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Wednesday, December 20, 2006

28 Day Prayer Journey To Passion 07 - Day 17

Day 17. Journey.

We are on a journey… and I mean more than a trip to Atlanta. Much more. We are after our Creator, restless souls longing to be in the arms of the One who made us. A Father whose arms are home. We are happy here on earth, but not fully satisfied. In fact, as the days mount, this thing called life earth looks less and less promising, not more and more appealing. But that’s OK. We’re just here for a brief visit. We're on our way, headed home.

We’re not anti-earth. Rather, pro heaven. As long as we’re here we'll enjoy this place, while fighting on for the Name that sets us free. But we have a departure date just ahead. And, speaking for myself, when I am gone, shed no tears for me. My final destination blows this place away.

In the meantime, Lord willing, I'm headed to Passion 07… and so are a ton of you. We’re coming on planes, on buses, in vans and in cars. In fact, some of you still are not’t exactly sure how you're going to get there. But you’re coming. You're determined. You're on a journey. We are all, and it won’t be easy.

In these last days many obstacles will come...they always do...trials from without and within that seek to impede our successful arrival at Passion 07. In fact, for us at Passion struggle has been at our door all fall long. Cancer, has been our companion. The fight, ever-present. But we’re still coming, no matter what.

So, get ready for them in coming days. Job changes. Financial worries. Family crisis. Illness. Friends bailing. Schedules crashing. Stuff happening. Many things will try to stand in the way, but let’s pray today…

Lord, You are sovereign over all things, and over all of us. Lead us to Atlanta under Your care. Thwart enemy plans that might stop us from being a part of all You have in store. And even today open the way for others to come. Those who are hoping for a financial miracle or a change of heart from a parent. Please open the way. Passion 07 is not our prize. You are what we want. And heaven is the end of the race we run. Today we are leaning that way, toward You, toward home. We love You and long for You, Jesus.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. Psalm 84:5

posted by 268gen at 9:08 AM

24 Comments:

  • HEY Y'ALL!
    THAT'S RODRIGO. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL PRAYER SUPPORTING YOU HAVE GIVEN ME.

    I DIDN'T WANT TO TELL YOU THESE NEWS, BUT GOD DIDN'T PERMIT I GET MY VISA.

    EVEN THOUGH IT WAS NOT WHAT I REALLY WANTED, HE IS SOVEREIGN AND DID WHAT HE WANTED.

    PRAY FOR ME NOW FOR PEACE.

    THANK YOU MR. GIGLIO FOR PRAYING FOR ME TOO. PASSION07 IS GONNA HAPPEN AND I AM VERY HAPPY FOR THIS... THE WORD OF GOD WILL BE SPREAD AND MAY GOD BLESS EVERY MINUTE OF THE CONFERENCE WITH HIS PRESENCE!

    THANK YOU DANIELE VALADARES FOR THE SUPPORT AND FOR PRAYING FOR ME AND FOR GRANTING ME THIS OPPORTUNITY TO GO. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, MY SISTER, AND HOPE THAT GOD BLESS YOUR LIFE IN EVERY SINGLE WAY.

    I'LL BE HERE IN BRAZIL PRAYING FOR YOU AND WAITING FOR A NEW CHANCE TO MEET ALL OF YOU. IF I DON'T SEE YOU HERE ON EARTH, WE'RE SURELY GOIG TO SEE EACH OTHER IN HEAVEN!

    PRAISE THE LORD GOD BECAUSE HE IS ALMIGHTY AND OUR LIVES ARE IN HIS HANDS!

    "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;" Psalm 108:5 KJV

    GOD BLESS Y'ALL!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 9:36 AM  

  • I'm praying for you Rodrigo.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 10:20 AM  

  • I hope my destination is heaven rather than hell.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 10:59 AM  

  • Taste this:

    Close my eyes from evil,
    And my ears from hearing idle words,
    And my thoughts from reflecting on unchaste thoughts,
    And my veins from thinking of transgression.

    Guide my feet to walk in thy commandments
    And thy righteous ways,
    And may thy mercies be turned upon me.

    Not scripture but some holy ones in exile wanted to come home, very 268ty--

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 11:00 AM  

  • More 268ty, no worries to the child hoping for heaven and fearing hell, a Friend on the Throne has a personal message for you, yes you,

    Fear not He says--
    I am the Way, the Comforter; your Lord and your witness, home, refuge and friend, origin and dissolution, foundation and treasure-house, the Imperishable Seed.

    For those who follow Me and worship with undivided heart, I have attained for you what you had not, and I preserve what you have.

    No devotee of mine is ever lost.
    Taking refuge in Me, lowly born, women, day laborers, even slaves, reach the highest goal.

