Hidden Treasures

Before leaving this past summer for Central America I did something I always do prior to leaving for a trip: put my jewelry in our safety deposit box. It was the day before I left. Along with packing and a million other errands, going to the bank to ensure safe keeping of my treasures was squeezed into this jam packed day. I came home and thought to myself, “I should hide the safety deposit box key.” So I did just that. The next day off I went for my 3 month stint in Central America. The problem came when I arrived home and couldn’t remember where I hid the key.

I searched the house frantically. I emptied drawers, looked under rugs, I even retrieved my ladder from the basement to look in the places where I couldn’t reach. Now, it occurred to me that I never got the ladder OUT to hide the key; however, that mattered not one-ioda because I was desperate! I wanted my jewelry. I called the bank and explained my dilemma. They told me I would have to pay a nice price to bust open the box. So, I returned to my search. I got the ladder out again.

While on top of the ladder, searching in paraphernalia I didn’t even know I had, the Lord began to draw some parallels. I realized this is what I do many times in life when I don’t have the answers to something I want answers to. I analyze things to death, exhaust every possible scenario, tilt my head towards heaven and beg the Lord in desperation because surely HE HAS THE ANSWERS. I usually include in my plea, “Why aren’t you telling me the answer? Don’t you know that I am seeking you for the answer?” I drive myself crazy and probably the Lord as well.

God has gotten a lot of mileage out of this parallel. I knew standing on top of that ladder that He did in fact know where the key was. I also knew He wasn’t going to show me where it was right then. At that moment it wasn’t about the key or the jewelry. He wanted to show me something about me and something about Him.

You see, God knows all that we don’t. He has the key to all of the questions locked up inside of us. There are things we want NOW that God says we can’t have until later. Things in our lives that have perplexed us for years are the things God has been molding and shaping into masterpieces one day to be revealed. The losses in our life are opportunities in His hands for our redemption. The delayed longings of our heart are the Lord’s joy to fulfill, in His time. He is not holding treasures FROM us; rather, He is holding them FOR us. ALL things are kept securely in the hands of our loving Father who knows exactly WHEN.

I have had to exercise discipline not to spend the money and go bust open the box. When I would think about the beautiful pieces of jewelry my husband has given me and long to be able to wear them, the Lord would remind me of the lesson He was teaching me that day on the ladder. I knew He would show me the key one day. So I have been waiting.

Today as I was getting something out of one of my drawers, one that I had explored during my frantic search, there was the key. I ran to put my jeans and flip flops on, threw up my hair, grabbed my keys, and got myself down to the bank. There were treasures to be had THIS day!

Joy

Religion Kills

It has been said that there is nothing more dangerous than a religious man. The most vicious attacks are likely to come at the hands of the most religious. There is no life to be found in religion. Religion is form without power. Religion is mans attempt to reach God on his own merit or by his own formulas. Religion is at its essence the expression of man’s ways; therefore, it is certain death.

As we visited the persecuted church in a particular part of India, I was reminded of Jesus’ teaching of this very concept. In John 16 He warns his disciples about things that will come. He says this, “The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” Here in this part of India some 500 believers were killed about a year ago. One of the ancient Hindu god’s is Kali, known as the goddess of dissolution and destruction. After getting drunk on the blood of evil forces she went on a killing spree and began destroying everything in sight. Some believe that the only way to appease this goddess is to offer a blood sacrifice.

It is not beyond imagination that as these extreme Hindus chased believers into the jungle, burning their homes and hacking to death those who were not fast enough, thinking that this “service to god” would be seen as a sacrifice that would appease the destructive forces of Kali. There is nothing more dangerous than a religious man. His thinking and his ways are twisted and will always bring destruction, not only to himself, but also to those around him.

I saw a new expression of religion today as we visited encampments of Christians who now have no place to live since this persecution began. As we drove up to their encampment we observed about 75 families who had all gathered around the steps of a Pentecostal church building that had somehow been spared in the carnage. The people were living in makeshift tents made out of scrap plastic they had found. Their condition was obviously desperate. We prayed for several and listened to their stories. There was a strong sense of desperation among them. This was true of every place we visited, but here hopelessness poured from their eyes darkening all who ventured close to it.

