June Newsletter

Good things are happening in Guatemala through the ministry of Youth With A Mission. If you would like to read the June Newsletter follow this Link.

Inseparable Love

⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 (Romans 8:38–39).

I just returned from being away for almost a month visiting my family, churches and individual who have been supporting me as well as the YWAM Antigua base.  It was a different trip for me than what I had expected but it was also very good.

My mom had just been released from the hospital after being very sick from an intestinal infection and then having congestive heart failure.  When she was home she was very weak and there were several times when I thought she was going to die.  On the days I was not traveling to churches and individuals I was at my mom's home caring for her as she could not do much of anything on her own. She has congestive heart failure so water accumulates around her lungs and heart and it will eventually lead to her death.  There is no timeline as to when but she is 92 years old and is ready to move on to her final destination with Jesus.  I am so thankful that death cannot separate us from the love of God.  There is great comfort in that for those who are in Christ Jesus.

While I was home my brother's father-in-law died expectantly from a heart attack.  His heart stopped beating in the ambulance and they were able to revive him.  A surgery was schedule the next day but he was not well enough to endure it and died before it could be done.  He was a believer in Christ and has gone on with the Lord.

Also while I was gone Florecita our cook for many years lost her father.  I know it was hard for her and her family.  She took care of her dad and had a special love for him.  He too was a believer and is now in the presence of the Lord.

Death is inevitable for all of us and the passing of loved ones is never easy but it is great comfort knowing that nothing will ever separate from the love of God.  Only believers in Christ have this assurance and this takes away some of the pain we feel when life ends for those we love.

This past week I was in Honduras for a YWAM meeting and met the base director from Siguatepeque.  She lost her husband who died of an infection he contracted in his lungs while getting cancer treatment in a hospital in Mexico.  She is young, in her mid-30's with 5 children to raise and a base to direct.  I do not know how she does it, but God has given her grace and support to be able to continue the work of the ministry she and her husband started. She gave testimony that when her husband died something came over her, like a power or anointing that gave her strength that she could not explain.  I was as though God's love was poured out upon her and his presence was evident in a special way. 

Nothing can separate us from the love of God.  In the time we need his love and assurance the most, he comes through.

I cannot imagine what it is like for someone who is not in Christ who is facing death.  The fear of death and the uncertainty of the future would be difficult to face.

Those who are in Christ have the promise of his abiding eternal love to always be with us.  Jesus experienced the love of his father and he knew that his death would not separate him eternally from him.  Jesus knew where he had come from and he knew where he was going. 

¹⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. (Jn 8:14)

Whatever would happen to him while he walked on earth would not change his identity nor his destiny.  It is the same for each of us.  We can live with this confidence and assurance that gives us liberty and freedom to do whatever God has called us to do.  Paul writes in the preceding verses,

 "³⁵ Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:35-37)

Paul faced all of these things but he did not see himself as a victim but a conqueror.  These things do not have the power to separate us from God.  They may take our lives but it does not affect our identity or our destiny. God’s love is our security and our victory. It is this love that moves the heart of the lost toward him and it is especially true in the conversion of many Muslims.

I was able to read a couple of books that were about Muslims who have come to Christ.  It is estimated that 25% of the Muslims who have become believers have had visions and dreams of Jesus.  In many of these experiences Jesus appears to them and confirms his love for them.  The Muslim god Allah is not known as a god of love by his followers.  The concept of a loving God is foreign to them and when he appears to them there is an overwhelming sense of love that they experience.

One of the books I recommend to you is entitled, "Seeking Allah, finding Jesus."  It is the true story of Nabeel Queresh who was a devote Muslim converted to Christ.  He was raised Muslim and was indoctrinated from his youth to oppose Christianity.  While in the university he met a Christian who began a friendship with him.  Through his friendship he was challenged to investigate both his beliefs about Christianity and Islam.  Nabeel had 3 visions from the Lord that shook his faith when he understood what they meant.  Over several years of questioning and investigating he came to the conclusion that the truth was found in Jesus, not in Mohammed.  Yet knowing the truth it was still difficult for him to make the decision to reject Islam which would also mean rejection by his parents who were devote Muslims.  He literally went through a time of mourning thinking of how his decision would affect his parents.  But the day came when he saw clearly from the Lord that he needed to make the decision.

