Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Fan the Flame

Nights like this are a constant reminder of the importance of accountability.


Faith, friends, fellowship, and fire; God has supplied each of these for so many of us, and how well they go together never ceases to amaze me. Tonight was another post-tour meeting of the Agape Singers, as well as a newbie gathering of sorts.  We gathered, we met, we greeted, we hugged, we sang, we prayed, we bonded, we prayed, we worshipped, but most importantly, we were together.  I cannot stress how huge accountability is in the Christian walk; yes, it is about our one-on-one relationship with God, but without the support of other Christians, it is so easy to fall off that path.


God has supplied us with the initial flame, the igniting spark of faith for our relationship with Him so to speak, and it is so essential to keep that flame burning.  For those who went on tour, that experience could be compared with dumping an excessive amount of gasoline on a raging forest fire, but after the tour experience we must be careful to keep that fire lit.  That is where accountability comes into play.  We need each other to fan the flame, to prod around in the kindling to oxygenate the flame; we simply need each other to stay in check.  For a while we can do it on our own, we stay in the word, we pray, and we worship, but without accountability this lifestyle can become difficult.  Satan is at work to tear down the way we live, but God has provided us with others to make sure that doesn't happen.  


Verse:
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
~1 Thessalonians 5:11


Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
~James 5:16



Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
~Colossians 3:16



I challenge you to find someone, or a group of people if you don't already have them.  Be vulnerable, dig deep, and be yourself; allow them into the very core of you, and trust them to hold you accountable to your goals for your walk with Christ.  It is essential to keep the flame burning, and oh so rewarding if you allow it to happen.  I am more than willing to be that accountability partner or part of your accountability group; I just long to see each of us grow deeper in our faith and maturing in our relationship with Christ!  I love you all!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Agape Tour 2011

Where do I begin?


Let me start by giving all the glory to God for such an amazing opportunity; He saw us through each and every leg of this journey and without Him, none of it would have been possible.  We traveled through wonderful places in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota, and saw some of the most beautiful aspects of God's glorious creation.  The trees, the rivers, the mountains; you simply cannot imagine the beauty of these places God has created without witnessing it firsthand, yet somehow, the beauty of Christ's love shining through each and every one of the Agape Singers is what I will remember most from this trip.


Lives were changed, relationships forged, new beginnings embarked upon, past mistakes forgotten, and some of the greatest memories a human mind could ask for were created.  I write with a grateful heart to God that He called each and every person onto that tour for a reason, and with a grateful heart to the attendees that they had prepared their fields for the rain God was ready to deliver to each and every one of them.  The verse we focused on for the trip was from 1 Thessalonians, and was centered on the message that we are called to be messengers of God's love and God's word, not to bring glory to ourselves, but to draw people into His loving embrace.  He has trusted us with this deed, and the revelation and understanding of this verse definitely came into fruition for the singers on this trip. 


Verse:
For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.
~1 Thessalonians 2:4


Upon arrival back in Dawson on Saturday, the service of worship the Agape Singers took part in may have been the most amazing representation of what the trip meant as a whole.  The light and love of the Lord Jesus Christ blazed within them.  The transformation, rededication, commitment, love, redemption, forgiveness, renewal, passion, and hope lit up their faces like only God can do.  The raw emotion displayed by the singers gave fellow worshippers a small glimpse into what an Agape Tour is truly all about.  Our God worked in the readied fields that were the singers' hearts on this trip, and the results of that were so evident for all to see.  


Many ask what an Agape Tour is all about, what we do, and why we all love it so much.  It is not an easy task to tackle answering these questions.  All I can say is God works in the most mysterious ways, but I believe that  His unpredictability is one of the many things that make our God the most amazing being we will ever encounter.  People do not necessarily understand how lives can be changed on a week long tour, and putting how that happens into words is even harder, but I believe that God has readied the hearts of the Agape Singers to fulfill what it says in Thessalonians about being God's messengers; He has prepared you,  and now through prayer and willingness, you can be sent out to spread His word, His love, His forgiveness, and how this Agape Tour experience has changed you forever.


To my Agape crew, I love you with my whole heart and pray for continued growth and development in the faith that Christ has sparked in each and every one of you.  He is at work in your lives, there is no doubt about that.  Keep your flames burning brightly, allow yourself to be used as a vessel of God's love, be a beacon in the darkness, and let your light cover this Earth.  You have the power to be the change you want to see in this world through the power and love of Christ.  The world may be afraid of the flame of Christ we carry, but let this not stop us from setting the world on fire! Now go, and be the messengers of Christ we are all called to be! 


With so much love and fondness, God Bless!


Jacob Wager

Monday, June 6, 2011

He is There

In all things God has promised to be right by our side. We truly have nothing to fear when we have accepted the amazing and saving grace of our Heavenly Father; from that moment on He will never leave us nor forsake us, and in all things He is working on our behalf. He wants the best for us and even in our darkest days I promise you He is walking us through each and every difficult moment. He is there, He hears us, He loves us, and that is the simple, yet truly profound, fact about our loving God.


Verse:
They said, ‘Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’
2 Chronicles 20:9


He is there through it all: good or bad, and we can count on Him for rescue or rejoicing depending on the circumstance we find ourselves in. From here on out, I urge you to recognize and be grateful for the overwhelmingly wonderful presence of our Savior. There is not a single moment that we are ever without Him, and that fact is worth rejoicing over. Remember, in all things, He is there!