Praises:

• God continues to provide for ministry here and overseas in the midst of a struggling economy!  We are so grateful to God and to our faithful supporters!
• Last weekend Reid spoke at a missions banquet in Silverton, Oregon where medical mission team members going to Nepal with RSA were supported by their church!
• Recently Reid shared at his church and 60 people signed up as new prayer partners for the ministry of RSA!
• God is opening doors for ministry in South America next year!
• Ministry partnerships have been exciting – in Nepal next month our team will be serving with All Nations Ministries (http://gotellallnations.org/) and Kid Stand (http://kidstand.org/)!

Prayer Requests:

• Reid is speaking at a missions conference in Madera, California this weekend.  Pray for him to share God’s message for that group and for many to partner with Reid in the future.
• Children’s Fashion Show on October 30
  • Pray for the many volunteers and staff members coordinating and contributing to this event
  • We are still looking for more dessert makers, helpers with set-up and clean-up, and childcare helpers
  • Pray for promotion to be effective
  • Pray that God brings the audience He desires, that they engage in the evening, and they realize their unique gifts and talents God wants them to use to further His Kingdom
  • Pray that many respond by getting more involved in the ongoing ministry of RSA by participating in a future trip, contributing to items sent on trips, volunteering, praying, and/or giving funds to support trips (OR if God leads them to be involved in another way)
  • For more information on the event, go to: http://reidsaunders.org/childrens-fashion-show-dessert-benefit
• We are in the process of interviewing candidates for the Communications Director position as a result of the grant we have been awarded by the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust.  Pray for God’s choice for the RSA team and for discernment by the RSA staff.
• Pray for the Nepal team as they prepare to leave on November 4.  Pray for God to prepare hearts of the Bhutanese refugees our team will serve.

Have you ever felt like everyone is against you, as though no matter where you went people “judged you” for the poor decisions that you made? Zacchaeus was no saint; as a chief tax collector he would rob people of their hard-earned money just to bring more wealth to himself. This, not surprisingly, meant that Zacchaeus didn’t have many friends and likely he had a bull’s-eye on his back. But Zacchaeus was desperate to see Jesus; he was monetarily rich, but spiritually poor. The crowds surrounding Jesus couldn’t keep Zacchaeus away from his mission to meet the Savior. “He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way,” (Luke 19:3-4).

What amazes me in this story is not that Zacchaeus was trying to get to Jesus, but that Jesus was looking for him. In the midst of a large crowd Jesus found this lost sheep and called him by name, “When Jesus reached the spot [the tree Zacchaeus had climbed] He looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately, I must stay at your house today. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly,” (Luke 19:5-6). Just as Jesus called Zacchaeus over 2,000 years ago, God is calling your name today. Even if you feel like you are lost in the crowd, Jesus sees you and is calling your name.

The crowd following Jesus was shocked that of all the places to dine, Jesus would choose a tax collector’s house. “All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner,’” (Luke 19:7). Jesus never gave in to the pressure, however, and He was not swayed by society. Jesus is called the Great Physician because He heals hearts that are broken both physically and spiritually. Zacchaeus was a spiritually sick patient with a heart that needed the Great Physician’s touch. When questioned as to why He ate and socialized with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus said in Matthew 9:12, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” There is something supernatural that takes place when the Holy Spirit takes hold of your heart; and that is what happened to Zacchaeus. Luke 19:8-10 tells his response to Jesus’ love and grace: “But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’”

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

Martin Luther

“Be joyful always; pray continually…”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

Carry the Compass

My friend Dan takes his compass wherever he goes.  He always wants to be led in the right direction so he won’t get lost.  I remember hiking with Dan in a thick forest one day when I became completely lost.  I had no idea which way was north, south, east, or west, and if it hadn’t been for Dan’s compass, which kept us on the right path, we would have been lost for sure.  In life, prayer is our compass that helps guide us along the path of the all for Jesus adventure.  You have a direct line to God 24-hours a day.  Prayer is powerful and God invites us to communicate with Him on a constant basis.  First Thessalonians 5:17 encourages us to, “Pray without ceasing.”  Staying connected daily with your Creator through prayer will guide you and keep you from getting lost on the journey of life.

I carry my cell phone with me wherever I go.  It comforts me to know that I can stay connected with those I love and to have the ability to get in touch with anyone if I have need.  Unfortunately, I have had several jaw-dropping moments when I receive the cell phone bill and discover I have gone over my minutes!  I’m so glad God does not treat us like our cell phone provider.  His “plan” is perfect – through Jesus Christ you have unlimited minutes with your Heavenly Father!  Think of it!  You can talk to God anytime and anywhere and He always hears you.  And with God there are never dead zones or roaming charges!  Just as you talk to your loved ones every day by phone, email, text messaging, or in person, so too it is very important to talk to God through prayer everyday.  God wants to be intimately involved with your life.  God says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know,” (Jeremiah 33:3).  God invites you to connect deeply with Him daily as you pray.  In the same way you get to know people more as you spend time with them and talk, you get to know God more as you spend time with Him in prayer!

