REACH Week-Devotion 2- The Message is for All

Devotion 2 – Monday, October 17, 2011 – The Message is for All

Acts 10:34-38 says “Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism  but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” 

The nice part of town. White Collar. Upper Class. Blue Collar. Lower Class. The wrong side of the tracks. These phrases can be used to describe someone’s place in life. On the surface, they might give you an idea of where someone lives, where they work, or how much money they make. Unfortunately, by using these sayings we are assigning value to a person based not on who they are but on how much they make. 

Fortunately, we serve a God who shows no favoritism. Our God “accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right”. This is amazing news! Jesus died not just for the sins of a select few but for all of us. This message is universal and needs to be heard by everyone; not just the rich, not just the poor.

As we participate in REACH week, remember that those we serve aren’t “less fortunate” than us. Without God’s grace we are all less fortunate. Sin puts all of us on equal footing with one another. Only by Jesus’ sacrifice are we made right with God. Carry this message in your heart and proclaim it to everyone you encounter this week, no matter who they are, where they’re from, or where they’re going.

~ Jared Jones

Devotion 1 – Sunday, October 16 – Answering the Call

Devotion 1 – Sunday, October 16 – Answering the Call

Matthew 4:18-20 says “Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed”.

Has this ever happened to you? You’re in the middle of another normal day when, out of the blue, you here a call? For some people the call might be giving food to a homeless person you see on the way home from work every day. For others, it could be giving a hand to someone stranded on the side of the road. For Peter and Andrew, it was a simple request from Jesus to “come with me.” What would follow would place them in the middle of the most significant events in human history.

God’s plans often start with a simple call to everyday people like you and me. Our involvement in His plans is often determined by our response to that call. Do we make a list of excuses? Do we reason that there are better people more qualified? Do we think of the hundreds of other things that are “more important”? Or do we follow Peter and Andrew’s example; don’t ask questions, simply drop your nets and follow.

For all of us participating in REACH week, remember that God has called each and every one of us to something bigger than ourselves. Let us not make excuses and ignore the call. Instead, let us drop our nets and follow.



~Jared Jones

That's how I see it............now

What an amazing God we serve! I'm always in awe of Him and how He constantly is trying to teach me how to be like Jesus. 

Over the past few weeks, some things have happened in my life that have caused me to think about how I respond.

For example, the way I pray about things, the way I worship, the way I talk to people, the way I think about things, etc. Maybe you've never thought about those kinds of things but it's been on my mind lately. I do normally try to think about things objectively and positively, but I believe that God is calling me and us all to this higher level of intimacy with Him. He wants ALL of us. All of our thoughts, prayers, worship, our speech, everything!

I feel like He has given me a new perspective about things just in the past week or so. I want to know Him like I never have before, know and love the Word like I never have, worship like I never have, live how He wants me to live. 

Now, I really do try and live my life how God wants me to but now I feel like it's a new beginning for me honestly! I'm just so tired of worrying about things. I know that God has a baby for me. I know that God will make a way. I know that God will restore my family that was devastated by divorce almost 15 years ago. I know that He is FAITHFUL to deliver on all of His promises.

So for me, I feel a rejuvenation, I feel refreshed! I feel now, more than ever, is the time to REACH more people for Jesus! 

I'm not going to start asking a bunch of hypothetical's...like "What would happen if we all had a different mindset?" I only want to encourage you all to just dive into the Word and worship! Spend some time in worship on your own.  Don't wait until you come to church to worship.

What a life He has planned for us! I hope that each of you realize the potential you have in Christ. So get to know Him! :)

Worry vs. Worship

I love how the Lord speaks to us. For me, a lot of times it's through music. Actually most of the time, it's through music. Except for today, I was reading a blog by Holly Furtick, that I typically read on a daily basis. Today, the blog was about Worry and Anxiety. 

There have been several things going on in my life that would cause me to worry and feel anxiety, which is why I've been thinking about this very subject even before I read the blog today. So I knew the Lord was trying to teach me something. 

In Matthew 6:25-34 (Message) It says: 

 ^25-26"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

 ^27-29"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

 ^30-33"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

 ³⁴"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

I know that was long but it's so important to realize that He has everything taken care of. Why do we constantly worry about stuff? In the blog from today, it spoke of a direct correlation between our worship and worry. 

It said that worry and worship is like a see-saw. When our worry is up, our worship is down and when our worship is up, our worry is down. WHOA!!! I absolutely LOVE that! It's so true. 

Jesus didn't say that our problems weren't important but that we should cast our cares on Him and He'll take care of the rest. Why do we always second guess that? Hasn't He ALWAYS provided? The answer is YES!!

