April 8, 2008
Recently I decided that I should work through an exposition of the Gospel of John for my personal growth. It will take 71 days to get through this huge volume if I read one chapter a day! Today I happened to be reading the exposition on John 2:1-11, the first recorded miracle of Jesus turning water into wine. A couple of parallels jumped out at me.
How Jesus must have felt:
His mother is telling him it is time to do a miracle, yet he is telling her it’s not his time.
How often do we try to tell Jesus it is time to do something? Why is it so hard to wait for God’s timing?
Did he hesitate to begin his ministry? Surely he had to have known that once he performed a miracle, his life would never be the same. From this time on he would become a public figure, he would scarcely have leisure time and his time alone in communion with his Father could only be done when others slept. How did he feel at that moment?
I can still remember making the “scary” decision to start the process of turning JoyShop into an official ministry. I knew that my life would never be the same, it would never be my own, and I have to admit I hesitated for a moment. One does not start a ministry only to decide to quit the next year. Once I would pick up the phone and make the call to the one person I thought could guide me in this process there would be no turning back. But in my heart, I knew I was to step out in faith, not shrinking back, but trusting God. If he put this ministry in my heart then he would provide every step of the way.
How Jesus performed the miracle by using the servants:
His mother lays the ground work for the miracle by saying, “Do whatever he tells you.” Then Jesus calls the servants and tells them, “Fill the jars with water…now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” Jesus didn’t lift a finger! He simply told the servants what to do and as they obeyed he turned the water into wine!
Jesus needs us to do what he says! He is pleased to use these earthen vessels to display his miracles!
I learned today that in the Bible, wine symbolizes joy in God and that water is a symbol of the written Word. “Learn then, that the Lord is pleased to employ human agents in bringing joy to the hearts of men….And how may we His servants, today, bring the wine of joy unto human hearts? By ministering the Word…Here then is the blessed instruction for the servants of God today. Let us go forth with the Water of life, implicitly obeying the commands of our Lord, and He will use us to bring the wine of Divine joy to many a sad heart.”
This, my friend, is what I experience at every JoyShop. It is what we as a team are doing! We are encouraging the many sad hearts in the church to return to reading the Words of God. As more and more individuals start drinking in the water of the Word, Divine Joy will begin to fill their heart!
This past weekend, Paula Frey and myself made the five hour drive to Franklin, Pa. for a women’s retreat. We were grateful for safety in travel and the good mattresses for sleeping purposes! Forty eight women were present and we were blessed by the women’s response to JoyShop’s message. So many wonderful things happened in such a short time!
One dear woman came up to me after the Saturday evening session asking me to sign a book. She put her arms around me and thanked me. She said that she had been afraid for some time that she wasn’t really “saved” because she would have doubts at times about God. But after my morning session when I talk about doubts being normal she found freedom and joy knowing that she truly was saved!
Another woman drove back to her home town after the Friday evening session to bring her daughter back to attend Saturday’s session because she knew her daughter was hurting and she felt that her daughter would benefit by attending. I was so grateful to have time to talk with this lovely young woman the following afternoon and I am trusting God that His Word brought new joy in her life.
Other comments received:
“thank you for a life-changing weekend!!”
“You have really opened my eyes this weekend. I truly am going to seek God FIRST every day. Please pray that I can continue this desire and that I will be able to hear Him.”
“I have a husband and two sons who watch my every move and listen to what leaves my mouth. I have a youth group to care for as well, so this was just what I needed to hear…”
Thank you for your prayers for the weekend! Continue to pray that the Lord will anoint JoyShop’s message and spread it all over the place as these women go back to their different churches and begin to seek God first!
Prayer request:
Please pray for me as I go to Penn Manor High School the next two Wednesday mornings. Pray that I will have wisdom as to what part of the JoyShop I should do with the students in the Christian club since I only have 50 minutes each session.
Praise
The Pocket Testament League recently introduced our Pocket Testament to all of their Speaker reps. In a few days they will introduce it to thousands of league members around the world! Not only did they introduce it but they mention “The File”! How I pray that the Lord continues to get the book in the hands of those who need its encouragement.
For a student who recently completed the 21 DC and sent us her comments:
“I just want to thank you for the 21 DC. I learned a lot. More than you’ll ever know. I was struggling with a doubt that I’ve had. This challenge has helped in dispelling that doubt.”
Sandy Cove has given me an invitation to be a small part of a women’s retreat the last weekend in September as well as an invitation to come back in March of 2009 for a full JoyShop March 8-9.
Announcements:
Thursday night is JoyShop Ministries monthly prayer meeting at my home, 7-8:00 p.m. Anyone is welcomed to come!
