merge left, merge right

NEWS FLASH!!!

Red Path has merged for the time being. The Core team within Red Path decided that it would be best for Red Path to merge with the other home churches. The Journey is growing and we felt it would be best to have two strong house churches before making the next step in planting another church.

Some have chosen to attend "Green Way" which is hosted by Jeff and Sondra Ruis and Scott and Tammie Elliott. Sondra does a great job with the kids who attend that group. Others have attended "Blue Fish" hosted by Bob and Becky Roby and Bruce Peabody. I myself have been attending that church the last two weeks. God has been doing some great things there. I have had a great time getting to fellowship with those who attend. Two weeks ago I received some ministry that was sooo meaningful to me. This past week some people experienced freedom from spiritual bondage. We have had some great discussions digging into the word and applying it to our lives.

The weekend of October 31 we will be hosting a spiritual warfare conference. We will be learning about how the spiritual realm has direct influence on our daily lives. Saturday evening we will be having our regular gathering with dinner, worship and testimonies. Anyone is welcome to come.

Be blessed,

Esther

Oh God...move us closer to You!!!

Hello,

So, the last two weeks we have chosen not to meet. This has allowed a few of us to meet together and pray and discuss a new direction we feel that God is leading us in.

We just met this past Wednesday night and had some great discussion about what kind of study material we want to use, how to be mission focused, when to meet etc. We talked about many things, but had so much more we felt we needed to discuss. I left the meeting feeling very excited about what we talked about!!! I could truly feel us gaining a fresh passion for the ministry Gods wants to do. I earnestly prayed that we wouldn't be making our own agenda and invite God to join us, but that we would be joining God in what He is doing already.

We decided to take at least one more week off to continue praying and discussing together. Just because we aren't meeting formally doesn't mean that we can't still hang out!!! Who wants to hang out...oooo, pick me, pick me!!!

Keep in touch!

Mucho love,

Esther

C'mon Bessy

Okay...well the summer is getting busy. Everyone is heading on vacation for one last hurrah before the bitter cold hits us northerners...I know right its only August.

So, the two of us who came last week carried on. Did some evaluating and then watched a movie. Ha! I know, very spiritual.

Just want you Red Pathers to know that we prayed for you and that you are loved. Hate to say but, you sure missed out on some dang good quesadillas.

Love to you, and all those who won't read this.

Be blessed.

Umm... hi!

So.... I just wanna say that the waffles we had for breakfast dinner... they were AWESOME!! Ok.. that's it! Happy blog reading! : )

waffles, fun and such

Hello friends,

This week we had BREAKFAST for dinner...yum! Thank you to David and Laura for making their famous waffle batter and yummy bacon! And of course the blueberries, peanut butter and whipped topping was wonderful. If you have never tried peanut butter and bananas...you must! One word to describe it...EXCELLENT!

So, other than eating together and answering questions such as..."Have you ever seen Kung Fu Panda?" or "What would your dream career be if the sky is the limit (without having to worry about money, training etc.)?" We studied, "How do we qualify with God?" Here is what we looked at:

1. What is the dilemma we are in according to Job 25:4?

• Sin
• Becoming righteous

2. Were people "saved" by God before Jesus came? How ? 2 Sam 22:4

In the context of the verse, yes, but saved from enemies- not necessarily from hell.

Were they born again? We can know that people like Noah, David, Moses, Joshua etc. are "saved" because God had their hearts. God called them righteous.

3. What situation was John the Baptist in with God? Matthew 11:11

John the Baptist was being rejected and Jesus was being an advocate for him.

Really tight and not ashamed- he was a radical v.6 "Blessed is the man who does not fall away."

The greatest born of any woman, but not above the kingdom of God- those who are considered "saved". More than a man, but less than a god.

4. Who will be "saved" according to Jesus in Matthew 24:13?

• He who stands firm till the end- persevere
• Cross-reference: Mark notes: endure persecution, hatred, offense, false prophets, deceit, loss of love.
• 2 Timothy 2:10- like a soldier who wants to please his commanding officer and does not get involved in civilian affairs we should want to please God and we should not get involved in the world.

