God Knows Who I Am

Isaiah 41:14 “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”

God knows what we are. I think this is amazing. Chapter 40 is all about how great our God is all that he made and has done. And then here in this passage he tells Israel he knows their state. In the next verse God says I will make you into something.

I am so happy that God knows my state. And as with Israel here He was willing to give His life for me and make me into the man He wants me to be. Romans 5 teaches this very clearly

We serve a wonderful creator who knows that we are nothing without Him. If God doesn’t make us into someone we are nothing. 

What is Your Joy in?

Romans 5;10-11 “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”

Do you have joy or do you find yourself often discouraged when things don’t go your way? When your car breaks down? A job opportunity turns out to be nothing?

According to these verses our joy ought to be God through Christ, “..but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”. How much this would cause us to joy in God and not the temporal things that are around us.

All that we have or see will pass away. The joy we get from the earthly things will never last. Our cars will die and end up in a junk yard. Our houses will decay and one day be pulled down and another one built over them. Everything we do or build in this life that brings us joy only lasts for a short amount of time.

But here in this verse we are given eternal joy by Jesus Christ, a joy in God the Father who is and was and is to come. Do you know how great this source of Joy is? God will never die, Hebrews 13:5 that he will never leave us nor forsake us, Revelation 1:11, he is the first and last, eternal.

We who were his enemies are reconciled to God by the blood of the Lamb. Christ has redeemed us to the God of heaven. We are made friends (john 15:15), sons (1 John 3:1), justified (Romans 5:9), at peace with God (Romans 5:1). What more do you need to bring you joy? Everything you could possibly need is found in Christ.

Our problem with Joy is that we don’t think right. If we thought on these truths the true undying joy it would bring us.

Will your joy today be placed in the temporal or the eternal? What will you think on today?

Excellent Living

Growing up my mom had a rule for all of us kids. Whatever food we put on our plate we had to eat it before we could leave the table or do anything. Of all of my siblings I tended to stay at the table the longest. I had a bad habit. I would see all the food and I would pile my plate with more food than I could eat. So my mom would make me sit at the table till my plate was clean. Sometimes I would sit there for a couple of hours.

I hated this so much but it taught me something. There is only so much food that I can eat at one time. My body has a limit. There was so much good food at the table I wanted to eat all of it, but that isn’t physically possible. I started to hate eating at the table till I learned to only get what I could eat and enjoy.

I have been thinking about the lesson I should have learned from this a long time ago today. The chapter I read in “Pushing to the Front” this morning caused me to think about this. Today was about excellence in all that I do. I should never do anything half heartedly. What I do should be done excellently or not at all.  

Thinking about this anyways I started looking at my life to see what I am doing excellently. I see now that in a way I never learned the lesson my mom tried to teach me. I see that there is so much to do, so many good things to be involved in. So I take too much on my plate. I take and say that I will do too much. So most of what I do is done with a half hearted effort. Or it is done last minute and I don’t learn from it.

I think I need to learn to only take on as much as I can do excellent. If I can’t put the time into something to make it excellent I should not spend time doing it. This doesn’t mean I am to be lazy or only just do less. I just need to take what I am doing and have on my shoulders now and do it perfectly and to the best of my ability before I take anything else on me.

I am thankful that God is teaching me each day so much.

Is your life lived excellently?

Our Magnificent Creator

Picture a man choosing a spouse. He chooses a girl that He knows will be unfaithful to him. He knows the exact day she will sell her body into slavery with adultery and yet he marries her. Knowing that this beautiful girl he has married will soon find another man to love and will sell herself to him. Knowing that she will become so indebted by her lust and sin that He will have to pay a great price, even his own life, in order to set her free.

Yet still at the end of the day when the vows are said and they are driving away. Knowing what will soon transpire, He says that the marriage is good. That he has chosen well.

This story doesn’t make much sense. No one would ever do this you say?

Well in a sense so much greater than this, God did this for us! He didn’t marry us, He created us!

Did you know that when God was creating the first man, Adam, He knew what was going to happen! God created men knowing that he would have to send His only beloved Son to die on the cross for their sins.

