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5/14/10
Something is happening
in the world that many believers are not seeing. Putting
the pieces together about what is happening seems to be
on a level all on its own concerning the rapture and no
one is seeing the bigger picture. Everyone is saying He
is coming and it is time to be leaving but no one is
leaving. Things are getting worst and the handwriting is
on the wall but no one is reading it. Perhaps it is
being written in a language that most do not understand
or read. It is being written in the language of
revelation but we are so use to interpreting God’s word
that now that he is revealing to us we can’t see or
hear.
Rather than step up the
great commission and bring in our harvest it would seem
that the church age has taken a hiatus and has dispensed
with keeping to the great commission. We have both
neglected the fields and the flocks. Congregations have
turned to their own ways. Every nation has clamored
after the pretense of virtue of other nations rather
than seek God for itself.
Missionaries are parked
in the backyard of other nations pretending to be
helpers of the gospel but many are really becoming
cripplers of the work in those nations. I recently saw a
documentary where missionaries in Haiti literally build
an orphanage there with 12 foot walls and bob wire to
boot and at the gate a native with a shot gun to keep
the people out. Go figure! How has spreading the good
news come to this? A mom and dad who had abandoned their
child came back to claim her but the missionaries did
nothing to reconnect them.
Rather than teach the
natives to care for their orphans and teach them how to
be parents they rather hold their children hostage to
love. How can such a thing be? We have truly lost our
way. There is not much that is recognizable about
Christianity in comparison to the foundation which Jesus
and His disciples laid out for us. Proverbs 16:25 says,
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the
end thereof are the ways of death.” Yes, our way might
seem right but it is destroying us all.
We were told to go and
make disciples of all nations but instead we have carved
out our own kingdoms as we go and parked ourselves there
as mini messiahs. Rather than turn the people over to
Jesus as His children we corral them into buildings we
call churches and indoctrinate them into a cultural
theology. We have lost our way and we have led others
down a wrong path.
The bible does not
need us to explain it, it only needs us to deliver the
good news in it.
The Holy Spirit is more than capable of doing His own
work. If we are truly about God’s business we would
labor and turn the glory over to Him. I met a man in
Kenya who has been there for many years only returning
once a year to his native country to raise money so he
can return and live a life of luxury. I heard many
people now have paper ministries as missionaries. They
send monthly reports so the money can keep coming and no
matter how much I tell people to go and visit ministries
they have vested much money into they keep sending their
checks and the so called missionaries keep building
their empires with their names on it and the donors
names are never so much as mentioned.
But it is not just on
the mission field but at home in the congregations that
the mischief has gone on. So many false doctrines are
being taught and the people are more and more ignorant
of the bible than when they first came to faith. I heard
a lady preached the other day and told people to seed
into the church an offering for their greatest need to
be met. Shame on them all! They were told to take the
money and pray what their need was over it before
putting it on the altar. The statement of faith the
preacher made was “Give God something to work with.” But
what has happened to the fervent prayer of a righteous
man availing much? James 5:16. What has happened to
“John 15:7, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in
you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done
unto you.
The great commission has
not been called off. It is still an active commission
and unless we stop playing church and deactivating the
body of Jesus we will all have much to answer for in the
end. Who hasn’t made mistakes in ministry? We all have
but like David once we recognize our mistakes we are to
repent and get back on God’s track. We are way off
track. It takes one individual at a time sometimes to
make the change come. You all know what God has called
each of you to do. Just do it.
We are living in a world
of extremes. The world is either extreme atavistic or
extreme pacifistic. Few walk on the straight and narrow
because the path is rarely found in this day and age. In
China of late people are perpetrating on preschool
children their frustrations. The Ultra Orthodox in
Israel is perpetrating on women seeking to speak to God
for themselves. In the west we are oblivious to the
condition the world is in and we who have known freedom
all our lives are seeking to take that freedom away from
others in one way or another.
When righteous men and
women decided that the right way is taking to long and
the wrong way will get the right thing done quicker
something is definitely wrong. God is patient and so we
can afford to be patient because everything is about His
timing anyway. We cannot circumvent the laws or the
word. There is simply no right way of doing wrong. There
is no good end result either because if you don’t pay
for your actions those that follow you will certain
inherit your mistakes and bad judgment. We spent decades
building mega churches and now those that would be happy
to hear a word from God have lost faith in us because
our God can’t help us keep out building furthermore our
homes. Most churches are so indebt that they are not in
a position to help its own members out of their
situations. The church coffers are strictly reserve for
bank use.
But everyone I speak to
is telling me that the rapture will soon come and take
them out of the mess we have made. I don’t think it is
that simple. I don’t think we get to lead generation
astray and then we are raptured out leaving behind our
mess. David had to answer for his mistakes and so did
Saul. What makes us think we get off scot free? If God
spared not Israel He will not spare us! Israel had their
exile and their time of being cast off until they
repented. How much more shall we have our time. This is
not the time to give up this is the time to step up to
the plate and do your thing - the right thing. It might
cost you something but do it anyway. God will honor you
at your point of turning. A u-turn means you have to
turn. Now is the time for the righteous to rise up and
do the right thing. Someone is waiting for your
righteous move so they can be compelled to move. Go
ahead and bust your move.
▲
5/4/10
I spent the last three months in
Israel mostly learning the language. Trying to learn a
new language at any age can be trying especially when
you have to commit to memory a whole new set of language
skills and vocabulary that is vastly different from
anything you have every encountered. Semitic languages
are quite unique and just trying to pronounce a word or
even conjugate a verb can be daunting. Several times I
had considered simply giving up and just settling fro
English to see me through. This thing is le3arning one
Semitic language can really be a foundation for learning
others. Being able to read the bible in its original
text is convincing enough to continue. Actually my
expectations for learning Hebrew was quite different. I
though I would take a class a few hours a week and over
a period of time learn the language. This was an intense
three months of nothing but Hebrew.
The greatest struggle for me was that
I found learning Hebrew was taking me to a place that
was most uncomfortable for me to bear. It had been a
long time since I really felt weak at something. Hebrew
made me feel weak and stupid. I had travelled around the
globe mostly on my own and had no one else but the Lord
to see me through and there I was faced with learning a
new language and I felt weak and unsure of myself. I was
literally feeling helpless. That was not a foot that I
wanted to stand on. I wanted this language to come easy
for me that I prayed so hard that one day I would awake
just speaking and understanding. Finally I committed
myself to learning the language and found that my
understanding wasn't as bad as I thought. I did quite
well. But biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew are two
different creatures to a great degree. One is for
reading and the other is for speaking.
This way is like learning two
languages for me. Many words are no longer used and
pronunciation has changed for many others and others are
completely different. This was really my struggle that i
would pack my brain with vocabulary i could not use in
day-to-day conversation and having to remember that one
word in biblical Hebrew is not even close to the modern
work used was daunting. Well, I completed Hebrew 1 and
am happy with the results. There is nothing like opening
the Hebrew Bible and reading and understanding. You
begin to realize how much can't be translated from its
original text. You realize how much understanding you
lack and you begin to understand how much of the picture
of the bible you lack among other things. It is worth
it. Now I see clearly how we gentiles have managed to
mess up the good news of the bible. We look at it from a
western perspective but it was written from a Semitic
perspective. It is like the reader trying to tell the
author what he meant by what he wrote. But we do that
with God don't we. We tell Him what He meant by what he
said rather than asking Him what He meant. We interpret
Him rather than allowing Him to reveal Himself to us.
But we have always done that. Even the Rabbis have done
the same. Yes, much of what they wrote in the Talmud and
the Midrash are based on their understanding of
tradition but yet it is like the teachers of the
textbook defining what they think was meant rather than
what was written.
The road to truth is narrow and if we
are not careful we can all end up on either side of that
narrow road way over to the extreme. Unfortunately as
our gentile theologians have failed so have many of the
Rabbis. This was also true during Jesus' limited time
teaching in the temple and synagogues of His time. The
teachers of His day had gotten a lot wrong. Even during
Jeremiah's time they had it wrong also. Read Jeremiah
chapter 18 and see that God had to confront the
teachings in those days. I have learned to take man with
a grain of salt. After all who is man that God is
mindful of him. You see, we err. I will attest to God's
word and what i do not understand I leave for revelation
to come. It does come. That is the job of the Holy
Spirit. When anyone takes the understanding of the
Rabbis and theologians over that of revelation from the
Holy Spirit I step back. The Holy Spirit reconciles the
good news within all of us if we are open.
However to say that the Jews only
have the understanding of the word and gentiles don't is
also a fallacy. I believe that Jew and gentle have a
piece of the puzzle but rather than seek knowledge
together we have taken our own sides and said my way is
better. After all, the original olive tree can no more
reject the grafted branch than the grafted branch reject
the olive tree. Look, Jesus is our mediator between us
and the father and of course each other. Why do we
accept Him on one term and not on the others. With out
Jesus to mediate for us on all fronts we run the risk of
being extremist. Christian can find themselves on the
extreme such falling sway to replacement theology and
for the Jew becoming anti-Christian while trying to
fight anti-Semitism. My take on the whole thing is that
we all have sinned and fallen short of His glory. All of
us have gone astray. The Jews failed in their commission
and the gentiles have failed. They could not keep the
law and we can not keep the commission which is wrapped
in law. To often I hear believer say that we are not
tied to the law we are free from the law but from my
take on reading the word of God Jesus paid the
penalty of the law which is death for our sins. The
penalty has been paid but the law not abolished. We are
still under the law but not the curse of the law. What
the law could not accomplish Jesus did for us with
grace. Paul said that as gentiles we are not to commit
fornication, eat anything strangled and abstain from
meats offered to idols Acts 15:29. In other words he was
saying that the way of the Jews is different from the
way of the gentiles in certain traditions. The Jewish
nation was a foreshadowing of the kingdom of God.
Many gentiles are finding out that
they have Jewish roots and are seeking to find that root
and them figure out how to reconcile being gentile and
part Jewish. Do you throw the towel in on your gentile
side and return to a full Jewish culture or do you hold
on to the tenets of your Christian faith and throw away
your Jewish roots? In truth we all have Jewish roots Jew
and gentiles who believe in Jesus. Jesus did not start a
new religion. obviously the Jewish believer during
Jesus' time found a way to reconcile their Judaism to
their new faith in Messiah. Paul was a Jewish believer
who stayed Jewish. So what about those gentiles who find
their Jewish roots? The bible says that the remnant will
be gathered out of the nations and form every isle of
the sea. If God sees fit to gather His remnant who is
man to say he cannot be gathered. I believe those
individuals have a right to be gathered. But what we
have failed to understand is this. The gathering is for
a reason. God has a plan for the remnant and most people
it seems don't understand that plan and to them it is to
gain access to the land or some kind of social status.
I have been told that Judaism is
based on a culture and one can only be deem a Jew if
their are practicing Judaism as a culture. This is most
unfortunate especially when they are more secular Jews
than religious Jews and they are considered Jewish by
birthright. If one was not born a Jew how would you be a
practitioner of Judaism unless you convert therefore to
be Jewish would be deem being converted thus those who
say they are Jews are not Jews. Abraham was called and
He went. His descendants were from his blood line
and any who joined themselves to Israel. A mixed
multitude came out of Egypt. The bloodline from Abraham
to Jesus are sprinkled with gentile blood. If Judaism is
solely based on birthright then when does one become a
Jew in practice except when it comes to their attention
that the root is there. if it is by practicing of a
culture than why were millions of Jews in the last two
thousand years murdered because of their race?
Clearly there is nothing wrong with
being a Jew or a gentile. Abraham was a gentile before
God called him to this special task of being set apart
to be the father of a nation of people who would be a
symbol of God's love and laws. If Judaism is a cultural
thing then they are few Jews in the world. If it is a
blood thing then they are millions in the world. If it
is a faith thing them their are billions and if it is a
combination then even more.
I am not saying it is one thing or
another, I am saying that we have missed the plan of
redemption as God designed it to be. I know this one
thing - a time will come again because the bible says so
that Jacob's trouble will come and man will define
Israel and persecute her once again before the coming of
the Lord. you can define Israel anyway you want but
their is a designed way that will bring trouble to her.
Why would anyone willingly want to get in on that
trouble? Perhaps it is one's destiny to get in on it and
only God has the say so on who is. Well, I guess I am
trying to figure this out myself and I understand that
only in seeking one can find. I think in the end many
will be shocked who is and who isn't. considered a Jew.
I guess I can say that this trip was
more about finding things out than really impacting
things one way or the other. Sometimes God turns His
attention to us as individuals. This was a turning for
me. I continue to learn and see things that no longer
shock me. I am keenly aware of the heart of man Jew and
gentle and saved and unsaved. There are bad motives
everywhere and in all. There are believers that have the
wrong motives to serve and makes thing difficult for
those who have good intent. There are bad mannered
believers that read like a messed up bible. There are
those that want to learn and those that think they can't
learn. They are believers that are walking blindly in
the world some on one extreme and others on the other
and few on the straight and narrow. Some believers are
extremist, fire and brimstone is coming with judgment
and the kingdom has already come let's just live and let
live attitude. Both are ill prepared for what is ahead.
