So aside from the incredible school stuff that we experience on a daily basis, we have also met some great people from all over the world. We had 2 couples from Australia (Geoff and Christine and Rob and Deb) and 1 couple from New Brunswick (Jon and Kathleen) join us for dinner last night. It was such a wonderful time to relax and get to know others from our own country but also from a country many, many miles away. It's wonderful to hear everyones story about how they found out about Bethel, what brought them here and what they had to go through to get here!
We also went for coffee on Saturday morning with a young couple from Scotland (Phil and Louise) They had just bought a car and we're thrilled to find something that was reliable and came equipped with an engine. I guess they looked at some real lemmons! There are still some students looking for housing. Some either came here with no idea where they might live, or others got here and the housing they were going to live in was not exactly advertised 'correctly'.
This week we go on a retreat to a neighboring community called Chico. We will be there from Thursday to Saturday. Apparently, the camp that we will be staying at used to be an old YWAM base. Bethel has divided us into 'Revival groups', each group is about 65 students. We will be going on the retreat with our revival group and our leaders. Looking forward to that!
We had Dann Farrely speak this week about how Bethel got started, how he got started with Bethel and the 'ebbs and flows' that Bethel has gone through over the years. Amazing story delivered in the most hilarious way I have ever heard! We laughed so hard it was crazy! It was good to hear that the Bethel we are attending today, didn't always look like this. They had very humble beginnings and went through some very tough stuff over the years. Pastor Dann put his 'funny stamp' on the content so we didn't even notice he spoke for 2 1/2 hours! It is clear that the leading of the Holy Spirit here is paramount. So often we tend to run ahead of Him or don't consult Him at all. I have come to realize that without His presence we are really missing out. Our christian walk is so much more abundant and meaningful with Him, than without.
I'll post more after our retreat. I'm sure there will be great things to share!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
I think I'd like to share some of the 'nuggets' that we have learned so far. I'm sure there will be many more! To me, a 'nugget' is a piece of information that makes you say 'wow' or 'c-mon!' or 'thank you Jesus!' upon hearing it. I hope the nine items I've posted below make sense and that by reading them you will also say 'thank you' to the One we serve!
1) A miracle is a tutor to teach you about the unseen
2) We need to pray with God, not to Him
3) Before we had a problem, He already had the answer
4) We are working from Heaven, not for Heaven
5) We are to be imitators of God...when we do this we are being ourselves!
6) We honor the previous generation by going where they didn't have time to go
7) It's never ok to be a spectator and only applaud at what God is doing
8) Christianity is meant to be known for it's passion, not it's discipline.
9) Our character is the platform that holds the weight of the responsibility He gives us
I would encourage anybody that reads this to buy Bill Johnsons book 'When Heaven invades Earth'
It's mind-blowing and mind-changing stuff!
1) A miracle is a tutor to teach you about the unseen
2) We need to pray with God, not to Him
3) Before we had a problem, He already had the answer
4) We are working from Heaven, not for Heaven
5) We are to be imitators of God...when we do this we are being ourselves!
6) We honor the previous generation by going where they didn't have time to go
7) It's never ok to be a spectator and only applaud at what God is doing
8) Christianity is meant to be known for it's passion, not it's discipline.
9) Our character is the platform that holds the weight of the responsibility He gives us
I would encourage anybody that reads this to buy Bill Johnsons book 'When Heaven invades Earth'
It's mind-blowing and mind-changing stuff!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
We have been in class for 2 days but mentally it feels longer than that! We've had such wonderful instruction and total enveloping of the Holy Spirit that it will be difficult to put it all into words, but I'll try! For example, today we had a class with Kris Vallotton. He wanted us to partner with a total stranger for an 'exercise' in Words of Knowledge and the Prophetic. He led us in prayer and then gave us some basic instruction of what we should ask the Holy Spirit to reveal about the person we were paired with. When I say 'basic', I'm talking about a Word of Knowledge about their bedroom and what their Mothers name is.
As you can imagine, this exercise takes complete trust and a banishment of all fear. Since 'perfect Love casts out all fear', it is resting in that promise that allows the Holy Spirit to do His work. Trust me, I had my share of fear going into this but I can honestly say that that evaporates the moment you confess it and fall in love with Jesus. Does that mean we will automatically be perfect at imparting Words of Knowledge? No way! This takes practise, the realization that you could fail and total reliance on the Holy Spirits leading. But, what I can say, is that when you get it right, it ROCKS!! There is nothing more exciting than to see a persons face light up or tears stream down their cheeks when the Holy Spirit speaks to them through you and you actually heard Him correctly!!!
There were several truths that were shared with us today that were mind blowing! For example, we are a Royal Priesthood of an almighty King that loves us SO much. We cannot 'do' or not do anything that will change it. His love for us will never shift. We have a built-in divine nature and that gives us the mind of Christ.
Bethel really cultivates a culture of Honor. It is an empowering environment that expects us to take ownership of our awesomeness in Christ but it also expects us to take risks. They spell faith R-I-S-K.