God created man knowing that man would reject Him and follow after his own lusts. He knew that Romans 3:10-18 would be true of His creation and yet He still calls His creation good. Genesis 1:31, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

God knew that man would never seek Him until He first sought after man. That man would become His enemy and be corrupt. God created man knowing that He would become so deep in sin He would have to die to save him. Yet God still created man.

God created you and me knowing this. Not just man in general. God knew every sin that I would do. Every thought I would have. Yet God created me.

God created men knowing how sinful they would be that He might die for them. God’s love is incredible! There is none like it. God’s thoughts and ways truly are not my ways or thoughts. We serve a great and magnificent Creator!

1 Peter 1:20 “Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,”

My mom sent me this in a email and I thought I would share.

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.
 
On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!
 
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."
 
Later that night, I went to kiss Dad good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Mom put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"
 
Life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
 
That's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God.  Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!
 
We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!
 
"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."
 
God Bless You...Now, and Always...So Please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine!

Latest earthquake news from Jason Holt

Jason’s blog

Last night a massive 8.8 earthquake hit Chile. Although we are several hours from the epicenter, we still felt 8.0 level shaking for nearly 2 minutes. Three large buildings and several bridges near are church have collapsed. Many are injured and more than 120 have died so far.

Thankfully no one in our family was hurt! As far as we know, no one in our church was injured either.

Be praying that God will use this tragedy to bring many people to Him. As we drove to the church just a couple of hours ago, we passed dozens of people who were standing in the streets in a state of confusion and shock. Others have pitched tents in the parks because of structural damage to their homes. This afternoon we’re having a special prayer service at the church, and tomorrow we’re having 2 morning services and one afternoon service. Pray will us that many people will come to know the Lord through this difficult time.

We are still without electricity and internet in our home. Phone connections and cellphone coverage has been spotty throughout the morning. We’ll give you more updates during the next few days.

Contact Info

Email – Jason’s holt@biblicalmissions.com; Lori’s lori@biblicalmissions.com

International Telephone – 770-456-5614

Prayer Letter

Dear praying friends and family,

God has been working in this past week in the greatest ways. Last Saturday I was able to go out on community impact. We were able to cover a couple of neighborhoods. In the evening I was able to meet with James and taught him some about how to run the computers. He is excited about being able to work in the church.

On Sunday I was able to preach a lesson on sinning with our tongues to the children at Trinity Hill. Working with Robert Canfield is a blessing. I have a lot to learn in the children’s ministry but he is going to allow me to work with him both at Trinity Hill and here at Vision Baptist Church.

Tuesday night I was working on a drywall job and was able to preach a little bit of the gospel to the home owner. I loved it I was able to tell her that Jesus was the answer for the world and its sin problem. Pray that God works in her life and I get the opportunity to witness again this week.

Last night again I was able to witness to Anthony my manager at Papa John’s. He promised me this time that if I get him a Bible he will read at least a couple chapters.

Prayer Requests:

Please pray for Anthony that he will read the Bible I give him.

Please pray for the people I have been witnessing to.

Please pray that God will bless in my finances

Please pray for James as he learns to run the computers.

Praises:

I will be able to work in both children’s ministries

For the opportunities God gives me to witness.

In Christ,

Micah Rastelli

God Satisfies and Fills

Psalm 107:8-9 “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!  For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”

Here we see that God satisfies and fills. God will satisfy those that will cry out to him in their distresses for help and mercy. We serve a merciful and good God.

In the verses prior to this passage the story is told of the people of God wandering in the wilderness after being delivered from their enemies. They were in this place because they had sinned against God so they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years searching for a place to live. When they come to the end of themselves in verse 5 they are hungry and thirsty and they faint.

When this point comes in their life they cry out to God for help in their time of need. The most awesome thing here is that God hears them when they cry out and delivers them from their distresses .

God deserves to be praised for His mighty works. That He is merciful to those that cry out to Him. Oh that we would praise the Lord for His deliverance.

But more than that in verse 9 we see that God doesn’t just leave them where they were. He doesn’t just deliver them. God satisfies their longing soul. God fills the hungry soul with goodness. Oh how good of a God we serve.

