Remembering

This is the time of year when people tend to look back on things and want to remember. If you read the news you will see articles talking about the many aspects of life within 2010 or the entire decade itself. The Top Ten Sports moments, Top Ten Movies of the Year, News Events, Politics, Technology, Crime, Scandals, People who Died, People who "Changed" things, ......The List goes on. At the end of a year and the end of a decade our news-based cultures become nostalgic and reflective in various ways. People want to remember.

Within God's Kingdom, remembering takes on a whole new dynamic. For us, remembering comes in two forms. First, it's about remembering our past in light of God's work. That's the first part of it.

"Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced." Psalm 105:5

We need to remember what and how he has done things in our lives. We need to remember the miracles, the provision, the words, the relationships and yes, we need to be mindful of his judgments. God judges his people through discipline and love. He judges our flesh and cleanses us from sin through discipline.

"But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world." 1 Corinthians 11:31,32

"For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:17

We need to remember what the Lord has taken us through, what he has changed in us and how bad it sometimes hurt. We need not repeat the same mistakes and slow down our development. We need to remember what has taken place in context of our relationship with the Lord. Sometimes for me, the easiest way for me to remember is to both talk to the Lord and ask him to remind me. And with that, sometimes the way he reminds us is through each other. I am often spurred in my memory by conversations with my close friends and with my wife. We need to sit down with others, specifically with our spouses, have a cup of joe-joe and prayerfully talk about the past. This helps us to remember. This is the first aspect of "remembering."

But in God's kingdom their is a second aspect of remembering. This is the one I am eager to discuss. Let me tell you a story.

In August of 1997 I found myself being moved by the Lord to Albuquerque, New Mexico. While doing so I went to re-register my car insurance with a state of NM insurance agent. When they processed my application they told me that my insurance would run a certain amount a month. I felt that the quote was a little to high for the make and model of my car. The lady at the insurance agency explained to me that the reason the quote was higher than normal was that I had had two speeding tickets in the past few years. I told her that there must be some mistake, that I could only remember having one speeding ticket in the past several years, not two. She showed me the driving records and it stated that the second ticket was received in Plano, TX about 2 years before. I was a little perplexed as I couldn't remember when I had gotten this ticket.

I went home and prayed about it. I was standing between the dining room and the kitchen when all of the sudden I saw myself driving east bound on Plano Pkwy in Plano, TX during the summer of 1995. Right before I got to the Coit Rd. intersection I could see a police officer step out from behind the bushes on the south side of the road right in front of a real estate office and direct me into the parking lot where another officer would be waiting to write me a speeding ticket. All of the sudden, I remembered. I remembered when and how it happened. The Holy Spirit reminded me by spurring my memory. The Holy Spirit wants to control and directs all data storage in our brains and he can draw up memories as it serves the Lord's purpose for our lives. Why do you think the scriptures say the following?

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26

The Holy Spirit reminds us. We remember, by the Spirit. We hear God's voice at times simply by remembering something. Remembering is a way of God talking to us in the present moment. Let me give you two examples in scripture of this happening to God's servants. Take a look.

"Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, 'You are spies!'" Genesis 42:8


"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" Acts 11:15,16

By the Spirit we see Joseph, now Prime Minister of Egypt, remembering his dreams so he has an understanding of why he is finally seeing his brothers after all these years. He remembered his dreams and saw them bowing before him as a fulfillment of what God had once spoken to him over twenty years before. Joseph was remembering by the Spirit. He heard the Spirit speaking to him through a spirit of remembrance.

By the Spirit we see Peter remembering what Jesus had once spoken to him in person. This gave him the understanding to be accepting of the situation which was the very fact that God was opening the door of faith to the Gentiles, specifically at Cornelius' house. God was moving around him and helped him to accept things by remembering what was once spoken to him. Peter remembered by the Spirit. He heard the Spirit speaking to him through a spirit of remembrance

Remembering is a way that God talks to his people. We pray and then remember where we set our car keys. We remember that we forgot to lock the front door before driving to the store. We remember to pray for someone who is having surgery today. We remember, we remember, we remember. God speaks to us and we remember. He reminds us.

Ask the Lord to help you remember. And as you remember, pay attention and rejoice. This is God's voice. Remember.

Be Blessed,
JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

If things are tight...

We'll, it's the holiday season and I have good news for those of you that are financially strapped or running on a tight budget. Use your tithe on your Holiday Needs!!! The Israelites did.

"Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice." Deuteronomy 14:22-26

Did you see that? The Israelites were commanded to eat the tithe and to buy whatever they wanted for themselves and rejoice in the presence of the Lord. They were commanded to spend their tithe on themselves as they appeared before the Lord at their festivals. Which festivals? The Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering. See Exodus 23:14-19. And when they appeared in Jerusalem for these festivals they were commanded to use their tithes for both sacrifices (gifts to the Lord) and for their personal needs. That's right. Personal needs.

