Renaissance of a Soul

Where then do You get that living water? -John 4:11

"The well is deep"- and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! (John 4:11). Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the "wells" in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life? Suppose that you have a deep "well" of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, "Let not your heart be troubled . . ." (John 14:1). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, "But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can't draw up quietness and comfort out of it." Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn't bring anything up from the wells of human nature- He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, "Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing." The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus for Him to be our comforter or our sympathizer, but we refrain from approaching Him as our Almighty God.

The reason some of us are such poor examples of Christianity is that we have failed to recognize that Christ is almighty. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment or surrender to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, "Of course, He can't do anything about this." We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, "It can't be done." You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.

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I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls . . . -2 Corinthians 12:15

Once "the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit," we deliberately begin to identify ourselves with Jesus Christ's interests and purposes in others' lives (Romans 5:5). And Jesus has an interest in every individual person. We have no right in Christian service to be guided by our own interests and desires. In fact, this is one of the greatest tests of our relationship with Jesus Christ. The delight of sacrifice is that I lay down my life for my Friend, Jesus (see John 15:13). I don't throw my life away, but I willingly and deliberately lay it down for Him and His interests in other people. And I do this for no cause or purpose of my own. Paul spent his life for only one purpose- that he might win people to Jesus Christ. Paul always attracted people to his Lord, but never to himself. He said, "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22).

When someone thinks that to develop a holy life he must always be alone with God, he is no longer of any use to others. This is like putting himself on a pedestal and isolating himself from the rest of society. Paul was a holy person, but wherever he went Jesus Christ was always allowed to help Himself to his life. Many of us are interested only in our own goals, and Jesus cannot help Himself to our lives. But if we are totally surrendered to Him, we have no goals of our own to serve. Paul said that he knew how to be a "doormat" without resenting it, because the motivation of his life was devotion to Jesus. We tend to be devoted, not to Jesus Christ, but to the things which allow us more spiritual freedom than total surrender to Him would allow. Freedom was not Paul's motive at all. In fact, he stated, "I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren . . ." (Romans 9:3). Had Paul lost his ability to reason? Not at all! For someone who is in love, this is not an overstatement. And Paul was in love with Jesus Christ.

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Guys,

I was looking on YouTube for a worship song to send out this week and imagine my amazement when I stumbled across a worship video I was ACTUALLY IN!!!!! I am so stirred today and I had to share it. I am so hungry for Jesus and this worship song is running all over me. I cannot believe it is still around.

I Will Not Forget You | 100 Portraits | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uexYc-Z_NlI

BY THE WAY… I am one of the wild dancers out of the pickup truck!!!

And the guy at the end was a real actor and not a believer. He was the only one that was not and was hired because he was a good actor. He got saved right before the last take and the crying at the end IS NOT ACTING!!!!

NOW THAT IS REVIVAL!

Stirred up! ACTIVATE US OH GOD!!!!!
pd

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Verse of the Week
(This is a verse we can think about all week long. Let it be something that you use as a focal point throughout your week. Maybe post it somewhere where you see it daily).

1 Corinthians 1:18
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
http://bible.us/1Cor1.18.NIV84

Amos 7:14
"Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees."
http://bible.us/Amos7.14.NIV84

The thought: GOD Chooses the foolish and the small and touches them and once they experience HIM, amazing things happen.

Worship for your Week
(This is a short list of a few songs that will hopefully help you as you have your own personal worship time no matter where you are. Even though it is Youtube, you can stream it in your car or while you travel and just listen).

I Will Not Forget You | 100 Portraits | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uexYc-Z_NlI

(BY THE WAY… I AM IN THIS VIDEO!!! I am one of the wild dancers out of the pickup truck!!!!)

Thought of the Week
(One of my positive thoughts for the week. My hope is to always lift, equip, inspire and encourage!)

I cannot get passion for Jesus out of my mind this week! The more my personal worship and devotion life stirs up, the more I long for it to stir up more. Folks, I am back with a Holy GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! How about you?

