Becoming Christ Conscious and Avoiding Traps

“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” Proverbs 29:25

To fear man is to fall into a trap. I struggle with this during meetings with Pastors or presenting our work to congregations. It is easy to become self-conscious. We question ourselves “Does the display look okay,” “Did I remember to mention,” and my personal favorite “What do you think that they thought of…” Wanting to know what people think of me is pride and makes me fall into a trap. In this trap nerves are rattled, burdens are felt, imperfections are overwhelming and mistakes become terrifying. A trap keeps something from moving and immobilizes and may eventually kill it. It’s possible to be so fearful of man that we do and say nothing. (Ever not shared your faith?)

Avoiding the trap – TRUST IN GOD
The opposite of falling into the trap of fearing man is found in this verse – "but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD…” We must turn our self-consciousness to Christ- consciousness! We can be aware of His presence and have confidence in His Word. We can put trust in CHRIST, His Word and His Power. What REST there is in His strength and grace. Those who do so are, as this verse says, “safe.” They are free from traps, free from ulcers and stress! They are free to walk close after Christ unhindered. A walk that seeks to bring Glory to Him and not compliments to ourselves.

Here are some practical steps that I use in avoiding the fear of man trap:
1.) Pray for all things and for all activities.
2.) Leave the consequences and outcome to God.
3.) Be committed to doing what is right and saying what is true.
4.) Rest in Christ - don't replay conversations and events in your mind. We can always overthink something, but we can never over pray!!


Itinerary Update

Please be in prayer for Becky and me during this fall season. God has been so faithful in giving us meetings, please pray for our support to come in. Here is our updated itinerary:
Oct 15 - Castleton, VT
Oct 21 - Wedding in NH
Oct 22 - Surry, NH
Oct 23 - New England Bible College
Oct 25 - Burlington, MA
Oct 26 - Durham, NH
Oct 28-29 - Missions Conf. Raymond, NH

Stay clear of traps!
- Steve

Whirlwind Tour of New England

In New York City last summer, as I stood up to preach the gospel in the subway, I opened my mouth and everyones eyes were on me. My mind was racing – is this crazy? will people listen? And sure enough, people listened, people believed, and people accepted Christ! The same feeling sweeps over me on Thursday morning as I begin to make phone calls. Will we get a meeting this week? Is this crazy? – God is faithful! And does not let us down! Nor will He ever!
Praise God! We’ve had some good meetings this last month. And to God’s glory have started to into 2007. September has been a tour of New England. We think of our “road trips” and that meaning 6+ hours a day on the road, but this does not compare with some of our colleagues at BMW who have been around the country and back! But here has where we have been:

August 27th – (PM) - Heritage Baptist Church, Hooksett NH

September 1st – (FRI) We visited Haven of Rest Baptist Church, West Haven CT
Calvary Bible Church, Plainville CT

September 2nd – (SAT) Family Reunion – Wakefield, RI

September 10th – (AM/PM) Calvary Bible Church, Narragansett RI

September 17th – (AM) - We visited Free Baptist Church, Waterboro ME
Pastor Charlie Storey and his wife fed us lunch, Josiah took a nap
and we were on our way to a meeting at (PM) South Gardiner Baptist
Church, S. Gardiner ME

September 24th - (AM) Walnut Grove Baptist Church, Rochester NH
(PM) FELLOWSHIP BIBLE CHURCH, CHESTER NH!!


Things We’ve Learned:
- Toll booths do take pennies (first take them out of the roll!)
- I don’t think Hudson Taylor had a laptop with a DVD player to keep his kids entertained,
nor a bottle of bubbles projected by a an AC vent.
- I learned not to be controlled by my notes when preaching

A Time of Transition

No, we are not in Argentina yet. We still live in Raymond NH. If you don't see us on Sunday morning, we are still living in Raymond 6 days a week!

So... What has deputation been like?

Becky:
The Negatives. It has been lonely sometimes visiting new churches. It takes time to build relationships with people. Steve and I are starting to get used to not being at Fellowship ever week and having start building friendships from the ground up. Josiah too has been feeling the transition. Holding him in my arms and keeping him well behaved and having an intelligent conversation with people we meet is a challenge.
The Positives: It has been neat to see how other churches do things differently. Even with order of service, worship times, etc. Every chance we get to talk about our ministry it renews the passion that my have to serve the Lord in South America.
Prayer Request: I'm feeling nauseous from this pregnancy and still on my toes with Josiah. Pray for long naps and calm stomachs. Pray that I can prioritize my time so that I can be giving out to the people around me (especially Josiah).

Steve:
The Negatives: I feel a bit David did. He was anointed by Samuel as king of the nation of Israel, but he did not immediately serve as king. So positionally he was king, but conditionally he was still a shepherd boy who had an ear for music. So this transition point for me, Positionally: we have been commissioned to Argentina. Conditionally: I still draft septic designs during the day. Pray that I can be diligent and faithful at work and trusting in God and patient.
These last few weeks I cut back my time at work to three days a week. Hoping to make more phone calls and make more contacts. Pray for open doors and this time to be used wisely.
Positives: The summer has been slow making contacts but these last few weeks the Lord has been opening up doors and our schedule is getting filled up! Praise the Lord. I praise God for putting some real gem of pastors in our path along the way that have been real encouragements to us, in prayer and in example. I am thankful too for friends who have been acting as our "agents" and helping us get some more meetings to present our work.

Josiah:
Negatives: car seats, bullies in nurseries, late nights
Positives: munchkins at D&D and new buddies along the way

Deputation underway

We are currently at 10% of the support needed to go to Argentina!! I have recieved emails from some of our national friends we made in Argentina. They remind us to that they are praying for us to return quickly.

Returning from the 2nd part of our canidate orientation at BMW in Atlanta GA, Becky and I were faced with some new and exciting challenges which require steps of faith. 1.) When do we sell our house? 2.) When do I quit my job and take deputation to the next level? The answer to both of these questions is: in God's perfect timing. When is that? I was encouraged in my devotions the other day in reading about King Hezekiah. The passage in II Kings 18 descibes him as a man who trusted God, in fact more than any other king before or after him. That is quite the statement! But as you continue to read this passage you see this word "trust" come up again and again, as this trust in God was being challenged. Trials came, the winds blew and the rain poured, Hezekiah held on to God. He stayed so close to God that he was in God's shadow (Psalm 91:1). Might we be characterized by this same trust as we take steps of faith to fulfill His call in our lives!

Becky and I are so encouraged and blessed to have a sending church that has been standing behind us: with prayer, fellowship, encouragement, and financial support.
You can learn more about our sending church at:
www.fellowshipbiblechester.org