Following the Footprints

As I prepare to leave for Israel soon, I am spending a lot of time researching the places we will visit.  I am reading the biblical passages, reviewing the history books, memorizing the maps, and reminiscing over the photos taken on previous journeys to the Holy Land.  While I pursue this endeavor, I grow more excited each day with the anticipation that I will once again be changed by the events of this journey.  

Each trip to the Holy Land brings new insights regarding scripture, a greater appreciation to God for coming to this earth and living as he did for me, and a humbling of my spirit as I follow the footprints of Jesus and his followers.  I am deeply changed by each journey to Israel and believe that this trip will bring the same results.

Every encounter with God is life-changing; I don't have to travel half-way around the world to experience the transformation that comes from the Holy Spirit.  I appreciate the life-change found in the Holy Land, but oh, how I long for the life-change that comes from a great moving of the Holy Spirit in our church.  Please pray for us to see the footprints of Jesus in the Rio Grande Valley and follow them with passion each day.

Praying for our daily journey,

Bro. Wade

Spiritual Renewal among Men

This week was the last meeting for a discipleship group that I have been leading for over a year.  Each time one of these groups ends, it is a sad time for me.  I have invested a night each week into the lives of these men and I count them as not only friends but fellow journeymen on the path of righteousness.  I have been sharpened as much as I have sharpened, and I have been loved as much as I have loved.  These men have been my accountability group and my prayer partners and not meeting with them each week will create a longing in my heart.

However, as the group ends, I know that the Lord has already begun to prepare my heart to invest in another group of people that he has already chosen.  I will soon join with another group for over a year and will be richly blessed by the journey the Lord will take us through together.  

I also know that the men that I have met with this past year were being prepared by God to disciple others, now they will embark on their new journeys as well.  What an exciting time in our church and community to see how the Lord will work through these men to change so many other lives.

The last three years have brought some great spiritual renewal among the men of FBC Harlingen. I am so excited about the beginning of the Rio Grande Valley IRONMEN.  This ministry will only serve to enhance the great work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the men of Harlingen and the valley.  So many men are ready to plug their lives into something that is filled with life-changing power and great potential.  I believe IRONMEN will be the beginning of just such a movement.

Pray for God to continue to move in the men of FBC Harlingen and the valley.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in the lives of the men involved in IRONMEN.

Bro. Wade