Something is definitely going on inside me. The last couple of Sundays have been just plain awe-inspiring. We are at some of our lowest numbers historically, but with the few that we have had and with the small, I have NEVER SENSED POPPA SO MUCH! Thank you all for stirring me.

It's funny. We think we need huge size in numbers of attendees to sense HIM. However, it's not the case is it?
I long for the days when I can walk into the house of the LORD with the throngs and masses worshiping as we enter like David writes in the Psalms, but right now, my personal worship time is stirring again which means HE is taking the time out to stir me and I just want to run back into my prayer space with HIM? Closet, here I come!!!!!

Well, if you are not being drawn, then think about this. Henry Blackaby says that GOD is to be experienced. That the Hebrew word for "know" is more than just head knowledge, it means, experiential, character revealing, intimate knowing that takes place between us and Poppa GOD. I want to KNOW HIM like that!!!!!

If you are not experiencing GOD moments right now. Stop everything you are doing, repent and ask for HIM to come and move in you again.

Another thing to try… Check out the last two week's sermons. You can either click them in our app (app.tapestrylife.org) or you can click here and listen online: http://tapestrychurch.com/content.cfm?id=213

That's just a thought.
Blessings!
pd

www.tapestrylife.org | the Tapestry Life Devo

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Verse of the Week
(This is a verse we can think about all week long. Let it be something that you use as a focal point throughout your week. Maybe post it somewhere where you see it daily).

1 Corinthians 1:18
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
http://bible.us/1Cor1.18.NIV84

Amos 7:14
"Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees."
http://bible.us/Amos7.14.NIV84

The thought: GOD Chooses the foolish and the small and touches them and once they experience HIM, amazing things happen.

Worship for your Week
(This is a short list of a few songs that will hopefully help you as you have your own personal worship time no matter where you are. Even though it is Youtube, you can stream it in your car or while you travel and just listen).

I Will Not Forget You | 100 Portraits | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uexYc-Z_NlI

(BY THE WAY… I AM IN THIS VIDEO!!! I am one of the wild dancers out of the pickup truck!!!!)

Thought of the Week
(One of my positive thoughts for the week. My hope is to always lift, equip, inspire and encourage!)

I cannot get passion for Jesus out of my mind this week! The more my personal worship and devotion life stirs up, the more I long for it to stir up more. Folks, I am back with a Holy GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! How about you?

Something is definitely going on inside me. The last couple of Sundays have been just plain awe-inspiring. We are at some of our lowest numbers historically, but with the few that we have had and with the small, I have NEVER SENSED POPPA SO MUCH! Thank you all for stirring me.

It's funny. We think we need huge size in numbers of attendees to sense HIM. However, it's not the case is it?
I long for the days when I can walk into the house of the LORD with the throngs and masses worshiping as we enter like David writes in the Psalms, but right now, my personal worship time is stirring again which means HE is taking the time out to stir me and I just want to run back into my prayer space with HIM? Closet, here I come!!!!!

Well, if you are not being drawn, then think about this. Henry Blackaby says that GOD is to be experienced. That the Hebrew word for "know" is more than just head knowledge, it means, experiential, character revealing, intimate knowing that takes place between us and Poppa GOD. I want to KNOW HIM like that!!!!!

If you are not experiencing GOD moments right now. Stop everything you are doing, repent and ask for HIM to come and move in you again.

Another thing to try… Check out the last two week's sermons. You can either click them in our app (app.tapestrylife.org) or you can click here and listen online: http://tapestrychurch.com/content.cfm?id=213

That's just a thought.
Blessings!
pd

www.tapestrylife.org | the Tapestry Life Devo

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http://justapen.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/introduction-to-kingdom-conflict/

Introduction to Kingdom Conflict

This is an introduction to a conference on spiritual conflict and the role it has in counseling in a faith based setting.  This conference will be taking place in the DC area on April 1 and 2.  For more information you can comment below or send me an e-mail at seijiyamashita(at)tapestrychurch(dot)org.

