![]() Have you ever felt something was missing in your relationship with God? We don’t mean more time in prayer or Bible reading or Scripture memory, although if you know the Lord, you also know if He is urging you to devote more time to those spiritual disciplines. You know if you need to make a recommitment to church or small group attendance or keep that promise you made to your pastor or youth minister. But no, we don’t mean anything that involves checking a box, even a spiritual one. What we’re talking about is what’s often missing in our churches and in our personal faith-walks today: a sense of awe. It’s the quality that gave Awe Star Missions its name, and it comes from a passage in the book of Acts: “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles” (Acts 2:43, NASB). The ESV puts it this way: “And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.” What is this sense of awe? It’s nothing we can produce. We may at times try to create it via modern technology, but awe doesn’t come from a smoke machine or a passionate guitar solo. It doesn’t come from any human element but from the presence and power of our Lord God Almighty, who sends His Spirit upon us and gives us the holy expression of a sense of awe. Despite the fervency of our prayers and the faithfulness of our service, we noticed we were often missing that sense of awe too. So we decided to offer an Awe Night, not to seek an emotional experience, but to seek the Lord and His powerful presence in our midst. The true sense of awe God brought us that night blessed those who attended and encouraged us so much that we’ve decided to repeat it one day next month (and again in future months). If your faith has become more rote than real, if you long for a touch of His presence, if you want to join us in seeing the unseen, we invite you to join us on Friday night, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. at the Awe Star office, 7621 E. 46th Place, Tulsa. We’ll spend time in worship, prayer, Scripture reading and true fellowship. Join us in prayer before that day as we prepare to seek Him—and once again, experience the awe.
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![]() New year. New you? At the start of the year, we tend to focus on priorities: Exercising more. Losing weight. Joining a gym. Spending more time with friends. Spending less time online. As believers, we also tend to focus on spiritual priorities: Having a regular quiet time. Reading the Bible through in a year. Memorizing Scripture. Spending more time in prayer. Giving at least a tithe. But will these spiritual priorities fade away as quickly as the resolutions that cover our physical/emotional needs? Come springtime, will we spend as little time in God’s Word as we do at the gym? This year, Awe Star has plenty of areas where we’d love to see growth. But our 2020 urgency has less to do with self-improvement and much more to do with the urgency of getting out the gospel message. As our culture spins further and further away from the Word, and time moves closer and closer to Christ’s return, we are praying daily for more workers in the fields He says are “white unto harvest.” Yes, we need those who will go—who will commit to a week or 10 days or 28 days of active missionary service. But we also need those who will give–who will partner with us in the gospel-spreading, church-planting, disciple-making ministry that is Awe Star Missions. Most of all, we need those who will join us in prayer that the Lord will call out those workers in His harvest, will supply the needs for those workers, will plow and prepare the fields, and will prepare the way in every way for each team, each leader, each missionary. If you’re reading this blog, it’s more than likely that God is calling you to join us in one or more of these areas—going, giving, praying–for the year ahead. He doesn’t ask for a quick resolution that you’ll leave behind in a few weeks. When He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19) He was looking for a full-time, sold-out commitment. Are you ready for more? Are you ready to move beyond New Year's resolutions to, in the words of Awe Star missionary martyr B.J. Higgins, “raise a revolution”? Are you ready to see the unseen? Follow His lead and partner with Awe Star Missions in 2020. As we work together with our King, He will empower us for each facet of His ministry and bring the results that honor Him and enlarge His kingdom. God has been doing so many incredible things with every team. But we would like to highlight one team that had an incredible God-moment at a rehab facility.
#TeamTres had the privilege of visiting a rehab facility called Christo Vive (Spanish for "Christ is Alive"). As they shared the gospel, the men in the facility responded with confidence. They all raised their hands with shouts of complete adoration when asked if they knew Jesus! They were all believers. The team could see the passion for Jesus in their eyes and actions. It was in amazing to see the freedom God has given men who have overcome so much addiction and bondage. The Awe Star team took that opportunity just to pray over the men, encourage them in their freedom and speak life over them. What happened next inspired and strengthened the entire team. In response, the men asked the Awe Star team to worship with them. Together, as one body, they were able to worship and shout out songs of praise to God. There was shouting, singing, dancing, laughing, smiling--so much excitement for their Savior. Everyone felt a sense of AWE at all God was doing. Two languages, neither understood by the speakers of the other, but in perfect unity in praise to God. It was amazing for everyone present. Even though the Awe Star team didn’t know what the men were saying, they could feel the presence of God as the men shouted out praise to Him. The men in the rehab were sharing their testimonies, followed by lifted voices praising Jesus about how He saved them and had forgiven them. Just being in the room was overwhelming. Before the Awe Star team left, the men in the rehab asked if they could pray for them. They gathered around the team, laid hands on the students and cried out to God for His Spirit to empower them for the work of God’s kingdom. It was powerful! Everyone was so thankful for God allowing them to be a part of what God is doing! For His glory, #TeamMexico Leadership |
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