Punch Line- Does being “saved” change your relationship to God? What do you think?

Yes! It is life-changing. Realizing what we have been saved from brings a new appreciation for what God has saved us from!

Being saved is having a relationship with God!

What is our motive?

Week 2: WHAT IS OUR MOTIVE?

How can motive enter into asking? James 4:3

Group:1- Many times we use God as a good luck charm.  We go to Him when times suck.  Our motives shouldn't be for God to make things better.  Like the parable of the talents, Matthew 25:14-30, if we use our talents wisely God will bless us.

Group:2- Many times we go to God to see what we can get from him.  There is always going to be asking no motive what our motive is.  God can change our motives.  Ultimately our motive needs to be for God's glorification!  Every aspect of our life should bring Gods glory.  Just because we are asking for something for ourselves it doesn't mean it's a selfish motive.

Group:3- sin allows for impure motives.

How do you read Psalm 37:4?  Where do desires come from?

Group:1- desires come from the heart.

Group:2- our hearts can be wrong, as we grow in the Lord He gives us His desires.  We can have faith God will provide things He has already promised.  God provided for Leah with her car, rent etc.

Group:3- they come from delighting in God, finding pleasure and joy in Christ.

What are we doing when we ask for something "In His Name?" John 14:13-14

Group:1- When we pray, God grants things to us in order to glorify Him.  We are going out and doing it with faith.

Group:2- There is power in God's name.  We have to be confident in who we are in God.  We come in the name of the King!

Group:3- in Matthew 17:14-21 the disciples cast out demons, but Jesus said it can only be cast out through prayer. 

Punch Line: How do the passages above reflect on the idea of praying “in the Spirit” Eph 6:18

Group:1- Like the Simon and the sorcerer- sometimes we want prophetic gifts etc. supernatural powers, but without the right motives and Gods blessing it is in vain.

Group:2- a common thread was: motives, desires.  Listening to the spirit in His promptings.  Jesus only does what God is doing in heaven.  Taking a step in the unknown and trusting.

Group:3- we are to have pure motives, our desires should line up with God, and we are to use Jesus name in prayer which is how we pray in the spirit.

Application-

Examine your motives.

Ask the Lord to teach us how to pray.

Food for thought:

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PRAY IN THE SPIRIT???

PRAYER...POWERFUL PRAYER

I dare to say our first night was a success.  For those who were there, I could feel we really got into it guys!  Yeay!  So we looked at a few questions on some scripture passages concerning prayer and this is what we came up with...

1. How does Jesus describe our position with God? (Based on Matthew 7:7-11)

• We are His children
• Example: a man who gets his window broken by the neighbor boy would likely call the cops, but if his own son broke the window he would likely handle the situation with much more grace.  This is how it is with God because we have been adopted into His family upon salvation.
• We are to God like the neighbor kid who knocks on your door and asks "where's the cookies?"  Like children we can ask God bluntly for things.  :D
• we NEED to be dependent on God, but we don't always like to be!
• especially biceps- um...that was a tangent, lol

2. Are we in the position of the "righteous" in James 5:16? Why or why not?

• what is righteousness, how do you obtain it?
• Righteousness is given to us by God
• Righteousness is to be right with God
• you will know righteousness by fruit
• the definition: morality (righteousness is not simply moral living, because we cannot become right with God on works alone)

3. What impact does agreement in asking have in Matthew 18:19?

• Where 2 of you on earth agree, God says yes
• motives are important to recognize behind the request
• powerful things will happen
• our prayers are effective
• David and Laura prayed for Isaac's delivery and he was born the next day!  God granted their request after coming into agreement together.
• coming in agreement is also effective in decision making.  Two people coming to an agreement can cause for confirmation.
• Decision making is easier with the help of mentors, friends

Punch Line: Who was asking in Matthew 15:21-28?

• The Canaanite/Gentile woman

How did she overcome the problem?

• She was PERSISTENT
• had FAITH
• BELIEF
• HUMILITY
• God hears everyone's prayers yet...
• we are to ask with these things in mind

WITH THAT, LET OUR PRAYERS BE POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE...LETS SEE GOD DO SOME AWESOME THINGS AMONG US!!!