It's one thing to be a millionaire. It's another thing all togther to be living month-to-month. If things are tight and yet God has placed it on your heart to hold dinner at your house or buy your kids presents or buy gifts for the poor.....be open to using your tithe money to do so. The scriptures say this is ok with God as long as the Spirit leads you to it. Obviously, we need to pray and ask about all things. I am not encouraging anyone to skip that step. What I am saying is to be open to hear the Lord say this to you. In the past he has spoken it to others. I believe he still does so in the present.

"Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality." 2 Corinthians 8:13

If things are tight, and yet you have need to spend the money, I believe it is ok to hear the Lord on this. But again, you need to pray because ultimately everything that does not come from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Revelation 2:7


Greetings and God Bless during this holiday season.

JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

Children's Outreach

Last Saturday Christine and the kids and I went with a group from our church to minister to a neighborhood of children on the southside of Merida. A lady in our church knows a woman in this neighborhood who runs a food pantry for children in her community. Many Meridian families are very poor and because of this meals can be skipped. The lady who runs the food pantry feeds about 80 children each day straight out of her own home. The food she feeds the children come straight from donations through both local businesses and from the Mexican government. Let me show you some pictures of how the night unfolded.

This is our group upon arrival. We are standing in front of the home where the food pantry is run. The building....i.e. her home can be seen directly behind the fence on the right hand side. Joseph is in the front. Joel and I are in the back on the right.

Apologies for the lack of resolution on the picture. We are using Joseph's Nintendo DS which has a camera option on it.

The lady standing in the front on the far left in the blue and white shirt is the one who runs the pantry from her home.

This is our group setting up for a puppet show. It was a basic set up with PVC pipe and cloth curtains to hide behind. It took about 45 minutes to set up because the guy that designed it didn't come with us and no one else had set it up before.

This actually worked in our favor as it gave us more time to see a larger crowd gather around us for the presentation of the gospel.

The place where we are setting up is a public park directly across the street from the food pantry.

The puppet show got up and running (above left), but not until some of our group sang and danced with the children (above right). We brought our own stereo/sound equipment (not pictured). It was very loud and the sound of the music just brought people from everywhere.

About half way through we stopped and passed out candy while we set up for the second half of the presentation. The little boy on the right was getting overlooked in the mad dash for the candy so I took him by the hand and walked him through the crowd to get his share. He is a very handsome little fella. I think his name was Roberto.

This is Roberto's mother and little sister, Vanessa Jacqueline. I don't know if you can tell but she has no fingers on her right hand. Her mother was explaining to me that when Vanessa turns two the doctors want to operate on her hand.

She asked me if I wanted to hold her so of course I did. We took her hand and prayed over her that God would heal her. Her mother was very attached to Christine. She wanted to know all about us and why we were there. She just wanted to be around Christine the whole time even though they couldn't communicate very well.

At this point we set up and presented the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. We had a tri-pod set up with flanel graph pictures showing step-by-step spiritual principles: the fall of man into sin, our seperation from God through sin, God's love for humanity and his plan of redemption for us through his son Jesus Christ.

I think it is safe to assume this is the first time these people (adults and children) had heard the gospel being shared with them. This is a Roman Catholic culture historically. Many of the children raised their hands to receive Jesus.

I was invited to attend a pastor's conference in Kentucky back in 2002. Rocky Malloy with Mission Generation was invited to preach at this gathering of ministers. Rocky and his wife Joske and their children live in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. They founded Rio de Vida church in Santa Cruz many years ago.

While at the conference he told us that most people in Bolivia live in houses about the size of a master bathroom or bedroom. It was always difficult for me to picture the reality of this in my mind until I moved to Mexico with my family this year. This is a picture of a house across the street from the park. These are the types of homes that most of the children pictured  above actually live in. This home is about the size of a small bedroom. This was typical of the entire area. Many of these homes have broken windows, holes in walls..... Material poverty is common in Latin America.

The picture to the left is of the inside of the courtyard/fence of the lady who feeds these children. The picture above right is where the children eat. She feeds 80 kids on average each day.

This is our group from Iglesia Bautista Norte after finishing up. The lady on the back right is the one who feeds the local children.

She was very gracious to invite us in. Jesus told the disciples that when they entered a new town or area to look for the one who would welcome them (Matthew 10:11-14). Even though she is not a Christian she did welcome us. This can only be God's favor.

Pray for us that God would continue to give us favor and open doors for our message (Colossians 4:3).

"I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest." Matthew 11:35

After we went to this event I told my wife that I don't think I had ever seen a group of people, entire neighborhoods, that were as ready to receive as this one. Pray for us that we would go forth in power representing the Lord well. We need you to pray for us.

God Bless,
J.E. and family
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

Knowledge

The Lord speaks directional wisdom to his people. His sends us down a clear path from season to season. This path leads us to works that we are called to do. Ephesians 2:10 is clear about his. We are created in Christ to do good works which have been prepared in advance for us to do. We are called to work in him. Jesus and the Father work in us and among us to this very day.

"Jesus said to them, 'My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.'" John 5:17

"Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it." Mark 16:20

The Father works. Jesus works. We work. We work with the Lord as we go forth in his wisdom. Wisdom is clear direction. And that clear direction is accompanied by plans and strategies. In the last post we talked about Proverbs 8:12 in great detail.