When we are wandering and come to the end of our rope and are longing for him and deliverance. He reaches down and saves us and then he doesn’t just save us from the distresses he also fills us with goodness and satisfies our longing soul.

We serve a good and merciful God! Let us praise and thank Him for who He is!!!

Prayer Letter

Dear Praying Friends,

The month of Febrary has been a great month. It is such a privilege to be able to serve God here at Vision Baptist Curhch. God has been at work in the church. We have seen a couple of new families join!. God is growing Vision Baptist Church.

The preaching here at Vision has been incredible these past few weeks. Pastor Gardner really studies and allows God to teach him so much from the Word of God. Then He shares it with us. I am thankful that God has given me a pastor that preaches the Word of God. He has used these messages to change my life!

In the past couple of weeks we have handed out over a thousand fliers as a church! God has brought us visitors each week this month. God really is at work her in Alpharetta. I am looking forward to what He will do in the next weeks, months, and years.

Yesterday snow fell here in Georgia. We got 4-5 inches of snow that accumulattted on the grass here. I like snow and have missed it some in the past few years I have been here in in Georgia.

This has been a wild week as far as my truck goes. Monday night my tire blew out while I was on my way home from class. When I changed the tire I found out that my spare was the wrong size. Thankfully I was able to make it home safely. God used Scott Newton to help me fix the truck the next day. I am so thankful to God that He has allowed me to have such great friends. I am undeserving of all of the blessings that God has brought into my life.

Last night as I was working I lost control of my truck on some ice and ran into a telephone pole iwth the side of my truck and then continued to plow through someones yard. Losing control is such a scary feeling. Anyway, God blessed even in this. I wasn't hurt and was able to drive my truck away without to much damage. I serve such a great God who is always merciful to me!

Vision Baptist Construction:
The building project has been moving forward slowly. I wish things would go faster and that I could devote all of my time and energy in getting the church ready. God has worked in spite of all of this. This week I did more taping and finishing to the Drywall that was already put up.

Last week God decided to provide us with some dividers that offices you. Since we do not have walls in much of the building we are using these now as classroom dividers. Praise the Lord that many men came out and helped us get the dividers and then on Tuesday a group of men put up the dividers seperating class rooom and a secretary area from the rest of the church.

It has been great to see how God works in bringing the church together to work. God has used the recent move and the building at the new building to bring us as a church closer togoether. This has been a great blessing. I am thankful that God is in control and He knows what He is doing!

Our Generation Training Center:
It is always great to see how God works in my life through the classes at the Training Center each week and month. I am so Thankful that God has allowed me to come here to Georgia and be a part of this Training Center. It is great to see God work each and every day! I have learned much this semester about the end times and Spiritual disciplines.

Praises:
- God blessed me with a new job
- I was not hurt in my accident
- The growth we have seen at Vision Baptist Church

Prayer Requests:
- That I will apply what I am learning.
- That I will be able to fix my truck.

In Christ,
Micah Rastelli

Second Prayer Letter

Dear Praying Friends, 


This past week many things have happened. Last Saturday class with Mark Tolson on Deputation and then with Kelli Canfield on English. The English class has been a blessing and I am sure that I will learn a lot this semester though it is not my favorite subject. I need to learn how to speak and write if I am to be in the ministry. 


After class we had visitation for about 2 hours as a church and past out more than one thousand fliers. It was a great time though it was raining and just a little cold. 


All week Long God has been at work in my life and I am so grateful for that. In each class that I have I learn so much from each of my teachers. Cults on Monday and learning how to preach the gospel to different Cults around the world has been very helpful. This week we learned about sects. 


Old Testament Survey has been a helpful class as well. I have learned much from Trent about the Old Testament. I love hearing stories of how God worked in the past. Sometimes it is easy to get lost in the Old Testament but to see the big picture of books and God's hand through out is very helpful.


Class on Thursday is always good. This week in our Disciplines class Tyler Masters missionary to North Africa taught us. Our regular teacher, Kevin Hall, is in South Africa with the church that he started there for the next two weeks. 


