Recently I have been in a battle with the devil and the devil is a liar. Anyone that has a big goal in their sights whether it be a promotion, vacation, graduation, mission trip whatever it may be you will be dragged out into the desert to meet the devil. It may not last a full 40 days of temptation as it did for Jesus. I bet it will start around the 40 day mark before your goal though. The devil will use every tool he can to stop you from reaching your goal, after all the devil is a liar. Back in the end of March and early April the devil and I danced a few rounds before my graduation in May. He got in my head and fed me lies I had heard before. I was weak and almost fell to his ploy. In my last semester of college I was ready to quit. I was convinced that the words I had heard most my life were true. “I was not good enough“, “I never will finish” or “amount to anything“. It took other prayer warriors to fight with me to battle off the lies. I was prayed for and prayed over, yet he still kept coming. It was not until I sent him packing that he left me be… for a time. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because […]

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Sometimes the most intimate of venues carry the most impact and heart.

Last night I had the honor to attend a Music for Missions event supporting theVine.co. Being a supporter of theVine.co for a while now (written about them a couple of times now) I know the heart of its founders Rick and Samantha.

The mission of the Vine.co is to help Mission Teams raise money for Mission Trips to help spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and minister to those in need all around the world.

Music for Missions is one vessel that Rick and Samantha use to be able to fund the mission they have started in Canaan, Haiti. Rick spends hours and hours late at night scouring the internet for artist that have a similar heart for Christ and his people.

On this night we had the opportunity to spend an evening with a few dozen guests listening to the music and testimony of Chris August. I personally have been a fan of Chris’ for many many years. Chris is one of those artists that is not afraid to admit his flaws and uses his own mistakes and acceptance of God’s grace as his testimony.

Local artist Keira Mackenzie from FaithbridgeChurch in Jacksonville opened up the evening with her fresh raw talent. If you have a chance to hear her sing she has quite a future ahead or her.

Then there was a group that came all the way from Ireland based in Nashville, called We Are Messengers, in which the lead singer Darren Mulligan did an acoustic set. I cannot wait for their album to drop in November and see them out on the WinterJam tour this year.

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What does live music, hot dogs, blistering sun and church families coming together all have in common? Community.

This past weekend we had the opportunity to hang out with some new brothers and sisters. We met some great people with fantastic hearts of service at FaithBridge Church on the other side of town. We witnessed the passion and true servants that the church had to offer. Not only that church but their neighboring church had recently come together to serve the community as one body.
FaithBridge opened up the doors of the church and welcomed the community to join them in a free block party. The block party consisted of jump houses for the kids, hot dogs and side dishes galore along with a array of tasty treats. Following dinner the FaithBridge worship band opened up the night for a free concert starring Shawn McDonald.

One of the missions that is near and dear to FaithBridge Church is the country of Haiti. Haiti is a country that many know has been ravaged by poverty, natural disasters and crime. Many people know their plight yet stand by and don’t take action. FaithBridge member Rick Reed and his wife along with many others from the FaithBridge community could not just stand by. After spending time in Haiti on mission trips they decided they would be the hands and feet of Christ in the form of The Vine.co.

The Vine.co is an organization that won’t let the children of Haiti go unnoticed. The founders Rick and Samantha Reed

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