"I wisdom dwell together with prudence; I posses knowledge and discretion." Prov 8:12

We took a good hard look at three of the four. Now we need to do a deep-dive into knowledge. As the Lord gives us clear direction with plans and strategies, as we are receiving wisdom and understanding from the Lord, there are certain bits of spiritual knowledge that need to accompany us along the way. These are things that will keep us steadfast in the work that the Lord has commanded us to do on his behalf. Knowledge blends in with clear direction with plans and strategies. It blends in and holds the other three steady.

One day in September of 2001 I was driving northbound on Hwy 820 in west Ft. Worth while taking our oldest son Kevin to school. I was passing Troy Aikman Ford right at the corner of Camp Bowie (Hwy 80) and Hwy 820 when all of the sudden, just as clear as day, I heard the Lord speak to me about various facets of this thing called "Knowledge."  There are pieces of knowledge that accompany us as we go forward in warfare. There are things that need to be developed within our minds that keep us steady and stable in the fight. We are going to need to know, believe and abide in certain things if we are going to hold fast in Wisdom and Understanding on a continual basis.  The following is my list of 8 pieces of spiritual knowledge. The first six I heard on that day in September, 2001. The last two have been added to the list since that day. The following is what I heard.

1) The time is short. We are a mist. Number your days.

"What I mean brothers is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in it's present form is passing away." 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" James 4:13-15

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

2) Be Prepared. Make the most of every Opportunity. Be dressed, ready for service, and keep your lamps burning.

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 1 Peter 3:15

"Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 4:5,6

"Be dressed, ready for service and keep your lamps burning." Luke 12:35

3) Be Quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

My dear brothers, take not of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." James 1:19

4) Do not worry beforehand about what to say.

"But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." Matthew 10:19,20

"...the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it." John 12:49

5) Arm yourself with an attitude of suffering.

"Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God." 1 Peter 4:1,2

6) Trust in God's Financial Provision. It is Constant.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds...." Matthew 6:25-34

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8

"Be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" Hebrews 13:5

"Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, ....Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years." Deut 8:2,4

"Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, ...." Psalm 23:6

"He will be our guide even unto death." Psalm 48:14

"You will guide me with your wisdom and counsel and afterwards receive me into the glories of heaven."  Psalm 73:24

"Trust in the Lord forever." Isaiah 26:4

7) Don't Complain. God works in all things for our good. Give thanks in all circumstances.

"Do everything without complaining or arguing,..." Philippians 2:14

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"Give thanks in all circumstances..." 1 Thess 5:18

8) God will vindicate us.

"Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord." Romans 12:19


We could sit down over coffee and tea and talk of these things for hours.  But the scriptures that are quoted speak for themselves.

Brethren, time is short and we need to make use of the bit of time God has given us. We need to be wholeheartedly focused on hearing him and entering into his work. The time is short. Work while it is still day. Night is coming when no man works. I just turned 40 years old. I remember when I was a 17 year old kid throwing my own mother a surprise party for her 40th birthday. And now I'm 40. Twenty-three years went by just like that. Amazing. We are a mist and then we are gone. Live for the Lord!!!

Be prepared....at a moment's notice. I remember when I was about 8 years old. I was at soccer practice one day and while playing I heard my name being called. I turned around to see who it was. It was my dad standing on the side of the practice field. He called me over to him and told me to come with him. I didn't know where we were going and was a bit taken back as I was right in the middle of practice. He took me and walked me to another field at the soccer complex where another team of boys was practicing. I looked around at them. They were all bigger than I was. My dad took me and put me on another team where all of the players were two years older than myself. I had already mastered my age group. I received an unexpected promotion of sorts. Be ready brethren because your name could get called and you could get promoted to a higher level. Be ready, dressed for service and keep your lamp burning. Be ready!!!

Listen first. Listen to the words of others and listen to the Lord. Talk to the Lord and ask for words to speak. The Lord will speak with power through us. But we must first listen. Many years ago I worked as a valet in front of a very high profile hotel in downtown Dallas. While there I had been witnessing to another  young man who wouldn't respond to my Christian witness. It really frustrated me at how hard-hearted this man was. One day while working we both happened to find ourselves standing outside the hotel while a very well-known "fallen" televangelist walked out of the hotel and got in his car. The young man looked at me and said, "See, it's guys like that that keep me from believing in God." Immediately God spoke through my mouth and said, "Yes, but you keep rooting for the Dallas Cowboys while many of their players are in trouble with the law." You would have thought I had punched him in the face. He was visibly disturbed for some time. God exposed his hypocrisy. Listen and pray first. Talk second. 

Arm yourself for trials. The path is narrow and few take it. As we walk in his direction with plans and strategies we are at times going to find ourselves in financial, physical and social trials. It comes with the territory. Arm yourself for it. All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted the Lord of Glory they will persecute us. No man escapes this. No one.

