I woke  up this morning with an empty feeling in my stomach and a full one in my heart!  It's the fourth day of our week-long fast and those of us who have been participating have gone without regular meals long enough to "feel" it.  Feelings have many dimensions in our lives.  I feel hungry and I feel full at the same time right now.  The first is a physical feeling and the second a spiritual one.  The physical feeling of hunger is real and will ebb and flow throughout the day.  As it does, I will use the feeling to focus my attention on God: to praise Him for who He is, to thank Him for all He has done and for His many blessings in my life, as well as to call on Him to answer the petitions for which we are praying this week.

The spiritual feeling of a full heart is also REAL.  God has been blessing me personally and New Life corporately in so many ways that my heart is literally overflowing.  Last night, Nancy and I had the opportunity to meet with a family from New Life to brainstorm ideas for what our part is in raising the remaining  $568,035 if we use "Plan A" or $498,502 if we use "Plan B" for Phase 1 of our Mission Outpost.  (As I mentioned this past Sunday in worship there is a "Deliverance Formula" we can use to determine the amount needed  to move past the current "dead end" in finances to God's deliverance in the process.  That number was reduced by $4,787.00 on Sunday, so the numbers listed above are the new numbers, which will give us enough cash on hand to allow us to receive a loan from a bank and move forward with our project.) 

As we talked, one thing became overwhelmingly apparent:  God is WORKING at New Life!  We are seeing people come to Jesus as Savior and Lord--in the past month we have seen twelve people locally and five in Cuba commit their lives to Jesus through the ministries of New Life.  Our worship attendance continues to grow rapidly, with more than thirty-five guests attending services in the past three Sundays alone!  Sunday morning worship is vital, joyful, and anchored in God's word! Our children and youth ministries are growing by leaps and bounds.  People's needs are being met in Jesus' name.  As one in our meeting put it, "I didn't used to want to invite my friends to church, because I didn't think it would be worth their time. Now that we're at New Life, I'm so excited to invite them!"  As lead pastor of New Life, I feel great when I hear statements like that!  I felt humbled, blessed, and enthusiastic as we continued to brainstorm not only about the how's of God's deliverance, but also as we reflected on all God is doing among us.

As we fast this week, let's focus on all God's blessings among us.  What can you think of that God is doing in and through New Life right now to  fulfill the mission He gave us of sharing the new life of Jesus Christ with the world one person at a time?  Take a moment and share a comment here of what you see God doing in your life or in the lives of others in and through New Life.  Feelings DO ebb and flow in our lives.  Feelings can deceive us.  Feelings can also affirm God's activity in our lives.  The seemingly opposite feelings of hunger and fullness going on in me right now, draw my attention to Jesus for ALL He has provided, is providing and WILL provide in our life together.  May He continue to bless us that we may be the blessing He calls us to be in the local communities where we live; in western Pennsylvania, where our ministries have the most, direct impact; in our nation; and to the ends of the earth!