Hey, my running-mate, Andrew, just posted this blog and I wanted to share it with you. It is an update on all the amazing stuff we've seen God do up here in Northern California for the past couple weeks. You guys stay blessed and can't wait to catch up in person when I make it back to Georgia.
JD and I have been put into and have put ourselves into many situations over the past month that I previously would have never thought I'd be in. I know I say this a lot, but I believe their is a direct correlation between "stepping out in faith" and seeing God show up in our lives. Christianity is not meant to be boring but actually quite the opposite, however we cannot sit back and expect things to just happen.
I realize that sharing the gospel of Jesus and praying for the sick is not exactly "the typical" for most people so I won't pretend so. Yet, I believe that most Christians lack a true identity of who Christ has made us to be here and now and what He has done for us already. The bible says that we, as believers, are the temple of the Holy Spirit! Basically Christ lives in us, so we don't lack anything and He will never leave us (meaning He is with us wherever we go). Their is nothing extra ANY of us need (because we Have God in us), except for an understanding of who we are in Christ! This also means that we don't need to go to a church building to meet/talk to/be used by God.
I've talked about this before, but this is basically where "month 12" has come into play. I believe the only thing missing are people willing to "go and try" not giving up just because we don't see anything. We are not called to walk by sight, but by faith. Jesus told us to preach the gospel, but He also told us to heal the sick everywhere we go. I'm still very much in process and more often than not don't SEE results, but below are two of many stories from the past 4 weeks of ways God has used two ordinary people willing to step out and say "yes."
Checking out some of the gigantic Redwood trees in Northern California
Testimony 1
JD and I decided to go to a local hospital in Oakland about a week ago. We didn't go inside of the hospital, but decided to stay outside where many of the smokers, patients, and family members would hang out as well as people waiting for the bus. After talking with many people I saw a black woman with a cane approaching me. We talked for a bit and then I asked her why she was limping and using a cane. She said she had stiffness in both her legs and was in pain. I asked if I could pray for her and she willingly said yes. So bending down and putting my hand on her foot I started to command the stiffness to leave her body and proclaim life and healing in Jesus name. She checked out her legs and immediately looked amazed that it was gone and she felt better. We prayed a second time anyways. By this point she was quite excited and started to open up about her life to us. She told us that she used to be a Christian 10 years ago and had two good friends that she used to go to church with, but had lost touch with one and the other had since passed away. We then parted ways and we laughed as she walked away forgetting her cane. I went back to talking with some other people and about an hour later I came across the same lady who had been healed of stiffness in her leg. She was quite ecstatic so I attempted to calm her down and figure out why. She said that right after talking with me she ran into her friend, the Christian friend of hers that she hadn't seen in 10 years and was able to reunite with her. God is good and His timing is impeccable!
JD playing "Ninja" with some of the local kids during an outreach in Santa Rosa, CA
Testimony 2
As I mentioned in my last blog, JD and I spent a day in Berkeley and were able to hang out with squatters, pot-smokers, and doubters, but while on the university campus we struck up a conversation with a young woman from Geneva, Switzerland. We asked her a couple questions about what she thought of Jesus and Christianity, but for the most part we just hung out and talked about life, not being on any time restraint or having any real agenda. After about 2 hours of talking we all 3 stood up to start walking (not really sure where). While walking we noticed a girl to the side of us being held up by two guys on both sides of her. She was limping and not really putting any pressure on one of her feet. JD walked up to her and asked her what happened. She said that she had just twisted it and thought it was sprained or broken. He then offered his "medical assistance" and leaned down to place his hands on her foot. He started his prayer by saying "In Jesus name", which caused the girl to fake knee him because she was upset that he was praying in Jesus name, but he boldly kept on praying without flinching. After praying he asked her how she felt and I seriously wish you all could have seen the look on her face as she was able to stand on her hurting foot again. She humbly admitted that it was surprisingly much better, but not perfect so JD prayed again. This time it got even better and she walked away on both of her feet feeling quite stunned at what had just happened (so much for needing faith to get healed). While it was awesome that the girl just got healed it was even more amazing to watch the reaction and change in demeanor of the Swiss girl…she had witnessed the whole thing. Without going into too much detail, we were able to spend the next 3 hours talking with the Swiss girl over pizza. She eagerly listened as we shared the gospel with her for the first time and had many questions to add. We walked her home that night and were able to mail a bible to her a couple days later believing that her life is going to take on a different direction.
Me, Swiss Girl (Mary), JD
Preaching the gospel, praying for the sick, and walking in the supernatural is NOT for an elite group of Christians, but for ALL believers! Jesus said, "the Kingdom of God is at Hand." It is supposed to be something tangible that we can touch and interact with. The Kingdom is within us…we just need to learn how to release it by trying!