You will only meet your full potential when you realize that God loves you immensely and He wants a relationship with you. He wants to capture your mind so that we can co-labor with Him. I love what Bill Johnson said... "We need to live out of presence and not principles'. So, I'll leave it at that tonight. We have some homework to do! Till next time.....D & D
As you can imagine, this exercise takes complete trust and a banishment of all fear. Since 'perfect Love casts out all fear', it is resting in that promise that allows the Holy Spirit to do His work. Trust me, I had my share of fear going into this but I can honestly say that that evaporates the moment you confess it and fall in love with Jesus. Does that mean we will automatically be perfect at imparting Words of Knowledge? No way! This takes practise, the realization that you could fail and total reliance on the Holy Spirits leading. But, what I can say, is that when you get it right, it ROCKS!! There is nothing more exciting than to see a persons face light up or tears stream down their cheeks when the Holy Spirit speaks to them through you and you actually heard Him correctly!!!
There were several truths that were shared with us today that were mind blowing! For example, we are a Royal Priesthood of an almighty King that loves us SO much. We cannot 'do' or not do anything that will change it. His love for us will never shift. We have a built-in divine nature and that gives us the mind of Christ.
Bethel really cultivates a culture of Honor. It is an empowering environment that expects us to take ownership of our awesomeness in Christ but it also expects us to take risks. They spell faith R-I-S-K.
You will only meet your full potential when you realize that God loves you immensely and He wants a relationship with you. He wants to capture your mind so that we can co-labor with Him. I love what Bill Johnson said... "We need to live out of presence and not principles'. So, I'll leave it at that tonight. We have some homework to do! Till next time.....D & D
Monday, September 12, 2011
I forgot to add something pretty cool! As we were standing in the line-up waiting to register, a young man (we think he might have been a janitor) tapped Dave on his shoulder and told him..." I'm sorry to disturb you and I don't know you but I can feel that the presence of God is so strong around you. Be prepaired because God is going to rock you this year". Isn't that just a little bit of confirmation as to why we are here?! Yippee!
Hhhhmmmm, where to start?! Let's start with Sunday night service. Heidi Baker was here and she delivered alot more than the evening message! As some of you know, Heidi lives in Mozambique and oversees her Ministry called 'Iris'. She told us stories about how God has fed her 'children' against all odds when no food source was remotely available. But isn' that the God we serve?? He comes through against odds that seem impossible to us, when in fact, nothing is impossible with God! Heidi demonstrates a complete trust in our Father and she blessed us with her stories and brought the Holy Spirit and His annointing along with her!
Today we had to be at Bethel to register, which started at 1000am. We showed up at 1230 and the line up was almost out the door! We had to stand in the International student line-up, which coming from Canada, seems a bit funny when your standing next to others from Switzerland and Norway! We had wonderful opportunities to speak with so many neat, interesting people...even a few youngsters from Calgary and Toronto :) There are 900 First year students, which made the registration process a wee bit slow, but nevertheless, they were highly organized and not ALL 900 students came through registration today. Believe it or not, there are still students that need housing! On Sunday they announced that 15 students have not found anything. That's a little 'too close for comfort' for me. Our first book report is due September 21st. I'm very thankful that we have read the book already!
Our next door neighbours are two young guys. Daniel is from Canada (PEI) and Drew is from L.A. Daniel has done 2 years and Drew has just started his 2nd year at Bethel. We had them over tonight for BBQ burgers. It was great fun getting to know them and I'm sure there will be more dinners together. We have a sense that we could turn into the 'block parents' for some of these kids as this whole area seems populated by Bethel students!
So, as we officially get started tomorrow, please hold us in prayer and ask this incredible God we serve to reveal Himself more fully, stretch us and remove fears and 'hangups'. Many thanks to you all for your love and support!
Today we had to be at Bethel to register, which started at 1000am. We showed up at 1230 and the line up was almost out the door! We had to stand in the International student line-up, which coming from Canada, seems a bit funny when your standing next to others from Switzerland and Norway! We had wonderful opportunities to speak with so many neat, interesting people...even a few youngsters from Calgary and Toronto :) There are 900 First year students, which made the registration process a wee bit slow, but nevertheless, they were highly organized and not ALL 900 students came through registration today. Believe it or not, there are still students that need housing! On Sunday they announced that 15 students have not found anything. That's a little 'too close for comfort' for me. Our first book report is due September 21st. I'm very thankful that we have read the book already!
Our next door neighbours are two young guys. Daniel is from Canada (PEI) and Drew is from L.A. Daniel has done 2 years and Drew has just started his 2nd year at Bethel. We had them over tonight for BBQ burgers. It was great fun getting to know them and I'm sure there will be more dinners together. We have a sense that we could turn into the 'block parents' for some of these kids as this whole area seems populated by Bethel students!
So, as we officially get started tomorrow, please hold us in prayer and ask this incredible God we serve to reveal Himself more fully, stretch us and remove fears and 'hangups'. Many thanks to you all for your love and support!
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