Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 16

Summer is in full swing!

Greetings, friends!

As we all get busy with summer vacations and activities, please don’t forget to include those affected by the floods in Wimberley and San Marcos in your prayers. Even though the waters have receded, ACF and our Disaster Response Team continues to support the cleanup/restoration efforts there. Below are some ways that you can still help out:

Pray.
Go. Stay tuned for details on our next opportunity to serve.
Donate. We are collecting $50 and $100 HEB & Wal-Mart gift cards to give to families impacted by the floods. If you would like to give, drop off gift cards at the ACF main office, M-F, 9am – 5pm. Get more detailed info here.

Also, please remember to keep those that are traveling to ACF camps and on ACF mission trips this summer in your prayers. As some of them wrap up a week in Haiti and our students return from camp in Colorado this week, other groups are leaving for Uganda, Haiti and Galveston next week…lots of great things going on and a lot to pray for!

Last weekend, Robert Stone kicked off our Summer Series; Can You See What God Is Doing? If you missed Robert’s message, you can still watch here. This weekend, I have invited guest teacher Ryan Malouff, Lead Pastor from Expression Church, to share what God is doing in his world. Each week this summer, you will hear ACF staff, other Austin pastors and area ministry leaders share what God is doing in ACF, in Austin and around the world. Every week will bring a unique and amazing story of God’s incredible work that is sure to inspire and encourage. This is a great opportunity to invite others to hear real-life accounts of what God can do and is doing in our world. You won’t want to miss what Ryan has to share with us this weekend!

If you have kiddos in Camp Fun, our ACFkids ministry, check out these upcoming events:

Daddy/Daughter Date Night: On Friday, June 19, 6:30-8:30pm at ACF, we’ll make & decorate birdhouses and enjoy a yummy ice cream bar! RSVP today

Centri Kid Camp: July 6-10 at Trinity Pines near Houston, Tx. (for kids who have completed 3rd-5th grades). A handful of spots remain. Register now!

Hey Four Points ACF’er’s…don’t miss Sundae Saturday!  Join us for our 2nd Saturday Family Fellowship! On Saturday, June 13, come to the 5:30pm worship service, then stick around to visit with friends and enjoy an Ice Cream Sundae Bar and visit with ACFfp Community Pastor, Darril Holden. Invite your neighbors to join you! And, save the dates for next two 2nd Saturday gatherings on July 11 & August 8.

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Are You Praying for the Impossible?

An elderly man moves silently about his priestly work in the inner chambers of the Temple. His name is Zechariah, and he has been chosen by lot to perform the priestly duty of interceding for the nation and offering incense and prayers to God. It is a high honor. Many priests would live their entire lives and never be chosen for such a task. Zechariah would only get to perform this priestly function once in his life. While he is inside offering prayers for the nation, a crowd has gathered outside the inner courts and is praying for him. They were interceding for the intercessor. Now there’s a concept.

As Zechariah moved about inside the Temple, the inner court was suddenly flooded with white light and Zechariah realized that he was in the presence of an angel. Needless to say, he was terrified. It seems that the angelic messenger brought unlikely news: But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John,” (Luke 1:13).

Now that may not seem like such a big deal, certainly not one meriting angelic announcement. Couples find out every day that they’re expecting without any fanfare whatsoever. But this was obviously no ordinary pregnancy. Scripture tells us that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were well beyond their child bearing years. Besides that, Elizabeth’s womb was barren. She had never been able to bear children. For a woman in First Century Palestine, few fates could be worse. Much shame and scorn fell upon a woman who could not preserve her husband’s name through childbirth. Elizabeth and Zechariah were facing the end of their lives without having the ability to do anything about their childlessness.

But did you catch what the angel said? Just before he announced that they were to be proud parents, he said, “Your prayer has been heard.” What prayer? Had Zechariah and Elizabeth been praying for a child? Had they been patiently asking God to end Elizabeth’s barrenness and to give them a baby? Apparently so, because the angel declared that their son would be born as a direct result of their requests to God.