Thursday night after class we had our first Goers and Senders Coalition meeting at Vision Baptist Church. It was an awesome service. We had much singing and preaching. We heard from about 11 preachers and got to see their heart for world evangelism. I love being able to train in a church that has such a heart for missions. 


Then Friday class with Austin Gardner was good as always. I am very thankful for a pastor that will take time to teach me and train me to be the missionary God wants me to be. He helped us with our preaching and how to preach properly yesterday. We also learned more about the will of God and then heard from a missionary to Indonesia. I love Friday class and being able to hear from missionaries and have pastor guide conversations with them so that we can learn. 


Prayer Requests:
That I will learn all that I can from this semester. 
That I will be able to raise the money to go to Peru this summer if God permits.


In Christ,
Micah Rastelli

Glorify God among the Gentiles for His Mercy!

Romans 15:8-9 "Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name."

I just want to pull one point from this passage that caused me to think. In verse eight we see Christ was a minister of circumcision. In the end of verse eight and beginning of verse nine two reasons are given for this. The second one is the one that struck me. "And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy".

Here in this second verse we see that Christ came to minister and from the beginning of it He had a heart for the world. (Gentiles are everyone that is not a Jew). Christ came that men might give God the glory He deserves for His abundant mercy.

God is merciful for so many reasons. That He died for us on the cross of calvary bearing our shame. That He doesn't destroy us when we are His enemies and doing everything that we can against Him. That He is forbearing with our sin and doesn't punish us now for it like we deserve.

God is merciful and He deserves that the world would glorify Him for His mercy!

In the end of this verse we are given two things that the mercy of God should drive us to do.

First, it should drive us to, "I will confess to thee among the Gentiles". God's mercy should cause us to praise God and confess to Him among the Gentiles. We ought not be closet Christians. We should be open with all of those that are around us about how merciful our God is. Do those that we work with and spend time with know that we are a Christian and about the greatness of our God.

Second, it should cause us to sing to our God. If we realize just how great our God's mercy is towards us it will cause us to sing. This ought to be in front of people and not just in private.

How much do we praise and confess to God His great mercy before the Gentiles?
Do those that are around us know of the mercy of God or are we silent?

Spiritual Disciplines

"Evangelist Robert L. Sumner, in his book The Wonder of the Word of God, tells of a man in Kansas City who was severely injured in an explosion. His face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He had just become a Christian when the accident happened, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in braille. But he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been too badly damaged to distinguish the characters. One day, as he brought one of the braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, 'I can read the Bible using my tongue.' At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had read through the entire Bible four times. If he can do that, can you discipline yourself to read the Bible?" - Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney

Redemption in Christ

Romams 3:24 "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"

So I decided to study the words in Christ through the Bible. Here is my first post on it. I think that it is interesting that it says redemption is in Christ.

Redemption is to buy back. Here God is say that the ablity to buy us back is found in Christ. Colossians 1:14 says that it is only throught his blood redemption comes.

My redemption or the payment for my sin that brought me back into fellowship with God only comes in Christ. All believers are in Christ therefore they have redemption that is found in Christ.

This redemption is what make me able to be justified by the grace of God. I have been made the righteousness of God by the redemption of God that comes from being in Christ.

I am so thankful that God paid the price of my sin by His blood that I might be bought back.

First Prayer Letter

Dear Praying Friends,

This past week has been a good week here at the Our Generation Training Center. God has worked in some mighty ways in providing me some work that I will be able to do. God has paid everyone of my bills for this month which is a beautiful thing to watch him do.

In all of my classes this week I learned some very valuable things that I will be able to use for the rest of my life. In Spiritual Disciplines on Thursday we learned about how short our life really is. How that I need to live in light of eternity and not the temporal things that are all around me! How that what is eternal is the only thing worth living life for!

In class today with Pastor Gardner we talked about about how that we will be taken advantage of all of our lives. It is part of the ministry. There is no way around it Paul, Jesus, and all the other great men of God were taken advantage of! If I am going to serve God I will be taken advantage of!

I was able to be at the consumed teen Revival on Thursday. It was a great service. God worked in a mighty way! It was a great message on putting God first in our lives.

I also have been able to work at the church more. It is great to see the work and changes that happen at Vision every week.

