I have not read this in a commentary or in a study bible.***

I think that little by little detail is there because of the reality of chapter 8:11-17. The Israelites were already prone to quickly beginning to worship other things besides God. How quickly would they have starting worshipping themselves for their military prowess and celebrating themselves and their agricultural skills for how well the land would grow crop if every obstacle they faced was immediately and totally wiped out? In a "little by little" situation, you still have to trust God along the way. You still have to stand face to face with an opponent that is real, and actually much stronger and bigger than you. You still have to go to battle with armies that outnumber you and only on the Word of God can you stand. Nothing else is telling you that you will win, that you will survive. Little by little still requires faith and trust. It requires you to admit your dependency and weakness in and of yourself. God is sovereignly dragging this out a little, to make for himself a people that completely and fully trust him and love him. God is clearing obstacles little by little to build, and to shape, and to strengthen, and to love his people.

Now we know from the scripture that Israel will still go down a road of idolatry and they will suffer the consequences. However, I think from these couple verses we can draw out a principle or truth to apply to the situation we find ourselves in so often, namely the why won't God make me better right now situation. Maybe God is clearing away little by little the immaturities of your walk with him. Of course we know that in our weakness his power is perfected (2 Corinthians 12:9), but in the things that we "should" be growing in, things that take us through this process we call sanctification, things that grow as love for God grows, in these things He will clear away obstacles little by little.

We aren't supposed to become christians and then be the boldest gospel proclaimers that we know the next week. We aren't supposed to get up every day at 5am to study God's word when we don't even know where different books of the bible are. Let me be clear here, I'm not saying that if you did just become a christian last week, and you literally share the gospel with everyone you know, that you're not supposed to! What I'm saying is that the vast majority of christians, at least young American christians, aren't there. Most of us aren't there because God is clearing away those cities little by little. All we have to do is as Deuteronomy 6:5 says "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

If we are doing this, God will clear away the cities. If we are trusting him, God will give us deeper and more certain trust. If we are seeking him, He will give us keener eyes to see. If we are speaking the gospel to others, even just a little bit, he will give us a louder, more confident voice.

So back to the question we asked at the beginning, Why won't God make me the boldest, wisest, most compassionate christian I can be right now? I believe it's because God, in his sovereign wisdom, is divinely protecting you from self worship. He is protecting you from thinking that you know exactly the right words to say to convert someone and not depending on the Holy Spirit to give you words. He is saving you from getting to the point where you get up early and read God's word just so you can "know" more than others or so you can win arguments with theology and apologetics. He is saving you from worshipping yourself, from worshipping the created over the creator. He is loving you with a steadfast love. He is "doing you good" in the end as chapter 8 verse 16 says.

So, when you find yourself getting frustrated with God, that you still struggle with the same things. Still too afraid, still too ignorant, still too unholy, still too ___________, Trust him. Love him. Seek him with all your heart. Matthew 6:33 says to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Seek and love God, and you will become a more disciplined Bible reader. Seek and love God, and you will become a more bold gospel sharer. Seek and love God and you will become a more compassionate and helpful person. But don't seek and love God for these things, seek and love God to love God more. Seek and love God because he loved you first and sent his Son to die for you. Run towards God and he will clear away the cities that stand in your way:

LITTLE BY LITTLE.

The Greatest Offender Becomes the Greatest Defender

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 14:34:00 +0000

Today I was reading Acts 9, along with the Summit Church's bible reading plan (summitRDU.com/Bible), about the conversion of the greatest opponent to Christ and the Christian faith that has ever lived, Saul of Tarsus. Just one chapter before his conversion, Saul was pulling people out of their homes and putting them in prison. He "approved" the ESV says of Stephen's execution. He was binding those who had been set free in Christ. And then, in the middle of the road, on his way to another raid of another town, it happened.

Saul had his first encounter with the God he had been persecuting. A glory so great that he left that encounter blind. And I'm tempted to add a verse in my Bible, although I won't because then it would cease to be infallible I'm sure, that says something like "And although Saul became blind, he could see more clearly than he ever had before." At this point Saul was still Saul. He wasn't converted yet. But he knew this whole thing about Jesus was real. He knew he had been wrong about the whole thing. So even though he was blind, he had a better sense of reality than he had ever had before.

That points us to the fact that our physical eyes, the two little orbs that rest in the middle of our faces (which can be blue, green, brown, zebra striped, or really anything else you want them to now that you can get contacts with all kinds of crazy designs), are not the most important instruments of sight for us. More than we need to have 20/20 vision, we need the eyes of our hearts to be open. It is with the eyes of our hearts that we can see beyond this world when everything around us attempts to make us believe something that isn't true, or gives us a false perspective. It is with the eyes of our hearts that we can see Christ working in this world even though it is utterly broken and full of wickedness and evil. It is with the eyes of our hearts that we can see beyond our present circumstances, the glory that will be revealed to us.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away,

our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction

is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory

beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen

but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient,

but the things that are unseen are eternal.