In spite of what we go through, God provides. He never stops providing for us according to his riches and glory. Spiritual, mental, emotional and physical support and deliverance are ours. In spite of the pain there is healing and growth. Embrace his provision and trust in it. It never ends. He provided for the Israelites for 40 years in the desert. If he needed to do it for 50, 60, whatever...He could have done it. He hasn't changed. Still to this day he moves mountains, brings water from the dry rock and manna from Heaven. He will be our guide even unto death. He guides us with his wisdom and counsel and afterwards receives us unto glory. Trust in his provision. It is a constant thing!

Don't complain. God will cause things to work on our behalf. Give thanks knowing that this is true. Remember, we are sheep. Sheep need a shepherd. We have a shepherd that manages not only the intimate details of our lives but also how our lives work in conjunction with everything in this world. All things were created by Christ and for Christ. And in Christ all things hold together. (See Col 1:16,17). Everything exists and works for our benefit as we do his work to change the world. This is sometimes difficult to believe when the battle rages. Nevertheless, God's word holds true.

God has your back. He will vindicate the righteous. He will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. If you belong to Christ you are Abraham's seed and heirs of this promise (Gal 3:29). He has your back. God slays the wicked in due season. The Psalmist says that the righteous will be glad and rejoice when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked (Psalm 58:10). "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood (Rev 6:9)? ...... The sins of some men trail behind them. Others go before them, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them. (1 Tim 5:24). God will avenge the righteous, both in this life and in the life to come. You can count on it.

We have more to discuss brethren but I think we are at a saturation point for today. A sponge can only hold so much water. I hope this helps you on your journey. Find God's wisdom, prudence and discretion for your day. And know these things along the way. Knowledge of these principles holds us steady in the high-calling of God.

In Christ,

JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

God's Plans

I think one of the things that I struggled with the most in the early years of my walk was to believe that the Father had a day to day, season to season plan for my life. This was difficult for me to learn. It was at times hard for me to comprehend that God has a vested interest in my development. It was hard for me to believe that he wanted to speak with me about very specific things and be involved in the intimate details of my life. It has been a process for me. This is something that I have had to learn, sometimes with difficulty. But I can now testify, with satisfaction, that I understand that there is a plan. There is a plan.

Over the course of time, as we journey with the Lord, we should come to understand that God created us with very specific intentions. We are not just born by happenstance with the purpose of living a random existence. No. We are to live with a specific purpose. Each and every one of us. God creates men and women with a specific purpose in mind as to how he wants them to live out their lives. Consider the following scriptures.

"The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:4,5

"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

We should learn that before we are even in our mother's womb, God knows us. We exist in his mind and thoughts even before we come forth into this world physically. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for very specific works which are prepared in advance for each one of us. All of our lives, all of God's purpose for us, all of our steps are intended to be ordered of Him even before we begin to take on human form. All of our workmanship and all of God's purpose for us is set in order from eternity, even before time began.


With this in mind we can rest in the assurance that he has our lives planned out in context of the workings of all things. God foreknows us and God predestines us for a specific path with a specific purpose.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." Romans 8:28

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,..." Ephesians 1:11

Our part in this is to choose that which God has chosen for us. Yes, we are predestined. But that path of predestination in Christ must be chosen by us if we are to see the will of God fully manifest in our lives. Let me say that again. We must choose the path that God predestined for us. And as we choose his path he wants us to learn that he is very strategic in his approach to us. The Lord is incredibly strategic. He is a master administrator. God by his very nature is a strategic administrator. This includes how he approaches every detail of our lives from day to day and season to season. Now with that in mind consider the following verse.

"I wisdom dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion." Proverbs 8:12

Consider this verse. Memorize it because we are going to come back to it alot today and I don't want to bore you with having to type it over and over again. Take a look at it again. Wisdom dwells with prudence and it possesses knowledge and discretion. Let's break it down.

In Proverbs chapters 2,3,4, and 8, wisdom is referred to as a way, a path or a direction. Read through all four chapters if you need to. Don't just take my word for it. Read it for yourself. Wisdom is a way, a path and a direction that Christ has for us in every situation. Now let's couple this with the meaning of the Greek word used for "wisdom" in James 1:5. Do you remember the verse?

"If any man lacks wisdom he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him." James 1:5

The Greek word used for wisdom in this verse is Sophia. Sophia comes from the Greek word Saphes which means "clarity." So when we couple Proverbs 2,3,4, and 8 with James 1:5, what we can see is that when a man or woman asks for wisdom, what they are in essence asking for is clear direction from God. Wisdom, simply put, is clear direction from God. For you it may be asking for direction on your job situation, where to move to, or some situation where a simple "yes" or "no" is required. Wisdom is a clear way, a clear path, or clear direction that comes from God in a given situation.

And with that understanding we need to remember that Proverbs 8:12 says that Wisdom is accompanied by prudence, discretion and knowledge. When the Lord gives us that clear path, way, or direction he will always allow the other three to accompany it. So what is prudence? What is discretion? And what knowledge is the Lord talking about here? Let's take a look.

