Grief-bonding in Belarus

Bre, Thilo and I were privileged to visit Belarus last May and I most enjoyed the delightful villages which were so charming.  Alex (our host) drove us slowly through two villages while we, armed with bibles and tracts, hoped to find people to talk to.

We saw an old man limping along with a cane and Alex stopped the car to chat with him.  He had weathered, brown skin and white hair flapping in the breeze.  He seemed eager to talk and we listened and smiled while Alex chatted to him in Belarusian.  They talked and talked and the next thing I knew the car door was opening and the man was getting into the seat next to mine.  I felt a small hesitation in my spirit.  I saw the big bottle of alcohol he was holding and I momentarily felt fear until Alex said to me, "Kim, he has lost a son."  I looked into his beautiful, blue eyes and felt such compassion.  I said, "Alex, will you ask him if we can pray for him?"  It took awhile for him to stop talking so she could ask him and he immediately said, "Yes."

This is where we picked up the old man

He looked me in the eyes and I began to pray.  I prayed with all the hurt and sorrow in my own heart over the loss of my dear son and I prayed that the God of all comfort would be a comfort to his heart.  I prayed that he would see Jesus clearly and that he would come to know him as his Savior.  I prayed that deep peace would come into his troubled soul.  When I finished praying, I looked into his eyes and he had small tears and began to speak, with Alex interpreting, "That was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.  Your voice was beautiful.  It sounded like fresh water pouring down or birds singing in the morning...." and as he talked tears of gratitude welled in my eyes and I knew that the Maker of heaven and earth had invaded our car and had come in a mysterious, supernatural way that transcended all language.

We drove the man to his home not far away and he got out of the car, clutching the bible we had given him and promising to read it aloud with his wife.  It felt like he was family as we warmly shook hands good-bye and promised to try and make a return visit.  He was all smiles as he ambled up his walkway and we drove away with joy in our hearts.


On another day while biking through a different village we came upon an older woman sitting on her bench just outside of her house.  She was portly with big, swollen legs and she had the cheeriest, warmest smile.  The flower garden, just behind her was beautiful and well-groomed.  I kept wondering how she did so much work with her stout body and I knew she had to haul water from the village well.   Sadly I did not get a picture but her home was similar to this house in the same village:

We began chatting, again through an interpreter and we learned that she too had lost a son!  I knew that it was no coincidence.  Suddenly, I was meeting people who had lost children.  Since, that time, this has continued in my life.  I don't recall that this ever happened to me before. Anyway, when she was told that I had lost a young son, she looked startled and she jerked her head to look at me.  She looked right into my eyes and both of our eyes filled with tears and we spontaneously embraced one another.  I asked if I could pray for her, she shook her head yes and we held hands as I prayed that she would know Jesus and that her soul would find comfort in His love.  She crossed herself after my prayer and we hugged once again.  She warmly invited us to return the next day and come into her house.  How I wanted to!  How I longed to see her again but it was not to be.

"Okay, Lord," I thought as I pedaled away on my bike.  "So, I know you use everything and now I see that you are using my grief as a link to others.  It is like a stepping stone right into their hearts.  For this, I can praise you."

Fresh tears pricked my eyes as I thought of my precious son and suddenly, I "saw" his joy and I knew that he was glad that his death could be used as a catalyst to draw others to his Jesus that saved him.

And all Nations will hate you because you are My followers. Matthew 10:22

Just before Jesus sent his best friends out to the villages of Israel He gave them instructions and told them to 'heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy and cast out demons.'  He instructed them to take nothing along on the journey, not even the smallest change.  I am reminded of a book I read by a guy named, "Brother Andrew" and how he too was sent out by his christian training school without any money.  Not a single coin.  He was instructed to depend on God alone for his needs and the results were amazing.  (You can read about it in his book, "God's Smuggler.")

After Jesus gave basic instruction to His friends, He then spent a lot of time telling them that they WOULD BE HATED.  He goes into great detail saying that they will be whipped, thrown in jail, and that "ALL nations will hate you because you are my followers".  He even said that their own families would turn against them.

 When I read those verses, it was as if I saw a huge collision on earth. When the truths about the Kingdom of Jesus are declared, there is a clash.  Light starts to invade darkness and the darkness reacts with anger.  It is almost a given.  Darkness cannot bear the light.

