the furious longing of God

"i am my beloved's and his desire is for me"

- song of solomon 7:10 (esv)

as i spend time with you guys, as we worship together, as i pray for you during the week... i find myself wondering how fully you realize or believe in the fury of God's love. the power. the enormity. the intensity.

it's just one more reason to be in the Word constantly, because as you are, you discover this more and more. but just in case you are one today who doubts it, struggles with it, doesn't feel it - 3 thoughts...

1. meditate on the passage at the top of the blog. read it. reread it. think on it. meditate over it. own it. trust it. believe it. i came across it in chapter one of a new book i'm reading called, The Furious Longing of God, by brennan manning. i recommend anything he writes. the dude knows Jesus, flat out. listen to him.

2. watch this video. it's brennan. it's got a promo tag on the end for an upcoming event - you can ignore that. but listen carefully to the rest. good stuff.

3. attend the Threshold 24-hour prayer vigil this weekend, for just an hour. details are in the weekly e-newsletter or on our homepage, VIGIL. carve out an hour to hear and experience this amazing truth - that you are loved by the creator and lord of the universe. don't just acknowledge it in your brain. feel it in your soul. it's the deepest truth you will ever encounter. don't brush it off and just get on with your busy life. tune in.

i'll be praying for you guys this weekend at the vigil.

see you sunday!

here's the info on the book, in case you're interested.

The Furious Longing of God

by Brennan Manning

will starve for food

26,000 children will die of preventable poverty, disease and hunger... today.

14,000 of them from hunger and malnutrition alone.

840 million people do not get enough to eat - that's 1 in 7.

21 billion people live on less than $2.00 per day.*

i was hungry and you fed me... when you did it to one of the least of these... you were doing it to me.  (Jesus our Lord, in matthew 25.35, 40)

a week from tomorrow, february 28, the youth of THRESHOLD will begin a 30-hour famine. for over a day, they will refrain from eating and will spend time instead learning about the plight of world hunger and praying for those dying from it. they will also be raising money to help feed those in need. in other words, they will starve for food.

for more info on what they are doing, see FAMINE.

during the same weekend, february 28 - march 1, you are also invited to participate in events focusing on others.

I. FAST. while the youth go 30 hours without food, consider joining them, for at least one meal. skip just one normal meal and spend the time praying for others. visit the 30-hour famine website to learn more about global hunger. make yourself aware. go for a walk and consider how many people around the world must walk for miles to get food or even clean drinking water. and pray.

II. PRAYER VIGIL. pair your fast with an hour or two at our second annual prayer vigil. this 24-hour event was held on good friday last year, but we have moved it up this year to coincide with the famine and the food drive (see below). we have rented the clubhouse in providence hills neighborhood (mckee at pleasant plains roads) and will have it set up with 8-10 prayer stations, from 7AM on saturday to 7 AM on sunday. it will be an amazing time for intimacy with God. you'll experience prayer perhaps like never before as you visit various stations where you might do some reading, draw pictures, write a letter, watch a video, listen to music or just quietly pray. last year's reviews were tremendous. sign up now online to reserve your hour.

III. FOOD DRIVE. following the success of our october '08 effort, which bagged 4000 pounds of food, we are doing this again. on sunday, march 1, following worship, we will distribute around 2000 bags to homes in several local neighborhoods (not the same ones as last fall). it will only take about 30 minutes. the following sunday, march 8, we will collect the bags - same volunteers, same neighborhoods. all food collected will be housed at the common cupboard for local distribution. sign up you or your cell now online.

THRESHOLD is a movement, a church on the move. we exist for one purpose: to glorify God by being the expression of Jesus in our community and beyond. clearly Jesus taught us to feed the hungry - that's what next weekend is all about. i urge you to join in all the opportunities being provided. better yet, engage in these activities with your CELLmates!

"we beg you, master, be our help and strength. save those among us who are oppressed, have pity on the lowly, and lift up the fallen. heal the sick, bring back the straying, and feed the hungry. release those in prison, lift up those who falter, and strengthen the fainthearted. let all nations come to know you, the one God, and your son Jesus Christ, and us your people, the sheep of your pasture. amen."  (clement of rome, c. AD 92-101)

* info from www.30hourfamine.org

on your knees

To touch is to heal, to hurt is to steal.
If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel
On your knees, boy!

- from U2, Mysterious ways

in the past month or so, danielle has had surgery twice. 

once to fix a hip, the second to fix the first. an infection set in after the first surgery that wasn't pretty and needed to be gotten out of there. it didn't seem to go a whole lot better than the first. she's a very young woman and to see her on crutches last sunday, making her way to the Lords Table, dragging her leg along behind her, was a difficult thing to watch.

i was invited to drop in on her super bowl party sunday evening (i know! what in the world was she doing hosting a party? well, she needed company and had a lot of help - kudos joe!) 

when the game was over, four of us from THD remained, along with danielle and her hubby mark. we were cleaning up the kitchen a bit and decided that we needed to pray for danielle. so we seated her on a chair and gathered around her, laying our hands on her shoulders.

and we prayed. honestly. boldly. emotionally.

danielle went to the doctor monday. she didn't seem to feel any better and was anticipating the worst. but later monday, her facebook status read...

danielle is infection-free!!!!

not bad for one night of prayer...

(honest note: we weren't the only ones. a lot of prayer had already been going up on her behalf)

van called yesterday. 

she was so excited, she just had to tell someone! i was the lucky one.

during the summer of '02, THRESHOLD was still in the womb - yet to be born until september. but those of us whom God called in the pre-natal phase were gathered one sunday afternoon. i asked all who were present to write down three names. names of people who either didn't know Jesus as Son of God, Lord and Savior, or someone who wasn't close to him at this point in their lives. one of the names van wrote down was michael.

she called yesterday to tell me that she had just talked with michael. he had been to THRESHOLD sunday for the first time. he found the worship and the talk to be very personal and emotional. tears flowed. God had his attention and was opening his eyes. he is so excited about what is going on in his spirit!

not bad for 7 years of prayer...

you get the point, right?

PRAY.

constantly.

st. paul puts it like this in 1 thessalonians 5.17: NEVER STOP PRAYING (nlt)

sometimes the bible seems really unclear.

not here. no excuses this time, baby: Never Stop Praying

sometimes you'll pray once. sometimes for 7 years. and sometimes for a lifetime.

but let's lose the attitude that somehow leads us to believe that God owes us an answer - the desired answer - on our schedule. 

just pray. for as long as it takes. 

after all, it really is a privilege. when we pray, we are seeking the face and the heart of God. and just being able to have the right to do THAT is amazing, really.

the desires of your heart? God really does want you to bring them to him.

why he waits so long sometimes is not worth the time it takes to breathe the question. 

it's only time lost from prayer.

so... what are you waiting for?

on your knees.