Hi all,
As we reach the middle of August I wonder
where the summer went! (Greetings to our Aussie, Kiwi, and RSA friends,
who are looking for spring).
The Lord seems to move in seasons* rather
than minutes and seconds, which sometimes causes us to be anxious
because we live in a minutes and seconds world. We observe that "God
came through at the last second" while He is thinking He provided the
answer within His season of our life. *Genesis 1:14
Your seasons used to be your own, but now they belong to Him
In John 7:3-5 it is recorded Jesus'
unbelieving brothers teased Him about going up to the Feast of
Tabernacles and proving Himself to His followers. (Later at least 2 of
His brothers would become believers, leaders, and authored 2 letters of
our New Testament: James and Jude)
When they told Him to go up to the feast
to prove himself, He responded in verse 6: "My time (Greek; season) has
not yet come, but your time (season) is ready anytime." (Gk; hetoimos, ready, standing by).
Jesus marks a difference between those
who believe in Him and those who don't: Those who don't believe in Him
are in control of their own seasons of life. But Jesus was sensitive to
the Father's seasons for His life, indicating the time wasn't yet right
for Him to attend the feast, yet He didn't say why.
And that is how it is with us today. The
Lord doesn't always reveal the timing and events within a season of our
lives, but we are submitted to Him, trusting He is in ultimate control
of our seasons. We do know however, that in each season He expects us to
use it to grow in Him.
Yesterday I taught in one of the house
churches from Psalm 37:23 which says in the King James Version: "The
steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and He delights in his way."
The Lord takes delight in your life
We all compared various translations and
all agreed the second half of that verse says that God delights
Himself in (a good person's) way. The Amplified Bible translates the
second half of the verse this way: "...He delights in his way and He busies Himself with his every step."
That is amazing - The Father busies
Himself with our every step. Linking the two together we realize if we
submit our seasons of life to the Lord He not only orders our steps, but
He finds delight in doing so, and personally involves Himself in our
every step. Unbelievers don't have that blessing, and there is great
peace in knowing He is in ultimate control and guiding our steps - no
matter what it looks like right now.
There is a rest and peace that comes upon
us when we join Him in looking at the big picture of our lives - as
Hebrews 4:9-11 so states, our labor is not to stir up faith, but to
enter into rest. Faith is a spiritual force that Satan cannot touch, so
he attacks our peace by destroying hope.
Our effort is to stay in the peace, and
hope is strengthened best by stepping back and realizing we've submitted
the seasons of our life to Him, and He is involving Himself in our
every step. Ahhhh....that is so nice.
A personal note
Especially over the summer when people go
on vacations and take holidays and such, we've been especially blessed
by those of you who continue to remember us in your giving, especially
monthly giving, because in such a busy season you remember us and our
work in the Lord - thank you so much for your conistency.
Paul wrote of the household of Stephanus
in I Corinthians 16:15; ‘who have addicted (devoted) themselves to the
ministry of the saints’. And in his second letter to them, speaking of
the Philippians and others in that area that they ‘urgently pleaded with
us for the privilege in sharing of this ministry to the Lord’s people…and they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us.’
Barb and I thank you so much, those who
have given their hearts first to the Lord, and then out of that
appreciation and love, to us - thank you!
Update on Wil and Ank's move to a larger home
Wil and Ank send their thanks as people
have responded with enough pledges of support for their opportunity to
move out of their town house into a large country home, big enough to
host people and hold regional house church conferences. We add our
thanks to theirs for those who have responded!
Prophetic happenings in the news
Things lining up for the Ezekiel 38 war
in the news include now not-so-secret meetings between Israel, Saudi
Arabia, and other Arab nations, formulating agreements and plans against
Iran’s increasing presence in Syria and the Mid-east. Remember that
Ezekiel mentions ‘Sheba and Dedan’ in particular, understood by most to
be modern Saudi Arabia and other smaller Arab nations in the region,
joining with Israel and her allies against a future Iranian and Russian
invasion.
And of course the failed coup in Turkey
is very important prophetically, for it has tipped Turkey away from the
US and the EU, now re-formalizing relations with Russia, including talks
of more Russian pipelines for gas/oil through Turkey, and the building
of a nuclear power facility in Turkey.
History records the last Caliphate, a
multi-nation Muslim rule, was out of Turkey known as the Ottoman rule,
which ended in 1922. Some say Turkey wants to re-establish itself as the
Muslim leader in the Mideast, and it seems headed in that direction.
Again, in 3 separate visitations with the Lord going back into the
1990’s, He has told me ‘watch Turkey’ – so we watch and pray. CWOWI has
friends in Ankara, and life is hard…praying.
House church isn't about the house
House church isn't about the house, it's about the church, which is the people. Those
relationships are #1. Think outside the 'church' mentality and be
creative in how you invest in one another. Lunch hour meals together to
reconnect, an evening meal together, inviting someone to join you in a
walk, bike ride, movie, window shopping or something creative.
Even if you are just 1 person wanting to
start a house church, don't start by holding 'church'. Start by
investing in people. House church isn't a program or model of how to do
church, meeting in homes is the natural result of healthy relationships in Christ.
Invest therefore in relationships and at some point you will want to
gather in a home for a meal, some prayer, maybe some worship or study of
the Word...we will know each other and be together for eternity, so act
like it. Invest in your relationships!
I'm so, so saddened by the shallow and
immature Christians who attend a house church for awhile, then who break
off fellowship because of doctrinal differences or they don't get to
spout their favorite slightly off the norm belief at every meeting. In
the auditorium church people come and go like that all the time because
they find no place to share their view, so end up going nowhere and
their leaving isn't even noticed.
But in house church the numbers are small
and they are noticed and loved, and when they leave it makes a
hole. They are missed as the others truly loved them, but they reveal
they were only in it in the hopes of sharing their
particular belief. Jesus brought them to that house church in the hopes
they would grow into balance through healthy relationships rather than
the false relationships offered by (for instance) web sites that
theorize this whose currency is fear. In leaving real people and real
relationships they reject His plan for why He brought others into their
lives, going with their own plan for their life. That is idolatry.
The larger picture - is
that new affiliates in the US and other nations continue, and all are on
the same spiritual page, eager to celebrate Jesus with others and grow
in Him. It is SO exciting and so exactly what we see in Acts - growth
and people coming to the Lord in the midst of life's difficulties.
Thank you for being part of our lives,
Barb and I appreciate you very much. Keep us in prayer, Chris
especially, as we've had a very hard time with his behavior at the
group home. With our travel and hosting schedules his normal routine of
coming home Friday and Saturday has been disrupted, and he has been
confused as to when dad is coming to get him, leading to fits of anger
and such...thank you. And thank you again for remembering us in your
giving, joining yourselves with us in this work of the Lord.
Blessings!
John and Barb
New cd/MP3 series:
Overcoming when Overwhelmed
Everyone
faces a crisis from time to time, but not everyone emerges whole and
victorious on the other side. In this series John shares 5 key things
successful people do in the midst of a crisis, detailing a process to be
walked through when hit with an unwanted surprise. Sharing
from personal and Biblical examples along with a few favorite verses
that continue to minister to him, this series instills confidence, faith
and peace when your world is falling apart. When all the voices are
speaking destruction, you'll learn what to do to counter those voices
and come out the other side victorious!
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