How to Pray

There is no set pattern or way to pray.  You can pray standing or sitting, with your eyes open or closed.  You can pray alone or with other people.  The important thing is that you do spend time praying, preferably every day.  The Bible says, in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  God wants to talk with you because He loves you.  Communication is important in any relationship, and the same is true in your relationship with God.  You can talk to God about anything and everything, at any time of the day, and at any place.  Let him know your fears, frustrations, doubts, struggles, joys, temptations, and praises.  This acrostic of the word “prayer” is a helpful example of how to pray.  This is not a formula or the “right” way to pray.  It is only a suggestion to help you start having a daily prayer time.

          P – Praise: When you pray, praise and thank God for who He is: the One who has chosen you, has redeemed you, and is worthy of all glory.  You can sing songs of gratitude to the Lord and let Him know how much you love and adore Him.  As you read and study the Bible, you will find many more reasons to praise Him as you learn more about His character and acts of faithfulness throughout history.

          R – Repent: Even though Jesus Christ has paid for our sins and forgiven us on the cross, we still live in our flesh and therefore we continue to sin.  When you pray, ask God’s forgiveness for the sins you have committed.

          A – Ask: Seek God and ask for help and guidance in life.  You can also ask God for what you need and trust Him to fulfill your needs.  What you want and what God gives you may not always be the same thing.  But God knows best, and seeking His will about what you need is very important.  He made you and knows what you need before you even ask Him.  You can trust Him because He knows you, loves you, and is faithful to provide what will truly satisfy you.

          Y – Yield: Let God be in control of your life.  Yielding means listening to God and letting Him speak to you.  This does not necessarily mean that God will speak audibly to you, but His voice can speak to your heart as you listen to Him.  You may want to go for a walk or quietly sit and allow Him to speak to your heart.

          E – Express: Thank God for answered prayer.  Keeping a journal of your prayer requests is helpful.  You can keep track and record how God answers your prayers.  When He does answer your prayer, write it in your journal and let God know how thankful you are.  God always answers our prayers.  They may not be answered in the way we want or expect, but God listens and responds to every prayer request.  God may say yes, no, or wait in response to your prayer.  Trust the Lord and be patient.  Remember He is in control!  Also express your gratitude to God for daily meeting your needs—from food to family—and exalt Him, because He alone is worthy of your praise.

          R – Request: Praying for others is an honor and truly pleases God.  He encourages us to pray for others.  These can be prayers for people you know that do not know Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior or prayer for those you know that are hurting, sick, or out of work.  You can pray for friends and family members, people in the news, people around the world, etc.  This is called intercessory prayer, because you are interceding to God on behalf of others.  One idea is to write down a list of everyone you know, and break it down into seven groups and pick a specific day of the week to pray for each group.  (I would appreciate it if you prayed often for me and my ministry at Reid Saunders Association.)

Power of Prayer

Prayer is powerful!  As I have said many times, “God moves in a mighty way when His people pray.”  James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”  God wants to communicate with you every day.  He loves you and wants to be involved in every aspect of your life.  Our Lord Jesus modeled the greatest example of what a healthy prayer life looks like:

He prayed upon the mountain,

He prayed for you and me,

He prayed in humble dwellings,

He prayed beside the sea.

He prayed with all his might,

He prayed at noonday and at dusk,

He prayed all thro the night.

He prayed for those who scorned him,

For those who killed Him, too,

He prayed, “Father forgive them:

They know not what they do.”

He prayed when he was lonely,

He prayed when he was sad,

He prayed when he was weary,

He prayed when he was glad.

He prayed for those in sorrow

He prayed for those in sin,

He prayed for those in trouble,

That they might come to Him.

(D.W.L.)

As we follow Jesus’ example we can carry the compass of prayer to guide us as we journey down the all for Jesus adventure of Christian living!

Please be praying for Reid and the whole Amity team as God is bringing lost souls to himself through the Amity SummerFest 2011 Aug 5-7 2011

FREE:

• Amity City Park – August 6th
• 10:00-2:00 Children’s Activities
• Bounce Houses, Puppet Shows, Face Painting, Sno Cones, And More!
• 11:00-12:30 Hot Air Balloon Rides  (Weather Permitting)
• Skateboarding Exhibition (Two shows in the afternoon)

Our Lithuania mission went awesome as the Lord brought many to Himself! Thank you for your prayers!

Brett and I had a great time ministering in Lithuania through several affinity outreach events. We invited fellow evangelist PJ Meduri to join us. In total, we ministered to 426 people with 79 decisions for Christ! This is huge! Lithuania is very unreached and the churches are afraid to do evangelism.

