*Our last 3 updates that were sent out via email*
Let me know if you would like to be added to these updates!
Prayer Update #1 - October 11, 2015
As most of you are aware, these last few months have consisted of a lot of change for Rance and I (Jayden is just along for the ride at this point). If you do not know the details of our calling and recent transition into full-time ministry – head on over to ranceandjennifer.blogspot.com to read more about this. If you are aware, we would love to keep you posted going forward as we walk by faith and journey through life seeking to follow after Christ.
Our faith has been tested in many ways over the last few months; however, each test has built our trust in the Father in ways that we cannot help but be thankful for this testing period. In a book I have recently been reading the author asks “What is faith but the enormous risk of relinquishing the guarantees of certainty?” This question has replayed in my head over and over lately as the many changes in our lives has brought about much uncertainty. Uncertainty is often hard to accept since human beings have a fundamental need to feel safe and secure. We want definitive answers, set plans, a predictable future, and our needs and wants to be met. However, the Bible is full of story after story where God calls but does not provide the details (like Abraham in Genesis 12). Why is that? Is God deliberately leaving us in moments of doubt? The Father knows that clarity and certainty are not the soil in which our faith is strengthened. You see, each test reveals the object of our faith. We please God by actively choosing to trust Him moment by moment in the midst of uncertainty.
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him ~ Hebrews 11:6
Even during this UNCERTAIN season, Rance and I can cling to what is ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN – God is good, He is sovereign and we CAN trust Him and take Him at His Word! That my friends brings FREEDOM!
How do you respond in uncertainty?
*Prayer Requests*
~New schedules & discipleship commitments.
~Continued preparation for upcoming ordination set for the weekend of November 7-8.
~Monthly financial & prayer support team.
Update #2 - November 1, 2015
Do you suppose that Abraham was asked "why" when God told him to leave his country or that Noah was asked "why" when God told him to build a stadium sized boat? For us personally, the repeated question has been "why" in the world we would quit our full-time jobs? These are all great "why" questions!
All of the above may sound crazy, ludicrous, and completely insane right? But are they really? Let's put it into perspective shall we?
"Your Kingdom come, Your will be done..."
I recently read that praying Jesus' prayer is yielding "to be drafted into the call of God." Wow. Is it possible to center our lives around being "Your kingdom come, Your will be done" kind of people? When it boils down to it - it seems we all get to choose between one of two universes? It's either "my will be done (self-centered)" OR "Thy will be done (God-centered)".
In Genesis 12:1 ~ Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you." Abram was told to leave the gods of his fathers and go. We later read in Genesis 26:5 that "Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." Abraham became the father of faith and his faithfulness was measured by the capacity of taking God at His word. Abraham was obedient to His calling from the Lord. Thy will be done...
Abraham wasn't the only man to trust God and follow His calling. Noah was commissioned to build a stadium-sized boat when the earth had never even seen rain. Seems ludicrous doesn't it? Yet Noah was obedient to His calling from the Lord. Thy will be done...
The focus is not on the act of giving something up but WHO we are giving in to ~ God's priorities, God's calling (Thy will be done)!
Rance and I desire to be "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done" kind of people. (Side note - this does NOT mean we do not constantly deal with our self-centered Son of Adam nature!). The Lord made it clear that His calling for our family is full-time ministry and quitting our jobs is just a part of fulfilling this calling. Again, while the focus can often be on the extremity of this decision just like Abraham and Noah's, the REAL focal point is "Thy will be done" to His calling, His Kingdom coming, and His will being done no matter what it looks like, no matter if it makes zero sense, and even when we do not fully understand.
I don't need to see tomorrow's plans
I just need to trust that You are working
I don't even need to understand
I just need to keep You as the first thing
Lyrics from Vertical Church Band "If I Have You"
With that being said, the Lord doesn't call everyone to go into full-time ministry or to build arks or to move far away from family (although He may)! As believers, each of us has a VERY important role to fulfill in the advancement of Christ's Kingdom. We cannot underestimate what God will do and how He can use ALL of our skills, gifts, interests and desires that we fully surrender to Him. Whether your calling is to be a nurse, a teacher, a bus driver, a salesman, OR you have the ability to repair a car, coach a sport, lead a business or write a novel OR the Lord is asking you to adopt or make a job change - each can be done for the purpose of His Kingdom coming, for His will being done. Praise the Lord for the diversity of our Kingdom callings!
In what areas of your life are you holding on to "my will be done"? Maybe you are thinking 'what does it matter anyways?' Can your life have eternal significance right now and in the ages to come if you yield to 'Thy will be done?" Stay tuned...
*Schedule Updates & Prayer Requests*
~ORDINATION! Rance will meet before an ordination council of men on Saturday evening November 7th. Pending approval of the ordination council to be ordained as a Minister of the Gospel, Rance will speak at First Baptist Sunday morning the 8th during worship service and will have an ordination ceremony at 2:30 in the afternoon which everyone is invited to attend (again pending approval).
~Continued prayer for new schedules and weekly discipleship groups.
~Monthly financial & prayer support team.
Update #3 - November 14, 2015
"First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world" ~ Romans 1:8
Although Paul had never been to the church in Rome, he had heard great reports and he was thankful. Thankfulness is a humble reminder that success does not focus on ourselves. It is delighting in what has happened as a result of God's grace through other's time, energy, and love. Paul closes out the letter in Chapter 16 by acknowledging 27 people that had been a key influence in his own ministry. Paul's success in ministry was a result of many people laboring along the way for God's purposes. Paul's success was their success. Everyone shared.
We are so thankful by God's grace that Rance is now an Ordained Minister of the Gospel! His success is also the success of all those who have invested in his spiritual maturity along the way for the purpose of God's glory!
We would like to say THANK YOU...
- to Our Heavenly Father for His Grace which freely gives and calls. "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given..." (Ephesians 3:8).
- to ALL that have invested much time, love and energy in helping Rance become whole. This investment started way back in college at ASU and has continued to this day. We would especially like to thank Colin McDougall for his faithfulness to the Lord and to us, laboring to present us mature in Christ Jesus.
- to our ETM teammates for standing and praying with us as we learn together what a TEAM is to look like. Thank you for bringing light and exposure to our lives for the purpose of being edified and conformed to His image.
- to our Pastor, Noah Crowe, for shepherding us as you continue to follow the One who said "I am the Good Shepherd" (John 10:11).
- to the pastors/elders that took the time to read through Rance's doctrinal statement and spend last Saturday evening asking him questions for the purpose of examining Rance's ability to stand on the Truth of God's Word.
- to the deacon's at First Baptist for your humble service, support, and prayers in this journey.
- to our church family for the fellowship we share as we seek to reach, teach and grow.
- to our family & friends - to those who traveled to be a part of this time (our Indiana, Nahunta, Sanford, Georgia family), for those that prayed, for those that encouraged through texts and emails, and for those that believed in Rance's calling all along the way!
Our hearts are so grateful for the love and support along life's journey as we seek to be an effective team together for the work of the Lord Jesus.
In Christ Becoming,
Rance and Jenni
