circularthoughts

snakebites and healings...

I received the following report on this past Sunday. It is from one of our national workers in India.

In a remote village, a family has been involved for generations in making mud water containers. They are the only people in the villages around them that do this kind of work so their business is good and they earn a reasonable amount of money to support themselves. 

One morning the family was busy in their work when a poisonous snake bit one of the women. She was rushed to the hospital on a motorcycle and on the way the motorcycle had a flat tire. The two men who carried this woman panicked as there was no means of conveyance for next 4 kilometers. The woman was getting unconscious as it had been almost 45 minutes since the snake had bitten her and her left leg was turning blue. 

One of our leaders, who lives in the area, was traveling on his bicycle when he passed by this group of people. As narrated by the leader: 

When I was going to a nearby village to get some groceries, I saw one woman lying on the ground at the side of the road and two men sitting beside her. I stopped to ask them what had happened and they shared the incident with me. I was full of grief and compassion for them but did not know what to do. I was a bit not sure if I wanted to pray for the woman not knowing if God would heal her. But, gathering my guts I decided to share Jesus with them telling them about the healing power of Jesus. But these men were not interested to listen or pay attention to what I was telling them. All they wanted was to get to the hospital. But the woman was lying there and softly said that she was willing to let Jesus heal her. I started to think what if? What if nothing happens, but there was no way I would back out on a dying woman so I placed my hand on the wound and prayed with lot of fear and doubt, Lord, if you may, heal this woman, in your son's name. Amen!! Amen, by the time I finished the woman had completely gone unconscious. The men were looking at me strangely, wondering what to do with me. But before they could think of anything evil to do with me the unconscious woman started to move and make sounds, and she got off the ground completely in just a few seconds. It was a sign of relief for me that God had touched and healed her. Wasting no time I shared Jesus with them and all three of them were on their knees crying and sobbing. The Spirit had convicted them and I left happy, praising the Lord, promising to never doubt again. I have visited the family twice in the last week and three more family members are on their way to baptism in the coming week!

This is but one of countless stories we are hearing and experiencing in India. God is at work! His Kingdom is coming!

 

a short trip to Mexico...

We returned yesterday from a week in Mexico. Yes, we went to Mexico, to Monterrey, supposedly one of the most dangerous places in the world because of the drug cartel killings. Well, we didn’t see or even sense any danger. It was nice.

We went so I could teach for Oasis HGM, a partner ministry of Heart of God Ministries, for which I am Mission Director. Oasis HGM trains Latin believers how to be good missionaries. I taught Wednesday afternoon and Thursday on disciple making focused church planting. On Friday I met with each of the current 8 students to hear their stories, to dream with them and see if there was a way I can help them to thrive after they go to the field. I know that I will be visiting some of these students on the mission field in the next year or so.

On Saturday the students graduated. The training program lasts ten months. I was able to share briefly with the students at the graduation ceremony. 

I told them that the book of Acts is probably my favorite book. I talked about how Luke wrote it to his friend Theophilus as a follow up to Luke. I talked about how Acts seems to end fairly abruptly in chapter 28 with Paul in Rome sharing the gospel of the kingdom daily. I said that it was almost as if Luke intended to write more but didn’t have the time.

I then suggested that the book of Acts is still being written. Not literally of course, but through the stories we write as we go out to love others through making disciples of Jesus. I suggested that as they went out they would be writing chapters 4,658 of Acts, or 5,386 and so forth. It was a lot of fun!

Please pray with me as these students finish up their support raising so they can go to the fields of Turkey, China, Mali, Bangladesh and Mozambique to write their chapter of Acts.

February 2011 India Trip Report

 

Forms and Meanings

Cross-cultural ministry can be a daunting task.  This is especially true if we are unable to differentiate between forms and meanings.  When we assume that our forms, i.e., preaching, baptism, dress code, worship style, meeting time, use of buildings and other church rituals or ceremonies, are sacred in and of themselves we are flirting with idolatry. 

What we must remember is that it is not the form that is important, rather, it is the attached meaning that results from such form.  We, as guests in another culture, have neither the right nor the ability to attach meaning to forms.  Therefore, we must approach the use of forms with great caution because it is highly probable that the receptor culture will attach a meaning to our form that is different from what we intend. 

An example would be monologue preaching.  In the West, great value is placed on monologue preaching.  It is the central point of most church worship gatherings.  Because of this, we have often made the mistake of assuming that monologue preaching is sacred rather than simply being a cultural form of communication.  In reality, monologue preaching is nothing more than a lecture. 

Most cultures are significantly more communal in nature than that of the West.  In such cultures, communication typically happens in the form of communal dialogue rather than monologue.  Lectures are rare and foreign.  When we insist or carry the unquestioned assumption that monologue preaching is sacred, we run the risk of having the receptor culture attach a meaning that we don’t really intend.  Instead, we need to learn how the receiving culture communicates and adapt and adopt their methods.  This will better assure that the proper meaning is attached, and that is what is really important.  This is just one example of many, which is what makes cross-cultural ministry so much fun.

2 Timothy 2:2 video

I wanted to share this video of what a 2 Timothy 2:2 network looks like.  This is the discipleship network for just one of the men we have trained in India.  It is one of many that we could show you.  Each name on the chart represents a house church.  This is what multiplication looks like.  Enjoy!

Donkey Heads for Dinner...

I once heard an incredible sermon by my friend John Willis Zumwalt, who is the founder of Heart of God Ministries.  Zumwalt used the 6th and 7th chapters of 2 Kings to present an incredible allegory of the current relationship between the church in America and the unreached peoples of the world.  What follows is my meager attempt to share a little of what Zumwalt shared.

The setting is Samaria, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel.  The Arameans had laid siege to Samaria.  This is where the story begins.

Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria.  There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels.  2 Kings 6:24-25

These two verses describe a very desperate situation.  Have you ever had an urge to eat a donkey’s head?  I have eaten donkey before and I would not suggest it as a regular part of one’s daily diet.  I can’t imagine what donkey head tastes like.  It gets worse.  Do you know what the “quarter of a cab of seed pods” was?  Try dove’s dung.  These folks were hungry.  They were in bad shape.  The siege had lasted so long that donkey’s head and dove’s dung is all that was left to eat.

Do you see the allegory here?  Just as the people of Samaria were suffering from lack of good food due to a siege on their city, the unreached peoples of today are suffering from a lack of good spiritual food because they are under spiritual siege.  The Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Animists of the world today are being fed spiritual garbage.  It is all they have because they do not have access to good spiritual food, the Truth of Jesus Christ.  There is a spiritual famine.  They are hungry and they are eating all they have access to.

