3 Quick Facts in 3 Minutes – 3 reasons why campuses in the US are one of the most strategic mission fields on the planet. 1. International Students 2. The campus is an atmosphere where students are “open” to new ideas 3. 18 – 25 year old’s are the most unreached age group in the nation.
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Hello Everyone,
I apologize for not getting an update out sooner, but it has been a crazy few days and I was hoping to have some more concrete news to share by waiting. On Tuesday Night, I went down to the hospital to pray and stay with Lee. It was very encouraging that so many of you responded to our request to cover Lee in prayer for 24 hours. I stayed and prayed through the night, while many of you prayed through the night from your homes. Thank you.
The doctors did test on Lee on Wednesday that showed there was some bleeding in his abdomen. They suspected that a tumor was causing the bleeding, and a friend that was there when the doctors came in, said that the options that doctors present all seemed risky, and not pleasant. The doctors were not real hopeful.
I have to admit that hearing the report was a bit unsettling. I called a few people and asked them to pray. I wanted to send out an update, but felt my information was incomplete and so we asked God to call people to pray and direct them how to. My wife, Adriane, had signed up to pray from 11:30 to Midnight. I joined her, and we worshiped and prayed and told God, that the reports confirmed what we already knew. That the medical community did not seem to have any answer for this. As we praised and cried and prayed, I sensed that God was releasing a strength in us, and while I don’t want this update to be about my prayer time, I do want to share that when we are weary and worn out, and we don’t have any strength, that God comes to us in those times when we will wait on
Him. I was encourages as we went to bed, even though the reports were not encouraging.
We woke up on Thursday and were more encouraged. Lee had sent me a text message saying that the bleeding had stopped “on it’s own”. Yea GOD! I am waiting on an update today, but as of last night, Lee was in ICU so they could monitor his blood count closely. They were thinking they would move him to a regular room today. He was still experiencing some pain last night, so we need to pray that the pain would go away, and that the source of the pain would be healed.
Also, please pray for his family. God has been speaking to a lot of people about the importance of praying for Lee and his Mom (Michelle), Dad (Bud) and brother (Travis) at this point. As Lee mentioned in his request, he has been dealing with cancer for 7 years now. That has been exhausting and put a lot of pressure on this family. Would you pray that God would release strength and healing into this family, and that God would reveal Himself clearer than ever to each member of the family. This is not a generic request for “grace for the family”, this is a specific and intentional prayer focus point. Please join us in interceding for this family.
I will try to put out another update as soon as I get more information.
Blessings,
Brad McKoy
Hello Everyone,
I hope you have all had a chance to read Lee’s Birthday request. He just texted me a few minutes ago to ask me to pray. He is in a lot of pain and has gone to the ER in Pittsburgh. I am getting ready to go down and pray. Whenever you read this, please pray.
I need to go so I will make this short. I really believe that the cancer that is in Lee’s body is a direct attack on his life. It obviously is manifesting powerfully in his body, but through prayer, we must deal with it spiritually. Jesus dealt with sickness this way, so I am asking you to pray together with me, and with others around the world, that the cancer will be evicted from his body.
I was just talking to one of Lee’s friends who suggested praying around the clock for him. That would be a great birthday gift. So, if you can take a time slot of 15 minutes, half hour or longer, please email sballjr@aol.com and she will post the times in the comment section of Lee’s Birthday Request on his blog.
Thank you for praying.
[splashcast c ISKK4088IC]
Hey Everyone,
I am forwarding a message from my friend Lee Myers. Many of you have been praying with me for Lee for quite a while now, and Lee and I both believe that the power of God in response to prayer has been what has sustained his life. For those who don’t know who Lee is, he is an amazing young man who has a heart for God and an incredible destiny as a world changer. He is currently fighting cancer (death at work in his body). We believe that Jesus said the thief came to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to release abundant life. That gives us courage and permission to pray bold prayers with the expectation that God will answer.
Lee wrote the following post on his blog (which is amazing) and I asked if I could pass it on to others who might pray for him. I ask you to join with me in praying for Lee. Pray that cancer would leave his body and that he would be completely healed and restored. We are believing for the impossible, which is just the kind of thing that God loves. Thank you.