Knowing that about Zechariah and Elizabeth makes me like and respect them even more. Can you imagine anything bolder, anything more daring than asking God to give an elderly couple a son? These two “believers” had the spiritual gumption to not only believe that God could open a closed womb, but that he would do it. These weren’t God be with Tom and God bless Joe pray-ers. They knew what they wanted; and even though it was humanly impossible, they had the audacity to ask God for it.

You have to admire their faith. No doubt they had heard the accounts of God granting Abraham and Sarah a son in their later years. They knew that God had done such a thing before, and they were just courageous enough to ask him to do it again. They were asking God to do something that they could not, something only he could, and something that would no doubt be registered in the “miracle” department when he came through.

Think about your prayers. What are you asking of God that only he can do? Are you seeking that which could only be registered in the “miracle” department when it happens? In short, are you asking big? If you were really sure that God hears and answers your prayers, would it change the way you pray? And, do you believe that we should ask big things of God? Is he pleased or put off when we seek the miraculous from him?

The Bible teaches that such praying is neither arrogant nor irresponsible. In fact, both Testaments of the Bible endorse the principle of praying big. It’s the kind of praying that the Old Testament leaders and heroes engaged in. It’s the kind of praying that Jesus both modeled and encouraged. And, it’s the kind of praying that we need to practice.

Do you make big asks of God? Don’t be timid in your prayers. Prayer should be as big as God’s promises and as full as God’s resources. Your requests should require the full power and provision of God.–From The Power of Praying Boldly

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Summer Is Here!

Hello friends!

Summer is an exciting time filled with travel, spending time with friends and family, and slowing down your schedules. In short, taking take time to relax and recharge.     

At ACF, we have a summer full of opportunities for you and your loved ones to do just that!  Our world-class Mega Camp Fun, Pine Cove Camp In the City and CentriKid children’s summer camps will be in full swing, as well as ACF students camps, bible studies and events, adult bible studies and numerous mission trips.

Ministries at ACF don’t stop in the summer, but typically giving decreases because people travel or they have schedule changes that can interrupt their regular church attendance. It is important that we maintain giving levels throughout the summer months so that we have the funds to implement our Summer and upcoming Fall ministries and programs. 

Please prayerfully plan how you can to continue to give to ACF throughout June, July and August when your schedules might not allow for regular attendance.  If you’re a regular giver and already have this figured out, way to go…please keep doing what you have been doing! If you’re not currently a regular giver, then I’m asking you to consider starting now. Your Grace Gifts will allow us to continue the excellent ministries that benefit you, your friends and family.

If you are traveling, please remember that you can give online (http://www.acfellowship.org/give/), through the ACF app or by mail to 6401 River Place Blvd., Austin, TX 78730.

Blessings and I hope you have a great summer! Here are some of the events taking place this week at ACF:

Summer Series Begins This Weekend! – Can You See What God Is Doing? I have invited ACF staff, other Austin pastors and area ministry leaders to join us this summer and boast on what God is doing in ACF, in Austin and around the world. Each week, you will hear a unique and amazing story of God’s incredible work that is sure to inspire and encourage. This is a great opportunity to invite others to hear real-life accounts of what God can do and is doing in our world.

This weekend at ACFfp…celebrate Jason Johnson! Please join us on the patio after the 5:30PM service on Saturday and after the 11AM service on Sunday for refreshments and a chance to visit with Jason as he transitions into a new season of following God into other areas of ministry. Jason has served on our staff for four years and I will be forever grateful for his leadership at ACF and in our lives…they have been made richer because of him. Continue to pray for Jason and Sarah…for God to honor their obedience and to open up huge avenues of ministry for them.

Saturday Night Prayer – The Overseers and Prayer Team will be available to pray with you after the 5:30pm service this Saturday, June 6th. I encourage anyone who needs prayer to attend. Learn more about opportunities to pray together, receive prayer, or pray for others.

