This blog will be a little scatterbrained, I hope it ends up making sense and you hear my heart.
In the scriptures, Jesus healed everywhere he went. Every place our savior walked He was surrounded by the lame, the sick, the crippled and the blind. People who were desperate for a healing touch from Jesus. What did He do? How did Jesus respond to them? He responded with compassion and healed whatever was wrong with them. Jesus loved them. Since I have left home God has been taking me through the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and teaching me what it’s like to really love others like He did. I think a lot of times we think loving somebody is a feeling we feel towards him or her or telling someone you love them. But I see the gospel’s portraying something totally different. I see a furious love of action with Christ and His disciples.
Everywhere they walked they loved people by meeting their needs and doing action type oriented things for them. Love is doing, I believe it’s taking action on behalf of somebody. Simply put love does!!! One of the best ways to love others to me is laying hands on them right in that moment and pray blessing and healing over them and just plainly take action for somebody. I think understanding this is a game changer for somebody’s walk with Christ. It has been for me.
I know there is a lot of stigma or controversy attached to healings in the westernized evangelical church, As American’s we rely too much on healthcare and things of that matter. I wonder why we don’t see God’s healing power in the states, I think it’s because we say we don’t need Him and we’ll just go see a doctor. There is nothing wrong with seeing the doctor but the problem is we turn to the doctors before turning to The Great Physician. Out here it’s a whole different story. Healings happen quite often and I can say personally I’m blessed to witness them. All they can rely on is for God to come through for them because the healthcare here is terrible.
I believe Jesus still heals today, especially through His follower’s hands. Not because of anything we have ourselves but the Holy Spirit the dwells within us, the same power that rose Christ from the dead.
Most of you know how bold I am with sharing my faith, but now I’m learning to really put my faith in action. Not only bold with proclaiming God’s gospel but also laying my hands on people and pleading to The Lord on their behalf. Something special happens when we walk in that authority and boldness for The Lord. God’s children are dangerous to the darkness, it’s my prayer that Christian’s all over the world would unleash the kingdom everywhere they went.
I have realized to many times I have put an all-powerful and all mighty God into my comfortable box. God is too big for any box and doesn’t belong there. I pray personally that I don’t do that anymore in my own life. Please understand I say this with love and I don’t condemn you if you don’t share your faith with everyone or lay your hands on strangers and pray over them. God loves you just because you are you and you can t do anything more or less to earn His love. But as for me, God called me out of darkness and the pit of hell to be a trailblazer for the gospel and to live a life of radical faith for the Kingdom of God. I can tell you there is nothing more empowering and humbling than to see God pour out His Spirit on people through your own hands, it is quite a heavenly moment.
My world race has definitely been a journey and it’s hard to believe I’m only in month 2. I think I am falling in love with Africa, this place and the people here are amazing. On the other hand the spiders are not, I have never seen so many spiders in my life and they are not your itsy bitsy spiders, they are HUGE!!! I probably kill at least 5 or 6 every night. I refuse to live with those nasty things:)
Here are some of the things I have done for ministry this month.
-Cleared grass with a heavy-duty trimmer. (I had to wear a harness and a helmet) It is not your average weed whacker.
- Sanded down the church building and started priming and painting.
- House visits to encourage believers in the local area and to pray with them.
- Travel to care points to teach the children God’s word and interact with them, playing games, talking, singing songs, etc.
- Prison ministry
There are some days when we go to ministry and we really feel the burden of all the needs of this place. The need in Swaziland is very great and the resources are little. Those are the times it pushes us to our knees to really pray hard and transfer that burden over to Christ.
Some things to pray about
- Swaziland has the highest HIV transmit ion rate in the world, sexual sin is rampant here.
- Parents abandon their own children; they put them in things like toilets and leave them for dead.
- The healthcare system is not good here, and people die often in Swaziland. There are many physical diseases that plague people.
- There is a lot of injustice here but God’s hands are certainly here and at work.
Blessings
