Last Sonday Willie preached the 25th Psalm and mentioned that it was an acrostic psalm - meaning that each verse starte with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet - in order. Char Cole accepted his challenge to do a contemporary acrostic of Psalm 25 - and she actually did two of them. One from the Message and one from the NIV. Tonight I am going to share the Message version and will share the NIV later. Both are absolutily excellent! Way to go, Char!
A modern acrostic version from the Message
PSALM 25
1. Always my head is high, God, held high; I am looking to you, God, no hangdog
sulking for me.
2. Because I've thrown in my lot with you; you won't embarrass will you? Or let my
enemies get the best of me?
3. Can you not embarrass any of us whom went out on a limb for you. It's the
traitors who should be humiliated.
4. Demonstrate how you work, God. School me in your ways.
5. Everyday, take me by the hand; lead me down the path of truth. You are my
Savior, aren't you?
6. Forever mark the milestones of your mercy and love, God, Rebuild the ancient
landmarks!
7. Grant that you will forget that I sowed wild oats; mark me with your sign of love.
Plan only the best for me, God!
8. How fair and just is God; He corrects the misdirected, and sends them in the
right direction.
9. In love, He gives the rejects His hand, and leads them step by step.
10. Just follow the Covenant signs. From now on, every road you travel will take
you to God. Read the charted directions.
11. Keep up your reputation, God; forgive my bad life; it's been a very bad life.
12. Let me ask you a question - What are God-worshipers like? Your answer;
arrows aimed at God's bull's-eye.
13. May they settle down in a promising place; their kids inherit a prosperous farm.
14. Notice that God-friendship is for God worshipers; they are the ones He confides in.
15. Only if I keep my eyes on God, I won't trip over my own feet.
16. Protect me, look at me and help me! I'm all alone and in big trouble.
17. Quiet my heart and kidneys. They are fighting each other; call a truce to this civil war.
18. Really take a hard look at my life of hard labor, then lift this ton of sin.
19. See how many people have it in for me? How viciously they hate me?
20. To keep me out of trouble; keep watch over me and don't let me down when I
run to you.
21. Use all your skill to put me together; I wait to see your finished product.
22. Very soon God, give your people a break from this run of bad luck.
Larry and Jan Martin
International Ministries,Ban Luang Thailand.
August 2005
Dear Partners In Ministry
As usual with a farming community we are worried about rain. That there will be enough and not too much and that it will come at the right times. Rice planting has started even though there is not enough rain and people are just hoping that there is. Our hope in God is a sure thing but the weather is pretty fickle.
We will help with the rice planting. They do it in big groups to make it go quicker and to have someone to complain about your aching back to. If the weather is nice wondering around in the mud is not so bad. There are some diseases and parasites in the water but we wear hip boots and the danger is low. The small rice stalks are easy to handle and the promised harvest keeps everybody working. God has promised us a harvest for His kingdom and we keep working with that hope in mind.
We had a joy recently as the church that we worked with last term asked us to come and do a seminar on using income generation projects in the church. It was for a group of Thai evangelists and we enjoyed sharing both from God’s word and from our own experiences about God’s prodding to help the less advantaged among us. As we made up a list it was amazing to look back on that work and see the many ways that God had used that ministry for His glory. Counting your blessings truly is a good exercise for an uplift. We are praying that our efforts in the Nan area will be similarly blessed.
Can you believe that it has been 2 years? This week it will be 2 years since we came to the District of Ban Luang and started to setup here. Jan will make a cake and we will celebrate with some of our neighbors as people often ask how long we have been here. Over the last 2 years God has blessed us with many good relationships and positive experiences. We are praying that the next 2 years will be an even greater time for His kingdom.
Yours in His Kingdom
Larry and Jan
Prayer and Praise Points
Praise the Lord for His love and care for us over the last two years.
Pray that the relationships we build through working in the fields together will bear fruit for the Kingdom.
Pray that our income generation projects will have as much response for the Kingdom of God as they had in Chiang Rai.
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)
I was invited over to Bev and Floyd Willis’ home for dinner last Saturday. I’m not lying when I say that Floyd Willis can bar-be-que! The steaks he prepared were perfect. The whole meal was excellent and the dessert was to die for! I ate way too much. It was a miracle I could even get out of that chair! While we ate and even afterwards, we talked and talked and talked. They say that time flies when you are having fun and that is so true. When I got into my car to go home my mouth dropped open when I saw that it was after 10:00! I thought it was around 8:30 - 9:00. I learned something interesting about Floyd and Bev - they were married two years before I was born. There are a span of years between us that is greater than I knew. To the outside world looking in - Floyd, Bev and I have an unusual friendship because we have nothing in common.
There is a man, Ray, that I know because he works downtown like I do. We passed each other often enough on the sidewalk to where we started smiling and acknowledging each other. Now we have long conversations when ever we can. I really look forward to talking with him. Ray is a maintenance person over at Cornerstone Church. I am the chief financial officer of a $4.5 million law firm. To the outside world looking in - Ray and I have an unusual friendship because we have nothing in common.
Sara works for a different company than I do but her office is just down the hall from mine. We always smiled and said hi to each other until the day she said, “Was that your picture in the paper last week?” and we got to talking. Sara is of African descent - she was raised in poverty in South America. She came to the United States through marriage. I am of Irish descent. I was raised middle class. I was born in America. To the outside world looking in Sara and I have an unusual friendship because we have nothing in common.
The Willis’ and I come from different generations but we are friends. Ray and I come from different socio-economic lifestyles but we are friends. Sara and I come from different ethnic groups and different backgrounds but we are friends. And the world wants to know why.
There is a bond between the Willis’ and I, between Ray and I, between Sara and I. It is a bond of blood - but not human blood. It is a bond forged in the blood of Jesus Christ - and that makes it an eternal bond - a bond that cannot be broken.
When Jesus came, He came to turn the world upside down. In a world that valued a person by their ranking (power, money, possessions) He said “In the Kingdom of God the least shall be first.” In a society that shunned the Samaritans and the Gentiles as impure and kept them out, Jesus welcomed them to Himself when He said, “Come to me all you are heavily burdened and I will give you rest.” In a culture that demanded absolute obedience to the law - He offered endless mercy and grace. In a land steeped in religious acts towards God, He came to give a relationship with God. He said that the best of the best who calls out to God and the worst of the worst who calls out to God will receive an equal outpouring of His love and grace.
Jesus is the great equalizer. He says to the high mucky-muck and the one down on his luck - I do not see your social status - I only see you and I love you just as you are.” To the red & yellow, black & white He says, “You are precious in my sight. I do not see your skin - I see your heart. And I love you just as you are” To the elderly, the young and all the in-betweens He says, “I created time and it is a false measure of you. When I look at you I see your eternal soul - not your time-marked body. I love you just as you are”
Jesus came to turn the world upside down by equalizing it. He sees us just as we are without the pretenses of social position, skin color, age or any of the other false dividers that we put between us. He came to see us, love us and save us - equally and wholeheartedly. And He came to change us so that we see the same thing He sees when we look at each other.
To the world looking in, Floyd, Bev, Ray, Sara and I don’t have anything in common. But they are wrong - because we have Jesus in common. He is the connection that runs through all of our lives. When these friends and I get together we talk about different things, but there is always one topic that we always love to get to. One topic that is the same for the young and the old, the maintenance worker and the fiscal director, the black and the white and that topic is Jesus. We talk about what He has done in our live, what He is doing in our lives, and what He will do in our lives. We share as equals - because in His sight we are equals. We share as equals because He has freed us from the world’s dividers. We share as equals because He is the great Equalizer and we are equal in the covering of His blood. And we - as the people called by His name and equal in His sight - cannot let the false divisions of this world affect how we treat each other.
I am really looking forward to being home. I think about being in the presence of Jesus and I get goosebumps of anticipation. I also think about the conversations we will have when we are home. The things of earth won’t matter to us anymore so my best guess is that our conversations that will be based on the One who is common to all of us. I am looking forward to sitting down with people from every tribe, tongue and nation to hear their story of their place in His-story. To hear them tell of what Jesus did in their lives. I want to hear David tell about rushing towards Goliath. I want to hear Daniel talk about petting those lions. And I want to hear your story about His glory. And just as our stories are equal at home - they are equal on this earth.
