I sit in another “bedroom office” in my son’s home in California. I will be here for 3 weeks. Randy is back home in West Virginia, after traveling the last two weekends, participating in first a men’s retreat in Maryland and then a youth retreat in New Jersey. We have prayed much for, and Randy has put countless hours of study into preparing for, these weekend ministries. We believe God has used Randy in the lives of these men and young people, and the churches to which he preached, accomplishing what He wanted to accomplish in their lives during these short times of teaching and preaching. Beginning and carrying on His work in His people. We count it a privilege to be co-laborers with God in His vineyard.
Now Randy and our WV staff are gearing up big time for our summer home repair ministry. Our interns are arriving and training has begun in earnest! The first week of June volunteers begin arriving to serve with their families or youth groups, working to give the people of eastern McDowell County a better life, physically and spiritually.

Your prayers and ongoing financial support are like the fuel which keeps Mustard Seeds and Mountains chugging along! Continue to hold us up in prayer. If you’d like specific prayer requests contact me at Jacque@mustardseeds.org. Consider, in these economic hard times, financially supporting the ministry!

As I’ve been reading through the book of John I keep coming upon gems and want to share them with you. I was reading yet in chapter one and ran into Nathanael. Fascinating fellow. Then as I was writing about him, my thoughts took me down another path, one I didn’t see until I was on top of it. But I recognized it after a bit. I’d been down this path before. I’ve been learning and am always convicted….

Read on.

I wish I knew more about Nathanael. We are given a glimpse of him, but only a tiny glimpse shrouded in mystery. Jesus and Nathanael knew what Jesus’ words meant when He said He saw Nathanael under the fig tree, but we have to surmise their meaning (John 1: 43-51).

Jesus left Judea, where John the Baptizer had baptized Him, and where he had garnered a few disciples, and headed back to Galilee. This was His home country, up north of Jerusalem (yes, Jesus was a northerner).

Philip was from Bethsaida, the home town of Andrew and Peter, located near the Sea of Galilee, and when Jesus found Philip, He called him to follow Him. Jesus found Philip and then Philip found Nathanael, telling him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” I’m sure Philip was excited. To be certain they had found the promised Deliverer, the Savior of Israel, the Messiah; this was good news indeed!

Nathanael is somewhat skeptical, however, knowing the reputation of the city of Nazareth, a gentile stronghold. Where there were gentiles who didn’t worship the True God, there was all manner of evil goings-on, contrary to the teachings of the Law of Moses. It was not the best “neighborhood” to live in or come from. Because of their proximity to unbelieving gentiles, Nazarene Jews were looked down on. Hence, Nathanael’s comment, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Yet here was Philip, convinced he’s found the Messiah, the One promised from God. So he invites Nathanael to “Come and see”. See for yourself before you judge.

This is actually a good practice, to judge by the life and character of a person, rather than the reputation of the place he comes from. Many a godly man and woman have come from less than commendable backgrounds. They may have had to endure the censure and rejection of “good Christian” people, pressing on in their walk with the Lord in spite of, rather than because of, the Christian community. How tragic.

This should not be but I fear is the case all too often. We have our “Nazareth’s” today, in every community, and Christian people often avoid those who live there. People don’t want “that kind” messing up their comfortable ways, dirtying the carpet of the church, breaking anything. We’ve seen this when it comes to opening the doors of the “church”, meaning the church building, to the rapscallions in the neighborhood, the unwashed and unchurched children living in close proximity to the church building. God forbid they should trample the hallowed halls of “God’s house” in order to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them. Sometimes I wonder what god some people worship in their zeal to protect his property.

This should not be! If Sunday school and VBS are only for the children of church-goers (and I believe they should have this benefit), not for those “outside” the church, then we have failed in our understanding of the gospel! We have failed to understand the God of the gospel. We’ve even lost the spirit in which the Sunday School movement got its start (google Robert Raikes and the Sunday School Movement).