Matthew Henry has this to say about some of the verses in Matthew 10:  Christ foretold troubles, not only that the troubles might not be a surprise, but that they might confirm their faith. He tells them what they should suffer, and from whom. Thus Christ has dealt fairly and faithfully with us, in telling us the worst we can meet with in his service; and he would have us deal so with ourselves, in sitting down and counting the cost. Persecutors are worse than beasts, in that they prey upon those of their own kind. The strongest bonds of love and duty, have often been broken through from enmity against Christ. Sufferings from friends and relations are very grievous; nothing cuts more. It appears plainly, that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution; and we must expect to enter into the kingdom of God through many tribulations. With these predictions of trouble, are counsels and comforts for a time of trial. The disciples of Christ are hated and persecuted as serpents, and their ruin is sought, and they need the serpent's wisdom.

I haven't heard the phrase 'counting the cost' in a long time.  When I was first saved in high school, during the Jesus Movement, hundreds were coming to the faith and we talked about telling new converts to 'count the cost'.  Christianity is not for wimps, it's for warriors!!  Now we say things like, "Jesus has a wonderful plan for your life" which is true and I say it all the time but we are often forgetting the other side.  "Are you willing to suffer for Jesus?"

In my mind, Jesus cannot be any clearer or plainer when He speaks about persecution to His disciples and there is no doubt in my mind that He was thinking of you and I when He spoke.  "Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their Master.  And since I, the Master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!"  Matthew 10:25

A new religion is creeping into the world and it is called Universalism.  All of its members claim to be Christians and to love Jesus.  One common theme I have seen among all of them is that they long to be loved.  If they see a fellow Christian being hated, they will immediately blame the Christian and tell him that he is in the wrong.

Two glaring examples are Rob Bell and Joel Osteen.  Rob Bell was so embarrassed by street evangelists that he made a video mocking a Christian who evangelized with a bull-horn.  In my opinion, Rob just wants to be loved.  He couldn't bear that anyone would lump him in with nerdy, uncool, brash Christians.  I have to confess that I don't know a whole lot about Rob Bell or Joel Osteen but my impression with both men is that they long to be loved.  Joel takes it so far that he is afraid to even say what the bible says about homosexuality.

Don't get me wrong.  I want to be loved as well.  I can't stand it when people don't like me.  It hurts. However, I hope that I will never compromise truth for my own longings.  Fear stops me all the time from being bold in my testimony for Jesus but I want to be counted worthy to suffer for Jesus.  To be honest, I rarely suffer for Jesus and I do long to be loved when I am on the streets evangelizing.  I am sure the disciples were loved when they healed the sick and cast out demons!  So, maybe, for the Christian both sides of the coin will be true.  We will be loved and people will be grateful to us for helping to usher them out of darkness and into the light.  On the other hand, we will be hated and sneered at.  The worst I usually get is cursing, jeering and contempt and that is when I say things like, "Jesus is God" or "Jesus is the only path to salvation."  The light of my words hits in the darkness of others and demons rise up to the challenge.

To sum up:  If we are receiving no persecution for our faith, are we making our lives too comfortable? We should not be embarrassed of our faith or be afraid of being hated.  We should always stand up for Jesus and be true soldiers of the cross.

“I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what was radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable.” 
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream


“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” 
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Spurgeon talks of the perseverance of one open air preacher, John Furz, who encountered a bit of opposition when he preached.

“Once recommenced, the fruitful agency of field-preaching was not allowed to cease… The preachers needed to have faces set like flints, and so indeed they had. John Furz says: ‘As soon as I began to preach, a man came straight forward, and presented a gun at my face; swearing that he would blow my brains out, if I spake another word.
 However, I continued speaking, and he continued swearing, sometimes putting the muzzle of the gun to my mouth, sometimes against my ear. While we were singing the last hymn, he got behind me, fired the gun, and burned off part of my hair.’

