Many things continue to happen in Malawi and Kenya. Work on the orphanage in Malawi is progressing, and we are thankful for the opportunity to be involved. When Yahweh opens our eyes and we become aware of the situations at hand, there is a purpose behind it. I will start referring to God as Yahweh so that a distinction can be made as to who I am referring to. The alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the great I am, Yahweh; the master of all things. There are many religions in this world referring to a countless number of gods. On top of that, people practically worship sports, music and entertainment stars as gods. At no other time in history has this been so prevalent. For those that do not do that, they have discovered a way to worship themselves. Romans 1:25 NKJV: who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. As our world becomes more evil, I am beginning to understand the purpose for these reports.
The Almighty is showing us far-reaching truths that have been unexpected and eye-opening, maybe more properly put, “Spirit-opening.” The further we dive deep into these principles, and the more we see the nature of Jesus (Yeshua,) I will be including much more Bible scripture to support any hypotheses that we come to. The lessons that are being learned in Africa and America somehow mesh together in surprising ways. The ideas and mysteries I have come across continue to give me anticipation. Here is what I mean: Imagine being on a large body of water. You have been there for a very, very long time. You have been fishing forever it seems. The results have been dismal at best. Many experts have filled you in on everything you need to do in order to catch “the big one.” The reality is, it does not take any experts at all. We have bought into the mega-church philosophy and certainly are spoiled and entitled in Western culture. I say this not as one observing, but as one that did the exact things I am stating. When Yahweh opens our eyes and we start observing how most of the world lives, self-indulgence becomes a personal embarrassment, as it should. Everything that we do should be measured by how we can help others without spending any excess time or money on ourselves unnecessarily. Since Yahweh has shown me this, I wish I could say that I have completely surrendered every area of my life. I would be deceiving you if I made the statement. But this, I will say- the thought consideration I give towards decisions I make are different. My desire would be that the Almighty continues to shift my thinking process to be completely in alignment with His. If we do not step out in faith and expose ourselves to things in God’s Will, it is pretty much impossible to grow in Him.
There are some astounding truths that I must emphasize. Dan Mohler is responsible for cracking the door open in this understanding. Put more plainly, he was the gentleman that I viewed on YouTube that gave me an enlightened perspective. Many of us have put these biblical teachings into play with wonderful results. I will try to summarize as briefly and accurately as possible. Nothing external should influence the eternal joy we have in Jesus. There are many Scriptures that talk about dying to yourself. Rarely do I meet a individual that comprehends this completely, yet alone someone who practices it. Luke 9;23-24, NKJV: Then he said to them, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. When we completely surrender and grasp this principle, everything will change. If you can imagine for a moment the bait you put on your fishing pole was complete surrender, death to self, and faith, you would get a glimpse of what Peter experienced. When Jesus told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat, they could not haul it in because it was so full.
When we grasp this amazing concept, we merely become a spectator watching Christ operate in us. When I first began to listen to Dan Mohler, I thought. “Oh that is nice.” To me, it was unobtainable, unreasonable, and I maybe even was a little unwilling. Praise Jesus as I began to experience the calm presence of Jesus in chaotic situations, true strength began to rise up within me, not of my own accord, but something far better. The more I realized that if I was totally dead to the flesh, then any reaction to external stimuli should be impossible. Now I was beginning to see hope in situations where I would have reacted much differently. These are the types of changes you witness in yourself and realize there is an undeniable presence that is causing you to act different. Now when I cast out the line with the new bait attached, there is a harvest from the living water every time.
Some of the “fish” put up quite a fight because of my own lack of understanding. All of them produce great joy when they are landed inside of the boat and I can examine them for what they are. This line of thought has opened up gigantic leaps in my understanding, many which I am just beginning to process. When we realize that every situation we face in life is in full obedience and surrender to Christ, our perspective is forced to make a major shift. Romans 8:28, NKJV: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. I am going to take a gigantic leap here, since I believe it is true. Every time we find ourselves in a tense situation, we have a decision to make. If I am truly dead to myself, any words that someone could speak to me should not cause a negative emotional reaction. Dead is dead right? If and when we can grasp the fullness of this, prepare your boat and start reeling in the big ones. Let me stress these words, all things work together for good to those who love God.
I do not see the words “some,” “part of,” “once in a while,” “occasionally,” “now and then,” or any other term that would indicate partiality. “All things” is all-inclusive. That means when you are a fully surrendered servant of Jesus Christ, every Interaction is for good. Even myself when I say these words, I think, “How can that be?” But here is why... If we approach every situation regardless of how difficult it is as a opportunity to learn how to be more Christlike, that is what we will become. You see, the way we react to others is a direct reflection of how much we are surrendered to Christ. If Jesus can hang on a cross with half of his skin ripped to shreds, gasping for every breath of air and sincerely say these words, Luke 23;34, NKJV; Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. then how can we get upset with someone because we feel as though they wronged us?
This is one of the main reasons why we get little minnows in our boat when God has a 500-pound tuna waiting to be reeled in. We need to start evaluating our arguments with others from the perspective of being more Christlike. We should stop basing our response on the words that they are saying. Jesus did this on a routine basis, so that means we should be able to do it also, but only in His strength working through us. You are probably wondering why I am preaching in this blog. The reality is that we are on a journey together. Things that I had thought were impossible six months ago are now reality. Six months from now, I will look back and think it impossible once again for what is being revealed. The chain of events that are being connected are to serve a bigger purpose that I do not yet understand. Somehow I believe the spiritual truths that are being revealed will help connect the dots eventually.
There are many underlying activities that are unfolding that I still have not shared. I have delegated certain assignments as I feel led. There has been an amazing amount of peace associated with this. This peace certainly passes my understanding. Through this process, distribution of authority has helped create a more cohesive body to function under the direction of Yahweh. My next report will focus more on the actual activities at the orphanage, Martin’s initiative, and the pastors helping make bricks. Hebrews 12;1 NKJV; Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
