May 2016

Jerry Lenz / Mighty Sound Kids / May 26, 2016

Our Heavenly Father delights in us in remarkable ways. He brings us to a deeper faith with some very simple experiences and this story is one of my favorite “little things that God has done for me,” accounts that are a vital part of my testimony.

One of the gifts I received at The Church On The Way (Van Nuys, CA) was learning the dynamics of prayer and having intimate conversations with God where we pour out our hearts in thanksgiving. I will never forget the day I had my face buried in the carpet as I was recounting things I was thankful for and now with a growing maturity in the Lord, I was retracing some of my life and was recalling experiences I had as a boy as our family attended Aldersgate Methodist church in St Louis Park, Minnesota. A lot of it was very mechanical. I learned about God from a distance but did not have a personal relationship with the Lord. However, there was one person that really touched me. I remembered his name, Bob Green and I thanked God for him and his ministry to the youth group.

Bob would bring his guitar and he sang folks songs for our youth group. I am certain that some of the songs were about the Lord, but I can’t give you a set list. The songs are not the important part anyway. This is about Bob and his heart. Love came from this man’s soul. He touched me and I was always happy when he was leading us. It is important to note that Bob was blind because as a young teen I was seeing how people overcome disabilities to give and minister to others. This was the truest sense of ministry that I can remember at Aldersgate and it was what I was thanking the Lord for in my time of prayer that day in Van Nuys.

I recall that as I was thanking God that I also prayed for Bob Green, hoping that he was in a good church where his gifts were being used and continuing his ministry. That is it. A simple time of prayer that God would use in my life.

Fast forward a handful of years to the fall of 1992. I was in Minnesota and dating Teresa. Our church, Living Word, was having a carnival at their elementary school. Teresa and I were taking her son Anthony to the carnival and my niece, Megan Lenz, was joining us. Megan and Anthony had a good time together as did Teresa and I. There were lots of games and activities. We were going from room to room to discover all that the carnival had to offer.

In one of the rooms a man had set up a braille typewriter and was typing the kid’s names in braille as a memento. We entered the room and as we watched the man typing I was overwhelmed on the inside while trying to remain calm on the outside. I was silently talking to the Lord, asking, “could this possibly be Bob Green?” Adding a few years to his appearance, it sure seemed like it. Then he spoke and I knew that voice. I couldn’t contain myself asking, “excuse me, are you Bob Green?” “Yes,” he replied. Now I am pressing in for further verification. “Did you attend Aldersgate Methodist Church?” I asked. Bob smiled and said, “yes!” I was blown away alternating between thanking God, trying to remain calm and being absolutely delighted. I was able to thank Bob Green for his ministry and express my appreciation to him, now, many years later. He had his big loving smile and I had mine.

I can surely see how for some, that this is a nice coincidence. Not for me. The testimony of my life has big handprints of God all over it. God helped me see a blind man, Bob Green—again! Those are the facts and I am grateful to God. I am thankful that He uses little things to help us grow in faith. I share this story to encourage others to share the many little testimonies I believe we all experience.

Jerry Lenz / Lenz Entertainment Group May 25, 2016

You and I are wonderfully made and we were “knitted together” in our mother’s wombs by the Creator of all creation. You can find accounts of His handiwork in several Bible verses and the most widely used is Psalm 139:13 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (NIV)*.

Over the course of my lifetime I have seen science advance in its never-ending quest to catch up with God, as revealed in His Word—science might not see it that way, but I sure do. I enjoy David’s worship in the Psalms and his thankfulness and gratefulness to God for personally knitting him together in his mother’s womb. Understanding that you are wonderfully made and can have a personal relationship with your Creator is amazingly awesome and real. The personal knowledge of Psalm 139:13 has ministered to me and encouraged me often over the years.

epcot-wonders_of_life Then one day in the late 1990s it hit me. It hit me like a thunderbolt. Although I was with my family at EPCOT, for whatever reason I was standing all by myself. I glanced over at the Wonders of Life pavilion (no longer open) and looked at the huge metal artwork in front of the pavilion. I took a long hard stare. The metal artwork was twisted to form a large strand of DNA. (Cue the thunderbolt here). When you “open” the strand of DNA is looks like you are opening a strand of yarn (thunderbolt at full power here). I looked at it all anew, “you knit me together in my mother’s womb…my DNA is knit together by the Creator of all creation!

knitting-dna Nice going science! DNA makes us each unique, 100% original and we can see our knitting. You really are a wonderful ball of yarn. Fearfully and wonderfully made. It sure beats being a slimeball created out of the goo.