Stand Still

GRACE IN MOTION

They must have felt ground rumbling beneath them.  The cries of new born babies must have pierced the thunder of the hooves as mothers would try to comfort their infants while they raced along.  The elderly must have been filled with terror as they struggled to keep up.  The feet of the young men must have been throbbing as they ran out in front of the group to see where to turn next, only to find an impenetrable sea of water before them and Pharaoh’s army behind them. 

What thoughts would have been racing through your mind if you were one of the Israelites fleeing the army of Pharaoh as you escaped from Egypt?  What fears might have filled your heart?  Would you have prayed?  Ran?  Fought?  Complained? 

Can you imagine what it would have felt like to be Moses?  You are leading over one million people.  And they are all absolutely freaking out.  Fearing for their lives.  What would you tell them?  Here’s what Moses said, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”   (Exodus 14: 14) Those were the last words the people of Israel heard from their leader in that moment.  They listened.  And then they saw God part the Red Sea.  God fought for them, they only had to be silent. 

In many ways, this is how the past month has gone for us.  You know, power hungry kings from Egypt trying to enslave us.  Ok, so we don’t have the same extent of challenges nor have we seen the same extravagance in provision.  But we have had challenges.  And God has provided.  And we have only remained “strenuously resting” in His care. 

I don’t know why my heart won’t stay rested.  Something deep inside of me wants to prove my worth by what I accomplish.  And yet, when I’m only valued for what I do, it feels cheap and disrespectful.  Like I’m being used.  What a mess is the human heart?!  I don’t know why I try to prove my worth by my production.  I don’t know why I think that I need to pick up the slack for God. 

On October 19^th, 2001, my life was changed forever when I surrendered to Jesus and received the gospel.  I did nothing that would have compelled God to give Jesus my punishment on the cross so that I could receive His reward in heaven.  And yet, that was the great exchange.  It was in that act of surrendering that I was given life and it will only be in continual surrender that I will experience God’s grace. 

Too often I can forget that I need to rely on the gospel – today.  I need God’s forgiveness, today.  Not just 12 years ago, but 12 minutes ago.  It is by receiving the gospel that we are saved and by applying the gospel that we are sanctified.  And that, being sanctified, formed into the image of Christ, that is God’s goal for our lives. 

It has been so good to simply rest in His grace.  There is no question that Kristy and I have been working like crazy.  But we haven’t been driven by anxiety.  We’ve been working with all of the strength that God provides, trying to be faithful to rest, date, play with the kids, and so on.  You will not believe how God has provided as we have rested in His care!

PLANTERS PROGRESS

God has moved some crazy mountains this past month.  First, the deal on our house FINALLY went through with the bank!  We have a closing date set for May 16^th.  Our house being sold is nothing short of a miracle.  The bank approved a non-typical short sale.  The buyers have hung on for over eight months since first making their offer.  It’s incredible!

While it is great that we sold our house, it does present a bit of a challenge.  We don’t plan to relocate to Milwaukee until August.  And no one in town would rent to us for just a few months.  BUT, one family from our church extended to us the incredibly gracious offer of letting us move in with them for the summer.  Please pray that we don’t drive them nuts! 

And that’s not all!  In the past month we have also received commitments from three families who are going to relocate with us.  Ross and Cathy Phillips, Taylor and Elise Simpson, and Josh and Sarah Lange have all responded to the call of God to transplant their families to Milwaukee to plant a new family of families, a church, with us. 

But wait, there’s more!  Ross was offered and accepted a new job.  He starts August 5^th.  Taylor was granted a transfer to Milwaukee.  He can work out the details and transfer at any point.  And Josh has some leads that he is currently following up with. 

And if that wasn’t enough, you may not believe where we’re at for support.  We have been so humbled by the generosity of people.  It is overwhelming to be so loved, cared for and supported by so many people.  To date, we are at 71% of our support.  At 75%, we have the green light from our denomination to relocate.  This train is getting ready to run!

NEXT STEPS

The craziness that has become our life will not stop in May.  I will be preaching at Woodridge Community Church on the 5^th, Cedar Creek Community Church on the 11^th and 12^th, Faith Community Church in Hudson on the 19^th, and then I’ll have the privilege of preaching at our home church on the 26^th and 2^nd of June. 

We’ll be in Milwaukee the week of May 5^th and then need to close on our house and be completely moved out just a few days after we return. 

As you can well imagine, it’s a bit overwhelming to look at the calendar right now.  Please pray for us.  Pray that God would give us the grace to keep pressing on.  Pray that we would rest in His care and not try to force things.  Pray for the other families that will be moving with us.  They face many of the same challenges that we do. 

And please pray for our kids.  This is starting to get really hard on them.  Kristy has been doing a fantastic job getting the house packed.  Which means that our kids have less toys and less familiarity on a daily basis.  Just this past week, Ania, our youngest, said, “but this is my house.  I don’t want to leave it.”  Kristy told her that God was giving us the chance to get the house ready for another family to enjoy it.  Ania just hung her head and said, “I just want to be alone.”  Her little two-year-old heart is breaking.  

Please pray for our kids and pray that we would be sensitive and able to point them to Jesus through this move.  We’ve been praying consistently with them that God would use the pain of leaving our home and church family to show us that our real home is with Him.  And when we are in that place, we will never have to say “good-bye.” 

Thank you for your support.  We couldn’t do this without you!!