With power and with the Holy Spirit

I am constantly reminded how narrow my vision is. I have a cheerleader, go getter, mentality and so things that often seem impossible or at least really difficult to others present a fun challenge for me. But, I'm also human so when I can't see the future and my day dreams have ceased to be romantic I  need fresh vision to keep me going.

We all need a little pep squad action from time to time. I have come to experience an almost continual refreshing and renewing of my mind in the Holy Spirit.

A while back I did a few posts on mountain top experiences. I wasn't able to really bring those thoughts to a conclusion because there was something missing in the context of the value of both the mountain and the valley. Additionally, I could not explain how to get and stay there. I realize now why. I can't get there and stay there.

My son said something relatively childlike but with profound significance to this subject. He said "I know why God didn't create us with super powers in the beginning." I said "Why is that?" His reply, "Because if he created us with super powers in the beginning then they wouldn't be super powers they would just be normal."

So too with the Holy Spirit. If we were born with the Holy Spirit, his power in us would not be anything new or significant because everyone would have it. But by a baptism of the Holy Spirit we can receive a renewing of our minds, even if we are already born again.

Picture this: Two born again Christians living out their lives in faith and in accordance with God's design. They do their best to be obedient to him and be in the world but not of the world. They are faithful to their church, prayerful about their work, finances, home, and children, and recognize God's calling on their lives to ministry. Sounds like a pretty good deal. But what if the couple is missing the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. That great intercessor, the still small voice, the ability to act out the power of God! Missing that part of the trinity can really narrow their vision.

These are just some out loud thoughts as we seek to be obediently sold out to God. Have you found something lacking in your desire to follow God?

Where our help comes from

We are not being given a salary by our mission sending organization nor are we fully funded by our sending church. There are all different kinds of ways that missionaries get to the mission field. The way God has called us to serve is by raising our own funds (or salary).

There are many advantages to this way of mission funding.

• It frees us up to do exactly what God is calling us to do. We can prayerfully follow the unique vision he has given us for planting Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Japan. We will not be employees with a standard job description.
• As independent missionaries we are not tied to denominationalism. We will be vision casting among many different churches within Japan and hope to make this a united cause.
• Our accountability responsibility is to our partners in ministry. Our quarterly newsletters, monthly email updates (coming soon), and one on one visits with our partners allow us to keep everyone up to date with ministry happenings as well as how the provided financials are being spent.
• Our mission sending organization provides prayer, support, and insight, as well as financial accountablility. They do not provide a job description. They are a part of our support team.

We truly are grateful for those who have already agreed to come on board with Share-Affirm Ministries. As we have shared with many of our partners, it is clear that God has open the doors for this ministry in Japan. As we work on building our language abilities we will also be building relationships with Japanese Christians and other missionaries in Japan and sharing the vision for pro-life work. This is essential ground level work. You can not begin to build a building until the foundation is first poured.

If you are interested in hearing more about how to partner with Share-Affirm Ministires or the stories of God's provision and open doors please contact us at piercefamily@worldim.com

Family Values

We are currently working on a study called Setting Sail in preparation for moving our family across the world. This study's goal is to draw you closer as a family, set a firm foundation for you to draw upon in hard times, and get each member of the family to realize their value as a part of our mission team.

Tonight we discussed creating a mission statement for our family so that each person clearly knows our Beliefs, Goals, and Priorities.

Here are what we as a family came up with:

Beliefs:
In God and in Jesus Christ his son who came to die for us and in the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Protecting unborn life and affirming the value of all life, preborn or otherwise.
Sharing the Gospel is our Christian responsibility.

Goals:
Learn Japanese.
Establish crisis pregnancy centers in Japan.
Make friends with Japanese people.
Help women.

Priorities:
Follow God always.
Save babies.
Love mothers (and fathers).
Live out the Gospel.

Now we need to put all of this together in a few sentences that the children can memorize. Would you like to help? Put your suggestions in the comments below!

Hi, we're the Pierces

We are the Pierce Family!

We are missionaries with World Indigenous Missions (WIM). Our mission field of calling is Japan. We will be on our way there December of 2013.

We are called to family and women's ministry. Shara, the mom, has been working with Crisis Pregnancy Centers for over 8 years and our vision is to plant centers in and around Tokyo Japan.

Dave, the dad, is an associate pastor with Lighthouse Christian Fellowship. Together, we will work with church planting ministries along with establishing indigenous Pregnancy Center works.

This is an exciting time for our family as we prepare to go. We have been learning the Japanese language and plan to arrive with a basic understanding of the language and how to get around. We will be attending language school when we arrive.

We are seeking partnerships for our first two years on the mission field.

With 50 people pledging to give $100 a month for 24 months we will be able to establish a solid foundation of language and cultural understanding as well as begin to build important church relationships needed to spread the vision for ministering to those in crisis and unplanned pregnancies.

How can you be a partner with Share-Affirm?

• Pledge to be one of the 50, or partner with another family/individual to each cover half of a monthly pledge ($50 per person).
• Share this blog post or our facebook page (www.facebook.com/shareaffirmministries).
• Or talk to your pastor or ministry leader about allowing us to come share with your church.