I've been thinking a lot about this crazy thing called "Spiritual warfare" lately.  I know that people tend to fall into two categories when it comes to this topic in which either EVERYTHING is a scheme of the Devil working against us or there is absolutely no such thing and it's ultimately an excuse that Christians use to explain away their problems and difficulties.  Personally I advocate a slightly more balanced approach to Spiritual Warfare in which we are required to discern the nature of our conflict.  So let me offer a couple of thoughts on this topic.

1. There is a being called Satan.  He rose up in rebellion against God in a contest to receive worship and having failed was cast out of heaven and consigned to earth where he now works to build a counterfeit kingdom against the Kingdom of God in his continued effort to usurp God's right to receive worship.  This is why I'll often refer to spiritual warfare as Kingdom warfare.

2. Satan is a created being.  God created Satan which means that God has lordship over Satan.  There is no question that Satan can mount a successful fight against God, this is not a case of Lex Luthor vs Superman or Batman vs Joker.  This is not a fair fight.  God has sovereignty over the devil, over our spiritual enemies.

3. Our concern is NOT to temporarily subdue the enemy for a season. Let me make this perfectly clear. God's power, God's sovereignty has put us fighting from a place of victory.  We are condemned to win.  In Christ we can't help but overcome.

In light of this we are tempted to ask the question "why?" Why if God is sovereign and powerful does warfare exist?  Why do we have to struggle against a spiritual enemy as well as the world AND our own flesh.  I mean I don't know about you but my flesh and the world are plenty enough for me to fight against most days without the added weight of a spiritual adversary added on.  But it doesn't help us to ask "why."  Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to really look into spiritual warfare and answer two questions: what does spiritual attack look like? And What do we do about it?

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Dear Friends and Family,

Praise the Lord for each of you…as you make all these things happen, that are mentioned below.  2011 is off to a roaring and fast-paced start, and GCCM is in the midst of it all, with your prayers, offerings, friendship and encouragement.

A New Church Plant is in the works and this excites me tremendously.  Also, work has begun at camp, with the installation of utilities and other basic amenities, so we can start building cabins and facilities…We are committed, by faith, to see our camp become an effective and well-equipped outreach tool here in Colombia.

GCCM EMAIL UPDATE………

CHRISTIAN CAMP NEWS – PENIEL CAMP is continuing its expansion in 2011, as water pipes and electricity lines are being set up into the vacant lot.
Once this phase is finished, we will then begin building bathrooms and showers, plus a couple cabins for campers' use, and for guest housing when needed.  We enter our next phase of camp development, asking for your continued prayers and financial support to see Colombia's only Christian Church camp ministry grow in historical proportions.

NEW CHURCH PLANT –  A slum in Villavicencio, which has served as a refuge for many families fleeing the guerrilla and paramilitary violence in the countryside, is now the target of Villavicencio Christian Church's latest  evangelism efforts.  After planting a new church 5 years ago in the town of  Puerto Lopez, Villavicencio  Christian Church – with auspices of Gap Creek  Colombia Mission – is now in the initial stages of starting a new congregation in the slum neighborhood of La Reliquia (lah-ray-lee-kia).   We  have been having Children's Hour on Saturday afternoons, plus Bible Study for adults and youth.  We are averaging 60 children, 15 adults and 10 youth  in attendance each week there.  Our goal is to begin Sunday church services  this year or next, depending on our success at finding a suitable storefront  rental or warehouse auditorium for rent, as we plan to purchase a lot and  build a sanctuary.  The pictures attached show the children, the Villavicencio team involved in the outreach, and the community washboard, where moms and children clean their clothes and themselves on a hot Saturday afternoon.