As we drove away rain began to fall. I thought of those we had just seen. I imagined them huddled under torn plastic tarps in an effort to stay dry and to keep the little food and possessions they had from contamination. It occurred to me that perhaps as the rains came they would be able to find refuge and shelter in the church building. I surfaced this notion with our kind guide. He gently told me in a very Indian way that this would not be the case. I pushed in a little further wanting to understand this paradox. It was explained that the church building would not be used as a place of refuge because they held to the belief that it was inappropriate to sleep in the house of God. Is that the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard? Religion always is.

I suppose it can never be known how many of these 300 or 400 homeless people will die because of the thread of religion the enemy has sown among them. Certainly some will die in the unsanitary conditions that could be resolved by simply opening the church doors and sleeping inside.

This mantra is not just true in India it is true all over the world. I wonder how many are huddled on the steps of churches in the United States unable to enter because of religion. I wonder how many of them will die.

The kingdom of God is peace, joy and righteousness. As I write this there is a deep sense of thankfulness for salvation from religion. To be honest, it has been a slow process that I am not sure is even complete. My thankfulness around the processes causes me to long for the people in India saved out of religion and into the freedom of the most irreligious love the world has ever known, Jesus. It makes me long to see friends back home saved from the certain fate of religion.

God take us beyond religion. Grant us the ability to see you free from the restraints of religion. Let us not be shackled by man’s ways but rather that we could fall into your strong arms of love. Help us God, love in that same way you do and no longer be religious persecutors. Show us our religious thinking that we are unaware of. God don’t let us die this way because certainly we know, Religion Kills. Take us to a place where religion dies and Jesus comes alive to us.

David

A Mom

The heart of a mom is an amazing thing to me. It is a work of God. I have watched it operate in Joy with our three children. I am amazed by the deep stirrings of love for our children that I sometimes sense in her. I am a Dad. I love my children, but it is not the same as a mom’s love. As our children have gotten older, one of them has even left her “poor ole father”, I have witnessed that a mom’s heart remains unchanged. I sort of understand it when it comes to babies but, what I did not understand was that same heart seems to beat for teenagers and even adult children.

I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised. I was the recipient of such love. My mom projected to me those same deep stirrings of love. She was fiercely loyal. She saw my faults probably more clearly than anyone but this did not mean that others were free to comment on the faults she had long ago observed. There was nothing that was too good for her boys. A mom’s love is incredible in its scope.

I recently returned from India. One particular night I prayed with a mom. We saw a lot of joy in the midst of all the persecution in this region of India. This was not the case at this particular home with this particular mom. She was the last person we went to pray with. She was of small stature and by the appearance of the house she seemed to be just barely getting by. What I remember most were her eyes. There was a deep sadness in them. Her eyes and her posture reflected very little life. She hardly responded to our attempts at a traditional greeting. There was not even the attempt of a smile. Don’t misunderstand, she wasn’t hard, she was broken.

We went to pray with her because she had recently lost her son. He was killed in the uprising of the persecution last year. A demon possessed mob of Hindu worshippers paraded in the street in front of her house. As they marched things began to turn violent and the attack was on. The three hundred Christians in this village began to flee to the jungle. Miraculously most survived, but not this mom’s son. As he ran down the same street he had played on as a boy, he was shot in the back. He fell over dead and this mom’s world was broken. It has been a year now. Those who killed this mom’s son, as well as others, have never been brought to justice in Hindu courts. After a year this mom still sits in front of her house and looks down that same street with sad eyes.

As I travel the reality of persecution is so widespread that it has become almost institutional. In some circles the idea of martyrdom has become almost romanticized as warriors fading in a blaze of glory. For this mom it is institutional and certainly is not to be romanticized. It is simply sad. This mom’s heart, like the heart of my children’s mom and like my mom’s heart, is amazing in its depth and quite frankly beyond my comprehension. This mom is not looking for religious platitudes and sympathy is of little value, she just wants her boy back.

