I used to dream of being the next Billy Graham, filling Heaven with new believers. But evangelism is not my gifting. In fact, my testimony (shared in detail in my latest book, Graceful Flight) is one that most unbelievers simply cannot relate to at all. So I share my faith whenever prompted by the Holy Spirit, but otherwise I stick to the ministry that God has given me: to encourage His people.
A couple of weeks ago, Paul, an acquaintance here at the retirement residence, started sharing his passion for mythical creatures with me. It’s a passion that I not only don’t share, but can’t even relate to. I have to admit that most mythical creatures are hideous, disgusting, and evoke a demonic association. Paul is loud because of severe hearing loss, fiercely competitive, and hyperactive. It would be very easy to dismiss him as an insensitive creep, and I was prepared to do so. But then the Lord showed me that in reality Paul is very sweet.
Paul buys shirts on e-bay with pictures his mythical creatures. Paul loves to find bargains on e-bay. He is constantly finding beautiful, unique costume jewelry for our neighbors at incredibly cheap prices. This has made him very popular among the women here. They tell him what they are looking for and he finds it for them. With prices starting at 99 cents, Paul is obviously not making any money. One day I remembered the Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, and realized that Paul’s love language is receiving gifts. He does it all as an act of love for the people of our community.
Paul’s girlfriend, Beverly, recently had a death in the family that hit her very hard. He has been very supportive, trying to help her through all this. His kind of support has been both good (going to chapel services with her) and bad (buying and consuming large amounts of wine with her).
Paul and I usually cross paths in the computer room before breakfast. I didn’t know him well, but we had played team trivia together. After realizing about his love language, I started to like Paul, despite the obsession with mythical creatures. Then one day he came into the computer room and told me about hearing from his college roommate. He was really excited and happy about reconnecting with an old friend. But then he proceeded to tell me a dirty story about his friend’s girlfriend. He wasn’t looking at me, so he couldn’t see my expression, and I knew that it was pointless to try and interrupt, so I just tried to ignore what he was saying and continue with my computer work instead.
This morning while I was thinking about the encounter, I realized that when dealing with non-Christians, we are crossing cultures. Just as I had to learn Italian culture and customs, and adapt accordingly, so in dealing with Paul, I’ve had to learn his culture and customs. Paul came by our apartment recently asking if we had a portable CD player that he and Beverly could borrow. Much to my surprise, Mom had one that I hadn’t even known about. We loaned it to him until his is repaired. The next day, Beverly came up to me all smiles and said, “You made a little boy (meaning Paul) very happy!” A few minutes later, Paul came to me and gave me a perfume bottle with dragons all over it. He was so happy, and this was his way of thanking me. Although I think the thing is ugly, I graciously accepted it.
The next time I saw Paul and Beverly was when the church choir from My Misfit Church came and sang for the residents. The choirmaster passed out hymnals, and we sang along with the choir, including Paul and Beverly. One song we sang was When the Saints go Marching In. In a moment of insane inspiration I hopped to my feet and started marching in time with the music. I felt like a complete fool, but at the same time, it was fun. Afterwards several people came up to tell me what fun and an inspiration I was, marching around like an idiot. Beverly was one of them. She had tears in her eyes because they had also sang Amazing Grace, which had been sung at the funeral. But she also couldn’t keep a smile from her lips as she talked about my nutty march.
The thing about dealing cross-culturally with people is that you have to be flexible and willing to step out of your comfort zone. These days, the gap between us and the rest of the world is as wide as the ocean. Cross-cultural ministry can happen in your own town, and even in your own neighborhood. God is good!
Tag Archives: enemy
This is War!
Lately, I have received prophecies about letting go of the past. I have worked on it, prayed about it, made the decision to do so, and reminded myself many times about that decision. But it wasn’t until this morning that the Lord revealed to me how important it is to truly let go of the past.
