Book Suggestion

Since I have been sick all throughout this week, I decided that I would finally finish this book that I have slowly been reading through. The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges is actually a book that I read through many years ago, but I just thought it would be something that I should pick up once again and read through to continue to challenge me in my desire to grow in my relationship with Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24, it says, "Run in such a way as to get the prize." When I was back in high school, I was a part of the cross country team. I joined the sport basically to be in shape for soccer, which would take place right after the cross country season, but there was something that I definitely learned in this sport that I will never forget. YOU NEED ENDURANCE. You see, track was not for me. I am not a very good sprinter, but what I did discover in cross country was that although I was not the best on the team, I was still able to endure throughout these long races. Now to be quite honest, the races were not that long (only 3 miles), especially when you compare it to the LA Marathon which is 26.2 miles long. Now I have never been a part of a marathon, but I definitely do appreciate and respect these men and women that can continue to run that race that is set before them with endurance.
If you have ever watched one of these races, whether a high school cross country race or the LA Marathon, there is something that needs to be said by each of them. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW GOOD YOU START, IT IS HOW YOU FINISH THAT MATTERS! As we bring this mentality into the Christian "race of faith," we want to be like the Apostle Paul who stated at the end of his life: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." I have seen so many people in my life who start out their "race" so good and strong, but end up losing sight of the end and simply give up. I DO NOT WANT TO BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!

I want to remind each of us today that we must understand that until that day when the Lord calls us home (Philippians 3:20), we must continue to ENDURE to the end. But the question is... How do we do that?

In this book, The Pursuit of Holiness, I believe that Jerry Bridges does a great job breaking down how we are to as believers in Jesus Christ are to live a holy life and finish our race. God commands His people to "be holy, for I am holy." (Leviticus 11:44) But holiness is something that is often missing in the Christian's daily life. According to Jerry Bridges, that's because we are not exactly sure what our part in holiness is. In this book Jerry breaks down:

• How God has equipped us to lead holy lives
• Guidelines for determining right from wrong
• How reason and emotions influence our will
• How habits and personal disciple play a part in holy living

I would encourage each of you to get this book and to read through it. May we be a people that seek to live lives that are fully pleasing to God in every area of our lives. May we be a people that finish our race and fight this good fight of faith!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving Day! A day when we often think of stuffing our mouths with turkey, potatoes and gravy, green beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and so much more. As a kid growing up, this was always a day when we would get together with family and relatives at my grandparents house in San Bernardino, California. Truly so many memories!

But now being a missionary here in Germany, so far away from family and relatives, we as a family, are still choosing to be obedient to our 16th President's proclamation that was written so many years ago (read below). We are still choosing to celebrate today "as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens." The amazing thing about President Lincoln's proclamation is the fact that he also included those who are "sojourning in foreign lands."

So as we think upon this Thanksgiving Day, what are the things that you are thankful for? I do believe that no matter what situation we may find ourselves in, if we were to get our eyes off of our current situations and get our eyes onto Jesus Christ and then begin to think of all that He has done for us, we have so much to be thankful for.

I want to share this one verse with you and then want to encourage you to read through President Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation as well as some quotes that I have listed below.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Here is the full text of Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation:

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the field of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than theretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony wherof I have herunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

[Signed]
A. Lincoln


Here are a couple of quotes that are worth reading through as well.... GREAT STUFF!!!!

[I] appoint . . . a day of public Thanksgiving to Almighty God . . . to [ask] Him that He would . . . pour out His Holy Spirit on all ministers of the Gospel; that He would . . . spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth; . . . and that He would establish these United States upon the basis of religion and virtue. GOVERNOR THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1779
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Julian P. Boyd, editor (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1951), Vol. 3, p. 178, Proclamation Appointing a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, November 11, 1779.

[I] appoint . . . a day of public thanksgiving and praise . . . to render to God the tribute of praise for His unmerited goodness towards us . . . [by giving to] us . . . the Holy Scriptures which are able to enlighten and make us wise to eternal salvation. And [to] present our supplications...that He would forgive our manifold sins and . . . cause the benign religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to be known, understood, and practiced among all the inhabitants of the earth. 26 GOVERNOR JOHN HANCOCK, 1790
John Hancock, Proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving (Boston, 1790), from an original broadside in possession of the author.

Leadership Day

This past weekend was a really busy and blessed weekend. On Saturday, November 20th we had a leadership day at the Wycliffe Retreat Center that is in a local village. We invited all of the leaders of the ministries and their spouses to come and be apart of this day. Unfortunately Katie got sick the very night before, so Rebecca was unable to go. (that was a bummer) And of course, when I woke up, I had a soar throat! Typical of the enemy to start to attack my throat and breathing as I would be teaching throughout the weekend. But God was greater and He truly sustained me.

Since Pastor Edmund and Martha are currently in California spending time with Martha's family, Edmund Jr from CC Düsseldorf was asked by his dad to come and be the main speaker for the day. Throughout the day we had four sessions. Edmund Jr taught three of them and I taught one of them. We definitely saw how each of the studies flowed together and how the Holy Spirit was not only speaking to each of us, but that He was working in each of us.

Edmund Jr started off the first session talking about the importance of our personal prayer & worship lives. The Lord truly anointed him to proclaim a message that each of us needed to hear. Although there were many things that I already knew in my mind, the Lord really challenged me, reminded me, and convicted me on many things that were said.

(Edmund Jr teaching the first session)

(some of my notes from the first session)

I then had the opportunity to teach a session on the topic of VISION. I was personally so stoked to teach this session and to be able to share some very practical ways to ask the Lord for His vision and how to implement the vision that He gives to us in each of our lives, ministries, and in the church. I tried to really show how in my own life and experience of ministry the Lord taught me on this topic and showed me how to implement vision throughout the years of ministry. I do pray that the leaders were blessed with it. We had some time to open up for some questions and answers during this session, so that was a great time as well.

