That You Also May Be Where I Am

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"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.
In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going."
John 14:1-4



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Who Do You Trust?

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“Bill, do you trust me?”

There was no audible voice but I believe I clearly heard Him speaking into my spirit. After recording the message I wrote down my response.

“Yes, Lord,” I answered, excited to be communicating with the Divine yet somewhat apprehensive about what else I might hear. Displaying my own lack of self-confidence I quickly added, “But I do not trust myself.” The Lord’s reply flowed so quickly and effortlessly from my pen I really don’t remember it passing first through my own mind. When I saw what I had written I dropped my pen and stared at the words in disbelief.

“Do you trust me to trust you?”

Read the rest of Nameless, Faceless Love friend Bill's insightful and inspiring post, entitled Who Do You Trust?, over at Living Hope Thoughts.



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Changing The World

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In the film Evan Almighty, Evan Baxter is a modern-day idealist who wins election to Congress by promising to "change the world." As he is entering office, however, he comes to find that God has chosen him to be a modern-day Noah.

Fighting God's plan for his life and the dramatic sacrifices it will require of him, Evan (portrayed by Steve Carell) has an encounter one day with God. God says to Evan, “You want to change the world, son. So do I.”

Problem is for most of us, God doesn't go about changing the world like we would. God starts with us and those around us, and changes the world from the inside out.

In the special moment from Evan Almighty in the clip below, God (portrayed by Morgan Freeman) explains to Evan's confused and bewildered wife (portrayed by Lauren Graham) about how He does things, how He changes things.

Thinking that she is asking a server for a refill for her fried fish basket, she is at first unaware that it is God speaking to her. When the encounter concludes, however, she is left speechless.

When we pray for patience, when we pray for courage, when we pray for closeness with others, how does God change the world? (Click on the arrow in the middle of the video screen to play)







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Like Little Children, Touching This World

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For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me.
Matthew 18:2-5

A community of spiritual children giving birth to other communities of spiritual children and becoming a network of communities of spiritual children, then joining with other networks of communities of spiritual children until those networks begin to live and move more like one childlike spiritual community - the Body of Christ around the world.

Not invisible and not silent, but nameless and faceless other than His own.

Beginning to respond to God all over the globe, beginning to live and move as one in His Spirit like a school of fish or a flock of birds.

Not identical, but one. Like little children, barely noticing the differences but revelling together in the shared wonder of the Journey.

Like little children, breathing out regret for yesterday and concern for tomorrow, and breathing in the exhilarating hope of today living fully and well in the midst of our Father's kindness.

Trusting enough in the Destination and the One who takes us There to put down our fear and become Love.

Like little children, touching this world.

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The video below, entitled Unless You Change, will bless you with its simple presentation of this Truth from Matthew 18 about becoming like little children. Sit back and enjoy.

To Our Dear Friend

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Hello, my dear friend,

I just wanted you to know how special you are in God's sight and how special you are to our family.

I wanted you to know how blessed my wife and I feel to have had our Lord bring someone like you into the lives of our children; someone whom they can and should look to as a genuine, realistic example of the Christian faith.

I wanted you to know how much I appreciate someone like you who says that they care about me and my family, and then lives out the truth of that claim in ways that touch us deeply.

I wanted you to know that you are so special in God's sight that those who can see that in you will go farther to be around you; being around you is a blessing from God, my friend.

I wanted you to know that it's not a sin to be hurt. I didn't always know that. People that have hearts that God has made especially compassionate toward others get hurt very easily. But that's not a sin.

I wanted you to know that I've learned that the sin happens when I don't go to Jesus when I've been hurt, and ask to Him heal my heart from that pain and restore my heart to the compassion that He birthed in it.

I've learned that I can tell Him anything, and He understands.

I've learned that He's gone before us and has experienced every single thing that we ever will, and yet He did so without sin.

And because of this understanding, I've learned that there is a better prayer for me to pray than "Jesus, what should I do?"