What He showed me is this: we have an enemy who hates us more than you can imagine. He wants nothing more than to destroy us—all humans, but especially Christians. And he is sneaky and cunning, highly intelligent, very dangerous, and he’s invisible most of the time, but able to manifest himself to look like an angel of light, among other things.
The Lord showed me that every time that I react to attacks by reverting to victim mentality, I make myself vulnerable to more and more devastating attacks. I also make myself less and less effective. Imagine a soldier that has been wounded. If the soldier sees the enemy coming and, remembering the painful wound, goes ducking for cover. This allows the enemy to advance, and the soldier actually ends up helping the enemy hurt (or kill) him, and his fellow soldiers.
One of the most devastating blows that our enemy has dealt the Church (the Body of Christ) is with the doctrine that God wants to bless and prosper us. God does want to bless and prosper us, but that is not His purpose or ours. If we focus on what we can get in this world, we’re going to lose everything. Again, if we think of it in terms of warfare, imagine a whole army of soldiers who joined up just so that they could wear the uniform and get the pay and healthcare benefits. When the fighting starts they run away because they don’t want their nice uniforms messed up.
We cannot afford to keep feeding new Christians the pabulum that God wants to bless and prosper them. First of all, although it’s true it’s not the whole truth. If we are not willing to serve, God will not bless us, and any prosperity will be short-lived. And second, concentrating on what we can get in this world weakens the Gospel and its effectiveness.
We’ve got to wake up. There’s a lot at stake, including our children and grandchildren. We need to be praying for revival and for God’s perspective on our lives. We’ve got to learn to fight to win, which means learning to pray to win. Revive us, O Lord! God is good!
Encouragement from Above
A Facebook Friend, A Powerful Testimony, A New Brother in Christ
Recently, I have suffered some very hard blows. These attacks really hit me where I live, and were difficult to take because they came from dear, trusted friends. And they caused one of my closest friends to suffer, which is even harder to take than my own suffering. Initially, I saw only the people involved. I reacted as I usually do, with my Texas-style bluntness—speaking the truth without tact. But after prayer, I began to discern the enemy who had used these friends against my friend and me. Can those relationships be restored?
That was my question to God Tuesday morning. Immediately, I got several encouraging messages through e-mail and on Facebook. These friends and their messages so encouraged me that I began to believe that these relationships can, indeed, be restored.
One person who encouraged me greatly is Angelica, a missionary who lives very close to Milan. I was so moved by her kind words that I felt an immediate and deep desire to meet her in person. She was very enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting me, too. So I started making plans to go visit Angelica immediately.
No sooner did I make that decision, than I heard from another friend, Casey, who lives in a small city in Tuscany. Casey invited me to come hear Tony Anthony speak at a church in Modena that evening. Since Angelica’s town is halfway to Modena, and since Casey told me that we had accommodations for the night, I said yes.
Tony’s testimony is powerful and very moving, and I encourage you to follow that link to his website. On the train to Modena, Casey met an African man from Ivory Coast. She talked to him about Jesus, and invited him to come hear Tony speak, too. And he did. He asked Jesus into his heart! That’s what it’s all about: sharing the Gospel!
Between trains, I’d only had a moment to hug and greet Angelica on Tuesday, but Casey and I returned to Angelica’s home for a proper visit yesterday. We had that immediate intimacy—a meeting of the hearts—that only comes from sisterhood in Christ. We laughed, we cried, we prayed, we praised God. We had a marvelous visit. Now that I know how close she is, I can go visit her whenever I’m home in Milan.
Anyway, God used all of these things to encourage me after the difficulties and disappointments of recent events. But more than encourage me, God has strengthened me to believe that the relationships can and will be restored—if I can let Him speak more tactfully through me. Please pray for me to speak the truth in love, but also with delicacy and tact that can mend bruised relationships. God is good!
Looking for An Answer
Day Twenty-One
I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what He will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples, (Habakkuk 2:1-5, emphasis mine).
