"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and life to the fullest." -John 10:10
Jesus is really clear with us about the intentions of the enemy. The enemy wants to weasel his way in our lives and ultimately destroy us so that He can prevent what God is doing in and through us.
This month in Nepal the enemy did just what God said he would do by attempting to use a disagreement among our team to breed disunity and distrust. Because of Jesus I can claim the fact that not only did the enemy fail, but God used what the enemy intended for bad to produce something great.
Its month four on the race and as a team we have gotten used to saying goodbye to many luxuries of our American culture. We traded our beds for sleeping pads, our air condition for lots of sweat, our alone time for constant community, and our normal diet for the foreign menu that our loving hosts provide for us.
But one thing that many of our team members weren't willing to compromise on was the quality and taste of our water. As some of our team took the first sip of Nepali water we struggled to get it down. It was thick, and it tasted way too much like milk even though it was boiled and filtered twice by our servant-hearted hosts.
So we came to a point as a team where we disagreed on what the procedure should be. Should buying bottled water from the local "store" come from our team budget, or because the water wasn't making us sick, should it be personal money because it was an issue of preference?
We went back and forth and never came to an agreement as a team. Hard conversations were had and we ultimately just agreed to disagree.
Those of us that couldn't handle the water provided went to get bottled water from one local "store" and very quickly became friends with the owner and his family. Then one day Jesus spoke to one of our team mates and said, "This is why you're not drinking the water. I used the water to bring you here to this man."
The owner of the store got used to us coming twice a day to get fourteen 1 liter bottles of water. He knew we would be coming and since he was the only store with a fridge he knew that what initially drew us to him was the fact that we could get cold water to help with the heat of southern Nepal. So twice a day we would visit him and fervently enjoy the cold, good-tasting water.
We had continual conversations with him through broken English and we knew pretty quickly him and his family were Hindu. But we also knew that Jesus was drawing this man to himself and we were honored to be apart of that process.
One day his niece asked us if we prayed in church and we said yes, and then we asked her if she went to church. She said no because her father wouldn't let her. The next thing we know she is sharing that she was allowed to come to church on Christmas for the dancing and the games. We asked her what she liked about it and she said lots of dancing and games and talking about what Jesus Christ did in his life. We were astounded that Jesus had opened this door and we shared with her that Christmas was the celebration of Jesus's birth and that this month is April, where as Christians we celebrate Jesus's death and resurrection with a thing called Easter. Her eyes got big and we then asked her if we had games and dancing would she come. She said yes, and then told her uncle and he agreed to come to!
So on Saturday April 19th we are planning an Easter service where we will preach the gospel and share our testimonies as well as play games and dance! I rejoice in the fact that Jesus Christ uses things such as dancing and playing games to draw people to Himself and I am fervently praying and ask you to join me in prayer that this man and his family come to experience the presence and celebration of Jesus Christ!
This experience is the epitome of Romans 8:37-39 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. "
We are in a battle with the enemy and he tries to conquer us by separating us from the love of Jesus Christ. Thankfully Jesus tells us that we are conquerors in Him because NOTHING can separate us from his love. But, Jesus doesn't stop there; He tells us that we are MORE than conquerors in Jesus. This means that not only do we defeat the enemy; we make the enemy our slave by using what was intended to bring harm, to bring God glory.
Can I get a hallelujah!?! God can use anything, even attacks of the enemy to benefit those who love Him!
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"-Romans 8:28
The first step involved in this battle is to acknowledge the truth found in Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle s not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
If you are following Christ your battle isn't with people, your battle is with the enemy. Acknowledge each battle as such and then fight accordingly! Fight with the mentality that you are more than a conqueror in Christ and know that God can work ANYTHING together for your good if you are loving him and staying in step with His Holy Spirit. Don't let attacks of the enemy prevent you from embracing the life abundantly that Jesus promises and don't let the enemy stop you from bringing Abba the glory He deserves!
