A Full Net

I'm thinking about the disciples who spent the night out fishing and caught nothing. How often do we feel discouraged when the goals haven't been met, the situation hasn't been changed, and all our efforts seems to be wasted? We can work all night if we are promised that full net of fish. But without any catch...

Then comes a voice across the waters to us. "No success? Cast your net on the right side and you will find." Try again? What difference will it make? 

It wasn't time to argue - just to believe and obey the promise. And as the net filled, it was time to recognize the One they had been seeking all along. The Master. It wasn't the fish they had really been wanting after all, it was the knowledge that their lives had purpose and that they heard Jesus voice once again, knew His approval, and could show their love for Him. 

Maybe you would throw yourself into the sea like Peter, or like the rest of the disciples, drag in the full net of fish. Jesus was pleased with both responses. After all, He has a purpose for both the impetuous and the steady in His work. The question really is, do we love Him most? Are we after the full net - or knowing that we have obeyed His voice and delighted in His will? 

It has been good to hear brother Lawrence's report of how the Lord has blessed their "casting out the net again" in his recent trip to the coast. The call to come help with a funeral service hadn't looked promising - there wasn't even funds to cover his travel expenses and the last news of the Malindi congregation had been disheartening. But the minister felt compelled to go, and God has multiplied the blessings. He shares: 

"Thank you very much Dear Ones for prayers. I am now back at Makindu and gratefully rejoicing over God's gracious dealings at the Coast. [A fallen minister] was at the altar of prayer weeping and asking God to forgive Him. He asked others, too, to forgive him and is now ready to make restitution. Please, remember him, and also his wife, in prayer. Both had backslid and wept as they prayed for forgiveness. 

[North of Malindi] there are other congregations budding up each with an average of 40 adults. Mpeketoni is a small town that has mushroomed recently in the northern coast of Kenya and is closer to Lamu. God has given us a favor in the area and quite a good number are getting saved. The immigrant population in the area is very hungry for more of God... [several] are quick to embrace truth. I have not been in a place so favored with zeal, humility, and the love for God. It is wonderful... Surely the grace of God is enough for me. Praise the Lord. Please, pray for the seekers of the truth in the area. We need to teach and feed these people. Please, pray on."

    
Do we also know Jesus as the source and meaning of our efforts today? May we leave all our prejudice, our fears, our failings, our cares and trust Him to be the Master of our lives. Then we can cast out the net at His bidding and bring the catch to Him. Does it matter whether we have little or much to show for our labor? Jesus is working out His purposes and what a joy it is to follow Him!

Image courtesy of noomhh / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Ask ye of the Lord

"Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain..." Zech. 10:1

Why should we be asking for things that seem normal and expected? That is a question worth pondering. As I read the following verse, the truth started to sink in: "For the idols have spoken vanity." How often do we really consider how dependent we are on the Creator and Sustainer of the universe? In our modern self-sufficiency, we don't even turn to idols for our answers... or do we? In the basic sense of the word, anything we esteem more than God is an idol. My financial resources, my friends and supporters, my own reasoning and abilities to "make things happen" can easily become my idol. But what they promise me is deceiving. They can't give me what I really need in life. Not even basic, simple things - like rain. How wonderful to realize that it is my privilege to ask God to provide for the common and daily needs I face! And to believe that He will give me what is best. 

 "Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain, so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field." Zech. 10:1

November is the "rainy season" for the Kenyan savannahs, but this blessing is not taken for granted. At the end of the month, brother Lawrence was thankful to report: "It has been a very busy, but very wet, week here. Even now, as I write, the clouds are heavy with rains hovering over us. Praise the Lord. I have never seen Makindu so favored before. It is a great answer to prayers of a long time.  Please, join us in thanking and praising the Lord for this."

Rain is their hope for food next year - if they can get seeds to plant crops. This need also has been met, as he shares, "God has moved so graciously through some organizations that aid the semi-arid areas [in providing seed] for the brethren at Kitui, Meru south, and even here at Makindu." But planting isn't enough. Past years have brought crop failures because the fields have become parched in the dry spring weather. As the crops grow, let us be asking the LORD for the rains needed to keep them alive until harvest! 

Another need has arisen with the rainy season. Lawrence says, "Bro. Edward's congregation [in the Mount Kenya area] is in a real problem with their roof destroyed by the rains. ...They need [a large sum] for the roofing and pillars for the house of worship. They can fill up the walls gradually when the roof is on and they are safe from the rains. We expect the rains to go on up to the end of December in their area. We are doing all we can to help, but in a very negligible way. If there is any one who can hep in this urgent need, we will be very grateful. But God moves wonderfully in answer to prayer. 

"Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit." (1Thes. 5:17-19).

Starving

"I'm starving!" It's a common understatement, isn't it? In America that usually means that someone is feeling extra hungry by the time their next meal comes around. We take for granted that our stomachs will soon be full, not to mention our taste buds satisfied.

But when the message comes from loved ones in the barren wastes of Kenya, the reality is that there is nothing left to satisfy their need. Hunger is all too common during the tight famine months. They learn to live with an inner emptiness, hoping their strength will hold out until some food can be obtained. Forget taste buds or being full, they are thinking only about surviving.

We've heard little from Makindu these past months: a ministers' meeting was held in July at the Bible Center, and more recently Lawrence has been called out to minister to some that seem hungry for spiritual instruction in Nairobi. But we've known the famine has been on, and our recent update verifies that.

The dear brother wrote: I cannot write long and much, for now. I am far from home and use a computer only when I can get to it. I have been away for about three weeks now and I am not sure when I go back home. I am in real danger where I am now, but souls and bodies are being touched by the Lord. That is all that matters to me. Please, pray on.

I understand that they are starving in my home and congregation. Please, pray. 

It must have been difficult to hear such news when he was so far away, and unable to provide for them. But when the needs go past our resources, God is not limited. Praise the Lord, it wasn't long before brother Lawrence was able to send back the word that an offering had been given just when they needed it most. What relief to know that there would be something to eat, to keep life sustained and renew hope again! 

Most of us haven't ever experienced the stark prospect of starving to death. But there is more to life than our physical bodies - there are the needs of spirit and soul. How often have you faced an emotional crisis or worried over what to do, feeling deep inside the gnawing emptiness of fear? Or just when you need strength to meet the trials of life, you find yourself crumbling under the pressure? Fear and despair can be just as deadly as living without food. Without peace, our soul starves. How can we survive without it?

I'm so thankful that the One who created us with these basic needs also knows how to provide for them! Recently I felt my lack of peace and started to get a bit desperate feeling. I didn't want to be stressed, but I was. Positive thoughts and disciplined effort didn't change anything. What was my problem? I didn't know, but I knew God did. At first praying didn't seem to change anything, but I set my hope on getting help. And I wasn't sent away empty! "Let not your heart be troubled... believe in Me." Have you ever realized the comfort of those words? Believe in Me, Jesus says, just take My Hand and realize that I am all you need.

The whole chapter of John 14 shows us that our source of peace can never be outside of Jesus. The thought of the promised "Comforter" blessed me especially - the One "beside me when I call" is the literal translation, and that was exactly what I needed. The security of His presence, His ability, His power and understanding. Here is the wonderful fulfillment of Jesus' promise to give us His peace that is unaffected by trouble or fear (verse 27). What a comfort to be filled!  

Are you starving for peace today? There is a full supply in Jesus, if you are hungry enough to seek it!

The Lord our Refuge

Do you know the Lord as your refuge today? Whatever we are facing, it is wonderful to consider the power of these words, proven true again in the midst of affliction and famine:

"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.  Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge," (Psa.48:1-3) It is wonderful to have the Lord as our refuge. There is no weapon formed against us that will prosper. Praise the Lord.

Praise the Dear Master who plans and effects His plans in His Kingdom. He has blessed me with some good lessons in the month of May, brother Lawrence relates. I fell sick with what I thought was malaria to begin with, but it has developed to be something else like a high flu coupled with high blood pressure. This illness has kept me in bed for some days of May and I was blessed with a relief only from last Sunday. I am so grateful to God for His healing touch and wonderful blessings in all these things. 

During that time, we were also tried with an acute shortage of funds for our food (as a family). So with me sick, and there being no food in the house, wife and Wilma (our daughter), and grand child were moved to pray and fast. Patrick, my grandson, is only four years and about four months. The thrilling thing about him is that he knows prayer is important and when he goes hungry, he prays audibly in the house. He has prayed for us many times when we were ill. It was a wonderful family prayer time with the family looking up to God for daily supplies. And God, faithful to His word, did supply to all our needs, even though He allowed us to go without food for some of the days. It was a joy to fast as the Lord saw it fit to lead. It is a famine time here at Makindu. But God will see us through.

