So here we are on our third week of
the DR and it’s going great. I am LOVING the community and being around all my
brothers and sisters. The ministry is
going great too. The people in the church we go to service at are so into the
spirit! It’s fantastic to be a part of it. We did some healing the other night
and people testified about the healing that night. It is so amazing to use the
power of God even though we aren’t worthy to use it. But he allows us to use it
anyways. He has such faith and trust in us that he provides all that we need in
the form of spiritual gifts. We just have to tap into it and use it at every
chance we get.
So the
verse John 3:37 is on the wall at the front of the church. I obviously can’t
read it, so I asked our translator what it said and he told me. I then went and
looked it up in my bible. Here it is.
(John 3:35-38) Jesus said “ I am the
bread of life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no
more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen
me in action, you don’t really believe me. Every person the Father gives me,
eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and
don’t let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to
accomplish the will of the One who sent me.”
And now every time I open my bible
I want to read it. IT is so much packed into such a small paragraph.
I am the bread of life.
Duh. This is pretty obvious. Jesus
is all that we need. He provides what we need. He is our sustenance. Period.
The person
who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever.
If we would do anything and
everything that he tells us and what the Word tells us, we would never need
anything again. He provides in every way possible way. Spiritually. Physically.
Mentally. He will place before you anything that is needed. Not what we want,
but what he knows will bring his glory and his love unto the people of this
world. Friend and stranger.
I have told
you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t
really believe me.
He has told us this in many ways,
but even the most dedicated Christian fails to completely trust in that. We
have this thing that we have the hardest time letting go of. That is the part
that we allow God to control all aspects of our life and what comes along with
it. We want to have some type of control. That is our human nature. We fight it
and fight it. But every time we allow a small piece of it to go to him, he
shows us that he has it. That he will always have us in his hands. Even when we
think that we aren’t we are. Those times that are tough and we feel that he
just left us all alone. He in fact is just putting us through that to refine us
(1 Peter 4:12-13 “Friends, when
life gets really difficult, don’t jump on the conclusion that God isn’t on the
job. Instead be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced.
This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner”.
THANKS Pastor Ron. I will never forget that week long sermon.) and
prepare us for the times to come when we will be able to overcome the things
that we would have fallen at if it weren’t for the previous trials. And like I
mentioned in a previous blog, what would be the point of an easy and simple
life?
Every
person the Father gives me, eventually comes running to me.
Well this is true beyond our
understanding. And I love the word running. We don’t walk or just casually
stroll into it. We don’t accidentally come across him or be led to. We RUN. We
full on sprint to him because he is full on sprinting to us and always has been.
We just haven’t always seen it. We need the things that we have been promised
by giving our heart to God. In Romans
5:1-2 it says just that…”By entering
through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us-set us right with
him, make us fit for him-we have it all together with God because of our Master
Jesus. And that’s not all…We throw open the doors to God to
discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open the door to us.
We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand-out in the wide
open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.” So there it is. I mean if that doesn’t
make it clear, I don’t know what will.
And once
that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go.
I LOVE this verse. This is the
exact verse on the wall at our church here in DR. The very verse that led me to
this. It is so powerful and it is only one sentence. From the very second that
we accept him into our hearts, HE NEVER LETS GO! Even when we may think he has,
or maybe we take our eyes off momentarily, he NEVER lets go. We all know what
those times are like when we find ourselves falling in something that we don’t
understand or can’t see the end of it. But what has happened every time? He
pulls us out. Simply because he never let go.
I came down
from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who
sent me.
That is such a powerful thing.
Jesus HIMSELF didn’t come to Earth to do what he wanted. And even what he could
have done. He did what God, his father, wanted him to do. He didn’t even
perform his first miracle until he was 30. Which is good news for me in my old
age! Ha. The director of The World Race, Micheal Hindes, said this at our
launch. “Jesus was a carpenter for 30 years. Cleaning up the very trees that he
created.” He didn’t rush it. He was patient in his works. He was patient in his
love for us. He knew that God has the plan and that was what was he was sent to
do. Follow his father’s love and commands. If only we would simply do that. Be
patient and know that God has the plan for us.
So that is my thought here
recently. I have been opening up my mind and life to whatever I see and feel
God putting in my path. I have been given a word. “Awareness”. Be aware of all
things. People around me. Things around me. Things in me. So I am working on
that. I know that God is working on me and I’m trying to be patient in those
things. I don’t want to rush it, because I won’t be prepared if I rush into it.
I won’t be fully capable of using the gifts that God has for me.
So I hope things are going well
back home! I think of you guys often. Know that the family here is awesome. My
birthday was great. My team did the birthday countdown week. So they got me
something small everyday from 7 days out. It was great to be surprised. And I
truly was.
I also want to have you guys
praying for us. We all had some of the BEST worship ever yesterday and had some
communion. We also came together and prayed for each team, team leaders and our
squad leader. Many people had visions that God gave them. One for our team was
that we were this fire from God. That everywhere we went, it was dripping off
and catching things on fire. And it NEVER ran out. IT was constantly
replenished. And when the enemy tried to extinguish it, it was like a grease
fire. It made it SO MUCH MORE than what it was. It was AWESOME!
I got a vision that everyone in
this house represents a house. The 4
team leaders are our walls. The protect us from things that try to come at
us. They provide us something to lean on
when we are weary and tired. They are our windows and doors to the world. Our
squad leader is our roof. She protects us from the hail and rain that the enemy
tries to throw at us. But when there isn’t anything to protect us from she can
bask in the warmth that God gives her. Most roofs have a 15 year life, but not
her. It’s a life time warranty from God and that is legit. Nothing to worry
about there. And the rest of us in the house are the foundation that holds them
all us. We are growing in Christ which is all of our foundations. So as we hold
up our team leaders, they hold up our squad leader. We are all one organism
that flows all as one. So we all need your prayers for continued strength and
love for one another. I know I can count on you all for that! And that’s for
the entire trip and our lives!