And when those whose lives were once in shambles, whose reputations were sullied by their way of life; when these repent and turn in faith to Christ and enter the sacred halls of our church, do we open our arms in loving embrace, to nurture them in the faith and love of God? Or do we hold them at arm’s length, waiting for them to “prove” themselves by adopting our brand of “Christian” lifestyle before we welcome them into the family of God?

God has chosen, not the wise and cultured according to the world, not the powerful and well respected; but God has chosen rather the foolish, the poor, the outcasts, the rejects of the world to show to the world the strength and wisdom of God (I Cor. 1:26-29). These are those who recognized themselves for what they were and received the gospel of God with humble hearts; so the glory, and power and honor would go to the one God….He will share His glory with no other.

So “what good can come from the 'hood'? ” as a community developer in an urban setting used to say? Oh my! When God redeems a man, and he is wholly committed to Christ…the world has not yet seen what can be done, as another man of God once said.

Did good come out of Nazareth? Was it possible for a man of God to arise from the dung heap of humanity? You and I have salvation today, if indeed you have trusted that same Jesus as your Lord and Savior, because something good did come from Nazareth.

And we can be the agents of other “good” coming from the rejects of our cities and neighborhoods—pick out the worst in your community—if we are willing to go to them with the life-changing good news of Jesus Christ…of Nazareth. If we are willing to soil our hands to love, in Jesus’ name, those whom the world despises…but whom God loves; if we will extend ourselves to proclaim to the unlovely the matchless grace of Jesus, we will see “the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man”, as Jesus said.

It may not be easy, but it will be the right thing. Eternally right.

It seems John, the apostle, gets excited in his first chapter as he introduces Jesus and John the Baptizer. He seems to switch back and forth between them, almost tripping over his own feet. There is so much to tell! It is all so important!

That is how I began to feel about this chapter the more I read it. John introduces the Word, who is God and was with God in the beginning. He is the life and Light come into the world. He made everything and everyone… yet is known by none; recognized by no one, rejected by most.

Enter John, sent from God. His task is to announce the coming of this One who is God, who is coming as a man among us. This is no ordinary appearance. We must get ready for Him.

I find it fascinating that, though John (the Baptizer) grew up knowing Jesus (he was a relative), and he had a sense of Jesus being above the need to repent and be baptized (Matthew 3: 13-15), he didn’t know that Jesus was the coming, promised Messiah until he saw on Jesus the identifying sign given him by God. It was when he saw the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, “descending and remaining on Him”, John knew and announced “this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1:33-34).

What an exciting moment that was! All John had lived for was folded into that moment, that revelation. The Messiah had come and John was His forerunner, His herald, to tell everyone “This is The One! Get your hearts and lives ready before God to receive the promised King!”

Jesus came and no one expected Him. That is, they didn’t recognize He was the One who would be the fulfillment of all God’s prophecies about the coming Deliverer. Their preconceived notions about their God and His Savior blinded their eyes to the truth.

But there were some who were waiting, looking for the Messiah, and when John announced His arrival, they lit out after Him.

“Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus….One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him,was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘we have found the Messiah’ (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus…” (John 1:35-37, 40-42).

I’ve always loved this about Andrew; I’ve always wished I were more like him. He was spiritually attune, waiting and watching, ready to leave home and family in pursuit of the Messiah, his great heartbeat. He became a disciple of John in anticipation of discovering and following the Messiah. His heart resonated with the message of John the Baptizer. As far as we can tell from this account, he was one of Jesus’ first followers. And he was vocal in announcing he had found the promised Messiah and went to get others to follow too. His first stop was his own family: Simon Peter.

I want to be one who is spiritually attuned to God, to recognize Jesus when He comes. How so, when Jesus already “came”? He speaks in the Word of God, and I need to recognize His voice and obey. He comes into my life in strange disguises; I do not want to reject Him because of my preconceived notions, my spiritual blindness to God and his truth.

Just because I once put my faith in Jesus to forgive my sins and give me eternal life; just because I do all the acceptable external acts such as church attendance and reading of my Bible and even prayer; just because I do these things, doesn’t mean my heart is in tune with God.

