July Ministry Minute!

A premature Happy Fourth of July to you!

Thanks again for your prayers in June. Here are a few things the Lord has been doing as a result of your faithful and effective praying! (James 5:16)

Praises:

• God has provided a new contact in Waverly who works at Wartburg & has a heart for missions and for making the Truth known there. Please pray for mutual encouragement and a sound relationship to form in the next month. (Ro. 15:5)
• He has been very kind in giving new financial partners to our growing ministry. (Phil. 4:19)
• Incoming Freshmen Orientation at UNI went very well! We now have a database of over 200 names to contact in the fall to get involved in our weekly bible studies and meetings! Pray that God would grab the heart of these students and they would use their college years to grow closer to God. (Hosea 10:12)
• Times with Brian have been a blessing. We have had multiple times this last month to meet and open the Word together. Pray for the book of James to bring conviction and encouragement to his (& our) faith. (Ro. 15:4)

Requests:

• Two different friends have given us the name of an incoming freshmen girl to Wartburg next year. Please pray for God's hand to work out a relationship for Angie & Brittany this September, if not sooner, that they may strive after the Living God. (1 Tim 4:10)
• Please pray for the Snow Mountain Ranch Summer Training Program in Colorado. Pray for the continued safety of fellow Nav Staff members the Brown's & the Nelson's. Please also lift up the students there that in the 5 weeks remaining God would set His Word in them & that it will make a mark on their lives that will last into eternity. (Jer. 20:9)
• As we continue raising our support, we have made steady gains in raising new support but have made slow headway with our pre-existing partners. That we may get to campus on time, please pray that God would stir in the hearts again of the people who gave a gift in 2006 and that He would lead them to respond to His call in a timely manner. (1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Cor. 9:7)
• For safe travel as we go to Ohio & Michigan this month from the 10th - 16th.

Our prayer for each of YOU in the month of July:

Col. 3:15-17

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

God Bless,

Ben & Angie Krueger

The Navigators Staff

319-481-0010

What's So Good About Marriage?

On my trip to Colorado a few weeks back I began reading Randy Newman's book "Questioning Evangelism". While teaching me ways to engage people's hearts much more conversationally, he covers topics that he has found common through over 20 years as a staff member of Campus Crusade. However, instead of giving you my synopsis, I'll save some time and direct you to an accurate review of this book.

From what I read today, a chapter entitled, "What's So Good About Marriage?" I found this paragraph worthy of passing on:

Marriage makes us better because it shows us how bad we are. Lifelong, unconditional commitment makes us more giving because it exposes how selfish we are. Loving someone who doesn't deserve love makes us more like the God who loved us "while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:8). Unlike any other tool, then, marriage drives home the two-pronged message of the gospel: that we are 'more wicked and sinful than we ever dared believe but, in Christ, we are more accepted and loved than we ever dared hope.' (Newman, p.186)

To read another excerpt from his book, try this link:
Randy Newman Excerpt

Or if you want to spend the $8 on a good book

June 07 Ministry Minute

Welcome to Summer!

We are eager to keep the ball rolling with our ministry as we transition from a time with students to getting all our ducks in a row for another year on campus. Here are the latest happenings for the last month and some things to pray for in June. Thanks for praying!

Praises:

• We have students staying in town for the summer that we will be able to continue investing in.
• I have been making new contacts with students that are here for the summer or will be returning to Wartburg in the fall! Please pray for Nate & David.
• Our support raising has gone well to date and we have enjoyed hearing how God has been working in lives all over the country. Thank God for new friends he has introduced us to in the last year. We are blessed!
  
• Caleb checked out well this week @ his 6 mo. appt. 28 1/2 " & 19' 6 oz.
  

Please pray for:

• God to provide our funds for next year by Aug. 18th. (If you want to keep track of how he is providing and the progress we're making, I've added a chart on the lower right hand side of our blog, benandangienavs.blogspot.com)
• God would continue his work in the hearts of students this summer while they are at home. Pray that his word would be like a fire burning inside them-- Jeremiah 20:9.
• A deeper dedication to his word and the forming of new habits to bring us closer to Him.
  
• Safety as we travel this month
• Incoming freshmen at UNI. This month incoming freshmen begin orientation and it is our first chance to make contacts with them and recruit for the fall!

New Attitude

Hey! I'm currently listening to Eric Simmons' message entitled 'Discern the Graymatters' from the New Attitude Conference in Louisville this May. Check it out to hear why in life there is no such thing as "gray". It's some GOOOOD stuff so I just want to pass along the link where you can get ALL of the messages from the whole conference for free! If you get some time there are also messages from CJ Mahaney, Josh Harris, Mark Dever, Al Mohler & John Piper.

Here's a video from someone who was at the conference this last weekend on YouTube.


Oh and while I've got your attention...

Greetings From the Glen!

Hello from Colorado Springs, CO!

This past week I've had the opportunity to get together with other EDGEcorps staffers from across the country for a time of relaxation, refreshment, training & fun. While Caleb & Mom were still at home for the week, I thought it'd be good to share some of the highlights from the week here.

First off these summits are quite the priviledge as we get to hear first hand about what God is doing all across the country at campuses big (everyone else's) & small (ours!). My soul has been deeply encouraged to hear of the work God is doing at The University of Cincinnati through Rich. The last year, Rich had 30 guys come to a small group bible study the first week of school; from those 30, 8 agreed to deeply, intentionally & sacrificially pursue Christ with their whole being. To hear Rich talk of the years' worth of maturation he has seen in each individual in only a few months is a great testament to what God will do when we pursue Him with all of our heart (Deut 6). This doesn't even begin to touch on what He's been doing through Michelle @ ASU, Brandon & Katie @ NDSU, Luke @ ISU, and Mikey @ UCLA.

How fantastic that God not only gave His son to absolve us of His wrath but on top of that He showers and pours blessings upon blessings that we may have even just a smidgen of a role in His eternal plans. We were enemies and now we're his instruments? Talk about a role reversal.

As for the real meat of our time here at The Glen, we've been treated to workshops on the following topics and maybe in time I'll put notes up as a seperate post:

• God's Heart For the World
• A Men's Lunch on Husbandry
• Spiritual Multiplication
• The Navs' Metro Mission
• Authority of Scripture
• Discipleship (A highlight: "God doesn't show up when I enter a room [to meet with a student]. God is ALWAYS at work right where you are [& aren't]" -Roger Hamilton)
• What Is Personal Character? (Prov. 16:13)
• Fundraising/Ministry Building

However, out of all that I've seen, heard & learned this morning had to be one of the top highlights; Jerry Bridges gave the morning devotion. His topic, "The Love Of God". It didn't go unnoticed by me that one of the most theologically astute people on the planet chose a title so commonplace. Makes me think that there is something worth re-evaluating in the "basics".

Jerry's passage for the day was Genesis 22. In this chapter Abraham is commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac-- only God stops him just before the moment of truth. How much of a relief must it have been for Abraham to be able to spare his only son from certain death? How much moreso when you consider that Abraham had been promised by God that he was going to be the father of a mighty nation and that Isaac was his only shot at seeing that promised fulfilled? How much moreso when you remember that Abraham was pushing 100 and had been longing for his heir for decades?

In this story, Mr. Bridges pointed our 3 similarities between Isaac & Jesus.

1. Isaac & Jesus were only sons.
2. Both were loved by their fathers. Abe - Isaac, God - Jesus.
3. Isaac was named by God, as was Jesus.

However there is one big difference:

Romans 8:32, "He who did not spare His own son, but gave him up for us all..."

Jesus was not spared, Isaac was. This fact should not be taken lightly. God doesn't even spare angels when they sin (2 Pete 2) nor his Son (Ro 8:32, above). God deliberately delivered Jesus to crucify Him. God allowed Judas to go the way of his natural sinful self & Judas "took the money and ran" betraying the Christ. Jesus was not spared, I was.

To illustrate the measure to which God loves us Jerry told this story:

In the mountains of India a tourist bus was winding through a mountainous roadway allowing its' passengers to soak up all the native scenery. Upon the descent down the mountain the local driver the bus notices a problem- the brakes had failed. Having an entire bus load full of strangers only wanting a serene experience, he skillfully navigates the vehicle down the one way road. Twisting and turning down the mountain the driver picks up speed and heads towards the bridge over the river into a local village. As they approach the bridge the driver notices a small girl playing on the road blocking the bridge. Faced with a decision to ditch the bus in the river and lose his passengers or plow on through the girl and over the bridge the driver drives on. Steamrolling closer and closer the driver continues on the road over the bridge and the bus slows to a stop in the village, horrifically taking the girl's life in the process. After having witnessed the event the passengers grew indignant at the driver.

"How could you so coldheartedly take the life of this innocent girl?" they scoffed. "What is the matter with you that you could snuff out her life so blatantly?"

"This is my village" the driver humbly replied, "and that was my daughter."

1 John 3:1 "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! "