Saturday, August 29, 2009
Happy Birthday to my beautiful bride!!!
Check out my blog Life in HD at... hollanddavis.com.
Today is my wife Roxie's birthday... this morning I was reflecting on the story of how we met and the prayer that I prayed to the Lord in asking for a wife. In those days I was a young, up and coming preacher in the making. I led worship at the Calvary Chapel in Escondido, Ca. I taught a Bible study that had 40 to 50 people in it of all ages. I was in a Christian Rock band that was doing really well... but in my heart I wanted a wife. So I prayed for someone that loved the Lord, but wasn't religious, was independent and loved old Rock and Roll... don't ask why... I still can't figure it out. Well... Roxie was the answer to that prayer and she fit every description to a tee.
I remember playing country dance music for a friend of mine who got married in Julian. In between sets, my pastor came up to me and said he really needed to talk to me. I thought I was in trouble for playing country music because I was the worship leader of the church!!! We were down in the basement where the refreshments were and he said... do you know that girl Roxie in the church? I didn't know her name and I said... no. He said, she's really cute and she dresses sharp. I knew instantly who he was talking about. He said to me... she's got the hots for you... you need to go for it!!! He then told me about the relationship she was in that wasn't healthy for her as a Christian.
So... as an obedient man of God under the direction of my pastor - I went for it. Only it wasn't as easy as I thought. Every time I would try to meet her it wouldn't work out. We'd go to restaurants, but the group was so big we couldn't sit by each other. It was torture. One day I heard she was sick with strep throat. So I took a friend of mine - Mark Dupont - and we went over to pray for her. Mark and I were prayer partners and ministered together frequently. As we were praying, Mark said open your mouth. So she did. Mark stuck his finger in her mouth and said in the name of Jesus be healed. She literally had a severe and gross infection on the back of her throat and by the next morning, she was completely healed. Not only that, but it has never come back. After that, I invited her to come see my play at a local Christian Coffee House called His Place Restaurant. Afterwards we went to the local Denny's and the rest is history.
One memory that really sticks out was the Holiness Unto The Lord Conference at Vineyard Anaheim. There was this old methodist preacher by the name of Leonard Ravenhill. He would open every session with a hymn and I discovered that Roxie knew every stanza of every hymn. I never knew that not only had I married a lady who had an intense love for God, but she had a legacy of parents, grandparents, etc. that had a rich vocabulary of worship and a deep reverence for God... although there wasn't a religious bone in her body.
She still continues to amaze me to this day. There are moments where I'm at my lowest point and she will leave me a voice mail that will be straight from the throne of heaven. There are times where I'm feeling weak and she will lovingly give me that word that motivates me to keep going. Usually it sounds like nagging... but I've learned to interpret it in light of Christ in her!!!
We would often have people pray over us - not because we ask for it - but because they felt led by God to do it... one of the pictures that God used to describe Roxie is that she is an exotic Bird of Paradise. Unique, beautiful, not-common, special, exotic... that describes Roxie. We have now been together longer than we were single and I am growing to love her more and more each day.
So to my beloved bride and closest companion... my friend and lover... my wife and the mother of our kids... I wish you to a Happy Birthday!!!
Today is my wife Roxie's birthday... this morning I was reflecting on the story of how we met and the prayer that I prayed to the Lord in asking for a wife. In those days I was a young, up and coming preacher in the making. I led worship at the Calvary Chapel in Escondido, Ca. I taught a Bible study that had 40 to 50 people in it of all ages. I was in a Christian Rock band that was doing really well... but in my heart I wanted a wife. So I prayed for someone that loved the Lord, but wasn't religious, was independent and loved old Rock and Roll... don't ask why... I still can't figure it out. Well... Roxie was the answer to that prayer and she fit every description to a tee.
I remember playing country dance music for a friend of mine who got married in Julian. In between sets, my pastor came up to me and said he really needed to talk to me. I thought I was in trouble for playing country music because I was the worship leader of the church!!! We were down in the basement where the refreshments were and he said... do you know that girl Roxie in the church? I didn't know her name and I said... no. He said, she's really cute and she dresses sharp. I knew instantly who he was talking about. He said to me... she's got the hots for you... you need to go for it!!! He then told me about the relationship she was in that wasn't healthy for her as a Christian.
So... as an obedient man of God under the direction of my pastor - I went for it. Only it wasn't as easy as I thought. Every time I would try to meet her it wouldn't work out. We'd go to restaurants, but the group was so big we couldn't sit by each other. It was torture. One day I heard she was sick with strep throat. So I took a friend of mine - Mark Dupont - and we went over to pray for her. Mark and I were prayer partners and ministered together frequently. As we were praying, Mark said open your mouth. So she did. Mark stuck his finger in her mouth and said in the name of Jesus be healed. She literally had a severe and gross infection on the back of her throat and by the next morning, she was completely healed. Not only that, but it has never come back. After that, I invited her to come see my play at a local Christian Coffee House called His Place Restaurant. Afterwards we went to the local Denny's and the rest is history.