One thing for sure is this, the last shall be first.
Those who think they know it all will find they know
nothing and those who have been tossed aside will come
into their own. Jesus said hardly few will be saved.
What does that tell you? There is a small margin of
success. God help us we have all sinned and fallen
short.
My take on the entire things. Jesus
said we should be found busy when he returns. that
simply means we are to do what He commanded us to do -
obey and stop trying to offer our sacrifices that fall
short of His glory. As far as I can see, Israel is not
keeping the law and the gentiles are not keeping to his
commission. I say gentile because in Israel's unbelief
the gentile gained a door of opportunity but that soon
will close if it has not closed yet. whatever God has
put in your heart to do now is the time to see it gets
done.
The peace of God be with you in your
journey.
▲
"Many are called but few are chosen,"
that is, few prove themselves the chosen ones. Oswald
Chambers
1/21/10
What does one do between trips? There
are lots to do in preparation for the next and the next
trip. There is a constant updating of website and
completing all the unfinished stuff from previous
commitments and most of all and very important – letting
God prepare you spiritually, physically and emotionally
for the next leg of the journey.
Besides all this you have to get some
rest and shake off the last trip and be ready to go
forward with a renewed mind and mission. There is simply
no taking the past forward except for the experiences
and lessons learned. God also has to give you the
details of the next assignment and strategies to follow.
Along with this God spends a great
deal of time working on emotional healing that is a
continuous maintenance deal. Nothing to do with our
emotions happens all at once. It is a gradual thing
fixing the things stressed, broken and vastly in need of
repair. This is a necessary thing because every
destination brings with it its own issues and struggles.
God knows exactly what needs to be worked on before your
go so He times everything precisely. If you think God is
taking His time then you are mistaken.
It no longer surprises me how God
works on me because every time I move on I am faced with
issues I have just personally come face-to-face with. It
is like the right timing. It is not always about the
people you will meet and help sometimes it is also about
just you. God is preparing to bless you somewhere else
and you must be prepared to receive the blessings.
This time at home was about finishing
projects for others and about ministering to family as I
am in New York helping a nephew with new mono mono twin
girls. What an amazing experience it has been. It is a
time to reflect and a time to see the image of God from
a different light. I look into the little preemie faces
of the girls and I am amazed at such smallness and I
recall the verse that says, “Do not despise the day of
small things.”
The doctors had cautioned my nephew
and his sweet wife to abort the girls but they said no –
God will do something. God did something and every time
I look into the faces of the girls I realize God is ever
present – His image is being increased on the earth. I
am encouraged that they invited me to come and help. I
am encouraged that they trust me with their little mini
them.
For all the discouraging words I
received at home and the lack of acknowledgment of what
I am doing I am blessed to receive such a great
commission. I have been referred to as the wandering
missionary, Joy just out there without a covering and a
host of other comments that comes before or after
mentioning my name. Well as I see it when I am invited
to a home or a nation to do God’s work I do not consider
my self a wandering anything but a called on or sent out
person.
Recently I have been hearing much
about what people think about Joy. I understand from
several people that most people they know think Joy is
rich. Funny, I get the same thing when I travel to other
countries. People think I am a rich American. People at
home think I have money. I get so tired of telling my
story time and time again that I travel on a prayer and
a dime, literally.
A typical trip is first purchasing
the cheapest flight I can get for my money. This means I
am not taking a direct flight but rather long layovers
at three or four airports. Sometimes it includes staying
all night at an airport waiting for an early morning
flight out and then all day from 10 am to 10 pm at
another airport waiting for a connecting flight. In
country I have to stay with a host family because I
can’t afford hotels or restaurant food or such things. I
pretty much live as the natives live.
Once in country I use whatever
resources I have to build sustainable projects and do
the work as cost effective as I can like printing tracts
and other resources etc. When people think more of you
than is actually the truth you can be at a lost because
you lack what you need. If people think you are just out
there and you have no connection with a congregation
they will cut you off from resources, prayer in
agreement and encouragement. No one seems to think that
God can call individuals out because the whole body is
crippled in the four walls.
I do not get any monthly support and
I have made up my mind not to ask or beg anymore for
assistance to help others. It is extremely discouraging
when people promise to do something and then you return
home and nothing has been done. I will not give room for
the enemy to accuse anyone. David said he was young and
now he is old and have never seen the righteous forsaken
or His seed begging for bread. I now only place my needs
for others on the website and if someone wants to help
they are free to do so.
I am hoping that my next book will
provide the resources needed to operate this ministry
without having to be dependent on others. My heart’s
desire is to build sustainable ministry projects around
the globe and by golly I want to be sustainable in my
work as well.
Right now God is fixing me and
teaching me to release more junk and some of it I had
not been aware of. We all react to things due to
something we have experienced but not realizing the
impact that situation had on us. God is very concerned
about all aspects of our life. He is careful to first do
no harm as he meanders his way through the intricate
areas of our life choices. I know what I am learning now
will make its impact on the next journey.
I know that I am being encouraged and
prepared to go the next leg and yes even to go the
distance. My confidence is growing and I no longer
question God about things He ask me to do or places He
ask me to go. I find I am a lot less discouraged by bad
mannered believers who judge me and my motives and
faith. For all those that have been ill mannered toward
me God is now blessing me with believers who delight in
this work and have partnered with me in different ways
and encourages me.
I am reminded of Paul who had
encountered many issues with the other apostles time and
time again because they thought they were the only ones
called of God. Along the way God sent him people like
Silas and Timothy and Barnabas and others. They do not
all come at once but eventually they show up. Thank God
mine are showing up finally.
I have no regrets. I am getting ready
for the future and all that God will entrust me with. I
hope that you will find something in this posting to
encourage you and to propel you into the destiny that
God has called you to. Never mind the bad minded and bad
mannered people and the things they say. Never mind what
you don’t have or what you lack. God is your employer
and the one who has commissioned you. He knows what you
need and it is often not as much as you think you need.
You only need God’s approval and that should give you
confidence to go forward. May you be motivated to trust
God for all and in all things.
Gradually the needs are being met and
flights are due to be boarded. One little boy waited
nearly a year for glasses and finally the need has been
met. Things are coming together in God’s time. God has
given you your corner of the kingdom to labor in. Just
work your corner and never mind about the other guy. God
will not ask you about the other guy(s) He will only
inquire about you. You might not be commissioned to
board a plane but rather to walk down the block and make
a difference in someone else’s life. Just do it! The
next time He will trust you with a train ride and then
on to the plane.
I am embracing this time God has
given me to reflect, grow, learn and prepare. Everything
matters!
▲
12/28/09
This funds for this little boy to see
the ophthalmologist and get a prescription was met today
by Stephanie Rosita Gibson. We are looking still
for a donation for hearing aids.
Follow up 1/20/10 report received from Pastor Titus.
Praise the Lord, this need has been met. Thank you
Pastor Titus for showing such continued integrity with
need funds.
▲
12/14/09
Please consider purchasing my book "Letters to My Sons"
as a holiday gift for the sons and daughters in your
life and for your youth groups. This will help out
tremendously with my ministry work. My newest book
should be out by late January entitled "Debunking
Generational Curses." Royalties from this book will help
support 5 ministries including CTWM.
▲
Straight from the heart
Jesus said we must be found busy
doing kingdom work until He returns. But how many of us
are really doing exactly what He asked us to do. Some in
the body, a large percentage, has opted to sit lazily by
and wait for the traditional teaching of rapture to
occur. They think that as long as they have secured for
themselves a place in the heavenlies then all is well
with their souls. No one is considering the issue of
“love thy neighbor as thyself.
What does it mean to be found at work
while we wait for his imminent return? It means just
that! While the Lord of the house is away carry on as
though he will return any second now. When He says He
wants to find us busy at our work when He returns He
means the work must continue as though He is there all
the while. It also means we must continue the watch
because the enemy comes while we are unaware and our
guard is down. We must be vigilant for the lost before
the enemy snatches them away from the kingdom.
What does all this mean? We keep
planning our work load. We keep printing tracts and
distributing them. We keep making disciples and ensure
that when the doors to a nation close they are ready to
continue unhindered without outside support. It means it
is business as usual and nothing changes until the
master of the house comes and says “well done.” That is
it, “done” and it isn’t done until He says so.
So what exactly are we waiting for;
the rapture to take us away from our labor? It cannot
take us away from something we are not participating in.
Certainly all we can expect at that time is “depart from
me.” It is that simple. Jesus said this is the plan
until I come and we say, “Not so Lord, we have a better
idea.” But that idea is only to sit around the Father’s
table being spiritual gluttons while the harvest is
plentiful and the laborers are few. How much more of the
harvest could have been brought in while we sat and
debated whether it is the Lord’s will to go or not? It
is always the Father’s will for us to go and if the
timing is wrong for a place the Holy Spirit will hinder
us. Yet we say we are hindered at the get go so we claim
to be waiting for the ok to go. No, the word says to go
and like Paul if it is the wrong time the Spirit will
hinder you from pursuing that particular place. But the
right time will come as it did for Paul when he tried to
strike out for Asia and then later he was given the ok
to go.
Remember the story about the
Amorites? God told Abraham that the land was his but he
had to wait because the sins of the Amorites were not
yet ripe. In other words things were bad with the
Amorites but not to the point were judgment was fully
warranted at the time. God knew they would increase in
their sin and so He was patient because He finds no
pleasure in the destruction of men. Finally when
judgment comes it is fully warranted and there is no
hope left. The people have sinned to the degree that the
reprobate mind in them cannot or will not be turned.
It is as Revelation 16:7-11 states,
[7] And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so,
Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
[8] And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the
sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with
fire. [9] And men were scorched with great heat, and
blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these
plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
[10] And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the
seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness;
and they gnawed their tongues for pain, [11] And
blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and
their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Judgment will be poured out severely
but the people will not repent. Imagine that! It gets so
bad, truly hell on earth and the people will not repent.
Revelation 16:12-15 continues like this: [12] And the
sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river
Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the
way of the kings of the east might be prepared. [13] And
I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the
mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast,
and out of the mouth of the false prophet. [14] For they
are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go
forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole
world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of
God Almighty. [15] Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed
is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments,
lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
He is clear here how He will come, as
a thief. God endured until the Amorites got so bad and
He is enduring until we get so bad. Reread the text to
see how bad it gets. Yet He says that we must watch not
knowing when He shall come. Yes, this includes
continuing until the last second of His return. So what
are you up to? Have you abandoned your watch? Have you
left the harvest to scorch in the sun? Are you saying to
yourself it is someone else’s responsibility?
Look brothers and sisters, the
responsibility belongs to the church; that would be all
of us. The responsibility is not allotted to
denominations or religious orders or traditional roles
because it belongs part and parcel to all of us. We
can’t dole out the responsibility to some mission
organization or layperson’s ministry. You can’t say at
the end of the day I didn’t know or that you sent
someone in your place. Jesus didn’t send another to die
in His stead but rather He voluntarily died in our
place. That tells us that we have no excuse. Christ
was/is our example. I’m sorry but you and I have no
excuse. It is that simple.
You are living life with the
expectation that the rapture will come and gather you
out of what is to come but you will be in for a rude
awakening. Don’t take my word for it. Read your Bible
and you will see. They that endure to the end imply that
you have to go through something. Ok, so you say that is
for those that are left behind. Yeah, I use to think
like that also. But I have been reading. Do you know how
revelation comes from God? It comes at the appointed
time. Not before. It unfolds a little at a time and then
with great fervor like a woman in labor. And then there
is the sudden destruction the bible speaks about – get
it? Sudden! Unexpected! That means you were expecting
something else and then suddenly something else happens
that you were unprepared for.
That’s it. Time to wake up and shake
a leg and don’t be found off guard. Somebody needs a
word that will save their soul – what are you waiting
for? if you are reading this you have just given up your
last excuse because now you know. Someone told you and
you can't say you didn't know.
▲
12/6/09
Today the computers were delivered to
the congregation in Anthony, New Mexico, 2 desk tops and
one laptop. We are expecting great things from the youth
department there. We hope that this new publication room
will deliver to the internet a website for kids by kids
means of evangelizing and showing what God can do in the
next generation.
▲
12/4/09
As of today, Joan's school fees in
Nairobi, Kenya has been paid by CTWM a total of $250 for
the entire school year including books, fees, housing
and uniforms.
Baby Joy in Bungoma, Kenya now has a
school fee fund of $50 paid by CTWM and the orphanage in
India received $30 to purchase food for the orphans.
The
founder of CTWM has also completed the process of
publishing her 3rd book "Debunking Generational Curses"
which should be available early next year. The royalties
from this book will help support 5 ministries including
CTWM.
