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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Worldview-Prayer & Goals for 2013!





Worldview-



Something For Jesus to Do! (SFJTD)

2013 –2015

         First attempt for clarifying my thoughts on my Christian Worldview.


                                               
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
 Proverbs 16:9
         
“Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1st. Thess. 5:16-18
                                     
Recognizing that this is NOT my home. I and Nomi are just passing through. Travelers, not settlers…Citizens of another world! The Lord provides some great inns, but not to get too comfortable in this world.
Material things valuable only to the extent that they facilitate our mission. We are ambassadors for the Lord. Hoping and praying to take as many people with us to our real home in Heaven.

As each tick of the clock brings me(us) a second closer to our heavenly appointment with the Lord Jesus when we will stand before Him and give an accounting of how we lived our lives, I want to have my mind focused now on things above, not on earthly matters…Col 3:2-12.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Roman 12:12

Want to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant” When I stand before Jesus one day.
         
Some or quite a few of these items are desires, ideas, longings “old dreams” resurrected,  etc, but will be bathed in prayer & discussion with Naomi! 

Trusting that all these items were promptings from the Holy Spirit! And are items pleasing in the Lord’s eyes. And NOT my good ideas which would require me to accomplish them! Visions from the Lord…God does…with my hard work also! God gets the glory!

I assume some of my “ideas” were a result of 5 years of “Perspectives on The World Christian Movement” course. Also from reading some of Randy Alcorn's books.

The resources of heaven are ready and waiting for the people of God who desire to make much of him in this world. For the people of God who long to see his power at work and who live to see his purposes accomplished, he will give us absolutely everything we need according to his very presence alive in us. “

“Instead of imagining all the things we can accomplish, we ask God to do what only he can accomplish. Yes, we work, we plan, we organize, and we create, but we do it all while we fast, while we pray, and while we constantly confess our need for the provision of God. Instead of dependence on ourselves, we express radical desperation for the power of his Spirit, and we trust that Jesus stands ready to give us everything we ask for so that he might make much of our Father in the world.”

“Jesus commands us to go. He has created each of us to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and I propose that anything less than radical devotion to this purpose is unbiblical Christianity”. How can WE do this?

“God gave his people his image for a reason-so that they might multiply his image throughout the world. He created human beings, not only to enjoy his grace in a relationship with him, but also to extend his glory to the ends of the earth.”

 It’s all about: Relationships, Communication, Forgiveness: 3 Basic Concepts that result in “Peace” “Shalom”

ALL of these items INCLUDE NOMI!

Nothing just for me, Richard

ALL Tentative, subject to change at any time!

By Holy Spirit and His opening and closing doors!

 Not necessarily in any particular order or priority.

Result of lifetime reading Bible, over 150 Christian books over the years and compiling and looking over “old” notes taken over the years.
   
Making the most of every opportunity!


Seizing opportunities is directly tied to the spiritual gift of discernment. When we see what looks like an opportunity, we have to discern whether we are seeing a true opening or just our own wishful-thinking or a random idea.

Just because an opportunity arises does not mean that we should take it. An opportunity is just a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. We still have the hard work of determining whether it is something WE SHOULD DO!

Opportunities are doorways that God opens. It is divine leading, even though we may not be able to predict what lies beyond.

Ability to see with the eyes of God, think with the mind of Christ, and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit!

The "list" following gives us (my wife Naomi) and I a wonderful opportunity for discussion and prayer to help us determine where & how the Lord may want us to use our gifts in ministry. 


Hope this helps in some way in helping you make your list!
Blessings!
Happy New Year!

Focus on Jesus and live one day at a time. 
_____________________________________________________

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Extending Grace to Others: Randy Alcorn's book

A short excerpt from Randy Alcorn's book, The GRACE and TRUTH PARADOX

One of the key takeaways from the book was:

Extending grace to others.

1.  Our debt to God is infinitely beyond our capacity to pay. 
2.  Our debt to God is infinitely greater than any person's debt to us. 
3.  When we truly experience God's forgiveness for our sins, we will be transformed into forgiving people. 

Extending grace frees us from the terrible burden of resentment and bitterness. Bad as they may be, anyone's offenses against me are far less than my offenses against God. If He's forgiven me, by His grace I can forgive them. 




Wednesday, October 10, 2012

News of our excusion to North Carolina: Samaritan's Purse. The Cove


 We went to The Cove in Asheville, North Carolina with our good friends Ron and Dolores Blust.

The Cove is a Christian Retreat Center in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.

http://www.thecove.org/

Ruth Graham prayed The Cove would be a place for retreat, rest, relaxation, and renewal, a refuge where hospitality is a ministry. Her desire was to create an environment where people can meet with the Lord Jesus personally and privately—and never be the same again. Each year those prayers continue to be answered for tens of thousands of guests.

It was all this and more! Beautiful setting, fantastic food and great teaching!

Will be updating soon  with ADDITIONAL insights from The Cove, Samaritan's Purse and The Creation Museum!

Hopefully, Ron & Dolores will give me some of their insights which I will include, so come back in a few days. 