Let me stop here to talk a little about the difference between the unreached peoples of the world and lost people in the United States.  The difference is access.  Access is defined as follows:  the ability or right to approach, enter, exit, communicate with, or make use of.  The key word in this definition is ability. People in the United States have the ability to find out about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, either by seeking it themselves or by others approaching them.  When I drive to the post office every day, which is less than two miles from my house, I pass by no less than six churches.  The unreached peoples of the world do not have this kind of access.  The level of access between the two groups is as different as black and white; as night and day.  Of course, this doesn’t excuse us from sharing with every person we know and encounter on a daily basis.  However, they do have the ability to seek out and find the Truth and the ability to make choices to seek it out or not to do so.  The unreached peoples of the world do not have such a luxury.  The only choice they have is bad spiritual food. 

The story of what happened in Samaria gets worse as you read on in chapter 6.  I will spare you the gruesome details of what happened next, but know that desperate people do desperate things.  The same is true of the unreached peoples today.  They are seeking to fill their spiritual hunger in the only way they know how and through the only spiritual food they have access to.  It is truly a desperate situation.  I can say this because I have seen it.

I have seen hundreds of Hindus going from idol to idol and temple to temple in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal and all over India.  I have seen Buddhist worshipers kowtowing to various representations of the Buddha in China and Thailand.  I have seen thousands of Muslims making their way to daily prayer in countless mosques in China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Kashmir, Palestine, Turkey, India, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Eritrea, Tunisia, Bangladesh and the Maldives.  I have only seen a small picture of how desperate the situation truly is.  However, I have seen enough to know that the situation is desperate.  But does it have to be?  Let’s read on and see what happened in chapter 7.

Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate.  They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die?  If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’ – the famine is there, and we will die.  And if we stay here, we will die.  So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender.  If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”  At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans.  When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!”  So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys.  They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.  The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents.  They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them.  They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.  Then they said to each other, “We’re not doing right.  This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.  If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us.  Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”  2 Kings 7:3-9

The four lepers, outsiders, were sitting at the city gate.  At some point they began to realize that there was a choice to be made.  They could stay where they were and die, they could go into the city and die or they could approach the enemy camp and either die or be spared.  They decided to approach the camp.  What they discovered was that the Lord had confused the enemy and the camp was empty.  There was food in the camp.  They had access to food, good food!  Do you see the connection between the four lepers and the church in the United States?  We have access to good spiritual food.  Spiritual food in abundance and free.  And yet, what are the vast majorities of us doing with what we have?  Are we not reacting just as the four lepers did?  Do you remember what they did?

“They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them.  They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.”

Is the American church guilty of this?  Are we hoarding all of the food for ourselves?  How many Bible studies do we do?  How many concerts do we have?  How many inward focused ministries do we have?  How much of what we do is for ourselves?  Not that any of these things are bad or wrong, but do you see what I mean?  Is God pleased with the American church’s use of the resources He has blessed us with?  Are we doing enough with the much we have been given?  If not, is it too late? 

The lepers came to their senses.  They realized what they were doing.  They understood that they were not doing right and that there would be great punishment for withholding what they had access to.  The four lepers made the decision to report back to Samaria with the good news.  The siege was over!  Food was available!  God had done it!  All the four lepers had to do was take the good news to those who didn’t know about it.

Friends, there are over 2 billion people in the world today who have absolutely no access to the Truth of Jesus Christ.  Their situation is desperate!  We have the Good News!  We must take it to them!  We must take it to them now!  Not to do so is just possibly one of the greatest sins we will have to answer for when we meet our Creator.  Let’s take the banquet God has blessed us with to those who are eating donkey’s heads for dinner!

Until ALL Have Heard,

Eric

March India report

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There is a story in this report that I think you are simply going to love.  When I read it, I began to shout, so loud that everyone in the house came running to see what was happening.  Which one do you think it was?

 

It has been six-months since we began this project.  I want to share the results that have been reported so far.  Please know that I share these numbers to give a general idea as to the significance of this movement.  I have the utmost confidence that these numbers are conservative.  What is important is not the numbers.  What is important is that these numbers provide significant evidence that God is at work to advance the Kingdom among these two unreached people groups.  That being said, here are the six-month totals:

 

District:	All
	Oct. 07	Nov. 07	Dec. 07	Jan. 08	Feb. 08	Mar. 08	Total
People	210	231	265	415	424	446	1991
Villages	24	24	28	28	30	29	163
New Groups	14	14	31	45	67	76	247
New Churches	14	8	20	22	34	36	134
Baptisms	56	113	40	198	366	529	1302

Please keep praying for these 24 men and the 2 supervisors who are helping to manage the funds and the work.  God is truly at work, but the risks continue to be high. 

 

Finally, as I have shared before, this project costs Every Nation $2,000.00 monthly.  We are still short by $1,400.00 for the month of April.  I need these funds as soon as possible.  Please ask God for His perfect and timely provision.

Until ALL Have Heard,

 

Eric

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District 1
Trained 63 people in 4 villages.  In one village, a school teacher was on his way to work when an angry bull  attacked him and threw him into a 13-foot deep pit.  Our trainer saw the wounded man and took him to the hospital for treatment.  This act of mercy resulted in an open door in this village.  Our trainer was able to spend much time with the teacher and his friends and neighbors.  All of this time resulted in some 37 people coming to know the Lord.  The school teacher is still resisting the gospel, so please pray that his heart will soften.  This district is reporting 6 new house groups, 4 new house churches and 58 baptisms.

District 2
Trained 54 people in 4 villages.  One of the training volunteers was given permission by one of the supervisors to lead a training on his own.  This volunteer went to a village where there has been much suffering from high fever and the chicken pox.  He was resting one evening when a believer in this village brought his neighbor's son who was sick with a high fever.  The volunteer trainer prayed for the boy and he was immediately healed. Within a few minutes of this, the father of the boy who had been healed came with 8-9 people who wanted to be prayed for.  Within 2 hours, there was a line of more than 200 people who wanted to be prayed for. The volunteer trainer kept praying and asked some of the believers in the village to join with him.  They prayed all night and at 10:00 am the next morning, there was still a line of more than 250 people from neighboring villages.  They had heard that a healer had come and they had come expecting a healing.  The volunteer reported that there were healings from multiple diseases.  He said that he does not even remember all that he and his friends did; they were just laying hands on the sick and commanding, in Jesus' name, the sickness to leave.  He said that they estimate that at least half of the people were healed instantly.  There was no shouting, no great dramatics, just the simple laying on of hands and people being healed.  This amazing outpouring of the Holy Spirit resulted in the formation of 29 new house groups and 312 baptisms.

District 3

Trained 49 people in 3 villages.  In one village, a woman had been sick for a few years with stiff joints.  She had been unable to do anything without assistance.  During the training, she was prayed for by one of our trainers.  By the end of the training, she had been completely healed.  She began to follow Jesus and within one month has shared her testimony with more than 150 women.  In another village, a man was healed of a skin disease he had suffered from for over one year.  This man and his family of 7 are now followers of King Jesus.  This district is reporting 13 new house groups and 9 new house churches. 