“After this, my brethren, we ought never to speak of petty interruptions or annoyances.” 
—From Charles Spurgeon’s sermon: Open-Air Preaching—A Sketch of its History and Remarks Hereon

To The Streets in Southern Germany

To The Streets in Southern Germany

At the end of March we traveled to Albstadt in southern Germany and stayed for one month with our good friends, Rolf and Andrea Kastle. Rolf and Andrea's church is called BGG Zollernalb in Hechingen and is related to the "Gospel Forum" in Stuttgart. It is in an area with three villages: Hechingen, Ebingen and Balingen Rolf's church is in Hechingen and a sister church is in Ebingen. They have a vision to plant a third church in Balingen. There is a main BGG church in Stuttgart from which these churches were birthed. The whole area is beautiful. Big tree-covered mountains surround darling villages which are tucked down in the valleys. The people work hard and you see the pay-off in their beautiful homes and cars.

Rolf & Andrea

Rolf is a very hard-working man. He is a landscape architect, full-time pastor of the church and father to four children. Two of the children are out of the home and two boys still living at home. Rolf has the most fun-loving spirit and was always eager for whatever task was at hand. Andrea is calm, serene and full of love and wisdom. She loved to worship and every morning she had her guitar and could be found singing her heart out to Jesus. They welcomed us into their home as if we were long-lost family. It was hard for us to launch out on the mission field after Gabe's passing but the Lord gave us that beautiful and safe environment to get back on our feet. Not only did we minister but we were ministered to. One powerful night, Rolf prayed over me and asked forgiveness as a man for all that my ex-husband had done to me and he prayed healing into my life about Gabe. On another night, he adopted Thilo as his son and then called the men who were gathered to surround Thilo with prayer. It was so intimate and amazing to watch. They prophesied and sang over him. At the end they picked him up by the legs and hands and swung him as a father would a son and threw him on the couch!

I got to teach on prayer to the leader's of the church and one of the things I shared was how missionary Jackie Pulinger would walk around Hong Kong just speaking in tongues. From doing just that, the Holy Spirit worked powerfully through her to birth a ministry to drug addicts. I shared how Bre and I decided to do the same thing in Berlin and how we as well had amazing results. They were excited and wanted to try it. So we all met in a village called Balingen where they would like to plant a church. We broke off into groups of 2 and 3 and I instructed them that for the next hour no german or english could be spoken. We would prayer walk Balingen, speaking in tongues and listening to where the Holy Spirit would like us to go. Pastor Rolf and I went with a sweet older lady and we ran into three different people that they knew. We were able to pray over one lady who had been to Rolf's church; we gave Christian tracts to a Muslim couple that the older lady knew; and we encouraged a Christian worship leader that Rolf hadn't seen in a long time. We all returned to the square after one hour excited to share what the Holy Spirit had done. Almost every one had a story and out of this prayer time came an initiative to do a street outreach right there in the main town square of Balingen. The word “party” came and we decided to have a big street party in anticipation of Easter and celebrating His resurrection.

Street Party Outreach

The party street outreach was all we could ever have wanted or hoped for. Rain was predicted for the day but we had beautiful sunshine! We had helium balloons for the kids; a water area that Rolf (a landscape architect as well as Pastor) designed for the kids complete with a small fountain; tables with champagne and crackers; face painting; live music courtesy of Thilo; soap bubbles courtesy of Bre; and free hugs from me. The atmosphere was alive and festive. We had all decided to wear fancy clothes which added to the fun. One of the church's evangelists, Uwe gave away almost all of our impressive Easter evangelism tracts and had many good conversations with people. In addition, almost everyone had one good spirit-led conversation. Thilo not only sang but preached the gospel several times over the microphone.

Rolf's water-fun for the kids

Having fun at our street evangelism

Toni & Netty

We had the privilege of meeting and befriending a wonderful couple from the church – Toni & Annet. They have a business in Ebingen called 'Second Life' which has the double meaning of buying second hand goods and taking on a new life. They sell used furniture, household items and knick-knacks. In fact their shop is packed to the brim with wonderful antiques and almost any household item you can imagine. Annet (Netty) let us take anything we wanted. What joy! It's a good thing we live in an R.V. otherwise I know we would have been tempted to take too many things. I got a beautiful blue candle holder and Bre found a cute apron and hat. We loved Toni & Netty. We loved their ideas and vision. They have art days in their shop where people can come and paint so we spent two wonderful days just painting in the shop and chatting with people who came in to browse. Netty always had tea and cookies on hand for us. Toni is a brilliant artist and has painted many pictures for the kingdom. The first time I saw one of his pictures I gasped because it was so amazing. It was an honor to get to spend time with him and hear the story behind his amazing art. Thilo was so inspired that he decided to actually interview Toni and get him and his art on camera. He gave us permission to take one of his pictures and print postcards which we then passed out on the street with the name of the church and a poem on the back.

