DAY 21: "50" by Wayne Foreman

DAY TWENTY-ONE: “50” by Wayne Foreman

About 4 weeks ago Stephanie and I were in Louisville visiting her parents. We had planned this weekend because Beth Moore was speaking at their church. Stephanie’s parents purchased 4 tickets about a year ago for us to go with them. I’ll have to say I was a little skeptical about it because these events are for women, but they insisted more and more men were coming to listen to her. I knew I needed to here a word of some sort after the issues I had been dealing with at my work so I was on my way. Once we got there I began looking for all the men they were talking about. I couldn’t count John, Stephanie’s dad, because he was working as an usher. After I discounted all the men ushers and Beth Moore’s bodyguard I realized that instead of 50 there were only 3 and one of them was her brother.

I did however know the other man besides myself, his name is Roy. Roy is a good friend of John and Jan’s and I was very glad to see him there. The church that Beth was speaking at holds about 9,000 and the fellowship hall area holds another 1,000 and it was 100% sold-out. If you are counting, like I was, you will notice there were about 9,950 WOMEN and about 50 men and 47 of them were working. Roy had already been to one of her conferences so he was over the low testosterone levels and worshipping away. After the first night Stephanie and I got back to our room and began talking about the material we had covered. We both enjoyed the music and she had some good scripture but I still wasn’t getting it like Stephanie was. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed that night but I was ready for something life changing and I left that night still feeling a little empty.

When we got up the next morning Stephanie and I reviewed our notes again and prayed that God would give us a word about my job. Once we got back to the church we started listening to the praise band and worshipping God in such an awesome way. You could feel God’s presence in the room. After the music Beth got up and began teaching again and pulling the points from the night before and tying them in with new points. After a little while I realized why all of our wives have been so excited to listen to her for all these years. God anointed Beth that morning and she gave us a word that hit us directly between the eyes. Her message was in Luke chapter 8 about the parable of the sower. The points she gave us that day are as follows with some scripture:

1. Treasure the Wonder
2 Tim 3:16-17
Hosea 10:12
She talked about being “Thoroughly Equipped” and “Competently Competent”

2. Protect your Heart
John 10:10
Psalm 119:10-11

3. Expect the Test
Psalms 126:5-6
1 Cor 10:13
God will take you through trails to make you stand.
Satan will send temptations to make you fall.

4. Dig the roots
2 Kings 19:29-31
Eph 3:17
We need to take root below and bear fruit above

5. Stop the Choke
Phil 4:6-7
Speak scripture, pray scripture, and ask for release from anxiety
Ecclesiastes 11:6

6. Retain the word
Luke 8:14

7. Press forth to your 100-Fold
Finish what you started
Harvest will come with perseverance
Gal 6:9 - do not quit before the harvest comes.

When we left that day we felt God telling us to stand firm, don’t give up. No matter how bad it was at work I needed to finish what I started and not give up before the harvest time. Four days later I was released from work, but can I tell you we never doubted God. We never thought this would be the outcome but we knew God was going to do something big and something special.

Everyday since the Beth Moore conference Stephanie and I have been soaking in God’s word. We have had the best quiet times and prayer times together since then. When she has been down, I have been there to lift her up and when I have been down she has been there for me. We have been memorizing one scripture verse after another. God has brought us so close together these past weeks I get excited thinking about it. We never doubted that God would take care of us. In the past 4 weeks I went only 1 week without work and I had a dear brother who let me come to work with him a couple of days of that week. We have been able to see our children come and join us in our quiet times as well as pray with us and for us. Thank you God!

Today I was thinking about what to write and where to start, if any of you know me you know that I don’t read much and I never write but God told me to start from the beginning and He would finish the story. After my quiet time this morning in a hotel room I called Stephanie and God gave her some scripture that she shared with me and I want to share with you. It brings our journey that we have been on to full light now. Mark 10:29-30 says that God will bless us 100 times for our persecutions and leaving our family for His sake.

Today, Stephanie and Katherine, my oldest daughter, leave to the Ukraine for 10 days on a mission trip. Thank you God for the past 4 weeks and their faithfulness to stay focused on going instead of our circumstances. The harvest was never about my job but about God’s kingdom. What some may have looked as being bad, God made it good. My prayer is that we would continue to keep our eyes on God even when things get better. I would love to tell you about the great friends we have that came beside us when things were down and how my brother Roy called me to lift me up when he is fighting as well. God you are so good and so faithful. Thank you. To the other 49 men there that day my prayer is that God will bless you 100 fold as well.

My Prayer for Trace Crossing:
God I pray that you would bless our faith family 100 fold times 100, that we would reach out and bless 100 and they 100 and so on. I pray that we would plant in the good soil and dig roots with scripture and bear fruit serving and ministering others around our city and reaching our world.