 

District 4
Trained 66 people in 4 villages.  This district has seen remarkable growth in new house groups formed and in baptisms.  In addition, the number of volunteers has grown.  There are also 37 villages waiting for the training, over and above the key villages we had identified to receive the training.  In one village, a farmer desperately needed to dig a well.  He approached one of our trainers and asked him to pray.  This farmer had gone to several witch doctors for advice about where to dig the well, but water had not been found.  The trainer shared the story of Jesus with the farmer and then he prayed for God to reveal where the well should be dug.  He was led to a particular area and when the well was dug, a steady stream of sweet water was found.  The farmer and his family are now followers of Jesus and he offered 500 kg of wheat as a thanksgiving offering.  This district is reporting 5 new house groups and 5 new house churches.

 

District 5

Trained 59 people in 5 villages.  In one village, a man who was a government official and a representative of the local Hindu fundamentalist group came and observed our training. He left the meeting and returned a bit later with a mob of people. This mob stormed the training, took over the event and beat several people, including the trainer.  The training had to be stopped.  One week later, the man who instigated the mob was killed in a road accident.  This was followed by the village head man being healed of tuberculosis.  He and his family of 5 became followers of Jesus and he has opened up his home and offered to help with the training and other activities.  This district is reporting 9 new house groups, 5 new house churches and 41 baptisms.

 

District 6

Trained 60 people in 3 villages.  In one village, there was a woman who had been demonized for several years. She was so bad that her family had to chain her up because she either attacked others or harmed herself.  While our trainers were in her village, she threw a stone and injured the head of one of the local believers.  Our trainer was summoned and he approached the demonized woman.  He asked her who she was and the woman said that they were many.  The trainer and team of volunteers fasted and prayed and the woman was delivered.  This resulted in four families becoming followers of Jesus.  In addition, a woman was healed of a skin disease that she had suffered from for over a year.  This district is reporting 9 new house groups, 3 new house churches and 31 baptisms.

 

District 7

Trained 57 people in 3 villages.  Just like in other districts, we are seeing more and more volunteers who are helping with the training and training more to be trainers.  We have been able to gain access into new villages each month, many in which we had little or no access.  There is no question that the multitudes are being healed and delivered each month.  As the Word advances, the Kingdom advances and so does the Church.  I want to again thank brother Eric and all of the partners who have made this possible.  In one village, a sister was healed of her paralysis, two children were healed from a prolonged fever and one brother was healed of a long-term headache.  This district is reporting 5 new house groups, 3 new house churches and 34 baptisms.

 

District 8

Trained 38 people in 3 villages.  In one village, an eight-year-old daughter of a Hindu fundamentalist has suffered from the disease of epilepsy for several years.  This man had taken his daughter to the witch doctors, but nothing could be done to help her.  During the training, someone suggested to this man that he take his daughter to the training and ask for her to be prayed for.  He reluctantly came to the training and the trainer commanded, in Jesus' name, the demon and the sickness to leave the girl.  Three days latter, on the last day of training, the man came back to the training site and testified that his daughter had not had an attack in three days.  This man and his family of seven are now followers of King Jesus.  This district is reporting 7 new house churches and 53 baptisms.

 

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If you would like to give to support this work, please go here and make a donation to the India category.  If you would like to mail a check, please make it out to Every Nation, list India on the memo line and mail it to the following address:

 

Every Nation

PO Box 94564

North Little Rock, AR 72190

India Update, Part 3

 

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This is Part 3 of my update on our four-month, People-of-Peace project.  You can see Part 1 by going here and Part 2 by going here. 

 

Thanks again for praying for this strategic project.

Until ALL Have Heard,

 

Eric

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District 18
Our missionary went to a certain village and began to walk the length and breadth of it, praying and looking for opportunities to share.  One night he was prayer walking and noticed a group of people gathered outside a house. He asked what was happening and learned that there was a cobra snake in the house.  Indians are very superstitious about snakes, especially cobras, so no one dared to go inside the house to find the snake.  Our missionary prayed for courage and strength and went into the house and caught the eight-foot long snake in his hand and brought it out of the house.  This is how he became accepted in this village.  Since that night, many people have invited him to their homes and provided meals. One of the people who did so was a government school teacher who is now following Jesus and being discipled.

 

District 19

Our missionary traveled to a town that is known for its temples and shrines and as a hub for religion.  There is a lot of ancestor worship and there are many shrines to historical kings and rulers.  There is also a lot of black magic in this town. Knowing all of this, our missionary decided to do spiritual warfare first and he stayed in his home for eight-weeks, fasting and praying against the powers that held the people captive.  Then for one-week he walked the streets praying.  One evening there was a riot in the town and many were wounded.  Our missionary's landlady was struck in the eye by a flying stone and he took her to the local hospital.  At the hospital, he met a cancer patient.  He prayed for healing and it came instantly.  This was our missionary's point of access to this town.  He has been invited into many homes and has been able to share with many people.  The person who was healed of the cancer is now following Jesus and has dedicated the rest of his life to the Lord's service.

 

District 20

Our missionary went to a town and immediately began to make contacts, share his faith and witness to people.  One evening, he was attacked by some Hindu fundamentalists and beaten to the point of needing to be admitted to the hospital.  The police came to hear his side of the story, but our missionary refused to identify or file a complaint against any of his attackers.  Instead, he sowed love and mercy on those who had attacked him.  The policeman was confused and was thinking that our missionary was crazy, but he kept coming back to hear more.  Over time, the policeman heard the good news and is now a follower of Jesus.  He is being discipled by our missionary and has become our person-of-peace for this town. 

 

District 21

Our missionary went to a large town of approximately 70,000.  He began to prayer walk the town, looking for opportunities to share.  One evening he met a young man who was jobless, had no family and was completely broken.  As they talked, our missionary learned that this man was about to end his life.  He shared the story of Jesus with this young man and they agreed to meet the next day.  Around 4:00 am, our missionary heard a knocking on his door and was surprised to see the young man.  The young man was afraid because he had had a vision in which he saw a bright, white light covering his room.  He ran to our missionary's home to see if he could explain what the meaning of the light was.  Our missionary did so and now the young man is a baptized follower of Jesus, being discipled as our person-of-peace in this town.

 

District 22

Our missionary went to a village deep in the jungle.  The moment he entered this village he encountered an abusing spirit in a demon possessed man.  This man was abusing him with dirty language and telling him to leave and that his intentions in that village would not succeed.  Our missionary wanted to avoid a scene and left the man.  He rented a house and stayed home for three-days, fasting and praying.  He then went out to prayer walk and encountered a young girl, maybe ten-years-old, who began to abuse him verbally and tell him to leave the village or "THEY" will destroy him.  Immediately, our missionary commanded the spirit to leave in the name of Jesus and the girl was delivered.  On the same day, he met a couple who was returning from a visit with a local witch doctor.  This couple told him that their seventeen-year-old boy had been sick with a high fever for several months.  Our missionary shared the healing power of Jesus and they invited him to their home. He prayed for the boy, who was healed instantly.  This family is now following Jesus and being discipled as our people-of-peace.

