So today my team and I are fasting for our mission trip to Central Asia. I woke up really excited for what the Lord would do today and I'm still waiting anxiously to see the breakthrough that I've been praying for. Many members of my team are struggling financially and it's been really hard on them. We know that God has called us to go and we will not be stopped by a mere thing like finances. Is Jehovah Jireh the God of the Universe or not? Is He in control? Absolutely! I know that God is going to move mightily and that all those who are called to go will raise the required funds. All we have to do is stand strong against the attacks of the devil, trust in our Heavenly Provider, work hard (not be lazy), and watch the Lord work miracles in our lives and the lives of those around us.
During my quiet time, I was listening to worship music and several songs came on my iTunes that really hit me. I love just putting the thing on random and letting God have His way in my heart. One of the first songs that came on was Days of Elijah. Now, this song is pretty old and I wasn't paying too much attention to it. Then one phrase hit me really hard. The song says, "Still, we are the voice in the desert crying 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord!'" We are going to a desert, not just physically, but spiritually as well. The people of Central Asia have no knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer, thus creating a spiritual desert. There is no living water pouring into their desperate and thirsty hearts. We have been called to go be a witness no matter the cost. The Gospel came to this spiritually dark land in the 4th century. Hearts turned to Christ but they were soon overrun by darkness and the devil took control. Later the song says, "These are the days of Ezekiel, The dry bones becoming as flesh; And these are the days of Your servant David, Rebuilding a temple of praise. These are the days of the harvest, The fields are as white in Your world, And we are the labourers in Your vineyard, Declaring the word of the Lord!" We are going to bring life giving water so that dry bones will become flesh and the Body of Christ will be built up. We will rebuild a temple of praise in this dark land. This is the day of harvest and we are called to go bring it in. We will declare the Word of the Lord, no matter the cost! I also felt the Lord give this verse to our team, "For so the Lord has commanded us,'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'" We will go out to these brokenhearted people and be light to them so that they might come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!
Another thing the Lord really spoke into my heart as I was spending time with Him was how we are to be silver purified. He's been speaking to me about this for a few months now. When silver is being purified, the silversmith knows when it's ready because he can see his own reflection in it. We are being purified. But we have to go through the process first. It's hard, uncomfortable, and most don't want to go through it. But as we are purified, our Silversmith burns away the dross (the muck that comes to the surface) and starts to see His reflection in the silver. A song cam on called "Christ be formed". I listened to this song twice (not just because my brother, Adam, is playing the drums on the song). The song talks about Christ forming us. How He strips away the unneeded things and makes us nothing. We have to come to the end of ourselves and surrender our lives completely to Him. We are weak and frail nothings but Christ forms us in His image and makes us something. Through Him, we are made beautiful, whole, purified, and spotless somethings that have the faith to move mountains and storm the strongholds of the enemy!
Thanks for reading! I know it's really long but I really wanted to share what the Lord spoke to me. God bless!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Narrow Road Vision
I was listening to Ken Krause (the director of BCOM) talk to my internship class during our commissioning service on Wednesday. He was talking about walking on the narrow road vs. the wide road. The Lord gave me a vision as he spoke. I could totally see and hear what Ken was saying, but I could also see and hear my vision. I saw myself walking along a tiny ledge. It was a sheer drop down more than 1,000 feet. I had to face the mountain and walk using the balls of my feet because the path was so narrow. My elbows and knees were bloody and I was tired. As this was going on, Ken started talking about how lonely the narrow path is. In my vision, I saw myself look around only to see no one there. I felt lonely. I could hear laughter and talking. It was coming from somewhere above me, so I looked up. Above me was the wide road. People were laughing, talking, and having fun. Every little while there was a small gap in the road and a short path from the narrow road to the wide road. It was just ahead of me and I could easily climb up to the wide road and be with other people. The devil told me to climb up there. "There won't be any more pain! You'll have fun!" he told me. The voice of the Lord told me, "Keep going, Chelsea. Don't give up." I continued on the narrow path, even though it was hard.
At one point, the ledge for my feet completely dropped away. The only way to keep going was to hold onto the mountainside using just my hands and move sideways. It was so hard! My muscles grew tired and sore. I wanted to turn back and go to the wide road. I could still hear the laughter. But I kept going. Suddenly, I felt something brush against the tips of my toes and looked down to see nothing there. It happened again a few seconds later. Again, nothing was there when I looked down, just a sheer drop to certain death. A voice entered my thoughts and said, "Let go." I thought that it had to be the enemy. "No!" I told Him. "I refuse to let go!" I kept shuffling painfully along the mountainside. "Let go...trust Me." I continued feeling something brushing against my toes. "Alright..." So I let go.
I dropped only an inch before I landed on something sturdy. If you've ever seen Indiana Jones 3, this is what it felt like. I looked down, but there was nothing there!!!! I felt with my toes to feel the border of this walkway. It was slightly wider than a balance beam. The voice of the Lord said, "Chelsea, I am walking with you, guiding you. I will never leave you, no matter what happens. Don't give up. Trust Me!"