One of my prayer partners said that while praying for me, the Lord had indicated Habakkuk, which is only 3 chapters long. So I read it, then read it again. Then I listened to it on my audio Bible, and listened to it again. This is what the Lord wants me to do with the answer: write it down. Make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it—the modern version of which is of course, the internet.
Habakkuk, like me, wanted an answer. He asked his question in chapter 1, and then in chapter 2 (see above), he stationed himself on the ramparts. A rampart is a defensive structure. It is the outer wall of a castle or city. From the rampart you can see any enemy that is coming long before they actually arrive, so you have time to get your defenses ready.
And here also I find my answer. My question is: these being the End Times, what comes next, and how should we be preparing for it.
The Answer: the enemy is coming with great deception. Station yourself on the ramparts. Watch and listen. Be alert.
Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies! You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed! The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory, (Habakkuk 2:15-16, emphasis mine).
Jesus warned us about deception in the End Times in Matthew 24:24: “False messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect,” (emphasis mine). Deceiving the people who are already deceived is one thing, but to deceive even the elect—the people Jesus chose for Himself, that’s powerful deception. Yes, Jesus chose you:
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you, (John 15:16, emphasis mine).
We have been lulled to sleep by the media invading our very houses. Think about what you are watching! Shows like Big Brother encourage people to form alliances against each other, and even to have sex outside of marriage. There are shows depicting all sorts of living arrangements that defy the Biblical definition of marriage. And even Christians watch these things and have begun to accept them as “normal.” How many depictions of murder have you witnessed in the name of entertainment in the past month?
This is how hearts become hardened, not all at once, but gradually, like a stalactite, one drop at a time. When is the last time you walked out of a movie that offended you? When is the last time you turned off the TV because the message was contrary to the Word of God? Even the news is spun with an anti-Christian message.
You’ve got to do something now because when the antichrist comes with all the devil’s power of deception, you’ll be already primed to believe him. Your ramparts have been broken down.
But the situation is not hopeless. Begin today, now, to seek God. Be alert. Shut off the noise of the world and listen for His voice.
Sometimes people—believers!—say things to me that indicate that they think I’m some sort of super saint. I’m not! I’m an ordinary person. The only difference between me and any other Christian is probably just a matter of surrender. When I had nothing left to lose, I surrendered the little that I had left. It wasn’t easy, but I’ve never regretted it. In fact, my only regret is that I hadn’t surrendered sooner. It would have saved me a whole lot of trouble. So don’t dismiss what I’m saying by thinking that you have to be a special person. You are a special person, chosen by Jesus, Himself. To believe otherwise is to buy into the enemy’s deception.
The Rapture is imminent, right around the corner. Don’t be left behind! Things are going to get really bad after that. Christians will be beheaded for their faith (Revelation 20:4). Be alert!
Look, Listen, Love was God’s message to me for the Faith Trip I needed to take in order to follow Him more closely. Look at what is going on around you. Listen for His voice. Let Love be the motivation behind everything you do. Station yourself on the ramparts and watch. Stay focused. God is good! He has given us a way out!
Our Last Night in Sofia
With this prayer trip finished, some of our team flew back to their homes from Skopje, and some of us were flying back from Sofia. The teammates that had driven up to Sofia from Greece drove back home again. We hugged and said our goodbyes, most of us will see each other at the next prayer trip in April.
There is a lot of love and unity that develops when people pray together, and especially when they are praying for each other. This time I was the recipient of a lot of prayers because of a spiritual attack masquerading as a migraine. It came 2 days ago, the evening before our prayer walk in Skopje (see my previous post “Prayer Walking in Skopje”). I suddenly had a very sharp pain just above my left eye and in the left side of my neck just where the spine meets the skull. This was accompanied by nausea. I went to the room, skipping dinner, and I prayed there through the evening session. The next morning, I heard that another one of our team had also felt sick, as with labor pains. Hers was a reaction to what Macedonia was experiencing in the spirit, while mine was a full-blown attack from the enemy.