Israel, as a nation, did all the right religious acts but broke God’s heart and brought down His wrath on them because they persisted in living a double life, doing abominable things the world around them did and acting like it was nothing; stopping their ears to the voice of God through His prophets.

Today we can be just like that, and I do not want to be like that! Reading the Old Testament is eye opening and instructive. It was given us so we would learn not to act the way others had who called themselves by the Name of God and lived in disobedience to Him.

It is also instructive to learn from reading the Old Testament God loves those who love and fear Him, whose hearts are humble toward God and kind toward other people. The way of God is so pure, clean and refreshing…these are the inner feelings I’ve had often when I read the goodness of His ways in scripture. Those who seek after Him know His goodness and kindness. Being in the word of God helps give perspective and keep my heart attuned to God.

This is where Andrew was. Those who seek after the Lord with all their hearts, like Andrew, will be able to recognize and so follow that Lord.

Jesus went on to gather more disciples, those learners and followers who were with Him for the next three years, and who became the backbone of the fledgling church Jesus left when he returned to heaven and His Father.

He is still gathering those whose hearts yearn for Him, for the living God. He is still saying “Follow Me”, still teaching His disciples, the learners of His ways. He is like that train which runs through my yard and the nearby towns, calling with every blast of the train whistle, “Get on board!”

Get on board.

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. v6

I love the way God has always reached out to us. He sent a man, this time John. From the time He made the world He had been sending men to speak to other men on His behalf (Hebrews 1). This is not the behavior of an aloof and unconcerned God.

He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. v7

John, not to be confused with John the apostle, the writer of this book, but John the son of Zacharias, a priest, and Elizabeth, a relative of Mary of Nazareth (Luke 1). John, who became known as the Baptizer, knew he had a mission to accomplish. And he set about to accomplish it.

He (John) was not that Light but came to testify about the Light….John testified about Him, and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” vv 8, 15

John pulled no punches. I think he was a “what you see is what you get” kind of guy. And he was a sight to see. He was not your conventional next door neighbor type. He may have been a little scary (Matthew 3: 4). But what he had to say was riveting. He called people to repent--oh that nastiest of words! “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).

But people by the score came to him, scary or strange or not, repenting of their sins and as a sign of their repentance, were being baptized by John. But what was it all about? The kingdom of heaven is near. So what? Does that mean anything to us? The promised Deliverer, the Christ, was about to appear, that’s all! Get ready! They couldn’t receive the Christ, the King, in their “dirty clothes” of life. They had to change, wash up in baptism.

Does sin matter to us? I read these verses and go “yea!” for the ones who came repenting, seeking to make their hearts and lives ready for their King who would rule the coming Kingdom. They knew they were sinners and needed to change the way they lived.

Of course, there were also those who came skeptically and even scornfully, acting a part but with no intention of changing their lives. John had some choice words for them, let me tell you. No, he wasn’t a guy who pulled punches or suffered hypocrites well (Matthew 3:5-12). And if they couldn’t fool John, how in the world did they think they could fool the coming King of the coming kingdom?

So when these same men questioned John about who he thought he was to be doing all this preaching and baptizing--was he the coming king, or a prophet? John was clear, he was not the king to come, the Christ; he was a ‘voice’ announcing Him, getting the roadway prepared for His appearance.

This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ”….”I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” vv. 19, 20, 23

John knew his calling, his mission. He pointed to the coming Christ, the King of the kingdom coming upon them. He, the Christ, was greater than John and John acknowledged it.

John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie….I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifest to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” vv26, 27, 31

So who was this Christ, this King, the One no one recognized?

(All scriptures NASB)

John, the apostle, was a poet, an artist with words. Once known, along with his brother James, as a Son of Thunder, a man of explosive passions, he later expressed himself, not without those same passions, but controlled, directed. In imagination-capturing words he unpacks “The Word” before us.

