Friday, November 25, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
God is still in the miracle business
One of the kids I worked with in Zambia, wanted us to meet his mom and pray for her, so on Thursday during Camp Life, we took our entire group and went to visit Blessing's home. Unfortunately when we arrived Blessing's mom had left to go to the market, so we walked around to some of his neighbors and asked if our boys could share the Gospel with them. As two of my boys were sharing the story of Christ, an older lady straight out of Hollywood casting for a witch walked up and sat in the middle of all the action. I had already been warned that witch doctors were very active in this area, so I was not totally surprised, but being an American Christian, witches and witch doctors are not something I deal with every day.
Thankfully the old woman did not make much of a fuss, but I did notice that as we left she was following our group. Just as were were about to leave the area, she yelled something at my Zambian partner. She had asked him would we pray for her friend who was ill. In my mind I am pretty intimidated, because God already has me pretty far outside my comfort zone just coming on this trip. I was about to learn that I really don't need to worry, because he was there in a big way.
We followed the old lady to a small house. Understand house in this part of Zambia means a 7 by 7 space made of 4 walls of concrete blocks covered with a tin roof. Inside we found a young man of about 20 who obviously was suffering from some type of palsy. His hands and feed were curled under and he was unable to control his movements. He seemed to have a constant uncontrollable shake to his muscles. Even my Zambian boys who I thought seemed pretty fearless were somewhat intimidated by the look of this young man, but like troopers they went over and began praying for him. As we were praying, two teenage girls who identified themselves as the young mans sister and cousin came in. The two girls gave us some more background on this boy and in fact they were the ones primarily responsible for caring for him.
He had suffered from his condition his entire life. He had never walked and was essentially unable to do much for himself. The girls had not been able to move him for a week, because they needed the help of some men to get him up. Angel, my Zambian partner was the last one to go over and lay his hands on the young man as we were leaving and when Angel stood up the old woman asked were we not going to give some money to them? Angel told me later that at that moment he felt overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit and he responded "we have no money, but what we do have we freely give". Angel then began to pray the most fervent prayer for this young man and by now I had learned that Zambians know how to pray. They put all their emotion and even their entire body into a prayer.
After a few moments of calling on God, Angel stood up from the young man and said "in the Name of Jesus Christ, I command you to stand" and I am here to tell you that before my own eyes, this young man, who had never walked stood up. Angel then just began repeating over and over again "in the Name of Jesus Christ walk, in the Name of Jesus Christ walk" He continued this with all of us following behind until I looked around and we were standing outside the young man's room. This young man who had never stood up by himself much less walked had just walked 10 feet on his own and was standing on his own outside his home. I asked his caretakers to get his mat and we sat the young man down outside his room. I know our entire group was wide eyed and I could certainly see that the young man's care takers were in shock and crying over what we had just seen.
I think we all stood there for a moment not knowing what to do or say and not sure we could even let it totally sink in what we had just witnessed, because what we witnessed was a true miracle straight out of the New Testament. How many times have I asked God for a "burning bush". I am here to tell you be careful what you ask for, because actually witnessing a miracle like this forces you to decide if you really believe what you claim to believe. I look back now and think how easy it was to have this intellectual belief in an all powerful Lord, but it is pretty intimidating when you actually witness Him working right in front of your eyes.
Thankfully the old woman did not make much of a fuss, but I did notice that as we left she was following our group. Just as were were about to leave the area, she yelled something at my Zambian partner. She had asked him would we pray for her friend who was ill. In my mind I am pretty intimidated, because God already has me pretty far outside my comfort zone just coming on this trip. I was about to learn that I really don't need to worry, because he was there in a big way.
We followed the old lady to a small house. Understand house in this part of Zambia means a 7 by 7 space made of 4 walls of concrete blocks covered with a tin roof. Inside we found a young man of about 20 who obviously was suffering from some type of palsy. His hands and feed were curled under and he was unable to control his movements. He seemed to have a constant uncontrollable shake to his muscles. Even my Zambian boys who I thought seemed pretty fearless were somewhat intimidated by the look of this young man, but like troopers they went over and began praying for him. As we were praying, two teenage girls who identified themselves as the young mans sister and cousin came in. The two girls gave us some more background on this boy and in fact they were the ones primarily responsible for caring for him.
He had suffered from his condition his entire life. He had never walked and was essentially unable to do much for himself. The girls had not been able to move him for a week, because they needed the help of some men to get him up. Angel, my Zambian partner was the last one to go over and lay his hands on the young man as we were leaving and when Angel stood up the old woman asked were we not going to give some money to them? Angel told me later that at that moment he felt overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit and he responded "we have no money, but what we do have we freely give". Angel then began to pray the most fervent prayer for this young man and by now I had learned that Zambians know how to pray. They put all their emotion and even their entire body into a prayer.