The ACF Disaster Response Team continues to serve the town of Wimberley. The floodwaters may have receded, but those affected by them are still struggling. Many thanks to those that have already stepped up to serve. Here are some ways that you can help out…

Pray.
Go. Sign up here to serve.
Donate. We are collecting $50 and $100 HEB & Wal-Mart gift cards to give to families impacted by the floods. If you would like to give, drop off gift cards at the ACF main office, M-F, 9am – 5pm. Get more detailed info here.

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Are You Weary? Here’s Jesus’ Promise to You

 

I will give you rest.

In the months following the miraculous exodus of the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt, Moses found himself in an unlikely and unenviable position before God. As Moses led the people through the wilderness, they constantly moaned and complained about how bad things were for them. They’d quickly forgotten how much they had suffered in Egypt and dared to gripe about their living conditions since God had led them out of slavery. On more than one occasion God offered and/or threatened to wipe out the entire ungrateful bunch and start over with Moses and a new nation. Moses often ended up pleading to God for mercy and patience with the rebellious and ungrateful Israelites.

In one poignant moment, Moses pleaded for God to protect them and to continue to guide them. He then prayed, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people,” (Exodus 33:13). That’s quite a daring prayer. Moses boldly asked God not just to grant favor to his rebellious people, but to also grant it to him as their leader. He prayed that God might take him on as his very own student. I envy Moses’ boldness before God and must confess that I have prayed this prayer for myself on many occasions.

God’s response to Moses was far beyond anything that Moses could have hoped for: “The Lord replied, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest,’” (Exodus 33:14). The promise of God’s presence must have been music to the ears of Moses and his wandering people. God wasn’t obligated to just hang out with them. If he chose to abandon them, they’d be sitting ducks for the marauding nations that inhabited the lands around them. The promise of God’s presence brought with it the guarantee of God’s provision and protection for his people. Moses must have been humbled and thrilled.

But it’s the second part of God’s promise to Moses that really merits our interest here: I will give you rest. This latter promise is the result of former: Because my presence will be with you, because you’ll know my protection and provision, you’ll have rest.

There’s a cause and effect relationship here: God’s presence yields God’s rest.

The Hebrews knew that by rest God meant not only the protection of their boundaries from invading hordes, but also the emotional, mental and spiritual confidence that they would have knowing that God was irreversibly with them. Rest meant that they could stop worrying about what might happen tomorrow and what enemy might be waiting for them around the next corner. And don’t overlook this point: Rest was inseparable from God’s presence. One always precedes the other.

Now let’s jump from Exodus to Matthew in the Bible and about 1400 years in history. Jesus stood before a group of weary spiritual seekers and invited them to enter into a relationship with him. And then what did he promise? I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

That was no accidental statement by Jesus. Any good Hebrew knew what God had promised Moses and the Israelites back in Exodus. Those words were some of the sweetest ever spoken by God to a person or a people. And when Jesus said them, he fully understood the implications of what he was saying.

Imagine the murmur that must have moved through the crowd as listeners turned and said to each other, “Did he just say what I think he said?” No one, and I mean NO ONE, quoted God as an equal and lived to tell about it. When Jesus invoked the I will give you rest promise he was saying that he had the same ability to bring peace, protection and provision to people’s lives as the God who spoke to Moses in Exodus. He was saying that they were one-and-the-same: that his presence was the same as God’s presence, that his rest was the same as God’s rest.

From Ten Things Jesus Never Said

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Thirty Years Ago Today

Thirty years ago today, I married my high-school sweetheart, Susie. Our first seven years were sheer marital bliss. But then we hit a serous wall.

I wrote about some of our issues and how we got through them in my book Pray Big for Your Marriage. Here’s a brief snippet:

I told you earlier about my failed attempt at the “great proposal.” Well, I’m embarrassed to admit that I was equally unsuccessful at the “great illusion .” The “great illusion,” as I call it, was my attempt to look and act put-together and in control while I was actually insecure and emotionally needy.

I was a Christian and a pastor, and yet I was guilty of off-the-charts levels of idolatry. The object of my worship and idolatry? My wife, Susie.

