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January 21, 2009
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
For those of you who attended one of the services this last weekend, you'll remember that I sensed that the Lord was making a commitment to make us aware of divine appointments He would set up for us throughout this week. Our responsibility was to simply let the Lord know we were willing to be used as a minister of reconciliation. By that I mean willing to reflect God's love and grace through our actions or through our words. What a privilege we have to be entrusted with the "message of reconciliation" and what a generous God we have who would share His ministry with us. I would continue to encourage you to enter each day saying, "Lord, here I am. Use me to reflect your glory. Make me sensitive to the nudges from the Holy Spirit throughout the day."
Below I have an excerpt from an e-mail I received on Monday which encouraged me, so I am sending it on for your encouragement as well. I would so love for you to send me other testimonies, whether glorious or seemingly mundane of divine appointments that God prepared for you.
I was coming back from the grocery today, the yucky Kroger on Sandusky Street in Delaware, with my kids and saw one of the guys I know is homeless walking down the street. I thought God told me to turn around, stop the car and give him some money. So I did. I felt stupid parking my car and running down the snowy street after him. I thought he would think I was crazy. I stopped him and said that I knew it was strange but that God had asked me to ask him if he needed any money. He perked up, a little surprised, and said sure. So I gave him some money. I didn't have much, but enough for a good sized meal at a fast food place. I started walking away and God said, "Why didn't you pray for him?" I said, "Come on, you mean I have to chase him down again?" I was now certain this guy would think I was crazy. So I chased him down again and asked him if I could pray for him, and what I could pray about. He said sure I could pray for him and told me a few things. I put my hand on his shoulder and prayed for him right there on the snowy sidewalk. We thanked each other and I walked away.
The funny thing about all of this is that I had forgotten about getting prayer for a divine appointment until after I walked away. I think that may have been it, although I had a sense when I was prayed for that it would be something else. Maybe I'll get two!
I am praying for your opportunities to serve Jesus in this way as I hope you are praying for mine.
Warmly,
Danny
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Danny, hi. I want to share with you how God set up a perfect divine appt at the medical clinic on Monday. A regular patient of the clinic has taken a liking to me and has opened up and trusted me to share her past with me. She asked me the previous clinic if I would be at the next one and I told her I would come. Mon when I got to the clinic there were like 7 nurses so I decided not to see patients. I found this woman in the cafeteria with her family. I made myself some tea and her, and I sat down at a table by ourselves and talked for over an hour. She opened up to me and cried many tears when she shared how she was abused and molested by her biological father growing up. After many years of cutting her parents off and being filled with hate and pain she decided to go visit her dad. She told him she forgave him and he cried and said sorry. I asked her to tell me the closest she has ever felt to God. She said she has prayed before but like my old self she has a hard time believing in God when he allows so much pain and suffering. I shared some of my painful past with her and told her I am now thankful for the suffering "God allowed" because my skeptical, cynical heart never would have believed without being shattered and broken first. I told her God loves her and He put in my heart to come to the clinic just for her. I work now in the evenings (divine job placement may I add) and I prayed and knew God wanted me at the clinic for this one woman. It worked out perfect that there were too many nurses so that her and I could talk for an hour. She said she wants to come to church during a service and check it out. I shared with her my first experience at the Vineyard. I said there were lots of motorcycles in the parking lot. When I walked into the worship area there were all of these bikers in their leathers, some had those fringes under their arms, they had their hands raised and were singing worship songs to the Lord. It was awesome, they looked like the Hell's Angels but their behavior was the total opposite. It is a vision that I hope will remain with me forever, it was transforming. Well I just wanted to share that with you.
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… Our section Tech Staff was pretty stressed out yesterday due to the number of times the equipment broke down. We have a daily quota to meet, and when we fail to do so, the section bosses catch the grief. With everyone who has lost their jobs lately, the elimination of overtime, and our losing Friday as a workday, the tensions (and tempers) have been running high.
I casually asked Larry if he was feeling any better today. Amazingly he opened up about losing his 32 year old brother to a heart attack a few weeks ago, and how he is unable to sleep. When he does sleep he has nightmares which rob him of his rest. He was taking some prescription to alleviate the "night terrors" as diagnosed by his doctor but to no avail. At this time we had our morning meeting and the conversation was dropped.