TWO SHORT-TERM MISSIONS TEAMS WILL VISIT VILLAVICENCIO THIS SUMMER -
One group is from the Seymour Hghts. Christian Church and the other from Kempsville Church of Christ, Virginia Beach, VA.  Both teams are scheduled to assist in Camp maintenance and upkeep, plus sharing with the local congregation and our Peniel Christian School.  Please be in prayer for these wonderful friends of GCCM who are sharing hands-on, in the joint efforts being made for the Kingdom of God here in Villavicencio.  Of course, I will have a full report on our activities, in upcoming newsletters and email updates.

PENIEL SCHOOL – started classes three weeks ago, and I am teaching Reading and Bible Ethics classes in 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades.  The school has made important strides in upgrading facilities, painting and refurbishing the Computer Lab, plus adding teachers' lockers this year.  Please pray for this wonderful ministry and for the sponsors who are working through Dale Meade, to provide scholarships for about 100 kids of all ages at Penie Christian School.

NATIONAL CHURCH BOARD – met in January of this year, and its National Council chose me to remain on the Board as alternate for two more years.  I just finished serving a 4-year term as Vice President.  This gives me a little more time to travel and encourage the various Plains Region churches, making use of GCCM's 1994 Jeep Cherokee , which has been a real blessing for the work here.  Thank you for giving toward acquisition of the used vehicle, which was purchased in 2006.

Love and Prayers,
Martin
musimar@telecom.com.co

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Phases of Prayer
(a Practice Worksheet)
These DO NOT need to be done in any specific order, however, I find that the beginning and end are best to stay the same at least. Just make sure you touch on each phase for a balanced love relationship. It's a conversation and it is give and take like love languages.

These Phases are Based on Matthew 6

1 – Call to Worship | Praise & Thanksgiving | Identification

Verse | "Our father in heaven… hollowed is your name…"
Example | "Good morning LORD, its' me again. I just want to lift you this morning…"

2 – Agreement | Aligning with GOD's Plans

Verse | "Your Kingdom Come… Your Will be done…"
Example | "Today, can you come and bring my heart into alignment with what you want to do today? Will you do exactly what you want today? I want to lay down my plans for this day and I want to pick up yours…"

3 – Petition | for both Spiritual & Physical Personal Needs

Verse | "Give us this day our daily bread…"
Example | "Jesus, will you take care of everything I need to today? I need __________, ______________ & _____________."

4 – Forgiveness | Prerequisite to Confession & Repentance

Verse | "…As we have forgiven our debtors…"
Example | "Please forgive me for holding hurt, pain and bad memories…" "I forgive ___________ for hurting me…" "I allow you to wash over my mind forgiveness toward this bad memory. I will hold it no longer…" "Help me forgive ___________ for hurting me and help me find a way to contact them and convey my forgiveness."

5 – Confession & Repentance | Which leads to receipt of Forgiveness from GOD

Verse | "Forgive us our sins."
Example | "GOD, I have sinned in these ways _______________." "Please forgive me!" "I repent, which means, I am NEVER GOING BACK!"

Sidenote:
Some sins to think about here are:
1 – Any unforgiveness we have held against a brother or sister.
2 – Any doubtful thing that we hide in the back of our heart whether we know if it is really sin or not… If it makes us carry guilt, it IS SIN!
3 – Any time we have offended or not listened to the Holy Spirit.
4 – Anything we know that we have done against our brother or sister that is not loving them above ourselves and any time we have not loved GOD above all.
5 – And of course, the BIG TEN!

We must STOP immediately and ask for forgiveness for each area here mentioned.

6 – Future Direction & Protection | Knowing He allows temptation and trial for our maturing, we embrace HIS will above, yet always ask for HIS hand in guiding us through it.

Verse | "Lead us not into temptation… And deliver us from evil…"
Example | "Guide my every step." "Direct me away from anything evil and from temptation." "Please keep me strong and able to run back to the WORD when trials and temptation comes."

7 – Adoration & Worship

Verse | "…For yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the glory forever…"
Example | "You own it all!!!!" "I lift you up!!!" "I bless your name with all my soul!!!" "This is me dancing for you Poppa!"

