Can you believe it? Tomorrow is the last day of our corporate fast! In some ways it seems as though this has gone by so quickly and in other ways it seems like it has been a long time. We are so excited as we gather tomorrow night to celebrate all that God has done and is doing in the physical and in the spiritual realms, in the seen and the unseen, in the visible and the invisible. I pray that through this time you have been encouraged in your spirit and challenged in your walk with Jesus.

I know that for me there were many days that were not that significant, I was simply being obedient to God. However there were a few days where things in my life became very clear and I was able to hear the Lord well. As we come to the end of this time of humility and sacrifice we are so thankful for all that God has done for us, His love for us, His plans for us, the myriad of ways He has blessed us. We are so grateful to be here in this place at this time serving all of you. We know with more certainty than ever that we are exactly where God wants us to be, doing exactly what He has called us to do.

Did you read the blog that Terry posted yesterday? If not, you need to read it. If you have, you need to read it again. We are in a special time in history and God is doing something that has never been done before. He is stirring His church all over the world and for whatever reason we find ourselves at one of the places where God's plan and Kingdom are converging to affect the world. It is time we get our house in order so that we can allow Him to use us as He desires to.

I know there are times I make the mistake of making it more about me, than about Him. We must remember the Lord's words to Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:9-10,"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

We have to let go of our stuff and focus on who Jesus is and that He is the one who has chose us, we did not choose Him. When I was growing up, I did not have much athletic prowess so when teams were picked for basketball, I was always the last one chosen. You can imagine that did not feel very good and I would pray that someone else would be the last one chosen. Then there came a time when I had grown into myself and my athletic ability and I found myself being the first one picked instead of the last one. There was something powerful that happened when I realized I would no longer be the last one chosen. JESUS HAS CHOSEN YOU!

Listen to the words of Jesus in John 15:12-17, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his
master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
This is my command: Love each other."

We did not choose Him, He chose us! So it is not about what we have to bring Him but what what He sees in us. He chose us not because we have it all figured out, not because we have all the right answers but because we are weak, we are not there yet. (1 Corinthians 1:27-31).

What an amazing promise that God has chosen us just as we are to be used by Him for His purposes that our boast may be in Him. Step into this season with confidence and expectation knowing that God has chosen you!

Chosen by God, not by man, PC & Ishtar