Prudence as spoken of in Proverbs 8:12 comes from the Hebrew word Ormah. Ormah comes from the Hebrew word Orem. The word Orem means strategy. So the word Prudence actually means strategy.

The word "Discretion" as mentioned in Proverbs 8:12 comes from the Hebrew word Mezzimah. The word Mezzimah means "plans." So the word "Discretion" actually means "plans."

So if we put Proverbs 8:12 into layman's terms what it really is saying is that clear direction from God always comes with a set of plans and strategies. God speaks to us about his will for our lives through clear direction with sets of plans and strategies.

Now this principle, this truth, is established all through the scriptures. Wisdom is talked about over and over again in both the old testament and the new testament. And quite often, when the word wisdom is mentioned, it is also coupled with either the word "understanding" and/or the word "prudence." I won't bore you with all of the details but know that the word "understanding" and the word "prudence" usually comes from the same root words in both Hebrew and Greek. In both languages they are synonyms of each other. Both words mean the same thing. With that in mind take a look at the following verses.

"Who endowed the heart with wisdom (clear direction) or gave understanding (plans and strategies) to the mind." Job 38:36

"Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom (clear direction). Though it cost all you have, get understanding (plans and strategies)." Proverbs 4:7

"Say to wisdom (clear direction) , "You are my sister," and call understanding (plans and strategies) your kinsman." Proverbs 7:4

"He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers." Proverbs 19:8

"Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding." Proverbs 23:23

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - The Spirit of wisdom and understanding....." Isaiah 11:1,2

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." Ephesians 1:8

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Colossians 1:9

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by words done in the humility that comes from wisdom." James 1:13

Do you see how the scriptures are replete with passage after passage that refers to God's voice unfolding in clear direction with plans and strategies? Their everywhere. The Lord has plans for his people. The Lord has plans and strategies for our lives that unfold for us as we move in clear direction, down a clear path. God is a God of direction with plans and strategies.

This is not complicated. It's simple. Yet human nature has a tendency to neglect fundamental truth. The Lord knows this. So in His sovereignty he reminds us of simple things over and over again. The Lord will teaches us simple things and then reminds us of them. He has always done this.

"So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you know have." 2 Peter 1:12

"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard to you." Philippians 3:1

It's good that we allow the Lord to teach us all things and then remind us of them. That we are being reminded of things is a sign of ongoing discipleship in the Lord.

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26

The Spirit teaches us about all things and then reminds us of them at a later point in time. Here, for us today, it is to understand and be reminded of the fact that the Lord has every intention of shepherding us through each day, in every detail if we will allow him to do so. We are his workmanship. We were created in Christ Jesus to do certain works. The works he has for us were planned in advance by him. And the way he communicates to us is through Wisdom and Understanding. Wisdom and Understanding is another way of saying direction with plans and strategies.

God speaks to our hearts. And when he does, he does so in direction with plans and strategies. Rest in this. God has a predestined plan. But it must be chosen. Choose it. Ask for it.

"If any man lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

"Pray to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3

In Christ,

JEB
www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com

"With" to "In"



Why didn't we think of that?

 Growing up as an American kid in the 70's and 80's it seemed like the dividing line between families that had alot of money and families that didn't was having a swimming pool. Back then I hardly knew of anyone that had an in-ground pool. The only people that we knew that did were wealthier people who could pay cash for one. Back then there was no such thing as pool loans. You paid with cash. And in my mind, having a swimming pool was the dividing line between being wealthy and being a middle-class family. If you had one it was a sign of wealth. If you didn't, well, you weren't rich. Simple as that.

In Mexico there are socio-economic divisions that are marked by clear signs that tell which class you are in. It is quite a bit different than the signs one might see in the U.S. Here everyone dresses like a million dollars. Everyone spends money on clothes. Clothing is not one of the signs. But there are two things that families do or don't have here that can tell whether they have crossed over or are crossing over from being poor to becoming a middle class family. One is having a car. Public transportation is a very big deal in Mexico as many people do not have vehicles. I would say at least half of the people in Merida do not have a car.  Many people either walk, ride a bike, ride a motorcyle/moped, take the bus or take a cab. Having a car in Mexico creates a dividing line, a sign that an individual may in fact be progressing or has progressed from one socio-economic level to another.



An individual mini-split A/C unit.   

The second thing that I have noticed here is that people that are progressing from the lower socio-economic class to the middle-class have an ammenity in their homes that many people in the United States see as a basic staple of life: Air Conditioning. Here we have no need for central heat. But I can tell you it is hard to live here year-round without A/C. We were running our air-conditioners every night up until December. However, many people here still do not have air-conditioning. And it can get well over 100 degrees Farenheit here in the month of May. When you combine that with our humidity levels it can feel like 120 degrees outside. Yet, many people here don't buy A/C units simply because they can't afford it. Nor can they afford to pay the increased electric costs that goes with running one.

