Jesus, Lover of my Soul

Praise be to God for what He is doing here in Montreal. Thanks be to the people of my church and all the prayer warriors that are praying for this ministry. Thanks to my Dad, my sister, Geoff, Pastor Josh, Pastor Mark, Elaine, Becky and Anne-Marie for ministering this week here in Montreal.
The more and more that I have the privilege of sharing Jesus, the more I`m finding that He truly is the lover of my soul. This morning, my friend Josh played this sweet hymn of truth. That Jesus really is the lover of our souls. He has shown Himself to be that to of people this week as well.
It was interesting having a team from my church here. It was so encouraging for me to be around people that I love and people that love me and know me and there is a certain familiarity to it all. Yet at the same time, I want to hang out with them so much, that I became absolutely exhausted. This afternoon, I was more tired than I have been in such a long time. But God was good all week.
On Friday night, we got to see two people make decisions for Christ! Praise be to God for Crystelle and Chevik, and that He has claimed them as his own children. There were so many conversations that got to happen as well. This team from my church really stepped out in faith and relied on God and for His words and His strength and for His boldness. It was quite incredible to watch certain people on the team that I thought would have a really hard time speaking on the streets, actually have very meaningful conversations and be extremely effective in their outreach.
Saturday afternoon we weren`t quite sure what to do, but I really thought that we should go out and just have conversations with people on the street without the sketchboard. My dad and Tony got the opportunity to lead a guy to Jesus that afternoon as they were "randomly" talking with people. But God isn't a God of randomness - but sometimes it seems that way to us because there is no human explanation behind it all. We all had great conversations during this afternoon session and it stretched people to approach others with the gospel. My pastor, Mark and I had a great conversation with a couple. As we approached this guy Frank, he claimed to be an atheist, but understood that he needed to really think more about Jesus and who He was - and he claimed no such thing as atheist at the end of the conversation. I think Atheism means laziness to think about the amazement of God and His revelations. Great afternoon.
Saturday night, we set up in the middle of the blocked off area for one of the gay festivals. After I preached the first message, there was a complaint made and the police got involved. We ended up having to move out of the area, but Tony refused to leave without a ticket, so that he could take it to city hall and have the whole thing resolved because it is unconstitutional what was being done. So, after a long period of talking, we ended up moving down the street. Where we ended up was not where we wanted to be, but nonetheless, we ministered. And God was faithful. There was a muslim man that accepted Jesus after hearing a message on who Jesus really was and claimed to be. Praise the Lord that He is faithful to Himself and to His purpose and His plan - despite how we think things are being done or happening. All glory to Him!
Sunday morning - I had to get up early and preach. How hard it is to minister while being exhausted, but God is so good - and He allows us to be strengthened. After preaching, I am so critical of myself, but I must trust that the words that went out will be used by God and encourage, strenthen and edify the believers. I had the privilege of having my dad, my sister and my friend Geoff there as well.
I praise the Lord for this past week. Today, after I got home, I took a 5 hour nap!!!! And now I feel so refreshed! The Lord is good, and He is so worthy of our praise. He is the lover of our soul, and He is seeking more to Himself everyday. May we count everything as loss in view of the surpassing Value of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord! Nothing compares! 5 souls have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Praise be to Him for all that He is doing.

Weak. But Strong.
Dwight