THE PHASES OF WORSHIP START HERE….

Listening (Communion) | Communion of spirit with GOD alone and/or with others while together with GOD

Thus, we enter the phases of worship which really culminate in our ability to LISTEN TO GOD. (I will have a separate worksheet based on the phases of the Heart in worship based on John Wimber's teaching).

______________________________________________________

(c) 2011 Dustin Hedrick, & the Tapestry Church.
Renaissance of a Soul Online
http://www.renaissanceofasoul.com
Reproduction is allowed as long as the copyright remains intact with the text.

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Come see David Huang and the NIH Philharmonia in concert 
Saturday, February 26 at 7:30pm at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, 917 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD.  
Admission is free, and donations go toward NIH-sponsored charities.  
More info at www.nihphil.org
 
Vineyard Women's Conference
March 4 and 5
Roland E. Powell Convention Center
4001 Coastal Highway
Ocean City, MD 21842
More info: http://vineyardwomeneast.snappages.com/
 
Basic Sozo Training
Where: Chevy Chase Baptist Church, 5671 Western Ave NW, Washington DC 20015
When: Friday, March 18th from 7pm-9pm Saturday, March 19th from 9am-5pm.
Cost: $100 a person
Additional Information: www.sozodc.com
 
Blessing Muslims Initiative
(formerly called World Muslim Summit)
March 25-26, 2011
Vineyard Anaheim
More info: https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=932430
 
It's only a demon 
Deliverance conference at our church
Friday April 1 starting at 7:30PM and Saturday April 2 starting at 10:30AM.  
Dr. David Appleby from Spiritual Interventions ministry will be teaching us about deliverance: what is it and how do we do it?  
Sessions will include a demonstration of deliverance and opportunities to receive ministry. 
For more information contact seijiyamashita@tapestrychurch.org
 
The DC Ohana Combo 
Building a Highway into the Nations, our City, our Family, and our Workplace.
April 8-10
Cost $20
Navigators conference in Washington DC.
Contact Ellen Huang to with any questions or to register.
ellenawu@gmail.com 
 
Attention! Events coordinator or coordinators needed.
We are looking for someone to oversee the Easter Egg Hunt.
If you are interested contact Su Cheng and she will explain what you need to do and help you get started. Email her sujuncheng@tapestrychurch.org
 
http://app.tapestrylife.org
Join us as we go through the Bible this year as a community. We would be more than 'Appy to have you! 
 
Podcast
You can listen to some of the recent messages on our website 
 
www.tapestrychurch.com under the Listen section or find it on iTunes as "The Tapestry 
 
Church Podcast
 
Small Groups
Re|Kindle
Tuesdays at 7:22pm
This is our new prayer group as well as praise and worship night. You can get here basic training and practice in prayer and learn how to become a part of prayer ministry.
for more info contact dustinhedrick@tapestrychurch.org
 
Small group for moms, 
Meting the third Monday of the month at 7pm. Be enriched, encouraged, affirmed, and prayed for! 
For more details contact Sue Kim suekim@tapestrychurch.org
 
Activate!
Bible study for Teens and students with topics and agendas set BY YOU!  
Meets every Tuesday at 8pm at  The Silver Diner on 355 at the Federal Plaza Shopping Center.  
For more information e-mail Seiji at seijiyamashita@tapestrychurch.org
 
Experiencing God
Wednesday Nights at 7.30pm. 
Contact dustinhedrick@tapestrychurch.org for more details.
 
Upcoming Vineyard Conferences in 2011
Vineyard Women's Conference
March 4 and 5
Roland E. Powell Convention Center
4001 Coastal Highway
Ocean City, MD 21842
More info: http://vineyardwomeneast.snappages.com/
 
Surge Missions Trips 2011
July 13-22
July 27-Aug 5
http://surge2010.org/
 
Project Timothy 2011
Aug 6 – Aug 13
The Barn, Landenberg, PA

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