Later today I had another chance to talk to Larry & told him about what a great church VCDC is - how loving everyone is and what a wonderful atmosphere we have - about the free coffee & the fireplace and the bikers, and how we enjoy a casual inviting atmosphere, etc. Much to my surprise, not only did he listen, but he worked beside me on the line for about 5 minutes so I could continue to tell him more about God & VCDC.
I finished by telling him when our family goes to service and invited him to come. I expected him to cuss at me like he does everyone else, or to ridicule me for being some kind of nut. Much to my surprise he almost went to tears. He actually thanked me for caring enough about him to invite him and said he would consider coming. Further, he felt that his girlfriend would like the idea and they would both like for her little girl to be involved with Christian children. He comes from a small town where people wave in greeting as they drive by each other. He has found Columbus to be cold and unfriendly. He expressed repeatedly how much it meant to him that someone would care enough to invite him to church.
Danny, I'm going to spend the next several days praying for Larry; especially that he makes the choice to come to church. Our work environment is fairly hostile - it would have been so easy to fail to share with Larry today. I was more intimidated than I care to admit, but isn't it so amazing how God works - who would have thought this man was really very tender hearted, and open to the Lord?
The "Divine Appointment" I had the privilege of being a part of today shows what God can do when I choose to be his vessel. I am so encouraged. Maybe I'll be blessed enough to have God find another "appointment" for me …
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........ I had been in a series of meetings with a man in his early 40's and noticed he was trying to get to know me better. He was pursuing me, though the meetings were business oriented, not Christian meetings.
When I finally obeyed the Lord and consented to meet with him for a "business lunch" I learned quickly that was not God's design for the meeting. He asked me question after question about Jesus and my faith and so on until I finally asked him "have you ever dedicated your life to Jesus Christ?" He said "no, I wouldn't even know how to go about it." I led him in a simple prayer of salvation in the parking lot after lunch in my car, and then shared scripture with him for about 1/2 an hour. I have been discipling him ever since.
WAIT, there's more.
He shared his experience with everyone he knew without any shame or embarrassment. One of his close friends has a son that is dying of cancer and is gay. She called me about a "business" matter". By the end of the 25 minute call she had shared with me many deep things and I prayed with her to rededicate her life to Christ............
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... I recently had the opportunity to visit a family member out of state who also attends a Vineyard church. At their Sunday worship service I was able to pray with a gentleman who had come forward requesting prayer for his brother's failing marriage. As we began to pray the Lord kept reminding me of the "ministers of reconciliation" calling that had been unpacked at VCDC during the first two weeks of the year. I began to pray for this man that he would embrace that calling and walk in the authority that God has for him as a voice of reconciliation and hope for their marriage. As we continued to pray, I felt that I should give him the green wristband with the 2 Cor 5-18-21 verse reference that I had picked up at church the weekend before. After we finished praying, I took the wristband off, explained the verse reference and the prayer and gave him the band. He was very grateful and immediately put the band around his wrist. While the divine appointment may not have been outside the church, it was clear that God was empowering this young man to partner with Him in the ministry of reconciliation and the wristband was clearly a "reminder" and gift to him ...
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... The evening after the wrist bands were distributed, we went to dinner at the Bob Evans. We had been talking about several things when the man in the booth next to us asked us if we knew where Rio Grande, Ohio was (someplace mentioned in the history of the restaurant). The three of us talked for over an hour (they were sweeping the carpets in the other section). We were able to share some with him about how much God cares for him. He said he had an issue with God (his wife had died). He travels a lot with his job and we encouraged him to read for himself what God said by reading the Bible in his hotel room instead of accepting what other people have told him about God. (He is Irish Catholic but had very little knowledge of spiritual things.) We have been praying for him since that encounter …
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… I wanted to let you know about what happened this past week. I really had not been looking for much of an opportunity to meet a divine appointment when I ran head-on into one.
