Fellowship of the Unashamed

An African pastor was overwhelmed by rebels who demanded that he renounce his faith. He refused. The night before they took his life, he wrote the following lines on a scrap of paper:

I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed." I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I've stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals!

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought , compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up, or burn up till I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops.

And when He comes to get His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear.

Source Unknown

A Good Night

Tonight, while Shayne was at clinic I took advantage of the time to go visit Julia and Jose Luis. It was good timing because Jose Luis is planning to head back to his hometown near Aguas Calientes. He has been talking about this for a while now, and it looks like he is ready to head back. He had arrived here about 2 months ago very drunk. His wife and son had left him and he was miserable. One night while praying, God told us to go to Julia's house. It was that night that we got to meet him. As Julia told us about her brother and his problems, we began to pray. In the middle of the prayer he came out. He was open to hearing some, but he was in bad shape.

When we returned a few days later on Sunday, he was there ready to hear the gospel. We spent hours going through Romans and other books of the Bible. The following Sunday we continue through Romans some more. He continued to receive the word planted in him. Over the course of these past few months he has gone out with me to preach, he has shared the word with others and we have seens God's hand working in his life.

Before we had arrived, God had sent others to preach to him. In Tijuana, some guitar singing evangelist had met him and taught him about God. Others had arrived at his house to teach. And most importantly the Holy Spirit met him and showed him God's love. In fact the night we showed up, he woke up hearing "something beautiful" outside. He arose and poured out his alcohol in the backyard and came out to see what was the sound. That night, God freed him from the alcohol addiction.

Tonight, knowing he is probably leaving tomorrow, we went through the Bible. We actually looked at every book in the Bible, so that he could see how they all work together. He was loaded up with some Bibles to take with him, some picture Bibles as well. With so little time as a believer, it reminds me that it is the Holy Spirit that must keep us. God's plans do not always look like ours. I would have liked more time for him to grow and learn. But I have seen believers in church for years that are not walking with as much faith and obedience and love for the Lord as he has. So, I entrust him to the Lord. After I finished praying over him tonight, Julia's husband came and sat with us. He was interested in the picture Bibles I had brought. Julia's husband is an alcoholic that needs to be freed. He showed great interest in the Bibles. They are really nice, I think they are meant for adults to read. Before I left, he had Julia ask for one for himself. He was very thankful and promised he would read it.

Please pray for Julia to walk right before the Lord. Please pray that the Lord uses Jose Luis to reach the lost and dying in his hometown. Please pray that the Holy Spirit convicts Julia's husband of his sin and that he repents and believes in the Lord. Please pray that the Lord has his way in Shayne and I. Please thank the Lord God eternal, who is forever praised. By his great grace and mercy we can be called sons of the living God. Also, he has made us his ambassadors.

PS. Julia's daughter, Mariana, is doing great. Her bump is much smaller (read the wedding article to see what I'm talking about).

Lunch

This morning as I was arriving at school, I realized that I had left my wallet at school. I had come without a lunch and no money to buy food either. I figured that I would be able to get food from the cafeteria on campus and pay them later. On my way out of my classroom door to find food a student stops me. He says, Mr. Nick, my mom bought this for you. It was a subway sandwich. A student has never brought me lunch before like this. And to think, he did it on the day I had no lunch. I had not told anyone that I forgot my lunch. I had not even asked or prayed. But my Father in heaven knew and was taking care of me. I wanted to share this praise, so that others might see that God is so good. He even looks out for us with the little things. This grace makes me want to serve him more. I hope it does the same for you.

Thank you Jesus!! Thank you Father!! Thank you Holy Spirit!!

A Wedding

Today, Nelson and Maria got married. We met them through our ministry here in Guadalajara. Nelson finally decided to make his marriage right before the Lord and so they obtained all the documents they needed and became legally married before the state and then had their wedding service in the church today. So many things about their marriage have been by the grace of God. Obtaining birth certificates and other legal documents here in Mexico is not very easy. Also, Nelson lost his wallet in the middle of finding all these documents. But God continued to make a way for this wedding.
Nelson is poor and has not had work for a little while. His pastor had found a suit, but it had a rip and was patched up, so Nelson told the pastor he would buy another suit. He really had no idea how he would do it, but he had faith in the Lord. One day on his way back home, a suit in a store caught his eye. He had not been out looking for a suit, the Lord drew his attention to it. He had very little money with him, but he decided to go see it. It was the only suit in the store, and it was a really good fit. He talked to the owners of the store, telling them he had very little money. The store was a catholic charity, so they sold him the suit for what he had. God continued to take care of so many details for their wedding. I received the honor of being their chauffeur, and many others helped out with the wedding. A friend of ours from Shayne's med. school also donated her time to do Maria's hair.