I went to the dentist this week. I was in “the chair” looking at the church’s financial statement when the dental assistant came in. She asked me what I was looking at, and I told her. She asked how the church was doing, and I answered that like most churches there was more need than resources but all-in-all we were doing pretty good at meeting the need. She shared about what was going on at her church and I shared about FFBC. Then we shared our stories of His glory in our lives. Our stories were different, but the Jesus we live for was equal for both of us.
LORD Jesus, You have made us equal to each other - we are one in the story of Your grace and glory. Help us to share our stories with each other and with the world.
Contact Valerie or subscribe to the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@fresnofirst.org
Check out our web log at www.fresnofirst.org
Christians are like manure - if they all stay piled up in one place it just stinks. But if they spread out into the world, they fertilize it so that God’s dreams have an opportunity to blossom. Karl Roth
The dictionary defines commitment as “commitment >noun 1 dedication to a cause or policy. 2 a pledge or undertaking. 3 an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action” When it comes to our VF21 commitment I can agree with most of the definition. My commitment represents my dedication to the cause of expanding the Kingdom of God. My commitment is my pledge to Father that I will see this undertaking through. It is the third definition that does not describe my commitment. See, my commitment does not restrict my freedom of action. Quite the opposite - my commitment frees me so that God can take action through me. By any definition - my commitment to VF21 puts me in a win-win position. If you have any questions about VF21, call the church office (Bap-tist). Please pray that Father will challenge all of us to do more than we think we can do - so that when it is accomplished we will know that it is through God’s power - and not our own.
Please pray for Erica Henson’s brother and his legal problems.
Denise Cox, wife of Pastor Rick Cox over at St. Luke’s Calvary Community is recovering from breast cancer surgery and faces more of the same.
Carol Robertshaw’s son-in-law, Ted, is still experiencing severe problems with his lungs.
Sandy Hall’s son’s brother-in-law hit a tree (I’m guessing in his car) and suffered head injuries.
Colene McDonough’s niece’s newborn son, Logan, was sent to Childrens Hospital in San Francisco following complications after his birth. He has had one surgery so far.
Judi Wright came through her shoulder surgery but had a dreadful allergic reaction to the pain medication she was prescribed. She is doing much better now that her meds have been corrected.
Les Johnson asks for continued prayer for his sons Matthew and Daniel injuries following the car accident that took their mother’s life.
We continue to pray for the following: Sherline & the pathology report, Danette’s ex father in law with the growth in his throat and Danette’s mom employment situation, Bryan & Joni Johnson, The team in China, Tyler Fahrmeyer at Valley Children’s, Joe with an unspecified need, Nancy Pippin & a brain tumor, Merle Rush and recovery from his stroke, Andrea Spees & recovery from post-operative infection, Bev Borjas’ son, Khamla & her arm, Ashley & the infection in her heart lining, Jane Irwin & ovarian cancer, George & Margie Martin and his cancer, Michael Ferris, Emmy Lou Graves, Laura in Ohio, John Rogers & cancer, new employment opportunities for Dan Hansen, Stan Reed & cancer, Kassel Coon in Afghanistan, Ray Rahn & his wife. Please send me any updates you might have!
Pray for our missionaries - Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, Dr. George Pe Myat & the hospital in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Gospel For Asia, The Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria, Laurie Bethall in Prague, Judy, Faye & Miisaw at the New Life Center in Thailand, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Please keep our two church plants in prayer. Please pray for Karl & Shellie Roth with Flipside. Please pray for Horacio & Cheryl Aleman at the LIFEhouse in Reedley. I attended Flipside’s services this past Sonday I was excited to hear that 90 children (as best I recall) went through their VBS and that the collection that was taken at the VBS (about $200) is being given to LIFEhouse church for their children’s ministry. After Flipside’s services I hurried over to FFBC to pick up my chili verde lunch’s from LIFEhouse’s fundraiser - and all I can say about that food experience is - I wish that I had bought a couple more of them for my lunches at work.
Pray for our pastors, our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray that we recognize opportunities to share our faith with others. Pray for the Church that in these troubled times that she stands strong.
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
Father in Heaven,
There is this silly little commercial that says that they would like to give the world a coke and chill with it awhile. If I could give the world something, it would not be something as boring as a coke. I would give them something so exciting that it would change their lives and the whole world forever, I would give them one day - just one day - of my life in You. If they knew You like I know You they could never go back to their old life. Thank You for this life we have in You. Help us to share this life with the world so that they to can turn to You as God and Savior.
Provider, challenge us with our VF21 commitments like we have never been challenged before. Give us David’s heart and his faith in You as he ran at that giant. Then, like David, show us Your power directed through us. We look forward to joining Your dreams for FFBC.
LORD God, You are a God of Justice - we ask that justice be served for Erica’s brother.
We pray for Your servant, Denise as she recovers from this surgery and prepares for more of them. Hold her, LORD God. We lift up Ted and ask that You touch his lungs with Your healing. We pray for baby Logan, that he can be healed and come home. We ask that You be with Sandy’s son’s brother in law as he recovers from his accident, Grant them peace and healing, Father God.
We thank You, Father, that Judi’s allergies to her medication was caught quickly after her operation and that she is doing so much better. Be with Your beloved child.
Every time I see the Johnson boys, Father, I thank You for Your mercy to them. Continue to heal their bodies and their spirits.
LORD Jesus, in this quiet moment with You we feel Your presence surrounding us. We are lost within the wonder and beauty of You and Your love for us. We surrender to You willingly. We give You our hearts, our souls, our lives as a living sacrifice to You.
Holy Spirit, Promised Comforter and Guide we release to Your power and keeping all of the lives and situations that continue to be on our prayer chain. We look forward to seeing Your purpose accomplished in them.
Triune God, Your missionaries serve You under circumstances that can be daunting. We pray that You refresh their vision, and strengthen their resolve. Keep them safe, LORD God.
We ask, Father, that You bless Flipside and LIFEhouse churches with growth. Grow their numbers, grow their spirits, grow their knowledge of You. Thank You for the pastors of these fledgling churches and for their heart to serve You.
God of eternity past and eternity to come, strengthen Your Church so that she holds strong against all that is happening in the world today. Bless our pastors when they grow weary, when they are discouraged remind them of us and of how much we love them. Help us to support them. Hold our leadership close to Your heart and guide their steps. We pray Your abundance on our ministries and ask that You help us to be effective with them.
Give us new opportunities to share Your good news with others.
God bless America, grant her leaders wisdom. Protect all of those who serve her. Bring our country back to You.
Holy, holy, holy are You, LORD God Almighty. You alone are worthy of our praise. We proclaim You as our LORD and king. We love You, LORD.
Have you ever wondered exactly what that verse said - but couldn’t remember the book or the verse number? Have you ever wondered how other versions of the Bible translated the same verse? Have you ever been involved in a Bible study that has you flipping back and forth so much in the Bible that you have run out of bookmarks?
Do I have a website for you!
Check out www.biblegateway.com Bible Gateway offers 19 versions of the Bible in 21 languages. The home page opens on a quick search. Just type the address of the verse (ie: John 3:16) or a few keywords (so loved) and hit search. You can also select the version of the Word that you want to search. If you want a more search options they offer three selections. With Passage Lookup you can look at several passages at once, or you can look at the same passage in several versions. Under Keyword Search you can limit the area of the search to the Gospels, the Old Testament, Wisdom Books or to certain books. The Topical Index allows you to search the Bible by topic (faith, Cain, Feast of Tabernacles) Under Additional Resources are two commentaries that can be used to enhance your study of the Word.
This website is one of my most used tools. I use it for writing the devotions, I use it in my Bible studies, I am even using it to learn Bible verses in Spanish. I highly recommend it to you.
If you have a Christian website you would like to share please contact me at valerie@fresnofirst.org
We are willing to pay the cost
"I am a Christian" What would it cost you if you said that?
Would you lose you job?
Would you be asked to leave the village?
Would you be stopped from drawing water from the common village well?
Would you be excommunicated from your family?
Would you be forced to lose government benefits?
To you the answers to these questions may be (most likely) in the negative, but that is not the case here in Malkangiri. Answers to the questions above are going to be a BIG resounding YES.
The following incident will further prove my point. Please take note the incident is true and I am an eyewitness to it. Names have been changed/withheld for safety concerns.