"As soon as I entered the apartment, I went straight to the bookcase and retrieved my old Quran and my study Bible.  I sat down on the couch and opened the Quran first.  I flipped through the pages, looking for verses of comfort, at first carefully reading each page for the subject matter, then more quickly thumbing through the index, then frantically flipping from page to page, hoping for something, anything, that would comfort me.

There was nothing there for me.  It depicted a god of conditional concern, one who would not love me if I did not perform to my utmost in pleasing him, one who seemed to take joy in sending his enemies into the hellfire.  It did not speak to the broken nature of man, let alone directly to the broken man in need of God's love.  It was a book of laws, written for the seventh century.

Looking for a living word, I put the Quran down and picked up the Bible.

I had never read the Bible for personal guidance before.  I did not even know where to start.  I figured the New Testament would be a good place, so I opened to the beginning of Matthew.  Within minutes I found these words: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  The words were like a current sent through my dead heart, electrifying it once more. This is what I was looking for.  It was as if God had written these words in the Bible two thousand years prior specifically with me in mind.

Nabeel came to realize that he needed to deny himself and take up his cross and follow Jesus. It was not about him but all about following Jesus.  He writes, "How could I consider myself a follower of Jesus if I was not willing to live as He lived? To die as he died? To love the unloved and give hope to the hopeless?  This not about me.  It is about Him and His love for his children.

Nabeel had experienced the love of God and nothing could separate him from His love.

Another book by Tom Doyle entitled, "Dreams and Visions is Jesus awakening the Muslim World" recounts testimonies of Muslims from different parts of the world who have met Jesus. One story is about a lady named Jamilla.

Jamilla had several visits with Jesus in her sleep. She had encountered Christians in the medical clinic whom she confided her dreams.  In one dream she said Jesus appeared to her and told her that the people in the clinic loved her because he loved her.  She felt his arms around her as an expression of his love for her.  She said, "I felt his love, and I didn't want Him to leave."    The love of Jesus as well as the love of Christians toward Muslims is the number one reason Muslims come to faith in Christ. "In surveys of Muslim-background believers, the love they see between believers and the love offered to them topped the list of reasons they became Jesus followers. It's not just the dream thing.  Whether reaching out to a Muslim or a Jew, love makes the crucial difference."

The intense and personal love of Jesus is a sustaining factor for those who are experiencing persecution and execution because of their belief in the Truth found only in Jesus.  Truth combined with love is a powerful combination that empowers people to endure great hardships for the cause of Christ.

Christ's love displayed and demonstrated through our lives paves the way for people to receive the truth.  The visions and dreams that Muslims have are not sufficient in most cases to bring salvation.  The message of the gospel must still be explained to them.

Josh McDowell in an article entitled "Visions and Dreams" quotes the following story.

"In one African Muslim country, a young man violently tore up a Bible tract and threatened the life of the Every Home For Christ worker going door-to-door with the literature, Dick Eastman of Colorado Springs-based EHFC told NIRR.  The next afternoon as the worker sat in his home, he was shocked to see the man knock at his door.  "I must have another booklet,” the Muslim told him.  He explained that the previous night two hands awakened him, and when he turned on the light and asked who was there, a voice said, "You have torn up the truth. " the voice instructed him to acquire another booklet, directing him to the EFHC worker's home, the young man said.  There, the Muslim read the booklet and became a believer.  He has since been expelled from is wealthy family, lives with EHFC's Africa director, and is preparing for ministry to Muslims."

Love and truth are our greatest weapons in winning the lost to Christ whether they are Muslims or followers of any other religion.

The inseparable love of Christ in us and the love of Christ for the lost, must be the compelling forces to share the truth of the gospel. 

Nothing can separate us from His love so we can move forward in boldness in our demonstration of love and proclamation of the truth. Separation anxiety is a condition we never have to face as believers.  Humans and animals can experience this.  I did not realize this was possible with animals but a friend of mine told me of the problem they discovered with their dog when they left her in the car by herself.  When they returned the windows were fogged over from her panting and the whole interior of the car was covered with saliva from her panting.  Children also are subject to this when they are insecure or have been abandoned.  We will never have to experience this with God, his love will never cause us to feel separated from him.

We have the security of his love and the security of our identity and our destiny.  We know where we have come from, we know what the Truth is and we know where we are going.  We are wrapped in arms of love to carry us through every situation we may face.

Rest in this love, be reassured in this love and be motivated by this love each day in our service to Christ.