-2 Corinthians 4:16-18

It makes sense that to see something that is unseen, you have to use eyes that are unseen. And to possess something that is unseen, it needs to be given to you by someone that is unseen. Well that just leaves one person, God. Would you just stop right now and ask God to give you eyes that see beyond the material reality we live in? Ask him to give you "heart eyes."

Now that we've covered that, I want to finish with the main idea that initiated this blog post, although the idea discussed above was very in"sight"ful to me. In the conversion of Saul we see God taking the greatest offender to Christ and the kingdom he instituted, and turning him into the greatest defender for the Christian faith ever. God took the greatest threat, and by the Holy Spirit, not by anything done on the part of Saul, and made him the greatest spokesman for his kingdom. This is what God does. He takes things that are broken, things that are evil, things that are dead, and he makes them whole, good, and alive. This is exactly what he did in the cross of Christ. He took man's greatest evil, man's greatest sin, and made it his greatest grace towards men. He made our crucifixion of the King of Glory, the path to our redemption. He made the blood of the slaughtered King, the agent of our deepest cleansing. He made the most horrible scene of death, our only way to receive true life.

Only God can do this. And he does it every day when he saves sinners. He takes idolaters, and makes them worshippers of the true God. He takes orphans, and make them sons and daughters. He takes prostitutes, and makes them his bride. And don't get it twisted. You can't make yourself more eligible for his resurrecting power, his restoring grace. What makes you eligible to receive it, is the very fact that you CAN'T make yourself eligible to receive it. It is grace through faith. God extends grace and you RECEIVE it.

This is why the Christ of the Bible is so different than any other God. This is why Christianity is so different from any other faith. Nowhere else is there resurrection, restoration, and new life. In Christ we are "new creations" (2 Cor. 5:17). Christians aren't fixed versions of their old selves. Christians are a completely new race! We haven't been cleaned up, we've been made new.

Only Christ can do this.

A Sinners Prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 17:59:00 +0000

Below I have posted a prayer that came out of my time in God's word this morning. May this be the prayer of an ever increasing number of weary souls who have finally discovered that they can find life and rest in no one but Jesus, His cross, and His resurrection.

Show me the gravity of my sin

by showing me the cross

Show me the gloriousness of Your love

by showing me the cross

Show me Your worthiness of worship

by showing me the cross

Show me the depth of Your grace

by showing me the cross

Show me your faithfulness never-ending

by showing me the cross

Show me your perfect holiness

by showing me the cross

Show me Your supreme power

by showing me the cross

Show me your unmatched humility

by showing me the cross

Show me Your immovable justice

by showing me the cross

Show me the victory of Your mission

by showing me the cross

Show me my merciful King

by showing me the cross

Amen

God's Dream for Your Life

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 01:42:00 +0000

Check out the call to discipleship and God's dream for your life that Wes Smith gave at SC United on September 7th! The dude talks really fast but it's a good word. "You can't microwave a disciple, you gotta slow cook 'em!"

God's Dream for Your Life from Summit College on Vimeo.

Čao from Belgrade! Cako cte?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 18:59:00 +0000

Hello everyone! I apologize that it has been so long since my last update. So we are getting towards the end of City Project, which is the summer discipleship program we have through the college ministry at the Summit. We are currently in our international portion of the program. Each student goes to one of three locations including: Nairobi, Kenya; Taipei, Taiwan; and Belgrade, Serbia. I am in Belgrade with a team of 9 students and two other staff. We have been here for about a week and have been on the go since we hit the ground. This past week we spent much of each day running a VBS for the children of a Roma gypsy village in Belgrade. We had about 50 students that we got the privilege of loving, getting to know and sharing the gospel with daily. We saw the Lord work through some very difficult language barriers with the kids. Most of them couldn't speak one word of english, and by the end of the week they were singing our english songs! They were so awesome and it was such a blessing and encouragement to see how the church in that village is growing and even now looking for a bigger space to meet on Sunday evenings! Today we had a more relaxed day to rest up for next week which will consist of teaching english classes every day. We will teach two classes for kids and one for college students.

We are staying in a place called Studenski Grad which means "Student City." This is basically a bunch of dorms where all the most intelligent students in Belgrade stay. The students that stay at studenski grad actually attend 1 of 4 different universities. So there are students from several universities staying in the same dorms. Imagine students from Duke and Carolina staying in the same dorms! lol. Anyway, there is an area in the middle of the dorms like an outdoor amphitheater. Every night the students congregate on those benches and just hang out. For the past several nights we have been going out and just meeting students and getting to know them. It has gone very well and I believe God has given us much favor with them. We have had some interesting conversations with them on the many differences between our culture and theirs. Many of the students we have met have even come to the movies with us to see spider-man 3d!