Over the years I have come to realize that there are things that create spiritual dividing lines within the kingdom of God. These dividing lines are signs or markers that indicate whether or not an individual is progressing from one level to another. Assuming that a person has been born-again in Christ and has crossed over from death to life, an individual must realize that there are signs of progression even within God's Kingdom. Within God's Kingdom there is an initial marker of sorts that indicates that you have progressed to the next spiritual level. We are commanded to move beyond just being born-again. And this dividing line is marked by an event, an experience that affects how we pray, how intimately we hear God, what kinds of giftings we can function in and ultimately how much spiritual jurisdiction the Lord entrusts to us as we progress from season to season. This event, this experience I am referring to is called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts chapters 2, 8, 18 and 19 we see a progression in the lives of Christians from one level to another through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that seperated and came to rest on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." Acts 2:1-4

"But when they (Samaritans) beleived Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.....When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus (Water Baptism). Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." Acts 8:12,14-17

"Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately." Acts 18: 24-26

"While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' They answered, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' So Paul asked, 'Then what baptism did you receive?' 'John's baptism,' they replied. Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.' On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all." Acts 19:1-7


In Acts 2 we see over 100 Christians, men and women who have spent 40 days with the resurrected Christ, receiving the baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of tongues. In Acts 8 we see men and women who have been led to a saving faith in Christ. They have become born-again. But they were men and women who did not have an infilling of the Spirit. And we see them receiving the Spirit at the laying on of the apostles hands. In Acts 18 we see the apostle Apollos (See 1 Cor 4:6,9) in his early years in Christ. He knew the way of the Lord and taught about Jesus accurately. But he was a Christian who needed to cross over to another level, specifically as it pertained to his experience in the baptisms. Priscilla and Aquilla helped walk him through this. They helped him move through to another spiritual level. In Acts 19 we see 12 men receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues and prophesy. These 12 men were already Christians. Verse one in that chapter refers to them as disciples.

What do the Christians in all four chapters have in common? Simply put, the Spirit of God went form being "with" them to being "in" them.

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither see him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." John 14:16,17

From "with" to "in." Jesus told us that there is a progression from "with" to "in." I went through this progression. I first heard about Jesus when I was 8 years old. I had seed planted in my heart that, from that time laid dormant within me until I was 24. At age 24 I gave my heart completely over to the Lord. I began to hear his voice. I began to have dreams and visions. I began to repent from many things. And I was water baptized as a sign of this repentance and obedience to his voice on April 9, 1995. The Spirit was "with" me. He was speaking to me. He was showing me initial steps of repentance and faith to take. But he was not "in" me. He was speaking to my heart which was in me but he, the Spirit of Truth, was not fully in me.

On March 9, 1996 I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit came "into" me. I spoke in the tongues of angels.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels....." 1 Corinthians 13:1

I pray in the tongues of angels every day as I am with the Lord in prayer. We are commanded to do so. We are to speak to God often and utter mysteries with our spirit by his Spirit.

"For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit." 1 Corinthians 14:1,2

We are commanded to pray both with our minds and with our spirits.

"So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind." 1 Corinthians 14:15

We cannot do both apart from the infilling, the baptism of his Spirit. Once a man receives the baptism of the Spirit he operates in measures of God's grace and ultimately measures of spiritual jurisdiction that he can and would not otherwise.

I have written in previous posts about fundamental facets of Spiritual Prayer. I can tell you plainly that a man or woman can never enter into the fullness of spiritual prayer apart from the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the gift of tongues. You just can't. Often I do not know what to pray for. So I fill in those gaps of time, those periods of time when I am seeking discerment in prayer, with the spiritual tongues of angels.

"We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:27

The resurrected Jesus is the one that baptizes us with his seven-fold Spirit.

"But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Matthew 3:11

"These are the words of him who holds the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars." Revelation 3:1

"The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Sprit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord - and he will delight in the fear of the Lord." Isaiah 11:2,3

And as the resurrected Jesus baptizes us with his seven-fold Spirit, the blessed Holy Spirit, we come into measures of power, grace, gifting, calling and holiness that we wouldn't otherwise.

We are commanded to wait on God in our early days.

"They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." Isaiah 40:31

"Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4,5

We wait on the Lord. In Acts 2,8,18 and 19 we see people that had been waiting on God in some shape or form. They were waiting on the next thing God had form them. The were looking for the next thing in God. As they did, God filled them and they went forward as God allowed them to. But not until they received the infilling. We are commanded to wait for it. The "it" being Him.

We started in the beginning with physical parallels. In every society you can see socio-economic signs that indicate the purchasing power and economic class of each household. In some countries it's a swimming pool, a car or something as simple as air-conditioning. When you see these things they are an indicator of how far someone has progressed financially.

The same applies spiritually. There are indicators in the kingdom of God that show how "enriched" people are spiritually. Certain things show how wealthy people have become spiritually speaking. It's not physical wealth. It's spiritual wealth. Possessing certain things, having certain experiences, can serve as an indication of the progression of spiritual health and wealth in the lives of believers. The Baptism of the Spirit and the power and gifting that flows out of that empowerment is one of the foundational signs of progression and growth, spiritually speaking. It's a sign of progression. It's not the end all. But it will affect what kind of doctrine, counsel, prophesy, gifting and level of empowerment that a believer abides in. And ultimately, whether we want to believe it or not, it is an indicator of how much spiritual maturity a believer will be able to attain.