It looks like we are surrounded from all corners by the enemy and difficulties, but the greatest thing is that there are more with us and around us than those against us. God's angel camps round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. Praise the Lord. We are praying for the dear saints over there. God is certainly on His throne of mercy and all we need is "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb.4:16). He is so faithful that he will never leave nor forsake us.
John's youngest sister, (if you can remember John who prayed for his mother to get a job and testified to her that she would, if she went out looking for it), was very sick and bedridden. The Lord told us to go (wife and I) and anoint her. So we did and immediately, she was able to stand up and walk. We followed this up yesterday and we found her whole and playing. Her mother was working in a garden and testified of the miracle. So we know God is able to undertake for any one in any situation. While we solicit your prayers for ourselves, we are praying for the well being and victory of the saints over there.

The last month and this month have been the worst in recent months (for famine), but the Dear Lord is still on His throne. Please, pray for us some more ardently.

Rejoicing in Hope

"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another... rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality." - Romans 12:10-13

What does it mean to live out this life of love and faith? It is certainly more than feelings or our natural disposition. But how wonderful to see what God's grace will accomplish hearts that are humble and filled with Jesus!

Brother Lawrence is rejoicing that his wife is now "back home, healed and ready to carry on with the service for the Master. Please, pray for her to be given the needed strength  and grace to walk the long trips to the house of worship. Knowing her, she will never want to stay home at service and meeting times." When the new residential building is complete, the Lawrence family is planning to move to the Bible Center. At this point they have a two-mile walk to get there. Please also pray for the need of a refrigerator for fresh vegetables and fruits, which will be important for sister Joyce's health.
 
Lawrence continues: We are praising the Dear Lord for His love and care all the time. Thanks, Dear Ones for the prayers we felt were going up on our behalf. The congregation at Kirege (Mufu) where my Dear wife has been staying, and where I have been coming and preaching several times as I attended to her [during the time of her recovery], is undergoing a wonderful shaking. A good number show a great change and the ones who have been persecuting us have apologized and asked for forgiveness. Please, pray that each individual goes all the way for God. 

We are looking forward to the meeting [starting tomorrow] at Makindu and expecting saints from Meru, Malindi, Nairobi and Embu, besides those from this area of Makindu. Please, please, pray on for this meeting. It is the first big meeting we have held this year. Those we have been holding, in the midst of my travelings to Nairobi and Embu to attend to my wife, are only short Bible studies with the local saints and ministers. Again, please, pray.

We have been plastering the walls of the residential building whenever we are able to afford a few bags of cement and sand. So it is going on slowly. The other big (expensive) undertakings are the drainage, electric wiring and connection, and doors and windows. The Lord has been so good to us and brought us this far and we are so grateful to Him. Praise the Lord.

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A Place Provided

It takes a lot of planning and labor to build a house, even when you narrow it down to the bare minimum of walls and roofing. Considering the additional time and expense of building in this barren region of Kenya, the residential home at the Center has been quite an undertaking. Months of saving and work and waiting and praying have gone into it. But the desire to provide a place for those who are thirsty for the Living Water has urged the work on. It reflects the call that is at the heart of this ministry: 

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!" And let the one who hears say, "Come!" Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. (Rev. 22:17)
  
Like the woman of Shunem, they have seen the need for a place for the people of God to "turn in" when they come by. (See 2 Kings 4:8-11) May the Lord reward them and fulfill the desires of their hearts! 

Here is brother Lawrence's update about the blessing they are already receiving:  
Here are the pictures of the house at the Bible Center. We are praising the Lord for moving and helping us to roof it now. We are finishing the roof. It is such a wonderful blessing for us that the house of worship is ringing with praises to the Lord whenever we have a service. The center has wonderfully been dignified by the grace of the Lord. Praise the Lord.

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Residential house on the left, Bible Center building on the right.

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Precious Timber

What is precious to you? I think of sweet little children, close relationships, special memories... not timber. Planks of wood? But to a builder on the dry savannahs, timber is not only scarce - it is an expensive luxury. You don't use it for framing or walls. Not for floors or fences, either. You save it for the places of necessity, like rafters and ridgepoles. And then you count the cost to import it.

Here is the precious supply of lumber that is now available for completing the house construction at the Bible Center:

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Brother Lawrence writes: The gracious God has been so good to us as to provide us with timber, a very expensive item in this semi arid area of Makindu. Glory to the great Almighty God. His mercies endure for ever and ever.

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Here is the view of the house ready for roofing. As the funds for cement got depleted, we had to use soil instead of the cement. It works as good for our area. Praise the Lord.

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The barbed wire (in the picture below) is ready to be used for tying some of the timber on the roof to secure it against the strong winds of the area.