I've learned to pray, "Jesus, what did you do?"

I've learned that if I do what He did, I will get the same results.

I've learned that when I have prayed that prayer, I don't always want to do what He tells me that He did. Sometimes, I have thought the price to be too high, and sought to do it another way. It's never worked, though, and I find myself back at His feet, asking for forgiveness and another chance to do it the way He did.

I've learned that He desperately wants to give that second - and third, and fourth..... - chance.

I have learned to admire people who experience a great hurt, pause to prayerfully contemplate that experience and allow God’s Spirit to put it in its proper place, and then move on in their journey with Christ.

I have learned that people like that are like precious jewels, sparkling because they have allowed themselves to be cut by the faithful, trustworthy hand of the Master Jeweler.

I have learned that it should be my utmost priority to have a pure heart, and I have learned that I cannot accomplish this without His constant, merciful, gracious help.

I have learned that spiritual maturity does not mean achieving spiritual perfection. It means submitting to God and seeking to obey Him even when the price seems very high to do so. It means humbly acknowledging all that remains for Christ to change in my heart and life, while rejoicing in what He has already accomplished within me.

I have learned that we should want to be like weaned children toward our Heavenly Father; still completely dependent, but no longer demanding.

I wanted you to know that I have seen a glimmer of all these things in your heart and life, my friend. You inspire me and my family. We stand proudly shoulder to shoulder with you in the faith, and that will never change.

I wanted you to know that God has placed each of us specifically where we are for a specific purpose. There are needs around us that we were born to meet.

I wanted you to know that there is a hole, a lack, a need - in your family, your school, your job and in the Church - that you have been born to fulfill, my friend. It will be painful to do so at times, but with Him, you can do anything.

On the days when you feel that the price is too high, remember that you have desired in your heart to be used by Him in a mighty way. Remember that His maturity calls us to love in ways so sacrificial and inconvenient and painful that we never imagined them. Remember that Jesus told Peter, When you were young you dressed yourself and you went where you wanted to go. But when you become mature, you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and lead you places that you don’t want to go.
John 21:18

Jesus told His disciples, “Get in the boat. We’re going to the other side.”

Then there came a storm so big that all of the disciples thought they were going to die. They forgot that Jesus said, “We’re going to the other side.” They didn’t notice that, because He had heard this from God, He was at peace. They didn’t notice that His peace was so great that He was asleep in the back of the boat while they were desperately trying to save their own lives.

But when they went to Him and awoke Him and asked Him for help, they realized it all. When they purposed to stretch out their hands toward Jesus, to let Him dress them with the storm in which they found themselves, to follow Him to a place where they did not want to go, they finally beheld the magnitude of the peace that He had.

It was a peace from God that could still a storm.

I wanted to remind you on this day, this hour, this season, and at the moment of this hurt that you‘ve experienced, that we have that peace available to us right now.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27

I am thankful for you this day, my friend. My family may not have known it, but there was a hole, a lack, a need in our lives. It was a hole, a lack, a need that was shaped just like you.

We are thankful for you. You are an answer to prayer. You are a gift to us from God.

The Tandem Bike

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At first I saw God as an observer, my judge; keeping track of the things I did wrong so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was sort of out there like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it but I really didn't know Him.

Later on when I met Christ it seems as though life were rather like a bike ride. But it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was on the back helping me pedal. I don't know just when it was that He suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since.
You see, when I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long-cuts up mountains and through rocky places at break-neck speeds. It was all I could do to hang on! And even though it looked like madness, He said, “Pedal.”

When I was worried and anxious and I asked, “Where are you taking me?”, He laughed. He didn't answer and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and I entered into the adventure. When I'd say “I'm scared”, He'd lean back and He'd touch my hand. He took me to people with gifts that I needed; gifts of healing and acceptance and joy. They gave me gifts to take on my journey, my Lord’s and mine.