WE ARE WILLING TO PAY THE COST
----------------------------------------------------
The sun was out after a week of rains. The village was getting up and people were getting ready to go to the fields to plough. There was great joy in Sonu's heart, as the much needed rains after two years of monsoon failure was here. He got his cows and the plough and as he was headed towards his fields when his wife gave him the news that that their neighbour Ramu had died. He rushes to Rabi's house.........
"Hey Rabi did you know Ramu died just before the cock crowed today morning?"
"Is that so Sonu? We need to get the news to all relatives and get to his house. It is sad just a few months back she lost her daughter who has been suffering from a disease for a long time. "
Son replies "I understand what you are trying to tell, there is no adult male in the family to handle the funeral, but how can we go and help. Have you forgotten that a few years back she became a Christian and the village panchayat excommunicated the family? Let us now get her relatives and go to the village panchayat and go to her house and see what the panchayat decides?
The relatives and the panchayat go to her house. There is Shanti sitting in the veranda beside her husband who covered in a white cloth. He daughter is huddled against the corner of the hut, her teenaged brother sitting next to her mother. All off them crying and upset at the loss that was staring at their face.
A lot of questions ran in their minds - Will my relatives and villages people help or will they stay away just like they did when my sister died thought the son. Who will help us carry my father to the grave and who will dig pit was the question that the daughter had. Will our missionary friends come in time (the son had sent message to the missionaries who work in the village (they stay in a village 15 kms from Ramu's village))?
Their worst fears were turned into reality. There was absolute silence broken occasionally by the crying of Shanti, her son or daughter. The relatives and panchayat gathered around the house. The missionaries along with other believers for nearby villages had also arrived.
The village headman spoke - "Shanti, leave the Jesu Mapru (Jesus God - a literal translation) and we will help otherwise no one will even touch the body of Ramu." A silence, what was Shanti going to answer. Shanti got up and moved into the open from the veranda of her house and said. "We as a family trusted Jesu Mapru and we will continue to hold on to him whatever the situation. If you do not help my Jesu Mapru will help"
"Look here Shanti" said the headman "This will be your last chance you stand to lose a lot if you continue to follow Jesu Mapru, your son will not get admission into free school, no one will marry your daughter, we will never come to your house not will invite you for any of our function.........."
"We are willing you pay the cost" said Shanti
That is all the missionaries had to hear and they got into action. A few of the believers from the nearby village went to the village graveyard to dig a pit (they had to dig outside the village graveyard as the village refused to give a place in the village graveyard). The rest of them washed the body of Ramu and got him ready for the funeral.
A funeral service was a quiet and solemn. They entire village looked on and were stunned at the defiance of Shanti and her family. The believers from the nearby villages along with the missionaries carried Ramu and laid his body to rest.
Note: A Panchayat is the village council. The missionaries mentioned in the incident are from another mission not RHS.
The incident that I have narrated above is only one of the many that happens daily in the various villages our missionaries work. I can write volumes on the various courageous stands that people take for the Lord. The various oppressive situations have not stopped people from listening to the Gospel and making it their own.
We here at RHS believe in taking time to teach a person the basic of the Bible very strongly and make the person save money (Rs. 100/-) to pay the lawyer to make the affidavit, which is a requirement under the anti-conversion legislation in force here in Orissa. This is a long drawn process. Usually takes a year or two.
I am thrilled to tell you that 30 people over the last two-years have been studying the Bible and saving the money (Rs. 100/-). PTL for the courage from the Holy Spirit that enables the people here to take a stand.
At Reaching Hand Society 8 families and 6 bachelors have answered the Lord's specific call to take the Gospel to the 1020 villages here in Malkangiri district. On a rough estimate there are still about 400 villages were the Gospel has never been preached. Work is hard, resources are stretched (sometime not there), but we are willing to walk the extra mile for the Lord's sake.
People here are willing to pay the cost. What is your response?
Closing with prayers
Remo
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Matthew 4:19 ““Come and follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”“(NIV)
John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”(NIV)
John 15:5(b) “for apart from Me you can do nothing”(NIV)
It is hard for me to believe that I am approaching my 10 year anniversary of attending Fresno First Baptist Church. Time flies when you are having fun! Jo Lewis invited me to Fresno First. (Nagged me into it actually.) I really liked Willie’s preaching so I started attending with my children whenever I could (which just happened to be the Sonday’s when the Dallas Cowboys were not playing a morning game). The people at the church were really friendly and always said “hi!” and shook our hands. By the fourth time we attended I was beginning to recognize faces. That was also the time that this little short woman grabbed me in a big ol’ hug and told me how glad she was to see me again. I was shocked to the roots of my hair. I did not voluntarily touch others and thought that my attitude was distant enough to keep others from touching me. But then I had this little frisson of pleasure because this woman (whose face I recognized - no clue on the name) was glad to see me again. The next time she saw me she hugged me again and told me she had been looking for me. After she left I asked Jo Lewis who she was (I figured that if she was going to be hugging me - I should know her name!) Jo told me, “She’s Judi Wright” Now days when Judi and I see each other, we point at each other and say, “I absolutely love you!” We hug each other because we truly do love each other. We are bound together for eternity because our love for each other is a reflection of Jesus’ love for us.
I get a lot of Christian newsletters and stories in my e-mails. I love to read about what is going on in the Church around the world. It amazes me the multitude of different ways that the churches have to reach out. I recently heard of a church that purchased a basketball arena for their new church building. Other churches broadcast their services to satellite sites located in other parts of the city. Some churches that have 6 or 7 services a weekend. Special lighting effects, special sound effects, big screen projections, dramas, big musical productions, moving platforms, lasers are just some of the things I have read about being used by the church. And I think that it is great!
As long as the show doesn’t replace the go.
We have to be very careful that what we are doing and how we are doing it does not replace the why we are doing it. We have to be careful that the “bigger and better production” does not replace the simple good news message of Jesus.
Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” He did not say, “If we have more exciting music more people will come to our services.” He did not say, “If our nativity drama has live cows and camels and a star that shoots out multicolored laser rays people will be so impressed they will flock to see it.” He said, “Follow Me.” There is nothing wrong with exciting music, live animals or laser shooting stars as long as their purpose is to encourage people to seek and follow Jesus. But if their purpose is to simply fill the pews or to impress the people then they have no purpose - they are worthless.
Jesus also said that others would know that we are His disciples by our love for one another. We can have the best show in town up on our church platform but if we are not showing Jesus’ love by loving each other then we have nothing. But wait - it goes one step further. We can have a platform full of music and preaching that follows Jesus and reflects His love - but if we are leaving Jesus up on the platform and not bringing Him into the aisles and the pews, then we have next to nothing. Jesus is in the aisles when we greet each other in love. He is in the aisles when we make an effort to identify the visitors and do our best to make them feel welcome and comfortable. Jesus is in the pews when we leave our usual seat and go sit beside somebody new. Jesus is in the aisles and the pews when we demonstrate our love for each other and our love for others. The best show in the world does not compare to our simple love for one another.
Jesus said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” We can have all the bells and whistles in our service but if the focus is on the show and not on Jesus - then what do we have? We have the $5.00 that a person has plunked into the collection plate for their admission to the show - and that person has the bragging rights that “Yes, I am a good person - I go to church every week.” If everything that we do - whether on the platform or in the aisles - is not focused on Jesus and only for Jesus then we are apart from Him and we can do nothing.
It is good to explore and use all the technology and ideas available to us. But we must remember that in all of it - we must follow Jesus, love one another and never become apart from Jesus.
I came to Fresno First Baptist because Jo invited me. I came back to FFBC because of Willie’s preaching. I stay at Fresno First Baptist because of Willie’s leadership but mostly because I am part of a church family that loves and supports me and that I love and support. I am part of a church family that reflects the love of Jesus into our community. We have made great advances in our use of technology. Our music is great. The preaching is excellent. Everything that happens on our platform is outstanding (although I am still hoping for the live camels). But the most important thing is that regardless of what is happening on our platform - it is focused on Jesus and His message. Equally important - through our love for each other and for others - we are bringing Jesus into our aisles and into our pews. Because of these reasons we are doing great things for the Kingdom today and will continue to do great things for the Kingdom tomorrow.
As long as we make sure that it is never about the show and always about Jesus.
LORD Jesus, I want my life to be more about You and less about me. I want to follow close behind You - I want to step in Your footprints. I want to love the Church like You love the Church and I want to love others like You love others. Help me to never be apart from You. I surrender my life to be used by You to build the kingdom. And LORD - I absolutely love You.
