I’m No Moses“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now theearth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of thedeep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of thewater.” -- Genesis 1:1,2 -- I have often overlooked those first twoverses of the entire bible. When we talk about the creation we think
first of the six individual days in which God put together all theelements that he created in these first two verses. The thing that getsme is the last part of verse 2, “the spirit of God was hovering over thesurface of the water”. The power of that statement gained fullperspective for me one evening at sunset as I was leading a shortdevotional on the creation for a group of young boys and their fathers.
We were at a place called Lookout Point. When it is dark one canlook out over the seemingly barren landscape, read these two verses
and with closed eyes almost see the spirit of God hovering over thesurface. You can feel something. God has always been, and always
will be. It has been and always will be our mission to search him outfor ourselves and share him with others.
My wife served on a church committee with Dale Burnett, one of theboard members of a new non-profit organization called Outdoor
Christian Ministries (OCM). OCM tasked itself with the mission of
sharing the outdoors in a Christian atmosphere with people of allages and backgrounds. Dale was looking for some people to help. Mywife brought me the organization pamphlet. I believe she knew how I
would react! I made an inquiring phone call and could not volunteer
fast enough!
The Tierritas Blancas Ranch in the remote south Texas brush country
is the setting for the experience. Just driving in to the ranch one getsthe feeling of God’s majesty and power in such a remote location.
Luke 5:16 then tells us “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places andprayed”. Initially, this place feels lonely. Sometimes it is hard to hear
God amid all the noise and confusion of TV, cell phones, job, bosses,
social commitments, etc., etc., etc. and the list is never ending. We
need to get to a quiet lonely place to pray and let God speak to us!
That is the sanctuary I have found in this place. The “Spirit of God”

OCM September 2009 Newsletterreplaces that loneliness. I have been blessed as well as challenged
with bringing this experience to others by volunteering At OCM. My
biggest challenge is to communicate God’s majesty, God’ssovereignty, God’s grace, and the saving power of Jesus to those
who come to this place for a retreat. Wow! Why me Lord? I havenever done that before! How can I do that? To say I am humbled by
the confidence shown in me to complete this task would be anunderstatement. I consider Exodus 4:10 when Moses said “O Lord I
have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you havespoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord
follows in verse 12 by saying to Moses, “Now go; I will help you speak
and will teach you what to say”. He also reassures Moses that he will
have some help by way of Aaron his brother. Amen on the help! The
Lord does not care what your problems are he just says “Trust in me
and do it and I will help you”! God will give you what you need. We
need to listen to that still small voice that is God and accept thechallenges that he puts before us.
I am just a regular guy. I am certainly no Moses. I do know thishowever, in the three retreats and numerous work weekends I haveparticipated in as a guide, group leader, game cleaner, corn scatterer
and as a retreat participant, I have been continually amazed andblessed by the redeeming power of the “Spirit of God”. This ministry
filled a spiritual void in my life. Through that spirit that hovers in, overand around us when we are in this remote place, we are able to see
more clearly the issues in our lives that we need to let God have andtake action where God says act. I am grateful for the opportunity tohelp at OCM. It is allowing me to grow as a Christian and servant inGod’s Kingdom.
We are on this journey together. Let us retreat to that quiet lonely
place just as Jesus did and pray. Let us give God a chance to speak
to us without all the distractions that the modern world puts in front ofus. Come to “The Ranch” and retreat with us. God is there. I know. I
have seen him! Maybe not face to face like Moses, but if you look for
him you will see him too!
Blessings,Mike Schneider
OCM September 2009 Newsletter