The current home project being worked
on is in Anthony, New Mexico at a small congregation
with quite a few young people. For these young people
CTWM will furnish the youth group with three computers,
one donated by the founder of CTWM, another by Georgia
Thomas, and the third, a lap top, donated by Courtney
Bryan who played for the Miami Dolphins. On Sunday
December 6, we will set up the computers and give the
youth training on how to build a website for kids by
kids, how to do photography and use some other software
programs that will enhance a website. We are praying for
something radical to come out of this project like other
kids receiving salvation and truly a radical way for
kids to reach kids. The three computers were revamped
for free by Mark of Lightening Computers Systems of Las
Cruces, New Mexico. Thank you Mark!
My sister and I have been doing
street evangelism by shopping centers and supermarkets
in Las Cruces and Anthony, New Mexico. So far 850 tracts
have been distributed and several individuals have given
their hearts to the Lord and many had staking reminders
of their relationship with the Lord.
CTWM is still looking for donations
to help a little boy in Masielo, Kenya purchase special
glasses and hearing aid.
The
orphanage in Malawi still needs materials and support
for school fees and to start a men's cooperative. Burundi ministry need tracts.
Thank you for all your help. As it is
I use my personal funds to take care of ministry budget
and at the end of the day there is no funds for
traveling. By helping to take on some of these projects
I can be free to move about and continue to build
sustainable projects in nations and evangelize as long
as the door continue to stay open. if you can't send
donations then pleaseeeeeeeeeeee send up your prayers.
I am thankful to the Lord for all the
opportunities He has given to me to make a difference.
This past week I attend my eldest son's wedding in
Dallas, Texas and was bless to see how God extended my
boundaries by adding more family to my very small crew.
Praise God that He is so faithful and He stretches our
tent pegs in many ways.
▲
12/3/09
These are the cost for India mission
trip in March 2010. If you are interested in meeting any
of the needs for this trip please click on the donate
button. Also drop me and email at
catchthewaveministries@yahoo.com and let me know
what you want the donation to go to. 100% will be
applied to that need. Photos and receipts will be posted
after purchase.
The email from Pastor Sanjeeva Rao is
included in this entry. Catch the Wave Ministries whole
heartedly endorse and support sustainable ministry
projects. It is imperative that once a mission trip is
over the work can and should continue by the local
believers. Sustainable mission projects allow the work
to continue. I have said before that I do not believe in
sending monthly donations that do not produce fruit or
sustain life. With the money that can be made from some
of the projects the people impacted by poverty can learn
skills to provide for themselves and help others as
well. I will not give a man a fish if teaching him how
to fish is the answer. A part form the listed items I
will also need support to lease land for growing food
and material to build a chicken coop and stall for the
cow. The kilos of rice can sustain this orphanage until
a harvest comes in.
| Chickens |
20 |
12/5/09
donation received by member of JCIA congregation
of Las Cruces, New Mexico (need met for 25
chickens) |
$4 each |
| Cow |
2 |
|
$700 each approximately |
| 50 sack kilo rice |
10 |
|
$35 per sack |
| Bibles |
100 |
|
$3 each |
I also hope to lease some land so
the orphanage can grow its own food to feed the
children.
Dear Sister K. Joy
Sandiford,
Thank you very for your
email. We are living here in villages so the land is
available for rent to grow food on. But it would take
more cost for lease.
Regarding Chickens &
Animals: Yes! You are able to purchase here, then we
will arrange chickens and animals before your arrival to
India. Per one Chicken, it would take $4 Dollars, Per
one animal, it would take $700 Dollars because here the
animal cost is very high.
Regarding Sewing
machines: yes! We do have an electricity. Here the
sewing machine also available for buying one to our
ministry.
Regarding the bibles:
per one bible it would take $3 Dollars. If we buy more
bibles, the merchants will give offer (percentage).
Regarding rice: For 50
Kilo bags, it would take $35 Dollars.
We are praying for you,
for your dates in March and for the expenses of your
visit to India.
I look forward to
hearing from you soon.
In His love;
Pastor Sanjeeva Rao
▲
11/19/09
The work in China continues from
here. This is an email I sent to someone I met in China.
Please pray that the words will touch her heart and that
she will accept the gift of redemption. Father, let
these words penetrate her heart and let your Holy Spirit
minister to her in ways beyond our abilities. Let your
kingdom come to her. Thank you in Yeshua's name.
Hi ----. Thanks for the
photos. What a beautiful young lady you are. I hope you
have a great year of studies and that you excel at all
your subjects. May God bless all your efforts and His
love pour down on you. I am able to travel because of
God's destiny for my life. I travel to tell other people
and nations of his amazing love. He loves me so much,
how can I not tell someone else so they too can be a
part of His great love and redemption plan for humanity.
As I travel I make friends and people with needs and I
try to help where I can. I must admit that China was
unusual for me as I do not speak the language. I was
often dependent on meeting people who speak English to
communicate with but I had a small pocket translator
that helped me a lot with the Chinese speakers.
I met nice people like
you and so many others that I shall not forget. I found
that in all the nations of the world I have visited in
the last 2 years, 24 countries, that the Chinese are
found in everyone of them building their roads, schools,
hospitals and you name it your people are doing it
everywhere. It is no small thing that is happening to
China. You are in the nations around the globe for a
reason.
Either you are there to
hear of the love of God or you are there telling others
about the love of God. God has a plan for China. He has
preserved your nation and its people for over 5,000
years for a reason. It is not so you can come along and
be the next capitalist nation but to be a nation of hope
to the world. The western nations have all had their
opportunities and many have done good things with their
chance but in the end they have failed humanity and God.
This is China's opportunity and I hope she does not make
the same mistakes as the West did. I hope China becomes
compassionate, maintain integrity and not be greedy with
what they have but be a blessing to the world first
starting in China.
You are such a graceful
people, like delicate pearls yet there are thing that
many have embarked on that is tarnishing your image and
it need not be so. There is no need to make fine
products for your selves and sell inferior products to
the rest of the world. There is no need to allow some
provinces to succeed and other to stay marginal or be
displaced because of ethnicity. We are all one race of
people and that is the human race. One God, one creator
made us as unique as each pearl taken out of the water
in all their various shapes and colors and sizes.
The one thing I hope to
impress on you ---- is that the reason we all make
mistakes and do wicked things is because we have all
sinned. We have all disobeyed God's laws and so we are
subject to His punishment. But God so loved the world He
created that He sent us His own son to take the penalty
that humanity cannot bear because of our own frailty and
sin. His son, Jesus, Yeshua, Isa, Christo, innocent of
any sin was crucified for all of us. Yes, he took our
penalty for our sin. It was a gift to us.
Time and time again
humanity has rejected this gift. We want to tell God how
we will make thing right with him. We want to tell God
how we will approach His holiness. We reject His way
thinking that our way is much better. But God say to us,
this is my requirement because I am the one who has been
offended. This is "The Way" but we say no, not so, this
other way, my way is better. We have tried to go by way
of the Buddha, by the way of Islam; by the way of
venerating the Virgin Mary pouring out the oil and
trying to anoint ourselves with the vessel the oil came
in, by way of man’s philosophies, by sacrifice and
offerings that He does not require etc. All these ways
to no avail!
Do you know why America
was great? It is because as long as God was her
foundation and cornerstone she was blessed. If you look
back at the history of the world you will find that as
long as a nation whose God was the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, the God of Israel that nation was successful.
Once that nation turned away in its own pride it
crumbled. Once that nation turned against the nation of
Israel it crumbled. It is God’s way or it is doomed to
fall. You see I spent a great deal of time looking at
the differences between what God requires and what
religions and philosophies require and I found that
God’s way is easy, compassionate, loving, fair, free and
it comes with the penalty paid in full for any mistakes
and sin. At the ends of the day I know where I stand
with the true and living God. If I am wrong I know I am
wrong because His laws are clear and I ask forgiveness
and am assured he has given it. If I am walking upright
before Him I also know that and with confidence I know
when I lay my head down at night to sleep it is well
with my soul. There is no lingering doubt whether I
should have could have or might have done more. I know
that I am accepted in Him because of His Son.
----, this is how I get
about to the nations. I am obedient when God tells me to
go even though I do not know how I will get there but I
have never missed a plane, train, or bus in getting to
where I need to be. I must admit that they have been
times I missed a contact with a person because of fear
of sharing the word and being ridicule or jeered at or
just outright fear. Thank God there were only few of
those in recent times. But all the others like you are a
divine connection I have not skirted away from.
I take absolute pleasure
in sharing with you this message I travel the globe to
share. ----, we all have sinned against God and His
penalty for our sin is death – eternal separation from
Him. But He has provided us a way of escape from the
penalty and through His Son the debt was paid in full.
All we have to do is accept this gift for eternal life
living in the presence of God and we will be saved. God
says in His word that we must confess that we are
sinners and have sinned. Then we are to recognize that
the penalty we deserve, death, was placed on His Son and
accept this gift of Him taking our place in death. We
must acknowledge that the one who paid the debt on our
behalf is Jesus, Yeshua, Isa, Christo and that He is the
one, the only one sent by God to take away our sins and
we shall be saved. And we must realize that His Son is
alive and soon returning to reconcile all things unto
Himself, making all things right.
There is no other way
----. It is God’s way and His way only because it is He
we have sinned against. The Buddha has eyes yet cannot
see, ears yet cannot hear, mouth yet cannot speak, hands
and legs and yet cannot move. The Buddha was made with
the hands of men that are filthy with sin. How is it
that sinners can make a so call holy god or relic? It
cannot be so. God has always been and always will be. He
is eternal with no beginning and no end. The heavens
declare His glory. What we have done in the history of
man is to make those things that God has created our
gods. We are trying to worship the created things
instead of the Creator.
If these carved gods are
truly gods or are real then let them come forth out of
wood and iron and clay without the help of human hands.
It cannot be so because they are only as we deem them to
be. ---- I am telling you the truth which might seem
strange to you coming from a cultural saturated with
over 5,000 years of tradition and philosophy. It is a
hard shell to break but not impossible to God. Your
culture have tried so many ways as I know because I have
visited many of your historical sites and I saw the
altars and heard the philosophies behind many. God says,
“There is a way that seems right unto man but the end
thereof is destruction.” There are things that “seem”
right and then there is ‘the right thing.”
I challenge you ---- to
seek that which is right and truth. God says seek Him
and you shall find Him because ---- He wants to be
found. He says also that He does not find pleasure in
the destruction of men. This is because He loves His
creation. I am sure I have given you much to ponder here
and that it will take sometime to read this because I
have a habit of using words that are often above the
vocabulary of people with English being their 2nd
language. Well, to my good, most people are grateful
because it improves their English and there really is no
better way of saying this. God’s word at any level will
always reach its target. This I am sure of.
I am happy to know you
---- and hope that all goes well for you and that from
this email you will find a greater happiness than you
have every known.
Your friend Joy
▲
11/18/09
Awesome day! I have been home for
about a week and literally not gone anywhere because I
was exhausted and feeling fluish. I finally got up this
morning and after dealing with an issue I realize that
God was using the situation to spur me on. In China I
was use to walking daily 5-6 hours a day literally. At
home I had not walk anywhere not even outside the house.
I completed some emails quite early and then I was out
for an hour and a half walk in my neighborhood. It is
difficult to walk in circles but that is my
situation at the moment. I came back and called my
sister to see what she was up to. I felt certain the day
was clearly a day of outreach. She had a commitment but
agreed to go print some tracts up at Kinko and head over
to Wal-Mart and hand out tracts at the door.
Between the two of us we had about $9
and so we had 200 of the English tracts from this
website printed. We hand cut the tracts ourselves to
save money and we were off. In about 2 hours we handed
out about 300 tracts which included what she already
had. At the end of the last few tracts a woman stop to
speak to my sister and told her she wanted to donate
some money to purchase tracts because she was pleased
with what we were doing. My sister and I left home with
barely $5 between us and here was a woman giving us $20
for tracts. We thanks here and gave her the website
information and handed out the last 4 tracts. On the way
to the car my sister received a call which was a
cancelation of her afternoon commitment. God was
definitely guiding this day. We headed back to Kinko to
have more tracts printed and had to spend sometime
reformatting the original tracts to be cost effective.
This was so amazing. We returned
again to Kinko and decided to print the tracts ourselves
so that we could save some money and get more tracts.
For the $20 plus $1.65 that my sister had on another
Kinko's card we were able to get over 900 tracts printed
and cut. We were back over to Wal-Mart handing out
tracts again. We gave out about half of what we had and
was contemplating leaving when the store manager came
out and asked if we had permission to hand out tracts.
He said that he was the one to request permission but
there were no time slots available for us so we ought to
call him at another time. By then we had given out
about 800 tracts and we were tired and the people coming
in and out were dwindling. It was a good day. A woman
came to us right after the manager left and asked if we
would pray for her. We moved to the side and prayed and
encouraged her to return to her faith and read the word.
Perfect timing.
