DEFEATING DREAD & FEAR
On Thursday night (10-6-22) at about 8 pm I felt dread and fear. A dark feeling had been growing in my heart for several days. Now, as I drove about 65 mph through a construction area on Rt. 17 in the mountains of Arizona, the dread was spreading. The freeway had been restricted to one lane by the construction. On my right was a concrete barrier and on my left was a steel guardrail. Funny thing about fear, it changes the appearance of your surroundings. I’ve traveled this section of roadway many times over the last three years and hardly noticed the narrowness of this passageway. Tonight however, the freeway seemed to be closing in on me. Several days earlier the memory of David Wilkerson’s tragic death in a car accident came drifting into my thoughts. It was one of those random mind droppings that appear out of nowhere and defies explanation. He was big in my life. His life story with Nicky Cruz in the “Cross and The Switchblade” helped define and direct the ministry that God developed in my life. I have some longevity of life in my heredity. Gram lived to be almost 103 yrs. old. I’ve joked (partly serious) that I’m going to live to be 115 yrs. old! Suddenly, the thought of David’s death caused me to think about my own possible death. I’ve known gangsters in Buffalo, NY who seemed to know they were about to be killed. They gave things away and made comments about thinking it was their time to die. The truth is, most of us don’t know the day or hour when we’ll die and meet the God who made us. Our thoughts and fears can influence our lives and the times of our deaths. There’s a verse with deep meaning in the Bible. It’s written the Book of Job when he’s going through a horrible time. This is what it says, “For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, and that of which I am afraid befalls me.” Job 3:25 AMPC. I’ve taught middle and high school students for years that the very thing you’re afraid of often happens because your fear attracts bad things. That’s what fear is all about. It was at least a week since the heavy feeling of foreboding and dread had been hanging over me. It was growing. The Bible talks about “vain imaginations.” I take that to mean letting your mind wander into foolish reasoning and stupid speculations. Romans 1:21 AMPC ”Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and [a]godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.” My mind was wandering. I was feeling weak and the dread was growing. I felt trapped and I needed to escape. I needed to examine my heart, see where I’ve been and search out the origin of these creepy feelings. After I safely arrived home on that Thursday might, I shook my head as I remembered my vain imaginations while driving. I felt like a wimp who had just fearfully and perilously passed through monsters of concrete and steel guardrails, I turned to God. He never calls me a wimp. Before I left Flagstaff, I had dinner with our good friends Kai and Amber. I could try and explain to you who Kai is to me, but you’d be better off to go read about Jonathan and David in the Bible. Let’s just say Kai is in the “closer than a brother” category. We have deep life conversations and always pray during our times together. Last Thursday I shared a hurtful memory with him and later with Amber at dinner. It was about a time when I was living my “sweet-spot.” I was having the time of my life living out the desires of my heart. A great deal of my time was spent teaching, mentoring, hiking and forming deep personal relationships. Then one day it came crashing to an end. Still to this day I don’t understand why, but that’s okay. I’m still in contact with many of the guys in that program, even the ones who’ve left town. Losing a sweet-spot creates a wound of emptiness. A longing replaces the sweetness of knowing you were doing what you were born to do. I think I pretty much buried that wound. Burying is not healing. The deep relationship I have with Kai created a safe place for an unburying. Some things need to be dug up and examined before they’re placed in the cauldron of wisdom. I call it a cauldron because it’s in the crucible of brokenness that the chaff of selfishness is burned away and replaced with Christ-likeness. Personal accountability and transparency between brothers and sisters in Christ helps create fertile ground where the roots of fear are yanked and burned. Dread and fear will come and go, but when left unchecked (or unsurrendered to God,) it can be destructive or even fatal. It’s possible and probably normal for most folks to blame dread and fear on the devil. I didn’t do that, I asked God what He wanted me to learn – after I changed the course of my thoughts and immersed myself in His Word. This morning I experienced joy and repentance. I’m looking at new sweet-spots that are parallel and will probably be much greater than my previous sweet-spots, I also had to repent for a number of things. I’ll leave those between me and God for now. What would some steps be to defeat dread and fear?