I know that mine was an enemy attack because I have been attacked this way many times, and it is always just before I go on mission trips. As I prayed, I was in such pain that I was really beyond words. But I heard the Lord say to my spirit, “Relax and rest in Me. Listen to My heartbeat.” I tried, but much of that time I simply couldn’t hear His heartbeat. Finally, after about 2-3 hours, I really can’t say exactly how long, I felt better, and I heard the Lord say, “It has loosened its grip on you.” What He didn’t say was that it was gone.
The next night, after our prayer walking day we were again praying and worshiping. One pastor there said that Macedonia suffers from a spirit of rejection, and that some of the people present also needed to be freed of a spirit of rejection. He invited the people to come forward who needed prayers for rejection. Then he looked at me and said, “Sister, your body language says that you are suffering from rejection.” I had my arms folded across my chest. He said, “Open up and receive the freedom that God wants to give you.” So I opened my arms, and he prayed for me. I suddenly began to cough very violently—it was like the cough came all the way up from the bottom of my abdomen, and I was bent double coughing. He continued to pray and I continued to cough, then I fell to the floor (but I think someone caught me, I really can’t say). Once on the floor, a deaconess from his church came and prayed for me. As she laid her hand on my stomach I began to feel peace and the coughing stopped.
Then I heard the Lord say, “The demon has loosened its grip on you, now you need to loosen your grip on it.” I did. In my spirit I let it go and began to push it away. I turned on my side and began coughing again, and then it was gone. I turned onto my back again and the relief I felt was so great that I began to cry. When I stood again, I returned to my chair feeling exhausted, but good. Then I began to laugh. And I just sat there, laughing and laughing.
Yesterday in the car on the way back to Sofia another attack came. About an hour outside of Sofia we stopped for lunch, but I didn’t eat, feeling again nauseated. They advised me to take authority, but in my weakened state, I didn’t feel like I could. The group prayed for me, and took authority over the thing. The headache and nausea passed, and by the time we were in Sofia, I was feeling much better.
As I was praying about it, the Lord told me that I need to take authority over the demons. The authority is mine, but I need to take it. He said, “When you enter a place, they should all flee in fear of you.” Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of 2 Timothy 1:7: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline,” (emphasis mine). And I heard Him say, “You shouldn’t be timid. You need to be bold.” And I understood the last words of that verse: “power, love, and self-discipline” as a triangle. That power and self-discipline come from love. It’s like love is the battery that gives power and self-discipline their strength. As I tap into the love, I will find the power to take authority over the demons that they will recognize as His authority, and they will flee from me.
Likewise, by tapping into that perfect love, I will find the self-discipline not to simply ride-out the attack in prayer. Prayer has worked in the past against these attacks, but now I need to exercise the self-discipline to take authority over the demons immediately.
So last night Angie and I stayed another night in Sofia. She is flying back to Germany as I write, and I will fly back to Milan this evening. For our last night in Sofia, Bill and Vasha and Anton took us to the Mall of Sofia, where we ate at the Happy Bar & Grill. Happy features traditional Bulgarian food and sushi. Bill suggested a dish called Happy Bits with corn and cream. I also ordered a Bulgarian salad with the wonderful Bulgarian cheese on it. Angie had sushi, but hadn’t ever tried mixing a bit of wasabi into the soy sauce. I’m not sure that she liked the wasabi so much. For me, it’s just not sushi without wasabi.
After dinner, Angie did some shopping for her family. I had already gotten bears from Bulgaria and Macedonia, so I didn’t need to do any shopping. I definitely want to come back to Bulgaria. The work that the Lord is doing here is amazing, and I love the people here. God is good!