That's how it is folks. I am
encouraged. I did not get the name of the woman who gave
us the $20 but I know God sent her and we got more
tracts just so we could be at that door when this woman
needed prayer. And for all the 800 plus people who took
the tracts and we saw them reading as they were walking
or sitting. It was as it should have been. Even the man
who was sitting at the computer station working in
Kinkos whom I asked to take a picture of my sister and
me cutting and sorting the tracts so I can post here was
an opportunity to give a tract to. And all the friends
we met at the store while we were handing out tracts. I
hope we have spurred them on as well to do likewise. I
am tired but it is the best kind of tired one can feel.
▲
11/17/09
What are you doing to win the lost?
Never mind what I am doing, what are you doing? Don't
compare what I am doing to what you are doing. Obedience
is obedience on any scale. When it comes down to the
truth about what we have done and are doing all the
praise and glory goes to Yeshua anyway so obedience is
really the only thing that matters. Did you share a word
of encouragement with that sad face on the bus, train,
plane, in the office at school or on the streets like
your felt Him telling you to? Did you give that poor
cripple some loose change or did you just ignored him
and kept walking. God does not ask us to qualify what we
do just do it. Do not even rationalize what He tells us
to do. He can make a way when there seems to be no door
or opening in the wall. God is not impressed with how
many times I get on a plane to go somewhere, He is only
pleased with my obedience when I respond to His
beckoning to go whether it be on a plane, train or just
walking downing the street. And yes, whether it is on
the streets in China or just around the corner from
where you are. If you want to go to China then I have
learned that I had to go around the corner first. I had
to be willing to go to my local hospital, prisons and
shelters. These same doors are open to you as well.
I do not have a job or monthly
supporters or even a person or organization who sponsors
any of my trips but God. As a matter of fact every time
I return home I am at least 20 pounds lighter because of
insufficiency. When you lack things on the mission field
the first thing you give up is food. Does that mean that
God does not supply all your needs? No! It means all I
think I need is not necessary. The people I minister to
is also in lack and I am right exactly where there are
in need. All the playing fields become the same. We must
be willing to endure that lack to win the greater - the
souls of men. With what I have God has done great things
for His kingdom and with what you have He can do greater
things for His kingdom. This is your time. Go and do
what you can with what you have. You can do it because
greater is He who is in you. We gentiles still have a
window of opportunity and even so after the knowledge of
Yeshua comes to Israel. We just have to continue and He
will keep us because we are grafted in and as long as
the branch that is grafted in continues in Him we will
not be broken off. He did not spare Israel and he will
not spare us. Read Romans chapter 11 and see what is God
intent to the Jew first and then to the Gentile. God has
not forsaken then and He will not forsake us. Remember,
"For God so loved the WORLD."
I am at home recovering from jet lag
and this horrible cough I developed in China from the
air pollution and soon I know it will pass. I am eager
to go but my body is weary. My open door at the moment
is my family. Specifically my youngest son to speak into
his life and be there for him. For my eldest son to
attend his wedding in 2 weeks and encourage him.
It is to establish them so when I am off again they can
continue in the way. Your life is just as important as
mine and so I encourage you to take every opportunity to
do what you can and the things that matters to you God
will make a way for you to minister in that area as
well. God neglects nothing. Go or stay, just do
something. All things are truly possible with God. The
time is shorter than you think so get a move on. Every
little counts in the kingdom. Just do your part and with
all of us doing our part the kingdom work will be done.
Realize that you not doing your little might be the
reason someone else can't do theirs. Or better yet, you
might be the catalyst to someone else doing theirs. You
see, the body is fitly joined together.
▲
11/16/09
I
have been traveling in the nation for over two years now
and I can tell you I have seen some things and felt some
things. I think I am in a position to say what I am
feeling because I have been about and can first hand
tell you what I know to be true. There is a feeling that
has been growing in me that some thing is wrong. For
about two years or so I felt that something evil has
entered this world and that people are acting in ways
that is really not normal. It is what I call the
reprobate mindset that has invaded us. People are doing
and saying things without realizing what they are doing.
It is like they have no control of their acts or words.
Some of this I have written on articles on my commentary
page.
All the nations are digging their
ancient sites looking for relics to draw tourism in.
What Noah's flood covered and what the good kings of
Israel and prophets destroyed are now being uncovered.
People are turning to the ancient ways for answers and
hence we have emerging cultural trends that mimic the
ancient pagan paths dressed up as cultural relics.
America have a president that announced to the world
that after 300 years we are not a nation of faith but of
diverse philosophies and ideologies. A pagan by
any other name is still a pagan. God said this is the
path to me and we say, "No God, my ways are better. they
will all lead to you." People are turning to the Mayan
calendar for answers. They are turning to ancient relics
and so on but they will only find destructions as these
ways are opening doors that have long ago been closed.
We are legalizing dope and homosexuality and abortion.
We are seeing an increase of immorality and our
television and movie theaters are no longer concerned
with what we view.
Many people I meet are on a so call
journey for truth and when I tell them the truth about
God they simply dismiss God as a myth or a cosmic energy
of one mind consciousness which we are all apart of. But
God said He has no part in darkness or evil so how can
He be this one consciousness inclusive of evil. "Be ye
holy as I am holy." Michael Jackson was right about one
thing, "This is It!" It for Michael was one last curtain
call that never happened, he only made it to the
rehearsal. What will it be for the body of Christ before
the end comes. Let me spell it out what I know. The
fullness of the gentiles is at hand and we have not done
much with the time that has been allotted to us. We have
corrupted the gospel until we can't even recognize
Yeshua in it. We have not lived what we speak and so the
world will have nothing to do with us. God says in
Romans 11 that if He did not spare Israel He will not
spare us either. Israel had a purpose and they failed
and we also have failed. At the end of our fullness
Israel's blindness will cease and they will see messiah
for who He is. I can only say that what I sense in my
heart is what has already happened to Israel time and
time again in their history. We become so jealous of
God's blessing and anointing on them that we have
persecuted them for what we lack. Jacob's Trouble is
coming and guess who will be behind it?
Remember Rwanda and Burundi, they
were about 80-90% Christian nations and look what they
did. Yeah! We can learn from our mistakes. Let's not
repeat the mistakes of the past. How can Christians do
this. The bible says there will be a falling away from
the faith. That reprobate spirit and that wrong thinking
we are right mentality. Redefining what is Christianity
and so on. I just read that the Vatican is now looking
into life on distant planets and there is a group of
prominent religious leaders of our times that is
spearheading the one religion movement. We are talking
about every category of religion coming together to form
one consciousness. We are talking about a one world
government based on humanism. This is the reality we are
living in and moving in. Heaven is already departing as
a scroll when it is rolled together. This is no
rehearsal folks. It is the real thing.
We are at this place in time and as a
woman in labor the pangs are coming faster and faster.
Why do you think Israel has been disallowing gentile to
come in? So many ministries and the Christian body who
have been serving Israel out of love have been
restricted from entering the land these last few years.
Remember Joseph when he was in Egypt. Before he revealed
himself to his brothers he sent out his servants. Joseph
is a type of Christ. Before Yeshua reveals Himself to
His brothers, Israel, the servants must leave the room.
Oh, they will return after, not to worry. The blindness
will soon be removed and He will pour out His Spirit -
to the Jew first. Not all of the body of Christ will
continue with Israel. Israel will be persecuted but God
will preserve her. God will curse those who persecute
her and bless those who continue to serve her. This is
the times we are living in. What do you think it will
take for all this to happen? The gears are already
turning. Yeshua said it will be sudden. Do you know what
sudden means? Unexpected! Without warning! This means
people will be unprepared.
I know what is coming and I can put a
name and face to it. Hell is coming and the devil is
riding its back. Ok, that was a bit dramatic, or was it?
Obama is not our hope, our economic stability is not our
hope. Yeshua is our hope and our only peacemaker. Hail
to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! How prepared
are you? Are you ambivalent to what is coming and what
is already here? Do you think I am an alarmist and too
dramatic? Are you willing to wait it out and see if I am
right? Well, there you are. Some thing is here and
something more is coming and I know it. I've tried to
put words to it and hope at this point it is enough.
Pray and seek God's face. Better yet, read the word, for
sure that cannot lie.
▲
11/15/09
When I left Beijing it was freezing,
raining and snowing. I was on a train for 26 hours than
heading to the airport for a 10 hour flight back to
Germany and then on to a train for an hour to meet my
friend to travel and hour to her house by car. The next
morning we headed by train two hours away back to the
golden ladder to give God thanks for His journeying
mercies and angel of protection. We were anticipating
something more from God and so I took many pictures and
will post later. You can make up your own mind about
what is there. After that my friend went on to see her
husband and I return by train all the way back to
Darmstadt for my early morning flight the next day. My
flight home was 10 1/2 hours to Atlanta with a 6 hour
layover and then a 3 hour flight to El Paso, Texas and
40 minute drive home. All in all I slept a few hours.
Since being home I have hardly slept. I am up all night
literally and sleeping a few hours in the day. I have a
terrible cough which I first got in Beijing and now it
is back back but I think it is my body getting rid of
the air toxins from my trip. I have only left the house
2 times and am finding myself a bit restless.
I am ready to go again believe it or
not. There is someplace I have to be and no funds to get
me there. Yet I know I have never missed a plane, bus or
train. God is more than able. One thing I can tell you.
It is time to get the harvest in. Never mind the results
that is God's business. What was China all about? God
planting seed and spurring others on to bring in their
own harvest. it was about letting His light be seen and
seeing how it really is in the world. China is the best
and the worst of humanity. Truly we are a cabaret and
China is an opera on the stage of life. They can do
things in a bigger than life way. What Mao tore down is
now being restored but for sure China understand the
concept of monotheism. Is it coincidence that Obama is
now slated to be in China at this time? Is it a
coincidence that China is on the world stage at this
time? Is it a coincident that Asia is experiencing such
natural disturbances at this time? God is shaking both
the heaven and the earth.
I tell you here and now. God has a
destiny for your life. This is the time you have been
waiting for. It is now the time to do those things you
have put to the side all this time. God just wants your
obedience and He will do the rest. He will form every
alliance and make every connection and provide every
need. Time of of the essence.
▲
11/8/09
I travelled to Xian with a new friend
I met in Beijing who was on his way home and decided to
stop over with me to see the the terra cotta warriors
and some of his friends in Xian. How amazing a trip it
was. After leaving our stuff at the train station in a
locker we went to the Beijing tea district where there
are over 2,000 tea shops to buy some tea from one of his
friends. We must have walked for about 45 minutes to
reach this place and we sat too long testing teas.
Finally once my friend made his purchase we left and it
was late. We hopped a cab and as the cab could not pull
up to the station we had to run all the way though one
large railway station up and down stairs and then
retrieve bags. By the time we got to the gate it was
closed and we missed our departure so we thought. All of
a sudden my friend was surrounded and being hustled by
other men who apparently was telling him if we follow
them for a price we could still make the train. I was
reconciled to missing the train and then my friend say
we could follow the guys and see what happens. We made a
mad dash for the train down the stairs and a split
second before the doors closed we leaped on. Exhausted,
breathless and sweaty we made it. We were in for a 13
hour train ride. Opportunity knocks and there is plenty
of time to share. Now you should know that this friend
of mine is a Buddhist and a Vegan and extremely
committed to both. A good soul at heart and opened to
listen. When God says he has given me an open door to
China and has sent an angel with me he meant just that.
No fear or apprehension. This was my third time sharing
the good news with this friend. This was the friend who
found my hat that was lost and brought it back to me.
Buddhism is really a philosophy about
doing good deeds to get to enlightenment. Being a vegan
is really more about having a body that will last for a
long time, efficient. Anyway that is what I got out of
all the hoopla. Trying to explain to someone about faith
from such a perspective is difficult but not impossible.
I hope my friend reads this entry so I will keep it
light. To make the transition from philosophy to needing
a personal savior is difficult but God is able. We
arrived at our destination about 5 am and headed to our
hotel. we could not check into our room until 9am so we
left our stuff and went looking for a tourist bus to see
the terra cotta warriors 3 hours away. With little sleep
and being up from the morning before we were out and
about. we headed to the train station again and
purchased my return ticket back to Beijing the next day
and then off to find the bus. Ok, we got there and made
our way into the place which was about a 1/4 of a mile
walk or more to get to the sight. We were hungry and
tired and so we sat for a long while. During this time I
got to share some more and my friend thinks I have a
good philosophy but I tried to tell him it is not a
philosophy but the truth. Anyway, all that is the
business of the Holy Spirit. So after a long while of
talking and having other tourist wanting to take
pictures with me and so on we went through the exhibits
and museum.
It truly was a good sight to see.
Amazing the extent that emperors and kings and pharaohs
have gone to to ensure they make it to the after life.
They bones are still in the coffins if the grave robbers
haven't already gotten to them and their labor of
extremes are shattered, broken, decayed and spewed about
the sights as a reminder of the silliness of man's
actions with out the knowledge of God. Ancient places
being uncovered and opened. Anyway we finally left the
park after several hours and got something to eat. We
were exhausted from the lack of sleep and food. Once we
let the sight and hopped on the bus back to the city I
realized my scarf was gone. I thought first it is ok and
then frantically I said I can't leave without my scarf.