Then we would be off again. He said, “Give the gifts away! They're extra baggage! Too much weight.” So I gave them away to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and in doing so that my burden stayed light.

I did not trust Him at first in control of my life. I thought He'd wreck it. But He knows bike secrets! He knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners. He knows how to make it jump to clear high rocks. He knows how to fly to shorten the scary passages. I'm learning to trust Him while we pedal in the strangest places! I'm beginning to enjoy the view, and to enjoy the cool breezes on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ. And when I'm sure I just can't take anymore.....

He just smiles and says, "Pedal, just pedal."


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But I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way, who can't see where they're going. I'll be a personal guide to them, directing them through unknown country. I'll be right there to show them what roads to take, make sure they don't fall into the ditch. These are the things I'll be doing for them-- sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute.
Isaiah 42:16 (The Message)

Some Trust In Chariots and Some In Horses, But We....

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The following post was received from a dear Sister in Christ from the greater Cleveland, Ohio, area. She is a precious blessing from God to my life. God has done many wonderful things in and through her life. I think you will be struck, though, by her humility when you read what she has written here. What God spoke to her through the experience of which she writes is certainly a word from God for us all. Be blessed.
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The Lord had to deal with me about fear and trusting in Him this week.

I drive about a 40 minute commute to work each morning that requires me to leave Streetsboro around 5:30 a.m. I pray each morning that the Lord will keep me safe from the deer and other animals, that He will keep my vehicle safe from mechanical failures and that He will protect me against all the crazy drivers on the roads and deliver me safety where I need to travel.

When I hit [a] deer about two weeks ago, I could see the hand of God that protected me as it could have been much worse. However, I have to admit that it knocked the wind out of me emotionally.

Whereas, I had not even given it a second thought for three years, now after hitting that deer, I became so afraid to drive at night and in the early morning hours because I so afraid that another deer would jump out.

As many times as I have seen deer on the side of the roads over the past three years, I trusted the Lord. But since I hit one, I had an open door that the enemy was using to work me over.

He used my fear to keep my mind focused on the deer and on being afraid. Every morning that I had to get ready for work, I awoke with terror about having to drive.

I kept putting this before the Lord and asking Him to heal me of my fears. He gave me a verse in Psalm 91 that says, "Thou shall not be afraid for the terror by night".

I would say this verse as I traveled in the darkness each morning and at night. Then one day, a coworker told me about electronic devices that you can put on your car that makes an sound that the deer hear and would cause them to not run toward your vehicle. I went on the internet and ordered one. Each day I went to the mailbox in anticipation of receiving this device that would deliver me from my fears.

Finally, the device came and ripped the box open and immediately put it on my van. All of a sudden my confidence was up and I wasn't afraid anymore! I couldn't wait to drive to work the next morning because I knew this device would get me through.

As I was getting ready for work the next day, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "Are you going to put your trust in a manmade device or are you going to trust Me? Are you going to trust something that man made or are you going to trust the Lord of the deer to keep you safe? Are you going to rely on your carnal security or put your trust in my grace?

I wept and swallowed really hard as I asked for God's forgiveness. I realized that I had made that deer alarm my god and that I was trusting in it instead of the true and living God.

I asked the Lord to forgive me and that I trusted in Him and Him only. I have not used the device and I am trusting the Lord for my safety.

The Holy Spirit said to me, "A self-reliant person is doomed to fail, but the wise person depends on God".

Proverbs 20:7 - "Some trust in chariots and some in horses (and deer alerts - smile), but we will remember the name of the Lord our God."

730 Days

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The following post is one received from a dear friend and true Brother to us in this journey with Christ. His post speaks to the joy of liberty in our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, and to our need for His presence at the center of our lives, every day. Love you, Brother.

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What can I say but "Wow!"

I struggled with addiction since I was 13 yrs old. On November 21, 2004, I surrendered. I gave my will and life over to God of my understanding; I opened the door.