My idolatry wasn’t overt or deliberate, but it was real. While proclaiming Christ to others and teaching them how to let Jesus meet their needs, I was actually more dependent on my own wife than my Lord . I looked to Susie for my self-esteem and my security.

If Susie and I were in a good place relationally, I was okay. If Susie was angry at me or disappointed in me, my self-esteem and security plummeted. If she was distant or just needing some space, I took it personally.

I may have been paying tribute to Jesus with my mouth, but the person who clearly had the most control over me was Susie. It was a position she did not want, but I gave it to her nonetheless. Doing so totally devastated my relationship with God, and it also created significant pressure for Susie. Not only was she responsible for her own spiritual condition, she was also unwittingly responsible for mine. She had to care for and lead two souls, not one. Susie couldn’t afford to have a bad day, to not be “in the mood ,” or to just want some downtime. The wrong response from her could throw me into a total spiritual tailspin.

Tragically, I was a living example of Jeremiah’s graphic prophecy (See Jeremiah 2:11-13). I had forsaken my glory, the fountain of living water, and had dug dry and empty wells for myself. I was trying to draw life from a source (Susie) that was neither equipped nor able to provide it. And it was killing both of us.

So what happened? How did I break out of my self-imposed idolatry? After a series of God-directed events and conversations, Susie and I came to the conclusion that I needed significant emotional healing. Susie started praying for me. I remember when she first told me that she was praying for God to heal me. I hadn’t really thought that I needed healing. I was wrong. Susie had enough sense to know that what we were experiencing was neither normal nor healthy. She also had the maturity to know that she couldn’t change me. So she prayed.

 

Over the next decade, God broke through my proud exterior and shattered my heart. He showed me what grace really was, exposed the idols in my life, and set me free from years of sin and misplaced loyalties. I’m probably not overstating things when I say that Susie’s prayers and God’s gracious answers to them saved our marriage.

What about you? Can you relate? Are you in a marriage that can be described more by broken wells than by streams of living water? Are you too dependent on your spouse? Is he or she too dependent on you? Do either of you crater emotionally in the face of marital conflict? Are you too reliant upon sexual intimacy for your self-esteem? Do you feel trapped in the other’s codependence? If so, then start praying! God wants to heal you, your spouse , and your marriage.

Pray Big Prayer Starter–Ask God to help you and your mate have your highest emotional and spiritual needs met by Jesus.

From Pray Big for Your Marriage.

 

 

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No Services At ACF This Weekend! Serve Our City!

Greetings, friends!

Just a reminder that there are no services this Saturday or Sunday at ACF! Instead, we will be taking it to the streets to help those in need during Serve Our City weekend. If you did not sign up but would like to participate, please contact Chelsea@acfellowship.org to find out where you can plug in.

Also, please remember to keep those impacted by the recent floods in your prayers. For more details on how you can help, visit www.acfellowship.org/respond/

It’s going to be a great summer for ACFkids! Volunteers are still needed for Mega Camp Fun. If you have never been a part of this amazing event, you need to sign up! Just go to www.acfkids.com, click on 2015 camps, and scroll down to the sign up link. You will be glad you did! Here are some other happenings for ACFkids:

CentriKid Camp: On July 6-10, kids finishing 3rd-5th grades will be heading to Trinity Pines for a fun and exciting overnight camp! Only 15 spots left, so sign up now! Get more info here.

Party for Incoming 6th Graders + Info for Parents: Come meet our summer interns and find out what’s in store for incoming 6th graders, 5-7pm on May 31. Parents stay for about an hour. Youth stay until 7pm.

Summer Series Begins June 6/7 – Can You See What God Is Doing? I have invited ACF staff, other Austin pastors and area ministry leaders to join us this summer and boast on what God is doing in ACF, in Austin and around the world. Each week, you will hear a unique and amazing story of God’s incredible work that is sure to inspire and encourage. This is a great opportunity to invite others to hear real-life accounts of what God can do.