Subscribe to the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist or contact Valerie at valerie@fresnofirst.org
Hey Flipside Friends,
Wow, summer is going by so quickly- and is so hot! We are in the middle of VBS at Cobb Ranch. It is so much fun! God is blessing us and we should have over 60 kids attending this evening with about 30 leaders! It is wonderful!
Coming up this Sunday is our Preview Service for July @ Valley Oak Elementary at 10am. I would love to see you there is you can make it. We only have this one and two in August (21st and 28th) until we Launch Flipside Christian Church with our official Kick-off ! I am so excited!
You can continue being a part of the birth of our new church by inviting your friends who don’t have a church home to be with us this Sunday and for our two services in August leading up to our Kick off in September.
I am looking forward to this Sunday as we look at the type of people God releases His dreams into.
Thank you for your support, prayers, and participation. Blessings, Pastor Karl
If God does not give you something you ask for, wait on Him. He will speak with you tenderly and sympathetically about the matter, until you yourself understand that He cannot grant your prayer. O. Hallesby
Last Sonday my eyes were drawn (as they often are) to the bowl of memorial stones on the platform. My stone is in there. I remember adding it there knowing that I was making the biggest faith-based financial commitment of my life. With that little stone I promised Father that I would do my part to fulfil His vision - probably for the rest of my life. By God’s grace I have kept my commitment every year and I have never regretted it. We are gearing up for this year’s VF21 Campaign and I am really looking forward to joining Father in His plans for Fresno First Baptist Church. Please pray that Father will work a miracle through us, His children, and that He will show all of us how we will be making this year’s commitment.
We have been praying for Frank who was involved in the car accident awhile back. An e-mail from his step-daughter reports that Frank is doing great and the skin on his hand is regenerating.
We were also praying for Sherline & her thyroid surgery. I am please to tell you that she came through the surgery with flying colors. Now they are just waiting for the pathology report - please pray that this report is also good.
Danette Joos is requesting prayer for her mom. Her mom is facing outright hostility at her workplace. Please pray for Father’s guidance.
Danette Joos is also requesting prayer for her ex-father-in-law and a growth in his throat. They have been unable to do a biopsy on the growth because his heart rate is so irregular.
Do you know who Joni Johnson is? Let me give you a hint - just recently we were calling her Joni Willis. Joni has married “absolutely wonderful” Bryan Johnson. (Don’t you just love newlyweds?) They start this new adventure as a blended family - Bryan has two children and Joni has our sweet Alexis. As an additional challenge Bryan has to do a lot of traveling in his new job. Please pray for this new family as they journey together.
Anna Hines (the great worship intern we’ve been blessed with) is requesting prayer for friends who have gone on a trip to China. It’s not a mission trip (China doesn’t allow that) it is a trip to teach children to speak English. (God can use any opportunity) Unfortunately the living conditions are brutal. Several of the team members have been forced to come home because they have been refused medical treatment in China. Please pray for the healing of those who have come home, pray for the team that remains, and pray for the children they will teach.
Please pray for a young man named Joe. I do not have the details of what he is facing - but Father knows - and He is the important One.
From Flipside Church we have the following request: Please be in prayer for little Tyler Eric Fahrmeyer, born this last Sunday. Tyler’s mom and dad are Kara and Eric. Tyler is at Valley Childrens Hospital in the NICU. He has fluid on his lungs and high blood pressure. He had a breathing tube in that was just removed today (thank you God). He still needs to be able to eat on his own, and must not have any infections before they can let him go home.
We continue to pray for the following: Kimmie who was involved in a car accident that took part of her family, Cody Gunderson & family after the loss of their 16 year old daughter, Nancy Pippin & a brain tumor, Moises & Kim for the loss of their 9 year old son, Lois Bezona & family after the loss of their 3 ½ year old great-granddaughter, Stephanie Smith & family after the loss of her father’s cousin, Merle Rush and recovery from his stroke, Andrea Spees & recovery from post-operative infection, Bev Borjas’ son, Khamla & her arm, Geri Kinnish’s husband and recovery from surgery, Ashley & the infection in her heart lining, Jane Irwin & ovarian cancer, Judi Wright’s shoulder surgery, my co-worker’s sister with the brain tumor, George & Margie Martin and his cancer, Michael Ferris, Emmy Lou Graves, Laura in Ohio, John Rogers & cancer, new employment opportunities for Dan Hansen, Stan Reed & cancer, Kassel Coon in Afghanistan, Ray Rahn & his wife. Please send me any updates you might have!
Pray for our missionaries - Judy, Faye & Miisaw at the New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, Dr. George Pe Myat & the hospital in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Gospel For Asia, The Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria, Laurie Bethall in Prague, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Please keep our two church plants in prayer. Please pray for Karl & Shellie Roth with Flipside. Please pray for Horacio & Cheryl Aleman at the LIFEhouse in Reedley.
Pray for our pastors, our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray that we recognize opportunities to share our faith with others. Pray for the Church that in these troubled times that she stands strong.
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
Abba,
In a just creation we would not be allowed into Your presence because we are unworthy. In a just creation we would not be able to speak to You at all - let alone call You Abba. But You call to us - not through Your justice but through Your mercy. Because of Your mercy we come boldly into Your presence and we are privileged to call You Father. Nothing in our lives compares to this.
Father, tell us what You would have us do with our VF21 commitment. Find our hearts willing to follow You - let us be a blessing to You as You continue to work through us. Use our willing hearts to create a miracle.
Holy Spirit, we praise You for the great reports on Frank & Sherline and ask that You continue to heal them.
We pray, LORD Jesus, that You will be with Danette’s ex-father-in-law and the growth in his throat. Calm his heart so the biopsy can be done. We pray for the situation with Joe. We pray that if it is Your will to restore him - then restore him. If it is Your will to release him - then we ask that You release him. We pray for little Tyler, that You heal him and let him come home to his family.
Thank You for Joni’s new family. We ask that You bless this family and guide them as they grow together.
We ask, Holy Spirit, that You guide Danette’s mom as she faces this hostile workplace. Help her to stay calm and always show You first in this situation.
Great Comforter, be with this team in China and give them opportunities to share You with the children they teach. Let the children be open to them and to You. Ease the living conditions these young people are enduring. Heal those who have been forced to come back to the USA.
God Who fills eternity, we release to You those who continue to be on our hearts and in our prayers. We declare that You are sovereign God and that nothing that will happen in these lives and situations is outside of Your will.
You have blessed us so mightily Holy God, by allowing us to engage this world in Your name in so many ways. We pray for our missionaries around the world. Help us to support them with our resources and our love. We pray for LIFEhouse and Flipside - the two church plants. Continue to bless and prosper them. We pray for our pastors, our leadership and the ministries of Your church and ask that You provide for them.
With humble hearts we ask LORD of All that You bring our country back to You. We lift her up to You LORD God. Bless our country’s leadership and those that serve her in the military.
There are not enough words to describe Your glory. There are not enough songs to adequately praise You. We are not worthy of You or of Your incredible love for us. But You take us just as we are with our stuttering words and inadequate praise. You promise us that we will be made perfect when we are in Your presence. We can’t hardly wait to be with You. We love You.
Dear Partner in Christ,
Greetings in Jesus' Name.
The monsoon is very late this year. Instead of the monsoon starting in June, it arrived only in the beginning of July. This year too many insects of various sizes and shapes some whose sting hurts [did not bring about any serious effects] has entered the houses. Moreover too many snakes are spotted and some killed all in these past 12 days. Prakash killed a cobra last Monday and he was yelled at by the people of the locality for killing a cobra and that too on a Monday (both the cobra and Monday are very auspicious here). At the doorstep of the pastor of the Indian Missionary Society's Church a 6 feet long cobra was spotted but escaped. John spotted a cobra (about 5 feet long) in the garden at the back of my house.
Added to the cobras for the first time we are seeing pythons in this area, usually they are spotted only in the thick jungles. Prakash could not kill a huge python of (thick as an adult male arm and about 5 feet long) in the hospital campus; it escaped near the pump house. Near Laban's house a baby python is spotted and was not killed. The staffs say that pythons are more difficult to kill than the cobras. The Santhali tribals believe that the python is the father of the cobra and so they will not kill the python. But Praise the Lord all RHS staff will kill any snake that are a threat to human life. Last year one our contacts - a Koya boy child died of cobra bite. We NEED your constant prayers for protection.