I leap up from the bus and my friend behind me and as
exhausted as we both were we ran headlong retracing
every step all the long way back inside. I was afraid
they would not let us enter again but favor is favor. I
was looking everywhere in the trash cans and all. We
were permitted to enter the first gate and then when we
got to the last gate my friend gave me my ticket and
told me to go in and he headed over to the lady who
picks up the trash. For a brief moment I thought to go
there also but instead I went for the gate and they let
me in. I was so frantic by this time and was just so
remorseful that I did not take care of this scarf my
friend gave me and was such a blessing to me. I knew
that I had left through this gate with the scarf so by
now I felt defeated. I turn to go back and there was my
friend calling me. He was smiling and holding my scarf.
I ran over to him and he was so surprised himself and
people by then were watching. This was the third time my
friend recover something that was lost for me. I was so
thankful I just started to thank God and praise Him for
this what I thought was a small thing.
God uses everything. I just kept
saying, "Thank you God you love me so much." My friend
then said "Thank you God' and was in agreement with my
prayers and praises to God. he said before we leave that
I should take a picture with this woman who found my
scarf.
My friend said to me after than if I
lose one more thing and he finds it he will believe in
my God. I reminded him that 3 times already he had
recovered what was lost. Go God! he both headed out the
sight thanking God for recovering my scarf and for
loving me so much to care about this little thing. My
friend even took my camera and hat and put them in his
bag so nothing more would be lost.
We got back to the hotel and checked
in our rooms. Some of you might not know how good it is
to have a hotel room even for one night when you travel
as I do. I remember asking God once on this trip to
please make it possible for me to have a hotel room for
one night before I leave. You see, it fells good to have
a hot shower and to wash your hair and to and yes color
it. LOL! And even watch television. Oh yes, one English
channel. Sometimes it is the only time you know
what is happening in the rest of the world and the one
you are in. All that and some much needed sleep. About
9:30 my friend called me to see if I wanted to get some
dinner. We went around the corner to a little dive and
got some soup with dumplings. We sat and chatted with
the shop owner and a few customers enquiring where I was
from. One man told my friend the city was not safe and
that he was not to leave me alone and to keep a watchful
eye on me. That was not necessary as God had already
dispatched an angel to me. Back to the hotel and a good
nights sleep. By 10am my friend called and by 11 or so I
was on a bus to see a few places in Xian while he was
off for the day with his friends. He was going to meet
me about 7pm to take me back to the train station for my
train but things changed and I was off on my own. made
it after about one hour walking the streets trying to
get information on the bus and find a cab. Finally I was
at the station and sitting in the line waiting for the
train and by then I was felling sick and had earlier
gone back to the hotel to rest with some Tylenol cold
capsules I found at the local pharmacy. I couldn't wait
to get on the train and get in my sleeper bed with five
other people in my compartment sleeping on bunk beds 3
high. I was in the middle. Yup! just me and a train full
of Chinese people and I was the only foreigner I saw. I
hopped in bed and went to sleep.
Xian was warm and Beijing was cold,
freezing cold. I was due to leave the next morning.
11/4/09
I am leaving for Xian today to see
the terra cotta warriors. This will be my first trip
outside of Beijing. I was really excited to see the land
but then I realized that I will be travelling at night
and no chance of seeing anything spectacular. Never
mind, I am about the people not really the places.
▲
11/3/09
I spent morning at the Beijing
Capital Museum. It was quite interesting and I highly
recommend it as a place to see for anyone visiting this
city. The Chinese culture depicts the dragon and the
mythical phoenix. I have read about the phoenix in the
past but I actually.
Mythical
Phoenix Bird
In ancient
Egyptian mythology and in myths derived from it, the
phoenix is a mythical sacred firebird. Said to live for
500, 1461 or for 12594 years (depending on the source),
the phoenix is a male bird with beautiful gold and red
plumage. At the end of its life-cycle the phoenix builds
itself a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites;
both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to
ashes, from which a new, young phoenix arises. The new
phoenix embalms the ashes of the old phoenix in an egg
made of myrrh and deposits it in Heliopolis ("the city
of the sun" in Greek), located in Egypt. The bird was
also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe,
thus being almost immortal and invincible - a symbol of
fire and divinity. Although descriptions (and life-span)
vary, the phoenix became popular in early Christian art
and literature as a symbol of the resurrection, of
immortality, and of life-after-death. Originally, the
phoenix was identified by the Egyptians as a stork or
heron-like bird called a benu, (see Bennu), known from
the Book of the Dead and other Egyptian texts as one of
the sacred symbols of worship at Heliopolis, closely
associated with the rising sun and the Egyptian sun-god
Ra. http://www.pheonix-az.com/Pheonix_Bird.htm
To say the least I was a bit
fascinated by the phoenix depictions at the museum
because recently I had shown the photos I took to some
Chinese friend and one of them outright stated that she
thought that on the top of the head was a very distinct
phoenix. One of my friends at home said it looked like a
crown and other said it looked like a blaze of fire.
Nonetheless, I found it interesting because the phoenix
identification struck me rather forcefully and when I
went to the museum one of the first displays I viewed
was that of a phoenix. To my surprise, I instantly
identified the phoenix as what I saw on the head of the
face by the golden ladder in Germany. Needless to say I
spent the time at the museum taking as many photos of
any depictions of phoenixes.
After the museum, I met a friend and
we went to the 798 art district in Beijing to hangout
and get to know each other better. It was cold but
pleasant going in and out of art galleries. I had hoped
for an opportunity to share with her the gospel but I
did not want to lose the opportunity to make a lasting
friend as I know it is easier to share the gospel with a
friend than a casual acquaintance. We had a really
great time and found some really unique art work of
Mao’s head done in rice grains, studs and stars. It took
50,000 of each medium to create the face of Mao. Anyway,
I digress. We had a nice dinner and spoke openly about
our relationships, expectations and hopes for our future
in various areas of our lives. What I have learned from
all my travels is that the entire world is the same. We
all experience the same issues exactly the same way and
handle them very much the same. Culture only really
impact the way we say things and how we dress and eat. I
know what the sociologist and anthropologist say. I also
know what I know.
We are all doing the same things good
and bad. A Chinese friend said to me the other day that
America has been involved in so many world wars. It was
a negative slight on America but I had to remind him
that although China has been closed off from western
influence for over 5,000 years they have had their share
of wars from within. Clans, dynasties, warlords,
political factions etc at been at it longer than any
other civilization. What China has been doing internally
for millenniums the rest of the world has been doing
externally for the same length of time. What is the
difference? Not much. Nations have been battling and
conquering nations all this time while within China
peoples groups have been doing the same to each other –
nations within nations.
You see, there is really no
difference in the world. We call it something else but
really it is the same. Just like Solomon said, nothing
new under the sun. My new young friend at her tender
twenties age had already experienced what it took me 45
years to experience. One generation to another and one
culture too another with the same results. I am not
speaking theories here. This is life and this is the
reality that we don’t really want to face because
somewhere in the back of our minds we want to think that
where we fail someone else has succeed so there is hope
for us. By now someone needs to realize that we are all
in the same boat of sin. But thank God there is
redemption in Jesus.
So I digress again! We spoke quite
openly. It was good to finally be able to have a full
fledge conversation in English and express one’s mind
and heart. No, I didn’t speak of the gospel overtly. It
just wasn’t the moment. So I began to consider that the
moment would not come where I could express the gospel
to her. Never mind! I have learned by now to go with
God’s flow rather than mind and I have to tell myself
not to be anxious for anything. After dinner my friend
suggested we go to a place where we could see the stars.
I thought she was trying to tell me to go to a
planetarium but I was pleasantly surprised by what I
saw. It is at this mall call The Place. Outside there is
this long overhang that is actually a screen of sorts.
It is quite long maybe about the long side of a city
block. When you look up there is a screen showing the
galaxies and stars moving along the length of the
screen. We got there in time to see the ending of one
show and thought at first it was the end. Suddenly the
screen came alive once again and this amazingly,
orangey, fiery, exotic bird began to fly across the
length and breathe of the screen.
Then my friend said, Joy, that a
phoenix. I certainly did not need her to tell me that.
It was so real, so apparent, so gloriously displayed. It
was breath taking. Yes, this was the thing I saw. If the
clouds could take on color I am sure that what sat on
the head of the face would be this creature. Here is a
great description of an angel:
Ezekiel 1:4-13
[4] And I looked, and, behold, a
whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a
fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it,
and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out
of the midst of the fire. [5] Also out of the midst
thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And
this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a
man. [6] And every one had four faces, and every one had
four wings. [7] And their feet were straight feet; and
the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's
foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished
brass. [8] And they had the hands of a man under their
wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces
and their wings. [9] Their wings were joined one to
another; they turned not when they went; they went every
one straight forward. [10] As for the likeness of their
faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of
a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of
an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of
an eagle. [11] Thus were their faces: and their wings
were stretched upward; two wings of every one were
joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
[12] And they went every one straight forward: whither
the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not
when they went. [13] As for the likeness of the living
creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of
fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and
down among the living creatures; and the fire was
bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
My day started with a phoenix and
ended with a phoenix. What an opportunity to lead into
sharing the gospel. This same person I was with was the
very person who said right out, “There is a phoenix on
the head.” I told her what God has told me about sending
an angel with me to China. I told her how interesting I
thought it was that she mentioned the phoenix to me and
that my day was so filled with images of the phoenix.
The door was opened and the sharing of the gospel began.
She was quiet and attentive had a few questions. At the
end she said that she was happy that I had such a
concept of God but she did not feel that way. My last
comment on the issue was that it was easy for her to
believe in many gods but her real issue was to believe
in the one true God. She is living in a culture that has
existed on mythical dragons and phoenixes for
millenniums and here I am asking her to believe in the
true and living God. Perhaps the dragons and phoenixes
are not myths after all. Perhaps she has a hold on one
reality and I have a hold on another. What was real to
man at one time became history, then legend and now a
myth. We have only made gods of the myths which were
once tangible truths and the real truth about God we
have lost.
We have lost the creator and now
worship the created. Perhaps China has been keep away
from the world’s influence for a purpose – to remind us
of what once was. The bible and Jewish scripture speaks
of strange things afoot in the world at a time when man
was new to the earth. “As it was in the beginning so
shall it be in the end.” When they come again we shall
have our reminders from China. I recently spoke to
another Chinese friend who said that China had lasted so
long because it has maintained its culture. I had to
remind him that everything in the world have changed and
will change. Nothing that man has created has lasted.
Every way of life, every form of government, and every
form of religion that is not of the true and living God
will come down. Yes, I even said that even communism in
China will come down like in other nations. Everything
is for a season. When the Messiah returns to claim His
own He will restore all as it should be. Man’s arrogance
and pride will come down. It will take us all by
surprise but nothing we have created or invented will
mean a hill of beans except God be glorified. That’s
just how it is.
Opportunities come in so many ways
and through so many avenues. It is a matter of keeping
one’s eyes and ears glued to the Spirit of God to cease
the moment. Have I met every opportunity? I can’t say I
have for I am certain I missed a him or her sometime
when my mind said to me, “Are you crazy?” Once I passed
a man outside the Lama Temple that I felt a strong
urging to speak to but I was fearful of being nailed to
the temple wall so close by. I justified in my head that
if I share with someone else further away it would be a
compromised obedience. Ha! HA, HA, HA! Obedience is
obedience or it is outright rebellion and failure. I
mentioned Jesus and they just totally dismissed me. Did
I turn around and go back to that man? No, by then I
knew I had lost the moment. God is redeeming. I have
other opportunities I went right for and praise God with
good results. I will always have a vivid memory of the
one I walked away from.
▲
11/1/09
I spent some time this morning
working on my website, answering some email and speaking
to my family at home. In the afternoon I went to a
friend’s tea shop and drank so much tea I was a bit
water logged. He invited one of his neighboring store
owners to come have tea with us and of course
opportunity to share knocked on my door. He spoke and
understood English well enough to understand and at the
end he said it was a fate that bought me to China to
share about God with him. He was most thankful and spent
a good deal of time after having cups and cups of tea
with us. Another friend joined us and again the absolute
mother of all opportunities where he is concerned came
knocking. I don’t even know how to express what
happened.
Do you know when you complain about
why you are the way you are and wish you were different
but then you realize God uses you in that very unique
way you don’t like? It is all the little quirky thinks
about yourself you wish you could leave behind but God
keeps resurrecting and using in His God like way. Well,
He did it again and impact made. A little closer to
penetrating the Buddhist mentality! It really is true,
when we are at our weakest God is at His best in us
because we literally have to be put out of the way so He
can operate and we can truly take no glory for
ourselves. I am amazed by God’s actions. I look forward
in humility to see how this one person will come about
to God’s way of things on God’s terms not mine or his.
