Dear Partners in Ministry,

My oldest son, Steve, and I left Sept. 25th to attend Promise Keepers-Denver and plan to backpack afterward for 2 nights. Pray for our conversations as father and son, receptivity as I share with him, safety and for Steve's follow through on his desire to study God's word more diligently. Pray for God's direction as Steve has a desire to learn Spanish in a foreign country for ministry opportunities. This is a critical time in his life.

Karen just got home after spending five days in Des Moines helping my mom recover after total hip surgery. She did a variety of tasks around her condo.

Update on Ministry

I continue to serve as a volunteer season of life leader for parents of adolescents at Lincoln Berean in addition to discipling men and developing the "Journey to Make God's Story Ours". I am leading a group of four guys through the second module: Romans: Understanding Faith.

Daily Bible Reading Program: Example from Day 31

This reading is taken from Genesis 39-40; 1 Samuel 2:11-36; Psalms 68-69; Mark 2.

Genesis 39-40

The Lord was with Joseph and prospered in Potiphar's house as a steward (Gen. 39:2-4). Joseph thrown into prison after Potiphar’s wife accused him of sexual immorality (Gen. 39:17-20). Joseph found himself in prison and since the Lord was with him, he became as a steward in charge of prisoners (Gen. 39:21-23). The cupbearer to Pharaoh forgot to put in a good word for Joseph after he correctly interpreted two dreams (Gen. 40:14,16,23).

1. Share how your success is due to God being with you.

1 Samuel 2:11-36

Eli's sons did not know the Lord as they did not honor God with proper sacrifice (1 Sam. 2:12,17). They despised God's proper sacrifice by taking more than the allotted portion and taking the meat before the fat had been burned.

Samuel ministered before the Lord and grew spiritually in God's presence (1 Sam. 2:18,21). Because Eli's sons committed immorality and despised the sacrifice, it was God's will to put them to death and cut short Eli's dynasty of priests (1 Sam. 2:22,25,31-34).

2. How are you like Eli's sons? How are you like Samuel?

Psalms 68-69

God daily bears our burdens and provides escapes from death (Psalm 68:19-20). God is awesome in His sanctuary and gives power and strength to His people (Psalm 68:35). Enemies are spreading false accusations, but endure scorn for your sake (Psalm 69:4,7). Zeal for your house consumes me and they gave me vinegar for my thirst (Psalm 69:9,21). Lord hears the needy and will rebuild the cities of Judah so those who love His name can possess, inherit and dwell there (Psalm 69:33-36).

3. What burden do you want God to carry? Appropriate God's power and strength right now.

4. Have you ever been consumed with zeal for God's kingdom? Why or why not?

Mark 2

Christ healed paralytic after being lowered in front of Him to prove He has authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:3-5,8-10). Jesus ate with sinners in Levi's house to show He came to call sinners, not the righteous (Mark 2:15-17). Pour new wine in new wineskins, not new wine in old wineskins (Mark 2:21-22). Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).

5. Is there someone you know who needs to be lowered in front of Jesus to be healed from their spiritual paralysis?

Example Summary:

Zeal for God’s kingdom begins as we are aware of His presence in our lives like Joseph. We endure persecution, false accusations and scorn so God can exalt us at the proper time. Spiritual growth occurs as we minister and honor God like Samuel. We experience God as a daily burden bearer. We do not hold onto His presence and power selfishly, but use our zeal to build His kingdom. An illustration of zealous individuals is the four individuals who took great effort and planning to lower the paralytic through the roof in front of Christ so he could be healed. Jesus ate with sinners in Levi's house.

Example Application: Invite neighbors to our house for a potluck

If you are interested in going through this daily reading, send email to me at pomeroy@realmen.org.

Prayer Requests:

· Discipling several new believers, Darin and Mark, using the second module of the Guide: Romans: Understanding Faith.

· God provide individuals with writing, editing and computer layout gifts to help in the development of the Guide.

· I am pursuing Berean and several other pastoral opportunities in varying stages of progress.

· Our children, Steve, Aaron and Tim, experience Eph. 3:16-21. Steve is asking for direction of what to do this winter. Aaron as he balances work and studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln while he lives at home. Tim as he started high school this fall.

· God continue to meet our financial needs.

Over the last several months, I have developed a relationship with a Christian media firm that specializes in strategic planning and taking an idea and marketing it for Christian organizations of all sizes. They believe the Guide has great potential and have given me a proposal. After being honest with them and sharing the above information in this email, they strongly encouraged me that I find a larger organization as a strategic partner with a similar passion and align myself with them.

In working with this strategic partner, I would create the original content and they would have the resources to refine, expand and market it. A mission organization might be the ideal vehicle to do this, Envoy said, rather than a church because of the greater reach for an organization. Please pray about this. You may have some thoughts too.