At The Cove, Randy Alcorn from Eternal Perspectives Ministries.  www.epm.org Spoke on:

 Four Central Truths of a Biblical Worldview

Randy Alcorn presentation at The Cove
Oct. 2-4. 2012

Life on earth is a d-o-t.
If begins. It ends. It’s brief.

  L I N E    Life in Heaven is an unending line extending from that dot.

We all live in the dot.
If we’re wise, we’ll live for the line.

Live for the LINE
Not the dot. 

Four Central Truths of a Biblical Worldview

1. Heaven
2. Suffering
3. Money
4. Grace-Truth

  1. Heaven

    We were made for Heaven.
    How we view the future affects how we live now. 
    We don't need a "Bucket List".
    2nd Peter 3:10 tells us that everything on earth will be destroyed.
    V. 13 tells us that we should be looking forward to a new earth!
    When we die we will be in the "Presence" of God. 
    People we prayed for will greet us. 
    We should be Kingdom minded, storing up treasures in Heaven, not on earth.
    As Christians we should think and live differently that non believers. 
    As we get older we get closer to our "treasures".



How to summarize so much of what Randy said?
1. So much of what we believe about Heaven is unbiblical. 
2. "Set your hearts on things above  where Christ is seated at the right hand of God".   (Colossians   3:1
3. Since we'll spend the next lifetime living in Heaven, why do we spend so much of this life thinking about our life here and not spend time preparing for Heaven?
4. So many people think of Heaven as their default destination. It is NOT.
5. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". (Romans 3:23). So unless our sin problem is resolved, our default destination is Hell. 
6.  Randy talked about the Present Heaven and the Future Heaven.
7. Spoke about if we will know everything when we get to Heaven. 
8. Will we know what is happening on earth.

Randy have a great book  HEAVEN. Explains everything we would want to know about Heaven. 


  2.  We encounter suffering

     He has reasons we don't understand.
     "All things work together for good for them that love God".
     God knows what He is doing. 

Our Worldview is how we view the world!
Biblical worldview is in accordance with God's word. 
Satan is involved, but can't trump God's control. 

We are unprepared for suffering!
Scripture promises that we are under His curse. 
God doesn't always answer our prayers like we want Him to. 

Suffering is NOT because of a particular sin. 
God has a higher purpose for our suffering. 
Read the last 5 chapters of the book of Job. 

God permits what He can use for good. 

A Biblical worldview does allow for deep sorrow and real grief. 

  3.  Money

We are stewards of what belongs to God.
We should ask Him what He wants us to do with the money & resources He has given     us...and  then be content. 
We should want to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant".

Randy talked about developing a "strategic lifestyle" and how to make a difference in the world. 
He talked about debt, budgeting and tithing. 

Randy has a great book, MONEY, POSSESSIONS AND ETERNITY.

  4.  The Grace and Truth Paradox 

     Grace-We don't deserve it
     Grace is the way we live
     We should respond with Christlike balance. 
     We should view everything in light of Grace & Truth...our spouses, children, neighbor.....

First time I had ever heard or read about this subject!

So many times, we as Christians are out of balance. We tend to go to extremes-either emphasizing Grace or Truth. And by doing that we don't really show the love of Jesus and push people away from Jesus.

We need the directions of truth to know where to go. Then we need the empowerment of grace to help us get there. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit can we do this.

More on the subject!

A paradox is a statement or phrase that seems to contradict itself but, in fact, is true. One of the greatest paradoxes of the Christian faith is the interplay between grace and truth. Grace, by itself, may permit deception and moral compromise. Truth, by itself, leads to self-righteousness and crushing legalism.

Jesus' life demonstrated that grace and truth can coexist. He expressed them in perfect balance, showing that God's absolute truth cannot be compromised and His amazing grace cannot be denied. The Bible describes Jesus as "full of grace and truth". (John 1:14)

The challenge for believers today is how to express grace and truth in balance, as Jesus did. It's an important issue because the world will draw conclusions about Jesus from what it sees in us. If we fail the truth test, people won't see Jesus. If we fail the grace test, pepole won't see Jesus. ONLY by expressing BOTH qualities in balance can we accurately show Christ's character to the world.

Lesson for today...as we approach the political election coming up:
Often, conservatives emphasize truth (moral), and liberals emphasize grace (compassion). Conservatives want to conserve what's right: liberals want to liberate from what's wrong.

Liberals' commitment to fighting racism in the sixties was commendable. But sometimes liberals fight against true standards, like the beliefs that abortion, fornication, adultery, and homosexual behavior are wrong, They embrace tolerance as a grace substitute. Liberal Christians often end up being liberals first Christians second.

Conservatives want to restore lost values. They want to go back to the days when prayer was allowed in schools. But they forget that the same schools that allowed prayer didn't allow black children! By trying to conserve so many things-even things that were clearly wrong-conservative Christians have sometimes been conservatives first, Christians second!

There is also a WORKBOOK with 5 weekly lessons. Good for a study group.

In the meantime.....See video below about volunteering at The Chapel at The Cove. 


