Hello friends. I was feeling disoriented past week because of my traveling. As I was thinking of skipping my weekly newsletter, this morning I was reminded about Jesus Christ’s words to his disciples, “freely you have received, freely give.” Here’s a good commentary and background about this statement:

https://www.gotquestions.org/freely-you-have-received-freely-give.html

Being an intercessor is listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying in order to bring God’s kingdom on earth through prayer and fasting. I do this by studying the Bible a lot to understand God’s will, and also by examining my intentions, and what or who sits in my heart. Only God should be the one who sits in my heart.  God shares His thoughts with those who are His faithful followers, and those who honor and revere His name. 

I also see myself like a guard dog 🐕 for my church and those who receive my messages. Like a good guard dog I will bark at coming danger and strangers who are a threat to my church and community. This week I have been thinking a lot about the parable of the mustard seed. Usually when we read this parable, we think that nice pretty birds will be nesting upon the mustard tree once it grows big. Yes birds are beautiful and nice to hear but when you consider the fact that birds are indicated as evil ones who snap away God’s words, then you see that the birds nesting on a mustard tree is not a good thing. 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2013&version=NIV

Why am I sharing this revelation with you? As church attendance grows in number, please be mindful that people with evil hearts and intentions will be coming in too. They will be coming to find shelter and shade in our church community, and if you invite them further – into your homes. I especially want to warn the single/divorced/widowed women that you must be rooted into a church community. Everything that you have done and the freedom you have gained can be undone by a union with someone who is not approved by God for you. 

I have seen too many Christians who attend church (they gather weekly) but are not assembled into the church community. Gathering together is very different from assembling together. Imagine Lego pieces that are gathered are exposed and vulnerable to be snatched away, while Lego pieces that are assembled together are secured and have a form and function too. Plus it’ll be impossible to steal one Lego piece without many other Lego pieces noticing the steal. 

I’ve been attending my church for 15 years now. I’ve always been part of a small community group, first as a member and then as a leader. My church is huge, and if I become MIA (missing in action) then there will be too many friends who will notice my absence immediately and will come after me. Do you have that kind of safety network? Will anyone notice if you stop going to church? 

I’ve heard the phrase “more are caught than taught” when parent experts speak about child rearing. I agree.  Children learn by watching how you live life rather than what you lecture about. Are they learning from watching your life that being assembled into the church is the highest priority to you? If you are not being a good example then your children are in danger of being easily snatched by the enemy. 

I read a very good commentary on what is biblical forgiveness. Please read this article and consider the example that was shared. It was crazy to read about a wife who was encouraged by her church friends and family members to stay by her unfaithful husband who kept giving her STDs. The scriptures about forgiveness were taken out of context, and used to keep this woman in an abusive marriage.

Clarifying Biblical Forgiveness: Destructive Sin and Consequences in Matthew 18

I remember vividly when I was debating with an established elder of another church about healing and miracles. He took a Bible verse out of context to explain why he didn’t believe in healing. His explanation sounded humble and sincere, but once I realized that he took a Bible verse out of context, I told myself that I will always fact check a Bible verse used by others to prove a point before receiving their opinion. I hope you do the same when I share my opinions with you. 

This was the Bible verse that he referenced:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” – 1 Timothy 6:6

Now you read the entire chapter to see what I mean:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%206&version=NIV

Here is a good background and commentary about this verse:

https://www.gotquestions.org/godliness-with-contentment.html

I also made a mental note that I’ll never send someone to his church for healing and miracles since he is a leader there. His lack of faith in healing and miracles will prevent miracles from happening since he is an elder and leader in his church. That’s just my personal opinion.

I have good friends who are “cessationists” (basically they don’t believe in the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit since we have the Holy Bible). When we meet, we don’t waste our time arguing over this. We talk about things that bring us closer together like the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, and sharing our personal challenges for counsel and prayer support. Before you end a Christian friendship, please pray and even fast about it, because you might be severing a critical alliance needed for victory in the battles against the enemy (aka Satan and his demons). 

In the last few years, politics have divided too many families and friends. Only the enemy wins when that happens. In the two prayer groups that I lead, we pray for those in authority in government, churches, schools etc. Please read this good short article on why we need to pray and how to pray for those in authority:

https://billygraham.org/answers/all-those-in-positions-of-authority-need-our-prayers

Bible teacher, John Bevere wrote a new book. I highly respect him and his teachings. He is the one who really taught me about the “fear of the Lord” and about Satan’s favorite bait for Christians – “offense”. Please read his books if you want to learn more about biblical “fear of the Lord” or you are easily offended. 

Here is his new book. It looks like a great read. 

“For 35 years, John Bevere has stayed silent on one of the Bible’s most debated and often misunderstood topics. But after five years of God-led nudges, prayer, research, and deep reflection, he’s breaking that silence in his new book, “The King is Coming.”

https://cbn.com/article/hope/king-coming-why-believers-dont-have-fear

Wow, I was so blessed to read this student news article from IU in Bloomington, Indiana. This article is about the increased number of IU students turning to Christianity and delving into the reasons why.  Our college prayer group has been praying for a revival at IU for four years now. It looks like it’s finally happening. I’ve never read something like this before in the four years that I have been reading their student newspaper. Wow. 

https://specials.idsnews.com/increased-student-christianity-iu-bloomington/

I’m so amazed by this news too. Their star football quarterback Mendoza has made a huge impact on IU. He is a devout Catholic and very public about his faith. I would not have thought that God would use a football 🏈 player and their winning team to start a revival. (Just so you know, IU football had one of the longest losing streaks but in only two years they became undefeated and won the championship this January.) 

Here is an event that is happening on April 8th at IU’s Assembly Hall that can seat 17,200 people. Mendoza and his football players have been promoting this event. Please pray for its success and that the entire stadium will be filled up and that many people will be impacted. 

“A Night With the Son is an all-campus worship night at Indiana University. Tiffany Hudson of Elevation Worship will lead worship, while Cliffe and Stuart Knechtle take the stage to answer life’s toughest questions about faith, truth, and the meaning of life. This night is about bringing students from across campus together to encounter Jesus and hear the gospel.”

https://am.ticketmaster.com/iustudent/buy/ANightWiththeSon?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

Many times I wondered if our prayers were doing anything. I would keep these doubtful thoughts to myself and never speak them out loud. Why? Because my words would only deflate our faith in asking when praying together. I’m so glad that I exercised one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit – “self control” to not speak my doubts and unbelief. I believe as a prayer group leader, I could have jeopardized our petitions for a revival at IU. It is so important to just show up to pray and leave the planning behind to God. 

Thank you for reading and praying.  May God bless us abundantly as we wait for Him to move.

(My daughter graduated from IU in Bloomington this past December. She has a great job in finance in NYC. As I was thinking about the current timing of this spiritual movement in IU, I realized that my daughter is not in a place to attend the event in April. First of all, she does not like large crowds. I would have been disappointed if she was still there but doesn’t attend. Perhaps the event timing is in April so that I would not be so disappointed?

I have a good friend whose daughter just started at IU in January and she told me that her daughter immediately found a great group of Christian students and is very happy there. I pray that my friends’ children who are at IU this spring semester will get to go and tell me all about it afterwards.

As for our IU college prayer group, we are still praying weekly. I am listening to the Holy Spirit’s direction on our next steps once the academic year is over in mid-May.)