The Nasty-Tasting Medicine of Truth
Stop and discern. Can you see that the enemy has released an attack to bring division among My people? You, My faithful ones, must stand against this attack. Do not entertain the temptation to be offended or to point the finger in accusation. You must deal with your own heart and be righteous. This is a time to refocus your attention away from yourself and look to Me, says the Lord. For, I will extricate you from offense if you will allow it.
Proverbs 18:19 A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle.
The quote above was taken from today’s Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin (http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=yymmtrbab&v=001gZhKK2h2Be_D6yGxuKPSManqENpntnNJlJ2b6XiUDhnVJYpfDdKCpc92c-vJDRui5GH_DexOGdk7VBoAUQ5Ey2tvETSInK3oPxpu_KPRRw-b1LRmHF895LlJ8Wb2q6EC6wc3hl8gy8g%3D), which I subscribe to. Frequently, these prophecies are not only right on target, but speak personally to my current situation. Today’s prophecy is a perfect example.
Both me, personally and this ministry have been attacked by people I had thought were my friends. And it is no surprise that these attacks were prompted by an offense that I didn’t even know that I had committed. Instead of coming to me to find out the truth of things, these people took offense and talked about me behind my back. Hidden in the dark, fed by supposition and goaded on by the enemy things fester and grow and rage is the result.
Over the course of this year I’ve seen other people, ministries, and churches attacked in similar manner. Things that could easily have been resolved by honest and loving confrontation instead blew completely out of proportion and into all-out vindictive war.
The thing that shocked me most of all was to find myself being the offended person. I thought that this person had damaged this ministry. And so I launched all-out vindictive war on somebody who is flawed, but no more so than myself. I tried to “save” this person from the worst of my anger by avoidance. And in explaining my position to a mutual friend, I pointed out how much I have sacrificed to be here: “I sold my house and gave away virtually all of my belongings. I have left behind my family—my grandson!—and friends. This ministry has cost me a lot, and not just in terms of money.” I continued to explain my all-consuming passion for seeing Europe come back to Christ. Obviously, there was only one right way to look at this thing. The person who had offended me knew that I was angry, so there was two-way avoidance going on, and my outrage grew.
Then, when I could no longer contain my anger, we finally had a confrontation yesterday. I didn’t listen at the time, but this person’s words rang inside my head after we parted. They got through to me, and suddenly I felt horrible about the way I had treated this person. On top of that, God showed me that my problem was not this person, but my own pride. Then my eyes were opened to see that I was calling it my ministry, and that I had promoted myself as being so righteous because of all the things I had sacrificed for the ministry. I had taken my eyes off Jesus and was focused instead on the ministry and on myself.
I saw that this person had offended me, just as I had offended the others, without knowing it, and without meaning to do so. I was finally seeing myself as the angry, unreasoning aggressor, and I didn’t like what I saw. But I confessed my sin to God, and then to this person. Both graciously forgave me without hesitation.
I want to reiterate: where I had gone wrong was in taking my eyes off Jesus. So often we get caught up in Christian service that we forget that the point is not the service, but Who we serve.
And this enlightenment has helped me to have more understanding and compassion for those who I had unwittingly offended. I forgive them and hope someday for the restoration of those relationships. That’s not an empty hope because Jesus is all about restoration. He is God of a Second Chance. We all need a second chance!
The Wild Life
The patriarch of my host family here in Hungary, Tibor, teaches earth sciences and is an avid naturalist. There is a glass case in my room with a gem and mineral collection, including petrified wood, a shell collection, and a bug collection (I thankfully noted that they’re all dead). Tibor had been teacher of the morning the day I arrived. Unfortunately, I missed it because I arrived close to midnight.
Tibor likes to learn the English names for plants and animals. The other day he approached me with a plant to smell—I knew it immediately: rosemary. He brought me another one: basil. But he stumped me on the third one, which I had never seen without flowers: oleander. There are also several orchids around the house, and lots of flowers in the garden (where I discovered kittens first thing in the morning after I arrived).