One memory that really sticks out was the Holiness Unto The Lord Conference at Vineyard Anaheim. There was this old methodist preacher by the name of Leonard Ravenhill. He would open every session with a hymn and I discovered that Roxie knew every stanza of every hymn. I never knew that not only had I married a lady who had an intense love for God, but she had a legacy of parents, grandparents, etc. that had a rich vocabulary of worship and a deep reverence for God... although there wasn't a religious bone in her body.
She still continues to amaze me to this day. There are moments where I'm at my lowest point and she will leave me a voice mail that will be straight from the throne of heaven. There are times where I'm feeling weak and she will lovingly give me that word that motivates me to keep going. Usually it sounds like nagging... but I've learned to interpret it in light of Christ in her!!!
We would often have people pray over us - not because we ask for it - but because they felt led by God to do it... one of the pictures that God used to describe Roxie is that she is an exotic Bird of Paradise. Unique, beautiful, not-common, special, exotic... that describes Roxie. We have now been together longer than we were single and I am growing to love her more and more each day.
So to my beloved bride and closest companion... my friend and lover... my wife and the mother of our kids... I wish you to a Happy Birthday!!!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
I heard a message by one of my favorite preachers... he's a radical grace preacher by the name of Joseph Prince. He talked about how God will often allow us to repeat life experiences and situations until we learn the lesson that He is trying to teach us through the situation.
I think additionally that there are life messages that God gives us. They become the story of our life and the message God wants us to bring to people in need. I think for me... one of my life messages parallels the story of Joseph... here is the part I'm keying in on...
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Now... if you notice, Joseph tells his brothers that God sent him ahead of them to bless them. When I read my Bible - I see that Joseph was sold into slavery, was carted off to Egypt like a piece of property, was framed for a crime he didn't commit, thrown into one of the worst prisons one could imagine, was lied to, forgotten, abused and rejected by his own family.... and yet, he didn't blame his brothers, he didn't seek revenge, he didn't claim to be a victim in this life... but instead he simply says...
8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.
So radically transformed was Joseph's heart that he would eventually tell his brothers...
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Now that is transformation!!!
How often do we want to blame those in our life for the way our lives turn out? How often do we want to judge what God is doing in our hearts while we're mid-stream instead of trusting God and allowing Him to complete the work in us? How often do we take matters in our own hands simply because we really don't believe that God loves us?
As I've pondered over the last few years of my life in ministry, I realize there have been times when I wanted to fix blame and hold others accountable for things that happened in my life - all the while not really understanding that the person that I was ultimately dealing with was God Himself. If my life belongs completely to Him, then it really is His will in my life - no longer I who live, but Christ in me. If my life is completely surrendered to Him and I am truly His servant - then the real test comes when I am treated like I am His servant. How do I respond?
Maybe you can relate to the story of Joseph. Maybe you have people in your life who are jealous over you and so they seek to wear you down or even undermine your ability to perform. Maybe you are in a situation where you are being falsely accused or even fired unjustly.
Whatever the situation is... allow God to work in you as He did in Joseph. To give you the perspective of His Kingdom. The perspective that allows you to see His hand leading and directing you and not bringing harm to you. The perspective that allows you to see how He takes ALL things in your life to work together for your good. The perspective that allows you to see God's plan in the bigger picture.... and remember that no matter what you're going through it has no bearing on your future!!!
I think additionally that there are life messages that God gives us. They become the story of our life and the message God wants us to bring to people in need. I think for me... one of my life messages parallels the story of Joseph... here is the part I'm keying in on...
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Now... if you notice, Joseph tells his brothers that God sent him ahead of them to bless them. When I read my Bible - I see that Joseph was sold into slavery, was carted off to Egypt like a piece of property, was framed for a crime he didn't commit, thrown into one of the worst prisons one could imagine, was lied to, forgotten, abused and rejected by his own family.... and yet, he didn't blame his brothers, he didn't seek revenge, he didn't claim to be a victim in this life... but instead he simply says...
8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.
So radically transformed was Joseph's heart that he would eventually tell his brothers...
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Now that is transformation!!!
How often do we want to blame those in our life for the way our lives turn out? How often do we want to judge what God is doing in our hearts while we're mid-stream instead of trusting God and allowing Him to complete the work in us? How often do we take matters in our own hands simply because we really don't believe that God loves us?
As I've pondered over the last few years of my life in ministry, I realize there have been times when I wanted to fix blame and hold others accountable for things that happened in my life - all the while not really understanding that the person that I was ultimately dealing with was God Himself. If my life belongs completely to Him, then it really is His will in my life - no longer I who live, but Christ in me. If my life is completely surrendered to Him and I am truly His servant - then the real test comes when I am treated like I am His servant. How do I respond?
Maybe you can relate to the story of Joseph. Maybe you have people in your life who are jealous over you and so they seek to wear you down or even undermine your ability to perform. Maybe you are in a situation where you are being falsely accused or even fired unjustly.
Whatever the situation is... allow God to work in you as He did in Joseph. To give you the perspective of His Kingdom. The perspective that allows you to see His hand leading and directing you and not bringing harm to you. The perspective that allows you to see how He takes ALL things in your life to work together for your good. The perspective that allows you to see God's plan in the bigger picture.... and remember that no matter what you're going through it has no bearing on your future!!!
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