Over the past week, our team has definitely developed a deeper unity with each other in the midst of many difficulties (language barriers, no ac, heat). God has been very gracious to us and has been faithful in drawing us together even in moments when we have been selfish and not kingdom-minded. Pray for us that we would continue to exercise showing grace often to each other. Pray we would continue to serve and sacrifice for each other in order to preach the gospel to each other daily. With half of the trip gone, it's easy to start to check out of what we are doing, pray we would fight that desire.

Because this will probably be my last post before we return to the states, I want to ask you to pray that the Lord would give our team a heart for the nations and even specifically a call for some students to pursue full-time overseas missions. Thank you for all your prayers so far, they are greatly appreciated and it is encouraging to know we have people supporting us back at home. We will be flying out at 6am on the 21st local time. Pray for safety.

In Christ,
Donovan

p.s. the title of this post means "Hello from Belgrade! How are you?"

Jesus In My Place

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000

So I wanted to take a quick minute and share with you my thoughts on the new worship album from the Summit Church released on iTunes today. Of course I am biased toward this record because I am on staff with the Summit and I get to serve alongside the folks who crafted this album. However, I am writing this review on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ my savior, and the glory He deserves. There are 13 tracks on this album, 11 of which are full-length songs. The other two tracks are musical interludes that even though they are not full-length songs are super worshipful. Every song on this album from beginning to end stays true to the title of this album, "Jesus In My Place." Every song displays what it really means that Jesus took our place and reconciled us to the one true God through his precious blood. I liked what a friend of mine Liz Nicholson did on her review of this album so I will take the same structure by reviewing each track individually.

1) We Welcome You With Praise(feat. Sam Fisher)

You may have heard this tune before from the passion album a few years ago but the version that is on this album is so tasteful and change of pace. This song is an opening prayer for the rest of the album, simply that "we welcome you with praise, almighty God of love be welcome in this place." This place being, in our churches, in our lives, in our hearts. Lord Jesus receive the praise you deserve through this album.

2) You Are(feat. Hank Murphy)

I will start by saying that Hank is the man and has one of the best voices I think I have ever heard. The dude can flat out sing! This is a more upbeat song, but still stays faithful to the message of Jesus In My Place. It is an awesome anthem that Jesus in the great "I AM," and there is none like him who can do all that he does for us. It's a foot-tapper and head-bobber for sure.

3) How Rich a Treasure We Possess(feat. Kelby Dover)

We have been singing this song at our church for a few months now so everyone gets jacked up when they hear it on the cd. This song, I would say can be place in the category of a hymn with a modern rhythm and instrumentation, which I love. Those theologically rich hymns put to modern instrumentation is so awesome and I fully expect this song to function exactly the same. Also, Kelby has such a unique and distinct voice that I think is a perfect fit for this song.

4) Interlude 1

Just listen to this interlude and tell me what I said earlier isn't true...you won't! And my voice is mixed in there somewhere so I like listening and trying to find my voice..ha...I had to be honest with you.

5) Jesus In My Place(feat. Matt Papa)

When Matt Papa and Jonathan Welch wrote this song, I wonder if they knew what it would become. This song is literally an anthem of the Summit Church. The people at our church absolutely love this song and connect with it every time we sing it during our services. The thing is, anyone anywhere can and should connect with this song like that if they have found faith in Christ. It simply puts words to what Jesus has done for us, for all of us. Not just for us on on worst days, but for us on our best days. We need Christ to experience real life, real freedom, real love. Once you hear this song, there is no way you won't buy this album.

6) You Are Our King(feat. Jennifer Brown)

This song was written during a sermon series our pastor was teaching through called "the search for a king." The series focused on the life of King David and how he was simply a foreshadowing of the true king that would come and give up his life for us. The chorus says "...you're all we need, you're all we need, only you only you Jesus." This lyric speaks to something our pastor says a lot and something that is included in his recent publication Gospel: Recovering the power that made Christianity revolutionary, the fact that Jesus is all we need for everlasting joy. Having everything in the world is nothing without Jesus. Having Jesus and nothing else in the world is everything. In Jesus you have all you will ever need, because in Jesus you are a child of God. Also Jennifer's voice is unbelievable. She kills it! If it tells you anything, I'm pretty sure we started doing this song in a female key because of her.

7) Revive Us Again(feat. Matt Papa)

Okay we're halfway there. This song is a plea for God to come and make the truth of the Gospel alive in our hearts. That's what a revival is. The truth of the gospel awakening people's hearts to be on mission for Christ. This is a prayer of mine every day, that the gospel would become more sweet and irresistible to me and change the way I live. The dynamics of the song are awesome. The way the bridge builds up only to drop back down for a more mellow half of a verse, then jumps back up into the chorus is super creative and appealing to the ears. Every time I lead worship at our church, I love leading this song!

8) This Is The Gospel(feat. Sam Fisher)

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard this song on the album. It adds a very catchy groove to the cd. This song just makes want to roll down the windows and belt out the end of the chorus "and I am not ashamed, no I am not ashamed, This is is the gospel." Then when they add the acapella and drum bridge at the end I just want it to keep going!