I told her the Bible says there is a time to grieve, implying that grief doesn’t last forever; but then again, I am not a mom so what do I know. I told her the Bible says that martyrs will rise first and reign with Jesus. I asked her to picture this, her son reigning with Jesus one day. I think it helped a little, but I think just a little. Outside of the Lord there is no balm for her soul. That is not just a religious platitude it is reality.

I also promised her that I would share her story so that people would pray for her. This seemed the most helpful to her. So, will you pray for a mom in rural India with sad eyes who is missing her boy?

David

Truth and Zeal

Some years ago, while on an international flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfort, I saw a man sitting across the aisle reading what I thought was a Bible. Momentarily, I engaged the man in a conversation and the subject of what he was reading came up. I asked, “Is that a Bible you are reading?” He answered, “You might say that.” Bewildered by his answer, I asked, “Are you a Christian?” He replied, “Let’s say I am a Believer.”

In short order, I found myself involved in a long exchange with a resident of Haifa, in Israel, who was an ardent devotee of the Bahai faith. Bahaism is a unifying cult, which virtually accepts all the religions of the world as equal, and awards divine status to all nine of the so-called leading prophets of the world’s major faiths. Bahaism has its own prophet, Bahaullah, who is no more divine to them than other prophets but who has brought the “latest” message from the Great Divine Source to the world.

Needless to say, I could not remain silent as my fellow passenger extolled the virtues of his religion. So having invested about a half hour of polite attention, I shared with my conversational partner the message of salvation as the Bible presents it. I must acknowledge the Bahai disciple was attentive as I talked of Jesus, not as one of the great prophets, but as the only Son of God and sole Savior for all. When I asked this transplanted European if he could accept Christ as his Savior, he courteously declined.

When our plane landed in Frankfort, I had three hours to wait before my flight connection to the States. During those three hours, I made a number of stops: the restroom, a lunch counter, browsing some duty-free shop counters. It seemed everywhere I went the Bahai disciple was following me. Needless to say, I was at first uncomfortable with his pursuit. Frankly, his confrontations became irritating, but then it struck me, though his style was overbearing and counter-productive, his zeal could not be questioned. His approach would have negated any interest in his cult, if I had any, but the memory of his commitment obviously remains with me to this day.

By no means should we take a chapter from the cultist’s book on the art of witnessing, but we would do well to demonstrate how serious we are about attempting to reach our world for Jesus Christ. The cultists cannot “out-truth” us, but let’s not let anyone “out-zeal” us! It is that very truth and zeal which has David Fuller, Mike Massey and Mark Tippett in India at this moment. So the question for us all is, “Just how far will Truth and zeal take us, with what we call the Good News?”

Charles Fuller

Favor

The book of Psalms can be seen in many ways. Some call it poetry. This would be an educated perspective. Some would see it as a glorified hymn book. This view is perhaps from the artsy crowd. I struggle with this one because I thought that songs were supposed to rhyme, and in Hebrew I am not sure that’s possible.

For a guy like me the book of Psalms is the meditations of a warrior and God’s revelation to warriors that will follow. I am at an age where I have been “holed up” in more than a few fox holes and at those points I need to hear what God has spoken to others in foxholes.

Recently a friend sent me a list of Psalms to read. As I have been reading through them, one in particular was accentuated and stands out. If you are stuck in a foxhole, or tired and weary from battle, what is it that you need? I find it is nothing that anyone other than God can give. I am finding that at these critical points I need knowledge of God’s favor. It’s not that God's favor doesn’t exist at other times; it is to say that at these critical times there is a special knowledge of it, experiential in nature, which is required. If nothing else, I need to know I have His approval.

In Psalm 90 David asks for the same. We can even see what this favor of the Lord will look like to him. In verse 17 David says, “Let the favor of the Lord be upon us...” He then says, “…and establish thou the work of our hands.” Do you see it? He is asking for God’s favor by way of God establishing what it is He had given him to do. I can relate to favor being displayed in this way. That’s what I want. I may never have great riches but I really desire that the vision and the work He has put in front of me would be successful. It is enough. I would see this as evidence of God’s favor.

