day eight of the fast

Day eight of the fast

My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt. (Psalm 109:24)

Today we pray for Connection ‘11 (that the Lord will visit us in a dynamic way in Columbus, Ohio, and that we will leave with a renewed vision for reaching the world).The emphasis of the meeting in May is “Accelerate—The Whole Gospel to the Whole World.”

I woke up this morning with a cramp. That is the defining physical feature of this fast, more than any other I have ever taken. It sure gets old fast.

But I have, as I said yesterday, a bit of a renewal going on. Yesterday I sat down and began planning for the future of the church here, listening to things that I think the Lord is telling me. It is exciting to be able to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

As small as we are, it gets to feeling like there is no way that these few people can impact a city of 250,000. But then I remember that Jesus started with very few and grew into the largest religious body in the world.

I see people who begin with a living room church and grow into a massive one, thousands of people. I know that the Lord can work like that. And I want him to work like that here.

I also know that the Lord does not want a bunch of little tiny churches, struggling to keep the bills paid, starving the preacher. Surely, that cannot be his will. He wants his power shown.

I know you can see his power in a small group of devoted followers, true. But it is so hard for a small group of followers to reach a city of a quarter million.

I pray that he hears me and answers me and that he hears and answers my new denomination.

Father God, thank you for the insight you are giving me. Bless this church and the Foursquare Church in general. Bless the Connection 2011 in Columbus that new insight can come there. Make a move of your Spirit over that assembly and let them know you all over again. I praise you for what you have done and for what you will do. Amen.