▲
10/31/09
I attended a congregation today. I
had hoped to be able to assist them with posting their
website but things didn’t work out and I am afraid the
time will not allow it to be so. This evening I met two
new friends and spent a lovely evening with them getting
a Chinese foot massage and had dinner. One of my friends
introduced me as he had with several other new friends I
met. This new couple attends one of the Catholic
services in Beijing and we were to join them but at that
time it was in French so we took in a foot massage while
his wife who is French attended the service. We had a
lovely meal and I was most happy to learn more about
China from her. Things are always never the way we hear
reported on the outside. There is really a lot of hype
out there about China that is not true. Yes, some is
true but not all. It is the not all that no one cares to
mention.
I though China was closed to the
gospel but not truly the case. From what I have been
told, the government is opposed to any religious
organization that holds allegiance to any person outside
of China like the Pope. Apparently the Chinese
government is the one that appoints the priest in China
and many of the underground churches are Catholics who
holds allegiances with Rome which opposes the Chinese
government’s policy. This makes it difficult on other
entities of Christina faith. I also understand that
there are entire communities in China that are
Christian. Well, that is the other side of the coin.
This is a very hard working culture and diligent people.
They are very likable and courteous. I have only met
one man that was out right rude to me because I would
not buy his painting that he felt I should buy because I
need luck. One out of 1.4 billion is good!
▲
10/30/09
I am exhausted and spent the day at
the apartment with mama. We had lunch and spent the
afternoon sleeping. My feet simply could not go any
more. Surely the work does not belong to one but at
least two. Who will encourage you when you are only one?
▲
10/29/09
I spent the evening with my new
friends I met at the Tea Convention and then we were
joined by a new friend. I acquired a copy of The Book –
part two while in Beijing and was able to give a copy to
one of my new friends who promised to read it. So now it
is up to the Holy Spirit to do His thing. We did share
views and spoke about the tradition of tea drinking and
so on and got acquainted with a friend my friend met on
the internet but never in person. After sampling my
friend’s special blend of tea and agreeing to return the
next week and make my purchase we took off for a late
dinner. It was a Vegan meal and quite good. I and the
new addition to the group became fast friend. She is a
lovely young lady from the south of China studying in
Beijing. We will meet next week to take in the art
district together. My other friend is making plans for
me to go visit the terracotta soldiers. My other friend
I will see again when I make my purchase of tea. Imagine
that, I am making friends with, atheist, Catholics,
Buddhist, Christians and traditionalist etc., all in
China. Imagine the people each of these can reach with
the truth of God’s love. If nothing else they have no
excuse.
Keep all these people in your
prayers. Not all seed germinate at the same time. The
opportunities are in every moment and situation. At
dinner I took a moment to save grace and then my friends
bowed their heads and had their thoughts. My friend from
the tea shop asked me what my thoughts were when I
meditated. I said I was not meditating but thanking God
for the food. He said he was thanking the people who
prepared the food and my other new friend said she sent
thanks out to the farmers who grew the food. I said, but
who made the people who prepared the food and who made
the farmers who grew the food? They both said without
the farmers they would be no food. I replied that
without God who sends the rain and sun and created us we
would have nothing. You see, what I have found is that
people are only will to go so far back. Most are not
willing to acknowledge the beginning – The Alpha!
Whatever we do we have to point them back to the
beginning. Every opportunity is a chance to turn things
around and back to God. Pray for opportunities and an
answer to every man.
▲
10/28/09
Well, God send many people in our
direction. I spent the day with an academic atheist from
one of our higher educational system in America. By the
end of the day she said she was apt to believe there was
a God because she acquired something she really wanted.
One lost dog that was not found was her decision to let
the idea of God become a fleeting temptation. Because of
a d o g she could not receive G o d. But seeds are
seeds. Who knows, maybe we are just waiting for after
the winter and a new spring to come. But then, this is
not my business but the Father’s business. Shut up joy!
▲
10/23/09
I attended the Beijing Tea Convention
with my host. It was quite an experience. It was the
second time I had attended a convention with her. I had
previously attended the Organic Food Convention. It is
always the same. People staring and taking photos are a
constant. Once we got into the event I was at a booth
waiting for my host when a young lady whom I had noticed
starting came over to me and asked me if she could take
a photo. I agreed because she asked and not did what
most others do, wait until I pass and take my photo or
pretend there are on the phone and snap my picture. I
went over to the booth and the cameras came out and cell
phones and others from other booths and other on lookers
who felt an opportunity to get a photo came over. The
young lady spoke really good English and really was a
very nice person. I bought two bottles of their water
and then one young woman put a bottle in my hand and
apparently wanted me to pose with it. I accommodated
them with the picture and all of a sudden I was being
posed and photographed even more. Opportunity!
During the entire event I found her
or she found me and we exchanged email and so forth and
took more and more photos. I received an invitation to
come to their province the next time I come to China.
This young lady was the first person I made contact with
at the convention and the last. Sometimes open doors are
ajar until the right time the door can be opened
unhindered. Throughout the convention it continued this
way. Those that were bold enough asked for a photo with
me and others seeing got into the act. Toward the end I
went with my host and her friend to enter our names into
a drawing and I walked away with a nice gift box of tea.
After the drawing we sat a bit and got ready to leave.
Suddenly this very loud man in broken English invited me
to come and sit at a booth and have a cup of tea. I was
apt to move on but he was so insistent and loud I though
I could quiet him down by obliging. Opportunities knock
in many ways.
It was a divine move of God. I had an
awesome opportunity to share the gospel with him and his
friend – both Buddhist. His friend spoke really good
English and was indeed a gentle soul. We spoke at length
and then this other man invited me and my host to come
to his tea shop for tea. Well it wasn’t possible but he
gave us his card and asked us to come by. I gave my word
that I would go by and we continued out. I met up with
the first young lady again as I wanted to say goodbye
and more photos and someone wanting my email. Yes God!
It was good.
My host and I spent the entire day
together and we ended up at a place she sometimes go to
set up her table to diagnose people’s illnesses. I spent
the afternoon with more wonderful people with
opportunity to speak of Jesus even though not at length.
I spent the time helping them with their tasks and we
all became good friends. One worker spoke great English
and what a wonderful time of making new friends. I don’t
think people expect us from the west to come on a visit
and then turn about and help. One small deed speaks a
thousands words especially when you don’t speak the
language. Being curious about me brought my friend some
business so that was good. All things work for the good
of those that love the Lord. Let me just say that my
host and I are family and leave it at that.
▲
10/22/09
I am always in amazement of how God
works. Considering that I do not speak Chinese God has
certainly made good on His word to give me contacts
while in China. Everywhere I go I meet people and
usually most are curious about my hair. They are genuine
and sincere as we speak and open to friendship and
hearing what I have to share. One day as I was walking
through the Olympic Park I was exhausted from the long
hike and as I was looking for a place to sit one lady
beckoned me over to sit next to her on a bench. It was
really my first open invite rate than curiosity that
beckoned me over. I know it was a divine appointment and
we spent about two hours communicating using my BESTA
translator. She asked me why I was in China alone and I
just out right told her. I told her what God laid on my
heart and she readily accepted and the next statement
from her was that she also believed in Jesus. She said
she was a Christian and felt that it was her
responsibility to help me with what I was doing since I
could not speak Chinese. I told her the vision for China
and what it required. Speaking at every opportunity the
Lord opens about the saving grace of Jesus. I told her
about the vision to go along the silk and spice route
taking the gospel all the way back to the gates of
Jerusalem. She said she was willing to do whatever she
could and what a grand delight to know that the work
even though I could not do it would go on.
Sometimes things are not about us
doing but connecting to those who can much better than
we ourselves can. These last two years I have come to
realize that God’s plans are vaster than ours. We often
can imagine that the work can’t be done without us or
that we are the catalyst but in actuality God is trying
to connect us to that one man or woman or couple that
can enter doors that we only dream of knocking at. As we
continued to speak my new sister in the Lord’s work took
time to encourage me that my trip was not in vain. I was
wearing sunglasses and she picked them up and tried them
on. It occurred to me to give them to her. I completed
my though to her on the BESTA and as she read I placed
the sun glasses on her bag and then a bit later I told
her they were a gift to her. She seemed to be looking
for something to give me but found nothing and I was
happy but she said, “No, I can’t take them.” By that
time a man came by and I asked him to take a photo of me
and my new friend. He was a bit reluctant but did it
anyway.
We took a few photos and sat a bit
while I conveyed to her to tell him I really appreciated
his effort. It happened that he worked in the park and
was waiting for the cleanup crew to arrive where we were
seated. They came and started removing the tree branches
that were earlier pruned. We were sitting where the
removal truck pulled up so I got up to get out of the
way and they apparently said to her never mind. An
opportunity always presents its self in your lap if you
just see the moment for what it is. I got up and began
to haul tree branches over to the truck and everyone
seem a bit surprised that I would do such a thing. My
new friend got the camera and started taking pictures.
The leader of the crew was clearly pleasantly surprised
by my work and thanked me heartedly. He gave me the
thumbs up sign and ev and got the camera from her and
began taking everyone cheered. The he took the camera
and began taking pictures and everyone got excited and
there was much laughter.
He motioned for me to take a picture
shaking the hands of the driver of the truck and my
friend came over and put my hand in his hands. People
came over to see what was happening and the entire
situation turned in to one really nice coming together
of the East and the West. I hope I left a good
impression of Americans and Christians even though they
had no idea except my friend. I know that I was the
first bible most if not all of them was seeing. They
moved on to their next pick up and the crew leader
continued to give me the thumbs up as they continued to
work. Surely, sometimes preaching the gospel is not
about speaking but doing.
Again my friend and I were alone on
the bench and it was getting late so I had to go. I put
the glasses on her bag and told her I wanted her to keep
them as a reminder that before we met she did not have a
vision for China and now she does. She accepted them! I
continued on and my spirit and heart was lifted even
though I walked alone. It is this way in Beijing. People
are rarely alone. Couples are together, friends or
family. Usually I do not see people alone at any of the
sights in Beijing. Sometimes days go by before I speak
to someone who knows any English. You can’t imagine what
that feels like at times. You have to keep conversations
going in your own mind or who begin to feel abandoned. I
have conversations with God. I listen to my music but
after a while no matter how anointed it can give you a
headache in the heart. Reading is great and meditating
on the word is wonderful but it is true, one can get
full on the word. I don’t think it is about being alone
rather more about being isolated at times. Yes, even in
a city of millions. The battlefield is in the mind. Once
you can conquer it you can continue but at times it is a
daily battle. The enemy wants you to turn inward and
make you think you are self sufficient but in actually
we are truly not islands. We are meant to be inhabited
with communication, relationship and feelings.
It was a good day indeed!
▲
10/16/09
I spent the day at the Summer Palace
and as usual it was a divine time of connection. I was
meandering my way back to the north gate to leave when I
happened to hear someone speak English. I turned and it
was two black ladies with an obvious American accent
from the voice I heard. Wow! English and black folks!
Well I just swung around and made an introduction of
myself to the two sister wearing badges that said New
York and Virginia.
I asked what they were doing there.
They were on a Marilyn Hickey crusade trip for about 9
days. Believers! Yeah! I told them the name of my
website and we parted. I ended up going out at the wrong
gate and it was quite far to travel back through the
site to get back to the north gate. I took a chance to
walk the distance back to the train station from the
street when lo and behold I ran in to one of the lady’s
again.
So they were lost and separated from
their group and this was their first official day in
china as they had only arrived the previous night.
Opportunity knocks on the door again and it would seem
that I spend more time helping Americans out. To make a
long story short I spent a number of hours with them
getting them some help to find their group and bus. We
had a great time sharing and eventually someone from the
group found them to take them to either the bus or the
hotel or to catch up with the group.
What was the purpose of that meeting?
·
first to
rescue two lost sisters,
·
second to
share the vision for China
·
and third to
encourage and strengthen each other.
I don’t believe for one moment that
such a meeting was only about those sisters being in
need. When I said good bye one sister gave me a hug the
first time I gave them directions to the exit and the
second time we said goodbye. She held onto me a bit and
I instantly knew she was praying a blessing on me. I
held onto the embrace and receive the blessings. Her
name was Esther. Esther is synonymous with being in a
place for a certain divine appointed time and
opportunity. I received Esther’s divine appointed time
in our meeting. Esther, if you are reading this, thanks!
You will never know my sister how much your prayer and
embrace meant to me. It was the hand of God upon me.
▲
10/14/09
Tonight I attended an above ground
Chinese congregation. It actually was the youth night
and the place was packed solid. They use a sound system
that could be heard all the way outside onto the
boulevard. I was stunned at first when I notice the
large cross on the steeple of the building. When I
realized that the music spilling onto the streets was
coming from inside and it was Christian music I was even
more shocked. It seems the city congregations are
fairing much better than the rural areas. Truly the
church is emerging in China.