After a few moments of calling on God, Angel stood up from the young man and said "in the Name of Jesus Christ, I command you to stand" and I am here to tell you that before my own eyes, this young man, who had never walked stood up. Angel then just began repeating over and over again "in the Name of Jesus Christ walk, in the Name of Jesus Christ walk" He continued this with all of us following behind until I looked around and we were standing outside the young man's room. This young man who had never stood up by himself much less walked had just walked 10 feet on his own and was standing on his own outside his home. I asked his caretakers to get his mat and we sat the young man down outside his room. I know our entire group was wide eyed and I could certainly see that the young man's care takers were in shock and crying over what we had just seen.
I think we all stood there for a moment not knowing what to do or say and not sure we could even let it totally sink in what we had just witnessed, because what we witnessed was a true miracle straight out of the New Testament. How many times have I asked God for a "burning bush". I am here to tell you be careful what you ask for, because actually witnessing a miracle like this forces you to decide if you really believe what you claim to believe. I look back now and think how easy it was to have this intellectual belief in an all powerful Lord, but it is pretty intimidating when you actually witness Him working right in front of your eyes.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Zambia
I spent the past 2 weeks in Zambia Africa. It was part vacation, my wife and I spent 4 days in Livingstone Zambia at Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world. The second part of our trip was a sort of mission trip to work with disadvantaged kids in Zambia. As wonderful as the falls were and as amazing as all the wildlife was, the kids in Lusaka were what made the trip worthwhile.
We went with an organization called Family Legacy Missions International. My oldest son, Josh, actually works on staff for them and while this was my first trip, my wife was going for her fourth time. I had a pretty good idea what to expect from Zambia, because I have heard all the stories from Julie and Josh about the kids in Zambia.
To say that mission trips are not my thing would be an understatement, but what I had to learn on this trip is it really is not about me or what I think my limited abilities may be. What God expected from me was just to show up and He was more than able to take care of the rest of the details, which he did in a big way. I could probably go on for pages about my experience in Zambia, but in order to not loose you the audience I want to focus on just a couple of important things.
1. I learned that we don't take the devil serious to our own detriment. In America, we have turned satan into a cartoon character and think we have him beat. The truth is he has effectively sidelined what is supposed to be the most powerful Christian nation in the world, just by allowing us to believe we already won and so we become apathetic. I have witnessed the real deal in action and I am here to tell you that you should be very scared. He certainly is no cartoon character.
2. I learned that it really is NOT about me. God has absolutely no need to glorify my abilities, all he needs me to do is show up somewhere. Preferably somewhere so outside my comfort zone that there is no doubt who will be honored when something awesome happens and if you show up something awesome WILL happen.
3. Finally, I learned that no matter how bad we think things are here in the US, we have no idea what really doing without means and no matter how hard we try we have misplaced our priorities. I had the good fortune to meet people who truly have nothing and yet they are happier than some of the most financially successful folks I know. If you think the "American Dream" is where it is at, I challenge you to get outside yourself for a week and find out what really matters.
And read the next 10 pages to learn more about "My boys".
To say that mission trips are not my thing would be an understatement, but what I had to learn on this trip is it really is not about me or what I think my limited abilities may be. What God expected from me was just to show up and He was more than able to take care of the rest of the details, which he did in a big way. I could probably go on for pages about my experience in Zambia, but in order to not loose you the audience I want to focus on just a couple of important things.
1. I learned that we don't take the devil serious to our own detriment. In America, we have turned satan into a cartoon character and think we have him beat. The truth is he has effectively sidelined what is supposed to be the most powerful Christian nation in the world, just by allowing us to believe we already won and so we become apathetic. I have witnessed the real deal in action and I am here to tell you that you should be very scared. He certainly is no cartoon character.
2. I learned that it really is NOT about me. God has absolutely no need to glorify my abilities, all he needs me to do is show up somewhere. Preferably somewhere so outside my comfort zone that there is no doubt who will be honored when something awesome happens and if you show up something awesome WILL happen.
3. Finally, I learned that no matter how bad we think things are here in the US, we have no idea what really doing without means and no matter how hard we try we have misplaced our priorities. I had the good fortune to meet people who truly have nothing and yet they are happier than some of the most financially successful folks I know. If you think the "American Dream" is where it is at, I challenge you to get outside yourself for a week and find out what really matters.
And read the next 10 pages to learn more about "My boys".
Alick
Alick lives in 3 rooms with no electricity with his mom, dad, 4 sisters and brother. Alick attends community school where he is in 5th grade. Math is his favorite subject and he wants to be a lawyer when he grows up.
Alick worries about having time to study for school, because he has to help his brother work to earn money for the family. A sponsor would insure Alick has the opportunity to stay in school.
Alick worries about having time to study for school, because he has to help his brother work to earn money for the family. A sponsor would insure Alick has the opportunity to stay in school.
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