Their is nothing holding us back except ourselves, so I will ask again, "Are you willing to look like a fool for Christ?"
Jose Coelho, our new Brazilian friend and host during our time in Santa Rosa
JD and I have been put into and have put ourselves into many situations over the past month that I previously would have never thought I'd be in. I know I say this a lot, but I believe their is a direct correlation between "stepping out in faith" and seeing God show up in our lives. Christianity is not meant to be boring but actually quite the opposite, however we cannot sit back and expect things to just happen.
I realize that sharing the gospel of Jesus and praying for the sick is not exactly "the typical" for most people so I won't pretend so. Yet, I believe that most Christians lack a true identity of who Christ has made us to be here and now and what He has done for us already. The bible says that we, as believers, are the temple of the Holy Spirit! Basically Christ lives in us, so we don't lack anything and He will never leave us (meaning He is with us wherever we go). Their is nothing extra ANY of us need (because we Have God in us), except for an understanding of who we are in Christ! This also means that we don't need to go to a church building to meet/talk to/be used by God.
I've talked about this before, but this is basically where "month 12" has come into play. I believe the only thing missing are people willing to "go and try" not giving up just because we don't see anything. We are not called to walk by sight, but by faith. Jesus told us to preach the gospel, but He also told us to heal the sick everywhere we go. I'm still very much in process and more often than not don't SEE results, but below are two of many stories from the past 4 weeks of ways God has used two ordinary people willing to step out and say "yes."
Checking out some of the gigantic Redwood trees in Northern California
Testimony 1
JD and I decided to go to a local hospital in Oakland about a week ago. We didn't go inside of the hospital, but decided to stay outside where many of the smokers, patients, and family members would hang out as well as people waiting for the bus. After talking with many people I saw a black woman with a cane approaching me. We talked for a bit and then I asked her why she was limping and using a cane. She said she had stiffness in both her legs and was in pain. I asked if I could pray for her and she willingly said yes. So bending down and putting my hand on her foot I started to command the stiffness to leave her body and proclaim life and healing in Jesus name. She checked out her legs and immediately looked amazed that it was gone and she felt better. We prayed a second time anyways. By this point she was quite excited and started to open up about her life to us. She told us that she used to be a Christian 10 years ago and had two good friends that she used to go to church with, but had lost touch with one and the other had since passed away. We then parted ways and we laughed as she walked away forgetting her cane. I went back to talking with some other people and about an hour later I came across the same lady who had been healed of stiffness in her leg. She was quite ecstatic so I attempted to calm her down and figure out why. She said that right after talking with me she ran into her friend, the Christian friend of hers that she hadn't seen in 10 years and was able to reunite with her. God is good and His timing is impeccable!
JD playing "Ninja" with some of the local kids during an outreach in Santa Rosa, CA
Testimony 2
As I mentioned in my last blog, JD and I spent a day in Berkeley and were able to hang out with squatters, pot-smokers, and doubters, but while on the university campus we struck up a conversation with a young woman from Geneva, Switzerland. We asked her a couple questions about what she thought of Jesus and Christianity, but for the most part we just hung out and talked about life, not being on any time restraint or having any real agenda. After about 2 hours of talking we all 3 stood up to start walking (not really sure where). While walking we noticed a girl to the side of us being held up by two guys on both sides of her. She was limping and not really putting any pressure on one of her feet. JD walked up to her and asked her what happened. She said that she had just twisted it and thought it was sprained or broken. He then offered his "medical assistance" and leaned down to place his hands on her foot. He started his prayer by saying "In Jesus name", which caused the girl to fake knee him because she was upset that he was praying in Jesus name, but he boldly kept on praying without flinching. After praying he asked her how she felt and I seriously wish you all could have seen the look on her face as she was able to stand on her hurting foot again. She humbly admitted that it was surprisingly much better, but not perfect so JD prayed again. This time it got even better and she walked away on both of her feet feeling quite stunned at what had just happened (so much for needing faith to get healed). While it was awesome that the girl just got healed it was even more amazing to watch the reaction and change in demeanor of the Swiss girl…she had witnessed the whole thing. Without going into too much detail, we were able to spend the next 3 hours talking with the Swiss girl over pizza. She eagerly listened as we shared the gospel with her for the first time and had many questions to add. We walked her home that night and were able to mail a bible to her a couple days later believing that her life is going to take on a different direction.
Me, Swiss Girl (Mary), JD
Preaching the gospel, praying for the sick, and walking in the supernatural is NOT for an elite group of Christians, but for ALL believers! Jesus said, "the Kingdom of God is at Hand." It is supposed to be something tangible that we can touch and interact with. The Kingdom is within us…we just need to learn how to release it by trying!
