Follow God’s Direction in Our Lives to Act Now Ministries As many of you know, we are closely following God’s plan for our future. Currently, God has directed us to follow a path to Sicily, Italy in lieu of spreading the gospel message as missionaries. Prior to the official announcement in joining Act Now Ministries, this website was established to spread our burden for missions in Sicily. In spreading that burden, we want to show our commitment in pursuing God’s plan by redirecting you to Act Now Ministries website. Please know, we have been blessed by your engagement, responses, and over all else – prayer! We do not fully know the timeline as to when, but we are following that path closely in preparation. As we close this chapter on our jounrey to Sicily, know this takes us one step closer to making God’s plan a reality in our own lives. As always, please keep us in your prayers as we seek our role further in expanding His kingdom. There are many different roadmaps to fulfilling His purpose, and we want to be receptive of His guidance and preparation throughout this process. God bless all of you!

Does God Love Me? If you’re asking the question, “does God love me?”, you’re in the same shoes as many other people. I too, have struggled with this question. More so, I now struggle with the question of how, not if. The fact of the matter is, God does love you. In fact, the Bible says He loves all the people of the world. However, the hard truth is that we all have the ability to either accept or reject that love. Effective love isn’t a one-sided street. I will get in to that a bit later.  God’s love offers a solution to human fate. See, first we have to realize apart from God our destination is Hell. We have all fallen short of God’s glory and have been born into a fallen world. What is right in our eyes conflicts with what is right in God’s eyes. Just look at the state of the world today. We build our kingdom here, store our treasures into earthly possessions, and we seek what satisfies our immediate desires. I am also captive to the ideas of self-gratification and captive at times to ‘doing what makes me happy.’ That, however, is not what God intended us for. Let’s take it back to creation.  Where It All Began In the beginning, God created the world and in that world he made man in His own image. The creation of mankind was designed for relationship. Everything we thrive off today with our family and friends, that’s what God made us for. But, that relationship was perfect and God walked with man. God never desired for us to be alone, thus we see God gave Adam a companion, Eve. Both Adam and Eve fell short and gave into their own flesh which sepearated them from God. This sin trickled down from generation to generation, but God still loved us. So much that He sent His only son Jesus to be a sacrifice for that sin that separates us from God.  So you’ve already heard the gospel, where am I even going with this? Trust me, I am getting there. Just please be patient and you’ll see! If you’re here questioning God’s love, you may have a wrong definition of it altogether. I’ve heard, if God loves the world, why are people in poverty? Why are people dying from cancer, why is there so much division in races, why are good people suffering from horrible fates? These are all valid questions, but let me challenge your definition of love.  Okay, Then What Is Love? I am about to get really repetetive and cliche with you. So, get ready. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. Does any of this sound like a good God to you? God is patient and kind to us. I can reflect on myself on how many times I ran from God. God never once backed down and gave up on me, He continually left the nighty-nine to come and rescue me. But wait, Chris it says it doesn’t envy, boast, and isn’t proud…. Isn’t God a jealous God? Doesn’t God demand praise? If you’re thinking like this you may be off on some characteristics of God. God deserves all glory and honor, there is no one like Him. He is jealous for us, but He does not envy any. God’s love isn’t forceful for His glory and it wipes away all wrongs. Jesus is the truth, and there is rejoicing for those who follow Him. His love protects us and no one can pluck us from His hand. God’s love has never failed once. His love is enduring and His love saves. We all have a choice to either accept or reject this love. His loves saves us, our rejection is what sepeartes us. We can question God’s love, we can’t always fathom it, but it’s as real as it ever was. This world isn’t eternity and those who live in it will suffer pain, but there is truth in God’s love that will wipe away all earthly suffering and pain. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sin, and that love is what connected you back to His grace. But Why Does God Love Me? I struggle with this every single day. Listen, you are reading the words of the most selfish, self-centered, and biggest sinner there may be. If Paul in the bible fell short and considered himself the least, I am far lower than he is. The point is, we can’t focus on who we are, we have to focus on who HE IS. I will never know the answer to why God loves us. Pride will tell me, Chris you’re doing great things, look at what you’ve accomplished. All my accomplishments, they are worthless in the sight of God. His love is what keeps me loving others. That love is what helps me store treasures in Heaven and is what points others to the truth of the gospel. We are just blessed enough to be vessels of that truth. The why isn’t as important as the who. To give you an example, God is doing amazing things in my own life. Apart from His love, I would’ve never been able to stand here writing this to you all. God is leading my family to Sicily, Italy. When I tell people, they look at me shocked. Why Sicily? That is very specific. Just like I don’t understand why God loves me, I don’t understand why Sicily. This may be confusing for the people out there reading

What Does it Mean to Live by Faith? What does it actually look like to live by faith? Does walking in faith parallel itself as to walking blindly? There have been times in my own life that a leap has been taken blindly with poor execution that came from lack of real faith.  I have been known to rush God. My lack of patience is a downfall in my Christian walk with God. To be specific, in the beginning of my marriage, I quit a job without another one lined up. My circumstance made me unsettled and I had little desire to seek God for change. So, I changed my situation without seeking Him. This turned into total chaos in my marriage and did nothing to better His plan on my life. See, there’s only one true faith. I may hurt a lot of feelings, but as Christians, we have to be bold in the Bible’s teachings. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” If this is truth, which it is, we must abide in scripture for clarity and direction for any area of our everyday life. The Bible spells out faith very clearly, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1. Walking by faith means knowing God is leading even when you can’t see where you’re going. You might see that as walking blindly, but with God as your eyes and ears, you will never be led astray.  How Can We Live by Faith? We have to first understand that without faith, we simply cannot please God. If we draw close to God and believe in His existence in our own life, we start walking by faith. Faith is difficult and at times walking by faith seems the opposite of productive. In Hebrews we see various examples of people who lived by faith and let God lead. One that sticks out to me is Noah. Noah was called by God to build an ark. It had never rained in the sense of water falling from the sky. So Noah’s faith in God looked idiotic to those who did not walk with God. Living by faith means that sometimes you will look like you’re making uneducated decisions to those looking into your life from afar.  However, let us not get comfortable making decisions we deem to be of faith without much prayer and guidance. Faith is not some magical skillset for decision making. The Bible also says, faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountians. I don’t know about you, but my faith has never moved a mountain physically. This reality should be humbling. Living in faith is miraculous and the source of that faith is unmatched. Just as Noah built the ark, we too cannot sit idly by when God calls us for a specific purpose. I think the first place to turn when you hear God calling is prayer. That should immediately be followed with the study of God’s calling in the Bible. What Does Living by Faith Look Like for Me? Faith looks like following the light even in the darkest times. In John 8, we can know that following Jesus leads us to truth. The pharisees doubted the tesimony of Jesus, but Jesus was already testified for in the Father. The pharisees dug even further to ask where Jesus’ father was to account for His testimony and Jesus wittingly replied, if they knew the Father that they would also know Him. Those who cannot see the light and don’t live in faith will not have eyes to see in the darkness. Those who know Jesus deeply and seek His light have clear vision through the darkest areas of everyday life. Living in faith means taking a step into the light. When we focus on our own kingdom, we are not seeing through the lense that God has for our lives. Unfortunately, the flesh makes it hard to focus on the light. We can get so caught up in our circumstance of darkness we forget that Jesus is the source of our light. Don’t get me wrong, our lights shine brighter when we walk with likeminded people. If one person has a flashlight at night, there is still limited vision. However, if lots of people with flashlights show up, the light gets even brighter. Godly counsel will help illuminate God’s truth in your own life and it definitely beats walking in this dark world alone. The challenge here is that you don’t have to live by faith all alone. Life gets a bit brighter when you have people to walk it with you. Matthew 18:20 -“For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them.”

