For God speaks one way, then another but man does not perceive it.
Twenty nine cents....
One quarter, and four pennies.
God spoke through these coins yesterday morning to convey His will to me.
I know this may sound strange to some, but over the course of my life I have found that God does speak to reveal His will and direction He desires us to take.
Last fall, I received an invitation to speak over at Shane Elmore's place. He was having a Thursday night Bible study on his dock down by the river. It was one of those evenings that you know God had arranged, and was meant to be. Shane provides temporary housing for men in recovery, as well as those who are released from prison. So there on that dock, we shared a meal and the word of God. That night, I knew that God was leading me to connect with Shane and become a part of his vision. I went away encouraged and, at the same time thinking "Is that You, God? Do you really want me to do this?"
Fast forward to yesterday (Wednesday- 2/1/2017).
I had once again attended Shane's Tuesday night Bible study as a participant, not to lead.
The entire time I was there, I kept having this thought and feeling that this place was now home. This was where I was to turn my attention. After the meeting, Shane and I talked about what we thought God was doing in all this connecting between us. I agreed to come back on Wednesday morning, pray over the property and anoint all the buildings. Wednesday found me back at Shane's armed with oil, Bible and a heart full of prayer.
I moved from building to building, praying over the property, and along the way throwing up a "If this really what you want of me Father then you've got to let me know. I do not want to do anything that isn't from you." As I was walking across to the next building, I looked down, and there laying on the ground was twenty nine cents. One quarter, and four pennies. I bent to pick them up, and as I did, I had a thought...a very faint thought to check out the dates on the coins. This is where God confirmed to me that I truly was to be connected to Shane's vision.
The quarter was dated 1997
This was the year I was ordained as a Vineyard pastor.
The first penny was dated 1979
This was the year that Vicki and I came back from our journey into spiritual darkness. We rededicated our lives to Christ, began attending Central Methodist under the teaching of George Creel.
The second penny was dated 1999
This was the year we held our very first recovery meeting at Gadsden Vineyard....THE HOUSE OF BLUE.
The third penny was dated 2013
This was the year we moved from Rapha, where we'd done church on Saturday nights for 7 years, to the Vineyard, where we held our first Vineyard ReCovery meeting.
The last penny was dated 2016
The year I spoke at Shane Elmore's for the first time. God's way of confirming to me that He wanted me to be a part of what Shane was creating.
Five coins....
5 being the number of GRACE.
What were the odds that all five coins and their corresponding dates would just happen to be dates that were instrumental in my journey? But God chose to use these five coins to show me that I was on the right track. Amazing!
I walked around all day, thanking God for what he'd done in my life....
What He was doing in my life. And what He was going to do in my life....
Believe you me, God still speaks.
We just don't always get it or see it.
Yesterday was one of those days that brought the two together.
He spoke, and I got it.
Wowzers! By the way, the coins in the photo at the beginning of this post are the coins that I found yesterday. I am going to put them aside as a reminder that God indeed does still speak.
God on you...
mbb
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