(praying during the session)

(during a time of worship)

Later in the day we opened it up for a time for us to get outside and to take a walk with each other. To open it up for discussion and to pray for one another as we walked. I was personally blessed with the opportunity to go on a walk with one of the brothers in the church and to ask him how he was personally doing. It was such a blessing to have him open up with me and to be able to encourage and challenge him with what the Lord is also showing me in my current situations.

(here is a picture of the Wycliffe center - taken during the walk)

At the very end of the evening we really opened it up with a time of worship and then asking if anyone had anything that they specifically needed prayer for. This was one of the most blessed times throughout the whole day, as each of them began to open up and ask for all kinds of different prayer requests. The blessing was to have each of them lay hands on each other and pray for one another.

(during the time of worship - some of the couples praying for one another)

Of course there were so many other things that took place throughout the day, but I wanted to be able to share with all of you a little of what the Lord did on our Leadership Day! Praise the Lord for this day! I do pray that the Lord will continue to do a continuous work of His Spirit in the lives of His leaders!

Update on Visas

Hello Everyone!
I wanted to give all of you an update in regards to our visa. I went to the Ausländerbehörde (foreigner's office) yesterday and brought in all of our paperwork. I wasn't exactly sure how the process would go, but here is the situation. They are now going to be contacting another office in Wetzlar and communicating with the gentleman that originally gave us our visas and then will be getting back to me.
Please do continue to pray for this whole process as it is a VERY IMPORTANT process.
Thank you so much!

Love the Roper Family

Visa Renewal - Please Pray!

Hello Everyone
We want to ask all of you to please be praying as we have an appointment today at 15:00 to renew our visas! We have everything prepared and we are praying that everything goes smoothly and that there are no difficulties.
I know that this is last second to notify all of you, but things have been so busy, so we really have not had time to let you know earlier. So when you read this, please be praying!

Also - something that you can pray specifically for is this...
We have marked down to try to get a permanent visa! I know that this is a big request, but the Bible does say, "You have not because you ask not." The reason why we are going to try for this is because it would help us in the future. If they do grant us a permanent visa, we will never have to go in and renew it again. So please pray for the Lord to work on this woman's heart and to grant us this!

Once we find out what is going on, we will let you all know!

Thank you so much!

Love the Roper Family

Joel Starts Tonight!

Well it has been a couple of weeks since we have posted anything up on the blog. The reason being is that we had a very busy time during the outreach with Calvary Chapel Downey. They just left Germany yesterday and I will be writing more on that later, so stay tuned.
But tonight we are going to be starting our next minor prophet book. We are going to be starting to read, study, examine, and hear from the book of Joel. I am personally really excited about this small little book that we will be going over. I have been reading over it time and time again for the past month and I am looking forward to how the Lord is going to really challenge and speak to us clearly through His Word!
I do once again want to ask all of you who are not able to come out to please be praying for these Wednesday nights and ask the Lord to really use this short, 3-chapter book of Joel to radically speak to us.
For those of you who can come - COME!
I look forward to seeing you there!

The Power of Prayer

This past weekend Pastor Edmund gave a special announcement to the church and I was extremely blessed and encouraged by it. He briefly talked about how we as a church have been going through so much individually and corporately and the only thing that is going to change that is prayer. We as a church will begin to read through this book by R.A. Torrey. Last night Rebecca and I read through the first chapter and were really challenged by it.
We really look forward to the Lord speaking to us and challenging us in our relationship with Him and especially in this area of Prayer.
I personally am so excited about this book for a couple of reasons. 1) R.A. Torrey is one of my favorite authors and I have been so challenged throughout the years with each of the books that I have read from him. 2) I have recently been focusing on reading through books on the topic of prayer and so this is truly going to be the next step... not only for me personally, but also for my marriage, my family, and the church here in Herborn.
We want to encourage each of you to get this book and begin to read through it. If you have already read through it, read it again! As you read through it, please do be thinking about the church here in Herborn, Germany and begin to pray for the work of God's Spirit to be working through the lives of the people here!
There is so much more that I want to be sharing with you, but am unable to at this point. In the future I will though!

I do look forward to what the Lord is going to do!

Be Inspired!

Thought I would share this with you. In this video (at the very end) is a friend of ours. She was in my German class and she is also a missionary in Sudan, Africa. If you are interested in reading more about the work that she is doing, you can read here.

CC Downey Outreach Starts Tomorrow!

We as a church have been preparing ourselves for this coming outreach with CC Downey that will be starting tomorrow! We have had our planning meetings, taking many sign ups for the church to get involved in different areas, and have been praying so that we can be spiritually in tune with what the Lord wants to do. For any of you who have ever been involved in some way with missions, one thing that you know for certain is that spiritual warfare is real. In Ephesians 6:10-19 it says,

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,"

Now that you have read through these verses, read through them once more. Really, do it! There are many portions of Scripture that really stand out to me in this text, but what I want to encourage you to do is to simply read through this text, allow the Lord to point out one or two points that really stand out to you and begin to pray for this outreach in regard to these verses. I am not sure who will be reading this blog, but there is one thing that I do know, WE NEED YOU TO JOIN IN AND ACTIVELY BE PRAYING FOR US!

I know that the enemy is not going to simply lie down and let us invade our local area with the Gospel. That does not bring him an excitement. But I do believe that the Lord has a desire to work through His people the powerful message of the gospel to all of the locations that we will be going to. Pray for us to wage warfare in the power of His might!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!