I have been eager to write about this for some time but have been waiting for the Lord to show me the context in which to do so. This is so fundamental yet so necessary that if not experienced will cause an individual to come to a screeching halt in their relationship with the Lord. It creates stagnancy like you cannot imagine. People can get put on hold for years, decades, even for the rest of their natural lives because of the absence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Don't let this happen to you. God wants to pour out his Spirit in these last days on us and our children. Remember the words of the apostle Peter:

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgivness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:38,39 

The promise is for us and our children. Get in the position of receiving. Adopt the doctrine that God has made his Spirit available to us and ask for it. Ask and wait. Ask and wait. If we have it then we need to pray that our children receive it as well. That is where Christine and I are at with our sons.

"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Luke 11:13

Ask of him and wait. Be Baptized in the Holy Spirit.

In Christ,

JEB

P.S. One of my very good friends in the Lord has an 11 year old daughter. She just received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He told that she goes into hours of prayer just praying in the Spirit. Isn't that exciting? Praise God for what he has done and will do for us.

Miseo

I was a Criminal Justice major back in college. I absolutely loved most of my CJ courses. Terrorism, Organized Crime, Criminal Procedures, Criminal Investigations, Texas Criminal Law.........Many of my classmates looked for reasons to skip as many classes as possible. Not me. I loved going to class. Dr. Robert J. Grant was the founding professor of our department at Midwestern State and also my assigned academic advisor. He was a former marine and had also been a police officer and organized crime investigator for the Phoenix Police Department for 16 years. This guy would tell some amazing stories from his days on the force. I loved going to his classes and listening to him talk about his experiences. If I had it to do all over again I don't think I would change a thing with regards to my core studies.

He told us a story one time that I have never forgotten. He explained one day that in all of his years on the police force he had only been knocked off of his feet one time. He and his partner had responded to a 911 call from a lady that was being beaten by her husband. When they got to the scene they found themselves breaking up a violent dispute between this couple. Dr. Grant went on to tell us that after they got these two people seperated and the husband handcuffed, the wife, the lady that was getting beat up by her husband, turned on Dr. Grant and punched him in the face while he was looking the other way and completely knocked him down to the ground. Let me say that again. She is getting beat up, the policemen save her from further abuse, and after cuffing her husband she turns on them and punches one of them in the face because she is upset at them for physically restraining her spouse. Now does any of this make sense? Not at all. And what the situation reveals is that both the husband the the wife had criminal intent in their hearts. Looking inside the heart, there was really no difference between the offender and the victim. They were both criminals, both abusers.

I have to tell you, I have seen this spiritually happen over and over and over and over with Christian couples....spiritually speaking. I have seen it in Albuquerque. I have seen it in Ft Worth. I have seen it in Dallas. I have seen it in Colorado. I have seen it on more occasions than I can count.  I have witnessed it over and over and over again while ministering.....I have seen situations where either the husband or the wife was crying out for help because the other spouse was not listening to God over protracted periods of time and it was creating multiple cracks in the foundations of the marriage. It was affecting giftings, callings, daily living, the kids, finanaces.....one facet or another of life in the home. And when I, my wife and/or others  stepped in too minister foundational things to help reconcile the people to God first and to each other second....and when the instigating spouse didn't respond to God's Spirit....the spouse that was being victimized turned on the peacemakers that were sent to bring order.

I have seen this over and over and over. I have seen spouses that are not being treated with love and respect. I've seen Christians that know that their spouses have rejected God's voice in both big things and/or small things that are almost unnoticable. Spouses caught up in pride and ambition. Situations where the other spouse is just neglectuful of his or her spiritual duties......And I have seen the victimized spouse in these sitations, the very same spouse that did the right thing and made the 911 call, just turn on God's ministers in the course of time and punch them right in the face with gossip, slander, rejection and subtle hatred.

Why does this happen? The absence of stamina. The absence of endurance. An unwillingness to continue in the sufferings of Christ and press in for deeper levels of maturity in spite of the other person's unwillingness to grow and embrace the calling of God on their lives.

"Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 

"For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." Hebrews 3:14

"For you have need of endurance that after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise." Hebrews 10:36

"But we are not of them that shrink back but of them that believe unto the saving of the soul." Hebrews 10:39

"In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." Hebrews 12:4 

No marriage is perfect all the time. There are times where my wife will prophetically sense something before I do and she will patiently wait for me to come around so we can move forward together on something. I have had to wait on my wife to come around on things. We have disagreements at times. Everyone does. I am not talking about those things. I'm talking about situations where there is either subtle or blatant wholesale rebellion by one spouse and the other spouse is trying to hold onto what God has for them. The sherrif arrives in the form of eldership in the church, pastoral oversight or maybe some apostolic and prophetic ministers enter the picture and the obedient spouse becomes disobedient along with the guilty party because they don't want to hold on a little longer....that is what I am talking about. "The Victim" doesn't really want to wait until God deals wholesale with things and makes things right in HIS way because really the heart is not wholly yielded to God's solution.

