Hello, John and Doves,
I
don’t know how much longer we have until the Wedding Feast, but I am
reasonably sure that it will be held here on Earth in Eretz Israel,
pretty close to Jerusalem.
Maybe
the Valley of Decision/Valley of Jehoshaphat [the New Valley that will
split the Mount of Olives from East to West, even to the Gate Beautiful,
the Eastern (or King’s) Gate] will be our picnic grounds after the
separation of the sheep and the goats. We would then be between the
“mountains of Bether” spoken of in the Song of Songs.
As an adjunct to all our encouragement to one another, may I share the following e-mail that was sent to me?
~Blessings,
Mike
Hello Mike,
At
Men’s Training Camp on Tuesday September 9th, and via e-mail on
September 11th, I asked if you would like to take part in our Men's Training Camp 22-Day Challenge… the plan was for each day for the following 22 days, to read a section of Psalm 119, just 8 verses a day.
Since Psalm 119 is broken down into 22 sections, we are simply reading
and thinking on one small section per day. If you started right away,
you are likely on Psalm 119:97-104 today.
On several occasions I have received e-mails and texts, and talked with guys about the impact this 22-Day Challenge has had in their lives.
Some have said that the Lord has opened their eyes to things like
never before…including the importance of reading and relying on God’s
Word, responding to situations in a more godly manner, evaluating what
is most important in this life, and realizing the good side of
affliction and difficulties to deepen their faith and strengthen both
their dependency and commitment to the Lord. These are powerful statements that guys have been making!
- So if you’re continuing on with our 22-Day Challenge…great
job! I know it’s not always easy to remember to stick with it! But
I’m sure you’ve been blessed. If you don’t mind, send an e-mail and
share some of your experience!
- If you started but have fallen behind…don’t
lose heart and don’t give up! Just start again where you left off. I
included five “make-up days” in the original plan, to complete it by the
next Men’s Training Camp on Tuesday October 7th. If you’ve fallen
further than five days behind, just start reading one in the morning,
and one at night, until you catch up again!
- If you never did get started, do it now! If you start reading one in the morning and one at night, you will easily catch up!
The important thing is that you don’t just “rush” through it! Take time to read, underline if you want, and think on what God is really showing you through His Word!
My
prayer for you will continue to be that as you "seek Him with all your
heart", you find yourself growing closer and closer to Him and
experience the liberating freedom of no longer being consumed by the
circumstances around you, and instead have your attention focused on
Him, trusting Him to equip you to deal with every situation.
Let's not let things around us dictate who we are...and instead allow
our identity and our security to be found in Him as God's Son whom He
loved so much that He made a way for us to have a lasting and personal
relationship with Him...Romans 8:15-16, Galatians 4:4-7.
Commit yourself to this Challenge...you'll be glad you did!
Troy Dewey
Maranatha Men’s Ministry