Add to all this there has been a series of critical illness with our staff. That is why a prayer circular in the middle of this month.
1. Prabhati, newly married staff [wife of Niranjan] went in for a spontaneous abortion, nearing 4 months of pregnancy and is very weak.
2. Niranjan husband of Prabhati underwent a simple hydrocele surgery and it turned septic, he is now recovering.
3. Dilip's father went to be with the Lord on Monday (11/07/05) due to renal [kidney] failure. Dilip is the only member who supports the family. He has a younger sister, who failed her metric class last year. His mother was a street side vegetable vendor and as the father was most of the time sick did not do any work for many years. Will appreciate your prayers for Dilip and his family. All messages to Dilip can be emailed to the email id of mummy at iris_paul@vsnl.net and it will be passed on to him.
4. Jyoti's brother in law Praksh is at a hospital in Sunabeda (140 Kms from Malkangiri - 5 hours by road) and is dying of hepatic and renal [Liver and Kidney] failure. Prakash is around 45 years and has 3 small children and his wife is not educated.
5. Shanti's (wife of Sopon) brother around 18 years ran away from her father's home and is not found even after searching for 2 weeks.
6. Minothi's [wife of John] sis in law went into fits during delivery of her first child and delivered a girl baby by forceps, and there is deep injury mark. The sis in law Lolitha is now out of danger, but the baby still needs to be on a ventilator.
7. Sandhya's [wife of Somesh] father is sick for the last one month at Jeypore.
8. Nivedan - he was an excellent staff of RHS. A couple of years ago he got married and moved to Orissa Missionary Movement as its Executive Secretary. Last month he has been diagnosed of liver cancer and has been told that he has another two more months to live. He is 31 years old and is the father of a daughter and a 9 month old son.
9. Romesh's father, Mr. Deenabahandu Khosla had a fracture of both the bones in his forearm 2 months ago and had a cast but still there is some pain. The cast will be removed next week. Please pray for full cure.
10. Last week, I had a check up and I have been said to have an enlarged heart [straightening of the left border of the heart] peripheral cyanosis on and off. My kidney function for the very first time is slightly increased. [creatinine 1.45 and urea 45 mgm] I feel weak last few months and my Hb% inspite of many vitamins for last one month is 10.8 Gms. All the vitamins only increased my weight and I feel breathless. I am not Hypertensive and I am said now to have brittle diabetes. All this is off sudden onset as even a few months ago, because I felt tired, I had a complete check up and nothing was found so all the doctors said that I am getting old [60 years according to me is not 'OLD'] Anyway I rejoice that He has kept me well and going all these many years. I have cried and prayed a lot for all issues here. Last month I read in the Streams in the desert that "God's jewels are Crystallised tears".
Laban and family and Sopon and his family are on their annual vacation. Pray that they will have a refreshing time.
Our Jeep has gone off the road after covering 49,482 Kms. The front wheel tyre has a 1-inch tear, the suspension on the left broke and the left back tyre burst beyond any repair, fortunately it was just a few kms from Malkangiri and so we made it home. The spare tyre has had too many punctures and can now hold only 15 pressure and we need 26 pressures in the tyre. Do not worry in God's time we will get the money and buy all the 5 tyres and service the jeep and once more it will be entering the interior jungles on His mission trips.
All this has drawn the RHS staff closer to God and so inspite of all the circumstances we know He still holds our hands and we still rejoice that He has seen it fit to keep us going.
It is indeed hard to rejoice, BUT as individuals and as staff of RHS we are rejoicing and continuing the work. We will surely appreciate your prayers.
Thanks a ton for standing with us.
Closing with prayers
Iris.
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Revelation 21:5(b) “..Behold, I make all things new..”
On this past Monday I was driving back from visiting a friend in Selma. I was in a hurry because this was the day that my daughter was going to pick up her brand-spanking new car, a 2005 Sunshine Yellow Aveo. I was going to take her to pick it up. She was so excited that I don’t think she had slept the night before!
As I was driving home I passed the “Pull-A-Part” junkyard and saw all the acres of old, junked cars. As I looked at them I realized that at one point in time there had been an excited someone who had drove each of those cars off the lot when they were brand-spanking new. Each of those cars had been a dream come true. But now, those dreams were finished and the car was in the junkyard.
Then I looked around my Impala. I remember when I bought it in 2000. I still remember the new car smell it had. Back then you wiped your shoes off before you got in my car. No eating in it, no drinking in it and I always parked in the north forty of any parking lot to protect it. But that was five years ago - and things have changed. One of the seatbelts is broken. The upholstery has the obvious signs that the ban of food and drinks was lifted, The body of the car - once so perfect - has scratches and dents in various places. It is still a great car - but not as great as it used to be. In a couple of years I will sell it and eventually it will end up in a junkyard with the rest of the cast off dreams.
That is the way of things on this earth. What is brand new today, somebody’s dream come true is beginning to wear out tomorrow and is junk the day after that. Computers, cars, boats, houses, football stadium, freeways, whatever. They all have varying shelf lives - but in the end they are junked, replaced, or torn down. And as we look out the window and see the dirty air that we breath we know that even this planet Earth is wearing out. But that is the way Father created it to be. This earth was not created to last. It has a shelf life - a day when Father will replace it with the new heaven and the new earth.
If we put our dreams, our hopes or our faith in things of earth then we are doomed to disappointment because they will all end up in the junkyard of broken dreams.
But there are things that will last forever. Eternal things. Heaven is forever. It is just as bright, sparkling and perfect today as it was 95 quadrillion years ago. And it will still be just as perfect 95 quadrillion years from today. - and 95 quadrillion years after that it will still be perfect. It will never wear out.
God is forever. I don’t have a problem understanding that God forever is and forever will be - but that part about Him forever has been - my poor finite mind has trouble understanding that. I guess I just can’t fully grasp that He never had a starting point. But that is okay. I don’t understand how a computer processes all that information so fast and connects me to the entire world but I know that it does do it. In the same way - I may not understand the absolute forever of God but I know that the absolute forever of God is true. And because God is absolutely forever, He is absolutely perfect. He does not change, He does not wear down, and He will never be replaced. In fact, in all of eternity, God has never had a new idea or a new thought. (Let your mind chew on that for awhile!)
My personal relationship with God is forever. It had a starting point - the day I accepted Him as my savior - but there is no ending of it. My relationship with Him will last as long as He does. I have His Word on it. He promised me that He will never leave me or forsake me - so He has promised to keep me forever. ( HALLELUJAH on that!)
Unfortunately, all to often, I treat my relationship with God as an earthly thing. (He NEVER does that to me - I do it to Him). I allow my relationship with Him to wear down and get tired. In fact, there was a 15 year period when I threw my relationship with Him into the junkyard as so much unwanted trash. Even though I junked our relationship, Father never did. And when I ran back to Him, He restored the newness, the excitement of our relationship. It was like having a new car. And I really took care of our relationship - for awhile. Then I got careless - oh, not on purpose - just with the passage of time. I was really busy so I wasn’t in the Word of God as much. I was working hard - so tired - so I cut down my personal time with Father so I could get some sleep. The troubles of this world put scratches and dents on my relationship. My relationship was wearing down and I didn’t even realize it. Then one day I whispered, “I don’t feel as close to You as I used to.” And Father answered, “I’m not the one who moved away. Take your eyes off of the earthly and put them on the Eternal. Set your priorities straight and come back to Me. I make all things new and I will make our relationship new again.” I did - and He did. And He always will.
When she got into her little car, Fawn set down the rules. No trash left in the car, no drinking anything but water, no food! And wipe your shoes before you get into it. I smiled because she sounded just like me when the Impala was new. But even as I smiled I knew that the day is coming when the car will get it’s first dent and it’s first stain. Because it is an earthly thing it will wear down - no matter how hard Fawn tries to keep it new. And someday, it will be over at Pull-A-Part junkyard.
Our relationship with God is not like that. Even though we treat it like it is an earthly thing and we let it wear down - it is eternal. It can be made new again. It can be recharged, renewed and restored. Just set your priorities straight and come back to Father. He makes all thing new - even us.