    Let your mind and your heart, offerings and worship to Me be at peace.So you will strive toward Me, I will come to you.

    his servant, talya

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 11:18 AM  

  • "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Gid, who have been calledaccoding to His purpose." ~Romans 8:28

    I just read that chapter this morning and it definitely fits. I know it's gonna be a tough journey, but it's just wonderful to know that God is still working in the midst of it all.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 11:21 AM  

  • Great attitude and comment Rodrigo! We are praying for you and know God's plans for your life are not going to be denied.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 11:41 AM  

  • As I checked this blog, Jars of Clay's "On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand," started (literally as I started reading!). What a great song to hear while reading where we are headed. The Lord is so gracious in His reminders. :) Check it out if you get a chance.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 12:20 PM  

  • I needed to read that today.
    God bless!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 12:27 PM  

  • Rodrigo,

    What to say?

    I think God is praised. You testify that God lovingly holds us through every circumstance, and He is righteous and just in all His ways--even if circumstances are not what we want. That says a lot. He is worthy of our praise (literal praise and the praise of submission) when He gives and when He takes away. His sovereignty is a strangely beautiful thing. A joy. God's work in you and your response to things tells how wonderful and trustwrothy our God is. Thank you!

    I can't go this year either, so I will be especially praying for you. Bless you, brother.

    Check out the meaning of the word "wait" in Isaiah 40:31. While it means more than this, I find it interesting that at it's root, it carries the idea of twisting. Take a pair of socks and wiggle them. Pretty flimsy. Now twist them like a rope--have someone or something hold one end of the pair and you twist each sock in opposite directions while twisting them around eachother. When you're done, yes, it's still flexible, but check out the new strength it has. When you wiggled them at the beginning they didn't fall apart--they had strength then. But now they have a different kind of strength. The "rope" is hard, stiff and more dependable (but it's really too short to do anything with, seeing they are socks:).

    Stress from the twisting itself and pressure from twisting them together. This is how I feel in the midst of trials. I imagine we all do. Then comes in the element of actually waiting for God to do something with our circumstances, to give us the "strength" we are looking for, as it says in the verse, and especially when, hehe, we feel we're at "the end of our rope." Waiting has got to be the hardest thing to do in the Christian life. Even if we do understand the sovereignty of God (which is so freeing).

    God's orchestrating this. HE, though He may use Satan or other outside sources or we may just be battling out flesh tendancies, He is the One doing the stretching, and it is a mercy. But what always stands out to me is the pressure aspect. The socks are stretched in almost every direction, but they are pressed together. And, if you did it tight enough, you should be able to let go and the socks will stay together. They are no longer just two socks, they are one rope. (John 17 is the cross reverence here:)

    It's most effectively through our trials and disappointments that we are "pressed into God." It's in realizing once again our dependence on Him for the right response to things. It's in that desperate, (or, quiet broken-heartedness of) looking to Him/waiting on Him that our hearts are further fused to His. Oneness. We are drawn to cast ourselves on Him more fully, we know Him more intimately. Because we KNOW that He MUST get the glory and we must be conformed to His image. And we look to Him for it. And it's here in our distress that we see the wisdom of His ways and that He is sufficient. Though painful, it's a beautiful place to be. If I get more of God it's worth it. And that's His goal in the whole thing. That's true love.

    And the thing just explodes when you get to the word "renew." It means "change." 2 Corinthians 12.

    You know all this, Rodrigo. It's obvious you know all this. I just agree with you, with the Truth of Scripture, and thank God for His work in your life. Thank you for sharing it with us.

    Twist you a pair of socks. Let it encourage you. Our God is good. :)

    Kayleen

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 12:35 PM  

  • Hey Rodrigo

    My heart feels very sad for you because I know how much my visa means to me. I'll continue to pray for you and when I arrive in Atlanta from South-Africa I'll definitly think about you.

    Please read Psalm 73:25. The Lord sees your great attitude and He will bless your life, 'coz He loves a humble heart!

    I'll meet you ONE DAY...

    BLESSINGS

    By Blogger Karin du Toit, at 12/20/2006 12:51 PM  

  • rodrigo, your attitude is awesome. if i could give you my spot and get you there to atlanta i so would!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 2:29 PM  

  • Oh, Rodrigo--sorry. "Cross-reference" is what I meant. :)

    Kayleen

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 3:09 PM  

  • Rodrigo
    You're having a great attitude about all of this! I will continue praying for you to have peace about everything. I can't go either until 2008 Lord willing, so I'm with you. Hopefully in 08 if there is a Passion that year, we'll be able to lift up His name with everyone else. I can't wait to see what God has in store!!