Romans 5:3-5 AMPC “Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. 4 And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of [c]character (approved faith and [d]tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] [e]joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. 5 Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.” Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we. Tuesday, October 11, 2022, 12 pm Rimrock, AZ
YWAP & COMPASSION ARE BIG ON MENTORING & COMMUNITY SERVICE! We empower people in Christ to become collaborators in a community effort to create a better world for children and their families. Investing in youth and the community as a whole helps to create a preemptive strike against sexual abuse, drug addiction and human trafficking. We appreciate your prayers and support. For more information about YWAP programs, to volunteer or become a guest speaker, please call us at: 716-830-8240 or email, ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com.
The day began with Men’s Prayer at 8 am and continued on to Celebrate Recovery at 4:30 pm. The day unfolded superabundantly above and beyond anything we could have imagined.
Men’s Prayer was about to end when a young man from the Congo showed up nearly two hours early for a community service project at the Market of Dreams. He asked for prayer and strongly noted that it wasn’t a coincidence that he showed up when he did. We read from his Bible. “So Christ brings a new agreement from God to his people. Those who are called by God can now receive the blessings that God has promised. These blessings will last forever. They can have those things because Christ died so that the people who lived under the first agreement could be set free from sin. When there is a will, it must be proven that the man who wrote that will is dead. A will means nothing while the man is alive. It can be used only after he dies. This is why even the first agreement could not begin without blood to show death.” Hebrews 9:15-18 ICB Eventually the rest of a large group of volunteers arrived to keep moving the Market of Dreams toward completion. There’s still a ways to go, but it’s exciting to see great progress. Across the street, the Grill & A Prayer team started serving the community at noon. Many folks stopped for some delicious sloppy Joe’s prepared by Miss June. Lot’s of clothes, toys, books and useful items were freely given away. It’s always a smile inducing moment when someone stops and asks, “How much does it cost?” We smile and say, “Everything’s free! Gods freely loves us so we freely give away what we’ve freely received!” After wrapping up Grill & A Prayer, the Compassion Ministries team headed to Urban Hope Church to provide a meal for the folks at Celebrate Recovery. There’s a lot of emotional healing happening at CR and we’re glad to provide a small part to feed hungry hearts. It was a long and beautiful day. The day presented a few challenges like a dead battery, but that was easily overcome with a little help from our friends. Thanks God for a great day. Let’s do it again! If you’d like to get involved in community outreach that makes for a beautiful day in the mountainhood, please contact us. Here’s our upcoming schedule: 1. Grill & A Prayer street outreach 10/15 2. Flagstaff Shelter 10/19, 5:30-7 pm. 3. NAOMI House, (safe home for Navajo children) 10/22, 10 am - 2:30 pm 4. Work Detail at NAOMI to be scheduled. 5. Market of Dreams Community Service every Saturday 11 am - 2 pm. Need more info? CALLUS! 716-830-8240. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we. #JLYASDW #CompassionMinistriesFlagstaff The smiles start before we even arrive. Days ahead of our arrival, kids are asking if we’re bringing the bouncy house. They know the last Saturday of every month will be a day of laughter and fun. Most of the time we only spend one day each month with the young people at the NAOMI House. The respect and love they show us is a residual effect from the care they receive at NAOMI. The parent-figures here are extraordinary. They’ve been called by God to fill the roles of mothers and fathers. NAOMI House is a safe home for children whose parents needed some help during hard times in the family. Some of those hard times last throughout their childhood. The Mom’s and Dad’s here who care for them go beyond the extra mile. They love these children in God’s more excellent way. We show up and get our hearts warmed by everyone here. We show up and they cause our hearts to smile! We do bring a bounce house, athletic items, stuffed animals, rubber chickens, squirt guns and a lot of good food! Truth be told - the physical stuff we bring is useful, but the relationships we build are what streets of gold are paved with. A Dad named Kai brought his two young daughters who joined in and created heart-smiles. Kai fixed several bikes, teaching the kids as he shared his heart. James and Jesse have come so often the kids ask for them by name. That’s important as relationships are built one heart-smile at a time. There are service projects that we do from time to time. We try and do those while prioritizing our time with the children. We need help with reaping some drywall and heavy weed trimming. Let us know if you’d like to help, 716-830-8240. We couldn’t show God’s love without some extraordinary collaborators. Diane from the Cedar Closet donates a huge amount of smile-inducing items! Thanks Diane we really appreciate you! Next month begins a new tradition for us at NAOMI. We’ll celebrate birthdays for the month of October. We do that every month from now on for those whose birthdays fall in that month. We’re calling it “Sean’s Eagle Wings” in honor of Sean Steven Manygoats who’s now in heaven with Jesus. We’ll write more about why we’re honoring Sean in another story. One of our traditions has been “Lunchtime Stories.” We tell a story as the young people settle in with their smiles and lunch. Our volunteers sit among them. Saturday’s story was about never putting anybody down because they’re not good at something. We all have weaknesses and flaws. None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes. Here’s the story, (let us know your thoughts!) THE CRACKED POTThe Story of the Cracked Pot A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years, this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. ‘I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.’ The bearer asked, ‘Why? What are you ashamed of?’ The pot replied, ‘For these past two years I am able to deliver only half of my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you don’t get full value for your efforts.’ The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion, he said, ‘As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.’ As they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it somewhat. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, ‘Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house. (Author unknown) if you’d like to get involved in outreach to the community, please let us know. We along with forming relationships with the kids at NAOMI, we visit homeless shelters and serve on the streets. 716-830-8240, ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com
Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we. It’s a simple way of showing love for your neighbors. Give away free food and other useful items. When folks are open to it or ask for it - we pray for them.
