For whatever reason yet to be revealed, God wants us to trust Him more and more. I am not talking about everyday, trust God kind of stuff. I am referring to “Tell that mountain to move in the name of Jesus,” faith. When we had sent that text to the woman in Kenya, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she was guilty. I didn't even have a lick of concern that I was falsely accusing someone. Please hear this above all things, we have no confidence in ourselves, but what we are shown to do, by our Director that gives us confidence. You would probably be pretty shocked right now if I told you it was false confidence, and that we had made a horrible mistake and committed false accusations towards someone. I must tell you, if that were the case, we would state the words plainly and clearly. Sadly the woman was lying to us and had been for a couple of months. What Yahweh was telling us was a hint. There would be no exercise of faith if He gave us every little detail. Ever-increasing faith is the ability to connect the dots that God lays out before us,or the trust to follow even when we do not yet know His plan .
As the puzzle or the task gets more complicated, it becomes increasingly important not to miss any of the dots. That is why vigilance and focus (not being distracted by the world) is of the utmost importance. The fact that I could have let a silly little distraction at the grocery store blind me from an opportunity to see God give a hint is a terrifying thought. I am referring to the last report when I had made an unnecessary comment to my wife over something silly. The Holy Spirit quickly reminded me that the path I was called to required much more attention than to be easily distracted. I believe that had I not apologized to my wife for the tactless comment, the hint may have not have ever come. Luke 16;10 NKJV, He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Only when we are willing to take correction from the Holy Spirit on the small things, quickly, will we have opportunity for the bigger things. These seemingly slight changes are way more important than you can imagine. When you start examining these little things as a detective does looking for clues, God will make it quite clear what He wants you to change.
A few reports ago, I mentioned that I was going to continue blogging. I felt the prompting about having a record of events. Each report acts as a link to the other, then as God reveals things, it will be easily detectable if I was being guided by self or the Almighty. I have nothing to hide and that point will be made more clear in the near future. We want our lives to bring all the glory, praise, and honor to Jesus Christ, for He certainly deserves it. As we grow in our understanding, we are an evolving spiritual change agent that gains increasingly Insightful spiritual secrets from the Almighty. A few months ago, I would not have been able to grasp many of the things that are being revealed to me now. I suspect that a few months from now I will look back with the same revelation.This fact is simply astounding to me and just goes to show how deep and rich God’s Word really is.
My daughter has been a great help in editing all the blogs plus other material. She is now beginning her freshman year at Cedarville University. For reasons we still cannot fathom, Yahweh has placed the orbits of our lives very closely aligned with Jesus Christ. I am referring to my wife, my daughter, and myself. The reason I say this is because it has taken me nearly 60 years to come to some of the spiritual understandings that I now embrace. The growth in my wife and I over the last two years has been kept in very close alignment by the Holy Spirit. This is understandable because the two of us are supposed to be one flesh. I neglected this chief principle of marriage, consequently not basking in the giftedness that God had granted my wife. Now, all of that has changed our understanding. God is first in all things, which is amazingly powerful. This is where it gets intriguing...
In a supernatural swipe across the generational lines, our 17-year-old daughter has been swept up onto the same path that we are traveling. Several months ago, I was able to witness her leading a young man to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and was astounded. How could this be? As time went on, it became clear that God had given her a fantastic desire to know Him better. Maybe it was God’s way of making up for the lost years that I had failed as a spiritual leader. On a few different occasions, complete strangers have prophesied over her, and her future. She is a warrior ready to do battle and stand strong for the kingdom of Jesus. The spiritual toughness that she exhibits at 17 had not arrived on my doorstep until some four decades later.
When she approached us about taking Arabic her freshman year, I had immediate confirmation in my spirit that it was the correct choice. She will be using that language to win many Muslims to the Christian faith. She is already fluent in Spanish and spent eight weeks in Honduras ministering to people. None of these things that I am saying are to brag about my daughter. I am simply going on record proclaiming the destination that God is directing her towards. Her campus will become a crucible to refine those skills within her that God will use later. She will be a lightning rod absorbing love from Jesus and spreading it to others. God has granted her the ability to discern the hearts of others. She will exercise this to become razor-sharp and dependent on the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and the strength of God instead of relying on herself. I will however brag on her awesome smile because it brings me great joy every time I see it.
When we see confirmation of certain spiritual gifts in a person, we should acknowledge and proclaim them. Next, we should become great encouragers to watch God’s presence unfold in an individual. Always, always give the glory to Yahweh. If we are sincere followers of Jesus, we should have no problem encouraging others to bring more glory to His name. Hebrews 10 24-25; NKJV; And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaken the assembly of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. God wants all of us to be a functioning part of a healthy body with Jesus being the head. There is a group of us now beginning to understand these principles. We are recognizing that we cannot be all things, to all people, however, God will empower the body of Christ to take action in His plan, all the while pointing to Jesus as the source of such gifts.
Much as a Navy seal team has special skills within each team member, so does the body of Christ. We also cannot leave anyone behind. When certain skills are identified in the individual, they become the go-to resource when they are helpful in situations. In case I had not made myself clear, always the glory goes to Jesus Christ. This is absolutely key to a powerful body.
Work is progressing nicely at the orphanage. The team in Malawi is working very hard. Even Tony’s mother was digging up dirt and trying to improve the surrounding area. A gentleman from the community wanted to have a birthday party there and share food with the orphans. The impact of working on this project has been quite profound for everyone involved. Echo has the opportunity to support local projects and demonstrate the love and knowledge of Christ as we do the same in USA. God is testing us to make sure that we are being obedient to opportunities He places before us. In Western culture, it has become far too easy to say, “I will seek God and wait for a sign before I do something.” That is bologna, since 90 some percent of what we are exposed to in life already has directions stated in Scripture. We are just too comfortable in our lifestyle to accept the challenge that Yahweh puts before us.
The opportunities continue to flow in. Martin had made some contacts with people in Pakistan. There was a three-year-old girl that was brutally raped by a man. He happened to be Muslim, and there has been a great deal of persecution against Christians in that country. She will need to have reconstruction surgery when she reaches nine years old because of the damage done. Most of the Christians operate underground because of how terribly they are treated. When Martin heard about the devastating circumstances of the young girl, he was agonized, and driven to make a change. For five days, he could not sleep, and finally was able to make contact with someone in Pakistan. Through that contact, they were able to supply some physical needs and parental support for the young girl.
During their interaction, it was disclosed to them that the social workers were underground Christians. Come to find out, there is a whole network of them operating in Pakistan. When a social worker contacted Martin, he told him how important it would be to have pastor training and Bible distribution. Because of the malicious acts that are being forced upon the Christians, it is making many Muslim men convert to Christianity. They see the willingness of these people to die for their beliefs and they realize there must be something to it. They see a power in this faith that they do not see in their own. These are not words that I fabricated, but what was reported to me about the current situation there.
We have no choice as soldiers to the most High but to enter the battleground that He has opened up before us. There is some emotional baggage that encapsulates this decision. That is where our faith takes over and we walk in the fearlessness of the Holy Spirit. The people in Pakistan were quite amazed that Martin was now involved with a group that specializes in pastor training and Bible distribution. Praise Jesus, He was completely aware that this collaboration was going to take place even before we met Martin. As difficult as things have been in Kenya, I would have hoped the next assignment may be a bit easier. Unfortunately, this is not the case, but why should it be? I guess it was my flesh talking. The reality is that we should embrace ever-increasing difficult situations as further preparation for the massive battle that lies ahead. Our General is not one to send the troops into battle without proper training. He loves us far too much to do such a thing, and we love Him far too much not to do as He reveals.