9) Interlude 2

This interlude will have you on your knees is awe of the creator who came to the earth and willingly received the wrath of God on your behalf. Even without words, I am so in tune with the cross of Christ when I listen to this.

10) Savior of The World(feat. Hank Murphy)

This is a little different arrangement of the original written by Ben Cantelon. And no offense to Ben, but because I'm such a Hank Murphy fan and because he's my friend, I like it better when Hank sings it.

11) We Bring Our Highest Praise(feat. Kelby Dover)

If you're looking for a new congregational worship song to introduce to your congregation or to learn, it should be this one. It might just be my favorite song on this album. First because it's so easy to learn and because when that chorus hits, the hands go up and people worship. Sometimes I sit at home and just play this song by myself and worship Jesus. The bridge is so awesome because it helps up realize that everything our hearts long for and search for in other things, has always been there in Christ and his cross. You will love this song. That's a guarantee.

12) Thank You My Lord(feat. Haven Sink and Matt Papa)

First of all, Haven has one of the most pure and beautiful voices you will ever hear. It is a blessing to have her at our church. Okay now that I have my love for Haven's voice our there for the world to read I'll move on. When you hear thing song you will want to just close your eyes and think about how much the song is relevant to you. How it shows you how much you have that you aren't thankful for and most of all how we don't fully understand or grasp what we have in Christ. This is the posture we should have and song we should sing every morning when we wake up.

13) Forever We Will Sing(feat. Kaimy Masse and Hank Murphy)

When you get a whole congregation singing this song, there is a 100% chance you will get jacked up! I know this is a picture of what heaven will sound like. It's so simple with not many words, but man those words are heavy and life-changing. It's all we will desire to sing when we get to heaven "Worthy is the Lamb, Jesus Son of God. Risen from the dead, forever we will sing!" Then when Kaimy starts belting, it's over. Her voice makes people worship Jesus I'm telling you. There is no way you can listen to this song and not lift your hands, scream, sing louder, clap, get goosebumps, bang on something or some combination. I couldn't picture a better track to end the album on.

So if you haven't figured it out by now, the next webpage you should go to is itunes to buy this album. And I've conveniently included it here. So, buy the album, be blessed, be encouraged, worship Jesus and live a life that declares the message of JESUS IN MY PLACE!!!!

Infinite Power and Infinite Love Meet at the Cross

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:46:00 +0000

Mark 15:29-30
"And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, 'Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!'"

I was spending time today reading through the last week of Jesus' life on earth. While reading this passage really struck me. These people were mocking Jesus and yelling at him to bring himself down from the cross if he was truly the son of God. I have thought before to myself, "Why didn't Jesus just come down from the cross to shut those people up and display His power?" Indeed he would have shown His power over them and over some nails and a cross. He would have shut them up and shown himself to be divine.

But then I thought about it more today as I was reading. What is a display of greater power, coming down from a cross, or resurrecting from a grave after being dead for three days and shut up in a tomb in a rock? In resurrecting from the dead, Jesus not only defeated the efforts of people to kill him but he defeated death! He defeated the grave! He defeated sin! In rising from the dead, Jesus showed himself to possess an infinitely greater power than what it would have taken to come down from the cross. He showed himself to possess the power of God alone, and therefore proved his claim to be the Son of God and the Word in the flesh.

Then i kept thinking. What else would have been different if Jesus would have just came down from the cross instead of dying and resurrecting? Well, simply put, God's love would not be infinite. Because Jesus died and didn't "almost die," he showed the ultimate measure of love, a love like no other, a love with no end. And, without dying, there can be no resurrection, and without the resurrection, we are still under the power of sin. The gospel is not good news without the resurrection.

In God's perfect plan and love for us, his infinite power and love meet at the cross. The Lord humbled himself to be crucified innocently by sinners who mocked and spat on him, who rejected him. All because of His infinite and matchless love. Romans 5:8 says, " but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus died once for all, for the sins of the whole world for all of time. Every sin paid for, not one uncovered by His blood. We didn't love him so then he died for our sins, He died in the midst of our sin and rebellion. In the midst of our rejection of Him. To die for an enemy is a love that cannot be explained.

We don't have to explain God's love for us, we simply just have to accept it freely. Will you accept freely the love that is offered to you? Will you tell everyone about the infinite love that is offered to them? Remember Christ died for the world, not just for a few. Christ's resurrection gives us power over the world. We should not be afraid of the world. We should pray as Paul did in Ephesians chapter 6, "... that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.," that is the gospel.

I hope as Easter approaches, you would meditate on what it is we are celebrating. We are not just celebrating our sins being forgiven, we are celebrating the attributes of God. We are celebrating our eternal communion with our creator and the creator of the world! We are celebrating the fact that God is who he says he is! We are celebrating that we have an unshakeable hope! We are celebrating the victory, the victory that we will celebrate for all of eternity! THE VICTORY OF OUR GOD!