(for those of you who can pray for Lee on His birthday and know your way around online, I am sure it would encourage Lee if you left a comment on his blog.)
Blessings,
from Lee Myers – the week of November 19th, 2008 – It was around this time of the year 7 years ago when my left leg started to hurt near the hip. That pain turned out to be bone cancer, which is still around right now. That’s how long it’s been. My spirit feels strong right now. In that sense, I feel really good, but as far as I know death is still in my body. I don’t think it’s ok for it to stay there as far as I’m concerned. I pray a lot about the cancer dying amongst other things. Sometimes I don’t know how to pray for myself, and at times it even feels selfish (I don’t think it is selfish). I haven’t directly asked a lot of people to pray for me, but I know a ton of people do, and I’m incredibly grateful for that because I know it’s a big deal. God has actually asked people to pray for me in different ways that I’ve been amazed to hear about… dreams, visions, encounters, etc… I’m always so humbled and amazed at God’s love and concern for me when I hear something like that. It kind of blows my mind and also stirs up a few confused feelings… I wonder why God would go through the trouble of leading people to pray when I feel like He could just answer the prayer without it being asked. I could probably think myself into a coma with that question.
I’m saying all of this for a reason… It feels a bit selfish at times to ask people to pray for me. I don’t know that I believe it actually is selfish though. When people pray for me in person, it feels really right at this time in my life… it feels like I’m a man dying of thirst that’s getting a drink of cold water. It’s different than all the other times in my life that people have prayed for me. I hope that makes sense even if you’ve never felt that way. I feel the war for my life a lot right now… there is no new medical information to share right now, but I feel the battle.
I hope this comes across humbly to those who read it. If it doesn’t, or if it seems wrong of me to you, then please disregard this… My birthday is coming up in less than a week (November 19). I don’t normally advertise that either, but I’m asking you for something for my birthday. Will you pray for me? I made a request at the end of the previous blog post for prayer, but I thought I should do this. I value the prayers of people more than any other thing (truly truly). Will you pray for me for at least 15 minutes on my birthday? Please pray more if you want, and I’d appreciate it a ton if you’d pray on days other than my birthday. I don’t think I’m asking this out of fear for my life… I don’t want to do things just because I’m scared. I’m not saying I’m never scared, but I’m making this request because I feel like I need to ask even though it’s an uncomfortable thing to do. I don’t pretend to fully understand prayer or how or why it works, but I know it does… and I feel like I need to ask people to pray for my life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you… (from Lee)
So, as a social studies teacher I spend a lot of time studying politics. Those things that many people find annoying and boring excite me and make me amazingly proud to be an American.
This election cycle has been long, involved, sometimes ugly, and extremely important. I feel in my bones that our nation is at a huge crossroads and one simple push in one direction or the other can take us down a path we were never meant for. I pray constantly for the issues which our nation faces. Everything from the lives of innocent babies being protected to the sanctity of marriage to the financial future of my family.
The other evening I was privileged to be a part of an event called Re:Turn, a focused time of prayer, fasting, and worship for our nation. You see, we believe our nation was set up as a lampstand for almighty God. We also believe that our nation, and especially our churches, have started paying more attention, to quote a friend of mine, to “what happens in the white house, instead of what happens in God’s house.”
I am praying and calling others to pray for our nation and for the elections. My desire would be to see leaders elected that would honor righteousness and have a heart to know the Lord. But make no mistake, the hope of our nation does not rest on the platform of a political party, or on the shoulders of any candidate for president, or vice president for that matter. The hope of our nation is found only in the person of the Three in One, holy God and in His people walking as sons and daughters of righteousness.
At this gathering, I heard some words which touched my heart and I found an instant peace about the election. The words were…
“Every king or ruler who has ever sat upon a throne on this earth did so only at God’s choosing.” You see, God is still in control. God still reigns on high and his purposes shall come to pass. We spend all of our time worrying about taxes, spending, congress and the Supreme Court and forget that the SUPREME being is still in charge.
Take heart, family. If we pay attention to God’s laws and God’s standards and God’s words then we will be more than ok…we will be uplifted and sanctified.
