bold prayers from God's children

"Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, ‘Go jump in the lake’—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it’s not all asking." Matthew 11:22 - 24

we pray a lot, for a lot of things.

A few Friday nights ago, I had 6 of the kids in my car with me. My car is supposed to only seat 4 other people. Well, we just pray a lot that the Lord protects us and we don't get stopped! (I know, that is not the best thing to do, but I can't not haul my kids around....). I was taking them home, and at their request, we ALL prayed for two things. 1 - the house to be finished. 2 - a bigger car.

Each of the kids took turns praying out loud. I LOVE when they do this. It just makes my heart so full, so proud, so happy.

Keshawn prayed so boldly. He said "Lord, don't just send the people to help, but send the money too." I have never talked to him or any of the other kids about believing for all the resources to be provided. In his spirit he just knew this.

The next week, 2 things happened.

After nearly 6 months of not having many people come around me helping with the "work" of the house, I began to get so many messages from people that want to be a part of this with me, and acutally come and help. This past weekend there were so many people that came and served, almost to the point I was a little overwhelmed with all of them. In a good way, but still overwhelmed. And they just keep coming. And the money to keep moving ahead is always there. So many ways the Lord has provided for every penny needed, and it comes in the most unexpected, beautiful ways. The Lord keeps providing for just what I need, right when I need it. Then I trust him for the next thing, and he provides again. That's how the whole journey has been. One "yes I trust you" after another.

Then, I got a message from someone that wants to give me a minivan. FOR REAL! Ms Jamie crusin thru the hood in a swagger wagon!

The very best part of this was that I got to call the kids and tell them that God answered their prayers! Their simple, yet bold, prayers. Just riding in the car on a Friday night, they prayed for some pretty big things, and they got to SEE the Lord answer them in less than a week. Don't you think this grew their faith a little?

Another thing that just happened. Months ago I took Keshawn and Willie to the fairgrounds one afternoon to see the horses. I was trying to convince them to go to the Rodeo one night (for their little birthday celebration outing), but they said "if we can't ride the horses, we don't want to go." Boys. Since then I have been praying for a place to take them. A wide-open space that they could learn how to ride and how to take care of a horse. Just a few days ago I got a message from someone that offered to connect me with a local riding camp for kids, that they can learn how to ride and about farm/ranch life.

Praying is simple. It's when we pray bold that the heart of God responds. All these things we have prayed for, and the Lord has reached down and shown his great love and faithfulness to answer the desires of our hearts.

These kids are learning how to be great prayer warriors for the kingdom. If you need prayer for something, let me know and we will pray for you!

Here are some snapshots of Keshawn (his nickname is onion, because....everyone has a nickname). Hanging out on the porch with me last summer, and pushing our bikes up the hill on state street because he lost a bet :)

lessons from brick

Judges 2

"Yet Israel did not listen to the Judges, they prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord's commands." 2:17

The heart of God was still to make his people a holy nation, but sometimes the Lord may bring oppression, to bring out our obedience. God only does this to bring sin to light, and repentance to forgiveness.

It is the third generation of Israel. The first generation failed to trust the Lord to deliver them, so they died in the wilderness. The second generation got to see the promised land, but failed to conquer all of the land within it. And the third....they failed to remember all that God did over the first two generations, that saved them to the place they are now.

Even in disobedience, God still shows mercy. Mercy was something I learned the day I was saved. It means "not giving a person what they deserve." I deserved death, and Jesus saved me into life. Our disobedience deserves judgement, but God always shows mercy.

Friday morning I was at the prison to attend a graduation ceremony for some of the youth offender boys. (I have shared about this in previous post). 7 of our boys were graduating with their GED and their barber license. One of the boys said this in his speech, "I came in here with nothing, but I am leaving with something." Such profound words from a 16 year old young man who is in prison. But, really...isn't that same for ALL of us? We came to Jesus with absolutely nothing, he saved us out of mercy, and we walk away with the only thing that can free us.

Why would this third generation turn away so quickly from all they knew? Simple - temptations of the flesh. It is not hard to stand for something for so long, and then the enemy can offer one tiny, flashy, temptation in front of you, and before you know it - you are knocked down.

Hidden behind a plaster wall in the house was a nearly 100 year old brick fireplace, that was there for the original wood burning stove in the kitchen. When I found it, my first idea was to keep it intact and just have it to "look cool." But I quickly realized I needed the space more than the cool factor. In less than 30 minutes, the whole thing was knocked down. As I stood and watched it fall from the top, all the way to the floor, the Lord was giving me perspective into so many things.

How is it that something so old, that has stood for so long, can be knocked down into a pile of rubble in such a short period of time? What do you do with this mess? Surely there is something that the brick can be used for again!