"Love has come, Your love has won!"
- lyric from White Flag on the Passion White Flag Album released march, 2012

Fool's Gold

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:59:00 +0000

That aint treasure that's trash...cuz it aint never gonna last!

God is the Gospel

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:51:00 +0000

So I have been reading a book by John Piper called God is the Gospel for the past month or so. The astounding truth that Piper discusses in this work is the reality that greatest good in the gospel is that we get to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:4-6). When most people think about what the gospel means and why it's good, even most Christians, they think about the covering of our sins and the imputed righteousness that we receive from Jesus. Although these things are central to the gospel, they would not be "good" Piper says, if we were not able to see and experience the glory of God in Christ. Seeing and experiencing the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ brings with it the covering of our sins and the imputed righteousness of Christ we receive freely.

That word "gospel" is thrown around a lot and most people believe that they understand it in its entirety. However we can not go deep enough into the gospel because we cannot go deep enough into an eternal God. Piper says on page 47, "The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God." If we are missing this truth, then the gospel we believe is not the whole gospel, it is a surface-level gospel. Its as if we are digging for gold and we finally find some small nuggets. We are satisfied and then we stop digging. As C.S. Lewis so brilliantly put it "We are far too easily pleased." If we would keep digging, there we would find a treasure far beyond our wildest dreams, one that never ends. This is the easily looked over reality of the gospel . If we would only keep digging deeper and deeper into the "good news," we would discover what really makes the good news really good; God himself!

Oh Africa!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:55:00 +0000

Hey everyone. So I'm flying out today with a team from the Summit to AFRICA!! I've never been before so I am super pumped and ready to get there. Please be in prayer for our team that we would experience God in a fresh and new way and that we would be able to selflessly serve the people there. We would also like to experience safe travel so you can also be praying for that...lol.

Summit College: I had my first summit college small group meeting Tuesday night at NC State. We had five guys come and I have received some emails in the last couple days of some other guys that are interested. It was super encouraging to be able to talk and get to know those guys. They seemed super excited about the group and it gets me excited. Please pray for our group that we would develop strong relationships founded on the love of Christ and that we as a group would have an impact for Christ at NC State.

Support: I am currently sitting at about 40%. Although its not a lot, it is more that I had the last time I posted so I thank God for that with a grateful heart. No matter how slow support raising is going and no matter how I feel, God always has, always does and always will provide. I am supremely confident in what God has for me in the coming months and I try to dwell on that. Although it is very hard to do every day. Please continue to pray for me that I would be confident in the Lord's goodness and His desire to give me good gifts and to provide. Pray that I would have faith in His love. Pray for the hearts of people who could financially support me, that they would see this as an opportunity to give to God and the great commission and not to me. Pray that they would give joyfully with generous hearts. Pray that I would see and experience God's faithfulness.

In other news, our 4th housemate has finally moved in. As of last night Wes Smith is officially a member of 1015-2 ninth st. Although he is here, he is still rehabbing from knee surgery so be sure to keep him and that process in your prayers.

Well that's all for now. Be looking for an update, hopefully with some pictures in the coming days, from Africa.

Slave to Righteousness

Donovan

Church @ The Ballpark

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 01:09:00 +0000

So today was church @ the ballpark for The Summit Church. All campuses met together this morning and the official attendance was 7200 and the pastors performed over 300 baptisms! It was awesome worshipping with all those people this morning and feeling the presence of God in the ballpark. The gospel was proclaimed and people were brought from death to life.

In other news, I'm leaving for Africa on Thursday and I'm stoked! I get to lead missionaries and church planters in worship of the King. What an opportunity, to worship with heros of the faith who have given up everything to heed the call of literally "reaching the nations." I can't wait. Please be in prayer for our team that we would serve with hearts eager to love and serve like Jesus. Also pray for our safe travel to and from Africa.

As for support raising: I have got a few more commitments that have trickled in over the past couple weeks. I am still a long way from home. I'm close to about 40% right now. I still need a lot more people so please be praying for me that these people would come out of the woodwork and that God would provide. Stay tuned for another update soon. I am having my first college small group on Tuesday night @ NC State with some state guys. Please be in prayer for me and for them that we will build lasting friendships and that God would be glorified in our time together.

For His Glory,

Donovan

Crunch Time

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:31:00 +0000

Hey everyone. Just wanted to let you know that I am in urgent need of monthly supporters. I have a deadline that I need to meet or else I might not be able to intern full-time. Right now I am at 30% and I need to be at 60% at least in two weeks. I need your help! Please pray for me.

Donovan

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:06:00 +0000

Just a quick update..sorry for the absence. So currently I am at 30% of my monthly support goal. I still have a long way to go but I truly believe that God is faithful and will provide. Please continue to pray for my support and for me. Also pray that potential supporters and those I come in contact with will desire to give generously to the advancement of the Gospel and not to me. Pray that it would be a joy for them and not an obligation. Thats all I have time for now but look for another update soon.

