God Moving in the Hearts of His People

By Mark Ruggerio     

Imagine if you will, it is the start of winter here in Maine. You go into your basement for something and

find water on the floor. Looking more closely, it is evident that the water is leaking out of the boiler. Our

heating repairman informs us that there is a crack in the cast iron. After trying some stopgap measures, it becomes obvious that this over forty-year-old system needed to be replaced. The cost of the system was beyond what the church had, and we knew there was already a broken underground water line on the property that needed to be replaced/fixed when the ground thawed.

As a congregation we brought this to the Lord. We had checked into a loan from the bank, but with our congregation size and some recent requirements on loans, a loan was not a good option. So the people voted to replace the system and were going to trust the Lord to provide. Along with this, the congregation was blessed by the fact that Church Planters to America had chosen to assist in this endeavor by putting out an appeal for the needed funds.

Very quickly the Lord burdened many people’s hearts to respond to this need. Between people in the congregation and those who learned of the appeal, the cost of the heating system (minus a chimney lining that will be done in the spring) was raised before the work was even completed here at the house.

 I know I should not be amazed, our God can do anything, but I am. I am truly humbled by what transpired. We have scriptures like Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” So why am I amazed when the Lord does exactly what He says He will do?  I am right there with the apostles when they say to Jesus in Luke 17:5 “Lord, Increase our faith.”

Jesus goes on immediately in that passage to talk about the faith of the mustard seed. Imagine what would happen in our world and for the Kingdom if we had the faith of a mustard seed!

On behalf of everyone at Emmanuel, I am so thankful for everyone who prayed for and or donated to this need. We are also grateful to both our installer and his supplier who were more than gracious in their pricing. We serve a great God and Father!

See photos on page 2

Emmanuel Baptist Church

Belfast, Maine