John had that gift for expressing truth in that delicate yet powerful form we call poetry. If John were here today he might be heard presenting his poetry as “spoken word”, the currently popular presentation of the truths of God’s word in poetical form in what we call “rapping”. It can be a powerful means of telling the truths of scripture.

Listen, and hear, what John is telling us. I read it slowly and thoughtfully to let the words sink in, representing it by spacing out the phrases.

In the beginning

was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God. Jn 1: 1

The Word…what is a word but the spoken expression of a thought in the mind? This Thought was in the mind of God. The thought takes on form when it is spoken into the atmosphere. The hearer can then experience the thought which was in the mind of the speaker. Not only is this Thought-into-Word spoken from the mind of God, this Thought-now-Word, is God Himself.

He was in the beginning with God. v 2

The Thought is the Word. And this particular Word was spoken by God Himself and, in fact, this Word is God. He always was with God because He always was God.

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. v 3

It was by His Word that God created. “And God said…” (Genesis 1). The Word is God the Creator. Of all things. Of us.

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. v 4

In this Word is life itself. This life was breathed into us in Adam (Genesis 2:7). So we all live by the breath of God. There is no other life from which to draw our life.

And this life-in-the-Word shines out as Light into the darkness of our existence. I feel the darkness. Our existence in the world depicted as “darkness” is right, is true. There is a world of truth wrapped up in this word, Darkness. But I want to look at the Light.

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overpower it. v 5

Light, by its nature, cuts through darkness, changing darkness to light. This is such an amazing truth! I flip on the light switch at night in a dark room and Voila!, I can see! I do not have to stumble over anything in the dark and injure myself. I am much more aware of such injury these days. The light reveals what is in the darkness. So I can then avoid those little tripping monsters.
Tremendous relief in this phrase: “and the darkness did not overpower it (the Light)”. Darkness has no power to extinguish or overpower light—or the Light. On the contrary, Light will always show up darkness. I know walking around in the darkness is dangerous, so I turn on the lights. How much more dangerous is walking, that is, living, in the darkness which the Light came to shine into?

So we have the ever-existing Word of God, the spoken expression of the Thought of God, which Word is God Himself, creating all that is, giving us His life. And in that life the Light which illumines our darkness, our far-away-from-God-ness. This Light gives us the Hope of God-nearness. Restored.

For once, long ago, there was no darkness.

Just a few words, unfolding, unwrapping truth upon truth, so simply, so beautifully, so powerfully.

But how do we know, how can we personally know this Light, this Word, this God?

John has only begun.

(All scriptures NASB)

Where in the world are Randy and Jacque Wallace, California or West Virginia? And what in the world are they doing?

If you had asked that first question a month ago I would have answered, yes and yes. I was in California and Randy was in West Virginia, and traveling to some other states as well. We flew out in early December to CA to winter out there and Randy came back east early February, I stayed in CA until early March.

And what about the second question? For me, I have been doing pretty much the same as always, dealing with prospective summer mission teams and other responsibilities I’ve been tasked with (none very exciting, which suits me fine). However, since I got back to WV I’ve been stricken (yes! A good term for this!) with severe allergies apparently brought on by the dangerously high pollen counts so early in the season. Good medical attention after a week of slogging it alone, much prayer by many friends, and the hand of the Good Physician, are finally bringing relief.

Randy, on the other hand, is just now starting his allergies. Do pray for him. Job wise, he has new responsibilities as the ministry of Mustard Seeds and Mountains is changing. Among the many things he is doing is development of training materials to go with the book, Mission as Life. He did teaching in various points across the US this winter and will continue to do so this spring, and of course, with the teams all summer as they cycle through week by week. We are excited about these new doors opening as we see the hand of God directing the work.

Now, back in WV, we are gearing up more and more for our summer ministry; hiring summer college interns, taking applications for home repair from local folks and bringing in spring teams. Soon May will be here and the arrival of interns, their training instituted by Randy and Lacy.

