We have so many exciting things to share with you—fasten your seat belt. I want to begin with a special invitation to our Colorado friends. Cindy and I will be in Colorado Springs from March 9-12. There are two special events I want you to note on your calendar. On Saturday, March 9th I will be speaking at the men’s breakfast for The Road Church. The following day I will also be bringing the message to the Sunday service at 10 AM. That Sunday will be my first time to publically thank all our Colorado friends who were praying for us in 2010 when Cindy was fighting for her life.
Most of you know the miracle story that unfolded. I will be sharing all that God did and what He taught us through that trying time. This message is especially important for anyone who may be struggling. Please try to come and let Cindy and I greet you. The Road Church @ Chapel Hill is our home church when we are in town. Pastor Steve Holt has become a dear friend and we are so grateful for this gracious opportunity. The address is 2025 Parliament Dr. Colorado Springs 80920. https://theroad.org
Our new year began with my taking the first part of January preparing for our upcoming ministry trips and closing out some important year-end administrative responsibilities. About mid month I felt the Lord calling me to get away for a time of prayer and fasting in order to get a fresh sense of His perspective for our future and finish writing my next book. A special couple, and close dear friends, offered to let me use their beautiful ranch home in Big Bear. I am writing this letter to you from this beautiful location with just a couple of days left. In all I will be here 7 full days and I am so excited to share what God is revealing. Here is a link to a Facebook Live video I posted today that you are going to want to watch. https://www.facebook.com/vince.dacchioli/videos/10215846835868226/
On my first day I had an intense time crying out to the Lord in prayer and then went right into working on ideas for the new book. I was thinking of rewriting my first book, Wired To Work, and bringing it up to date with a lot of new stuff. So, I just started working on some low hanging fruit like updating dates and times—putting in new info and even inserting a new foreword I received from Jack Hayford. The next morning in my emotional time again crying out to Him, He gave me a powerful word.
I did not want to meet you here for you to write your book…I wanted to MEET you here. This is about you and me and NOT your book. If you want to go to TASK and write, go ahead but it will only be as good as you can do it. I want you to do business with ME first.
That hit me like a ton of bricks. I am so stubborn—so prone to going right to task—sound familiar? I think most of us men are like that. This reminded me of another profound word He shared with me many years ago as I was seeking His perspective during a dry time. He said, Vince, you will never have a greater understanding of My perspective until you first experience a greater awareness of My presence.
I know this—I speak on it—why is it so hard to do? Well, it's the noise. The overactive mind, the never-ending twenty-four hour tabloid news cycles. Another devotional I read that day was talking about how dew cannot form unless there is absolute stillness. The dew is like the Holy Spirit. It comes to bring nourishment. But if you are not perfectly still He cannot do His work.
Needless to say, the Lord is giving me some important insights and I am so grateful He is being patient with me. I know that for this next season of my life that this is going to be critical. I know that I cannot do it without Him—we can do nothing apart from Him.
This morning Pastor Steve called me with something the Lord put on his heart to share. He said I need to pray Colossians 1:9-12 over myself understanding it in the context of John 15:1-5. In Colossians Paul is praying, For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
After reading that—this is now my prayer:
I ask you Lord to fill me with the knowledge of Your will through all the wisdom and understanding the spirit gives…
So that I might live a life worthy of You and please You in every way…
That I may bear fruit in every good work, growing in The knowledge of You…
That I may be strengthened with all power according to Your glorious might…
That I might receive great endurance and patience and give joyful thanks to You who has qualified me to share in the inheritance of your holy people…
I want to close by sharing with you now the context found in John 15:1-5:
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
There it was again—APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING!
My dear friends I hope these words have helped and blessed you. For me I am taking them as a new breakthrough and launch point for the wonderful new things God is going to do in us personally and through On Target Ministries in the months and year before us. Thank you so much for being part of this incredible journey.
Cindy and I want you to know how much we love and appreciate all of your prayers and financial support
Becoming all God intended,