Father, I love being in this relationship with You. You are the Cornerstone and foundation of my life. But I admit that I let things come between us and our relationship wears down. Renew in me a clean heart, oh LORD. Help me to keep my eyes on You. You make all things new - make me new.
Contact Valerie or subscribe to the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@fresnofirst.org
We have to pray with our eyes on God - not on the difficulties. O. Chambers
We are getting closer and closer to the VF 21 opportunity later this summer. This is an exciting time when we get to join with God and make a commitment to the work that He is doing through Fresno First Baptist. Our prayer request is that we ask God what He would have us to do with our pledge to VF21 and that He would work a miracle through us.
As of last Sonday, Geri Kinnish’s husband was in ICU over at St Agnes. There were not a lot of details on why he was over there so please pray that Father will keep His hand on the situation.
Tammi is requesting prayer for her friend Kimmie who was involved in a traffic accident that took the lives of some of her family.
Please pray for Cody Gunderson & his wife - their 16 year old daughter died in a car accident.
Stephanie Smith’s father’s cousin passed away unexpectedly. Please keep the family in prayer.
Please pray for the staff at Camp Sugarpine. The camps for the rest of the summer are full to overflowing with kids. Pray for patience for the staff and that they reflect Jesus in all their dealings with these children.
Lois Bezona is requesting prayer for her family after the drowning death of her 3 ½ year old great-granddaughter.
Karen Mussleman is requesting prayer for her brother-in-law’s co-worker and family. Moises & Kim lost their 9 year old son in a drowning accident.
Please pray for Nancy Pippin who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Please pray for the son of Biana Grogg’s co-worker, Bev Borjas. He is in the hospital with worsening colitis.
We have a prayer request from Paula, Georgette’s friend. Paula’s friend, Sherline, is undergoing thyroid surgery that will take about 5 hours.
Andrea Spees is home from San Francisco following surgery, but she is having a problem with a post-operative infection.
I spoke to Ruth Rush this past Sonday and Merle is making slow progress on his recovery from the stroke.
We continue to pray for the following: Khamla & her arm, Frank’s recovery from his car accident, Mike Schwab & recovery from knee surgery, Geri Kinnish’s husband and recovery from surgery, Ashley & the infection in her heart lining, Jane Irwin & ovarian cancer, Judi Wright’s shoulder surgery, my co-worker’s sister with the brain tumor, George & Margie Martin and his cancer, Matt & Dan Johnson, Michael Ferris, Candance & Nick Brown, Erica Hensen, Bob Melchor, Emmy Lou Graves, Laura in Ohio, John Rogers & cancer, Bryan Hitch & his blood pressure, Lillian Seward & shingles, Chris Vercoe & family, Chuck Beal & his heart, new employment opportunities for Dan Hansen, Tim & Lorna’s adoption of Drew, Bobbie Ronsley & lupus, Stan Reed & cancer, Kassel Coon in Afghanistan, Ray Rahn & his wife. Please send me any updates you might have!
Pray for our missionaries - Laurie Bethall in Prague, Judy, Faye & Miisaw as they work at the New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, Dr. George Pe Myat & the hospital in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Gospel For Asia, The Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Please keep our two church plants in prayer. Please pray for Karl & Shellie Roth with Flipside. Please pray for this outreach to the children. Please pray for Horacio & Cheryl Aleman at the LIFEhouse in Reedley.
Pray for our pastors, our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray that we recognize opportunities to share our faith with others. Pray for the Church that in these troubled times that she stands strong.
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
God Who rules in Splendor and Majesty,
You are the LORD, our God. You teach us what is best for us, You direct us in the way we should go. Teach us to pay attention to Your commands so that our peace will be like a river and our righteousness like the waves of the sea.
LORD God, as Your people we lift up our hands to You and ask what You would have us do with our VF21 pledges. Holy Spirit, challenge us to not see just what we can do - but to see what You can do through us. Use our willing hearts to do a miraculous work so that Your name will continue to be praised throughout the generations who will worship at Fresno First Baptist.
Great Healer of Body and Soul, we pray that You touch Geri’s husband and bring him to full recovery, we pray for our sister, Nancy, that You heal the brain tumor. We lift up Bev’s son as he fight’s the colitis. We ask that You be with Sherline as she undergoes the thyroid surgery.
We thank You that Andrea has been able to come home and we ask that You take away this infection that is plaguing her. We also thank You that Merle is recovering from the stroke.
Comforter, pour Your Spirit on these families that are trying to understand the unexpected loss of their family t5hrough these accidents. Stay with them and help them to find their way. Be the shoulder that they can cry on. We pray for Kimmie as she deals with the loss of family in a car accident. We pray for Cody & his wife who lost their daughter in a car accident. We pray for Stephanie’s family in the loss of their cousin. We pray for Lois Bezona and family in this devastating loss of their baby girl and for Moises & Kim who tragically lost their 9 year old son. Abba, ease their pain.
LORD Jesus, we thank You that You are our Redeemer and that You have a plan for our lives. We thank You that You can take the parts of us that are broken by our life experiences and make us whole in You again. There is no better life than this life in You.
Counselor, we pray for the counselors and staff up at Camp Sugarpine as they deal with these huge groups of children. Grant the patience in all that they do. Many of these kids know You, Lord, but many of the don’t. We pray for those who don’t know You, that they will hear You calling them into relationship with You. We pray for those who are already called by Your name - that they will be stronger in You.
LORD God, the continuing needs among Your people are many and varied. You are God over all of these lives and situations. Our trust is in You.
We pray in agreement for the missionaries who serve You around the world and ask that You protect them and provide for them.
Continue to bless Flipside and LifeHouse churches, Holy One, and pour Your abundance on the pastors, congregations and leadership that serve You through them.
With Joy we lift up our pastors and thank You Father for bringing them to us. Help us to support them as they lead us in Your name. We pray for our leadership and for the many ministries of the Church and ask that You continue to provide for our needs.
Honor us with an opportunity to share You with someone who does not know You.
Abba, in the light of the many bad things that happen - like the bombings in London - it is hard sometimes not to hate these people for whom violence is an acceptable answer to their anger. Help us to remember that they are Your creation as much as we are. Help us to be a reflection of Your light so that You can dispel their darkness. We pray for the citizens of London as they recover from this senseless attack. Heal those who have been hurt.
LORD God, we ask that You bless America and bring her back to You. We pray for our leadership and for our military that they will all hear Your small still voice and respond to it.
You are our God and we earnestly search for You. Our souls thirst for You; our whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water. Thank You for being our source of living water and eternal life.
The best thing about today, Jesus, is that it has brought us one day closer to You. You are our destination - the home that we long for.
Hey Flipside Family,
I want to bring you all up to speed on a few things coming up that you may want to put on your calendar.
First, Tuesday night (tomorrow) we have an opportunity to visit an apartment ministry very similar to the one I spoke about at our last preview service. This is where we will be given an apartment in a complex and can run Bible studies, kids ministry, education classes on how to read and write, hold free medical clinics, etc all with the blessing of the police department and apartment owners! We will meet at Whispering Woods Apt, 5231 N. Fresno St at 6:45pm. I sure hope you can be there. It will give us a great model of what we can do.
Second, I am offering an open invitation to all men Wednesday evening at 6:30pm. Meet me at the Starbucks in Riverpark (next to Kinkos) and we’ll begin a discipleship group. Bring your Bible and a pen. I look forward to seeing you there.
Third, remember VBS is coming up very soon. July 18-22nd at Cobb Ranch! It will run from 6:00-8:30pm and is open for all kids 2yrs old through 6th grade. Contact Amy at amy@acts176.com or call her at 681-5660 to get your child signed up. Invite your kids friends too.
I am excited about what God is doing with and through us as we “ramp up” for our launch on September 11th! I am so grateful to Him, and to you for being a part of it! I love you all. Blessings, Karl
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV)
The period between July 4th and July 11th is a difficult time for me each year. This July 4th is my son, Patrick’s 26th birthday. July 11th is the 26th anniversary of his death.
