Hi all,
As
you read this Barb and I are in Europe for our Finnish and Dutch
conferences, returning to the US late the 26th. We would appreciate your
prayers during this time as it is 2 weeks of constant activity and
travel, but pray especially for Chris please. In terms of time that he
won't see him, we dropped him off at the group home the evening of
Sunday the 10th, and won't pick him up until the 29th - nearly 3 weeks,
and that is very hard on his emotions to not see mom and dad for that
length of time. Though he is 36 years old he is mentally about 4, so
just think of a 4 year old not seeing mom and dad for 3 weeks.
Specifically,
we need him to willingly get up and go to the group home's workshop
each work day and be cooperative while we are gone - that is a major
concern for him - - thank you for your prayers.
Around the network
I've
recorded a 2nd series this month specifically related to house church
entitled 'The Core'. It is about the 7 common traits of healthy house
churches as seen in Acts and now in practice around the world. If you
have thought of starting a house church or already have, or are part of
one, I really encourage you to listen to this series. With various
exchange rates against the USD around the world, if funds are an issue
email me at cwowi@aol.com and we can send the MP3 link.
I
saw a news item in the secular press about the Chinese government
taking down over 2,000 crosses as a means of intimidation and to try to
'stamp out' Christianity. This secular article states that by 2030, just
14 years from now, there will be 247,000,000 Christians in China
- nearly all in house churches.
When
we first started CWOWI in January of 2002 through about 2 or 3 years
ago, when someone started a house church they were intimidated by
questions from friends, relatives, and pastors who asked 'Who is your
covering?' and cautioned about becoming a cult - to the point many were
very distressed on how to answer them.
In
the last 2-3 years however I've seen a boldness among believers who
just said 'We're doing this' no matter what 'they' think, and they do.
The result is many house churches popping up faster than I can keep
track. It doesn't seem to matter what nation or what culture believers
are in, they are being led to start meeting in homes to celebrate Jesus
in a healthy and balanced way - and we are here to help.
What the Father said
If
you've been with us for a while you'll recall I shared the Father said
'The second half of 2016 will be difficult for many' and '2017 will be a
bad year for the world.' In both cases note He is speaking in such a
way it is clear He is talking about 'other people' - 'difficult for
many' rather than difficult for a specific group or for all, and without
mention of believers. And, 'bad year for the world' is just like it -
for the world, a bad year - but for believers, we are growing more and
more Christ-like and walking closer with Him.
What
He is doing in us is not affected by the world around us. How He orders
our steps is not affected by the world around us. Check in your spirit
and sense that peace - that is our focus - let information come and go
through the mind, but always check with the Spirit of Truth within and
the peace found there as the final opinion on a matter. Jesus said in
John 16:13 the Holy Spirit 'speaks not of His own, but
whatever He hears, that is what He speaks to you, and He will show you
things to come', so if you have peace in your spirit that is the Father
and Lord saying all is well, so discipline your thoughts and feelings to
that peace.
Another
thing He said about the next 18 months in particular I found
interesting and haven't shared until now, is this: "In the coming months
it will become clear to those who have heard what the Spirit is
saying, who of their family, friends, neighbors and coworkers have not
heard what the Spirit is saying."
The
way He described it is like this; A person will be talking to someone
about what is going on in their heart and what they sense in their
Spirit, and their friend will look at them without understanding what
they are talking about. For others it will be apparent they have no
interest in the things of the Spirit. It will be subtle things noticed
in the midst of conversations that will pinpoint exactly where a person
is, spiritually speaking. In this way friendships will be rearranged as
it becomes apparent old friends are no longer on the same spiritual
page, and people start seeking new friends on the same spiritual page.
A mini-vision
When He was
talking to me about these things I saw a mini-vision, meaning my eyes
were open and I saw the natural world, but overlaying that for about 90
seconds as He talked I saw in visual form what He was describing. He was
describing on the one hand the larger Christianity which is becoming
more nebulous and defined by a 'whatever feels right or you think is
right, do it', making faith rather vague and defined by each person, and
on the other hand that well-defined faith where absolutes are
known, right is right and wrong is wrong, and we know who Jesus is and
what walking with Him looks like.
What I
saw as He described the first was a blob straight out of a 1950's
horror movie or early Star Trek type episode, a soft sticky blob with
undefined and ever changing edges creeping slowly to try to cover
everything in its path.
