Footsteps of Faith Messenger

Purpose:  Spreading Good News to the World! Cover to Cover Campaign One of the greatest and most rewarding tasks you can ever accomplish is the reading of the Bible from Genesis all the way through Revelation. If you would like to start this journey (we read slowly), you are welcome to join an ever-growing group! Simply signify your intentions by clicking here. You will be blessed! NEW TO THE BIBLE? If you are a new Christian or just haven't done much Bible reading yet, prior to committing to the Cover to Cover Campaign, I suggest you read three books in the New Testament for starters. Read the books of Matthew, John, and James. These wonderful books will give you a great introduction to the Christian faith and will be very eye-opening for you! Starting here will allow you to have a fresh perspective to begin the Cover to Cover study.   Footsteps of Faith Messenger - Issue 151 Within You Luke 17:21b Ephesian 3:20-21 Revelation 3:20 Tim Darnell I've never been let down by the word of God - far from it.  Rather, I have been energized and strengthened, encouraged and emboldened.  The word of God speaks to me personally and deeply, convicting me of His awesome presence and power; and most importantly, his unending, abiding love for me. That love is accessible and available for you as much as it is for me - right now.  It is an amazing, unconditional love greater than we are humanly able to conceive or even describe.  You will find the Word of God and God Himself when you search for Him, and when you ask for Him.  So where do we go to look for God?  Where is His love found?  Where is God's kingdom found?  It is found in an amazing place, one of the last places you might think to look.  It is found within you.   (see Luke 17:21b) The Holy Spirit is pervasive.  He is both here and there, within and without, before, now and after.  He is in the heights and in the depths.  He invites us to abide in Him, and He longs to abide in us.  Due to His immense power and presence we have abilities within us that go well beyond our wildest imaginations.  The apostle Paul says, "Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen." Make no mistake, we are not God.  Only the great I Am is God.  Yet we do have immediately available to us his great power and glory when we surrender our lives and selves fully to Him.  I must confess, the first time I read, "the kingdom of God is within you", I almost fell out of my chair.  I remember my jaw dropping and my mouth hanging wide open, having gained a new, much greater glimpse into the essence of His being.  I began to marvel even more at the wonder and majesty of God.  He is not just in His heavens.  No, He is here, beside us and within us.  He knows all, sees all, and hears all.  We cannot hide from Him, nor should we ever want to.  Sin can separate us from Him for brief moments, but all the time He is there waiting for us to welcome Him back. A line from the wonderful worship song, "Breathe", says, "I'm desperate for You.  I'm lost without You."  How true these words are.  He is the single most important element of our lives – our all in all, our support, our strength, our strong tower, our ever present help in time of need.  And each of us, you and I, do desperately need Him every moment of our lives. Knowing only a portion of the awesome glory of God is cause for us to bow down at His feet in total gratitude and obedience.  It is cause for us to humbly say, "I am your child.  I am dependent solely on you.  There is no other god than You, Oh Lord.  Have mercy on me and I thank you for your awesome grace and love." The Author of our life knows our weaknesses.  He knows our sorrows.  He knows our fears.  He hears our cries for mercy and forgiveness, and He sees our lifted hands longing for His touch.  And steadfastly He is there, knocking, waiting for us to let Him come in to His rightful place – within us. The risen Christ says, "Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me." Will you let Him in today?  He wants to be with you, and within you, and will step through the door of your heart if you will but humbly open the door and let Him in. Prayer Father God, I have kept you out for some time now, but I want to open the door of my heart and let You in.   I pray that You soften my heart and I ask for Your forgiveness and safety.  I want to know Your peace, Your joy, and Your love right now.  I thank You in advance for the phenomenal rebirth and renewal that You have for me, and that You have waited for me all this time – your wandering child that you have always loved unconditionally.  I thank You for Your saving grace and presence within me, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen. If you would like to commit your life to Jesus Christ, you can do so, and thereby experience the most important gift ever offered to mankind!  You don't have to be perfect – I'm certainly not and I know you aren't either.  In fact, we all sin and fall far short of perfection.  Won't you make the greatest decision you can ever make?  I pray that you will do so today. To accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, click this link: http://www.timdarnell.org/prayer.asp Tim Darnell is a Christian business owner, professional recording artist, and most importantly, husband to Cathy and father to Lindy, Hannah, and Caleb. Cover to Cover Schedule and Tips: Welcome to the Cover to Cover Campaign! Simply signify your intentions to join the Cover to Cover Campaign by clicking here. You will be blessed! April's Reading Group #27 (C to C Readers beginning in April 2007) Genesis Group #26 (C to C Readers beginning in March 2007) Exodus Group #25 (C to C Readers beginning in February 2007) Leviticus; Numbers (Leviticus can be a little slow going, but you can get through it!) Group #24 (C to C Readers beginning in January 2007) Deuteronomy Group #23 (C to C Readers beginning in December - 2006): Joshua & Judges Group #22 (C to C Readers beginning in November - 2006): Ruth; 1 Samuel & 2 Samuel Group #21 (C to C Readers beginning in October - 2006): 1 Kings & 2 Kings Group #20 (C to C Readers beginning in September - 2006): 1 Chronicles & 2 Chronicles Group #19 (C to C Readers beginning in August - 2006): Ezra & Nehemiah Group #18 (C to C Readers beginning in July - 2006): Esther & Job Group #17 (C to C Readers beginning in June - 2006): Psalms Group #16 (C to C Readers beginning in May - 2006): Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs Group #15 (C to C Readers beginning in April - 2006): Isaiah Group #14 (C to C Readers beginning in March - 2006): Jeremiah and Lamentations Group #13 (C to C Readers beginning in February - 2006): Ezekiel Group #12 (C to C Readers beginning in January - 2006): Daniel, Hosea, Joel and Amos Group #11 (C to C Readers beginning in December - 2005): Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (Get ready – you will have finished the entire Old Testament this month!) Group #10 (C to C Readers beginning in November - 2005): Matthew and Mark Group #9 (C to C Readers beginning in October - 2005): Luke and John Group #8 (C to C Readers beginning in September - 2005): Acts Group #7 (C to C Readers beginning in August - 2005): Romans & 1 Corinthians Group #6 (C to C Readers beginning in July - 2005): II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians Group #5 (C to C Readers beginning in June - 2005): Philippians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon Group #4 (C to C Readers beginning in May - 2005): Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter Group #3 (C to C Readers beginning in April - 2005): Jude and Revelation Group #2 (C to C Readers beginning in March - 2005): Cover to Cover Campaign Completed - Mar 2007 Group #1 (C to C Readers beginning in February - 2005): Cover to Cover Campaign Completed - Feb 2007 Congratulations to you on your decision! This is one commitment that will pay off beyond comprehension! Pray for divine guidance and understanding each time prior to reading scripture. Remember, you are reading God's Words written to and for you! This is extremely powerful, so get ready to be empowered! If you will resolve to read two chapters (or more) per sitting, you can easily accomplish the monthly assignments. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! If you get behind, you can join the group that came after you - no disgrace whatsoever! Be sure to underline and/or highlight passages that stand out to you. You can even circle a verse or sections that really speak to you! If you have questions, feel free to e-mail me at: TimD@AdvantageConferences.com Dialogue can be very helpful. Reading the Bible is like developing a new muscle. The more you work out with it, the more you'll "get it". Don't get discouraged - be encouraged! Some books are easier to read than others. Every book contains incredible material - and soon it will start coming together into profound new understanding and revelation for you. I'm praying for you daily. You can do this, no question about it. God bless you immensely! In His Service, Tim Darnell Publisher / Editor Footsteps of Faith Messenger