I am happy to share that the end of our summer in Central America was punctuated with a huge exclamation point. I consider it as evidence of God’s favor and I am celebrating in it. In August, for the first time, pastors and church leaders came to the training facility that we have been building. They came for equipping and for retreat. This marks the beginning of a new era of ministry. It is awesome to finally be at this point. For me it is not enough that they merely came, but to really know that God moved in their lives is what I want and speaks as evidence of His favor. I was so excited to hear their comments about what God did. They left saying the following: (translated literally)

“This is a place where I met God real.”

“This place the Holy Spirit overcame me!”

“In this place I have experienced God and He has never felt so close to me.”

“In this place I found redemption in my family relationships.”

When I think back on all the work, all the money, and all the prayer put into this project, I see that God has moved just like He said He would and precisely as we have prayed. A member of the staff who hosted these leaders, and who has a long-term perspective of all of this, said, “After 7 years of worry and work, God brought these people here and redeemed them and told them in an intimate way how much He loves them. He showed up and encouraged them. He is faithful.”

God’s love and His favor is the essence of what battle weary warriors need. It’s what they need. It’s what I need. It’s what you need. And, to experience the favor of the Lord by way of Him establishing the work He has given us to do is the ultimate. Sometimes in war I think the fog of battle makes it difficult to step back and recognize victory. Once victory is recognized I believe celebration is in order. We can fight again another day.

David

Generation of Promise

Our time in Central America is winding down. I am always a bit sad when our summer mission comes to a close here at the retreat center. Every year God proves faithful and teaches us so much about Himself. This year was no exception. Our discipleship program for young adults, Generation of Promise, was the highlight of my summer. What I saw God do in the lives of 16 young men and women fills my heart with joy beyond my ability to express. Perhaps having three children around this age makes me partial to this age-group. I have an unexplained compassion and love for this generation and I also know God is up to something big with them and I want to be a part of it. Here are a few snippets from some of their testimonies.

“The past several weeks at GOP have been a crazy ride. The Lord brought me revelation through the Holy Spirit and for the first time in all my years of knowing the Lord, I finally UNDERSTOOD 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says that in Christ I am a NEW CREATION, the old has gone and the new has come! I did not believe that my old self was crucified with Jesus on the cross and therefore I was undermining and doubting the power of what Jesus did there. I AM A NEW CREATION!” Kelsey

“While being on the mountain God revealed to me who I really am. Not who I thought I was or who the world told me I was, but who I am IN Him. He showed me that He IS GOOD. God showed me His love, telling me face to face that I am His favorite, His beloved, and His son.” Ben

"God taught me. He taught me about His kingdom being here and now; taught me what the true “good news” is; taught me to listen; taught me to speak His words; taught me the benefits of obedience. He taught me how to recognize His voice; a voice that keeps getting clearer. God blessed me.” Heather

"I had revelation of my identity in Christ and in the Kingdom of God and was able to entirely let go of my past. The final week, which we spent in Panama, was life changing in the sense that I felt the call to become a missionary back home and maybe one day abroad. This trip changed my life, changed my outlook on life, and changed my future.” Kirk

“I have learned more here in the past couple of days than I have my whole 14 years as a Christian. I have leaned how my Daddy sees me, experienced a true love relationship and have been equipped to fight the spiritual warfare battle that was once a hopeless defeat. Praise God and to Him belong all the glory.” Kloe

“I learned that God doesn’t love me any less because I’m a sinner. Nothing I can do can change the amount of love that God has for me. God wants to have a relationship with me before I start worrying about following His rules. I was always taught by the Church that a man must put his sin behind him before going to God. But the truth is the complete opposite! I came back a completely different person. The new me wishes to pursue God and His plan for my life.” Alex

“As the time progressed on the mountain my identity in Christ changed. I realized I was a prince in the kingdom of God. I realize I am God’s beloved child. I no longer have to beg and plead. I can just ask the lord and I will receive. That has made such a difference in my life. I am sure it will change the course of my life.” Michael

“It has been so amazing here! I have learned so much while I have been here. I am starting to see myself as the Lord sees me and it’s becoming a reality instead of just a thought. I am a new creation, I’m perfect in the Lords eyes, He loves me just the way I am. The Lord has become Papa to me.” Marlea

Thank you to everyone who held these young people up through prayer and intercession. Thank you to everyone who prayed for ATC as we ministered through out Central America. Thank you to everyone who continues to pray for us. Thank you to our board who has diligently watched over things while we have been gone. Thank you to our staff that has held down the fort. You are a blessing to us. You share in the reward of all that God accomplishes through this ministry. 1 Samuel 30:25 tells us, “…the share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” God bless you!