    Brittany

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 4:28 PM  

  • I will run the course of Your commandments. For You shall enlarge my heart. Psalm 119:32

    Spurgeon says, "The heart is the master, and the feet soon run when the heart is free and energetic.

    Our running is the spontaneous leaping of a mind that has been set free by God's hand and delights to show it's freedom with bounding speed."

    I pray for a journey for this generation that is filled with enlarged hearts and feet that run in freedom.

    God is going to use your prayers for Passion, Rodrigo! Pray hard. How much Jesus loves you.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 4:48 PM  

  • Today my Best of Passion (so far) cds came in the mail...

    Unbelieveable to reflect on the journey of the past decade. I emailed Carrie saying I could write a dissertation on how each of these songs has intersected with my life, and the lives of the great cloud of witnesses to God's majesty in earth and heaven.

    I remember hearing Nathan and Christy tell a small group of us about Passion one night in a dorm in Seattle a decade ago, playing "His Renown." That was the first seed planted... Then a while later, hearing you Louie in CA on the fall tour before One Day when I felt the Lord calling me to lead a group of students from Seattle to Memphis... crazy.

    Though I'm just another cracked vessel, the seeds planted those places have been watered and bearing fruit since One Day, which these songs call to memory. Passion holds an irreplaceable portion of my heart, for drawing me nearer to Christ, and in so doing, encountering my vocation. I am praying for the students who'll descend upon your great city, the ATL, that they meet with God in a palpable way as well, leaving changed forever.

    God bless you guys as you seek to listen to and follow our great God. Amen. love Casey(Moe) in Seattle

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 5:32 PM  

  • I was physically ill today, and I feel better now. It was great reading this, and I am so thankful to God. Praise God and all of His Glory. Amen.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 8:20 PM  

  • Anonymous 10:59 AM,
    Dear, dear friend,

    You haven’t been forgotten. I’ve been thinking about you all day and what you said.

    I'm glad you hope. It shows God is probably working. I think you want to KNOW, though.

    This is the good news (Gospel) of Jesus Christ:

    He is the best thing that ever was. We were created to give Him glory by treasuring and worshipping Him above all else. We have rejected Him to His face, choosing to disregard His revelation of Himself and delight ourselves in things of incomparably lesser value (sin). On His own initiative and at His own expense and out of His great mercy, God made a way for us to get back to Him through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is faithful, and has promised that whoever comes to Him acknowledging that Jesus is their only source of righteousness before God and hope of forgiveness from Him, rejecting the life of sin, they WILL be restored to a right relationship with God and an eternity with Him in Heaven.

    We don’t deserve this amazing gift, but God loves to give it…because He is an amazingly loving God. To Him be the glory!

    God’s Word and our response to it is how we KNOW.

    Email me. I’d like to send you something. bowtheheart-goodnews@yahoo.com.

    Praying for you.
    Blessings,
    Kayleen

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 9:18 PM  

  • Great reminder of where home is....needed that right now.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 9:34 PM  

  • Rodrigo,
    I'm sad to hear your visa was denied but I am encouraged by your hope and faith. You are so strong in Christ and I will continue to pray for you. God is going to use you in big ways.

    To everyone else,

    I am counting down the days until Passion. God is going to move in such a mighty way. Last year God spoke to me in a way like never before. I can't wait to see what He has in store for not only myself but all 20,000 that are attending. I am praying for everyone that their hearts will be open for God to speak to and that lives will be changed.

    This journey isn't easy. But the end, spending eternity with Our Maker, is undeniably worth it.

    God Bless you all!
    Rebecca

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/20/2006 10:57 PM  

  • Jesus, please meet us where you are...in our jobs, in rest and fellowship with families, in our churches-our everyday lives...we need you, we need you, we need you. Jesus, we affirm that you are better than life. We want to see you as good here in our lives-not just at Passion-but in our lives, so that we cannot deny your goodness, mercy, and holyness as just "a mountaintop experience". Show us the fullness of who you are.

    By Blogger Andy, at 12/20/2006 11:27 PM  

  • Thanks for the reminder that we have another home ... it's so easy to get caught up with the temporal things.

    Btw, is the latest Passion podcast available?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/21/2006 1:09 AM  

  • Lord, continue to be our main hearts desire. Fill us with nothing but You as we travel down. Provide ways for more students who still don't think they have a way to be there. Continue to open doors for those who need to be there. Thank you for Rodrigo's heart to be there. Continue to build his heart for you nevertheless. Continue to draw Him to You and You alone. Continue to draw all our hearts to only You.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/21/2006 2:23 AM  

  • You are my prize Jesus!!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12/21/2006 8:46 AM  

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