You can also become a prayer partner by pledging to pray for our family as well as the work of Share-Affirm ministries.

Financial pledges can be made online at www.worldim.com/give or by sending a check to:

World Indigenous Missions

P.O. Box 310627

New Braunfels, TX 78131-0627

Please include a note with branch #262 on it but make the check out to WIM.

Your prayer pledge can be added in the comments below or sent to sharalpierce@yahoo.com

May God Richly Bless you!

Closet Fuji

Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age."

The above was said while the disciples were on the mountain with Jesus. He called them up there for instruction. When we commune with God on our "mountain" (closet, porch swing, bed, locked bathroom) we receive instruction. We are filled up (Matthew 5) as we talk with God (Mark 6:46). I see the importance of the mountain top in a new and fresh way. I want to be there daily.

My mountain is in my closet. I have a generously sized closet. I grab my Bible, journal, pillow, and a pen and head in there. Often the journey to get there can be tough, like climbing a mountain. When I crawl (literally) out of bed I risk waking our youngest who is very sensitive to my presence, especially when it is missing. She's exceptionally needy in the morning and if she wakes, the mountain waits. I have to choose carefully whether I will tell my other kids where I am going. On one hand they are old enough to know not to disturb me but on the other, they will know where I am. My bathroom doesn't lock, so it's not an option. It requires a certain level of discipline to get there each morning but as I have been observing the events of my life post mountain times I realize discipline is also a product of that time.

This is not meant to be an exercise in legalism or works based theology. Often when I have been admonished to be in God's word, pray without ceasing, and have a quiet time I have counted my success in that area as meaning I was pleasing to God. Consequently, I saw my failure to be faithful in these areas as a personal offense against God.

So how has that changed for me? I now see "quiet time" as relationship building time. What brings us joy when we are with others? Singing, dancing, laughing, reading, talking, or being quiet and still together? Do these things with God daily. I like to talk (and write), so I take joy in sharing my thoughts with God and knowing he is listening. I take joy in knowing there is a time of the day set aside for me to pour my heart out and have undivided attention. I do listen, and pray, and read the word during those times. The desire for those things comes out of knowing God is listening to me and will always give me wise counsel through his word and prayer.

It's Quiet Up Here

Matthew 5:1 "Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain and when he sat down, his disciples came to him."

The mountain top experiences I have been referring to have been those times spent in the presence of other believers sharing in the message given by a Spirit lead speaker. But those times don't happen everyday. Even if you regularly attend a church and the pastor is a gifted teacher, one can not live on Sundays alone. We are meant to get in to the presence of God, up on the mountain as often as we need it and we need it more often than we realize.

When Jesus went up to the mountain in Matthew 5 he was going away from the crowds of people. His disciples followed him likely because they had the same need, to be alone with their teacher. It was no big planned event. They didn't pay big bucks to have a speaker flown in or string extension cords up there so that the guitar would sound just right. It was just the disciples and their teacher. I could be wrong, but I'd be willing to say Jesus probably didn't have a bunch of notes prepared for what he would share with them either. It was his heart to theirs, pouring out, refueling, and filling up.

Mark 6:46 "And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray."

Jesus went where there was peace and solitude to pray. Turns out a mountain is a pretty good place for that. The mountain is where God pours in to you. You talk to God and then sit and listen.

I am a busy minded person. If my body isn't moving you can be sure that my mind is. In fact I have to repeat the word "off" and I imagine turning off a light switch at night so I can go to sleep. Even then I start making up scenarios in which I might be turning off a light and before I realize it my mind is wide awake again counting down a row of 572 light switches. I understand the difficulty of quieting the mind but I want to imitate my savior. He went to the mountain for quiet and to fellowship with the Father.

Matthew 28:16-17a " Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him the worshiped him..."

They went there to SEE Jesus. Jesus is on the mountain. I want to be WITH Jesus.

Let us go up the mountain

"Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths." Isaiah 2:3b

We NEED the mountain top. It is a place of growth. From there you can see the vision that God sees and look out over the vastness of his perfect plan. It gives new resolve to putting one foot in front of the other and clarity in walking along the path.

A large gathering of born again believers can be one way to climb the mountain. There is power and passion when we all get together. Usually there is an anointed speaker, an on fire worship leader, and a well thought out program that has been bathed in prayer. Typically those in attendance at these events are the ones truly hungry to grow which also provides a clear invitation to the Holy Spirit. All of those things help to bring us to the mountain and the feet of Jesus. But those events are few and far between, or too costly and time consuming to commit to more than one or two a year.

We need passion, vision, and direction every day of our lives here on Earth if we are to live God filled lives that pour out on to all those we minister to. We need to be filled ourselves.

Each Christian possess within themselves the ability to be filled to the top with the rich blessings of God. Not material or worldly things but the abundance of God's treasures to us on Earth. The fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). The Holy Spirit does not only show up when we put on a show.

I am learning in this time as well. I will continue to share my thoughts and meditations about how we can be in the high places with God each day of our lives.