Joy

Ministry of Presence

“Let’s go minister to them simply by our presence.” It sounds odd does it not. Is this notion to assume that we are better than everyone else? Is the adoption of such a thought prideful and arrogant? Is it antithetical to the wise council of scripture that calls us to humility? How is it that our presence can be ministry?

I went to southern Sudan once. It was decided that we would visit an area where we had not yet been. We sent word ahead that we were coming with the hope that somehow arrangements might be made for our visit. I was also hoping that some key people in the area might change their schedules so that they could be there to meet us.

I arrived on a small airplane. As we landed I searched the landscape for some clue that our visit was anticipated. I noticed a small gathering of people on the grass landing strip below us. I sensed my body relaxing with the knowledge that word had made it that we were coming. I recognized that we would now have a place to sleep and may even have food to eat. I stepped off the plane feeling much more confident about the next few days.

There was a warm greeting from the receiving committee and a couple of English speakers in the group. We lingered on the airstrip. I began to wonder why. That question was soon answered as we began walking toward the village. Preparations had indeed been made and the final touches were being accomplished as we stood on the airstrip.

We began the 3 kilometer trek to the village. I began to hear calls of African worshipers and the hoots and hollers of an excited and energized village. It was as though time stood still and the only thing in focus was the present. The rape and pillage of their women and children was not even a distant memory. Their hunger pains ceased and no thought was given to survival. It was almost as if the harshness of the African sun gave way to a cool and gentle breeze. I found myself enjoying all of this immensely even though I could not fully comprehend it. We walked the entire 3 kilometers lined with a cheering crowd. As we approached the hut that was to serve as a meeting room, my enjoyment of the occasion began to turn to anxiety. I began to wonder what they wanted from me. Fear gripped me as I realized it would not be possible to meet their expectations.

I sat nervously as the leaders of this village gathered with me in the meeting hut. With great ceremony, appreciation was expressed for my visit. I was kind, but waiting for the “ask.” When it never came I began to explain that I had come with nothing on this trip; no food, no medicines, no money, not even promises. As I spoke they looked at me perplexed. The leader of this warrior tribe spoke, “We celebrate just that you have come. My people have suffered for years and we have prayed that God would send someone to see our suffering; someone to share in it with us. Now we celebrate because God has answered our prayers. He has not forgotten us.”

Now, tell me the ministry of presence isn’t powerful. It may not be all that is needed but it is out of our presence that all good things of the kingdom flow. Thousands found renewed faith that day simply because by our coming God proved himself to be real. Thousands that day found hope; hope that set itself up against the despair the enemy had sown in their lives.

Missions really isn’t complicated. It is merely our response to God’s simple injunction to go. I fear our culture has polluted the simplicity of our call by training us to focus on what we are going to do. It is not impossible for us to get lost in the doing to the extent we never go. Said another way, it’s really what the incarnation is all about. Think of it. God came in the flesh to dwell among us. The ministry of incarnation. Just as incredible, or maybe more so, He made it possible, by atoning and defeating sin and death, for us to constantly live in His presence. He sent to us the comforter, the Holy Spirit, so that He could remain constantly in our presence.

A friend recently reminded me in a gently way that the peace I was searching for would be found as I sought, not the plan, but the planner. Later that night as we worshiped on the mountain here in Central America, I forced myself to stop asking all the questions that have recently so filled my mind. Instead, I just began to tell God that I wanted Him and I wanted to be in His presence.

I am finding power in this ministry of presence. I am watching as answers to my questions begin to come into focus without me even asking them. Beyond that, to the extent I go to Him, I find a measure of peace regardless of circumstance. In short, I am seeing in a new way that he is in fact, everything. All emanates from Him. Being convinced that He is good, I am praying that He would fully swallow me up. Wishing you were here but, even gladder that He is!

David