Lunch with Netti & Toni

Toni's picture we made into a postcard

Carrying the Cross

One day the three of us decided to go to the City Center and preach the gospel. I felt led to play the guitar and sing some songs and while I was doing so a Muslim man tried to stare me down. His face conveyed the thoughts, “You cannot speak of Jesus in our city.” I asked him if I could pray for him and he sort of leaped away from me in fear. I decided to just start praying and while I was doing so he began twirling in circles as if to twirl away our prayers and then he took off fast down the street. From that encounter and the fact that the city had just installed some very questionable sculptures that conveyed sexual-New Age overtones, Bre got her cross-initiative from the Lord.

Rolf supplied the wood which was a large tree branch which Bre used to make a cross. She also made a beautiful sign which she hung over the cross that said, “Jesus is the Only God” in German and Turkish. We drove to Ebingen with the cross taking up most of the room in the back of our RV and parked near the city center. We got out and with Bre carrying the cross we began walking in what we thought was the direction of the City Center. We went the wrong way and had to re-trace our steps but we felt that it was God's way of carrying the cross where He wanted it seen. Bre felt a great joy carrying the cross and a supernatural boldness. As we passed people we saw them reading our sign, either out loud or to themselves and we were excited that the truth of the gospel was being spoken on their lips whether they believed it our not. A lot of people smiled at us while others looked at us disdainfully. We felt that what we did was a prophetic declaration to the town that the devil's reign was over and it was time for Jesus people to take their stand.The next day we carried the cross through Balingen, the city where Rolf would like to plant a new church and at the end of our walk we placed the cross on the empty building that Rolf would like to rent for church services. The cross looked beautiful leaning up in a corner of the building and it looked right out onto the main street of Balingen.

Bre & Kim with the Cross

Small Groups

We attended all four of the small groups in the church and were privileged to teach or share. I spoke one night on prayer and another time about the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist. Bre spoke about positioning yourself as a child in the Kingdom of God and Thilo gave an encouraging talk about not giving up. Twice we attended a weekly prayer meeting which prayed for the city. It met in an older ladies house named Ilsa who found the Lord in her older age through her daughter Angelica who lives right next door. Max - an 86 year old man led worship on the guitar which was very sweet and rich. I fell in love with Max. His love for Jesus was palpable and he was passionate about doing things for God. We loved hearing his stories of the war and how he escaped as a young 17 year old.

Max leading us in worship

Prayer Walking

We went prayer walking with Andrea and a woman named Elka twice. They took us to the mountains overlooking the city and both times we had powerful prayer times. We also went on a LONG hike with Rolf, walking from their house all the way to the top of a mountain which was across the small valley from their house. It seemed impossible when we looked at the distance but in the end it wasn't so bad. The hard part was at the end, making it up the steep part of the mountain. We were glad we pushed through. At the top was a bench and a small box was attached to a tree that had tracts inside for people to read. We were thankful that Rolf called Andrea to come and pick us up! We walked back down the mountain and a little ways into the valley where she met us.

Preaching

We were humbled and blessed when Rolf asked us if we would like to preach. It's not every day that you come across a Pastor so willing to share his pulpit and with women as well! I took the first Sunday, Bre the second and Thilo was privileged to preach on Easter Sunday. Rolf always made it known that we were available to pray for people after the service and each time we loved praying and prophesying over them.

24-7 BURN (Worship)

We also presented the idea of doing a BURN and the church took that on. Rolf rented a room and Andrea organized 4 sets of worship teams for the 6-hour Burn. Bre and I opened with the first hour set – she on piano, me on guitar and Thilo on cajon. We helped implement art at the Burn which was something new for the church. Initially Rolf couldn't quite wrap his brain around the idea of doing art in the same room as worship but in the end he loved it along with everyone else. Toni did an amazing picture and was often seen dancing while he painted. He presented the finished painting to a woman named Slobadanka at her birthday party and she received it with thankful tears. We were blessed when the Pastor from BGG Ebingen came to the Burn along with Hartmut (the former Pastor) and his wife. At the end of the six hours, no one could believe how fast the time went and we all felt full of joy.