Meditate on this thought especially before you head into worship! Don't let the enemy steal your joy and replace it with worry. Worship through your tears, worries and fears. Give thanks for everything, serve each other with your whole heart and let's move past all of things that weigh us down and keep us from REACHing the next level. :)

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  

A Different Perspective

I just returned from the Forward Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Jared and I have attended this conference for the past five years along with our youth group. Every year it is eye opening and a great refresher on why it's so important to be bold in your faith and REACH out to those in need. 

This year was no different, of course and I'm on a mission like I never have been before.One speaker that really made an impact on me was Carl Lentz. He is the Pastor of Hillsong New York .  One question he proposed to everyone was "Has the enemy poisoned your perspective?" 

He had two key points: 

1. Are you too comfortable? Falling in love with your position will drive the passion out of your purpose .

2. Don't get so cool that the fire of God has left your life. 


I've thought about this very thing before we left for the conference. So many people get so wrapped up in having a position at a church or organization that they have lost their passion for what they're doing. I never want to get to that point. I  encourage you to look over the things that you do. Are you doing things because you have a passion for it or are you doing it to gain some kind of position or stature? I think the Lord would appreciate you moving on because He has something for you somewhere else. The Lord wants you to have a Kingdom Impact on those who are around you.

There have been times in my life that I thought if I only get to that point, I'll be happy and actually convinced myself that it was my calling. But guess what, it totally wasn't. The Lord will let you know one way or another that things aren't working out because that's not what He has for you. BUT the only REAL way to know that it's the Lords voice and not you're own is if you are actively seeking Him and you can't be happy doing anything else. The Lord knows you so well, He knows how He created you. I'm always amazed how we constantly are trying to determine why we're here and what our purpose is, when all we have to do to seek Him and ask! 

Don't let the enemy steal your passions. Always seek the Lord in everything you do. You'll find your passion when you find Him. 

Peace, 

Natalie 

Carriers of His Presence

This will be a short blog entry.....

In everything that REACH does, our hope is that every volunteer would take seriously the role of being the hands and feet of JESUS. 

When you have Jesus, you have something inside that wants to help people in need because you can't keep Jesus to yourself. That in itself is not Jesus. 

What would happen if we were intentional about doing this? How would this change our daily lives? How many things do we do for ourselves on a daily basis? I'm not saying that we shouldn't do things for ourselves from time to time. But hopefully you understand what I'm saying. How many things are done selfishly?

Get a desperation for Jesus and you won't be thinking about yourself so much, trust me. The two don't go together. 

Let us be carriers of His presence, in everything we do, everything we say and in every action. 

What do we need to change about ourselves to fully be what God would have us be? Think about it today and make a change! :)  

In Awe of Him

Like I said before in the last blog, we are in awe of God and how things have been coming together so well in the past weeks. Let me tell you what has happened in the last two days!

As you know, Joplin, Missouri has suffered a devastating loss from the deadly tornado. Thinking about this, while sitting at my desk at the office, my mind kept going back to my experience during Hurricane Katrina. I remembered how every day, the postal service would bring bags of letters from Americans all over the country, who had taken the time to express their condolences and try to offer some encouragement to the survivors of Katrina. These letters meant the world to the residents of the shelter! They would re-read them all throughout the day. 

So, I thought, "why couldn't AHOPers do that for the people of Joplin?" So I started making phone calls. I probably made about 10 calls before I reached the State of Missouri. I spoke to their Emergency Management Authority and found out where the Joplin shelter was. 

So I put the information on facebook so AHOPers could get started on their letters and cards. 

WELL....today at staff I explained what I did the day before. During which Josh gets a phone call from Shoes 4 the Shoeless (S4TS). We had worked with Shoes 4 the Shoeless about a month and a half ago. Great organization by the way! 

Anyhow, Kris from S4TS calls and says she received a call from a Missouri State Senator. He says that he had heard of S4TS and wondered if they could send shoes for the survivors of the tornado. THEN, Kris thinks of Xenia and how it would be cool if we could send letters and cards, along with shoes and socks!!!??!??!!! 

Wait a sec.....did she read my facebook status from yesterday??!! Come to find out, NO SHE DIDN'T!! Josh says, "Well I think Natalie is already working on that!" That's GOD showing up again!!


Her thought process was that Xenia residents know what it's like to lose everything in a tornado and could offer some real encouragement to the residents of Joplin. 


ISN'T THAT CRAZY HOW THAT WORKED OUT?! Now, in addition to sending the letters and cards, we will be sending water, shoes, socks, tooth paste and tooth brushes to the people of Joplin! Everything will be delivered on TUESDAY of next week!


I'm so amazed how GOD orchestrates things! I'm IN AWE at His GREATNESS!

Keep on REACHin'! 

~Natalie