In His Joy! Anita
Recently I decided that I should work through an exposition of the Gospel of John for my personal growth. It will take 71 days to get through this huge volume if I read one chapter a day! Today I happened to be reading the exposition on John 2:1-11, the first recorded miracle of Jesus turning water into wine. A couple of parallels jumped out at me.
How Jesus must have felt:
His mother is telling him it is time to do a miracle, yet he is telling her it’s not his time.
How often do we try to tell Jesus it is time to do something? Why is it so hard to wait for God’s timing?
Did he hesitate to begin his ministry? Surely he had to have known that once he performed a miracle, his life would never be the same. From this time on he would become a public figure, he would scarcely have leisure time and his time alone in communion with his Father could only be done when others slept. How did he feel at that moment?
I can still remember making the “scary” decision to start the process of turning JoyShop into an official ministry. I knew that my life would never be the same, it would never be my own, and I have to admit I hesitated for a moment. One does not start a ministry only to decide to quit the next year. Once I would pick up the phone and make the call to the one person I thought could guide me in this process there would be no turning back. But in my heart, I knew I was to step out in faith, not shrinking back, but trusting God. If he put this ministry in my heart then he would provide every step of the way.
How Jesus performed the miracle by using the servants:
His mother lays the ground work for the miracle by saying, “Do whatever he tells you.” Then Jesus calls the servants and tells them, “Fill the jars with water…now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” Jesus didn’t lift a finger! He simply told the servants what to do and as they obeyed he turned the water into wine!
Jesus needs us to do what he says! He is pleased to use these earthen vessels to display his miracles!
I learned today that in the Bible, wine symbolizes joy in God and that water is a symbol of the written Word. “Learn then, that the Lord is pleased to employ human agents in bringing joy to the hearts of men….And how may we His servants, today, bring the wine of joy unto human hearts? By ministering the Word…Here then is the blessed instruction for the servants of God today. Let us go forth with the Water of life, implicitly obeying the commands of our Lord, and He will use us to bring the wine of Divine joy to many a sad heart.”
This, my friend, is what I experience at every JoyShop. It is what we as a team are doing! We are encouraging the many sad hearts in the church to return to reading the Words of God. As more and more individuals start drinking in the water of the Word, Divine Joy will begin to fill their heart!
This past weekend, Paula Frey and myself made the five hour drive to Franklin, Pa. for a women’s retreat. We were grateful for safety in travel and the good mattresses for sleeping purposes! Forty eight women were present and we were blessed by the women’s response to JoyShop’s message. So many wonderful things happened in such a short time!
One dear woman came up to me after the Saturday evening session asking me to sign a book. She put her arms around me and thanked me. She said that she had been afraid for some time that she wasn’t really “saved” because she would have doubts at times about God. But after my morning session when I talk about doubts being normal she found freedom and joy knowing that she truly was saved!
Another woman drove back to her home town after the Friday evening session to bring her daughter back to attend Saturday’s session because she knew her daughter was hurting and she felt that her daughter would benefit by attending. I was so grateful to have time to talk with this lovely young woman the following afternoon and I am trusting God that His Word brought new joy in her life.
Other comments received:
“thank you for a life-changing weekend!!”
“You have really opened my eyes this weekend. I truly am going to seek God FIRST every day. Please pray that I can continue this desire and that I will be able to hear Him.”
“I have a husband and two sons who watch my every move and listen to what leaves my mouth. I have a youth group to care for as well, so this was just what I needed to hear…”
Thank you for your prayers for the weekend! Continue to pray that the Lord will anoint JoyShop’s message and spread it all over the place as these women go back to their different churches and begin to seek God first!
Prayer request:
Please pray for me as I go to Penn Manor High School the next two Wednesday mornings. Pray that I will have wisdom as to what part of the JoyShop I should do with the students in the Christian club since I only have 50 minutes each session.
Praise
The Pocket Testament League recently introduced our Pocket Testament to all of their Speaker reps. In a few days they will introduce it to thousands of league members around the world! Not only did they introduce it but they mention “The File”! How I pray that the Lord continues to get the book in the hands of those who need its encouragement.
For a student who recently completed the 21 DC and sent us her comments:
“I just want to thank you for the 21 DC. I learned a lot. More than you’ll ever know. I was struggling with a doubt that I’ve had. This challenge has helped in dispelling that doubt.”
Sandy Cove has given me an invitation to be a small part of a women’s retreat the last weekend in September as well as an invitation to come back in March of 2009 for a full JoyShop March 8-9.
Announcements:
Thursday night is JoyShop Ministries monthly prayer meeting at my home, 7-8:00 p.m. Anyone is welcomed to come!
In His Joy! Anita
PS---a miracle has just happened. I think I figured out how to add a picture to my blog all by myself!!!! This picture was taken at Berean Bookstore with my dear friend, Cynthia Herr, as we celebrated my book actually making it on a bookshelf at our local Christian Bookstore!
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