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If you would like to give to support this work, please go here and make a donation to the India category.  If you would like to mail a check, please make it out to Every Nation, list India on the memo line and mail it to the following address:

 

Every Nation

PO Box 94564

North Little Rock, AR 72190

A story from Bangladesh

I received the following story this morning, from a friend and partner in Bangladesh:

Today we had Bible study at 6:30 to 8:00 pm and it was nice.  One Muslim brother gave a testimony, saying that he had learned a song from our church.  He loved the song very much.  Last week he got hurt on his left hand and he decided not to go to the doctor.  Instead, he wanted to test how Jesus' power worked through the song.  He sang and sang many times and soon he discovered that he was completely healed by the grace of God.  When he was giving his testimony, I was looking in his eyes.  They were bright and full of faith.

Thank you Lord for this amazing story of your work to reach those who don't know you...

India Update, Part 2

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This is Part 2 of my update on our four-month, People-of-Peace project.  You can see Part 1 by going here.  Remember, we have several financial needs for our work in India.  These needs were listed in Part 1, so I won't list them again.  Instructions on how to support these needs can be found at the bottom of this post. Please pray with us for God's perfect provision. 

 

Thank you for praying for these men and for the needs of this project.  I truly believe that God is moving to advance His kingdom among these two unreached people groups. 

Until ALL Have Heard,

 

Eric

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District 13
Our missionary went to a very poor village.  This village has a very poor water supply and there is a lot of drinking of alcohol and womanizing.  Recognizing the strongholds of the village, our missionary sent for his wife.  She began to make contacts with women and he with men.  They were trying to work among families to address the alcohol and the broken families caused by the womanizing.  They developed a relationship with a family and that family introduced them to other families.  As this unfolded, they were introduced to a family who was suffering from jaundice and brain fever.  They prayed for this family and gave them medical care. This family has accepted the Lord and discipling is now happening.

 

District 14

Our missionary traveled to a town that has a reputation for anti-Christian activities.  The first person he came in contact with was an old woman who was sick and had suffered from paralysis for some time.  He offered to pray for her, but her son objected and made our missionary leave the home and even the town.  He went to a nearby village and began to fast and pray, asking the Lord to show him where he should go next.  As he did this, he was clearly led back to the same town.  He also felt that the Lord would give him favor and protection.  He went again and prayer walked the entire town without talking or making contact.  Soon, he was summoned to the town head's home to be questioned about what he was doing.  As he waited, he noticed a child who appeared to be mentally disabled.  He approached the child, who was 11-years-old, and the Holy Spirit revealed to him that the child was demonized.  He then cast the demon out of the child and all who were present were amazed, including the town head.  The town head welcomed our missionary.  This is how a persecutor became a person of peace.

 

District 15

Our missionary went to a remote village, rented a home, fasted and prayed for one week inside the home and then started to prayer walk the area.  One morning, while he was prayer walking, he noticed a crowd of people gathering in front of a home. Being curious, he asked what had happened and learned that the family who lived in that house had a daughter who was dying.  They were mourning her death, even before she had died.  Our missionary pushed his way into the home and asked the father if he could pray for the girl.  The father agreed, but some of the neighbors protested.  Our missionary convinced the father that he had nothing to lose, so the father agreed.  The girl was healed and this home became an open door for the knowledge and salvation of the Lord.

 

District 16

Our missionary went to a town where he rented a home and started to fast and pray.  He was prayer walking the village twice a day and talking to people the Lord brought him into contact with.  He would visit with many beggars, slum dwellers, rag pickers and vegetable sellers every day.  One of these conversations resulted in him learning that the town had a leper colony nearby.  He visited the colony the next day and tried to gain access by singing praises to the Lord.  This gained him much attention and he was ultimately invited to the home of the social worker who ran the leper colony.  That night, he shared the good news with this family and they repented and began to follow Jesus.  He is now discipling this family.

 

District 17

Our missionary went to a large village area with a population of more than 50,000.  He prayed and fasted in spiritual warfare for one week before he left his home.  He began to prayer walk and make contacts as the Lord led.  One evening, he came across a witch doctor who was in a courtyard of a home unsuccessfully trying to cast out a demon.  When our missionary saw an opportunity to interfere, he told the witch doctor that he could cast out the demon if given a chance.  The witch doctor agreed and our missionary commanded the demon to leave in the name of Jesus and the demon immediately obeyed.  The witnesses were amazed at the authority our missionary had and he began to share the story of Jesus with them.  That night, thirteen people repented of their unbelief and began to follow Jesus, including the witch doctor.  Now, the former witch doctor is being discipled as our man of peace.

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If you would like to give to support this work, please go here and make a donation to the India category.  If you would like to mail a check, please make it out to Every Nation, list India on the memo line and mail it to the following address:

 

Every Nation

PO Box 94564

North Little Rock, AR 72190

India Update...

It is time for me to give an update on our four-month, People-of-Peace project (see Luke 10). The two unreached people groups we are working to reach live in twenty-two districts (like a county), all located in the green area on the map to the right.  You may recall that our work in India has so far been focused on only eight districts.  This means there are fourteen districts that we have not yet targeted.  We are changing that this year.  Our hope is to see what is happening in the eight districts, as evidenced by the monthly reports, jump to the other fourteen districts.  To facilitate this, we have sent forty-two national missionaries, all men whom we have trained, into the fourteen untargeted districts. Their charge was to seek out people-of-peace, share the gospel and then begin to disciple them as followers of Jesus.  Our plan was to support these forty-two men for four months, from January through April of this year, at a cost of $4,000.00 per month.  In July of this year, we will train some of the people-of-peace that have been found and then we will then send them out as disciple-making missionaries to the fourteen untargeted districts beginning in October of this year; just like we have sent people out to the other eight districts.

This has been an aggressive strategy, but one that we believe that God has led us to pursue.  I have received reports from some of the men who were sent out.  Their reports of how God led them to their person-of-peace are truly amazing and I am excited to share them with you.  I have fourteen reports that I will share.  I don't want to post something that is too long to read, so my plan is to share four in this post and then do two more posts over the next week or so, each having five new reports.  I hope you enjoy the reports as much as I have.

 

As you read the reports, please pray for God's perfect financial provision.  We still have some needs for our work in India.  First, we need $3,000.00 to finish funding the four-month, People-of-Peace project.  The funds have been advanced, but I borrowed these funds from our General fund, which is the fund that supports my family.  I needed the funds by the end of March and we had a cushion in the General fund.  That cushion is typical for this time of year and it has historically carried us through the summer months when giving often drops.  Our hope is that these funds will be replaced.  Second, we need $2,000.00 to fund our April need for the twenty-four men who are working in the eight districts.  I will be sending the March report for these eight districts soon as well. Finally, we will need approximately $6,000.00 to fund the training project we have planned for June.  There will be other needs throughout the year, but I will share them as they come up.  As I said earlier, this is an aggressive strategy, but we do believe that God is doing a great work and that He will work in the hearts of His people to provide for this need.  We have simply moved forward in faith.  Instructions on how to give to these needs are at the bottom of this post.