Hartmut

You don't find many men like Hartmut! When we first met him three years ago we were impressed that after the all-church banquet he was in the kitchen washing dishes and running around to see if anyone wanted more coffee. I don't know if I have ever seen a head-Pastor with such humility. He has such a big heart for people that he resigned the Pastorate and began ministering to down and out people struggling through life, often with addiction problems. Step by step the Lord led him till now he runs a house with former addicts. They live together in community and help each other stay clean. We were invited one evening to have dinner and fellowship with them. It turned out to be such a rich evening as we got to hear their testimonies. Afterwards, I felt led to give one of the ladies my “Hopes Alive” T-shirt which the three of us had gotten in the United States from a friend who came out of addiction and designed the shirt and started a business. The lady was so appreciative that we felt led to bless the whole house with T-shirts. Hopefully it will be soon that they are delivered to them from the United States!

Hope's Alive T-Shirt

Uwe

Another amazing person in Southern Germany is Uwe. We met him three years ago when we first went to Rolf's church to teach on evangelism. Uwe was eager. He had never evangelized before and he had such a teachable spirit. On this trip, we heard his testimony and were deeply touched to find that he was rejected by his whole family because of his faith in Jesus. He came out of a deep involvement in the New Age religion and was delivered from many things. I have rarely met such a joyful, humble man. Likewise we loved his wife, Slobadanka who also shared her amazing testimony of coming out of a gypsy background. She could write a book. Uwe works in a home were mentally ill people live together and are considered hopeless cases. He invited us to come visit the home on Easter day when he was working. When we arrived, Uwe met us at the door with his big smile and ushered us into the kitchen area. There were about 8 people waiting for us and the table was laid with cake and coffee. Some of the people seemed thrilled that we were there while others seemed angry or confused. We all introduced ourselves and made small talk while we ate our cake. Then Thilo started singing a fun song about loving Jesus and they all started clapping and singing along. It was wonderful and the more we sang the more joy seemed to come down. A few of them left the room but most of them seemed to be deeply ministered to. We got to lay hands on and pray for a woman who was extremely disabled due to drugs. She was open for prayer and healing and I made a commitment to keep her in my prayers. Our hearts went out to Uwa for working in such a hard, spiritually oppressive place. He was so loving and amazing to the people and we felt it was important that we keep him in our prayers.

Fellowship

Besides all the ministering we did, we spent a lot of time being invited to people's homes for lunch or dinner as well as being taken out as tourists. We got to see the Alps and we were taken to some caves deep under the earth with many stalagmites. One thing I will never forget is the tour guide asked if anyone would want to sing as the particular cave we were in had good acoustics. Someone offered that his girlfriend could sing but she was too shy. Then Bre said, “Thilo can sing!” Thilo stepped forward, took a deep breath and began to belt out, “Then sings my soul, my Lord my God to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art!” The sound resonated around us and in those few seconds the glory of God came down. It was wonderful. Through that we met another Christian and Thilo was able to share our faith with some other people.

So our time in southern Germany came to an end and it was with many tears and hugs that we said goodbye to our family. We believe we will be back and we pray that someday we can join them on one of their outreaches to Africa.

My friend Kahal

York - dog Spock - and Kahal

This picture was taken the first day that I met Kahal back in 2009.  We were working with YWAM's Summer of Service that year and we came up with the idea to walk around Boxhagener Park like Joshua did with the city of Jericho.  We were a group of 20 and we gathered some noise-makers such as tamborines, whistles and some big spoons on pans.  We walked around the permimeter of the park 6 times while praying softly to ourselves - not a work spoken.  The 7th time around - we let out a big WHOOP! and began making noise and celebrating Jesus.  I'll never forget seeing some of the men we had come to know in the park, standing on the benches and peering over the hedges to see what all  the noise was about.  When they saw Bre and I they said, "Oh, it's just the Christians!"