Those who follow the Lord are walking this thin path. Sometimes, we don't know where the path is. We can't see anything ahead of us. But no matter what, God is still there with us, coaching us, guiding us. He will never leave us. All we have to do is trust Him. This road is never easy. It takes blood, sweat, tears, and even our very life to walk this road. But the rewards and promises are more than we can possibly even imagine! The other option is to walk on a wide, fun road. This road is a dead end, leading to death. They have their reward on the earth.
What will you choose?
At one point, the ledge for my feet completely dropped away. The only way to keep going was to hold onto the mountainside using just my hands and move sideways. It was so hard! My muscles grew tired and sore. I wanted to turn back and go to the wide road. I could still hear the laughter. But I kept going. Suddenly, I felt something brush against the tips of my toes and looked down to see nothing there. It happened again a few seconds later. Again, nothing was there when I looked down, just a sheer drop to certain death. A voice entered my thoughts and said, "Let go." I thought that it had to be the enemy. "No!" I told Him. "I refuse to let go!" I kept shuffling painfully along the mountainside. "Let go...trust Me." I continued feeling something brushing against my toes. "Alright..." So I let go.
I dropped only an inch before I landed on something sturdy. If you've ever seen Indiana Jones 3, this is what it felt like. I looked down, but there was nothing there!!!! I felt with my toes to feel the border of this walkway. It was slightly wider than a balance beam. The voice of the Lord said, "Chelsea, I am walking with you, guiding you. I will never leave you, no matter what happens. Don't give up. Trust Me!"
Those who follow the Lord are walking this thin path. Sometimes, we don't know where the path is. We can't see anything ahead of us. But no matter what, God is still there with us, coaching us, guiding us. He will never leave us. All we have to do is trust Him. This road is never easy. It takes blood, sweat, tears, and even our very life to walk this road. But the rewards and promises are more than we can possibly even imagine! The other option is to walk on a wide, fun road. This road is a dead end, leading to death. They have their reward on the earth.
What will you choose?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Internship here we go!!!!
So much has happened since February. It's hard to take 4 months of life and try to cram it down into a short few paragraphs. Well, here it goes...
In February, the Lord moved in my heart to do a 3 day fast. In the beginning of the fast, I didn't know how long it would be. After 3 days of fasting, prayer, diving into the Word, and just seeking His face, the migraines completely stopped. The Lord healed me! Those 3 days, I prayed that God would heal me of the migraines completely and He did! God is so good! Life continued on for me at BCOM (Bethany College of Missions). I've continued to pray that I would continue to be healed physically and emotionally.
A few weeks ago, I received word that I have been accepted to go to Central Asia for 16 months on internship. Needless to say, I'm stoked!!! I pretty much freaked out when I received my letter, obviously trying not to completely go berserk. Our team has met several times, playing games, hanging out, and have had several meals together. On Wednesday, we got together for a traditional Central Asian meal with some missionaries who returned from the field. We took pictures and just had a blast together learning about the culture that we will be thrust into this coming January. Out team is becoming quite close as we've continued to get to know one another more.
My fundraising has begun in earnest, my newsletters have been sent out, and I can't contain my excitement. For the next few months I will be finishing up my schooling at BCOM, sending out more letters, and beginning to plan my support raising term. I will be in Texas in the middle of August and hopefully in Oregon sometime around Labor Day. My hope is to spend a month there, visiting friends and family and traveling to churches. Then, I will return home to spend my last few months in the US with my parents and other family for the holidays. I will be leaving in the middle of January for Central Asia and won't be home for 16 months, with the possibility of coming home at the half-way point for two weeks.
There is nothing I can say to thank my friends, family, and other supporters enough. Your emails, calls, and encouraging notes on facebook have uplifted me and helped me to keep going. Satan has tried his hardest to beat me down. My only hope is to trust in my Savior and keep going no matter the difficulty. With God on my side, who can be against me? Thank you again! Love you all! Feel free to call or email me with any questions. Hope to see you soon! God bless!
In February, the Lord moved in my heart to do a 3 day fast. In the beginning of the fast, I didn't know how long it would be. After 3 days of fasting, prayer, diving into the Word, and just seeking His face, the migraines completely stopped. The Lord healed me! Those 3 days, I prayed that God would heal me of the migraines completely and He did! God is so good! Life continued on for me at BCOM (Bethany College of Missions). I've continued to pray that I would continue to be healed physically and emotionally.
A few weeks ago, I received word that I have been accepted to go to Central Asia for 16 months on internship. Needless to say, I'm stoked!!! I pretty much freaked out when I received my letter, obviously trying not to completely go berserk. Our team has met several times, playing games, hanging out, and have had several meals together. On Wednesday, we got together for a traditional Central Asian meal with some missionaries who returned from the field. We took pictures and just had a blast together learning about the culture that we will be thrust into this coming January. Out team is becoming quite close as we've continued to get to know one another more.
My fundraising has begun in earnest, my newsletters have been sent out, and I can't contain my excitement. For the next few months I will be finishing up my schooling at BCOM, sending out more letters, and beginning to plan my support raising term. I will be in Texas in the middle of August and hopefully in Oregon sometime around Labor Day. My hope is to spend a month there, visiting friends and family and traveling to churches. Then, I will return home to spend my last few months in the US with my parents and other family for the holidays. I will be leaving in the middle of January for Central Asia and won't be home for 16 months, with the possibility of coming home at the half-way point for two weeks.