 

Thank you for praying for these men and for the needs of this project.  I truly believe that God is moving to advance His kingdom among these two unreached people groups. 

Until ALL Have Heard,

 

Eric

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District 9

Our missionary went to a village that has a population of roughly 4,000.  In this village lived a lady witch doctor who had a good business prophesying, healing, fortune-telling and so forth.  Identifying this lady's home as a major stronghold in the village, he began to prayer walk every day, focusing on her home.  He felt that once this stronghold had been broken, he would find the person-of-peace in the village.  He did this for several weeks.  As he prayer walked, the witch doctor's business began to fall apart.  She was no longer able to perform healings and tell fortunes and a sick baby that had been brought to her for healing died.  All of this led to her downfall in the village and the residents forced her to leave town.  After she had left, our missionary approached the owner of the home where the witch doctor was living and asked if he could rent it.  The landlord was afraid of the home, thinking that it must be cursed.  Our missionary rented the home and began to share the gospel with the landlord.  As the landlord saw the power of God in protecting our missionary, he came to trust in Jesus and is now being discipled by our missionary.  This is how the first person-of-peace was found.

District 10

Our missionary traveled to a remote village by bus.  After he got off of the bus, he began to walk around the village looking for a place to stay.  As he was walking, he was overrun by a herd of water buffaloes.  There was no way for him to get out of the herd's path.  One of the herdsmen came to offer help because our missionary had been wounded on his knees and shoulder.  Our missionary was taken to the herdsman's home for medical assistance. That night, he shared the story of Jesus and the next day the entire family was ready to be baptized.  Our missionary has stayed with this family and is now discipling them as followers of Jesus.

 

District 11

Our missionary went to a village, rented a home and started to prayer walk the area.  He identified a Hindu temple that was a stronghold with devotees visiting it around the clock.   He began to meet his neighbors and their friends, developing social contacts and relationships.  After three weeks of praying and fasting, he began to feel in his spirit that it was time for him to start talking to people about Jesus.  One afternoon, he was sitting in the shade under a tree and he noticed a tea shop.  The tea shop owner was the only one at the shop and our missionary went and started to talk with him.  He learned that the owner had a daughter who was sick with a headache and a constant ringing in her ears.  He went to the tea shop owner's house and prayed for the daughter and she was instantly healed.  Now this shop owner and his family are being discipled as followers of Jesus.

 

District 12

Our missionary went to a village where he had relatives, but did not mention his intentions.   He began to prayer walk the village.  One day, as he was prayer walking, he came across a distant relative who is a vegetable farmer.  This all happened during a Hindu festival that allows men to take a second wife for a few weeks.  Our missionary had the opportunity to question his distant relative about this practice and how it impacted his family.  He then shared the story of Jesus and was allowed to share the same with his relatives' family of nine.  The distant relative is now a follower of Jesus and is being discipled by our missionary.

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If you would like to give to support this work, please go here and make a donation to the India category.  If you would like to mail a check, please make it out to Every Nation, list India on the memo line and mail it to the following address:

 

Every Nation

PO Box 94564

North Little Rock, AR 72190

I got a call from Pakistan today...

I was sitting at my desk, writing or reading or working on some ministry accounting or something along those lines.  My cell phone rang and I looked to see who was calling; not that I ever screen my calls.  I could tell from the caller ID that it was in international call.  I answered and was pleasantly surprised.  It was my friend Ibrahim, who is from a region of Pakistan made famous by Led Zeppelin (I'm being a little vague for the search engines because I want to protect my friend's identity).

I met Ibrahim two years ago, almost to the day.  I had taken a small team of relief workers to Pakistan in response to the earthquake of October 8, 2005.   We went to a mountainous village area, where roughly 300 families lived.  Ibrahim is the leader of this area.  He took us around to small villages, showing us the damage and letting us evaluate how we could help.  Our small team of 4 was able to provide 21 temporary shelter kits as well as monthly rations for more than 600 people.  More importantly, we showed our new Muslim friends a Jesus they had never seen.  Ibrahim became a follower of that Jesus on Christmas Day, 2006.

Today, in our broken English and broken Urdu, we were able to communicate, at least a little.  After a bit, another man took the phone and said he would translate.  Ibrahim asked me when I was coming to see him.  I told him I would love to come tomorrow, but that I needed to be home with my family right now because my mother-in-law was sick with cancer.  He told me he would pray for God to bless her and to heal her.

This afternoon, my mother-in-law returned home from her chemotherapy treatment.  I told her Ibrahim had called and relayed our conversation.  She shook her head in utter amazement and wondered at how beautiful it is to know that the village leader on the other side of the world who she prayed for every day would now be praying for her.

That, my friends, is life in the Kingdom of God...

What are we going to do today?

This cartoon, from the crazy folks at The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus, reminded me of something that happened several years ago.  I was in a position of needing a fairly large sum of money for a ministry project.  My former life, as a banker, meant that I had several friends and acquaintances who had access to large sums of money.  I made an appointment with one and went to visit him in his office.

We caught up on things and I shared my need.  He then looked at me and said something like this:

I like what you are saying, but before I can give I need to know your five-year ministry plan and how this project works to fulfill your plan.

I was shocked.  I didn't have a five-year ministry plan.  I had never even thought about having a five-year ministry plan.  I didn't know what to say.

I took a deep breath and offered up a quick prayer.  I opened my mouth and out spewed something like this:

My five-year ministry plan is this, to do my best to wake up every day and ask God what he wants me to do that day.  I figure if I am able to do this on a fairly consistent basis I will be exactly where God wants me to be in five years.

My friend smiled and said that he both understood and didn't understand, all at the same time.  He then pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for a sizable donation.

This is still my five-year ministry plan.  Some days I am more successful than others.  I have learned that God is always waiting for me to ask, and as depicted in the cartoon, God is continually asking me to join him in what he is already doing...

The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing.  You can count on it.  From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it.  That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son.  I mean it.  Whatever you request in this way, I'll do.  John 14:12-14 (The Message)

A question from a friend...

I recently received an email from a good friend.  She asked this question: 

Hi Eric,

Hope this email finds you well.  I have a question I've wanted to ask for some time now.  I'm intrigued by the reports of demons being driven out of some of the folks being ministered to through the people you've trained. Like it's been mentioned before, it's right out of Acts and the gospels!  What does it look like in person?  How would one know that another is possessed by a demon...let alone how to drive out the demon (except through mimicking the methods mentioned in the Bible!)?  Each time I read about it, I'm curious...so finally I'm asking!  Thanks in advance for your answer.

I have thought about the best way to answer this because my experience is fairly limited.  I have decided to share a couple of stories, basically the only two that I have, and I will conclude with some additional thoughts.