By the way officially a member of the Durham, NC community...holla Bull City.

Dono

Where is this kid at?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Hey everyone! So sorry that it has been forever since I last posted on here. I have definitely dropped the ball a little bit. Anyway, this internship is getting closer and closer and I'm getting super excited. A quick update; I am currently at about 35% of my monthly goal. So I still have a long way to go, but I can start in August with at least 80%. I have had so much going on the past few months with trying to finish up school and working part time so it has been really hard to give support raising the time it requires. Please continue to pray for me and my support, that I will grow in faith and that God will do something awesome with my support.

On a lighter note, I have gotten a chance to get to know some of the other interns over the past few weeks. They are super awesome and we have started to build great relationships. We are all so different, but yet we get along so well. The next two years are gonna be awesome getting to know and grow alongside them.

A funny story:
So the other day another intern and myself went over to Dave's(the Summit college pastor) house to hang out for an hour or so. When we showed up, Dave was hanging out with his little boy Graham and Graham seemed a little upset. So we tried our best to calm him down. I always like to try and make little kids laugh, so I started making stuff up and looking like crazy person to make him laugh. Turns out I discovered something that made him die laughing. I would look at the ceiling and then slowly bring my head down till I was staring him right in the face(it doesn't take much to amuse a little boy). He died laughing every time I did it. But that isn't the hilarious part. After I did that a few times, he started doing it as sort of a request for me to do it again. So we would both do it then he would bust out laughing again. After I left that night, I found out that Graham continued to do it even when I wasn't there, which made me wish I could have been a fly on the wall watching that. Anyway thats pretty much it (Sorry Lauren if he develops some kind of habit because of this, but I will still laugh if I see him do it..lol). I look forward to hanging out with Graham much more over the next 2 years.

If you are reading this and you don't really know me personally, but would like to support me and believe that college students are vital to reach with the gospel, than you can click the razoo picture at the top to go to my personal support site. Or you can visit the summit support site at http://www.summitrdu.com/staffsupport and click online giving. Then you can create a log in(or log in if you already have a summit account for any online giving) to become a monthly supporter or click "Pay as a guest" for a one-time donation. Then just check the box next to my name "Donovan Beadle."

To wrap-up:
Please continue to pray for me as I continue to raise support. It can be very stressful at times to know that my involvement depends on my support. I really want to start on time by mid-august so please pray that God would provide. Also pray that peace would comfort me as I reflect on the sovereignty of God and his plan for my life. If you have any questions, comments, concerns or just want to contact me, my email is ddbeadle@ncsu.edu and you can email me anytime and I will be sure to get back to you within a day. Thanks again for your continued prayers and hope that you all are being moved by the grace of God in your lives everyday.

Slave to Righteousness

Donovan

Why Are Stamps so Expensive?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 23:04:00 +0000

Okay so I sent out my first wave of support letters yesterday(19 of them to be exact). Every time I enter in to the process of support raising, I always get nervous when I send out those first letters. I get nervous because I know that in a weeks time, I will be calling the folks who hopefully received my letter(and read it!). From here on out it's nothing but faith and patience in God and his promises. I am reading a book called Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin and in it he says that "God can use us, but he doesn't need us"(page 46). This rang out to me like a fire alarm in the middle of a night that is so quiet you can barely hear the crickets. I came to realize that it is a distinct privilege and honor to be used by God to further his Kingdom. He is going to accomplish his purposes one way or another(Isaiah 55:10-12), with or without us. If God chooses to call me to be a part of his plan, this is an eternal privilege.

How does this relate to support raising?

Since it is a privilege to be used by God, it is a privilege to walk the path towards what it is God wants to use you for(ultimately to glorify him). In my case, raising support should be a privilege for me! I should be ecstatic about calling the next person on my list and overjoyed that I get to invite others to join in my mission, God's mission. It is an honor because I get to see how even in the midst of my circumstances, God is working for my good(Romans 8:28). Raising support begs the question: Do I believe God is really good?

Now all that said, the concept is easier to grasp than the reality of it. Just because I understand intellectually, doesn't mean I am experiencing spiritually and emotionally. If I miss out on the joy that should come hand in hand with this process, I am missing the truth of God's promises and ultimately the Gospel. If I don't believe that God is good to me in this, how can I truly believe that God is good to me through the cross? The point of support raising is not to raise a bunch of money, the point is to be able to enjoy the faithfulness of God.

Before I get too lengthy to the point that no one wants to read my post, and so I'm not late for work, i'll close with this: This type of joy and delight in God and use of you in his Kingdom, can only be experienced by asking for it! If we do not seek God, through his word and through prayer, consistently asking for this joy, we will never experience it fully. Especially when things get a little rough. I am not naive enough to think that this truth does not apply to me. I would ask that you join me in asking God that I would be able to experience this joy that should fill my heart throughout this process. Pray that you would experience it yourself!