When I was 19 I was told that due to some irregularities in my body I was effectively sterile. At the age of 22 my marriage fell apart. Within a year I had left the church I had been active in for the past 11 years because to them a divorced woman equaled a fallen woman and I was barely tolerated. I took to the party scene like a duck to the water. Then at the age of 25 - a miracle. I was pregnant. Immediately I quit the party life. I started praying again, I started looking for a new church - I wanted my child to be raised right. Then one day I started cramping, my mom took me to the hospital. I was in premature labor. The doctors tried to stop my labor, but my son was born. Patrick William Randolph Hanneman weighed 1 lb 6 oz. They rushed him off to Valley Childrens before I had more than a glance at him. I followed as quickly as I could. I spent every moment I could at the hospital. Somewhere I got a little teddy bear and made a necklace for it, “I love Patrick.” I put it in his incubator because he was so fragile I could not touch him. The teddy bear was as close as I could get. He had three major surgeries. During them I was in the chapel, pleading, promising, begging God to spare my son’s life. Asking Him to take my life - just leave my son alive. Then on July 11th I held my son for the first and the last time. The only time my son felt his mommy’s touch was as he died. I lost my mind. I left Valley Children’s cursing God. I had been doing everything right again - but still He punished me by taking my son. I hated Him so much I told Him that the only way I would ever say His name again was as a curse. I told Him I would never forgive Him for stealing my son. I told Him I was going to be so bad that He would never look at me again. I told Him He didn’t exist. I told Him a lot of things - and I meant every one of them.
The death of my son was a defining moment in my life. I spiraled down quickly. Drugs, alcohol - you name it - I played in it. I look back at that time and realize that I was trying to destroy myself. After awhile my life leveled out - sort of. I was still on the drugs and in a physically abusive relationship but the birth of my two children gave me a reason to live. Then I was finally free of both the drugs and the relationship, but still bitter and angry and wanting nothing to do with God. I could not forgive Him for the death of my son.
Then I came to Fresno First and my life really started to change. At first my relationship with God was a little wary. I was willing to try this lifestyle - but I really did need an explanation of why my son was taken from me before the relationship could be fully healed.
Only God did not give me an explanation - He asked me to have faith in Him.
Our relationship continued to build slowly. I got to the point where I could call Him, “Father” and I could accept that He absolutely loved me - even though He took my son. But still I questioned Him, “Why did You take my son?” “Would Patrick have grown up to be serial killer or something? Would my life have taken an even more destructive path and would I have drug him down with me?” I even wondered if He took my son and allowed my life to downward spiral so that He could use it to help others. I could accept that - I just wanted to understand why my son was taken.
Only God did not give me any understanding - He asked me to have faith in Him.
Now I am at this period of time for the 26th time. For the 26th time I have taken out Patrick’s teddy bear, cleaned him up and held him close to me as I remember my son. The difference these past years is that I no longer demand an explanation for Patrick’s death - nor do I ask for understanding of why his life was cut so short. I probably will not know until I am finally home with Father. But what I do know is that I have faith in Father and in His promise to me. His promise is that He has plans to prosper me and not to harm me. I do not question Father about Patrick because I do not question Father’s love for me.
It took me a long time to forgive God for allowing Patrick’s passing. I know that that sounds funny - because the simple truth is that God does not need to be forgiven by me. But I needed to forgive Him for me. In forgiving Him and accepting that the darkest defining moment of my life still served His purpose then this last part of anger and resentment within me has been released to Him and I am free to accept His healing in my life.
We all face these defining moments - a death of a spouse - or a child. The loss of a friend, the loss of a job. Times when we look up into heaven and ask, “How can You do this to me?” We may even get angry at God - and that’s okay. He is big enough to take it. You may never understand - on this side of home - the reason why you had to go through what you had to go through. Just remember this - Father loves you so much that He has given you His promise that He has plans to prosper you and not harm you. Understand and accept His love for you and you will not need to understand the reason.
I am going to be with Patrick again. He is waiting for me at home and when I get home I will hold Patrick again. And this time nothing will separate us, not death - not anything. I have Father’s promise on that too.
Abba, I don’t understand what happened with Patrick and with my life afterwards. I don’t even really understand the depths of Your love for me. How can the finite being that I am ever comprehend the infinity of You? But I know that You love me and I have faith in You and Your plans for me. Please tell Patrick that I said hi. Tell him I love him and I will see him soon - no tell him that I will hold him soon. Thank You that although my son was taken from me here on earth, he and I will live together within Your joy forever.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the Fresno first e-Ministry at valerie@fresnofirst.org
Story From Gospel for Asia:
Orissa Court Orders Christian Prosecution
The High Court in the Indian state of Orissa has ordered a local government to begin prosecuting missionaries involved in "forced conversions" of Hindus. The anti-Christian forces in Indian society often bring charges of "forced conversion," even though the individuals freely choose to change
their religion.
The court order came in response to a petition filed by 269 anti-Christian activists, and also comes on the heels of the same court canceling the death sentence of one of the men convicted in the murder of missionary Graham Staines and his sons in 1999. The guilty man's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, while 11 others charged with the crime were acquitted.
The latest order could endanger GFA native missionaries, even when Hindus seek them out to learn more about Jesus. Ironically, the law is called the "Orissa Freedom of Religion Act," but it is mainly used to deny men and women their basic human right to freely follow Christ.
Please pray that God will protect GFA missionaries and others sharing the Gospel, and for the new believers as they seek to follow Christ amid much opposition.
Note from Valerie - Our brothers and sisters at Reaching Hand Society are based in Orissa. This is just another layer on the persecution they face for declaring their faith in Jesus. Please keep Reaching Hand Society, Gospel for Asia missionaries, and all of those who believe in Jesus in prayer.
Father God, we lift up before Your throne our brothers and sisters in Orissa, India and we ask that You surround them with Your protection. We ask that Your grace and mercy be extended to Dr. Iris, Remo, Susan, and all of those who work for You through the Reaching Hand Society. Build a stronghold of protection around them, Abba, and keep them safe. We pray that You jealously guard the lives of those missionaries with Gospel for Asia and those for whom we do not have a name - but who nevertheless belong to You. We earnestly seek Your will and ask that these new laws be weak and unable to hold back the message of the Good News and eternal life of Jesus. We pray that people in India continue to seek You. Help us to support our brothers and sisters in India with our love and our prayers. In Your Name above all other names we pray - Amen
If there is anything I do, if there be anything I leave undone, let me be perfect in prayer. After all, whatever God may appoint, prayer is the great thing. Oh that I might be a man of prayer! H. Martyn
Mike Schwab was at the potluck/concert/ice cream social/movie night last Friday and looked great. He was limping a wee bit and his knee was a bit bruised - but those were the only signs of his recent knee surgery.
Khamla was also there and told me that her arm was doing much better. Wasn’t her testimony on Sonday morning awesome? To hear her tell of her family escaping Laos in the middle of the night, scooping water with their hands from a leaky boat - all to find freedom - well - it made me appreciate the freedom that I all to often take for granted.
We have a prayer request from Paula, Georgette Bersani’s sister-in-law. Paula’s stepfather, Frank(81) , was in a serious car accident that resulted in two of his fingers being amputated. His hand is pretty messed up - but thankfully he is alive as well as the mother and her two children who were in the other car. Please pray for Frank.
Georgette says that Baby Morgan is doing great with the closure on her head and that Laurie is also doing well with the precancerous mole that doesn’t warrant being removed at this time.
We continue to pray for the following: Geri Kinnish’s husband and recovery from surgery, Ashley & the infection in her heart lining, Jane Irwin & ovarian cancer, H Spees daughter Andrea and recovery from surgery, Judi Wright’s shoulder surgery, my co-worker’s sister with the brain tumor, George & Margie Martin and his cancer, Merle Rush, Matt & Dan Johnson, Michael Ferris, Candance & Nick Brown, Erica Hensen, Bob Melchor, Emmy Lou Graves, Laura in Ohio, John Rogers & cancer, Bryan Hitch & his blood pressure, Lillian Seward & shingles, Chris Vercoe & family, Chuck Beal & his heart, new employment opportunities for Dan Hansen, Tim & Lorna’s adoption of Drew, Bobbie Ronsley & lupus, Stan Reed & cancer, Kassel Coon in Afghanistan, Ray Rahn & his wife. Please send me any updates you might have!
Pray for our missionaries - The Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria, Laurie Bethall in Prague, Judy, Faye & Miisaw as they work at the New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, Dr. George Pe Myat & the hospital in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Gospel For Asia, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Please keep our two church plants in prayer. Please pray for Karl & Shellie Roth with Flipside. Flipside will be holding their first Vacation Bible School later this month. Please pray for this outreach to the children. Please pray for Horacio & Cheryl Aleman at the LIFEhouse in Reedley.