What Do You Say to an Employer About God’s Calling? Is God calling you to the mission field and are you nervous about telling your boss? It can be intimidating to have to communicate a message that your employer just might not understand. After all, they may not even understand what God’s call even means to a Christ follower. I have been there and trust me, it is not easy. Altogether, a career shift out of something you’ve been vested into for many years only makes it that much more difficult. Wait, were you waiting for me to tell you it was going to be easy? I am truly sorry if I misled you!  What is God’s Calling? The God-to-honest truth is that we should not worry about how our employer will react. God called us to be bold in our faith. I DIDN’T SAY FOOLISH! Bold in the sense to know when and what to say. Personally, I believe every call from God has certain steps of preparation. Proverbs talks about it – A LOT. Proverbs 24:27 Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house. Proverbs 6:6-11 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. Think About It! And we could keep going! However, I think you get the point. If we sit idle, nothing happens. If we act too quickly, we rush God and God has no time to prepare our hearts and finances. God’s call can be general and sometimes it can be specific. Those in Christ have already experienced a call of grace. This is the general and most important call any person can ever experience. After salvation, God will call us for good works. Please don’t let these good works get confused for a means to salvation. These good works comply with certain spiritual gifts God will give you to edify His kingdom. If you’re curious about what those gifts may be, here is a good starting point.  1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. All That to Say This God may burden your heart or lead you to use those spiritual gifts in some type of minsitry. Most times, it will be in your local church. Sometimes, it may be more specific. For instance, you may feel a burden for a specific group of people in another country. God might even focus your gifts on a niche group like sports ministry. God will give you the desires of His own heart if you just seek Him.  Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Link to spiritual gifts. Seek Godly Counsel I cannot say this enough, but seek godly counsel. Now, I won’t promise you everyone will be as optimistic as you might be feeling. When I answered God’s call, it probably seemed like I just threw it on some of my godly friends. It came at them all of a sudden, even though the process for me had been stirring for awhile longer than they may have imagined. Nonetheless, I greatly appreciated all of their sound advice, whether encouraging or cautious. Afterall, this is God’s word and call on my life. It was a pretty BIG one at that for me and my family (a wife and three young kids). So, I totally get the concern from some of the counsel I received. Just be prepared to settle your heart, listen to God, and let Him lead. God will put both encouragers and cautioners in your path. This is to make sure you stay close to Him and don’t waiver from His calling. Caution is a GOOD thing.  First, seek God. He is the ultimate counselor. James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. Then God will place other people in your life to help encourage, test, and stregthen your faith. The Bible talks a lot about godly counsel. If you’re having issues deciding what godly counsel looks like, here are a few examples directly from the Bible.  Proverbs 11:14  Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. Proverbs 12:15  The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. 1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”   2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Godly counsel will sharpen you. If someone says you may need education, don’t take that lightly. If someone says you need to prepare financially, dig deep and find ways

One Small Step for Us Today is an exciting entry on God’s plan! One step closer in bringing us to Sicily. Additionally, we have officially decided to partner with Act Now Ministries! Although we may not be leaving for Sicily today, we start that journey and look to God for provision. Above all, I’m reminded of Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” One Giant Leap for God As we navigate through our financial lives, we will be eliminating anything that could burden our ministry in a financial sense. Also, we will also be seeking financial support for our ministry in Sicily. As it may look, that would be around $4,000 – $5,000 a month. Every small gift adds up and gets us closer to His plan. Your generosity will help fuel the gospel in Sicily. 1 Corinthians 9:14 – “In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” What Now Life is normal for now as we know it. God will still open up doors. God may use us in our current vocations in our home town or He may call us somewhere else in preparation. Prayer and study floods our home. We are drawing close to God in our marriage, as a family, and seeking that same community in our church family. We boldly pronounce His plan to use us in Sicily and walk that path closely. What You Can Do Pray – this is our first essential request to increase God’s faithfulness in our family’s lives. Praying allows God to open hearts and to speak in ways mankind cannot. We know if you pray God will make evident His reality and touch your heart with generosity to support His good work. LET US KNOW YOU’RE PRAYING HERE! Give – not only is prayer so important but financial support is also important. 2 Corinthians 9:7 – “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” We are not asking for a handout, but rather an extension of the gospel to help support God’s work in Sicily. Earlier I stated, 1 Corinthians 9:14 – “In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” In doing so, my message was to make clear that evangelism is our true calling through Christ. A missionary calling is an extension of the church and the body of believers in that church. Identically, this is why missionaries like ourselves seek financial support from the church. The truths of the Bible cannot be known in Sicily without the help of the church here. Overall, you are the extension to God’s mission. Conclusion In addition, whatever we do, we will seek God first. 1 Corinthians 10:31 – “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We ask that you seek God’s guidance as we do the same. There is confidence in His plan in our lives. Together we are grateful for all of your prayers and support! God loves each and everyone of you!