Many folks are experiencing dark times. Life can be hard sometimes. Children on drugs. Parents on alcohol. Daughters in danger of falling into human trafficking due to their addictions. Health issues, disease, depression, divorce and death are heavy burdens that affect all of us. That’s why we pray. We watch each other’s backs in prayer. We support each other. No one should walk through life alone - in good times or in bad. If your heart beats with a pull to toward outreach, we’d love to hear from you. 716-830-8240 ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we. #compassionministries #ywap4Christ #JLYASDW
One of the greatest "un-secrets" of successful ministry is collaboration. We call them "un-secrets" because it's really a no-brainer to know that working together is a more excellent way. Unity in ministry gives greater reach to the hands and feet of the body in building up Love in the world.
Compassion Ministries in Northern Arizona conducts servanthood beyond church walls, reaching folks who may never enter church doors. Outreach ministry is more than community service. It's about building relationships and getting personally involved in people's lives. Service projects have value, but people need to be our priority. Combining both service and relationship building requires commitment and duplication. We can't be a "one and done" ministry. Discipleship doesn't happen without relationship. We have to earn the right to speak into people's lives. If you're a church or ministry with a hunger for outreach, let's talk collaboration. We invite individuals or teams to walk alongside us beyond church walls. We can also provide Outreach Mentoring for folks desiring to learn more about going the extra mile outside of their comfort zone. Working together we do more to reach more. Here's a glimpse into our current servanthood activities:
YWAP IS BIG ON MENTORING, COMMUNITY SERVICE & COMPASSION MINISTRIES. YWAP empowers people in Christ to become collaborators in a community effort to create a better world for children and their families. Investing in youth is a preemptive strike against sexual abuse, drug addiction and human trafficking. We appreciate your prayers and support. For more information about YWAP programs, to volunteer or become a guest speaker, please call us at: 716-830-8240 or email, ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com.
The beginning of putting a vision in action is always exhilarating.. Starting something new is energizing and is fueled by fast paced excitement. News spreads about a new gig in town and folks flock to it like birds at a feeder. Soon though, the newness wears off and volunteers begin to fade like leaves in autumn.
Most volunteers will come and go as part of the natural cycle in the volunteerhood. There's no need to cover the reasons why, people give what they can give - life is busy and always changing. This article is only being written to provide a glimpse into one of the hardest parts of ministry is finding and keeping volunteers. The Bible talks about laborers being in short supply amongst an abundance of people needing to be loved. Here's how it reads from Matthew 9:35-38 in The Message: "Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!” Here's what we're asking you to do. Pray for more volunteers who will meet the need and volunteer to love their neighbors through the activities of Compassion Ministries and Youth With A Purpose. We serve meals on the streets that are freely given. We're blessed by churches and organizations who donate clothes, toys, books and Bibles that we freely give away. Some folks give financially so we can buy socks and underwear for folks who live on the street or in homeless shelters. Our ministry opportunities are growing and we need your help. Many churches are doing many good things in sharing the Good News of Christ. Does your church have an outreach team? Would you like to take your Bible Study and put some real life application to it? In one of our recent outreaches at the Flagstaff Shelter, a young lady put her knowledge of the Bible into action. She went the extra mile to help a lady who was laying next to a sidewalk on a piece of cardboard near a drainage ditch. In her own vehicle, she took the lady and her wheelchair along with her dog to a motel. This is what the young woman said after her act of charity: "I was reading James in the Bible and it talked about doing more than just praying. If we see a need we can fulfill and only pray, we're hypocrites!" You can read for yourself what it says in James 2:15-17 from The Message: Faith in Action"Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup-- where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?" If you'd like to volunteer with our ministries or become a sponsor or prayer partner, please let us know. Leave a message below or call 716-830-8240. We will also help train your outreach team. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we. #compassionministries #ywap4Christ #JLYASDW
YWAP IS BIG ON MENTORING & COMMUNITY SERVICE! YWAP empowers people in Christ to become collaborators in a community effort to create a better world for children and their families. Investing in youth is a preemptive strike against sexual abuse, drug addiction and human trafficking. We appreciate your prayers and support. For more information about YWAP programs, to volunteer or become a guest speaker, please call us at: 716-830-8240 or email, ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com.