But one young guy whom I had never seen before and had the biggest grin spread across his face came out of the park and over to us.  At that point, we began singing, "All we are saying is give Christ a chance......" and Kahal sang with us and wanted to march around with us which he did.  When we were finished circling the park, we went inside and sat down in the middle.  Kahal joined us and pulled out his poetry notebook and began to share his poetry with me and so began our friendship.

After that, we saw Kahal almost every time we came into the park which we did about once a week to take in cookies, smiles and the love of Jesus.  One day he told me that his bike had just been stolen.  I felt so bad for him and offered to pray for a new one.  As I was praying, the Holy Spirit reminded me that I had a bike sitting in our courtyard that I wasn't using and that I should offer it to him.  I did and he said he would take it.  He followed me home and I gave him the bike.  He seemed so pleased.  About a month later, I came into the park during the Sunday flea-market and I first saw Kahal trying to avoid me, ducking his head down and acting embarrassed.  Then I noticed my bike.  There it was for sale.  He was so embarrassed.  I told him, "Kahal, I gave that bike to you with no strings attached.  It is yours to do with as you please."

When the summer was over, Kahal disappeared and I heard that he went back to Ireland.  The following Spring, there he was again in the park.  We greeted one another with smiles and hugs.  A couple of months later he announced that he was getting married!  He had met a girl in the park and they did get married.  It didn't last long - maybe a couple of months.

He stayed in Berlin that Winter and at that time, we began having dinners in our then cafe - der Garten.  We invited Kahal and his brother who had joined him in Berlin.  They also had a friend, Osian that we met as well.  They began coming into der Garten once a week for a hot meal.  Once time we decided to show them "The Passion of Christ" movie.  They seemed to watch it with much interest.  I explained things to them every so often.  When he was dying on the cross, I explained to them that He GAVE His life for them, for all of us to take the punishment of our sins.

They dissapeared once again and we didn't see them until the following summer.  This time we had started doing our home-church in the park.  Every Sunday we took in a huge blanket with our guitar, bongo, bibles, drinks and small signs that said, "Free Prayer".  While we were worshipping, Kahal came over and joined us.  After awhile, Thilo decided to explain the gospel to him - once more.   I had shared with him many times but this time, he was ready.  He listened to Thilo and then prayed to ask Jesus into his heart.  We all had such great rejoicing!  After that, we didn't see him much and we weren't sure how strong his commitment to Jesus was.

Just three weeks before I was to leave Berlin and start traveling around Europe, I saw Kahal one last time.  It was near my home.  I was approaching the U-Bahn when I saw a familiar looking face and suddenly realized it was Kahal.  He noticed me about the same time and both of our faces broke into huge grins and we hugged each other.  He looked completely different.  Gone was the jewelry that once hung all over his body.  Gone was the ever-present cap.  In their place was a man with shorter hair and clean looking clothes.  He told me that he was pursuing a job in carpentry.  "Can you believe that?"  he said.  He told me that he hadn't taken drugs in a long time and his only bad habit was cigarettes.  Then he let me know that a lot of the changes were due to God.  He acknowledged God and that just made my day.  We hugged companionably and I knew in my soul that the Father was blessing me with this gift of Kahal.  The Father was letting me know that our work was not in vain.  Kahal was walking slowly toward the Light.  I loved bumping into my friend like that.  I told him that we were leaving Berlin and I really doubt that I will see him again until I see him in heaven.  I had joy on that day.....a great joy overwhelming and bubbling over.  It was worth it all.

It never looks how we think it should look!

"Faith consumes itself not with questions but with a person, and that person is Jesus.  Simply put, we are asking too many questions that would never be issues were we in His presence.  All fear of the future would leave my young children's faces when they were in my lap.  Climb into His lap and rest in faith."                                                                                Author Michael Wells

 JESUS TRIUMPHAL ENTRY
As Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey's colt, "most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, 
 'Praise God for the Son of David!  Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Praise God in highest heaven!'  The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.
                                                                                                   Matthew 21:8-10 

Jesus went from being praised and honored to upsetting the statuesque of the sellers in the temple.  (Matthew 21:12-17).   It must have been a temptation to stay in the admiration of the people, after-all they were acknowledging that He WAS the "Son of David"!  They knew the Messiah would come from the line of David and by giving Him this title - they were acknowledging His diety.