I [had] heard the knocks, but refused to listen to them. I knew it was Jesus. I wanted to do things my way, not God's way. I had to be shown, beat down and broken.

I accepted Jesus back in my life, and my life has never been the same.


I have entered a world I had forgotten years ago. I feel like a child again. Everything to me is like a new experience. In some ways, I feel as if I was dead during those 25 years of addiction.

God is beside me at all times, showing me how to live. It is so amazing.

He has given me friends; something I never had before. He took to a city (Sidney, Ohio) where I knew no one. Now I have a network of friends who love me for who I am. I feel worthy now, and know who I really am.

I'm on this journey that I dont want to stop. Every day is new, full of God's loving grace and power so great that it almost makes me want to cry.

I know that God has great plans for me in the years to come. I pray to Him often and talk to Him as my friend.

My hope is to help people to know who God is, and His amazing power, and how He can change a person and their life for the best life to come.

I am so full of gratefulness, that I want to share it with everyone.

Its great to be sober today.

I must progress foward no matter what.

27 Miles From Houston and a Hundred Miles From Home

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This letter was sent to me by a dear friend and follower of Christ some years ago, and I wanted to post it here today. As a background for you, at the time of this writing, my friend was diligently seeking employment as an NFL assistant coach, and recently his wife had left him and refused to return. I believe you will be touched by what he wrote upon his return from a trip to Mobile, Alabama to attempt to secure a position with the Buffalo Bills.
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Let me tell you about what happened to me as I came back from Mobile, Alabama yesterday. I had reservations about going to Mobile because, as I had told you, nothing was concrete and I really didn't have the money to go, but I just got this nudging to just go.

Concerning the job, I met with one of the important people there and he simply said that he would do his best. After leaving the hotel on Thursday, I wondered, "Lord why did you bring me here, because I could have heard that on the phone."

Later on Thursday night, I talked to someone real close to the organization and he assured me that the job was mine and the reason why Tom could not say alot. He said, "Reggie, the job is yours."

I was excited about that until he said that it would not be official for about a month. I understand the business and everything happens after the Super Bowl. Still, I wondered why God had brought me all the way there, because He could have told me that on the phone.

Maybe it was to hang out with my fraternity brother and his family. I really enjoyed being there, but was disappointed to find out he was cheating on his wife like crazy.

So why did I travel all the way to Mobile, Alabama?

I left Friday morning heading back to Houston. I thought about my family all the way back. About mid-way back, there was a guy stranded on the highway. He had run out of gas, so I stopped, picked him up and took him and got him some gas.

I was really glad to help him. He had major issues, young black man into money and women, and he had been divorced. I simply told him God loves him. I would remember him later.

Now I know you guys are wondering where I am going with this. Well I was rolling pretty good, I was about to make this trip in record time, everything was great, until I saw the sign that said 27 miles from Houston.

Suddenly I heard a bumping and then the car seemed to drop down on one side. I had had a blow out.

I struggled to get control of the car because I was traveling over 80 miles an hour. I finally got control of the car and pulled over. Unfortunately, I was on a part of the freeway where there was no medium and very little room to the right because they were expanding the highway and they had borders set up. My car was parked barely outside of the right lane so close that I had to get out on the passenger side of the car, and because of the borders I could barely get out.

As I looked up. there was that sign - "27 miles outside of Houston" - and I thought, "Wow, I have come such a long way and this happens 27 miles outside of Houston." It was 5:30 pm when this happened and I simply sat for a while. This was a new tire and that I had no car jack in my car.

Finally, I decided to flag someone down, but with no luck. It was such a tight fit and I was positioned in the curve of the freeway so people came by flying and if they wanted to help by the time they saw me they were going too fast and there was really no where they could park their car.

