Dear Family & Friends,
It’s a New Year with new hope and new possibilities. God’s mercies are new every morning! The Lord says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you...” Isn’t it amazing that God has to tell us He knows what He’s thinking about? The Israelites thought that God was against them, but God had “plans to prosper and not to harm (them), plans to give (them) a future and a hope.”
Whenever hard times come it’s easy to think God is against us. Yet nothing could be further from the truth! Even when He disciplines us, the Bible says in Ephesians 1:3-8, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ, for he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will...to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”
And he decided to do all of this before we were even born-again, so now that we are his children, what will he do? Romans 8:32 tells us in the Message Bible, “So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us?”
God is faithful to his children! So in 2009 let us all see God through his Word and not through our circumstances. Let’s hold fast to our faith and believe him no matter what comes our way! God provided for the Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness. He provided for Abraham, Isaac, Joseph and the Israelites in three difference famines. He can do the same for all of us. We pray that God will bring you a godly supply in time of famine so that God will be glorified and you can be a testimony to those around you who are looking for answers.
The work of the ministry goes on in every season! We are launching two new areas of ministry this year:
• Side by Side - A ministry to leaders designed to strengthen marriages and families. Our first event is April 20-23 in Sweden. We count it a great privilege to be able to share with leaders in areas of great personal challenge. And the Lord has provided a miraculous supply for this even to take place! We are grateful for this generous supply for others.
• DCM Prayer Network - We know that many of you pray for us and so we would like to become more intentional about communicating with you each month. If you would like to become a DCM Prayer Partner, please let us know and we will send you our new Prayer Packet. We believe in prayer and know that it is one way God changes hearts. As we band together in prayer we can make an even greater difference in lives around the world.
Thank you for being a part of DCM and we look forward to hearing from you, and praying together around the throne of God.
To the battle on our knees,
Dan and Nori