Julia, her brother, and her girls all went to the wedding as well. We have been ministering with them on Sunday afternoons. It was really a joy to see Nelson and his wife get married. And to see him testify about God's goodness before his family and friends. They served horchata and some delicious mole as well. After eating, some of Julia's daughters ran in calling for their mom. Within minutes Jose Luis (Julia's brother) called for us to come out as well. Julia's youngest daughter had fallen and hit her head and she had a bump protruding from her head. All the girls and Julia were crying and very upset. Upon finding out what happened we prayed for healing. After that we took her to the cruz verde. Praise God!!! They did x-rays and found no fractures.

Again and again God met our needs. We are becoming very needy for God. Please pray for Julia and her family and her daughter Mariana (who has the bump). Please also pray for Jose Luis who is planning on heading back to his home in Aguas Calientes. Please pray for Nelson and Maria's marriage. Please also pray for those who we are starting studies with.

Your Funeral

Luke 14:26-28 (New International Version)

26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Luke 9:23-25 (New International Version)

23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

Earlier this year, God began showing me something in my life that had taken a place it never should have. He began revealing it through conviction, that my flesh wanted to ignore. But as time went on and I continued to seek after the Lord, the conviction became clear and impossible to ignore (praise God). I had created a class website that had become an idol in my life. I had put much learning, time, and effort into creating it. God began to reveal how it was not worthy of worship or my time. In the end it would not last. When the earth passes away, it would too. There was nothing eternal about it. Which is not a problem in itself, the problem was that I was saddened by this truth. Since it soon would be destroyed anyway, I needed not to hold on to it. So when God told me to get rid of it, that is just what I did.

Idolatry can be an image or a thing. For many, it is money. And Christ said, that we cannot serve two masters, we will hate the one and love the other. The problem is, is that when an idol is an idol in our life, we will never recognize it as an idol. But if our conscience is clear, that does not mean that we ourselves are right before the Lord. It is by God's grace through his Holy Spirit that we will be convicted of our sin. The question comes as quiet conviction we can ignore. The awareness of what a root the idol has taken in our life comes as we are cleansed. What I mean is this, that until we start to rid ourselves of whatever it is, we will not see it clearly as an idol. The minute I decided to completely erase my website, I saw the sadness and hurt. In fact, my flesh even tried to convince me that the idea was ridiculous, that there was no way I could actually do this. For others, it may be giving away money you have saved in the bank or selling a house that you love too much. To others, your idol may seem as no big deal, but to you, getting rid of your idol will seem impossible.

I am asking that we look past the hurt to see what Jesus says. For our God right from the beginning has told us to have no other gods before Him. We are to worship and obey God alone. He has warned us that no idolater shall enter the kingdom of God. We are not alone or even the first that have had to sacrifice. And obviously when we consider the choice, there really is no other choice but God. In Hebrews Paul writes:

Hebrews 12

God Disciplines His Sons

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

After I had destroyed my website, I had to go and pick Shayne up from her clinic. When I picked her up, I really didn't want to talk about it yet. But she could read it on my face and I said, "I went to a funeral today," and I began to cry. Later thinking about it, I realized it really was a funeral. A funeral to my flesh. God calls us to die daily to our flesh.

When we go to our funeral, we should not be sad. Every funeral I have been to, there are people mourning. So, I think I transferred that to my funeral, thinking it was natural that I was sad. But I think differently now. When we go to our flesh's funeral, who would be sad? If I live by the Spirit, the Spirit will be rejoicing at the funeral. The only one that could be sad would be my flesh. And at his funeral, he's dead. The dead never mourn at their own funeral. So if I am sad as I am putting my flesh to death, my flesh is not dead yet or is sneaking out of the casket.

I am reminded of the many who have died to themselves that they might live in Christ. Peter left his job as a fishermen. Matthew stopped being a tax collector and followed Jesus (he did this the moment Jesus called him). Abraham left his country and obeyed God. Paul gave up his status and power to become despised and rejected by men and accepted by God. The list goes on, even to this day.

If as you read this you think, "what a good message." I ask that you let God examine yourself and speak to you. I have seen God cleanse me again and again. Had I not been listening, I would have easily justified away his conviction. The truth always became clear the moment I considered his words. Is there anything I would have trouble getting rid of in my life that is not putting His Kingdom first in my life?