After standing there for about an hour, I decided to walk towards what appeared to be a truck stop about a half mile down the road. This was difficult because I had to hop over the borders and walk through the all kinds of stuff because they were expanding the highway,

I finally made it to the truck stop, which was not a truck stop at all. Sure, trucks were there, but they were all big Fords and Dodges. I instantly knew I was in the wrong place. This was a gas station, honkey tonk, adult movie store hang out.

As I walked in the red necks simply stared at me, I finally got the nerve to ask them did they have a car jack and the answers were all "No," with smirks and grins. I don't think they were racist or anything, just rough and rugged.

Anyway, I stood out in the parking lot near the gas tanks and asked every person that came in, about a million, if they had a jack and no one had one. At about 7:30 the temperature had dropped and I stood at this "shop." The red necks had left and now the perverts were coming to get their adult movies and no one had a jack. They had truck jacks, they had parts of jacks, they had jumper cables, but no jacks,

I would remember the guy who had the jumper cables. My emotions just took over as I, at that moment, thought about my life. No job, no wife, and stranded 27 miles from Houston and what seemed like a hundred miles from home.

The tears began to fall as I thought, "Where did it all go wrong?" and I could not control myself. I began to just shout, "I hate my life!". I cried for what seemed an eternity. Many people passed by but no one seemed to notice or care.


I finally decided to walk back to the highway and try to figure something out. I was now freezing and back on the highway, the trucks were coming around that curve so fast the car seemed as if it moved every time they passed.

Finally, I decided that maybe I could just drive to the next exit and to a gas station about a 2 miles away. I began to drive the car slowly and finally made it off the ramp. I thought that I would make it to the gas station, but 27 miles outside of Houston and a hundred miles from home the rubber came off the tire and I was riding on a rim.

I stopped the car, and just smiled. I was glad that I had made it off the ramp and, although I was in a very dark spot, I knew that help would soon be there.

Car after car came and passed. I thought maybe they couldn't see me coming off the ramp so I turned on my headlights and put the brake lights on. The emergency blinkers were already on.

As I stood there, there was a pattern to the people passing me up. Some would just look, others would speed up, the worst of them all though were those who would hit there brakes and think about helping but then pull off.

Many people stopped but had no jack; a Drivers' Ed teacher with students, a drunk, several truckers. One guy with a missing head light stopped, but he didn't have all the parts to his jack. He promised he would be back, but I never saw him again.

It was now 9:00 pm and I was still 27 miles from Houston and a hundred miles from home.

I know that you might be wondering, "Why didn't you just call someone to come get you?" I don't have any friends in Houston to call. Plus I knew that sooner or later someone would stop with a jack and I would be moving again.

As I stood flagging down cars, I began to just laugh uncontrollably. I kept saying. "27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home, 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.

I couldn't help it. I guess I laughed because I didn't want to cry. I was freezing, had no job, had no wife, and I was stranded 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.

I laughed until I realized that my life was a mess and I was so close to Houston but so far away because of circumstances. I thought about it being the same way with Tanisha, how I was so far from home. Then I began to cry, and this time it was uncontrollable.

I was running and falling and felt like I had just lost it. I begged God to speak to me right then. I ran to the car and grabbed my Bible and said, "Lord. please give me a word." He said, "Psalms 40:1."

"I waited patiently on the Lord and He inclined unto me and heard my cry."

I thanked God and I began to sing. I was singing so loud that the people who I was trying to flag down must have thought that I was insane. The song turned into a sermon, and I literally was preaching to myself. The Holy Spirit came, and I could not help myself. I was engulfed in His Spirit right there, 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.

That scripture meant so much to me, it said all that I needed to hear. It spoke to the fact that I was stranded and needed help, it spoke to my finances, it spoke to my marriage, and I thank God for that.

Finally after 5 hours of standing on the side of roads, a guy came who had a jack. His lug wrench did not work, but he had pliers, and we changed that tire.

And I tell you that, 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home, the battery now went dead. Don't worry. I drive a stick, and I simply jump started it.

I finally knew why I had gone to Mobile, Alabama.

I got the answer 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.