News: Urban Plunge welcomes Heather Miller into a new position

Urban Plunge is growing! And to help that growth along, we have invited Heather Miller to be a part of the executive team. Heather has been one of the Urban Plunge family members for a long time now, working as a facilitator in the Omaha area for more than four years.

Her task will be to create buzz about Urban Plunge by contacting media outlets closely affiliated with churches or groups that have gone on the Plunge, and informing them about the amazing experiences that people have had on the Plunge. She also will be doing some coordinating and facilitating in the meantime.

“I love the ministry,” Heather said.”I get to see what God does. I can see them (the Urban Plunge participants) experience life change. For many, it’s really eye opening, getting to work with the homeless for the first time. “

For her, it’s all about seeing people transformed, even in the few hours in which they do a Plunge.

Heather is a recent college grad, earning her degree in Missions from West Coast Bible College. She also recently completed an intense discipleship program called Masters Commision at her church.

And yes, we as Christ For the City are thrilled to have her on board.

Written by: John Michael Den Hartog

God's Healing and Provision

Our most recent guest post has been written by Angie Busch, our missions coach at the CFCI headquarters. (We were just so encouraged by it that we couldn't help but put share it with all of you.)

 Proverbs 3:8 
Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

The last few years have been anything but easy for the Busch family. We have had a variety of struggles, particularly with our health and various family difficulties, but through it all, God has remained faithful. I wanted to give you a glimpse of the things God has been doing in our lives.

 Psalm 36:5 
Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

God has provided for our family, even in little things like milk. While milk doesn’t sound like much, it is huge. A while ago, after we prayed and decided that we were supposed to take our nieces under our wings, our sweet neighbors started to supply us with two gallons of milk every week! That was six years ago, and we still get those two gallons every single week. Their simple faithfulness has been a huge blessing to us.

God has provided for our family by paying bills for us, providing meals for us, giving us an amazing group of Bible study friends, and showing us new ministry opportunities. And the list goes on! We are overwhelmed by all of the God’s blessings in our lives.

So, in October of 2012 I had neck surgery. Since then, I have had terrible neck pain and occasional migraines. The last few months, my migraines were almost daily, and my neck pain was severe.

 The amazing thing about working at CFCI is that they were always willing to pray for me. I was not healed instantly, but each time that I was prayed for, my head and neck felt better. I did also get put on medication. Friends at work and church continued to pray, and my migraines continued to lessen.

 Then I got an antibiotic-resistant staph infection (MRSA) on my arm. Then shingles. I thought things were getting better, and then suddenly, I was bedridden and in a lot more pain.

Yes, I was a discouraged! But through this whole situation, God was protecting me. Because I got MRSA, the doctors found the shingles right away; I was sick only for a little more than a week. I just required a lot of much-needed rest. Anyway, after all that, I didn’t have as many headaches.

Then today I woke up with a terrible migraine. I went into work, and Dick asked Sheila and Sandra to come and pray for me. After they prayed, my headache and neck ache instantly went away. God is the great Physician and I am forever grateful for the amazing things that he is doing in our lives!

This post originally appeared on jeffandangielivingbyfaith.blogspot.com.

The Role of Praise in the Christian Life

In the military, soldiers train to perfect Pre-Planned Responses. In the middle of battle, if a soldier is unable to respond according to his training, he will undoubtedly make ill-advised decisions. 

But if the opposite is true - if there is a habit that has been so ingrained through training and repetition - that same soldier will remain unfazed in the face of chaos, confusion, and destruction. 

The same is true for the army of the Living God. Our general, God, has developed a technique: in any and every situation, God calls us to praise Him. In the good times and the bad, in the sorrow and the struggle and the pain; in the celebration and the glory and the grace; when we feel Him and when we don't; when we've done well and when we haven't; when we're not feeling good or happy; when we feel like everything is coming to an end; in the middle of sin and shame and wretchedness; in the middle of joy and triumph and confidence; when we're poor and when we're rich; when the world is with us and when it's against us; when things are going our way and when nothing is; when we have all things, and when we have nothing. 

Philippians 4:6 declares, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Emphasis mine) 

It's easy to praise God in the good situations. And it's easy to praise God in the times when we feel good or had a good night's sleep or have just gotten good news. But what about the hard times, the times when it seems like He's failed to hear our prayer requests? Or the moments when the car breaks down? We seem to forget that even in those situations God is still sovereign. 

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose." God's sovereignty is not negated in the midst of negative situations. God doesn't miss things. He is not surprised by the things that happen and the ways that things go. He is still in control, and He knows what He's doing. 

In fact, it's not even about the situation. It's all about who He is. He is good. He is just. He is faithful. Since He does not change, our response to Him should not change. 

If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, He has forgiven us. He has given us eternal life. 2 Peter 1:3 says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who has called us by his own glory and goodness." If, then, our eternal destiny is secure, why are we letting little things get us down? That is like a man who has won the lottery, then is depressed because it rained on his suit. He is missing the big picture. With his lottery winnings, he can buy 100 suits. 

We have won the spiritual lottery. Why, then, are we so worried about temporary things? Psalm 118:1 says, "Give thanks to The Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." So let's do that: let's choose to give thanks and praise and worship, even in the midst of difficulty. After all, "if God is for us, who can be against us?" 

God's Pre-Planned Response to us is love. So what will be ours to Him?

Written by: John Michael Den Hartog

Love God, Love People

Recently at a conference in Phoenix, I heard a speaker say something like this, “Your love for God is measured by your love for people.” In other words, how much you love people really demonstrates how much you really love God. It’s another way to describe the Great commandment – Love God, Love People. As I’ve been thinking about this, I thought about a legal proceeding. If we were charged with loving God, could they find enough evidence to convict us? James in the Bible talks about this same issue in the 2 chapter of his book. Some people say they have faith (love God), but where is the proof? I on the other hand have abundant proof, works (love people) which demonstrates my love and faith for Him. As I work with different churches and cities, I try to find what is working. How are churches demonstrating their love for God? Is there enough evidence in the community to convict them? I’m afraid to say that most would be acquitted due to the lack of evidence. What about your personal life, your good works? Is there enough to convict you? I challenge you to live your life in such a way that if they took one good look at your love for others, they would promptly lock you up and throw away the key.

Peace With God

I've started reading through Sarah Young's Jesus Calling, A 365- Day Devotional. Today's devotional (April 2) is all about God's Peace.

"I have promised to meet all your needs according to My glorious riches. Your deepest, most constant need is for My Peace. I have planted Peace in the garden of your heart, where I live; but there are weeds growing there too: pride, worry, selfishness, unbelief. I am the Gardner, and I am working to rid your heart of those weeds. I do My work in various ways. When you sit quietly with Me, I shine the Light of My Presence directly into your heart. In this heavenly Light, Peace grows abundantly and weeds shrivel up. I also send trials into your life. When you trust Me in the midst of trouble, Peace flourishes and weeds die away. Thank Me for troublesome situations; the Peace they can produce far outweighs the trials you endure."

God is trying to teach me a number of things right now. He keeps telling me to give everything over to Him. All my planning, stress, worry, does me no good. He wants me to give it over to Him because His plan is greater than anything I can imagine. I feel like in today's reading, God is telling me that when I give over my troubles and worries to Him, Peace will overcome me. Peace is already in my heart, but my worry, pride, selfishness tends to overtake His Peace. To me this is a good reminder to focus on Him and what He is doing because he will overtake the "weeds" in my heart.

Philippians 4: 19
"And the same God who takes care of me will supply all my needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus"