Local FP Communities

When I was growing up, kids helped out around the house. Imagine that. We mowed the yard, raked leaves, washed dishes, folded laundry, picked up our rooms, took out the trash, swept floors and fed the pets just to name a few. I didn’t exactly look forward to it, but I did it. And honestly, it felt good, like I had done something productive, even noble.

But there was one job I absolutely despised. Stirring. I would be walking through the kitchen on my way outside to play and my mom would stop me and ask me to stir something while she worked on other parts of the meal. It was miserable, first because it required me to stand still and second because there was no clear sign, to me anyway, of when this torture would end. Just stand there, in one spot, and swirl this stuff around until you collapse or Jesus comes back. I think they even named a mental illness after it, stir crazy.

And then I came across this verse a few days ago.

“And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God.”

God stirs! It might sound strange, but this came as a great relief to me because I have felt the entire weight of “stirring up” people and for keeping them stirred up. Honestly, sometimes it can be frustrating and even exhausting. But it can also be very rewarding when you see others get motivated and take ownership of their role. Hebrews 10:24 says we should consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. And I will continue to do so. But now, I add a prayer to my stirring efforts. “Holy Spirit, will YOU stir up people for this work?” You see, God can stir people in ways that I cannot. So I ask Him. It’s all through your Bible. God stirs people up for things.

Is He stirring you? I pray He is.

If so, contact me or the Area Coordinator for your county and ask how you can partner. Or to find out how to become a financial partner just click on the link below.

Blessings!

David North
District Director NE Tennessee

We often use a football game as analogy for how First Priority is intended to work, with the Students Leaders being compared to the players on the field, adult volunteers as the Coaches for the clubs and the Faculty Sponsors as the referees. But what students face in their schools every day is not a game on an athletic field is it? It is spiritual warfare on a battlefield. And there is more at stake here than bragging rights and a pendant. We aren’t even two months into the school year and I have already heard multiple reports of students who gave up hope and ended their lives.

In the middle of all of this parents and students are making decisions about how they are going to deal with what is unfolding around them. Fight or Flight. These are the ONLY two options. Some parents make the hard decision to pull their kids from the public system and either home school or send them to a private school. But to the ones who feel called to stay I say take the fight to the enemy.

Reminds me of some lines from the movie “Lord Of The Rings”.

Aragorn to King Theoden upon learning that the enemy was just a days march away. “Ride out and meet them in battle!”

Theoden: “I will not risk open war.”

Aragorn: “Open war is upon you wether you would risk it or not.”

Fear and complacency keep many from engaging. But don’t be fooled, your Enemy knows where the battle is and is ALL IN.

Students are the ones who have the strategic position in the schools. They have a word of HOPE that their friends need and the freedom, for now, to share it. So Take Ground!

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”
~2 Corinthians 10:3-4.

First Priority is opening multiple new fronts in this battle in several counties this Fall, with new clubs planning launches in Washington Co., Sevier Co., Johnson Co., Hawkins Co., Greene Co., and Cocke County.

First Priority students have responded, with one Student Leader sharing the Hope of Christ with 80 students who attended their club. Another First Priority Club partnered with a church for a tailgate party at their school’s big rival game and one Student Leader shared the Good News about Jesus to crowd of around 100 bystanders.

Have you asked God if He wants you to get involved with First Priority? Pause today, take minute to get still and quiet and ask God if He wants you to support this work.

Let me know what He says…

David North
TN1 District Director

Have you ever used the expression “…on a wing and a prayer” ? Do you ever wonder how these idioms get started and go back to look them up. Well I did just that this morning.

Turns out the expression originated during World War ll from the film “The Flying Tigers”  when one of the pilots lost one wing of his plane and was attempting to land on “just a wing and a prayer”.

When God is building our faith, He often puts us in situations where our resources appear to fall well short of the need. But He typically doesn’t just say, “all right, out of the way, I’ll handle this.” No. He requires that we make use of the little we have and then pray for Him to miraculously stretch it to meet the present need. He seems to prefer to take the little we have and multiply it, instead of creating something from nothing. Why?

I think it is because God wants us to partner with Him, work together. He wants a relationship. If you look back on the creation account in Genesis, it seems this was the last time God made something out of nothing. Once man entered the scene, God began to enlist him in everything He wanted to do on this earth.

Adam had a garden to work, Noah an arc to build, Moses had a stick and Esther had influence. You might recall a young shepherd boy soon to be king whom you might say was, “livin’ on a sling and a prayer.”

Too often, we think like Andrew when he was faced with a hungry crowd of thousands. “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

We see our lack and assume God must not be asking anything of us. But that isn’t how God wants us to think. Quite often, the place of our insufficiency is exactly where God wants us to jump in.

Where do you feel you are already stretched too thin? Why not ask God if He wants to do something there. Is it time? Money? Maybe you think of yourself as the one talent guy in the parable. Here’s a tip. Don’t bury it!

Prayerfully consider if God is asking you to partner with Him in the work at First Priority. Good things continue to unfold! This school year we have seen over 150 decisions to follow Jesus!

So pick up your sling, give it a whirl, say a prayer and let’s see this GIANT of unbelief in our schools come tumbling down!

Sincerely,

David North