Thursday August 18, 2005

Today was interesting. Started off with meeting at the church at 6:30AM for prayer. Last week Pastor began to open the church one day a week on Thursday for an hour to pray for our community, world issues, revival and anything else God laid on our hearts to pray. Got back home at 7:30 and spent some time in the Word. Got dressed and went to work. I was alone at the office today as pastor told me the day before he would be out.

Unlike most churches our office is not inside the church but adjacent to it as we are in a strip mall. You can enter the office from the church but our entrance is in front one door down from the church doors. About 11:30AM I hear someone come in from the church. I know (at least I thought I knew) the doors to the church are locked so whoever is coming in must be a member with a key right? Wrong! It was the missionary from the Ukraine that was coming over to spend a few days in our city with Pastor and his wife for some R & R. Don’t you know I was surprised. Thankfully I didn’t blurt out “how did you get in here!” After he left, I went and checked. Sure enough the doors were left unlocked from this morning or last night. Either way they were unlocked. I promptly locked them back! Pastor showed up soon after that as did the missionary and his family (wife and three boys). Pastor invited me to go to lunch with them. I gladly excepted. It was nice to get to know them on a little more personal level. They will be in our services Sunday morning.

Now for a little more explanation about the “missionary family”. They aren’t really missionaries, but for lack of a better word that’s what I called them. Actually they are from Odessa Ukraine. They are graduates from MJBI (Messianic Jewish Bible Institute). They are over the MJBI school there and congregation. To learn more about MJBI go here www.mjbi.org . Our church financially supports MJBI. In fact our Pastor and his wife just got back from spending time with this couple as well as helping another couple in St. Petersburg Russia locate property for a school there. They also spent time in ministering and encouraging these people.

Excerpt from my journal March 1999

I would like to have an encounter with You that radically changes me! And I don’t mind how You do it! Or when You do it. But I want so much to be intimate with You – more than I am – something in me cries for more, more, MORE! I want to eat, live and breathe You.

I will grant Your request and then some. Remember I AM into abundance above and beyond more than you can hope or ever imagine. I placed that desire for intimacy within you. I have yearned for the intimacy with you more intently than you. I was wanting for you to mature. Just as children don’t marry until they mature so you have been maturing and the time is very near My Daughter. It is so near. Be patient, wait, feed on My word. Worship Me, talk to Me as you are now. Wait with expectation and anticipation of being with your bridegroom.

Good night everyone.