Getting Equipped and Getting Excited

Last week our classes were a little different than usual.  Instead of having a speaker on a “Spiritual” topic we had elective week.  During the week we got to choose a class to take for MWF and TR to prepare us for practical ministry in our outreach locations.  I took the Justice Water class on Monday Wednesday and Friday.  During the class we learned how easy it is to make sand water purification systems, tippy-tap sinks for hand washing, latrines, and rain catchment tanks.  I did this with three other members of my team and we were excited about how easy these things were and how much they could change the lives of the people living in the villages in Cambodia.

On Tuesday and Thursday I took a class on how to teach on inner healing.  The great thing about this was that the married couple that taught us went to Cambodia last year for their outreach so all the examples they used were about how they saw people healed in Cambodia.  Seven people from my outreach team did this and we are excited to teach it in Cambodia.  The people there have never experienced the love of God because they don’t believe in a god of love.  Also we learned that in their culture it is inappropriate for a kid to tell his mom or dad that they love them and the parents would never say it to their children either.  There is no affirmation in their culture so people believe a lot of lies about themselves and their self-worth because they are never told otherwise.  We have heard that there were instances in which the team last year did the inner healing from a Christian perspective, and then after people received healing they accepted Christ because of how dramatically He changed their lives.  We serve a healing loving God!!  I’m so excited to share similar testimonies with you all!

After spending the week getting prepared with practical skills and praying even more for Cambodia than we have in previous weeks I can say I’m antsy to get there.  God has already begun to give me His heart for the people there and I can’t wait to get there and start loving on some Cambodian people who desperately need to experience the love of God.  I leave tomorrow and will be there until June 4^th.  Prayers are appreciated!

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
   because the LORD has anointed me
   to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
   to proclaim freedom for the captives
   and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
   and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
 ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
   instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
   instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
   instead of a spirit of despair.  

Isaiah 61:1-3a

The Word of Their Testimony

Revelation says “They overcame by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.”  There’s so much power in simply hearing what Christ did for us at the cross and what He is doing for us today.  A group of DTS students from the last quarter just got back from their outreach and last night we had a time where they came and shared stories (testimonies) of what God did on their outreaches to build our faith before we leave.   All I can say is now I CAN’T WAIT to go!!! 

There was stories of blind eyes opened, deaf ears opened, crippled legs healed, food multiplied, people being set free from alcoholism, Muslims accepting Christ, supernatural provision of places to stay, and just crazy amounts of favor from the Lord.  But my favorite story was from a young guy who had just graduated from high school last year.  His outreach went to Orange County, California, which is where he grew up.  During the month he was in Orange County he ended up having the privilege of leading 5 of his close friends to the Lord!!  Three of his friends he got to baptize (one in the fountain inside of a big shopping mall).  I love healing miracles and food being multiplied but there was something about this kid’s story that absolutely gripped my heart.

I love my friends at home so much and desperately want them to know the hope I’ve found in Jesus but for some reason it’s so hard to share with them.  But all this kid did was share what had been happening in his life the last three months of lecture phase (his testimony) and his friends could see that he was truly alive because of Jesus. First Peter 3:15 says “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” All it takes is the blood of the lamb and the boldness to share the word of our testimony to completely change someone’s life for ETERNITY!  So good!  Get fired up guys, cuz we live in exciting times!

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” -Matthew 28:6

Blessed are the Peacemakers

For they will be called sons of God! Last night we watched a documentary called “180,” which was super intense.  It got me thinking about a book we read for class that was based on the 8 beatitudes, in particular about what it means to be a peacemaker.

The biggest thing I’m learning is the difference between being a peacekeeper and a peacemaker.  A peacekeeper sweeps things under the rug while a peacemaker attacks a problem head on in love.  They make peace where peace doesn’t currently exist.  Jesus was a peacemaker.  He wasn’t ok with people living in sin because He loved them too much to sit by and watch the enemy take control of their lives.  Even if this meant throwing stuff in the temple or confronting the hard hearts of prideful Pharisees He wanted to see people set free of the chains of sin.

Imagine if He has just tried to “keep the peace”!  He would have allowed the Pharisees to live in judgment of people who didn’t keep the law and they would never have been made aware that they themselves were living in sin.  One of the greatest things that can happen to a Christian is to recognize our sin because that means we get to repent, be forgiven, be changed and become more like Christ.

One of the most significant aspects of a peacemaker is that their heart has to be one motivated by LOVE. If they go out to make peace with a heart motivated by pride and carry a “holier-than-thou” attitude they are not going to make peace.  The goal is peace in the end, but sometimes there may be a hard conversation with some tears involved, but that’s better than you walking away and gossiping to your friends, which ends up with two people in sin.

A couple of weeks ago I was a part of a “Life Siege” which is where you put red tape over your mouth with the word LIFE written on it and you stand outside of an abortion clinic and pray for the babies, doctors, mothers, fathers and the ending of abortion in America.  The tape is supposed to represent the babies who can’t speak for themselves.  If you know me this about as far out of my comfort zone as it gets.  But what I’m realizing is that a great injustice is happening in our country, about 1.3 million people are being murdered every year (about 3700 every day).  The documentary 180 relates abortion in America to the Holocaust in the fact that murder is being legalized based on some people’s definition of what a person is (And there is actually talk in the health community right now of something called a “post birth abortion” that will allow you to “put your baby down” if you find out it isn’t completely physically or mentally healthy after it’s born http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9113394/Killing-babies-no-different-from-abortion-experts-say.html).  What I’m realizing is that as much as I don’t want to offend people and hate confrontation, if I am going to be a peacemaker I can’t simply stand by idly and let this happen. 

You may disagree with this method of standing against abortion or you might even think abortion isn’t bad.  But what I’m realizing is that if my heart is motivated by LOVE for those babies and their mothers and I believe it is murder than I have no other choice than to do something to make peace.  Undoubtedly people will be offended from time to time but I know, with LOVE as my driving force, I’m trying to save lives and keep blood of the hands of people who maybe don’t see any other option. 

I’ve always asked the question, where were all the Christians during the Holocaust?  I don’t want to be speechless if my children and grandchildren ask that same question of me about the abortion genocide. 

Being a peacemaker doesn’t have to just be on an intense level like the ending of abortion.  It starts every day you have a disagreement and the easy thing is to go home and gossip to friends and family about the character of the other person.  It’s the peacemakers who will be called sons of God.

Welp. That was heavy.

PS. I heard this stat the other day.  If one out of every ten Christians in America would adopt an orphan there would be NO ORPHANS LEFT in the world.  And if abortion is ended there will obviously be more but it is still do-able.  If we say we are against something we have to ask ourselves what we’re willing to do about it.