Pray for our pastors, our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray that we recognize opportunities to share our faith with others. Pray for the Church that in these troubled times that she stands strong.
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
LORD of Lords, the Great I AM,
Forgive us, Abba, for the many times when we have not bowed our hearts to You in absolute surrender. Forgive us for when we have held back part of ourselves from You, whether it is the words we use, the actions we take, our wallets, our pride, whatever it is that separates us from being in Your perfect will. Forgive us, Father, and strengthen us so that we can release everything to Your sovereign power.
Risen One, Beautiful Savior we thank You for the great updates on Mike, Khamla, Morgan and Laurie. We ask that You continue to work in the healing of their bodies.
Holy Spirit, we pray for Frank as he continues to recover from his car accident. Be with him and with his family during this time and use this time to bring them close to You.
Triune God, we thank You for Your faithfulness towards all for whom we pray. We ask that You bless each situation and each life with Your goodness and Your power.
LORD of Eternity, we lift up in prayer - praying in agreement for those who serve on fields of harvest far from us. We pray for those who have left their own land to serve You in a foreign land, like Laurie, and Jan & Larry Martin. We pray for those missionaries who stay in their own land to spread Your Good News like the Reaching Hand Society, Gospel for Asia. We pray for those who travel between the USA and their native lands to bring supplies and hope like Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos. We pray Your protection around all of those who serve You. We pray that Your presence is felt by them and that Your pride and joy in them is manifest in their lives.
We ask Your abundant blessings be poured out on Flipside Church and the VBS they will soon be having. We ask that You start even now to touch the hearts of the children who will come. Open their hearts, open their ears, open their eyes. Continue to bless Karl, Shellie and the family of Flipside as they serve You.
We pray also for the LIFEHouse Church and for Horacio and Cheryl and the LIFEHouse family. Bless them as their congregation grows and as they reach out to their community.
ABBA, we bend our knees and our hearts to You in gratitude for the pastors that You have placed in our congregations. We thank You for their hearts that are directed to You, open to You and listening to You. Help us to support our pastors with all the love in our hearts. We ask that You bless our leadership teams and our ministries. Father, bless our ministries as we reach out and engage our neighborhoods, communities, countries and world. Help us to focus on all that is important - to reach the world in Your name. Father, give us a heart that breaks for those who are in our lives who do not know You. Help us to show You to them by our actions, and by our words. Give us opportunities every day so reach out to somebody.
Holy God, I thank You that I am free to worship You without fear. I thank You that I am free to say what I think without fear of being jailed. I thank You for all of the freedoms that I have, and, Abba, I thank You for America. Father God, we humble ourselves before You and ask that You heal our land and turn her back to You. We pray for the leadership of our country and ask that You bless them with Your wisdom and courage to stand for what is right and not for what is politically expedient. We ask that You bless and keep the men and women who serve the cause of freedom in our military. Protect them, Father.
Mighty God, today as I was driving, I thought about what my life would be like without You, and my insides knotted up. The truth simply is that I would have no life because there is no life without You. Thank You for the life that we have in You today, thank You for the assurance that we never walk this path alone because You are always with us. Thank You most of all for the promise of eternity that we have in You. To know that someday soon I am going to bend my knees at Your feet, touch them, and cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy, LORD God Almighty!” is what gives me the strength to face today. We love You, LORD. We always will.
Light A Candle
In the darkened night a candle glows
Then another's lit, and so it goes
Candles lit by human hand
Glowing bright across our land
Candles glow of hope and peace
Of freedom that will never cease
A glow of love for the human race
Through tragedy we all must face
So light a candle in the night
Show your faith in freedom's fight
Millions of candles will cast a light
Far across the darkened night
Showing that our banners fly
Ever across our country's sky
Let our candles brightly shine
Over this free land of yours and mine
...Milly Patzer
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Nehemiah 6:14 “Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me.”
Several years ago there was a woman in the fiscal department who took a strong dislike to me because I had done something foolish. (I had asked her to quit talking so much - I couldn’t get my work done!). From that time she started to oppose me in various little ways and by whispers behind my back. Now my back is big enough to shrug off any whispers and she did her job so I didn’t care about the rest. But one day I had a great idea on how to improve the work load in fiscal. She didn’t like the idea one little bit. She argued with me about the changes - she wasn’t whispering behind my back anymore - she was flat out telling everybody that I did not know how to manage anything - let alone the fiscal department of CCLS! I ignored her and kept moving forward in spite of her opposition. Her opposition grew into refusal. Finally I had to tell her that she had two choices - either comply with the changes or get written up for insubordination. Well there was a third choice that I had offered her - but that was the one she took. She went to my boss and gave him a whole litany of complaints against me - in particular about the changes I wanted to make. Imagine her surprise when my boss told her that I had already discussed the changes with him, he supported the changes, the rest of her complaints sounded like sour grapes to him - and therefore she was to either implement the changes as per my directives - or she would get written up.
Nehemiah was a Jewish exile who served as cupbearer to the Persian King Artaxerxes. When Nehemiah’s brother came to visit the court Nehemiah asked him about the remnant that remained in Jerusalem. Nehemiah was heartbroken by his brother’s response particularly because the walls of Jerusalem, the holy city, were torn down leaving the residents at the mercy of whomever came by. After King Artaxerxes questioned Nehemiah about his downcast face he gave Nehemiah permission to go and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He gave Nehemiah letters of authority to insure that he would have everything he needed to rebuild the walls. When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and began to rebuild the walls he faced opposition from the political leaders and the religious leaders that were around Jerusalem. This opposition grew to be so intimidating that the workers were rebuilding the walls with one hand while they held a sword in the other. In this verse Nehemiah names the worst of these little pucker-pills and asks God to remember them because of the intimidation.
It is really disheartening when a good idea faces opposition and intimidation in the secular world - but it is even worse when a good idea for ministry faces opposition and intimidation in our faith world. Maybe you want to try some different styles of music to attract more diverse worshipers and you are told that if you do certain people are going to leave to find a church that plays only hymns. Opposition and intimidation. Or you want to broaden the way that the missions outreach is done and several people with their pucker-pill mouths tell you that that is not the way it has been traditionally done and they see no reason to change. Opposition and intimidation. Or you develop an outreach to a particularly unpopular group of people and you are told by others that their money isn’t going to support “those” people. Opposition and intimidation.
What do you do when you are faced by this type of opposition and intimidation?
If you are like Nehemiah, then you pick up a brick and build that wall that God told you to build.
Nehemiah’s plans - that were also God’s plans - upset the status quo of the countryside surrounding Jerusalem. They were comfortable with Jerusalem and the Jewish people remaining as they were. So they opposed and intimidated Nehemiah - even though Nehemiah had been commissioned to do the work by the King of the entire region. If you want to read a book of “one thing after another - each one worse than the one before” read Nehemiah. They did everything they could to stop Nehemiah from building that wall.
Sometimes our ministry plans - that are also God’s plans - upset the status quo of those around us. They are comfortable with the church and the church ministries staying the way that they are. So - in an often well-meaning way - they will oppose and use intimidation because “that’s the way we have always done it.” - even though we have been commissioned to do the work by the King of Eternity.
Nehemiah did not allow any of those who opposed him to distract him from his purpose - which was to build the wall. He turned them over to God - using their names even - but he never retaliated against them or took matters into his own hands. When others oppose you turn them over to God - use their names even - but do not take matters into your own hands and get distracted from your purpose.
Nehemiah 6:15 says, “The wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul. It had taken fifty-two days.” I get the impression that rebuilding the wall took longer than Nehemiah thought it would. The opposition slowed him down - but it didn’t stop him. In the end, the wall was finished. When opposition comes against us we must remember that it may slow us down but we should not let it discourage us, distract us or stop us. Our job is to pick up the brick and build that wall. It is God’s job to handle the rest.
And in the end - the wall will be finished and God’s purposes fulfilled. And He will be glorified both by the finished wall and by our faithfulness.
Father, sometimes when I am doing Your work there will be those who oppose me and try to intimidate me. Help me to be strong, help me to not be distracted, help me not to be discouraged. Help me to remember that the only important thing is that I build that wall.
Contact Valerie or subscribe to the e-Ministries of Fresno first Baptist Church at valerie@fresnofirst.org