Jesus stayed obedient to the Father.  He didn't gloat in the glory.  He overturned tables and used a whip to drive them out!

Walking in obedience never looks like how we think it will look.
With Jesus they thought, "Trimumphant King" yet He came as a poor carpenter.
They thought the Messiah would dine with Kings yet he called poor, uneducated fishermen.
They thought the Messiah would overthrow the government, yet the government crucified Him.

David Brainerd (1718-1747) preached among Native American Indians at the age of 24.  He suffered a lot.  His diet was meager and unwholesome, His lodging a log hut, and his bed a bundle of straw spread on boards.  He describes his condition, "I am now quite alone with no friend to take sweet counsel together.  In my weak state of health, I have no bread, nor could I get any.  I am often forced to go ten or fifteen miles in stormy and severe weather for all the bread I eat, and sometimes it is moldy and sour.  I was almost outdone with the extreme fatigue and wet.  Yet, I love to live alone in my own little cottage where I can spend much time in prayer."  

Oh the sweetness of fellowship with Jesus!  When I read this I thought about how nothing is comparable to spending time with Jesus!  Even through cold and near starvation the presence of Jesus was sweet to David.  We need to stop trying to make things look like we think they should look.  I'm sure David never imagined the hard conditions working with the Indians.  He died very young, not four years later.  To the world, his life looks worthless.   Yet, his biography became a source of inspiration and encouragement to many Christians, including missionaries William Carey and Jim Elliot. Even today, his name rings from the earth and I am encouraged by his words. Hundreds of Indians were converted through David's preaching.  In heaven we will get to see the impact his life made on this earth.
 

 

The Oil of Jesus

Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever.  You rule with a scepter of justice.  You love justice and hate evil.  Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.                                                    Psalm 45:6-7

Many years ago, a friend of mine broke her back.  She had to be put into a stryker frame twice.  The second time, she didn't think she could endure it because the remembrance of the pain the first time was overwhelming.  Screw were inserted into her temples to hold her frame straight.

Being turned on the Stryker Frame

She asked many people to pray for her before the procedure was to take place.  When the time came she still had fear and just before the doctor began the procedure, Jesus appeared before her eyes.  He had a pitcher full of water or oil and he was pouring it all over her.  Joy overwhelmed her and she began to laugh.  She laughed throughout the whole procedure and never felt any pain.  Today her back is healed and she is whole.

Last year, I had a three day period where oil (in the natural) was spilled in my home.  The first day I was pulling a jar of Olive Oil out of my cupboard when it seemed to jump from my hands and fall onto my tiled flour with a loud crash.  Oil was everywhere, along with the broken glass and it took a long time to clean up.  I thought I'd never pick up all the oil. The next morning, I had a jar of ear-oil next to my bed and the cap was off, the jar fell over and oil spilled all over my night stand.  The third day, I opened a jar of peppers that were soaking in oil and it toppled over and spilled all over my kitchen counter! A friend of mine was staying with me and she said, "The Lord is trying to tell you something!"  At first, I thought it was all such a nuisance but in thinking about it, I realized that it was very unusual that three containers of oil had spilled in my home.  My friend found this scripture from the Song of Solomon and wrote it on my bathroom wall:  "How fragrant is your cologne; your name is like its spreading fragrance."

We felt that the Lord was giving us a new anointing but as I sought the Lord and thought about these things, the vision came back to me of Jesus holding the pitcher of water over my friend and pouring the oil upon her. The Lord kept expanding that picture in my mind.  He highlighted this verse to me from John 16:7 which says, "But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don't the Advocate won't come.  If I do go away, then I will send Him to you."   He showed me that it is HE that sends the Holy Spirit and then He further showed me that He is still sending the Spirit and delights to do so.  Ephesians 5:18 says, "Don't get drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life.  Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts."  "Be filled" is present tense. 

I believe that when the oil was spilling in my house, Jesus was telling me, "Come to me everyday for a fresh splash of oil!  I am in heaven with my pitcher full and I'm always ready to pour out more and more on you.  Come and let me pour on you and drink freely."  We can ask again and again and He delights to pour the oil upon us!

Psalm 133:2 is a beautiful picture of how he wants the oil to saturate us.  "For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe."