Also please pray that my letters fall on hearts that are softened by the grace of God and on hearts that have a deep desire to be a part of the mission of God. Thanks.

Slave to Righteousness

Donovan

Prayer Request

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 23:25:00 +0000

I just wanted to let everyone know of a specific prayer request that I have. This weekend is our winter retreat for Campus Outreach in Asheville, NC. We are really excited about the opportunity we have this weekend to engage with nonbelievers over the word and to hopefully see them come to an understanding of the Gospel. I want to ask that you would pray with me on behalf of these students. That they would respond to the Gospel favorably and accept it as their saving grace. Pray that the word would pierce their hearts and their view of God would be totally blown up. We want them to see and experience God this weekend like they never have before. Thanks for your prayers. I hope everyone is doing well.

Slave to righteousness

Donovan

P.S. I started reading "Desiring God" by John Piper about 2 weeks ago and it seems like there is a nugget of truth on every page. I am sure that I will be posting about different concepts and chapters in the book and how they have radically been changing my thoughts on how I relate and fully glorify God.

Fine Tuning

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:07:00 +0000

Hey everyone! I'm trying to fine tune this blog before I really start taking off with posting and updating. This is basically a test post to see if everything is working properly.

Slave to Righteousness

Dono

Still Trucking

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:01:00 +0000

Okay so our weekend retreat in Malaka was awesome. We stayed at an awesome hotel and the city was really cool. If nothing else the weekend was a nice break from all the hustle and bustle that is the Nilai team every day. We helped put on a concert this past thursday for the students at the main campus we are mistering on. The musicians were tow guys from America named Beau Bristow and David Story. I had never heard of them before this concert before, but they were actually really good. We had a great turnout too. About a thousand students from INTI University came and there was a small gospel presentation which is hard to come by in a country that is so predominately muslim, buddhist and hindu. We are still getting to know some of the individual students and hoping to share the gospel with them soon. Please continue to pray for our unity as a team and our favor with these students. We need your prayers to be able to get through these last couple weeks while having some affect on campus. Also, we have been teaching english once a week for the past two weeks at the college and we had an english camp yesterday. It was an all day event and at first my heart was really hard towards it. I didnt want to plan for it and i didnt want to get up early and teach people about english all day. However, in spite of my attitude, God made it an awesome day and we got to see the students make great progress in their english writing and speaking abilities.

Well I am going to sign off and go to bed because it has been a long day, like most days here. Continue to pray for a movement of God here in Nilai. Thanks.

Slave to righteousness

Donovan

Never a Dull Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:16:00 +0000

Sorry it's been so long. So I've been in Malaysia for almost two weeks now! I can't believe I have been here that long it feels like just yesterday we were landing in KL. Unfortunately I can't upload any pictures because the computer I am using doesn't have a slot for my sd card. So our team in Nilai, which is the equivalent to the country, is so awesome and God has been blessing us with so many relationships on campus so far. We have met and are following up about 20 new guys and are getting to know students who are already involved in a local ministry. We have done bible studies and many other activities and sports so far and we hardly have a minute to rest. The food is really good which is surpriseing to me. I thought I would have a really rough time acclamating to it. We are headed back to campus in a few minutes so I will close with this: Thank you for all your prayers they are working. God is blessing our efforts on campus and also personally within our team and our hearts. Continue to pray for us as we have a weekend retreat in Malaka which is a historical port city on the coast. Pray that students would begin to hear and accept the gospel as their saving grace. Pray for the advancement of the kingdom.

Slave to Righteousness,

Donovan

Am I Dreaming?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 May 2010 18:35:00 +0000

Well....He did it!! God provided not only my full support, but the full support of our entire team. I'm so excited that I got to witness God's faithfulness to his children. We have a meeting today at 3:30 then we are eating dinner together and staying in a hotel tonight. We fly out at 6am tomorrow!! I'll be in Malaysia in two days and I can't believe it. It still hasn't hit me yet that I am about to go to a foreign country and stay for six weeks. Continue to pray for me and my team that God would comfort us and shape us this summer into the men and women he has so may things planned for. This will be my last post probably for a few days at least so my next post will probably be describing in detail my amazement of Malaysia and God's creation around the world. We'll talk to ya soon.

Slave to Righteousness,

Dono

The Word Fulfilled: He is Faithful!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:05:00 +0000

Every day I try to remind myself that everything that I have, and every pleasure that I enjoy are results of God's grace on my life. These past few days have been an awesome reminder of that. In the past 3 days God has provided me with over $2000 for CCP!! Ever since I have been home I have been on the phone all day just trying to find some money somewhere. The way it has unfolded the past couple of days has really been amazing and I can't even put into words what I am feeling right now. With only $400 left to raise, Malaysia has become a reality to me and it feels awesome. Although God did not provide for me in the ways that I planned, boy did he provide in his own way and it is so much more satisfying.