Monday, October 8, 2012

Thanks for finding my BLOG!

Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog!

In Jesus Christ God gives us our identity, our purpose and our meaning in this life and in the life to come.1 Peter1:1-12

As you scroll down on this blog, you will see some videos that I hope you will find interesting.
Each ministry video is from a ministry that we support in some way.

On the right hand side of the blog are links to these and other ministries we believe are worthy of your interest and support. 


 You may have found this link on my LINKEDIN Profile or on my TWITTER account.

I have copied some of my Linkedin Profile information here.  


Lord Jesus, I pray, make me transparent so that when people look at me, they see only You!

● Looking 4 opportunities to leverage my church staff, volunteer work,corporate purchasing and agricultural background 4 exponential growth 4 impacting the Kingdom of God, both locally and globally.

● Enjoy launching new initiatives. Getting projects moving forward.

● Global Ministry:
Connecting faith based organizations with latest drip irrigation techniques to use for community development, poverty and drought alleviation. Good to Great in the Non Profit Sector principles.

Using social media to help Christian non profits get the Word and their word around the internet!


 ● Local Ministry:
Eastbrook Community GROUP on Linkedin. Tool to help develop community at our church.


SPECIALTIES:

● Connecting individuals and organizations to technology, resources, projects, ideas and people with a passion to accomplish strategic goals. Good to Great Concept

The Chapel at THE COVE: Volunteering



Monday, July 23, 2012

Let's build a Jesus Well together!




Let's build a Jesus Well together! An investment with eternal rewards!

Thinking about how great a cup of clean water is on a hot summer day, we can't imagine having to walk so far just to get a cup of pond water. If we all work together, we can give clean water to people in an Asian village who don't have any right now. Let's send Jesus's love to a village with a new well. With that, they will also receive some "Living Water"! The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, Inasmuch as you have done such things for the least of my brothers and sister, you have done the same for me."
Some of you know me from my work with Chapin Living Waters, a Christian ministry that helps people in 3rd world countries grow food when there is little or no water. But it's more important for people to have enough water just to drink. That is why I am passionate about bringing Jesus Wells to areas first. Later they can plant a garden and grow enough food for themselves with low cost/low tech drip irrigation.
Please watch the short video below that explains more about Jesus Wells and why your donation is a good investment!
No donation is too small!
When we reach our goal, we will have a celebration here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!
Blessings
Richard and Naomi Dassow

https://www.mygfa.org/waterforlife/ 

Jesus Well being dug!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Richard's Plastic Houses

I used for growing lettuce plants. Started in February...transplanted on field in April. Harvest 1st of June.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

"In as much as you did it to the least of these"

What is Operation Inasmuch?

Operation Inasmuch is a national nonprofit that employs proven models to motivate, train, and equip churches to move more congregants out of the sanctuary seats and into the streets to serve the neediest in their communities. Watch the video at right for a quick overview. Order a free DVD of this video here.


Introduction to Operation Inasmuch from Todd Troop on Vimeo.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSFORMATION ADVANCED TRAINING: REGISTRATION OPEN

Registration is now open for the ADVANCED TOT Neighborhood Transformation Seminar to be held in Milwaukee, Feb. 23-25

Registration Form - Training of Local Trainers for Neighborhood Transformation, Milwaukee, WI

Dates: Feb. 23-25, 2012

Time: Thursday and Friday 6:00 to 9:00 PM and Saturday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Location: Eastbrook Church 5385 N. Green Bay Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53209

Contact: (414) 228-5220 or ashidler@yahoo.com, Neighborhood Transformation Pastor, Adam Schidler

Cost $40

Collaborative for Neighborhood Transformation has over 35 years of international experience to equip the urban poor in North America to transform their own lives and their neighborhoods. The goal is to facilitate transformed lives, neighborhoods and cities through the seamless combination of evangelism, discipleship and community development that is identified and owned by the indigenous population using available assets and resources. In urban USA settings this is called Neighborhood Transformation (NT).

Neighborhood Transformation (NT) ultimately addresses the root causes of poverty, disease, and spiritual darkness by training neighborhood individuals to take more responsibility for their own lives and neighborhood. When implemented, neighborhoods gain the capacity to identify and solve problems, and then determine and implement sustainable solutions utilizing appropriate technologies. Vital biblical faith is nurtured at every step.

The training will introduce NT concepts while showing the tools and processes of implementing and managing Urban NT. Sessions are conducted in a participatory style with large and small group discussions, as well as various hands-on activities. These methods all easily transfer to the urban neighborhood setting.

NT TOT for Church Facilitators (12 Hour)
• Neighborhood Transformation (power-point)
• Biblical Basis of Wholistic Transformation
• Comparing Relief, Betterment and Development
• What is Good Health and a Community
• Introduction to Focusing on Assets
• Urban
• Gathering Primary and Secondary Information and Choosing Best Neighborhood
• Acquiring and Retaining Volunteers Overview
• Knowing Your Neighbors
• Paralytic and Development
• Working with Your Elementary School
• Identifying Assets in Your Neighborhood
• Using a Lesson Plan