The first time I saw someone delivered from a demon was in India.  We had just concluded a training session and people were coming forward for prayer.  A young girl, probably in her late teens or early twenties, came forward and requested prayer.  She was a beautiful young girl; very attractive and very confident of her appearance.  She requested prayer and immediately she was surrounded by several folks.  The fervent prayer began.   They were praying in Hindi, which I do not speak, so my understanding of what was going on was very limited.  I stood in the midst of them and prayed as well; asking for God to bless this young girl.  As the prayer continued I knew from the little Hindi I did understand that the words in Jesus' name were being repeated over and over.  As this went on, the girl's body began to writhe and her facial expression looked as if she was in great pain.  This went on for maybe a minute or two and then her countenance changed to one of joy and peace and the prayer shifted from in Jesus' name to thank you Jesus.  When the prayer time was complete, the girl left the building and I looked at my Indian partners and asked what had just happened.  They told me that the girl had been tormented by a spirit of sensuality for some time and she had asked to be delivered.  I didn't ask for any further explanation.  It was just too real to question.

The second time I saw someone delivered from a demon was here in the US.  A friend of mine had been fighting a drug addiction.  I was visiting with him one afternoon in his house and he began to tell me about his friends.  He told me he had several friends and that they constantly tormented him.  I asked him if he had ever seen them and he said he had seen their reflection in the TV screen, but only when the TV was turned off.  I could sense through the Holy Spirit that this was real and I asked him if his friends had ever told him their names.  He said no.  I told him that I knew their names and through the power of the Spirit and in the name of Jesus I could command them to leave him.  He thought about it and said maybe later and I did nothing.  This was truly one of those moments where the Spirit took over and I did not know what I was saying.  I was simply being a vessel through which the Spirit could work.  My friend called me about two weeks later and asked me to meet him at a park.  He was very low that day.  We were sitting across a picnic table from each other and he was looking down at the ground.   The Spirit took over again and I began to speak to  my friend.  I began to call out the names of his friends and commanded them, in the name of Jesus, to leave.  As I spoke, my friend's head jerked up and he looked at me with an intensity I will never forget.  I was not afraid, but I knew I was not speaking to my friend; rather I was speaking to his friends.  The first name I called was the spirit of mind control followed by the spirit of self hatred.  There were others, but I honestly do not remember how many or the names.  I calmly, but boldly, told them that in the name of Jesus they did not have any authority over my friend and they were no longer welcome and they had to leave him alone.  My friend continued to stare at me the entire time I was praying, but, there was no contortion of his face or body or anything crazy that you might imagine.  When I finished praying my friend looked at me and thanked me.  I could tell I was talking with him then.  We went our separate ways.  His pregnant (8 months) wife called me later that night and told me that he had gone back to the crack house and she asked me to go and get him out.  I called another friend and we started driving toward where we had been told the crack house was when his wife called and said to just come to the house because she had gone to get him.  We drove to his house and spent a couple of hours talking and praying.  He thanked me for what I had done earlier that day but suggested that it did not work since he had given in to temptation and gone back to the crack house.  I went home feeling defeated and even foolish.  Two weeks later my friend called me and asked me to pray for him.  He said he wanted to give his life to Jesus but he was afraid.  I began to pray and asked the Holy Spirit to overwhelm him.  As I prayed, my friend began to pray.  I stopped and listened as my friend confessed his need for forgiveness and his need for Jesus.  For the first time, my friend was in his right mind.  That night, over the phone, he became a Jesus follower.  He has been clean from drugs for six months now and is doing very well.  In spite of my earlier feelings of failure and foolishness I am now convinced that my friend was delivered from demons that day at the park.

That's it.  That is the sum total of my experience with demon deliverance, not counting the times I have cast the devil out of my computer or TV or any other complex piece of machinery that was vexing me at the time.

The context of my spiritual upbringing was one in which anything that could be labeled charismatic was viewed with skepticism.  There seemed to have been a fear of excess and the answer was, I now think, to go too far the other way.  The result, for me at least, was both doubt about the genuineness of these types of things combined with no telling how many lost opportunities to help people find true peace and restoration.  However, my experiences overseas shattered my paradigm, so I am now seeking a balance between the fear of all things charismatic and the excess I have seen in some of the televangelists and other places.  This journey has changed the way I read the Bible.

Now, when I read that Jesus told his disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons (Matthew 10:7-8) I see that he was instructing us as well.  I see that we have been sent out under the authority of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20) and that this authority includes the same authority Jesus gave the twelve when he sent them out to minister (Luke 9:1-2).  I also see a warning to us regarding a need to be balanced and not to become obsessed or too dramatic:

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!"  And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.  Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."  Luke 10:17-20

Balance is my goal when it comes to these kinds of things.  I do not believe in magical formulas or power encounters.  I also do not believe we need to go looking for demons to cast out.  I do believe that people are walking in captivity and need to be set free.  I also believe that we have been given the authority to set them free, but the focus must always be on Jesus, because he is the one who has made it all possible.

I want to close with a quote from Grace, who has written about these things here:

When we understand that God is on our side, that He came up with the plan for us to be free, and that, more than anything, He wants us to be free; we come to a place of trusting Him and of accepting His help and power to become free.  In my experience as a charismatic, I have seen some pretty bizarre things in the area of deliverance. However, in the midst of the messiness and hype, I also saw people experience genuine healing and freedom.  I would like to see inner healing and deliverance removed from the realm of the weird and wacky and brought to a place of normal transformational experience in the life of believers.  There is a supernatural experience of healing and deliverance available to all of us. The end result of our healing and deliverance is shalom - the wholeness and completeness that God desires for us, and Sabbath - a place of rest from our striving.

This shalom and Sabbath is what I saw in the face of the young girl in India.  It is what I see every time I see my friend who had the friends.  This shalom and Sabbath is available and we have been given the authority to walk in it and to help others to do the same.  This shalom and Sabbath is part of what we are asking for when we ask, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). 

I believe; help my unbelief!

Eric

the apple doesn't fall far...

This is one of our friends in China and my 10-year old son. This lady's family gave us their Chinese surname and we have a standing invitation for a meal every time we visit China. Her oldest daughter was the first person I led to the Lord in China, almost seven years ago. Her second daughter worked with me as a translator on another trip last year. We have been praying for the mother and father to follow Jesus ever since we met them.

This year we went to their flat for another delicious meal. The father had to go back to work after we finished. Neither of the two daughters could be there.  We had a friend go as our translator.

I asked the mother where she stood on following Jesus. She said she was interested, but still had many unanswered questions. I asked her if she would like to hear Grant, our 10-year old, explain why he followed Jesus. She said she would love that.

Grant found a pen and some paper. He began to draw the bridge analogy, explaining the details as he went. Grant explained how our sin has separated us from God.  He drew a canyon with mankind on one side and God on the other.  The canyon represents our sin.  He explained how God loved us so much that he made a way for our relationship with him to be restored.  He then drew a bridge spanning the gap between us and God; the bridge being the cross of Jesus covering our sin. 

