What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me?  I will lift up a cup symbolizing his salvation; I will praise the Lord’s name for saving me.   Psalm 116:12-13 NLT  

I’m having my first cup of coffee this morning as I read Psalm 116.  Verses twelve and thirteen make me think, “Yes, I can raise my cup of strong, black coffee in praise to the Lord for my salvation.”  In many ways this café noir does symbolize the Lord’s salvation.  Just as this stout cup of java pulls me from the slumber of a good night’s rest the Lord’s salvation one day awoke me from the dormancy of my previous life into full awareness of the rich, abundant life that awaited me in Christ.  The dark elixir quickly courses through my body energizing me for the day’s activities just as the Spirit fills me with excitement and desire for his service. 

Just last night I read how some of the latest studies show coffee is good for your heart.  It is high in soluble fiber and is also a good source of antioxidants.  Both of these help remove harmful byproducts such as cholesterol and cancer causing agents from our body.  If we allow it the Lord’s salvation will likewise cleanse our hearts of all the crud that has built up over the years.  It will open up our spiritual arteries so that we can hear the Spirit speaking to our heart and so that we’ll have the desire to follow what we hear. 

And finally, just as I like my coffee pure, strong and black the Lord’s salvation is sufficient in itself.  No need for added ‘sugar and cream’ to complete it.  The work is done.  The job complete.  My part is to accept the Lord’s salvation as he offers it and enjoy the bold, full-bodied, abundant life.  Of course, there is much more to come in this life as a Christ follower.  That first cup of coffee will not nourish me for the full day.  It is only the beginning – a great start for what lies ahead.  Just as I need meals and snacks throughout the day to maintain my energy I must continually learn and grow in my walk with Jesus if I am to fully embrace the abundant life he offers. 

So, yes Lord.  I lift my steaming cup of joe in praise to you for saving me and for filling me with a desire for your abundant life!

But there is a God is heaven who reveals secrets... Daniel 2:28

I woke up this morning with a desire for a fresh word from God.  I usually do most of my Bible reading from the New Testament but this morning I felt led to the Old Testament - specifically the prophets.  As I read through Daniel I was struck over and over again with God's intervention in human lives.

These interventions reminded me of times when God has disrupted my life.  My calling to missions.  The many times he has given me visions of future possibilities and new directions for XMA.  The latest of these is TribalConnection.

Just as he has fulfilled many of the earlier visions I believe he is currently fulfilling TribalConnection.  I don't have a clear picture where he is leading us with TribalConnection but I do know he intends to use it to show his love to overlooked people that we have not even known about or yet considered.

Our clean water project in Central Asia is moving along quickly.  We still lack a good bit of the funding but we have placed the order for the well drilling equipment.  It is scheduled for delivery to our partner in Central Asia in November.  We desperately need an experienced water well driller who will volunteer to spend a few days teaching the local guys how to use the equipment.  This is an outstanding opportunity for a very small investment of time to have a lasting impact in the physical and spiritual needs of a very dark land.  The local people we train will have a permanent water well drilling ministry.  They will spend 1 or 2 weeks in each village drilling several wells.  During this time they will stay in the local homes teaching them oral Bible stories and demonstrating God’s love through their actions and words.  When they leave they will not only leave behind sources of clean, healthy water.  We believe God will use their faithfulness to plant churches in many of these previously unreached villages.

This trip will be about 10 days long and can be scheduled at the well driller convenience.  It may be possible to schedule it this fall but most likely it will need to be late next spring due to the harsh winter weather.  Financial assistance is available.  Contact Randy Pierce at rpierce@xmaonline.com or 318-381-9884.

Please help locate this volunteer by spreading this need at your church, work and anywhere you can.

Team XMA (at this point only me but you are invited to join) is planning to compete in the 2007 Tyler State Park Sprint Adventure Race September 8th.  We will mountain bike 10 miles, trek 5-8 miles and kayak 1-3 miles.  The trick is you have to make your own boat from any non-boat materials.  My daughters and I got out on the shop and scrapped up some stuff to make the Team XMA flagship boat.

 

It’s made from our XMA travel trailer sewer dump wagon, 2 pieces of conduit, 2 seven gallon water jugs and the seat off my grandson’s old highchair.  It looks funny but, hey, it floats

 

And it looks like it might just hold together for the race.  The first thing I’ll have to do is pull the boat from the starting area to the beach on the other side of the park so the wheels will come in handy.  This is a great way to train for upcoming XMA adventures and have some fun.

Whether you decide to join me in the race or not come on out to the park for The Gathering on Saturday afternoon and evening.  Osmany, Jennifer & Rebeca and Marlon & Trish will be there.  We’ll also have the Tribal Connection system set up for you to see and we have some great videos on tap.  It will be a great time of fellowship and catching up on what XMA has planned.

 

 

 

Jesus saves from the American dream.  Find out more at dontwasteyourlife.com

I have the satellite equipment in hand and have been doing some testing from our office in LA (rural LA is about as backwoods as you can get).  We made our first video link today from the TribalConnection laptop to our office computer.  I'll be doing some traveling around the US the next couple of weeks and will do more testing.

 

Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water last year when most of us have access to safe, pure, almost free tap water.*

One billion people have no reliable source of drinking water and 3,000 children a day die from diseases caught from tainted water.*

As Christians what should our response be?

*Information taken from ‘Message in a Bottle” by Charles Fishman in July 2007 issue of Fast Company

 

I picked up the book Risk by Kenny Luck last week. I started it last Friday evening and wound up reading the whole thing over the weekend. It's a great book that will challenge you to follow God's leadership in your life. I highly recommend it.