Prayer Requests:

That I would put God first in every area of my life!

That I would live my life daily in life of eternity!

In Christ,

Micah Rastelli

January 29, 2010

Quotes - Personal Disciplines with Kevin Hall

We must care for our bodies as though we were going to live forever, but we must care for our souls as if we are going to die tomorrow.

-- Augustine --

Our presuppositions shape our perspective, our perspectives shape our priorities, and our priorities shape our practice.

Explained: Our beliefs shape our outlook on life, and our outlook on life influence our priorities in life, and our priorities in life determine the way we live out life.

Fighting from victory not for victory

So I was thinking the other day about this. I have for a long time sought to fight for victory in my life. I knew that God would be pleased with me if I could just do right. If I could just keep all the commandments I would make him happy with me and I would live a victorious life for Christ.

With this attitude I would fail and get discouraged cause I thought I could never have victory. I would think of myself as a failure trying to do what only a success could do. I saw myself as a sinner trying to live as a righteous man. I knew I didn't need to do anything to go to heaven but I thought that God saves us and then we live the Christian life and then God takes us home and perfects us where we failed.

Well I was just thinking about it and I don't fight for victory over sin and self. I fight from victory over sin and death. God has made me his son and I have victory.

Romans 6 and 8 speak all about this. Romans 6 talks about how that through Christ I have been made dead to sin and alive to Christ. If I am dead to sin then I have victory over it and it has no power over me.

Romans 8 talks about life in the Spirit and how that God's children have the Spirit and are guided by the Spirit of God. I know that I have the Spirit of God and He guides me. I have all the tools I need to have victory over all sin and the flesh.

I have victory in Christ. I don't need to fight for the victory. Christ has made me a victor in Him and by his blood. All I need to do now is reckon this to be so and live my life from it and in light of it. The victory is already won I just need to live like it is now!

Anyway enough rambling for today!

Thinking

So yesterday when I was delivering pizza's I started to think about some things. I never thought of them this way before. But it goes something like this. I love working at Vision Baptist Church. I know that it is where God wants me to be right now and serving here has been awesome.

I have been building walls at the church all week long and it has been the greatest time. I know when I build things that God gets pleasure. I know that He is happy when I am using any talents that He has given me for Him. I love working.

I know that God is pleased with me when I preach or study or even sometimes take a break and just relax. God gets pleasure out of what I do for Him.

I am thankful that I don't have to try and please Him. That He is already pleased with me because of what Christ did on the cross. I can now just relax and serve Him.

I am so thankful God allows me to serve Him!

Job 23:8-10 "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

Here Job is answering after Eliphaz had told him that he was unrighteous and God was judging him. Job just said that he wanted to he wished he could talk with God and take his cause before Him that he might know why this was happening.

Here he says that he doesn't feel like God is with him. He feels like God has left him and he is all alone. Job feels like God has abandoned him. But in spite of this in verse 10 he says I know that God knows my way. Even though he could not see God working in his life and everything told him that God had abandoned him. He knew that God was still watching him and taking count of his life. He also knew that God was trying him and would bring him forth as gold.

Job had faith in God that even when everything seemed to say that God had abandoned him. He did not lose faith. He believed God was there and that there was a purpose in what he was going through.

In my own life I want to have this kind of faith. Even when things don't seem true I want to believe God just for the fact he has said it. What God says is true even though it might not seem like it. I will believe God.

Job a man of character

Job 13:15 "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."

Hear in this verse Job is giving an answer to Zophar one of his friends. He just got done talking about the power of God in chapter 12 and here he says if God was to kill him, he would still trust God.

Job's faith in God was not based on how good it seemed that God was treating him. The nice things that he had, his family, God's blessings, or anything that was good. Job's faith was in God and who He is. When God took everything that Job had away he still stood for God a pillar of faith.

Even if God would have killed him he would have still trusted in God.

So much in my life I know that my faith in God and how much I trust in Him is based on what He is doing for me. If things go wrong in my life I often think that God must have abandoned me. I want to have this kind of faith that can stand no matter what I may face in my life.

Oh that I would have the faith of Job and be able to stand for God as he did.