Our friend translated every step of the way. The mother would ask questions and Grant would answer, with very little prompting from me. As he finished his explanation, she began to shake her head in agreement. She said that he made it so simple that she now understood.

She accepted Jesus into her life and began her walk in the Kingdom of God. I was so proud. My son had been used by the Holy Spirit to draw our friend into the Kingdom. How could it get any better?

The apple doesn't fall far...

 

Dreams and Visions

May 3, 2007

I thought you might enjoy this story from our latest trip to Bethlehem.

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.”  Joel 2:28

“Ahmed” was a devoted Muslim.  The young Palestinian man diligently visited the mosque for his daily prayers, five times every day.  He gave to the poor.  He fasted during Ramadan.  He was a good Muslim.  He was seeking Allah as he had been taught, with all of his heart, mind and strength.

One night, Ahmed had a dream.

In his dream, Ahmed saw Isa al Masih (Jesus the Messiah) standing before him.  He was tall and handsome and dressed in a glowing white robe.  Isa said one word, “Search.”

Ahmed went the next day and shared his dream with his Imam, the spiritual leader of the mosque.  The Imam said that this was normal, that Isa was a treasured prophet of Islam and that it was rare but normal for Isa to appear in a dream.  He told Ahmed that Isa was telling him to search even harder for the path that Muhammad had given.  Ahmed left satisfied and devoted even more to the straight path of Islam.

That night, he had the same dream.  Isa appeared and said, “Search.”

Ahmed was distraught.  Why would Isa come and tell him to search?  Was he not already searching?  What should he do?

Ahmed lives in Bethlehem.  He decided to find a Christian and ask what the meaning of the dream could be.  He went to the Church of the Nativity, the church building that is built over the cave that marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ.  He saw two priests and walked toward them to ask about the dream.  He could not do it.  He was too nervous.  He had never talked to a Christian about spiritual things before.  He backed out and went home.

For the third night in a row, Ahmed saw Isa in a dream.  Isa appeared, just as in the first two dreams, dressed in glowing white and saying, “Search.”

The next morning, Ahmed told his wife.  She had a Christian friend whose husband was a priest.  They went to see them.

The priest was nervous.  Was this a trap?  Why would this Muslim man come and ask him about Jesus?  Was he being set up?  He did not have the courage to share Jesus with Ahmed, but he did refer him to his brother.  Ahmed and his wife went to visit the brother of the priest.

The brother was so excited about the dream.  He told Ahmed the story of the cross and the death and resurrection of Jesus.  He gave Ahmed and his wife a Bible and offered to study it with them.  Ahmed was excited.  He went home and began to read the Bible, only to put it down in frustration because it made no sense to him. 

That night, Isa did not appear to Ahmed in a dream.  Ahmed knew that what he was to search for was the Bible.  He had done it and he had found it.  Now he had to read it and learn why Isa wanted him to search for it.

For the next weeks and months Ahmed and the brother of the priest would meet and read and study.  Ahmed began to see and understand the truth about Isa al Masih.  He reached a point where he knew that Isa was the straight and only path to Allah.  Ahmed shifted his devotion from Muhammad to Isa.  He shared this with his wife and she became angry.

Ahmed’s wife left him.  Her parents pressured her to leave.  He had disgraced the family.  They began to threaten Ahmed.  If he did not come back to Islam, they would kill him.  Ahmed couldn’t do it.  He stood firm.  His love for Isa was greater than his love for his wife or even his life.  This struggle went on for months.

These months were miserable for both Ahmed and his wife.  She would often pray.  She would ask Allah to help.  One night she was praying.  She remembered that Ahmed would ask Isa to help.  She prayed for help in the name of Isa.  The next morning her parents said that they were wrong.  They said she should go and be with Ahmed.  She did and Ahmed is now helping his wife understand what it means to follow Isa.

This is a true story.  I met this man recently and heard his story.  His wife came back to him just two weeks ago.  He is an amazing man and it is an incredible story, one of many that I have heard about.  This is why we should be praying for Muslims all over the world to have dreams and visions.  God is working through dreams and visions.  He is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh.  What an amazing time to be alive.  Pray with me that God will continue to reveal the Truth to Muslims as they diligently seek Allah as best as they know how.

“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.  He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.”  Psalm 145:18-19

Until ALL Have Heard,

EG

But How Do We Trust Jesus?

Khalid and Hakim invited us to lunch.  Khalid’s mother was there and she had prepared a feast of rice and baked chicken.  The serving platter had to have been three feet in diameter and it was heaped at least a foot in the air.  A true feast.  We ate and then ate some more. 

After the meal, over tea and coffee, the discussion turned to religion.  We started in the Qur’an and shared the Truth about Jesus.  We talked of how Jesus was born of a virgin and was the Word of God and the Spirit of God.  We talked of His sinless life.  We talked of His miracle working and that He had power over death as evidenced by His raising people from the dead.  We talked about His crucifixion and resurrection. 

We then talked about why Jesus had to die.  We talked about God’s requirement for a blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.  We talked about the Muslim belief that every person will stand before God and give an account of their life.  Their sins will be put on one side of a scale and their good deeds on another.  If the scale leans toward the good deeds, they might be allowed to enter Paradise.  If not, well…

We shared how God’s word says that if we are guilty of one sin, then we are guilty of all sin.  (James 2:10)  They understood and realized that we all had a problem.

We then shared how God loved His creation so much that He made a way to be reconciled with Him.  What we can’t do, God did.  We said that we must stop trusting in our works and trust in the completed work of Jesus.

Hakim translated for Khalid’s mother, “But how do we trust Jesus?”

What a moment.  We shared what it meant to trust Jesus and then gave them two copies of the New Testament in Arabic, one for Khalid and his mother and one for Hakim.  They were so appreciative.  Hakim said he would have someone read it to him since he is blind. 

This was another of our divine appointments.  It was an honor to sit in the home of Palestinian Muslims and share the love and truth of Jesus.  Pray with us that Khalid, his mother and family and Hakim and his family will soon be walking in the Kingdom of God.  They are already walking toward it.   

Overflowing With Joy

Daher is a strong man.  He wore blue coveralls and spoke broken English.  He greeted us with warmth that I will soon not forget.

Daher is a Palestinian Christian.  He is fighting for his land, land that has been in his family since 1924.  In 1991, the Israeli government declared his 100 acres, along with surrounding acreage as Israeli state property.  The plan was to build settlements for Israeli immigrants to establish “facts on the ground” in the West Bank.  Daher’s property is now surrounded by 5 Israeli settlements. 

Daher has legal papers supporting rightful ownership; papers from Ottoman, British, Jordanian and Israeli governments.  He and his family have been fighting the Israeli government for 16 years.  This is a David and Goliath type story.

We went to spend the night on the land and to work the next day.  Daher built a fire in his wood stove and we sat around it to get warm. 

He smiled at us and began to sing:

“Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah Praise ye the Lord…”

He was overflowing with joy.  It was a beautiful time.

