To be His Vessel

Psalm 24 Days continue in ourMonday Night Ministry, Street Church and now in another location. We are experiencing revival here in Calgary! Glory be to God!!!!


Isa 57:15 For so says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity; whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, even with the contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (NKJV)

I thought it fitting to use the above scripture as we are seeing the lives of many individuals being changed and turning their lives to Christ. Street Church is growing, now 8 weeks since our first service and every week we baptize in the Bow River. People are becoming born again, renewing their lives to Christ, being healed and set free from demonic bondage. I found out a few days ago that we are on the front cover of an Ontario Christian publication called 'Christian Week'. Hallelujah and praise be to God! May He receive all the glory!!!

I am sooo blessed to be used by the Lord during this time, His timing for my life. I am trying to keep record of when and how the Holy Spirit uses me to further His Kingdom. I have had an opportunity to preach three weeks in a row, hallelujah!

On Monday July 25th, I entitled the sermon, 'The Search for Spiritual Significance'. I preached from the truck using a microphone in a location of Calgary I had not been to before. The Lord gave me the words to speak that were specific to the crowd. It was a good night and many seeds were planted in people's hearts.

The following Monday the Lord had me speak on His crucifixion, Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross and the theives on the cross on either side of Jesus. Once again, it was appropriate for the crowd, already pre-planned by the Holy Spirit. This night we served pizza first, then preached the gospel. Another brother gave his testimony first, and worshipped the Lord through song and playing his guitar. A woman came forward and gave her life to Christ, and asked for prayer to be delivered from demonic bondage. It was a beautiful experience, one that shed tears and mended hearts.

On Sunday August 7th, I was asked to preach at Street Church. I will say I was nervous and excited all at the same time. Me Lord? Preaching a Sunday Service? So I prayed every day all week, seeking the right topic and scripture verses. The Lord led me through a dance in the bible, in which I came up with five different sermon topics, but did not feel it was what the Lord wanted me to speak upon. As I asked the Holy Spirit what to preach on, He said, "Tell them of my love." I thought, okay Lord, that is a broad topic and can be made into a sermon series. Soooo, I pressed into Him more as the week went on. I finished reading a book called "Chasing the Dragon" by Jackie Pullinger, coupled with practical experinces of showing the love of Jesus, and I knew what I wanted to preach about. I would like to share with you the verses I used:

• Mar 12:28 And coming up one of the scribes heard them reasoning, knowing that He had answered them well, he asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all?
  Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord;
  Mar 12:30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." This is the first commandment.
  Mar 12:31 And the second is like this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
  Mar 12:32 And the scribe said to Him, Right, Teacher, according to truth You have spoken, that God is one, and there is no other besides Him.
  Mar 12:33 And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love the neighbor as himself, is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.
  Mar 12:34 And seeing that he had answered intelligently, Jesus said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And no one dared to question Him any more.

• Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
  Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

• Joh 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
  Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
  Joh 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
  Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
  Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
  Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
  Joh 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
  Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
  Joh 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

This sermon touched on some personal experiences in my life where I was able to forgive and bless others with the love of Jesus. More and more I am in love with Jesus. His love is overflowing in my heart for others. I really do love other people. I am developing a greater, deeper compassion for the lost and for Christian siblings struggling. I am so thankful and blessed.

The last two sermons have touched me deeply where I have weeped with joy. As I preached on Sunday, I know the devil has alot less footholds in my life and others as I was obedient to the Holy Spirit. I could feel and see the fire of God rumbling in my belly. I know this will become stronger as I step out in faith for Him. As He increases, I decrease. Words cannot describe how grateful and blessed I am to be used by Him, as His Vessel to bring Him glory.

A New Home, A Peaceful Heart

This weekend I moved again for the third time this year. I found an apartment when I moved from Edmonton to Calgary, but my landlord was getting married. On May 15th, I moved into a new place but found it was not where I was supposed to be. This third move was completely of the Lord and was the best move I have had to date!

When I started seeking the possibility of another apartment, I was looking into an area of town where I am employed. Nothing was affordable or felt right in my spirit. The Lord kept leading me to a source and told me there was a place for me. I had a difficult time seeing what the Lord had for me. There was one possibilty in the same neighbourhood. I kept thinking that would not make sense...move three blocks away? I trusted the Lord and made the phone call.

The apartment was a little out of my price range and before I called I asked the Lord to give me an amount that He would bless. I then called this Christian couple and explained my situation. I went over a couple of hours later. I told them my circumstances, that I was a bible college student and explained my passion for ministry. As I described what the Lord was doing, the three of us were filled with tears. Praise the Lord! We were an answer to one another's prayers! We even recieved the same rental price for the apartment from the Holy Spirit!

I then went to look at the suite. Wow! Everything that I was seeking. I measured the space and was so excited that my poor furniture could finally have a home. It had sat covered in plastic outside in all of the rain and flooding. Furthermore, it had sat on a porch from January to April. The Lord has truly blessed me. The place is serene, beautiful and peaceful. It is a gift from God. As I sat soaking in the bathtub, I couldn't help but feel that I had dreamed of this place before, that this apartment was hand picked for me, for such a time as this.

I had only started packing for this move two days before. Unfortunately, I pulled back muscles, possibly even a ligament in my lower back region. I went to the chiropractor at work that day and he concurred I had indeed pulled muscles. I had to ask for help. So, I asked three Christian brothers/friends to help me move so that I did not have to lift any heavy items. I think the Lord was teaching me a lesson. Get myself out of the way and ask for help! I try to do so much on my own. The Lord is teaching me to rely on Him and through this experience He most certainly has.

So, I had no details on the move and therefore could not really give any answers to those that I might need help from. My new landlord told me not to worry. So, that is exactly what I did. Trusted God for the end result. On Thursday evening I was too tired and sore to pack. On Friday I worked a full day, then decided to go to Bible Study and got home at 11:30 pm. On Saturday morning I ran errands and picked up some empty boxes and looked after my girlfriend's cats. Around lunch time I started packing. My landlord came over around 1-2 pm and we started slowly bringing items over to the new apartment. In between I packed and made a couple of phone calls to arrange for help. I even took a break around 3 pm to answer email and talked on the phone for 30 minutes or so.

At 5pm, my landlord showed up with a truck. His friend let us use it for free. We loaded up some items and took it over to the new place. When the guys arrived at 3:30, they moved all the heavy boxes and pieces of furniture. Then we slowly packed items into boxes and away we went. At 9:30 pm, all four of us (the one guy went home early) sat down at a restaurant to eat supper. Everything was out of the apartment! The Lord blessed me even more. Oneof the guys paid for my dinner! Can youimagine? I should be blessing them! Instead, the Lord showered me with blessings. I am sooo thankful!

On top of all of that, my landlord arranged my furniture for me and brought boxes in from the garage so I would not have to lift them. Furthermore, the young Christian man that was here before has allowed me to use his phone for a few days until I can make arrangements for a telephone since Telus is on strike. If it is possible, I may be able to use his line and change my phone number. This is how I am writing this blog entry now. I feel blessed beyond measure and feel a deep gratitude in my heart for everyone that helped me. Most importantly I am so thankful to the Father. I trusted Him, I did not worry and it was the easiest, least stressful and most affordable move I have ever made in my life! The old Karen would have worried incessantly, taken an unbelievable amount of time to pack and would not have trusted God as she did through this process.

I am sooo thankful I am a new creation in Christ, one that is dying to myself so that I can strive to be more like Him.