May we be dripping with the oil of the Holy Spirit.  It has no cost, it is completely free!  "Is anyone thirsty?  Come and drink-- even if you have no money!  Come, take your choice of wine or milk--it's all free!  Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?  Why pay for food that does you no good?"  Isaiah 55: 1-2

JESUS & HIS COUSIN JOHN

The story of Jesus and John the Baptist is so amazing to me.  They were cousins!  Did they play together as young boys?  Most cousins that I know are really close - almost closer than brothers and sisters because they are related yet not close enough for the fights that siblings have.  I am sure that whether they saw a lot of each other or a little, that they loved one another.

John not only prophesied of Jesus but he was also a prophet to the nations.  He spoke God's truth and told  Herod (the ruler of Galilee) that he shouldn't marry his brother's former wife.  As most of us know, this made the new wife angry and when her daughter danced for Herod, she so pleased him that he told her he would give her whatever she wanted, even up to half of his kingdom.  Her mother told her to ask for the head of John on a platter.  The King was dismayed but he granted their wish and John was beheaded.

When John was put in prison he had some very low moments.  I used to think that he was a saint from beginning to end but we find him asking the question, "Is Jesus really the Messiah or should we look for another?"  (Luke 7:19). In other word, John was asking, "Why am I in prison?  Why aren't you using your power to get me out if you are the Messiah?"  His words sound almost like a taunt to Jesus.  He is disillusioned, disappointed and distraught.  We can only imagine what the prison was like.

Jesus response to John's disciples, (who had asked the question for John) was, "Go back and tell John what you've seen and heard - the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.  And tell him: God blesses those who do not run away because of me."  (Luke 7:22-23).

Hidden in Jesus words is a promise, "Those who aren't offended by me are BLESSED".  Yet I look at John's life and I think, "How was he blessed?  He was in prison!  He was beheaded!" 

I believe that once John heard the words of Jesus, he repented of his doubt.  He may have repented with tears and as he did, I believe that peace came down and flooded his soul.  He was restored to right relationship with His heavenly Father.  He now had supernatural strength to face what was just ahead.  I wonder if he may have seen visions of his heavenly home to come.  His heart may have been flooded with joy.  I believe the Father held him in his arms when he was beheaded and escorted him lovingly to his new home.

Herod was tortured by his deed and believed that John came back in the form of Jesus.  I think it is interesting to note that Jesus had nothing to do with the Kings and rulers of this world (other than during his trial and crucifixion).  Here He was, the one true King and he went to fishermen and prostitutes. 

John's disciples went and told Jesus that John was dead.  Even though Jesus may have known this was going to happen, he still had all the emotions of a man.  I believe that this news impacted him greatly.  He loved John.  I'm sure He would have loved to have used his power to free him from prison but Jesus only did what the Father told him to do - John 5:19.  Now his friend, his cousin, the man he loved was dead.  When Jesus heard the news He immediately went away to be alone.  (Matthew 14:13).  But the crowds followed him, over 5000 of them and He chose to serve them rather than go into "me" time.  He healed them; He fed them; and He loved them.  That same night He sent them all home and insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake.  (Matthew 14:22).  Finally, He was alone.  Oh the mixture of emotion He was have had!  As a man - he'd just lost one of his best friends and that man had doubted him, been hurt by him and then beheaded!

I wonder if Jesus was able to speak to John - now in paradise?  Or did Jesus see him in glory?  Did John smile at Jesus and say, "I'm so sorry I misunderstood you!  The pain was all worth it!  I love you Jesus, my King and my Lord!"

Did Jesus weep alone - experiencing for us the sorrow of loss and rejection?  The bible says that He understands everything that we go through.  Did Jesus have moments of confusion and doubt?

I believe that in the final moments of Jesus night time prayer and struggles, He came away refreshed and victorious!  He had prayed till 2:30 or 3:00am as the bible records in Matthew 14:25 that it was at 3am that Jesus came towards the boat where His disciples were afraid and caught in a strong storm.  Maybe He was so HIGH and so FILLED with the glory of God and so blessed to "SEE" John in glory that in His joy he walked on water to the disciples in the boat!  I imagine His sweetness and his heart saying to his friends, "Don't be afraid!  I'm here!"