Congregation operated by foreigners
meeting openly here as well. One I attended seems to be
involved in open evangelism with no fear. My pray for
China is that western doctrinal errors will not seep in.
I pray that as the doors of evangelism opens and the
church emerges as a force to be reckoned with that we
westerners will leave China to the revelation of the
Holy Spirit.
We have so many doctrines that have
come and gone and most have failed. China does not need
a new trend or twist on Christianity it needs to
maintain the pure gospel that has already been delivered
to them. It is the pure gospel that has imprisoned many
and cost many more their lives. The Chinese believers
seem to be effective at winning their own. The church
here does not need revival but an open door to operate
in. It doesn’t need a crusade that filters in unsound
doctrine and so called miracles and such. As far as I
know miracles follow the believers not come before them.
China already has its miracles of the lives of hundreds
and probably thousands of persecuted believers that God
has worked miracle upon miracle for their survival.
What can the western church bring to
China? It is for the Chinese believers to teach us how
to effectively keep the gospel pure and how to make a
stand for God unwavering. If the Chinese believers are
capable of reaching 50,000 plus of their own daily for
Christ then we are the ones to learn at their feet. In
the west that number is probably leaving the church
monthly or daily. At least that much I know is refusing
to hear the gospel daily every second when someone
reaches for the dial and change the sermon being
broadcast on the radio or television. The church house
can’t seem to be filled unless it is Easter or
Christmas. Unless the church invites a well known
speaker or band you can expect more than 2/3 of the pews
to be emptied.
Even the mega preachers are
experiencing a decline in attendance and offering and
this is why they are looking at foreign fields. I wish
they will stop advertising elaborate meetings in other
nations that rarely produce fruits that remain. Often
times they are in connection with many congregations in
those nations that help promote their crusades and so
the events are crowded with believers. Most of their
evangelistic trips are really sight seeing trips where
9/10 of the times they are visiting sites and shopping
with one night to so call hold a crusade with an
entourage of believers who do not speak the language and
can hardly help. They do not come to build sustainable
programs so the local congregations can have a financial
basis to double their efforts.
Money spent on sight seeing could be
sown into orphanages, feeding and clothing the needy,
purchasing bibles and so on. Well at the least we can
say that they are helping the economy. I see what the
issues are and I am gravely disturbed. China needs our
prayers and godly guidance so they do not make the same
mistakes we in the west have already made. The church is
alive and well in China and growing.
I came to China with an expectation
from reports in the west that the church was a non
entity in China but I realize now that it is most
definitely alive. So how can we make a difference? We
need to pray for China. We need to strengthen the hands
of those that are already there. We need to connect with
people who are already in strategic positions that can
do above more than we can hope to do. We need to
encourage those in business with the Chinese to be the
living word so the Chinese business leaders and
government leaders can recognize a difference and make
the inquiry of our faith. We need to care for the needy
and the orphans. We need to ask them what help we can be
to them rather than telling them what they need.
I am excited to be here. There is
much I will not be able to share here so if my journal
seems scant then just accept the fact that to preserve
the gospel in certain places we must be entrusted to
protect certain details. May God bless you as you read
and he leads you in a direction to do more.
▲
10/13/09
Today I met with an African
businessman networking in China. We happened to bump
into each other on the streets on day, him and his
colleagues. We had agreed to meet and take in a site
together but as things are there were on business and
time was/is of the essence. We called for several days
with in a week and emailed but simply could not find the
time until Wednesday afternoon. He actually made a hole
in his schedule to speak with me on a business matter
and I had great expectations that this for me was a
divine appointment.
As we met he told me that he was
looking for a contact in the US to broaden his business
horizon and as I was not interested in the least bit in
undertaking the business arena I gave him my best
reference. Someone I know with an MBA and have much
integrity. Now it was my time to share my purpose for
meeting with him.
I wasn’t sure how receptive he would
be but I believe it was a divine appointment and so I
asked the question if he was a believer in Jesus. The
affirmative response gave me the go ahead to be bold and
make my spiel for the Lord. It was the perfect timing to
step to the plate and bat.
I shared with him my purpose for
being in China and that I felt very strongly that one of
the reasons I was here was to make connections with
those already in the land to make a difference with the
gospel. It wasn’t enough to be in business with the
Chinese but the opportunity to travel about the nation
and hub nub with those in positions to affect thousands
meant a clear open door from God.
It is not enough for China to be
emerging as a Christian nation, yes it is! About 50,000
mainland Chinese come to faith daily and not just in
rural areas. The cities are exploding with new believers
as the church is not coming out of the underground here.
Its presence is more and more accepted. I heard one
businessman state the other day that the Chinese
government is beginning to realize that Christianity in
China cannot be halted and that it is good for the
nation. Without Christianity China will not go far.
As I spoke to my new friend I
explained that for him to come to China as a businessman
only was throwing away the greatest opportunity God has
given to him. It is not sufficient to make capital gains
from the emerging world of commerce in China and not
leave behind a spiritual contribution of the gospel. My
friend is after all in a key position to share the
gospel with people connected in many provinces.
So many companies are sending
laborers out into the nations of the world unprepared to
make a spiritual impact. 50,000 plus daily coming into
the kingdom and few prepared to take with them the flip
side of success. Just believe with me that this man of
God will be impacted by a greater success for the
kingdom of God.
I have been inspired to write a
booklet entitles the Pearl Manifesto on principles of
righteous living and dealings for the emerging Chinese
leaders. Pray that something good will come of it.
▲
10/11/09
This morning I spent sometime talking
to my family on Skype. It was a very good morning. I
began to prepare some journal notes to be posted when I
return home to the USA.
Today is one of my most memorable
days in China. It was the first opportunity to share the
gospel of Jesus Christ with mainland Chinese on a
one-to-one basis. I happen to pass by the silk market
today and decided to go in for a look around. I came to
some peal dealers and began to browse a bit. Of course
if you don’t have your wits about you they can talk you
into anything at ridiculous prices. Two girls took time
to demonstrate to me how to identify real pearls. It was
really quite interesting because as you scratch at real
pearls a dust forms and eventually the area scratch
smoothes back out. Somehow when you get use to looking
at fake pearls of exact perfect replicas you seem
somehow to expect that the real thing will be just as
flawless and identical. In actually each pearl is found
in its own oyster and so as unique as each individual
human is from each other so are pearls.
Indeed no two pearls are
the same although similar. Real pearls have natural
flaws that look like little nicks. People who deal in
pearls, painstaking separate each pearl into strings of
similar size, color and shine. Hence we get a string of
pearls that look almost identical but really are not. I
made a selection at a reasonable price and sat down with
a bottle of water as the girls made me a necklace, and
bracelet. As I sat and watch them place a knot after
each strung pearl I struck up a conversation with the
girls. It was really good to be able to speak with the
girls in English and talk about Jesus. I use the pearls
as examples and said that the Chinese people are like an
ocean of pearls waiting for a great heavenly harvest. I
asked the girls if they had heard of Jesus and they said
yes but they were Buddhist. One mentioned that many
Chinese people believe in Jesus but they believed in
Buddha. One even said without being asked that Buddha
wanted people to serve him and it was a way of life. I
explained that Jesus died for us because we are
incapable of making things right for us and that Buddha
also needed Christ.
I continued by saying
that as it took them to demonstrate for me how to
identify real pearls, Jesus also wants to do the same
for them. He wants the chance to demonstrate to them
while He is the real true and living God and not Buddha.
I told them that of they would only ask God to prove
Himself to them that He would. Like the pearl that can
with stand the test of the scraping so can Jesus stand
up to the testing that He is the true God. After all, it
did not harm the pearl one bit to be scraped and it
would not harm Jesus. I also told them that as they
demonstrated for me that the pearls were real and so I
bought them, then like wise if they ask Jesus to show
them proof of His deity then they like wise must decide
whether He was worth having.
One of the girls said to
me that she would not give up Buddha and I told her that
if Jesus proved to be the true pearl she would have to
decide on the real thing or the plastic one. I asked her
what she had to loose. I left them with the decision to
challenge Jesus and Buddha as to which was the true God.
They looked a bit taken back buy the challenge and then
it seemed to dawn on them that something was right about
what I proposed. Yeah, will the real God please stand
up!
Later I went outside to
catch a taxi back to the apartment. A little man in a
rickshaw peddled next to me and appeared to be asking me
if I want a ride. I totally ignored him and began
looking for a taxi. After about 40 minutes I could not
find an empty so as I moved around looking I was snubbed
by two cabbies that refused to take me so far out of the
way. Finally I moved back to the place where I spent
about 40 minutes hailing taxis. I got help at a counter
and they called a man to their booth and I though they
were asking him what bus I should take to my address.
Instead he turned out to be the very same old man with
the rickshaw who I ignored earlier. He agreed to take me
home. I had not realized how far it was from the
apartment. This delicate little bit of a man peddled
that rickshaw through traffic alternating peddling,
walking and using his motor for about 40 minutes through
the most incredible traffic and people I have seen in a
while and what he was asking me to pay for the trip was
not even close to what it might have cost in a slow
moving taxi. All I could think of was whether this old
man would be able to make it back and get home in one
piece. Do you know what it feels like when you realize
that God is orchestrating something? It was the second
time in 24 hours that I felt God pressing me to meet a
need. I got out of the rickshaw and paid the man exactly
what God placed in my heart which was way above his
asking price. He took it and looked at me as though he
expected me to give just that amount. It was as though
he knew before I did. The look was a look of agreement
or was a well done look of approval.
I only said that Jesus
loves him and he gave me a warm smile and said thank
you. I crossed the street and he was gone. Perhaps it
was bad lighting. Indeed, these are the days of small
things.
Zech. 4:10
For who hath despised the day of
small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the
plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they
are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through
the whole earth.
▲
So far so good! Things have certainly
been a blessing these pass days. I met the most
incredible people and had the opportunity to join them
in some of their activities. God means exactly what he
said when He told me he was giving me an open door to
China. I have learned a lot since being here and can
said that the outside world knows very little about
China. The church by and large is growing here at an
alarming rate. The last statistics I heard was about
50,000 a day with maybe over 400,000,000 by 2012. There
is indeed an underground church in China and some places
are experiencing persecution and are limited but the
church is definitely alive and well. There are some
foreign lead congregations in the city that are open and
operating above ground but by and large the Chinese
congregations are home cell groups with no building
edifice as such. I pray that they will not reach to the
place where the western congregations have reach which
is investing in large edifices and losing sight of the
body.
The congregations are faced with many
challenges but I believe by and large god has a plan for
this nation in these last days. There are shakings in
Asia both with earthquakes and tsunamis and many natural
disasters but I believe that God is trying to get their
attention. The rumblings in the earth are often an
indication of what is happening in the heavenlies. I
hope that you are all praying for China. In every corner
of the world the Chinese are being employed in many area
of development. Surely this is an open door to the
nations that God has given to them if they can open
their spiritual eyes and see this.
While in the Caribbean I saw the
Jehovah Witnesses harvesting among the Chinese and now I
wonder why if so many Chinese are coming to the Lord why
aren’t the believers in China making sure that those
going out to the nations to labor aren’t believers as
well. What an incredible labor force for the Lord would
be let loose on the nations. Sometimes we are to close
up to see what is before us. God gives us the
opportunity but at times we are thinking along carnal
lines and cannot see His intent. I do not mean to imply
that carnal is sinful in this context only natural or
horizontal thinking.
There is a destiny that God has shown
me for China and that is that they must increase their
efforts to bring in their own harvest. It is out of this
harvest that the nations will be reached. I met a group
that has a heart to enlighten the Chinese of another
vision of taking the gospel back along the ancient silk
and spice roads all the way back to Jerusalem where it
originated. In order for this to happen they must win
their own. God has shown me that the harvest in China is
like a bed of pearls waiting to be discovered and these
spiritual pearls are pearls of great price to God. Out
of the harvest to come will arise great spiritual
leaders here in China that will lead the church back to
Jerusalem and the nations.
It will take a church being lead by
integrity and holiness without compromise. This harvest
must bring forth good fruit that will not stray to the
left or to the right. The Great Wall of China is a
natural indicator of what God has in store for China.
The wall has kept China from western influence for many
millenniums. It is like God has been preserving this
people of this ancient way and language for a reason.
The great wall has kept them in and the influences out.
The faith that they have received from the early church
planters here in China has been good. It has been so
good that although some have tried, most will not
surrender their faith though persecuted. Unlike in the
western world, many believers are turning from their
faith without even a threat.
The church in China has many issues
to face but I believe it has much integrity. It is still
by and large virgin faith. I came to China thinking that
the people here are widely unreached but have come to
learn that near or over 50,000 new believers come to
faith daily. With 1.2 billion Chinese on mainland China
and 22 million in Taiwan, 6.6 million in Hong Kong, 4.5
in Singapore, 450,000 in Macau, and millions more in
Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and the rest
of the world, this is a great force to be used in the
kingdom of God. God has His reserves and it is China.
