“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17

Several years ago in the unlikely town of Fulton, Missouri, the town fathers directed huge chunks of concrete to be hauled onto the local college campus.  They knew there would be no better backdrop for a historic speech to be given in their little city.

As chunks of concrete go, they weren’t particularly attractive.  In fact, they were pitted, scarred by blows, and smeared with graffiti.  But to those who saw them, carefully situated behind a podium on the broad green campus lawn, they were beautiful.

The speech was by Mikail Gorbachev, former leader of the former Soviet Union, in commemoration of another speech given decades before in that same place by Sir Winston Churchill.  In that earlier speech — on the same campus, behind the same podium — Churchill coined the phrase “Iron Curtain” to describe the conditions in Eastern Europe.

Half a century later, an ex-Soviet strongman stood at the microphone to talk about freedom... against a backdrop of large chunks from a fallen Berlin Wall, the actual remnants of that once-daunted “Iron Curtain.”  What a visual of freedom.

Freedom.  Such a wonderful word.  Here in the U.S., we are blessed with a measure of freedom that is remarkable in the annals of modern history.  Yet this social freedom pales in comparison with the spiritual freedom we know and experience in Jesus Christ.  In Him, we have been liberated eternally. 

And, because of the freedom He has given us, we are motivated to commit wholeheartedly and unreservedly to Him.

As we seek God in this spiritual journey, we ensure the message of freedom in Jesus Christ continues to go forth from this place.  It is because we are free we must do everything possible to spread the message of freedom to our community and beyond.

Prayer Focus: What are some practical ways you can share the joy and reality of your freedom with others?  To go deeper in our walks, we must not forget the tens of thousands of lives within driving distance of our church that need that freedom in Jesus too.  It’s because we’re free we can go and reach out to our community and invite them into a walk with Christ as well!

What is one practical way you can reach out to someone today… right now?  For real!  They need the freedom you have!  What will you do?  Send an email?  Make a call?  Write a letter?  Pay a visit?  Do something today to reach OUT!

"’Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered.”
Mark 11:22

George Mueller hadn’t faced a situation quite like it.  Before him were 120 orphans, expectantly seated at long dinner tables.  But something at this mealtime tested the mettle of Mueller’s heart.  On the dinner plates at that table was...nothing but water.  Eager faces looked toward him, as if to say, “What’s for dinner?”  But he didn’t know; the cupboard was bare and the icebox was empty.  There was no milk, and no money to buy food or drink.

What was George to do?  It didn’t take long for him to decide.  He would do what he had done every other mealtime.  He would instruct the children to bow their heads and join him in thanking God for the meal they were about to eat.  He would praise God for the faithfulness of His provision.  And so he did.  Mueller prayed simply, directly, and with a heart filled with faith.

When the “amen” was pronounced, the plates were still empty.  But as the eyes of those 120 youngsters turned again to the head table, a knock sounded at the door.  One of the boys was sent to answer.  A moment later, he called out, “Mr. Mueller, it’s the vegetable man!  He’s got a lot of stuff for us!”  “Coincidentally,” there were many vegetables that would spoil if he didn’t do something with them.  While the vegetables were being unloaded, another person came to the door — the butcher!  He had run out of ice at the end of a hot day and faced the prospect of awful, rotting meat.  Could the orphanage use it?  No sooner had he spoken the words than another amazing “coincidence” occurred.  The milkman’s wagon pulled up, overloaded with milk and dairy products and needing desperately to do something with them!

Needless to say, it was quite a banquet that night.  And it was the finest lesson in faith those orphans ever received.  Would the same thing have happened had Mueller not prayed, believing God for His provision and thanking him ahead of time for it?  We don’t know, but we do know Jesus said we have not because we ask not.  And we know His will for us is to walk by faith, not by sight.

Prayer Focus: God is calling each attender of Impact to answer a vital question:  “Do you have the faith to trust God for His provision?”  No matter what the circumstances are?  No mater how gloom your reality may seem?  Do you trust God to provide?  Talk to Him about that right now.  Spend at least 10 minutes (minimum) and share your heart about your faith in His provision.  Oh yeah… and be honest!