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Footsteps of Faith Messenger is a weekly publication of Advantage Conferences.


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Sincerely,
Eric Standlee
Marketplace Ministry

... I Love You Too Daddy!

My youngest child, our daughter Yumi Joyce which means to bear the fruit of joy, often takes longer to respond or do things.  Today, I grabbed her and gave her a hug and like I often do I told her "I love you..."  You have to hear it to understand, but in that "I love you..." there is an understanding that she will reply.  I had to tell her not once, not twice, and not three times, but four times before she grinned sheepishly and said "I love you too daddy!"

I was listening to a Zig Ziglar CD I got from having attended the Get Motivated seminar at the Toyota center several weeks ago here in Houston.  Actually, I received the CD from a friend who had grabbed several when we were there together.  In the CD, Zig made a point that of all the criminals in prisons a very very very small amount are Jewish.  He then explained that of the 95% of criminals which are men 99% of them hate their father.  And, he noted that the difference is that most Jewish fathers hold their sons and say "I bless you, I love you, you are important to me" throughout their lifetime.  He drew the correlation between that and the low rate of Jewish men being incarcerated.  Come to think of it, every Jewish man I know loves his father.

Now, imagine how many times during the day God told you "I Love you..." whether you realized it or not at first.  You have to know that He is saying that over every living soul on the planet today.  He is however speaking that over you right now Champion.  God is saying, "I love you..." and waiting for you to reciprocate.  Are you like my daughter and waiting for God to say it four times before you sheepishly say "...I love you too daddy!"?

God doesn't need our love, but He does want to hear us saying that we love Him.  Gratitude is a very essential part of a successful person's life.  Start practicing gratitude with your heavenly Father right now.  List out at least four or five things that God has done most recently to say "I love you Son, I love you Daughter" and then spend some time thanking him today.  No, right now.

Be blessed and have a blessed weekend,

Eric Standlee