Facing
'the blob church' was a person that somehow resembled a building - the
temple of God - they 'morphed' into a building that was a temple made of
finely hewn stones all fit neatly and tightly together. Their face was
the highest part of the building and straight down from that was the
Holy of Holies with intense white light directly in the their chest
where their heart would be - the innermost part of the building. Their
arms were the furthest ends of the temple building complex and their
hands and arms were open and outstretched inviting to all to come and
experience the presence of the Lord.
What
was striking was the well constructed and solid nature of the
person/temple - each block that made it/them was incredibly and
personally designed with precision. The organization of the
person/temple was extraordinary and I knew in the vision that person
knew each part of the building block that made them very well, each
block representing some part of their life given to the Lord or having
overcome something the Lord turned into a work of beauty.
At that point I asked, "Father, what am I seeing" and He replied simply; "The second half of Ephesians 2."
I
knew it but it's been a while since reading it, the closing lines of
that chapter are: "..you are members of His household...with Jesus
Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is
joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in
Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God
lives by His Spirit."
We are living temples: I Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19, II Corinthians 6:16, Colossians 1:26-27
The
contrast between the blob church and the person/temple church was so
clear there was no mistaking anything. The blob church reminded me of a
demon I've seen in a few churches I've ministered in, and demons I've
seen on a few people too - the closest thing would be to describe a
movie character from the Star Wars series called Jaba the Hut - most
will recognize immediately what I mean the rest can do a web search for a
picture. That demon is both lazy, slovenly, and arrogant, as well as
manipulative, and I was saddened by what I was seeing, yet I observed
the 'blob church' with a sort of emotional distance one might have when
reading the newspaper - it was informational only because my life is
with those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying. I'm
outside the 'blob church' loop, so to speak.
What
I understood by His words and the mini-vision is that in the days to
come the line between the 'real church', the bride who is all about
making herself ready for the groom, and those asleep or are adulteresses
in love with the world, will be very clearly seen. So watch for the gap
widening between that which is called Christian and what is really
Christian.
Some have asked about my day trip with Chris: Chris and I had our Tulsa-Dallas and back 
trip
on March 29 and he did extremely well. It was tiring for him as I
expected, as part of the purpose was to test his stamina. Southwest
Airlines was very gracious to us, allowing us to board first as for my
back’s sake and Chris’ lack of mobility, getting that first row with
only a bulkhead in front of us provided the room to walk and scoot him
to his seat. As expected, he had a running commentary on everything.
Chris never let go of the SW Airlines toy jet I bought him at an airport
store, and here is a picture of him and Captain Ernie, who was so very
kind and accommodating.
trip
on March 29 and he did extremely well. It was tiring for him as I
expected, as part of the purpose was to test his stamina. Southwest
Airlines was very gracious to us, allowing us to board first as for my
back’s sake and Chris’ lack of mobility, getting that first row with
only a bulkhead in front of us provided the room to walk and scoot him
to his seat. As expected, he had a running commentary on everything.
Chris never let go of the SW Airlines toy jet I bought him at an airport
store, and here is a picture of him and Captain Ernie, who was so very
kind and accommodating.I’ve heard from a lot of people via email about me sharing the story of my AFib and weight/blood pressure issues and I thank you for your prayers. It’s one of those things I’d have never known about had I not kept my word to my sons and gotten a physical. I feel no different than I ever have, but I've lost 20 pounds, hit a plateau in March, re-gathered my will and energy for the discipline required, and am now losing more weight to get to my goal of another 20 pounds - having reset my 'end of March' goal to 'end of April'.
My
cardiologist said he sees over and over again that the body has a
particular weight where BP is normal, and then even sometimes just 1
pound over and BP goes high – I noticed that with me in this last month.
Thank you for your prayers, emails, and faithful giving – there are
several needs we have right now and appreciate you remembering us in
your giving. . Thank you for praying for us during this trip, your
financial support, and just being in our lives - thank you!
Blessings,
John & Barb
New cd/MP3 series:
(2 cd/MP3, $12/set or MP3 $10)
This
last of the series deals specifically with how to be aware of angels
around you, how to discern between the Lord or an angel talking to you,
and developing spiritual sensitivity to be able to walk in the
Spirit. It defines what 'being in the Spirit' as John shares how he
developed his understanding of Acts as normal Christianity and what is
required for the Lord to entrust a person with opening their eyes to His
realm. This is in conversational style as John walks you through
angelic experiences in Acts, and the difference between the Holy Spirit
speaking to a person, or an angel, or merely a revelation or 'witness'
in a person's spirit. If there is any of the 3 parts of this series to
listen to, this is most important because it deals with so much more on
the ways of the Holy Spirit in our lives
(2 cd/MP3, $12/set or MP3 $10)
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