I had to pick up my son Friday evening and needed gas on the way. I planned on going to a station in route so I did not have to back track, but I felt an overwhelming urge to go to one closer to home and not on the way. I did not have any rational reason but went anyway, thinking it was odd. I pumped my gas and went in to pay when I ran into an old client. We exchanged hellos and some small talk as we waited in line. He waited for me to get done then we walked out together and he proceeded to break down and confess that His wife had left him, he had just lost his job and insurance, and was in danger of losing the house they had just built together. He had been praying for God to help and for relief. I took a moment and comforted him, sharing briefly that Jesus has relief for those who are seeking Him, and let him know about the food pantry and medical clinic. It was short but it opened a door that I am sure will be used for God's glory. I can't wait for our next conversation!! …
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... I had the wristband and was looking for opportunities to present themselves to me, but actually had forgotten what you had mentioned God giving us something specific that week. I felt a little depressed that I'd forgotten because I wasn't sure if I'd had the divine appointment or not. As I was thinking about that, one of my relatives came to mind. Nancy is in prison right now. Her boyfriend was caught attempting a burglary and Nancy was in the car, waiting for him. She's a very young woman with no record and has had problems with drug addiction. She ended up going through detox in a jail cell and was pretty miserable.
When I finally got a chance to talk to her, Nancy started to tear up before I even said anything to her. She told me she had just gone to a service in the jail that morning for the first time (she knew the Lord as a young woman but has not been in a relationship with Him for about 5 years) I talked to her for a little while and then asked if I could pray for her. It was heart-breaking, this beautiful young woman on the other end of a phone behind the glass wall of the visiting room, praying into the phone with me and weeping. When I was done, she told me that she knew it was better that she be in jail right now because it was forcing her to get clean. She said she hoped she could have another chance and I got to share the good news about 2nd, and 3rd, and 4th chances with her. I'm going to see her again this week and continue our conversation. All I could do was thank God when I drove away because He had heard my prayer and had really created a divine appointment that I couldn't miss...
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…My youngest son is a Christian but he has not had a church home for many years. My prayers for him recently have been regarding this very issue. Two weeks ago we were together and I noticed the green Corinthians band on his wrist. I mentioned it and he said a girl had given it to him the day before. I told him it had come from my church which he couldn't believe.
He had his son get out the Bible and read the verses, then we discussed their meaning because his son said he didn't understand what the verses said. They were both very moved by the text. The next morning my son called and asked if he could go to church with me. He and his kids came and also went up front for prayer. I just got off the phone with him and he said he wanted to go to church with me again tomorrow...
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........We had an incredible experience as ministers of reconciliation this morning at the Friday Morning Men’s Group! We started worshipping around the fireplace at the church at 6:30am and afterwards were spending time in prayer. God was leading us to pray about letting him use us and in the midst of our prayers a guy walks in the front door of the church. Mike went to greet him; his name was John, he was 20 something and from Texas. John's wife had left him the day before for another guy and he has been on the road since then, on his way to stay with a friend who lived in New York. He was running low on gas and money. He had gotten off the freeway and ended up at VCDC.
We offered to help and asked to pray for him first. John agreed, so he took a seat and we began to pray for him. Then Dean was lead to ask John if it would be ok if Dean took his truck to fill up the gas tank, John agreed. I asked him if he knew Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, he said yes and that he goes to church in Texas but wasn't able to talk to his Pastor before he left. As we prayed for John God gave several of the men words of encouragement for him, John broke down and we could sense the Holy Spirit comforting him. John joined us for some more time in worship. We then gave him some extra gas money, sodas, a road map, a Bible, a flyer about Fireproof and the men's retreat, a church pen, and Rick gave John his 2 Cor 5:18-21 wristband before he headed out.
We may not know what becomes of John in this world, but we praise God that before 7am on a Friday morning John was led to us and we were ready and able to minister to him.........
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… For many years I have told people "I'll pray for you" when they would share situations with me that needed God's intervention. It seems like most people genuinely appreciate this. (I said it to a Hindu client of mine one time-and even he expressed a genuine gratefulness!) Lately someone encouraged me to say seven words instead of the usual four. The words are: "Can I pray for you right now?" Wow, I thought, that's different! It's even better--the reconciling starts here and now!
Lately a co-worker of mine was sharing about an ongoing severe trial that they are going through. I had said before that I, along with our home group, would pray for them-and we have been. But today was different. As we stood in the middle of a parking lot I asked: "can I pray for you right now?" After a hesitation on their part (which seemed to last forever) there was a slight smile, and a "yes". So there we were in a public place coming right before God's throne! Looking back it really wasn't hard to do. I suppose this sort of thing merely appeared like two people talking in a parking lot-especially when you pray the Vineyard way-with your eyes open! …
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