The next morning he woke us at 7:00 and led us to a cave where the goats had slept.  It was time to milk the goats.  So we did.  He then fed us breakfast and led us to our work assignment.  We were to pull weeds.  There were weeds around the olive trees and weeds around the grapevines.  So we pulled weeds.  It was hard.  The weeds had thorns and we had no gloves.  We hated it.  We loved it.

I truly felt like I was fighting for justice.  Nothing more than a few hours of hard work and a few holes in my skin.  Justice. 

Daher has no bitterness.  He fights for his land through love.  He is one of the truest examples of Romans 12:21 that I have ever met.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

At one point in our conversation I asked Daher what the answer was for the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.  Without flinching he smiled and said, "Jesus."

I am honored to have met him and to have fought with him for the land.

For more information about Daher and his family’s fight for their land see: www.tentofnations.org

The Mosque of Omar

We had met the two young Palestinian Muslim men the night before as we delivered food to a poor Muslim family in Bethlehem.  “Khalid” is 21 and is studying to be an accountant.  “Hakim” is 26 and is blind.  When Hakim was 13 he found a live Israeli land mine in his back yard.  He lost his right arm and his sight.

We had asked them to take us on a tour of Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity.  The young men did a good job of telling us the story of the birth of Jesus.  As we left, I asked them if they could then take us to visit the Mosque of Omar.

This mosque was built across Manger Square from the Church of the Nativity and is a symbol of peaceful coexistence between Palestinian Christians and Muslims.  The land the mosque is built on was donated by the Greek Orthodox Church.

We removed our shoes and eased in.  We were met by a man who worked at the mosque.  He wasn’t the Imam, but he worked for him.  He took us inside and showed us around.  Then it happened.

As we stood before the mihrab we began to talk about what the Qur’an says about Jesus.  Hakim translated our conversation.  It was an incredible exchange.  The man we were sharing with had the typical responses I hear from most Muslims, but he was very cordial and listened to our replies and comments. 

The conversation lasted for maybe half an hour or so.  Good seeds were planted, both in the hearts of the man who works at the mosque and in the hearts of Khalid and Hakim.  This was one of our divine appointments in Bethlehem.

No God, not them!

It was a Sunday morning this past summer.  I had just returned from an incredible mission trip and was feeling a bit haughty.  What a great missionary I was! 

I had gone down to The River Market district in downtown Little Rock.  My wife, Staci, and our friend, Monica, have been going down to The River Market on Sunday mornings.  They pray and seek to get into spiritual conversations with the people they meet.  It is a great ministry, and when I am in town and do not have an obligation to speak I often go down with them.  This was one of those mornings.

As we drove that morning I said a prayer to myself that went something like this;

“God, send me someone to share with today.  I am ready!  I want to see You glorified and will talk with whomever you send!  Glorify Your name through me today!”

We ordered and sat down and began to pray and wait.  This is when it happened.

In walked three men, obviously homosexual.  This was one of those situations where you just know.  There was no question, because they seemed to be flaunting who they were.

I glanced over as they walked in and said, “No God, not them.” 

God said, “Yes, them.”

I sat there.  I did not get up to talk to them.  I sat in disobedience.  I waited until they left.  I was miserable.  I knew I was being disobedient, but I could not go and talk with them.  I failed God’s test and He told me that I was not such a great missionary after all.  I still had a lot to learn.  This was a very hard Sunday, one I would rather forget.

I have been trying to understand what happened to me that Sunday morning this summer.  This was so unusual for me.  I am typically both able and willing to talk with anyone at anytime about life and about King Jesus.  What was different about that Sunday? I think I figured it out this week. 

I think the “Church” has failed me.  I think the “Church” has not equipped me to minister to homosexuals.  When I say “Church” I do not mean any one church, I mean the Church as a whole.

When it comes to homosexuals, the Church has basically taught me not to love.  The Church has taught me that I should boycott companies that provide health insurance coverage for homosexual couples.  The Church has taught me that I should sign petitions against homosexual marriage.  The Church has taught me that homosexuality is one of those “bad” sins.  The Church has taught me that we need to “take a stand for what is right.”  The Church has taught me to “hate the sin, but love the sinner.”  I had heard plenty on how to hate the sin, but very little, if any, on how to love the sinner.  In fact, most of what I have been taught by the Church could be classified as hating the sin and the sinner.  I do not think this has been an intentional agenda of the Church, but it is what I have been taught.

So, that Sunday morning when presented with an opportunity to “love the sinner,” I did not know what to do.  What would I say?  What if someone saw me?  How does one reach out with the love of God to such “obvious sinners?”

Jesus faced similar situations many times, but He never failed.  He simply loved people.  He met them where they were and loved them to the Kingdom.  Yes, He confronted their sin, but He did so in a way that reflected His love for them.  He never pointed His finger.  He simply loved them.

Jesus was confronted by the “Church” of His day on this very issue.

And Levi made Him (Jesus) a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.  And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”  And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”  Luke 5:29-32

Things just do not seem to change.  The “Church” in Jesus’ day seemed to have the same attitude as the “Church” in our time, at least when it comes to those sins the “Church” has chosen as unacceptable. 

So I failed that Sunday.  It is my fault.  I knew God wanted me to speak to those men.  I knew God wanted me to meet them where they were and to love them as Jesus does.  I knew that I could do this in a way that will earn me the right to confront their sin in love, not in hate.  I knew this, but I did not act, because the Church had told me not to.

God, help us!  Forgive me!  Help me to always love and never hate.  Help me not to be so worried about my reputation that I ignore and avoid the ministry opportunities you give me.  Help me to be like Jesus, always!

Until ALL Have Heard,

EG

Circular Thoughts on Following Jesus?

I once told a friend that I wanted to write a book.  I told him I was going to call it, Circular Thoughts on Following Jesus.  Well, the book hasn't happened yet, but maybe I can start with this blog.

My friend asked me about the title.  "Hey, that sounds kind of Buddhist," I think is what he said.  I hadn't really thought of it that way, but, well I guess it does; what with the circle of life and reincarnation and all.

My exposure to eastern thinking over the past few years has really changed the way I look at things.  I once was a very linear thinker; A leads to B leads to C.  Somehow, this seems to have changed.

Not that linear thinking is bad or that I don't think that way anymore or that I am even open to eastern religions.  Not at all.  However, I do believe that things are often much more related and holistic that what we in the west seem willing to admit.

I have discovered that all things in life lead to the giver of life, King Jesus.  No matter what it is, money, health, relationships, family, work, play and so on, it all comes down to knowing Jesus and making Him known.  It is all connected. 

So, this is what I want to do with this blog.  I want to share my random, or circular, thoughts on what it looks like to follow Jesus.  I want to hash things out as I write.  I want you to chime in as you want.  Disagree, agree, add to or correct.  Doesn't matter.  Let's follow Jesus together.

Until ALL Have Heard,

EG