There is nothing I can say to thank my friends, family, and other supporters enough. Your emails, calls, and encouraging notes on facebook have uplifted me and helped me to keep going. Satan has tried his hardest to beat me down. My only hope is to trust in my Savior and keep going no matter the difficulty. With God on my side, who can be against me? Thank you again! Love you all! Feel free to call or email me with any questions. Hope to see you soon! God bless!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Power of the Holy Spirit
Today started as any normal Tuesday would. I was going to get up early and exercise, but I decided to be lazy and sleep in. I didn't have my quiet time with the Lord like I usually would either. I felt bad. The Lord told me not to eat breakfast today, like I usually would. Then, when break came, I felt the Lord calling me to fast today. In truth, I didn't want to. I fought Him all the way. As always, the Lord won. Every Tuesday, we have fasting chapel as a student body. We all fast lunch and go to the chapel over our typical lunch period. It started off normal. We worshiped and prayed. Then, one of the leaders felt the Lord calling everyone to pray corporately for healing. He asked that anyone who needs healing to stand. People gathered around me and I thought it would be the usual prayers for healing. I've already felt the Lord healing me from the migraines and they've been way better. I still am battling slight headaches and muscle pain. This prayer was different. I asked the other students to stand with me in faith and rebuke the devil. When they laid hands on me, I felt something strange. It was like a tingling feeling in my chest. I felt like I had been electrocuted or something. When they were done, I felt better and the pain wasn't as bad. Now, I felt jittery and excited and tingly. The feeling was all over. I felt a surging in my heart. I can't really explain it. The Lord told me to pray for a classmate who's been struggling with seizures and migraines (something that I have dealt with before), and stand in faith for his healing. I was going to just pray for him, the the Holy Spirit had other plans. I started speaking to him before I knew what I was doing. The Holy Spirit was speaking through me, telling him to rebuke the devil and stand strong. I don't really know everything that I said. I hadn't even prayed for him yet, and we were both in tears. Then, I prayed for him, and again the Holy Spirit spoke through me. We were both praying out loud, him in English, me in tongues or English. I can't even explain it. The weird feeling continued. Even after we were done praying. I've never felt that before. Looking back on it, I can totally see that the Holy Spirit fell on me and used me to speak to a friend. Not only did it uplift and encourage him, but I feel empowered and invincible. I know the Lord is on my side, and as long as I stay rooted in Him, the devil can't touch me. He has no power over me and he's lost. By the shed blood of Jesus Christ, I have authority over the devil. In Jesus Christ's name, I am healed!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
God, school, and other insanity
I've been here at Bethany College of Missions for 5 months now. I have formed friendships here that will never end. God is doing so much in my life and heart. It's been insanity. I was in prayer with my team and we somehow got onto the topic of human trafficking. The topic wrecked me for life. At the end of the prayer time (we actually went 30 minutes over time) the entire team was in tears. I still need to pray about it more, but I think the Lord is calling me to work with children who have been freed from the sex trade in Eastern Europe. This totally broke me. God has such an amazing plan. I can't wait to see what He does in my life.
On another note, the Lord has been promising me healing for a long time now. Over Christmas, I was healed of the Raynaud's Syndrome. I am now on day two of a three day fast, and I already feel the Lord healing me from the migraines and fibromyalgia. After 7 years of constant migraines, I have given up playing with the devil. I'm no longer going to be his floor mat. I refuse to give in to him and allow him to mess up my life. The Lord has healed me and he knows it. He has been defeated, but he's fighting back. I'm excited. I've already told my mentor that I want to have a party when God heals me. I firmly believe that after this weekend, I will be healed. I'm dead tired, but I'm super hyper. The Lord is healing me! I'm totally freaking out! I don't have a migraine and I can feel the presence of the Lord. This is only day two! I can't wait for tomorrow to see what else the Lord is going to do in my life. I have been drawn to the Psalms over this past couple of weeks and they are totally wrecking my life. God is so amazing and faithful. I can't wait to see what is coming next...
On another note, the Lord has been promising me healing for a long time now. Over Christmas, I was healed of the Raynaud's Syndrome. I am now on day two of a three day fast, and I already feel the Lord healing me from the migraines and fibromyalgia. After 7 years of constant migraines, I have given up playing with the devil. I'm no longer going to be his floor mat. I refuse to give in to him and allow him to mess up my life. The Lord has healed me and he knows it. He has been defeated, but he's fighting back. I'm excited. I've already told my mentor that I want to have a party when God heals me. I firmly believe that after this weekend, I will be healed. I'm dead tired, but I'm super hyper. The Lord is healing me! I'm totally freaking out! I don't have a migraine and I can feel the presence of the Lord. This is only day two! I can't wait for tomorrow to see what else the Lord is going to do in my life. I have been drawn to the Psalms over this past couple of weeks and they are totally wrecking my life. God is so amazing and faithful. I can't wait to see what is coming next...
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