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The Wonderful World of Marriage

Welcome to the wonderful world of marriage.

Can you think of another relationship that has the potential to take you to such relational extremes— pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, intimacy and isolation? Marriage can be exciting, entertaining, humorous, exhilarating, inspiring, rewarding, and adventurous. It can also be really, really hard.

For me, marriage is the summit point of my relational world. It is, without question, the relationship that requires the most from me and offers the greatest potential for intimacy and joy.

Culturally, the institution of marriage seems to have a perennial black eye. Maybe that’s because marriage is so challenging or because so many forces seem to be vying against it. But whatever the reasons, marriage, at least in Western culture, is in real trouble.

You’ve probably heard the gloomy statistics— today in the United States, there are more couples living together outside of marriage than in marriage, and over 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce. Prenuptials and postnuptials dot the marriage landscape, as if every marriage is supposed to fail. Divorce court dockets are backed up for months, and infidelity, financial pressures, and irreconcilable differences claim new marriage victims every day.

Beyond that, many couples feel stuck in a marriage rut. While they may not actually get a divorce, they live relationally separate lives. They share bills, beds, and bathrooms, but little else.They raise kids together but frequently fail to model an inspiring version of marriage to which their kids can aspire.

In short, not enough couples actually enjoy the intimacy, security, and love that God designed for marriage.

But marriage doesn’t have to be the gloom-and-doom story that culture is trying to make it. Many married couples today, although they rarely make headlines, enjoy deep and meaningful relationships. Their marriages endure miscarriages, bankruptcies, unemployment, and even long-term illness. These marriages produce healthy, happy children, span multiple decades, end only at death, and inspire others to emulate them. Such marriages are neither farfetched nor fairy tales; rather, they’re what God intends for each of us who are married, and that’s precisely why we need to pray every day for our marriages.

Pray Big Prayer Starter—Ask God to give you his dream for your marriage. Pray that you and your spouse won’t settle for mediocrity in your marriage.

From Pray Big for Your Marriage. 

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Give thanks and serve!

Greetings ACF!

On this Memorial Day weekend, please don’t forget to pause and give thanks for our fallen heroes who served selflessly, sacrificed everything and paid the ultimate price to protect our nation and insure our freedoms. 

Also, in light of the upcoming Serve Our City weekend on May 30/31, I thought I would share with you one of my Wakeup Calls as a reminder of Jesus’ view on serving others. I hope that every one of you will take advantage of the opportunity to skip church (we will not have services that weekend) and get out in your community to help those in need. Where is God calling you to serve?  If you haven’t signed up or if you simply have questions about where you might be able to use your gifts and talents, contact Chelsea@acfellowship.org to find out more…there are still many serving opportunities in every one of our ACF communities!

Go and Do the Same

 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” Luke 10:37

Jesus made this statement at the end of his famous parable of the Good Samaritan. The unlikely hero of Jesus’ story was not the religious leader who had the same ethnicity as the wounded man, but rather the ordinary guy who, at least by cultural standards, should have viewed the wounded man as his enemy.

The hero was not the guy who was in a hurry to get to worship, but rather the man who stopped to help a complete stranger who was in need.

Jesus’ point: Your religion isn’t worth anything if it does not result in showing love and kindness to those that culture gives you permission to pass over.

Christianity offers no such pass. Disciples of Jesus are called to love and serve the very same people that Jesus did…and the last time I checked that includes everyone.

Today, you are going to have the opportunity to be a neighbor to someone—the homeless guy on the corner, the single mom next door, the shut-in around the corner, the lonely and obnoxious girl at your office, the kid on your child’s soccer team who doesn’t have a dad.

Jesus says that our faith is not good if it doesn’t lead us to love, pray for and help these people.

It’s what we get to do. It’s what Jesus did. Go and do the same.

 

Summer Series Beginning June 6/7 – Can You See What God Is Doing? Take a break from the lake…you won’t want to miss a single weekend this summer. I have invited ACF staff, other Austin pastors and area ministry leaders to join us and boast on what God is doing in ACF, in Austin and around the world. Each week, you will hear a unique and amazing story of God’s incredible work that is sure to inspire and encourage. This is a great opportunity to invite others to hear real-life accounts of what God can do.