It was so exciting to see the pastors overwhelmed with joy to see so many people respond to the Gospel. One pastor told me, “Reid, as a result of these meetings, now I feel like we can do this ourselves.” Yes! What a blessing to be a catalyst of the Lord to equip and motivate the people in the churches to reach others for Christ!

From the events we found that nearly 37% of the unbelievers that came to these outreach events made decisions for the Lord! Even as I write the churches are now following up with the new believers. Please pray for the new believers and for Lithuania in general. This is a very cold place spiritually and the churches are dying because of their lack of evangelism.

One highlight for me was speaking at an orphanage where we ministered to kids between the ages of 9 and 20. Of the 50 in attendance, 18 of them gave their lives to Jesus including Loretta. Loretta is a 15 year old girl who is 4 months pregnant. I spoke on loneliness for my message. Afterwards Loretta told me she has felt lonely all her life, but now that she has Jesus she doesn’t feel lonely any more! Please pray for Loretta as she grows in her faith and is a mother at such a young age.

Rejoice with me in seeing God move in a mighty way for His glory in Lithuania! “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” (Romans 10:13).

All for Jesus,

Click here to see more photos of the mission to Lithuania.

ROCK OF AGES 10.08.11

1435 N Oak St, Calistoga, CA 94515 (Napa County Fairgrounds)

The Rock of Ages Festival has become one of the largest outreach festivals in Northern California. Nestled in world famous Calistoga in the beautiful Napa Valley, we will be presenting - Jars of Clay, Phil Joel, Kutless, Barlow Girl, Seventh Day Slumber, Christafari, Maximilian, Blood ad Water and many more..... Our previous years performers have included the Newsboys, Third Day, Skillet, Jeremy Camp, Audio Adrenaline, Salvador, Jaci Valasquez, Stellar Kart, Cross Movement, Jars of Clay, and Kutless, with speakers like Ron Luce, Brad Butcher, and Miles McPherson. This 12th annual event will be more amazing than ever!

The Rock of Ages Festival is not your typical music/ concert event. Over the past 11 years, the festival has become a major North Bay and Northern California outreach resource. Hundreds of churches and tens of thousands of individuals have made this a place to bring people and hear the great news of a changed life through Christ. And it is growing.

For more details visit the Rock Of Ages website:

Book Description:

The secret to living life to the fullest is first finding true life.  The longing of our hearts is for someone to give us meaning and purpose.  In Life to the Fullest, Reid Saunders clearly shows how it is possible to find real life – eternal life in Jesus Christ.  Jesus said “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better than they ever dreamed of,” John 10:10 (MSG).  Whether you are spiritually seeking, a new follower of Christ, or you want to grow deeper in love with Jesus, this book will encourage you to live your life all for Jesus by helping you understand that God loves you personally.

In any given week I travel hundreds of miles for ministry engagements along with all the trips to the airport. This results in weekly stops to refuel my car at the gas station.  In applying this to ministry life I realize that I need to refuel my soul daily with the Lord. I love the verse from Psalm 27:8 where the Lord gives us an invitation to intimacy. “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord I am coming.’” Doesn’t that sound good?!  Friends, I want to encourage you to pull into God’s soul refueling station and be refreshed as you spend time with Him. As you refuel your soul by spending time in the Word and prayer I believe the Lord will refresh your heart and give you the strength to stand strong for Him.

Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll says it well about the importance of refreshing your soul with the Lord. “An inner restlessness grows within us when we refuse to get alone and examine our hearts, including our motives.  As our lives begin to pick up the debris that accompanies a lot of activities and involvements, we can train ourselves to go right on, to stay active, to be busy in the Lord’s work.  Unless we discipline ourselves to pull back, to get alone for the hard work of self-examination in times of solitude, serenity will only remain a distant dream.”

Just as we take our cars to the gas station to be refueled so too spiritually we need to “fill up” by being with the Lord. My prayer for you is to strive daily to “be still and know that He is God.” I firmly believe that in order for us to minister effectively to others we first must be ministered to by the Lord.  Pull in to God’s refueling station today…you won’t regret it!

The Bible tells us in Acts one : eight “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

God wants you to be mission minded in your mission field.  You can impact lives for Christ in your sphere of influence.  This sphere is your home, neighborhood where you live, your school, or place of work.  The bottom line is God wants you to live a life that is contagious for Christ.  A recent survey from George Barna revealed that the average pre-Christian said they would go to a Christian event if their Christian friend invited them.

On average most people attend church twice a year during Christmas and Easter.  Do you know what next weekend is?  Easter!  Can you think of a better way to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus than bringing a friend to meet Him!

Today pray and ask God for an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus and invite them to an Easter service at your church..  I firmly believe that when you give God an open heart He will give an open door to tell someone about Him.

May God use you today to tell someone about His Son Jesus Christ! “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believer in Me will live, even though He dies” (John 11:25).