you honor me more than warrants this weak frame, let's give Glory to Jesus, God the Holy Ghost that works in us, thru us, and serves to Glorify the Name above ALL Names.
i didnt know this Matt. but i laugh when i read this from you:
i'm not laughing at you, or laughing derisively...no, no, i laugh because i say, "okaaaaay".....i'm teasing you, i say, "good, come, bring any supplies, even things you might not think are of use".....i should buy a dozen copies of "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer....its a Godly roadmap on intentional community...truly.
But in the mean...yes!....God willing, you and the wife should come up and visit, you'd be most welcome treasured guests....now you might see a few secular "ungodly" types around, some of these are dear old friends,some are blood family, others might be "in-law's"...fret not, a very quiet gentle Witness is upon them, Jesus and Him crucified IS being witnessed to them, via Word, or words, and deed, and love, and forebearance, and example.
you know what the Lord said about a prophet in his own hometown, family and old friends are the TOUGHEST evangel, they KNOW you, they KNEW the terrible sinner, the old man, so if i do the "holy saint" on them...the results are most unproductive. If i change, THRU Christ, old behavior patterns, they see this and THAT is the Witness, that allows you to engage them in dialogue about Divine Things without any eye rolling.\\
These are people i love! I WILL NOT LET THEM GO!!!....i cant let them go, so you might see a few of my dear ones around, you have yet to succomb to the Love of Jesus...patience, God is so Good, so Powerful...i vow to let Him do the Work, and thank Him for letting me work in the Vineyard. Patience, one by one, they are being converted...one by one, i can speak to them of God, the Word of God, the Works of God.
for example, my mother, (who would scream if she knew i was writing about her, so ssh!) my mother, a Jew by birth, in her 70's, reads astrological charts, tarot cards, ..FOR MONEY..."believes in reincarnation", etc etc...the toughest one of all....TODAY, God spoke Messiah in her soul. She called today, just bereft, crying, besides herself. You see, my father, her ex-husband, who she hasnt seen nor spoke to since the 70's, died in late Feb this year, and she was crying over him and others who've died, because "they're all gone", she said.
so first i made her laugh.
"how'd you do that?"
Matt, i dont know, God is the Author of All, Jesus lives in me, given the right time, i can make people laugh, i dont know HOW, but she was laughing, then i said to her;
"Mommy, listen to me, you know some of the griefs i been going thru, right? Well, when i'm getting really crushed, i close my eyes, and ask God, "Please God, just comfort my heart", and you wont believe what happens next. IF your heart is truly open to Him, and you believe in Him, than something utterly supernatural will happen, the Peace that transcends all understanding will come upon you".
she even finished that last sentence with me! "The Peace (Shalom) that transcends..."
so i concluded by saying, "Mommy, when you hang up...(yes! 51 years old, i still call her "Mommy"...so what!)....just close your eyes, and pray, "Please God, just comfort my heart" and you watch what happens".
an hour later i get the call back, "You won't believe what happened!! i prayed and this Comfort and Peace just came over me!"
meanwhile, in my heart, i'm just praising God, thank You Jesus, Thank You Jesus!!...silently, and she was just estatic, it was truly a beautiful Moment of the Blood of the Lamb and the Ministry of the Holy Spirit at work, and obviously it had nothing to do with me, i'm just so blessed to even be used by Him as His doulous, His slave.
so then i said to her, "they are not all gone"...meaning deceased family members.
(the time was not right to deal with issues of Heaven and hell, she wouldnt have recieved that, put too heavy handed a witness on family members, they will flee, let God be God, we plant the Seed, others water, the Holy Ghost, in His Wisdom, sometimes, MERCIFULLY will take over, and do the rest of the Work, thats why in true Revivals, you see hapless sinners brought to a Saving Knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ without any human instrument preaching a word, listen to the testimonies of Duncan Campbell about the Hebridean Revival and this Truth is underlined. People were falling out in fields at 2 in the morning, slain under deep conviction of sin and the barren state of their souls)
so i spoke to her of the Heavenly Jerusalem, tenderly, and then told her, "thats why i absolutely refute "reincarnation"...imagine that!, God wants us to go thru THIS....again?!?......
oh she started to holler and protest, the "walls" were going up, but i laughed, and defused this with a statement, "just stay with me, think about this, to say that God wants our soul to keep coming back and back, would be to cast Him as the ultimate sadist, and rest assured, a Loving God is NOT a sadist".
we went around a little bit, and then i felt, this witness is over for the day, the Seed had been planted.i'll be callin her when i finish this and just check in on her for the night, she is my mother.
sorry for the long post, i just had to testify, and also to say, God willing, when you come up to visit, there might be a few burdened sinners up there as well. Just join with me in Christ, and lets love them in His Name.
Its always been my conviction that the Church is not a rest home for saints, but a hospital for sinners, so God might have me running a "MASH" unit up on that ridge, we'll see, Much love to you dear brother Matt, neil