I invite you to visit the page of Re:Turn, because we have started focusing on making it a movement, rather that an event. Too often an amazing spiritual event takes place and the peope of God immediately go off and do something else and forget what God has told them. It’s like we get our spiritual appetizer, and leave the table before we get the main course. God has so much more in store for us than a one day, 4 or 5 or 13 hour feast on His spirit and word. He desires to see his call and spirit spread to every corner of the world. He desires to see His body RADICALLY changed and pouring out upon others.
Election? Who cares. Revival? YES
I’ve been thinking recently about how easily we get bored. Have you ever really thought about it? As Americans we have so much stuff—video games, DVDs, iPods, iPhones, instant messaging, Chipotle, Starbucks, Graeter’s Ice Cream (it’s the best), NFL, NBA, MLB, WWF, hundreds of MySpace and Facebook friends. The list goes on and on. We’ve got all this stuff, and stuff to do, but we are so easily bored!
What’s up with that?
C.S. Lewis in his book, “Mere Christianity,” said, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
Wow! That’s a powerful statement to me for two reasons.
First, it tells me that we were created with deep longings and desires that simply will not go away. As men and women, there is a place within our souls that longs for true excitement and lasting fascination. We can’t escape this. The human race longs deeply to be fascinated with something bigger than itself. That’s why boredom is painful. We try to fill this yearning with stuff that never satisfies for long.
Stop and think about it. What drives the entertainment industry? Why do people pay $9 to be lost in a movie for a couple hours? Or why do people base jump off buildings and bridges thousands of feet off the ground? Why do people risk their marriages and careers for illicit affairs? The human race is starved for excitement, beauty, and adventure. Where can we find it?
The second thing about Lewis’ quote that impacts me is that he points us to God as the ultimate satisfaction to our longings and desires. Saint Augustine agreed. He put it this way: “You [God] made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Some people might think it’s trite, or even a cop out, to claim that God is the ultimate satisfaction to our boredom and restlessness. Perhaps it’s just a unavoidable part of being human.
Consider how Jesus described the Kingdom of God in Matthew 13:44:
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
I don’t know about you, but this little story makes me miserable—in a good kind of way. It makes me realize that there is so much more to Jesus than what I’ve settled for, or what many churches offer. When the man in the story discovered the hidden treasure, what did he do? First he is overcome with joy. Did you get that? No, really, let that sink in. This man felt a profound delight and joy in the treasure he discovered. His primary response was not duty, obligation or teeth-gritting discipline. He was overcome by a profound joy! For crying out loud, isn’t this what we’re all looking for? Isn’t this the answer to our boredom?
Next, the man (in his joy) liquidated all of his assets to buy the field. Why? Because the value of the treasure was far superior to everything else he held dear.
How do you assess the value of something? Is it not by how much delight and pleasure you gain from it? Is it not by the intensity and quality of joy it brings to your heart? Author Sam Storms has said, “Pleasure is the measure of your treasure.” Dang, that’s true, isn’t it?
You and I were made to search for and find a superior treasure in Christ. Jesus offers us everlasting pleasure, joy and delight, but we have failed to discover it! He offers us a gourmet feast and we are content to snack on junk food! Jesus is like the breath taking Grand Canyon, or the wonderous Northern Lights, but we cannot lift our eyes from our handheld, electronic devices long enough to take in His beauty.
God unashamedly invites us to find our deepest satisfaction in Him. Just consider how He appeals to our desires in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” Or what about Psalm 16:11, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures evermore.”
Fullness of joy? Pleasures evermore? What kind of God is this? What have we been missing?
The clincher for me is found in John 7:37 when Jesus stands up in the middle of crowd of people and unashamedly says, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink . . .” Enough said. I’m going drinking!
A Prayer
Jesus, I bring my heart to you. I’m thirsty. I’m hungry. I long to be satisfied and filled with what the Bible says are “Pleasures evermore.” I want to taste and see your goodness. I want to drink in more of You! Oh, quench my thirst. I’m sorry for trying to satisfy my boredom through worthless things. Let my boredom repeatedly bring me to You, and then may I discover in You a superior joy, delight and treasure that causes everything else to pale in comparison.
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