The brick has been in a pile just laying around for many weeks. But....the brick is still good. It still has a purpose. It can still be used. The thing is - each brick has to be cleaned, all the mortar has to be chiseled away - one at a time. It is a long, slow, labor intensive process to clean it. When they are cleaned, they are like new. Their purpose is still the same as it was when they were made almost 100 years ago. They can be used again for something.

That something for the house was, to cover up a wall on the outside where a window was removed. Maybe the fireplace didn't get rebuilt, but the brick still fulfilled it's purpose, just in a different way.

Here is the journey of the brick.

standing tall. falling down. in a pile. cleaned up. used again.

that is the journey of me too.

on to the next part

Judges 1

"A time came after the death of Joshua, where the people of Israel asked God, 'Who will take the lead in going up against the Canaanites to fight them?'" 1:1

It has been a few weeks since I finished my 6 month long journey through the life of Joshua. I took a little break to walk through some love letters with Jesus. But now I am back to the next part, and walking through the land of the Judges.

By faithfully obeying the Lord, Joshua led the Israelites to a big victory - walking them right into the Promised Land. After he died, the tribes failed to clear out all those in the land, so the Lord had to withdraw his promise to help drive the people out on his own. This new generation of God's children abandoned Him, worshiped idols, and forgot all that their ancestors did to fight for their freedom.

But. God doesn't require "good" people in order to do his work. He can and does work with us in whatever condition He finds us. He does some of His best work using the most unlikely people. At our worst, He still sees what He creates us to be at our best.

Soon after Joshua died, Israel began to loose control. The people missed his leadership, because he had this unique way of keeping them focused on God. Even under his spiritual leadership, all of Israel had to realize that the Lord was really who they followed, not a man. It is easy to focus solely on a person, their wisdom, confidence, boldness, and leadership; rather than focusing on the One who gives them what they need to lead well. Are you worshiping the gifts God gave someone to lead you with, or are you worshiping the giver of the gifts?

This is real stuff for me right now. I served under two of the most amazing leaders I have ever known, at We Will Go (David and Amy Lancaster). They taught me so much about truly loving Jesus, serving Jesus, and knowing Jesus. Their wisdom that poured out on me was so crucial for me to continue on this journey I am on. Daily Word shared and poured into me. Ushering me into being stretched and growing with the Lord. Modeling what a Godly marriage and family looks like. Always, always, always pointing me right to the Father.

Now I am essentially on my own. They are only 1/2 mile away, and still love me so well, but I have had to come out from under their leadership, and submit to the one who leads them. I could do like the Israelites did, after Joshua died, and forget all I was taught and all I knew - and suffer the consequences of that. But, I choose to worship the giver of the gifts, fully trust who my leader is, and see the blessings of serving Him alone flow from his throne. What an amazing and beautiful and hard thing that is!

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. Sweet Ms. Aldora. She loves the garden so much and I love the simplicity of her just sitting on this bucket looking out over those freshly planted rows. She lives close to my house in Midtown now, and I went by to visit her last week. We sat on her little front porch and I learned so much about her life. She had two big bags of pecans that she had picked up that I bought from her.

Acknowledge God as your leader. Avoid the temptation of relying on human leaders. Regardless of their spiritual wisdom.

being ok with asking for help

I have been trying to think of some grand, heart reaching, strategic way to do this. And I just can't. So I am putting my pride on the bottom rack of the very back corner of my self, and just going to be vulnerable and honest, and ask.

I need help.

The Lord has done so much already. So much that I can hardly keep up with it. But there is still so much remaining to get me in the Light House.

My heart is longing so deep to be there. In the place I thrive so well. In the midst of the hard place He has gifted me to live. In the middle of the beautiful people He loves so much.

I feel so lost not being there. I feel like I don't fit in anywhere. I feel so unsettled. For 6 months I have been living out of the community, and these months have been some of the hardest of my life. Going back and forth from Madison/Ridgeland to Jackson. From one culture and way of life, to a completely different one. It is very much like going from one country to another, on a daily basis.

Today I was sitting in my car in front of the house, waiting to meet the guy working on the windows. I was checking messages on my phone and heard some arguing and screaming down the street. A man was running down the sidewalk, from the apartments near me, and ran right past me and behind my house. He didn't even see me in the car. A few seconds later another man came out from the same apartments on a bike, obviously looking for the first man. I can only assume the first man was hiding from the second, and why he might have been - and he was hiding behind my house. And there I was, just sitting, reading emails, and thinking about windows! While this is somewhat normal to me (after living around this for several years), it is still a spiritual battle that I am faced with, that never becomes truly "normal."

So how can you help me?

Pray. A lot. There is so much going on in Midtown. A lot of good that is happening there, but there is still a lot of darkness that looms over the area.