Please continue to pray for me and our team. We still have a team deficit of about $7,500 and we dont want to stop until everyone is guaranteed to go. As myself and others on my team have seen in the past week or two, if it is God's will, he will provide. If he doesn't provide, then it wasn't his will. It's that simple. If we just remember that, then there is no reason why we should ever be disappointed or let down. He puts us where he wants us, not the other way around. Anyway I'll stop typing so you don't have to read for more than 5 minutes. Please just continue to pray and watch as the God of the universe rocks your world....and mine too!

Slave to Righteousness

Dono

Sorry for the Absence

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:20:00 +0000

Hey guys....so I know its been a while since my last post. I haven't posted anything in a while because for some reason I always feel like every post has to include some kind of amazing story about how much support I've been getting. Since I haven't had any amazing stories, I haven't been posting. As I think back, I realize that not only should I be posting about support updates, but also about "life" updates. God has really been doing a lot in me over the last couple months and that is more important than how much support I have raised any day. God has been showing me, although it is most of the time painful and stressful, that I really can rely on nothing else but on him. I have tried to raise this support on my own so far and haven't been seeking God's provision for my life and it has showed. I want to live a life that screams my need and reliance on God and his power and sovereignty. This is one of the hardest things for me to do because I always want answers and miracles right away. If God always gave me everything I wanted, I absolutely couldn't grow into the man I believe he wants me to be. I need to remind myself of one of the first verses I ever memorized as a Christian, Phillipians 4:6-7. These verses are there to comfort our souls and quiet our worries with the "...peace of God, which surpasses all understanding..." I ask you all to pray for me, that I may let these verses speak to my heart and that I will present every request to God in prayer, even ones that don't involve support. Pray that I would rest in my identity in Christ and not in my ability to raise $6,000. My heavenly treasures are far more important and satisfying than that. Well guys.....I think I'm back!

Slave to Righteousness,

Dono

Oh The Depths of His Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:00:00 +0000

I know that God's grace is deep, but I am experiencing firsthand how deep the depths really are. I thought the $200 gift I received wednesday night was the best that would happen. However, in spite of my minuscule faith, God provided $500 more last night. One of the staff girls here at State said that one of her supporters wanted to help support me. It blew my mind because I have no idea who this person is or how they found out about my trip. It is such an encouragement to me and my team and really assures me of my place in God's plan to reach Malaysia with the gospel. My supporters are really blessing my heart by their generosity and I couldn't ask for anything more. I could write all day on here but I won't. So until next time.

Slave to Righteousness,

Dono

He is Faithful

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:42:00 +0000

I have been having a hard time trusting in God's sovereignty and his faithfulness this past week, until tonight! At choir practice, Chris the choir director had me stand up and he briefly explained what I am doing this summer and how I needed financial support to go. I was unprepared to talk about the trip because I did not know I was gonna talk tonight. So, I didn't have any support letters or anything to write names and emails on. However, even with the lack of preparation, I had a guy come up to me and pledge to give me $200! That to me was amazing because he did not know hardly any details, just that I was going to serve the mission of God this summer overseas. Its with little encouragements like these that God uses to build my faith in him and his power. I am continuing to trust in his promises and in the fact that he LOVES me and will use me because I want to be sold out for the gospel. I can't wait to see and experience the further explosions of faith that he will produce within me. Please continue to pray for me and my support as I still have a long way to go. Pray that I can raise $3000 by March 28th. I hope this can be an encouragement to anyone who is reading this and that it will cause you to give praise to the Lord for little provisions in your own life that you take for granted every day. Until next time, hopefully another support update!

Slave to righteousness

Dono

It's Gonna Be A Long Road

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Today was the second day that I made phone calls to potential supporters. So far I have had probably about $300 pledged and I thank God for that. I am starting to realize how much money I really have to raise. It is a little overwhelming how much money and how little time that I have to make this all happen. Our team has a meeting this weekend and hopefully after meeting with the other members of my team I will be encouraged and pushed to confidence in the Lord's faithfulness. I plan on sending out a second wave of letters on Thursday and following those up with calls the end of next week.

On a lighter note, I have begun to see what a privilage it is for God to give me the opportunity to take his gospel, the true gospel that can save lives, to the ends of the earth. As each day comes I become filled with more and more excitement and eagerness to hop on a plane and go. I finish tonight with this request: please pray for my team and our faith in the Lord's promises. Raising support can be a stressful time, especially with deadlines and your prayers would definitely help to reduce our levels of anxiety. Also pray for the hearts of the people in Malaysia that we will come into contact with. God's word says that he goes before us and prepares our path (Malachi 3:1) and I believe that our belief in prayer and its power will affect the effectiveness we have in reaching the hearts in KL. Its time for me to go to bed now, I have class at 9 am tomorrow. I think I will create a sign off phrase to end every post.

Slave to Righteousness,

Dono