China is leading the world in many arenas. Globally it
is making an impact. What is happening in the natural is
also happening in the spiritual. God says that He is the
one that rises up and bring down nations.
Many empires and nations have come and gone from the face of
the earth. It has always been the intent of God that a
nation will arise and provoke Israel to jealousy for
Him. We think it is by evangelizing the Jews that this
change will come but in actuality it is by a nation
honoring God to the point that He blesses them as He
intended to bless Israel. Israel will be so jealous to
see what their God is doing for a pagan nation who calls
Him God and keep His commandments and ways that they
will themselves turn back to Him.
Many nations in the past have failed even after being
blessed by God. We see this very clearly in the United
States now that we have lowered our moral standard and
taking God out of our way of life. If China can only
recognize that it is God who is elevating them and yield
to Him God will do mighty things. They must find their
way into doing things with integrity and moral prudence.
China has many social problems. Divorce is on the
increase and so is homosexuality. There are more males
than females in China today because of the one child
laws. Most will not find a mate here in China and so
immorality with each other seems to be on the rise.
There is also the 4-2-1 dilemma. This means that there
are 4 grand parents to one set of parents with one
child. That is a great burden for one child/offspring to
bear when those relatives become old and dependent on
them for assistance.
Also, we have a nation that is propelled onto the global
market with many western influences and so the desire to
become materialist is very real. Yet I understand that
Chinese families save about 30% of their income where as
in the United States we have been living on credit that
we can’t afford to save. As of May 2009 the United
States of America owe china $772 billion in debt. Pray
for China that they will act with integrity. Of course
pray for America that we will turn back to God and a
right way of living. Pray that China will face its
challenges with God’s virtues. Yes there is a lot of
corruption in China as with the other nations of the
world. Pray for believers to arise in the Chinese
government and in the market places. Pray for the gospel
to remain pure and for the Chinese believers to realize
what an opportunity God is granting to them at this
crucial time in the history of man.
Yesterday I had an urgency to go to the local café even
though I was in a rush to go somewhere. I allowed myself
to be lead by the Spirit in this regard and when I
arrived there I encountered a couple with a young
Chinese child. They were Americans who came to China to
adopt their second Chinese child. So they were lacking
enough funds to pay their bill and so I extended my
funds to them. We did not have time to chat but we
introduced ourselves and I did give them the name of my
website. I wanted to tell them so much that God is
giving them a great opportunity to adopt one of these
special little ones. I hope they will have an
opportunity to read this entry and recognize themselves
here. What a blessing it was to be able to assist them.
When I was leaving they sent me God’s blessings and so I
could only imagine that they too are believers. I know
that that was a divine encounter but I have no other
idea why except God was taking care of their needs.
I met up with my Singaporean friends after at a fellowship
and their in turn blessed me with a love offering.
Thank you God for this gift that will help pay for my
room! Please take sometime and go to the Back to
Jerusalem website and see the vision God has for China.
Do not withhold your contributions as I can attest that
this ministry is very viable and have much integrity.
There are things I wish I could say here but all things are
not expedient. I simply have to say that this open door
God has extended to me is truly an open door. All fear
is gone and I am doing what He places in my path to do.
Keep me in your prayers especially my health. The air is
badly polluted and so I have developed a nuisance cough.
I will not be able to travel to all the places I had
hoped to but God will ensure I go where I am needed to
go to. These notes will be posted once I return home.
▲
10/5/09
All is well in Beijing! I am learning
my way around and trying to keep my eyes opened for
every opportunity. I am being reminded that my work here
is about 20% what I say and 80% what I do because of the
language barrier. My dreadlocks are certainly a novelty
here but this is how I meet people. Funny about life and
how things work, “do not despise the day of small
things.” I spent last night amidst the thousands of
people in Tiananmen Square with my new friends. How a
exciting it was. I am also waiting for my divine
appointment with its connections and believe it will
come soon. Sorry but there is not a whole lot I can
share right now and wisdom dictated caution. Keep me in
your prayers and pray for a move of the Holy Spirit in
this nation. Pray with earnest for China.
▲
10/3/09
Today after 12 noon I set out to
learn the lay of the land. It took me all day but
finally I got it. Actually it is now 9pm and I just put
away the map after finding the subway system and
learning how to mingle walking with riding. I am trilled
with my own self but really you all know it is the Lord
that gives wisdom and boy did I need it. I am
practically alone in this huge city and nation but not
absence from His presence.
Walking among this people has been a
privilege and awesome adventure. I got more stares for
my dreadlocks which brought out many smiles. Truly the
Chinese people are a cultural people who live kindly
amongst themselves. It was good to see that even though
things here are quite modern the people including the
young people I saw live respectable. The youth are a bit
funky but not sexually explicit. Refreshing! I am only
speaking about what I have seen so far and so far so
good. What couldn’t God do with such a people? I see
families, couples and men and women of all ages walking
hand-in-hand. This is a culture that has not lost its
ability to express genuine affection without the biases
of other cultures.
Certainly there are political issues
that impact this nation but in light of Christ and His
gospel of redemption, salvation is the key. It is the
responsibility of the Holy Spirit to change the hearts
of men. Now the issue of language! Although I do not
speak but a few, let me repeat, a few word of Chinese I
am remarkably amazed on well my host family and I can
understand each other. I have not had one opportunity to
share the gospel but if my actions speak for me I
believe much has already been said. I am looking forward
to Thursday when I meet up with some new friends that I
know will launch me onto a path of sharing and
encouraging the believers here.
What I am realizing is that God wants
to use the nations to bring in their own harvest if we
learn to release it to them. I think part of what I am
here for is to spur on the believers and compel them to
go beyond the nominal and do something phenomenal for
Christ. It is not easy to say this as I know that here
in China there are risk where the gospel is concerned.
But it must be done. An army of Chinese believers are
waiting to be released in this the fullness of the
gentiles. This is how I see spiritually the Chinese
people. A sea of pearls waiting to be harvested! What
part should I play in this?
▲
10/2/09
I arrived in Beijing on October 2,
2009. What an absolute pleasant surprise. Beijing
is impressive, clean, sprawled out, great highways, all
seems well maintained, and the city is set in 6 circular
road designs. I asked my host what the six circular
roads meant and she said it was just a design with no
significant meaning. Mind you this is only my first few
hours here and yet I feel I have sufficient to make a
statement on what I have seen.
How warm and friendly these people
are. There is an iridescence glow about them. Like
people of the pearl! I mean to say they seem like
walking pearls. But I don’t think they realize it.
Something hidden but seen! My host family is so warm and
helpful. There is a friendly warmness, hospitable, kind
and genuine openness.
Matthew 13:45-46 says, “Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking
goodly pearls: [46] Who, when he had found one pearl of
great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought
it.” There is definitely a pearl of great price here. I
think we in the west have been biased by Hollywood. I
think we have been biased by greedy careless leaders.
But isn’t this true of all nations and people. Few have
risen up to bias the lot of us by the bad behavior of a
few. I already sense that this is a good people who have
been long hidden from the world. Daniel said that
tidings shall come from the east. I believe it. I
believe in the end of days china shall arise with a
fierceness to help save the day. Isn’t that like all of
God’s hidden treasures? He has always used the day of
small things to accomplish amazing things.
Small people might not do things
quite the way the big ones do them but they certainly
leave a lasting impression. The Great Wall of China can
be seen from space. A little people who do things in a
big way! Their operas are elaborate, they celebrations,
their monuments etc. Now imagine this all turned for the
grace of God. Imagine that god do in the natural what He
desires us to see in the spiritual. China harvest the
world’s greatest and most prize pearls. Pearls takes
years to develop and become what they are because the
host had to suffer much in tolerating the irritation of
the one grain of sand until it became so smooth to be
tolerable. China has been like a grain of sand before
God for centuries waiting to be harvested at the time of
perfection – His appointed time.
No two pearls are the same but they
are all just as valuable. This is the China I see today.
God’s first impression is the way it is. The ocean has
given up its pearls to China and God will have His
pearls from the harvest of the people of China. They
will come. When the nations come before the Lord in
heaven in al of their glory, I think we all shall be
floored by the glory of China. They have had centuries
to hone their glory unlike the many other civilizations
that have come and gone and yet China stands. God has a
remnant in China. What the enemy has stolen from God He
shall recover in its entire splendor.
I am looking at the celebration of
this nation’s 60th year and how absolutely
spectacular. It is the world’s largest opera production
on display. China became a Republic one year after
Israel became a nation; the smallest followed by the
largest. They is always a forerunner God does something
spectacular. China will change; she shall have her part
in the kingdom of God. The strongholds will come down.
God will wash away the filth and the miry clay. They
will make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Just as their
fireworks display lights up the sky so will the heavens
be lit up by China’s turn to Yeshua. A Tsunami is coming
to China. This is why I am here.
▲
I felt it was worth it to post this
picture I took by the golden ladder in Germany right
before my flight to China. It is hard to see things when
you are anxious to see it. All things in God's timing.
This is truly my first solo trip and I understood the
Spirit to tell me that an angel will accompany me on
this trip. When my friend, Silke, told me of this golden
ladder in Germany I felt a hankering to go there. We
both went with some expectancy but nothing significant
happened except we really had a great time sharing and I
felt such a peace about my trip to China. I snapped some
pictures hoping to see something but we both looked at
the photos and thought, ok, I don't need to see to
believe, all things by faith.
I knew what the Spirit had spoken to
me because it was confirmed by two other people. A
visiting pastor, Frances, said to me before I left for
China that the Lord said an angel will go with me. I was
a bit freaked out even though I knew she was confirming
what I had personally heard and written down. It was
funny because she gave a name of the angel and said one
thing but I heard something else. I asked her later what
she had said and then showed her what I had written
about this angel several days before she came. She was
very pleased to see that I had annotated this word of
knowledge and she was indeed confirming it. Right before
I left for China a pastor friend from Africa send me the
verses below and that was all. It was just out of the
blue and it is not how he corresponds usually.
When I arrived to visit my friend in
Germany at her home we took an early morning walk and
prayed as we went. One of the last things she prayed for
me was that God's angels will accompany me to China and
His will be done. I have to admit I anticipated a last
confirmation about this angel and I took it as that and
finally got enough courage to tell her what the Spirit
had placed in my heart and how it was confirmed twice
before. We both had this hankering to go to the golden
ladder anyway so I set in my heart that God will give me
His finally confirmation by showing me something at this
ladder. I went with anticipation.
As we arrived we prayed and took
photos and sat looking and praying but nothing out of
the ordinary happened. Well, with the exception of
feeling really at peace we just accepted everything by
faith. You couldn't imagine the havoc the enemy can
place on your mind when you are alone. It is one thing
to be alone but when you are in a country with 1.4
billion people and hardly hear a word of English and no
one really to express mentally your frustration or your
thoughts, things can begin to formulate in the recesses
of your mind. The enemy can begin to formulate ideas
that normally are out of your realm. Doubt and
loneliness can swallow you up inside of yourself. We
don't belong in a box.
Before I left New Mexico I attended a
congregation where a sister gave me her favorite pray
shawl from Jerusalem. I was told later that it was her
favorite and she never would have parted with it so it
was special. I almost wanted to hand it back to her but
I felt a need to hang on. I tucked that prayer shawl in
my bag and tote it about with me. The day my break
through came the Spirit told me to take the shawl and
cover my head with it. The instant I did so my mind
began to clear and peace and truth came to me once
again. I knew that I knew I was exactly where I ought to
be and that the Lord was with me and I was in a place of
personal trial and that I would be victorious. I have
been wearing that shawl every since. I even sleep with
it on my head. Ok, a bit extreme but it works for now.
So, this is Monday night. Yesterday I
attended a congregation in Beijing and and the word was
just for me. The message was about getting out of the
desert and into the Promised Land. All of the the
thoughts the Lord had for me came rushing back and His
promises were once again solidified in my heart. I
returned back to the apartment later that day and
thought I would just relax and organize my photos from
this trip. I pulled up the Germany pictures and began to
look at them and all of a sudden I saw this face I had
not seen before in one of the pictures. (See below) I
had not seen but I was more certain than ever that it
was as He said it would be and then I saw the face.
My hopes for the trip to the golden
ladder was to connect with this angel that would go with
me to China. Yeah, yeah! I know it sound silly but it is
the truth. I heard, I didn't see, I went by faith, I
struggled, I overcame and there he was all the while.
Perhaps you can't see what I see and it is only meant
for me but I know that is not true because my host
family sees it as well. Am I seeing things or imagining
things. Hummmmmmmmm! Whatever it is, it all by faith. I
hope you are blessed by this situation to trust God at
His word. I know that He is a God that cannot lie.
Exodus 23:20-23
[20] Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee
in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I
have prepared. [21] Beware of him, and obey his voice,
provoke him not; for he will not pardon your
transgressions: for my name is in him. [22] But if thou
shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak;
then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an
adversary unto thine adversaries.
▲
This is a new mission year for me and
I begin my journey in Asia. |
