May 29, 2023

Teaching | Mission Update | Prayer

Video above/Transcript below

This Week's Teaching: "Repay Evil With Blessing"

You are going to be insulted by someone today. You will be offended by someone today. Someone will speak evil or do evil to you, and you have a choice how you respond.  

If you listen to how we talk, we believe that other people are measured by their worst, and we are measured by our best. The reality is, if you wanna live a life full of blessing, you need to bless others when they are at their worst.  

We reap what we sow. If you want to reap a life of blessing, you sow blessing. But this isn't just about doing good so that good will come to us. This is about doing good. 

In Peter's first letter he writes, "All of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another. Be compassionate and humble." And then he writes this: "Do not repay evil with evil, or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing because to this you were called, so that you may inherit a blessing."

Then he quotes Psalm 34. He says, "For whoever would love life and see, good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good. They must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ear is attentive to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."  

I believe in the church, we have taken our cue from the world way too much. We fight and we bicker, and we insult and we trade jab for jab. We repay evil with evil. And I believe God wants to remind you today, to do good to those who do bad to you, to speak genuine, heartfelt blessing over those who speak genuine, heartfelt curses over you, to pray God's grace over those who mistreat you. 

This is the Christian way, and it's uncomfortable if this world is our home. If this world is the best that we will ever get from God. It's uncomfortable if our sole hope is that we would experience the kingdom of this world, the kingdom of this earth. But our hope is beyond this. Our hope is set on eternity. We will one day receive an inheritance from God. 

If you want to receive blessing, be someone who speaks blessing. "Keep your tongue from evil, your lips from deceitful speech, and do good, seek peace and pursue it, for the eye of the Lord is on the righteous and his ear is attentive to their prayer, but he sets his face against those who do evil."  

Be encouraged. Speak peace, speak blessing, and in this you will be blessed. Take that into your day.
Amen.

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Mission Update

On our way to Ohio last week, at the Maryland welcome center coming out of Virginia, Wendy rolled her ankle pretty badly. We were still able to get out into the community a little last week, but had to lay much lower than normal. Then, toward the end of the week she suffered from migraines, and even a fever.

As I write this, her foot has healed quite a bit to where she doesn't need crutches and is able to walk without much of a limp. And her fever has left her. I'm aware of how the enemy wants to disrupt life. Even this morning I was reading in 1 Peter 5, "Be alert and sober minded. The enemy prowls around looking for someone to devour."  I believe this counsel is intended to keep our hearts and minds set on Jesus so that we're not led astray. But I'm also aware that the enemy can "devour" that attentiveness through disruptions. We appreciate your prayers for strength and protection.

The door for ministry here in Ohio isn't opening as freely as it did in Virginia. I haven't been able to connect with the Amish man who initially invited us here two years ago. But I am hopeful and believe God wants to do something here.

I was able to connect with Dennis, an old friend and former pastor in this area. I was intrigued by his vision for ministering to foster children in a more comprehensive way. He bumped into and introduced me to Eric, a pastor in the area who planted a church almost a decade ago with the vision of being small churches. But the church has become a conventional church with a couple campuses. I hope to connect with him further this week. 

It was good to connect with friends Levi and Lillis, and to go see a presentation at the Behalt Amish Mennonite Heritage Center. The gospel was preached there.

We were honored to have Dan over to the RV Saturday night. He's one of the pastors at a local church. We prayed over him at his request. I joined them Sunday morning and was blessed by his message from Luke 10. The Spirit led to speak words of encouragement over Jamie who had led us in worship, and to pray for her.

This week I have a meeting with another pastor named Eric who I have previously connected with as a pastor in Kansas at a multisite church that has explored a microchurch model. He is now doing interim ministry in Dover.

I also will try to connect with a few other area pastors, as well as other people who seem to have a call of God on their lives. I believe God wants to do something significant here. That's why we have planned to spend three out of four weeks here.

Yesterday morning, as Jamie led us in worship, singing about bowing down before the Lord, I had a vision of masses of believers in this area bowing down with urgency. I saw Amish, Mennonites, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Baptists, and every other name by which they separate themselves, all falling facedown with urgency saying, "We didn't know! We didn't know!" I was a bit alarmed by that, but was encouraged by the Lord's assurance: There are those who think they know him but by their actions deny him, to which he will say, "Away from me. I never knew you." But there are also those who, shocked by their own limitations, cry out in humility, "We didn't know! We didn't know!" and he will say, "But I know you." And I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 13, that "Now we know only in part, but then we shall know fully, even as we are fully known."

As we were pulling into Ohio, a young lady from this area who I had met a couple months ago in Sarasota, reached out to me to invite me to revival meetings next weekend. I plan to attend as able. I've noticed that revivals people plan are usually staged, with popular speakers, designed to cultivate a response, often with an expectation of signs and wonders. ​Let the gospel be preached, and let the Holy Spirit move, without restriction. Amen.

But my prayer and the focus of my mission is that the Holy Spirit would revive the hearts of people who won't gather around the stage, and that he will penetrate the sectarian divisions, invade the prayer closet, meet people at the foot of their beds, and sit with them in the quiet of the day! May he fill their hearts and homes with love, joy, and peace as they renew their devotion to him, sustained by humility and faith. May all who call on the name of Jesus in Holmes County, Ohio, be renewed to love God with all they are and to love their neighbors with all they have!

And may he be pleased to plant home fellowships in this area as a network and backbone of all he wants to do. Amen!​ 

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Prayers

• Pray for the churches of Sarasota, FL (Mike, Shirley, Dan, Cody, Jeremy, and Micah), Leavenworth, KS (Nate), and Beavercreek, OR (Trevor). 
• Pray for Mark and Linda's tiny church in Middleburg, FL.
• Pray for the churches in Harrisonburg, for Robert and Nancy, for Mike and Risha, for Jota, for Aaron, for Jason and Carmen, and for Curt.
• Pray for Holmes County, OH, that God would open doors for effective ministry here. Pray for Dan, Dennis, Jamie, Eric, and Lester.
• Pray that we would be in the center of God's will in everything, making the most of every opportunity to enjoy conversations with people along the way, introducing them to Jesus, and to this simpler way of being church.

Thank you so much for partnering with us in this!