I hope you will take the time to read the Seeds of Hope newsletter coming out soon (if you do not regularly receive these but wish to, please email me at Jacque@mustardseeds.org and we will add you to either the email list or postal mailing list. Please specify which you prefer). It holds a lot of important information about where God is leading the ministry. We are excited about the direction in which God is taking Mustard Seeds and Mountains, using the gifts He has given Randy in a fuller way than ever before.

Please continue to pray for us as we look ahead and move forward, stepping out in faith in many ways to accomplish what we believe God wants us to do. Pray for increased financial support to continue to do what God is calling us to do.

Thoughts on Mark 13 and 14

Peter was confident. He was a leader. He usually stepped boldly into the fray, no matter what it was about, slinging a fisherman’s net, a sword, or words. So as a follower of Jesus he was true to his nature, boldly declaring his heartfelt intentions and loyalty. When Jesus told the group of 11 they would all abandon Him when He was arrested and crucified, Peter declared he would never do that, even if others did. The others all said the same kinds of things. Peter declared he would even go to death with Him, but never deny Him. He was truly sincere.

But he was sincerely wrong. He wouldn’t believe it until after it happened just the way Jesus predicted it would: this very night you yourself will deny me three times before the rooster
crows. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

I always find it difficult to start reading passages like Mark chapter 14, the record of the arrest and trial of Jesus. The events are so painful, and not only because of the obvious suffering of Jesus, but painful because I see my own failures and fears reflected in the disciples’ behavior. They were all confident in themselves that they would never abandon the Lord; they refused to believe they would ever run away and leave him in the lurch. Even after He told them they would.

And they all did.

Jesus had repeatedly warned them of what was coming for Him, His arrest and death. But they hadn’t accepted it and so were unprepared for it. They had refused to believe what Jesus had told them several times. Peter’s insistence that he would never deny the Lord only served to blind his eyes and mind to the awful reality coming upon them.

Then in the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus took Peter, James and John further into the garden with him, He said to them, ‘Watch with me while I pray. Watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation.’

We know they gave in to sleep rather than stay awake and pray. Three times Jesus gave them a chance to “watch and pray” while He went and agonized in prayer alone. They failed each time.

Most of us will sympathize with the disciples and feel guilt for the times we have slept rather than stay awake and wrestle in prayer; I know I do. We have an especially hard time when we are not quite sure what is going on yet have sensed God prompting us to pray for something.
We know, don’t we, the truth of Jesus’ words “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”?

Oh how weak in ourselves we truly are! We want to do what is right but struggle so often. And not just in the area of prayer but in the way we live out our lives day after day.

So what of Jesus’ “end of the age” warnings to his followers (Mark 13)? He instructed them, and in so doing, us, about what was going to come in the future before His return. Jesus has told us to not be misled about who He is and His return to earth; to be on our guard, for both persecution and opportunity to testify about Jesus will come; our lives will be threatened and some will be put to death, even by loved ones. We are warned to take heed to (pay attention to and obey) Jesus’ teachings; and keep on the alert to read the signs of His coming and live in readiness for it. At least 6 times in this chapter Jesus gave strict warnings to be alert and on our guard when He was describing things to come!

We are living in those very times Jesus was talking about. We are the ones who are called upon to be alert and awake, guard against being misled, live in radical obedience to Christ and watch for his appearing. We are the ones called on to stand for Jesus even when it means losing our lives for Him.

As I read the account of Peter’s confident denial that he would ever deny the Lord, when Jesus announced that all His followers would desert Him in the end (Mark 14), it struck me that these “end of the age” warnings of Jesus (Mark 13) are very much like His commands to Peter, James and John in the garden of Gethsemane. He told them to watch and pray. They were confident in themselves that all was well with their spiritual lives. They would never do anything to hurt Jesus. But they did, to their amazement and shame.

Scripture states that in the end there will be a great falling away from the faith, that “the love” of many will grow cold. I am sure everyone who professes faith in Christ today would deny they’d ever do anything like Peter did, who denied the Lord to save his own skin. But are we so far superior to Peter?