There is a river that runs through their town, and just outside of town is the confluence of this river with another river. He translated for me the names of the rivers: the Black and the White rivers. He delighted to show me the rivers at their confluence and the river dam, where the fishing is good on the spillway and the dammed part is good for motor boating. I saw several holes in the ground as we walked back to the car, and asked about them. When I see holes in the ground, I think “snakes.” But Tibor said that they are mole holes. Given the large number of holes, I think moles are far more likely than snakes.
At the Summer Camp, where I’ve been helping out all week, there is another avid naturalist, Alexander. Unlike Tibor, I think Alexander is strictly a hobbyist, but his passion for all things natural is obvious. Since he doesn’t speak any English, Alexander had never approached me. But since I have a curiosity about nature, I approached him. Alexander brought an enormous telescope to church and had it set up in the yard during snack time. It was equipped with a special filter for viewing the sun. He showed me a book with a picture of sunspots and gestured at the telescope. I looked through it and sure enough, there were several sunspots, just like in the book.
The next day Alexander brought a jar, and from it he produced a live bug about an inch and a half long. He was letting the children touch and hold the bug (depending on their willingness). I looked on, amazed as always at how children could touch something that I simply cannot bring myself to touch. Seeing my curiosity, he approached me with the bug and held it out for me. My body language made it obvious to him that I have a fear of bugs. He tried to reassure me that it was harmless, and even if I had understood the words he used, it would have made no difference. There’s something deep inside me, an ancient revulsion, that cannot be reasoned away. I’ve faced all my other fears and conquered them all: flying, heights, public speaking. But as much as I would like to conquer this last fear, there’s just something too ingrained to be overcome.
It’s not real, but real enough for me! EEEEEEEEK!
The following day Alexander came to me holding a bug that was four inches long—it was made of rubber. He tried to get me to touch the rubber bug. I couldn’t even touch it. I understand that he was trying to help me overcome this unreasoning fear of bugs. And I appreciate it, but I couldn’t bring myself to touch it. He didn’t push it, but backed-off as soon as he saw that I couldn’t do it. The bug had a suction cup on its belly, so he stuck it to his watch, and proceeded to show me other things he had brought: a plastic lizard, a wooden turtle, and several nature books.
The final day of Summer Camp, Alexander showed me several old calendars he had: calendars of Alaska, calendars of sea creatures, calendars of birds. As he showed me page after page of wonders, he chattered as though I could understand. What I did understand is both his passion for nature, and his kindness toward me and toward the children.
Last night Tibor had a surprise for me. He took me to meet the town cheese-maker. The cheeseman showed us how he makes the cheese. He put a piece of aged cheese under my nose and was surprised to see how much I appreciated the smell. I explained that I live in Italy, so I know that the stinkier the cheese is, the better it tastes. He appreciated that.
Today there was a conference for the seniors of the church, at which Pastor H. Koraćs Gėza spoke. I was told that I would have about five minutes to speak to them. So of course I prayed about it, and here’s what I said:
Looking out here at all the gray hair, I am aware that many of you and your parents kept your faith in Christ under the oppressive rule of the atheistic Communists. I have two things to say to you: First, I am deeply sorry that my country believed the lies of the Communists and did nothing to help you. Secondly, I know that someday you will trade your silver crowns for gold crowns. I am here to honor you for your faithful service to your Lord and mine.
To the young people here I say: learn from these elders, and share the love of Christ with everyone you know.
And finally, I would like to thank Pastor Gėza for coming. It is an honor to meet you.
When Pastor Gėza returned to the platform, he observed that Christianity had actually flourished and grown under Communist oppression. He said that Christianity now faces a far more dangerous enemy in the form of complacency. I believe he’s right.
Tonight at dinner, Piroska, the matriarch of this family observed: today has been a day of spiritual cleaning. Yes, indeed, it was!
Walking By Faith in Europe 