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The 4x2 planks of timber are now laid on one side of the roof. Praise the Lord.

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What are we taking for granted in our lives? When we start to see our resources, our time, our opportunities... yes, even our interruptions and trials, as valuable investments then we begin to see the bigger picture. Timber is precious for the work of God here in Makindu. What is precious for His work in our lives? May we value what God is doing and invest in that!

So Praise Him!

Isn't it wonderful how God can give us joy in the most unexpected places? Actually, I'm learning that we should expect to see the wonderful in all God does and so praise Him in each need and trouble we face. By doing that, we will receive the joy He has laid up for us. It's there. But don't wait to see it to believe that trusting God is the happiest way to live. Here is brother Lawrence's testimony to that fact:
 
Glory to the Almighty God who knows all the reasons for every thing. Little did I dream of a blessing arising from the illness of my dear wife, but it looks like all is a wonderful blessing after all the pains. Praise the Lord. I am attaching a photograph showing her leaping and praising the Lord on Sunday in the meeting we held. God is great and blesses in all ways. The meeting was a great blessing to me. Trust the Lord will bring out other blessings as He plans. May His will be done.

Beauty from Ashes

This past month Lawrence's wife, Joyce, has been very ill and went into a coma for several days. Through the Lord's mercy she has been raised up, and is slowly recovering under the support and care of their children and relatives. We praise the Lord for His grace during this difficult time, which has included a lot of financial strain on the family. How wonderful to know God is in control and is purposing good for all who will fully trust Him!

"I have learned that such shaking occurrences have deeper impacts spiritually," brother Lawrence writes. "I am praying and waiting to know how much this has enriched [our family's] spiritual lives, and of those others involved. Please, pray with us. Though Mommy was breathing while in her coma, it looks like she was raised as from the dead, for she had lost her memory. It is coming back to her bit by bit now..." The trauma of the experience has deepened the brother with a greater desire to stay close to the Lord: "We want to stay so connected, like Enoch, and always walk with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Please, please, pray on for us." 

Do the troubles we experience press us closer to God - or do we try to solve things in our own way? Only when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God will we be able to be used for his purposes. Only God can bring beauty out of ashes. The brother continues: 

"The beauty of the whole wife's episode is the ministering that has occurred around Mt. Kenya, and Nairobi, when I thought I did not have room to be there. We have met with several people who have been wanting to hear the message of truth and I was blessed, too. We have been booked for meetings in Mt. Kenya area, the first one being on Feb. 3, and the next on  Feb. 15 to Feb.17. Please, pray for these meetings and that the Lord blesses and provides for them.

We held meetings in these areas in the past, and truly saw miracles and wonders, but we did not have the vision we have now. Our vision this time is that of unity IN CHRIST JESUS. Gal. 3:26-28: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Such a oneness cannot be achieve by our own efforts, but by allowing God to cleanse us from everything that hinders within us and around us, and to allow Him to knit us together in Christ Jesus in His love. It cannot happen if we are not humble and if we hold to ourselves and lift the idols of “I’s” and “We’s,” worshiping whatever pertains to “ME” and what is “OURS.” We have to acknowledge Christ as our ruler and give ourselves totally to Him to live His life in us so that this life is manifest in all our actions, words, and thoughts. This ONE life (Christ’s life) in us knits us together in Him. Please, pray that this message is humbly received by all who hear and understand it..."

It is wonderful to know the meaning of these words: "For me to live is Christ." This is the life Jesus suffered to give us - the only life worth living. Yet only when we realize that our own ideals and efforts are mere ashes can we begin to receive the beauty that God wants to give us.

Updating about the construction of the residential house, Lawrence writes: "Our building at Makindu is now just getting ready for roofing. Though I have been much away, it has progressed to that extent. We thank God for blessing us this far and to the extent that we now see the possibilities of housing several visitors who come for spiritual help, and also those who will come to minister to us. Glory to God. We now await His will and blessings as to the roofing. Please, pray for us to be able to roof it in time. 

We have had moderate rains around Makindu Town and the surrounding areas. There will be a moderate harvest and according assessments, there will be enough food for the next two months in every family that planted some.  The other areas have adequate rains for a very good harvest. Those who have began selling dry beans are selling at a very low price, compared to Makindu. Dry maize will be in the market from end of this month. I am thinking of buying, the Lord willing, and transporting food, (especially grains, beans and peas),  from other areas to Makindu as soon as it is possible so that we can have some in store for the children and meetings, and also some for resale to make a living."

As God has promised: "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes..." (Isaiah 61:3-4)