Am I confident in my loyalty to Jesus, but ‘asleep’? Are we, the church of Jesus Christ, asleep? Are we thinking of only our own plans and goals, our stomachs full and our heads drowsy with sleep, heedless of Jesus’ warnings and instructions to us? Are we trusting in our own good intentions? And, oh, we are truly sincere in our intentions and loyalty to Jesus.

When we were on staff at the U.S. Center for World Mission, I remember founder Ralph Winter calling believers to a “wartime” lifestyle, recalling the government-imposed disciplines on lifestyle during World War II, appealing to us to self-impose such disciplines for the sake of advancing the Kingdom of God. In the same vein, Randy has been teaching for years the truths from the Bible about the Kingdom of God, and calling us to align our lives with God’s purposes, the subject of the book Mission as Life: Making the Kingdom of God Your Family’s Passion. We are not to pursue the “American Dream” lifestyle but the Kingdom of God lifestyle.

Do we know what God’s Kingdom and purposes are? Are we changing our lifestyles to reflect them? We are confident that we believe and know God’s truths; are we doing them? Are we truly “taking heed” to Jesus’ warnings and instructions?

I ask myself these questions (you just get to listen in). I do not want to deceive myself. He has given us His Word, and His spirit to help us understand it. I do not want to ignore the unpleasant things Jesus told us and grab hold of the “promises” that feel good and safe, that make me feel special.

And one day wake up to realize I have abandoned the Lord.

Just as He warned His disciples of His imminent death, Jesus has given us warnings of things that will happen before His imminent return. I do not want to have deaf ears to the hard things He has to say, trusting in a manufactured spirituality which will culminate in my failure to stand for Jesus. I want to be among those who “take heed” to, and obey, Jesus’ instructions and commands. I want to evaluate my life by the Word of God and make changes consistent with obeying Jesus’ words, being alert and ready for His imminent return.

Imminent means “about to happen”….

“Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.”

“Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep.”

“What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’” (Mark 13: 33-37)

Ya’ll, we are the “all”.

Every Thursday we on staff at Mustard Seeds pray together. We meet now on that day as the day designated to pray for revival and the out-pouring of God’s spirit in our county.

Today I turned to John 11 and read that passage. You know, the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. There is so much emotion in this chapter. Not only were Martha and Mary and many of their friends and neighbors weeping for the loss of Lazarus, who had died 4 days earlier, but Jesus was deeply moved in his spirit and also wept. He loved these friends Lazarus, Martha and Mary.

Death is an unwanted intruder. Jesus told his disciples Lazarus died so God could be glorified, and so “the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Jesus had to stay away so he wouldn’t short circuit God’s plan. It was very difficult, heart rending for Jesus.

But the thing which jumped out at me was this: when Jesus, having been directed to the tomb in a cave, cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth”, John says “the man who had died came forth.”

The man who had died came forth.

There was no question the man, Lazarus, had died. He was dead. He had been lying immobile in the tomb for 4 days.

But at the command of Jesus, the man who had died…came forth! He came hopping out on his own power! He who had been dead was now alive!

The man who had died came forth bound hand and foot in grave clothes…but he came out. Jesus told those standing there to “unbind him and let him go.”

As I read these amazing words I got choked up, for I saw in my mind’s eye the people of my county of McDowell, so dead spiritually, come forth alive at the command of Jesus! This could happen. We desire it to happen. We have been praying God send forth his spirit to do a powerful, mysterious work in those who are blind and dead spiritually.

We have also been praying God send forth his spirit to awaken and strengthen his church, first of all. Why? Because of that second command of Jesus, “unbind him, and let him go.”

Those who come to Jesus have all sorts of “grave clothes” bound tightly around them. They have old sins to shed and new ways, the ways of God, to learn. We, God’s church, are the ones who have to “unbind” and “let go” the newly alive!

We have to be in the Word, teaching and encouraging one another and then we have to reach out, teaching and serving those coming to Christ.

There is a harvest coming. I pray we, His people, are ready for it. I pray God pour out his spirit on us and the needy world of the spiritually blind and dead around us, wherever we live.