Others...

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Have you ever felt as if you had so much to say that you didn’t even know where to begin? That is how I feel today. The Lord has put His word on my heart, yet I don’t know the best way to communicate it with you. So I will start with one work Others. To me this word speaks volumes with no explanation at all. However, I would be remiss not to explain just what this word has come to mean to us. A month ago we had a guest pastor speak at our church and mention that this word, other than Jesus, is the crux of our believing life. All throughout scripture the Lord tells us to take the focus off of ourselves and serve Others. Scripture says to care for the poor, i.e. Others. It says the last shall be first and the first shall be last. We should care for widows and orphans - Others. The Acts church sold their possessions and gave to the poor - Others. Basically, if we would stop serving ourselves and start serving Others we would be blessed beyond imagination. God has designed us to serve Others. When we don’t do just that we are left feeling empty, because serving ourselves never fill us up. Jesus said what we do unto the least of these - Others, we do unto Him, which leads me to this scripture:

Malachi 3:8 - “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of the heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the Lord of hosts; “And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.

This is the one place that the Lord says to try Him. We should not make it habit to test the Creator of the Universe in anything. However, in this one thing -tithes and offerings- He gives us permission and invites us to do just that. His word says that if we do give all and bring it into the storehouse that he will open the windows of the heaven and pour out such blessing that there will not be enough room to receive it. Can you imagine what that would be like?

In other words, what I think scripture points out over and over is that we don’t need to worry about ourselves, what to eat or wear. We shouldn’t even worry about tomorrow; He has taken care of that (Matthew 6:25). But what we should do instead is “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

My friends, it is never my intention to preach to you, but to encourage you in the word of Christ Jesus. I believe that the Lord has given vision to us to adopt three children from Ethiopia. When He gives vision, He will do whatever it takes to provide all of the funds to bring His children home. However, I also believe that He calls us to give above and beyond what we think that we can. Here is why: in Acts it is recorded that they sold their possessions and gave to the poor. It says that no one among them lacked. All who possessed land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and distributed to each as anyone had need. (Acts 4:32-37) I also believe He wants us to step out of our comfort zone and trust that what He says is true. If what God says is true, then when we give our tithes and offerings, He will bless us with more than we can receive!! We know that food and clothing are a part of that, because He specifically says NOT to worry about those things. It may not be a boat or a new car or a bigger house, but we will BE BLESSED ! In fact, He will rebuke the Devourer for our sakes and that is a blessing in itself!!

We have a need. I am not going to call it a huge need, because everything is possible with God. Nothing is too huge for Him. But I believe that He desires to use His people to accomplish His will, and I also believe that He equips His people to do exactly that!! We still need about $15,000 to bring Meskerem, Eyob and Samuel to their forever home. We love and appreciate all of you who have prayed and given to this need! We have the largest support system and are so grateful for all of you. Even in this economy we as Americans are the wealthiest people in the world. If you own just one computer in your home you are among the top 5%. Indeed, $15,000 at first glance looks like a lot, but let me break this down: if 100 people tested and trusted God and gave $150 each, that would complete the task. Or if 50 people gave $300 each, that would complete the task. If you are saying to yourself, “I don’t have any extra money to do this,” my challenge would be to pray and ask God what you could sell (Acts 4) and then what you should give. Or just trust Him to meet your need once you do give! There is a local church here in Phoenix where the pastor asked the congregation to give up their non-essentials for just one week to meet the needs of the poor in another country. The medium-sized church came up with $17,000. Would you consider doing that for these orphans?

It is important to us that you know that we are not above helping ourselves. We have sold our possessions, furniture, things around the house and all of our jewelry including our wedding rings. I am not saying this to brag. It is rather humbling, in fact. We don’t have a retirement account, 401 (k), life insurance or money in savings (other than what we have raised). We have a wholly open-book policy and we welcome any inquiries regarding our personal finances. We are not coming to you asking for help when we have help in our back pocket. We are coming to you, the body of Christ, asking you to partner with us to give these orphans a home. Now we are waiting on the Lord.

This past week someone stopped me at church to ask about our kids. He asked if they KNEW about us. My answer is that they DO KNOW, and I am sure they doubt if we are really coming because this process takes SO LONG. I told him I could imagine that they are sitting around staring at our pictures and the pictures of their brothers and sisters wondering if our promises are true. “Will Mom and Dad really come?” “Will I really have a home with a safe place to sleep, clothes to wear, food to eat?” My friend reminded me that is how we feel at times about Jesus. God are your promises true? Will you really come? Will you really provide all of my needs if I would just trust you?

I believe God is saying YES His promises are true. “Try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of the heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the Lord for hosts; and all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.

Friends, please pray and ask God for Meskerem, Eyob and Samuel. Take the Lord’s challenge and give offerings to the least of these.

With heart - filled blessings,