Calling on the Line – The Journey to Morningside Continues

With a simple license plate that said “God Cares,”  I was able to breathe for the ride to the airport to catch my flight to Dallas. I knew the Master’s Commission event that I was to attend there called “The Mix” was a key to my future.  God was showing me that He was there with me, but the ride to the airport was not nearly long enough. And suddenly, we had arrived.  

So far I had managed to keep my head buried in my Bible. Each word, a kind of anti-anxiety treatment, but it really only lasted for as long as I remained there. The moment I turned my head from His Word I could feel the anxiety coming back.  I had been in the midst of an almost paralyzing attack of anxiety, but I knew that God had a plan for me.  It was this plan that would make me fight every blast of fear the enemy could throw at me.   Continue reading

A One-String Fiddle (Pt. 2)

In Part 1, we talked about how a good friend believes in you and will always have God’s heart for you, which means they believe in the dream for you that is God-given and existed from the foundation of the world. Isn’t it amazing that God gives dreams to individuals to accomplish something for His kingdom – and after He gives them, no matter what forces of hell come against the dream, God still doesn’t take it back! It’s given for eternity, and one can do nothing except go forward towards that dream all the days of their life – unless they quit.

You can quit on God, but God will never quit on you. Continue reading

Baylor Basketball Star Says God Will Open New Door

Isaiah Austin, whose dream of playing in the NBA ended when a physical before the draft found a rare genetic disorder, is turning what some consider a huge blow into a moment of praise to the Lord.

Austin, who was symbolically drafted at the NBA Draft by the league as “the league’s best pick”, said that God was simply closing a door and that another one would come open as the Lord leads him.

“I worked so hard to get to this point and unfortunately it was taken away but when God closes one door, He opens up another for you … God has really put will power in my heart to help me push through this … I’m going to dream again,” said Austin.  “I’m going to go around and share my story with as many people as I can and just hope to touch people’s lives and let them know that any obstacle that they’re facing, they can get through it. All they have to do is keep a positive mind and thank God for every moment that they’re here on this earth.”

Austin was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, which impacts the heart, eyes, circulatory system and skeleton.  His aorta has been growing wider in the last two years and if it continues to expand he will require open heart surgery.  His doctors said his condition made it too risky for him to continue competitive basketball and that he could drop dead on the floor at any moment if he continued to play.

Austin says that he plans to remain in the sport in some way and Baylor coach Scott Drew said there’s a coaching position available for Austin if he wants it.

A One-String Fiddle (Pt. 1)

It’s hard to imagine that at 74 years of age, there is still a dream that lives as vibrantly in my heart today as it did when I was very young. But the dream does live – and it lives by the strength and the inspiration of God because He is the One who put it there!

The vision hasn’t changed to build a retreat center… to build a place for God’s people that is like a City of Refuge. I have people who say, “Why are you doing this? Why are you doing the same thing again?” The answer is very simple: I only have one string on my fiddle. I mean I’m a one-string fiddle and I don’t have another one. I’m doing what is in me and for the first time I understand it. I can’t change it because it was established in me by God! Continue reading

U.S. World Cup Soccer Star Credits Sport For Boosting Faith In God

The American soccer player who set the U.S. World Cup record for fastest goal scored in competition says that the sport has boosted his faith in Christ.

“My parents had started me in the sport to help me learn good people skills,” forward Clint Dempsey told Sports Spectrum. “Little did I know that the sport I loved and the skills I learned would later play a role in my relationship with God.”

Dempsey grew up in a Catholic family and had given up playing soccer because the family was struggling financially and his sister Jennifer was pursuing professional tennis.  Then his sister suddenly died at age 16 from a brain aneurysm and it sent Clint into a spiral.

“I was faced with questions about why things happen and what role God played in it all. For a number of years, I struggled and put distance between God and me,” Dempsey said.

Dempsey returned to playing competitive soccer after his sister’s death and that return led to him coming back to Christ.

“In college, I joined a team Bible study. God’s Word brought me peace and a desire for a relationship with Him,” Dempsey said. “I found that questioning Him and searching for answers through Scripture helped me grow and gave me direction. Now my faith in Christ is what gives me confidence for the future. I know that through both good times and bad, He is faithful and will watch over me.”

Dempsey, now a married father of 3, became the first American to score in three different World Cup tournaments with his goal against Ghana.

Deadlines Bring Out Destiny

Have you ever sat back and watched people when they are faced with a deadline?  Whether it’s a construction project, a production schedule, a corporate venture, or any number of other scenarios, when people face a deadline, you will see many different responses from those who are involved based on their individual level of commitment.

When faced with a deadline, some people short-circuit and can’t seem to get it together.  These often have the “deer in a headlight” look.  Then there are those who put in a half-hearted effort to meet the deadline, but you know by the way they work that they’re really not all that interested and usually have some other motivating factor, like a paycheck for example.

Then there are those who put their nose to the grindstone, work past any normal working hours, and have the “eye of the tiger” when it comes to the passion they demonstrate.  These are the people who have a destiny involved with the project.  These are the people you can count on to make sure the project comes together and everything is READY when it should be!

Impossible deadlines bring out the “fiber” of people!  The people who will do the all-night duty are the ones you know have a destiny interest in the project!

That’s what it’s going to take in the Last Days to accomplish the work the Lord has assigned to His people.  It’s going to take passion and commitment, and a mind and heart set on the things of God – not set on what’s in it for me!  Those who have a mind to work don’t watch the clock in order to quit as soon as possible – they watch the prophetic timetable laid out in the Word and it fuels their desires to work!  It fuels their every thought, motive, and desire to press through to the destiny God ordained for them!

Right now, we still have time to work.  We still have time to prepare for Times of Trouble and we still have time to reach the lost!  The Bible says the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  We’re not looking for ways to get out of work, we’re looking for ways to be strong in the work we have been given!

God is joining us together with people of like-vision and passion.  He is doing this for these Last Days so that He can bless the work! (Psalm 133:1-3)  We may be a rag-tag bunch like David’s Army – but we’ve been purified in the fires of adversity and we  have our eyes set on the goal!

We do have a prophetic deadline when all of our work will cease.  But until then, we will work with an unbridled passion and a tireless commitment to our Lord Jesus and His Soon Return!