Each day seems to hold more opportunities for the Compassion Ministries Team to infuse some hope into the Flagstaff community. An opening to serve dinner at Hope Cottage brought heart smiles to a great group of women.
The dinner and the heart smiles were so good that the Compassion Team is now scheduled to cook up some love on the 3rd Sunday of every month. Marvin and Teresa Johnson are a dynamic duo that leave no stone unturned in their search to serve people. They're great mentors raising up an army of hope planters all over the mountains of Northern Arizona! Would you like to get involved in Compassion Ministries as a volunteer or supporter? We're the church in action spreading hope in the highways, byways and alleyways in anyways that we can! Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we. #JLYASDW #compassionministriesflagstaff #ywap4Christ #cftnflag #nacc
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YWAP & COMPASSION ARE BIG ON MENTORING & COMMUNITY SERVICE! We empower people in Christ to become collaborators in a community effort to create a better world for children and their families. Investing in youth and the community as a whole helps to create a preemptive strike against sexual abuse, drug addiction and human trafficking. We appreciate your prayers and support. For more information about YWAP programs, to volunteer or become a guest speaker, please call us at: 716-830-8240 or email, ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com.
Compassion has no boundaries in Flagstaff! Inflation and food shortages have hit many organizations hard. The needs have become greater, but the finances and supplies to feed the need are shrinking.
The family at Compassion Ministries goes the extra mile to collaborate and serve as many people as possible. We stretch our resources to the max while using our provisions responsibly. Last month an organization with group homes that serves people with disabilities in Flagstaff needed help with boxes of food. The Compassion Ministries Team found one more way to serve the community. Want to get involved as a volunteer or supporter? do you or someone you know need help? Call the compassion line at: 903-917-9947. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we. #JLYASDW #compassionministriesflagstaff #ywap4Christ
YWAP & COMPASSION ARE BIG ON MENTORING & COMMUNITY SERVICE! We empower people in Christ to become collaborators in a community effort to create a better world for children and their families. Investing in youth and the community as a whole helps to create a preemptive strike against sexual abuse, drug addiction and human trafficking. We appreciate your prayers and support. For more information about YWAP programs, to volunteer or become a guest speaker, please call us at: 716-830-8240 or email, ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com.
Rain CaN Be As Rare As PrayerFlagstaff is a mountain city in Arizona. Rain is a rare commodity that doesn’t appear often. Seeing folks praying on a street corner in the rain is even more rare. While we’re on the subject of rare, it’s interesting to note that everything on that street corner was freely given away! Food, clothes, diapers, underwear, socks, children’s toys, books, Bibles and lots of other valuable items. WHY WAS EVERYTHING FREELY GIVEN AWAY? That’s an easy answer: Because we freely received! We stand on street corners for one reason, and that’s to demonstrate the love of Christ. We just want to love people and let them know how much God loves them! Many kind folks from all over Flagstaff and beyond donate money and items to give away. Whenever possible we take love to a greater level through prayer. When you ask someone if you can pray for them, nine times out of ten they say yes. We also ask them what they would like to pray about. WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP LOVE PEOPLE? Prayer changes people and changed people love their neighbors in greater ways. If you’d like to get involved in any of our community outreaches, please call 716-830-8240. Compassion Ministries is a collaboration of churches and people with compassionate hearts. It’s simple, it’s just about showing folks some love! Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we. #ywap4Christ #compassionministries #grillandaprayer #JLYASDW |
AuthorYWAP Director Bob Kuebler. Categories
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