Glory to Jesus! Some of you have already read this blog post in the form of a ministry newsletter I sent to subscribers a week or so ago. The reason I’m reprinting it here is because I’ve rarely received such a strong response from a newsletter before – and I’ve been writing them for 10 years now!
But by people’s responses, it was obvious that I’d hit on something important – something that tapped into the yearning of so many for the fullness of Jesus in their lives. And so the reprinting here for you who don’t receive these newsletters. (Speaking of which, if you’d like to subscribe, just email us at info@newjesusmovie.com- the newsletters cover the entire gambit of what we do here at Marchiano Ministries, including Jesus… No Greater Love).
May I also quickly say that I’ve been pouring over your responses to my blog of several weeks ago, asking for comments from those who haven’t yet become Producers, telling me what holds them back. Interestingly, most of the emails we rec’d were from bros/sis’s who are Producers – saying why they hesitated initially, and why they decided to “get over it.”
I am very thankful to you who took the time to respond, and I’ll address those responses in an upcoming blog. But first, here comes Pray As If You’re Dangling From a Cliff...
It’s a line I heard on a CD last weekend. Someone had sent me this CD a long while back, but I’d never plugged it in – until just the right time, which was last weekend, in God’s wondrous ways and timing…
It was a live worship CD, from a church in Florida that was really “going for it” for a season of time with consecutive services night after night… The worship leader mentions on the CD that this was their 32nd night in a row – glory to Jesus!
But it wasn’t the music that caught my attention and caused me to listen to it over and over on a three hour drive. It was the worship leader’s words and impassioned call to the people. I was totally taken in and re-inspired, ignited unto (and this is the key) desperation for Jesus.
Off the top of my head, he said things like, “Cry out to God for all of God! Just decide here and now that you’re not going to leave this place tonight until he’s changed you; that you’re going to do whatever it takes – give up anything, do anything, walk away from anything… to gain him and all he has for you, to be set completely free!”
“We don’t need another song – we need WORSHIP! It’s not about a song – it’s about you crying out to him and laying everything down for him – that’s what worship is!” “Don’t come here hoping for someone to pray for you – you cry out to God for your own life, rend your heart before him!”
It was so extreme, on the edge, so “non-church” and probably uncomfortable for many folks. In fact one line I remember was, “We’re a generation wanting authentic God. We’re tired of doing church, of lukewarm service tradition, of leaders operating without power. We want JESUUUUUUUUUS!!!! I just kept thinking as I listened over and over, “This is right. This is where we need to be.” Glory to Jesus!
In my last newsletter I spoke about this being The Year of Progress, and how praying is the key to all progress. As true as that is, I’ve come to discover that there is a huge difference between “just praying” (which is fine and good), and “the prayer that affects change!” Glory to Jesus!
I think I mentioned before about how I often tend to pray “until I feel good.” But you know what I’ve come to realize? It’s not about me feeling good – and feeling good doesn’t progress me anywhere – doesn’t get me where I need to go.
It’s the prayer that affects change that gets me somewhere – and that is the prayer of desperation – of refusing to leave until something has changed, of crying out as if you’re dangling from a cliff, of rending your heart and saying both to God and yourself, “No more of this same old, same old! No more of this issue that has been hounding me forever! No more of a day turning into a year turning into many years! I NEED YOU TO DO SOMETHING, JESUS!!!! KING JESUS!!!!!
I began 2010 with these kinds of things brewing inside me. I’ve been crying out to Jesus like never before. I’ve been being intentional (a huge thing) about gathering people for prayer/intercession. I’ve been forcing time to pray, pray, pray – insisting on the truth that I get more accomplished on my knees than anywhere else.
And you know what – I’ve seen more progress in the past few weeks than in the past two years. If you knew my complete picture, you would know what I mean. And I tell you, it is glorious!
May I announce that we are finally, completely “out of the woods” with regard to Marchiano Ministries being the license holder for MATTHEW distribution in the USA. This has been a long-standing battle of several years – those of you who have walked with us for a while know that. At every turn there was hindrance, complication, hold-backs… But in the last couple weeks we made more progress than in the past year, and it all came together. We are now officially 100% off to the races, glory to Jesus!
I can also tell you that JESUS NGL is moving with new life. Take a look at the website if you haven’t in a while – you’ll see “producers” from all over the world gathering to make this happen. You’ll see companies and ministries sponsoring and coming alongside. Take a look at NewJesusMovie Facebook page, you’ll see fresh interaction, storyboards of the Nicodemus sequence, our “fan numbers” climbing every day.
This week we’ve received emails from Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, South Korea – and a 20 Euro donation from Finland! We had visitors to our website from 55 different countries from Malaysia to Bolivia to Iraq and Israel. Progress, progress, progress… PRAISE TO JESUS!
I say all this to inspire you, to ignite you unto desperation in your own life – desperation for Jesus! I know that probably most of us have places in our lives that have just rolled on from one year to the next – habits, weights, issues, complications – things that are less than God’s best and all he’s promised.
May I strongly encourage you unto “the prayer that affects change.” May I strongly invite you to “pray as if you’re dangling from a cliff.” And then “stand back, and watch, and be utterly amazed” at all our glorious Father can do! Glory to Jesus!
Be encouraged this coming week, my MarchMin friend. There IS victory! And that victory is sealed on our knees. Glory to Jesus!
Please continue to pray for JESUS NGL. This year is going to be a marathon at sprint pace. Again, I am COMMITTED to going into prod’n this time next year. The issue right now is this – for whatever reason, we have many people come to the site but only a fraction take the time to donate their $10. It makes me think of Jesus’ words, “Many are called but few are chosen.”
Let us get on our knees and cry out to the Lord that all would ”choose themselves to be chosen,” because that is the singular way the Lord is going to do this – this is the singular key to JESUS NGL happening - this alone will accomplish this kingdom task.
At the same time, be assured that I’m “going for it.” My work days are double digits long, every day. And I am undaunted. We WILL see this through – together with you.
God bless you! You are a blessing! Enjoy your coming week! Thank you SO much! Glory to Jesus!
Bruce Marchiano