Their is nothing holding us back except ourselves, so I will ask again, "Are you willing to look like a fool for Christ?"
Jose Coelho, our new Brazilian friend and host during our time in Santa Rosa
JD and I have been put into and have put ourselves into many situations over the past month that I previously would have never thought I'd be in. I know I say this a lot, but I believe their is a direct correlation between "stepping out in faith" and seeing God show up in our lives. Christianity is not meant to be boring but actually quite the opposite, however we cannot sit back and expect things to just happen.
I realize that sharing the gospel of Jesus and praying for the sick is not exactly "the typical" for most people so I won't pretend so. Yet, I believe that most Christians lack a true identity of who Christ has made us to be here and now and what He has done for us already. The bible says that we, as believers, are the temple of the Holy Spirit! Basically Christ lives in us, so we don't lack anything and He will never leave us (meaning He is with us wherever we go). Their is nothing extra ANY of us need (because we Have God in us), except for an understanding of who we are in Christ! This also means that we don't need to go to a church building to meet/talk to/be used by God.
I've talked about this before, but this is basically where "month 12" has come into play. I believe the only thing missing are people willing to "go and try" not giving up just because we don't see anything. We are not called to walk by sight, but by faith. Jesus told us to preach the gospel, but He also told us to heal the sick everywhere we go. I'm still very much in process and more often than not don't SEE results, but below are two of many stories from the past 4 weeks of ways God has used two ordinary people willing to step out and say "yes."
Checking out some of the gigantic Redwood trees in Northern California
Testimony 1
JD and I decided to go to a local hospital in Oakland about a week ago. We didn't go inside of the hospital, but decided to stay outside where many of the smokers, patients, and family members would hang out as well as people waiting for the bus. After talking with many people I saw a black woman with a cane approaching me. We talked for a bit and then I asked her why she was limping and using a cane. She said she had stiffness in both her legs and was in pain. I asked if I could pray for her and she willingly said yes. So bending down and putting my hand on her foot I started to command the stiffness to leave her body and proclaim life and healing in Jesus name. She checked out her legs and immediately looked amazed that it was gone and she felt better. We prayed a second time anyways. By this point she was quite excited and started to open up about her life to us. She told us that she used to be a Christian 10 years ago and had two good friends that she used to go to church with, but had lost touch with one and the other had since passed away. We then parted ways and we laughed as she walked away forgetting her cane. I went back to talking with some other people and about an hour later I came across the same lady who had been healed of stiffness in her leg. She was quite ecstatic so I attempted to calm her down and figure out why. She said that right after talking with me she ran into her friend, the Christian friend of hers that she hadn't seen in 10 years and was able to reunite with her. God is good and His timing is impeccable!
JD playing "Ninja" with some of the local kids during an outreach in Santa Rosa, CA
Testimony 2
As I mentioned in my last blog, JD and I spent a day in Berkeley and were able to hang out with squatters, pot-smokers, and doubters, but while on the university campus we struck up a conversation with a young woman from Geneva, Switzerland. We asked her a couple questions about what she thought of Jesus and Christianity, but for the most part we just hung out and talked about life, not being on any time restraint or having any real agenda. After about 2 hours of talking we all 3 stood up to start walking (not really sure where). While walking we noticed a girl to the side of us being held up by two guys on both sides of her. She was limping and not really putting any pressure on one of her feet. JD walked up to her and asked her what happened. She said that she had just twisted it and thought it was sprained or broken. He then offered his "medical assistance" and leaned down to place his hands on her foot. He started his prayer by saying "In Jesus name", which caused the girl to fake knee him because she was upset that he was praying in Jesus name, but he boldly kept on praying without flinching. After praying he asked her how she felt and I seriously wish you all could have seen the look on her face as she was able to stand on her hurting foot again. She humbly admitted that it was surprisingly much better, but not perfect so JD prayed again. This time it got even better and she walked away on both of her feet feeling quite stunned at what had just happened (so much for needing faith to get healed). While it was awesome that the girl just got healed it was even more amazing to watch the reaction and change in demeanor of the Swiss girl…she had witnessed the whole thing. Without going into too much detail, we were able to spend the next 3 hours talking with the Swiss girl over pizza. She eagerly listened as we shared the gospel with her for the first time and had many questions to add. We walked her home that night and were able to mail a bible to her a couple days later believing that her life is going to take on a different direction.
Me, Swiss Girl (Mary), JD
Preaching the gospel, praying for the sick, and walking in the supernatural is NOT for an elite group of Christians, but for ALL believers! Jesus said, "the Kingdom of God is at Hand." It is supposed to be something tangible that we can touch and interact with. The Kingdom is within us…we just need to learn how to release it by trying!
Their is nothing holding us back except ourselves, so I will ask again, "Are you willing to look like a fool for Christ?"