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Enough on Sale Until May 31

My book Enough: Finding More by Living with Less is only 1.99 in ebook format now till May 31.

Here are the links:

Amazon

 

 

Barnes and Noble

Christian Books

 

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Thirty-Seven Years Ago …

Thirty-seven years ago yesterday, May 18, 1978, my wife witnessed a murder in her middle school classroom. It was the first school shooting in the US in nearly forty years.

The murder created a major fear stronghold in Susie.

In her book Unafraid: Trusting God in an Unsafe World, Susie tells the beautiful story of how God delivered her from the tyranny of fear. Here the the brief introduction to Unafraid:

At twelve years old I met Jesus. I adored him … everything about him. When I read the Bible and it said God had good plans for me, I believed every word.  Then at fourteen I saw my teacher murdered.

It was May, the end of junior high school, when a fellow classmate — a neighbor boy — walked into our classroom with a rifle and shot and killed my teacher.

God may have saved me, but the experience of witnessing a murder crashed in unexpectedly and made me afraid. So afraid that I felt as if I had lost God somehow — or, even worse, that he had lost me.

At fourteen I was forced to try to come to terms with this big, bad world we live in, and I was very fearful. I loved God, but I did not trust him. Trusting God meant things might go wrong again, and I couldn’t afford to let that happen because then I would feel all the pain again. The pain of bad things. And with the pain, the lingering question, why do bad things happen?

I spent half my life being afraid, and by that I mean scared to stay alone in my house at night. As a teenager, I was so freaked out by being alone I would hide under the kitchen counter with the phone on my ear, anxious about things in the dark and terrified by the neighbor boy still living up the street.

The weird thing about being afraid for a long time is that you get comfortable with it. And before long you start to believe fear itself keeps you safe and keeps bad things from happening. I felt like fear protected me. As long as I stayed vigilant, cautious, and wary, nothing bad would happen.

Instead of depending on God for protection, I held tight to something destructive. Like an addict, I depended on something harmful and dangerous. Something that became a tool for the Enemy to push me in the corner, keep me under the counter, beat me down. I believed in fear.

I felt hopeless trying to live with a Savior who didn’t seem to keep me safe from the bad things and was completely worn-out trying to take care of myself.

Over the years my fears spiraled out of control. I was afraid for my children. I became the mom who hypermanaged, helicopter-parented, and over-thought every little thing, because fear told me that was my job. I obsessed about my husband’s safety because fear lived by my side, whispering horrible things about the worst-case scenarios.  If you had looked into my life, you would have seen me peeking in the closets for bad guys, double- and triple-checking doors at night, obsessively washing my toddlers’ hands.

Fear infects your life in weird ways when you believe in it, always think on it, worship it. You become a fear-er. Only I didn’t think I was a fear-er. I thought I was c-a-r-e-f-u-l. I thought I was being a good mom. A caring wife. But really, I was afraid . I couldn’t see how fear changed me — and how the Enemy took advantage of me.

“Here begins the Good News about Jesus …” 

But God was not content to let me sit scared to death, scrunched under the counter, cowering, while the Enemy pounded me with more and more fear. Eventually I let God rescue me. And he wants to rescue you too. I promise.

God does not want you stuck under the counter or wherever the Enemy has you holed up. God wants you free. Really free. And he wants you with him … looking to him, trusting him, finding security in him. By reading about how God has cared for me in some hard situations, I hope you will see how creatively and tenderly he cares for you. I pray you can learn to live unafraid in the midst of an often terrible and terrifying world because you know and believe in a real way that God has good plans for your life. And because, deep down, you are able to trust God. I pray you are able to know he loves you too much to ever abandon you in any situation. Not then, not now, not ever.

This is the invitation.

Order Unafraid Here

Check out Susie’s Blog Here

 

 

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