Miracles and #GivingTuesday

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Do you ever read stories in the Bible like God providing manna for the Israelites in the wilderness or Jesus healing the blind man at Bethesda, and think, “I wish we could still see miracles like that today?”  For those of us who have grown up in church and heard these stories since we were children, I think we are especially susceptible to wonder about this at times.  Like many who have grown up in church, by the grace of God, I believed in Jesus as my Savior at a young age.  At the ripe old age of eleven, I didn’t notice a particularly miraculous life change at the time.  It is only as I’ve matured that I’ve realized my salvation, and everyone’s for that matter, is a miracle in and of itself.  The Bible says we were “dead in our sins…but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.” (Ephesians 2:1, 4-5).  Even if God were still literally raining down manna from heaven, I believe that in our sinful states, we’d still find ways to doubt him.  John 7:5 says that even Jesus’ own brothers didn’t believe He was the Messiah, and they saw him firsthand performing miracles of feeding and healing people. 
I truly believe God still does provide for us in amazing and miraculous ways.  Eight months ago I started a journey to join the staff of FCA, wondering how in the world I would ever be able to raise my full ministry budget (or even the 75% I needed to come on staff full time).  I think if I had to pick the biggest lesson I have learned over these past eight months it would be that our God is still Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides.  I have been so humbled by the generosity of so many people among my family, friends, church, and the Potomac Falls community and I can’t wait to officially start my role this Thursday, December 1. 
As we head into the Christmas season, anticipating the greatest miracle in all of history, I’d like to encourage you to consider donating to Loudoun FCA on this #GivingTuesday.  We are committed to serving this area with the hope of seeing many more miracles in hearts changed for the Kingdom. FCA currently has only one full time staff member (soon to be two!) serving all of Loudoun County, but we have two more members raising support, five middle schools that still don't have FCA huddles, and many other new ideas that we’d love to implement this year.  Having a vision for our area that exceeds our budget is a good problem to have, as it means we are leaving a lot of room for God to show off in our ministry.  We know the Lord will be glorified in this county through our End of Year Giving Campaign, and we can’t wait to see how He moves in Loudoun County in 2017!

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