I need help with completing the house. I need money to do that. I need volunteers to do that. God has already sent both of these to get me where I am today, so I know He will continue to send all I need.

I am estimating that the remainder of the work will cost around $20,000. If you would like to make a donation to go towards this cost, you can do so through my PayPal account (PayPal takes a percentage of donations, and I don't like that, but haven't found another way to do this yet - link is on the blog), or by sending a check to:

Jamie Rasberry/Midtown Ministry
113 Oakhurst Trail
Ridgeland, MS 39157

If you would like to come and serve with me and help with the house, there is much to be done. If you are skilled with carpentry, repairing floors, laying tile, building cabinets, etc....I need your help!

Call me anytime, 601-573-5472, or email me, midtownministry@yahoo.com, and I will be more than happy to give specific details of what I need help with.

"My" plan is to be in the house by June. God's plan is always better, but I am secretly hoping His plan is June too.

And I am learning to be ok with asking for help.

"The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me
because God anointed me.
He sent me to preach good news to the poor,
heal the heartbroken,
Announce freedom to all captives,
pardon all prisoners.
God sent me to announce the year of his grace—
a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies—
and to comfort all who mourn,
To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,
give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,
Messages of joy instead of news of doom,
a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.
Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness”
planted by God to display his glory.
They’ll rebuild the old ruins,
raise a new city out of the wreckage.
They’ll start over on the ruined cities,
take the rubble left behind and make it new.
You’ll hire outsiders to herd your flocks
and foreigners to work your fields,
But you’ll have the title “Priests of God,”
honored as ministers of our God.
You’ll feast on the bounty of nations,
you’ll bask in their glory.
Because you got a double dose of trouble
and more than your share of contempt,
Your inheritance in the land will be doubled
and your joy go on forever.
Because I, God, love fair dealing
and hate thievery and crime,
I’ll pay your wages on time and in full,
and establish my eternal covenant with you.
Your descendants will become well-known all over.
Your children in foreign countries
Will be recognized at once
as the people I have blessed.
I will sing for joy in God,
explode in praise from deep in my soul!
He dressed me up in a suit of salvation,
he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo
and a bride a jeweled tiara.
For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers,
and as a garden cascades with blossoms,
So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom
and puts praise on display before the nations."
Isaiah 61

believe receive. rejoice.

1 John 5

"My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours." 5:13 - 15

He is all you need. You don't have to wait for eternal life because it begins the moment you chose to believe. You don't have to work for it because it is his gift to you. You don't have to worry about it because you have been given a spirit of freedom.

Some people HOPE they will receive eternal life. John assures us that we can KNOW we have it.

For the last two years we (me along with some other amazing people) have been going to the Youth Offender Unit at the Central MS Correctional Facility. The unit was started in 2012, separate from the other inmates at the facility and has its own staff and school. It can house up to 42 inmates, young men ages 15 - 19 that have been convicted of an adult felony, but are considered "vulnerable" and not appropriate to be placed in the main population of the prison.

The first Sunday of every month we go out and have a little service with them - we meet in a very small board room, sit around a table, and just have church. Once a week we go to the unit where they have a school and have Bible class. We have been invited to take part in special things too, like the GED graduation ceremonies, cook outs they have had, school plays they have put on, and earlier this year we had a 3 day revival with them.

These are young men that wear striped pants with the word "convict" on the back of their shirt. They have been charged, convicted, and sentenced with heavy crimes - armed robbery, sexual assault, drug possession/selling, and murder. Some have short sentences, some have long sentences, some have life sentences. These are the young men you are seeing on tv, in the news, reading about in the paper. And they are our boys, and they are amazing.

They are hurting young men. So much brokenness, so much anger, so much abandonment....longing to be loved, accepted, valued. They are smart and talented, funny and interesting, and worthy of the love of Jesus.

Yesterday was probably the best Easter I have ever had - even better than seeing the sun rise over the Grand Canyon on Easter morning. We had our service with the boys, and were given favor to take them cookies, they love sweets! The Lord met us there in that little room, around that little table, on a Sunday morning in the middle of a prison. They were weeping, broken over their sin, tears streaming down their faces, crying out to Jesus, asking for that love they long for. One of the boys said "Mr. B, what do I got to do to get saved?"

I don't know how your church service was yesterday, but sitting with these boys who were full of sugar from cookies, seeing the Lord reaching down and saving them, giving them eternal life on the spot, freeing them from a life of sin.....I don't know what can be any better than that!

The hardest part about loving on them, is when they get moved to another facility, and we don't get to see them again. We do our best to stay in contact with them via letters, but we sure do miss them when they are not there. But, we hold on to the hope that those who have believed, eternal life in Jesus keeps them safe. What great joy they bring to me and my life. When you see someone walk in the freedom and love of Jesus, THAT is what Easter is about.