What is it that keeps the victimized spouse from holding on and staying obedient?...Simply put...They have not counted the cost of obedience and themselves are not willing to give up all things for the Lord. The victim is just as guilty as the offender because neither have abandoned all things for the Lord. They are both offenders. They are both guilty of the same sin.

     "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life -  he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."  Luke 14:26,27

The word Jesus uses for "hate" in verse twenty-six is Miseo. It means to love less than. Jesus is not telling us to hate our spouses with a carnal hatred. He is telling us that we must love our spouses less than we love him. This overiding love that we have for the Lord was first embodied for us by Abraham when he offered Isaac on the altar. As God conditions us over the course of time we are to grow in this perfection of grace within our souls. And along the way as we experience our journeys we are to operate in the sufficiency of his grace from one experience to another. We go from faith to faith (Romans 1:17). We go from hearing one thing from God to another. And we must learn to hold onto those things that God shows us, even if/when our spouses are not joining us in the process of revelation. We shouldn't let others hold us back from the faith that God puts in our hearts. Not now. Not ever.

The Body of Christ worldwide is coming into a time of great testing. We live in the generation that, for the first time in all of history, is watching all of the nations on the face of the earth functon with economies that are based on fiat currencies. A fiat currency is paper currency that is backed by nothing and will eventually be worth nothing at some point in time. And with that over 75% of the global currency reserves held by all countries of the world are US Dollars. The US Dollar has gone from being the most stable paper currency in the world to the most unstable. If you have been watching the news lately you now that the international banking cartels that run the US Government, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve are actively debasing the US currency to a value of zero. Their doing this through a process called Quantitative Easing. The value of the US Dollar is now worth 5% of what it was in 1915. In roughly 95 years the US Dollar has lost 95% of its value. And it's continuing to plummet. Eventually all economies around the world will crash as the US Economy crashes due to God's judgment on America for abortion (65 million roughly) and all manner of sexual immorality. The entire world will fall under judgment soon but it will begin in the United States and will then spread throughout the world.

"The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt." Isaiah 24: 5,6

The earth is defiled. First America, then the world. Judgment must come in response to this defilement. First America, then the world. As this wave of judgment comes everything that can be shaken will be shaken, including unstable marriages that are founded on carnal desires.

"Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.' The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain." Hebrews 12:26,27

God is going to shake the heavens and the earth through judgment and circumstances. And in the process, all created things, all things that are carnal and built on shifting sand are going to be shaken so that what cannot be shaken, that which is built on the ROCK (Christ), will remain.

I'll wrap up with this. A few years back while living in San Antonio I had a dream that I was standing in a mess hall on a military base. I was sitting down eating amongst a large company of officers. Suddenly I felt compelled to stand up and pray. I began to pace the floor back and forth and as I did a word of knowledge came to me. The Lord began to show me that a war was about to begin. And in this war, marriages would be divided and families would be broken apart.

Do you have a marriage that can endure all things financial, social, physical? Can you endure? Do you love your spouse more than Jesus? If you do, your marriage will not endure the coming days. It won't. The key to a marriage that has the 'capacity' to last in Christ is one where two people love God more than they love each other. Do you love your spouse more than you love God? Do you love the financial stability, the social stability and the physical stability that comes from your marriage more than you love God? If we do then God is going to shake our circumstances to show us that our perceived "stable rock" is really "unstable sand" and that our priorities are misaligned. It's time to repent if need be....before it is too late. I say this to myself as well.

JEB
jayblackshear@yahoo.com
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/

.04%......A Ministry Update

This may be hard for you to believe, but in our city of roughly 1.2 million people there are only about 500 Christians... maybe. It's a rough guess on my part. We only have 3 churches in our entire city...Iglesia Bautista Norte, Calvary Chapel, and a home church here for the deaf that is led by Christian missionaries from the U.S. I am unaware of any other Christian groups in our city. We regularly attend IBN. I have visited Calvary Chapel and we have talked on the phone with the American missionaries that run the church for the deaf to confirm that they have 30 attendees. In all of this I count about 500 Christians, give or take a hundred. If I am correct that means that, of our cities population, only about .04% of the people in Merida are Christians. That is less than one-half of one-tenth of one percent. Those are some pretty dismal numbers brethren.  It's hard to be alone in the crowd!

Based on the US population of 300 million people, this would be like having only 125,000 Christians in all of the United States. The US currently has 3,141 counties among it's 50 states. This would be like you having only 40 Christians in the entire county in which you live....Parker, Bexar, Collin, Dallas, Tarrant just to name a few. Can you imagine that? Imagine in your entire county if you had only 40 Christians. WOW! Kind of puts it into perspective doesn't it? That is what it is like for us here in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. We have found ourselves swimming in a sea of unbelief.

We find a similar story in 1 Kings 19. Here the prophet Elijah is hiding in a cave on Mount Horeb, having fled from Jezebel as she sought to kill him for God's judgment on the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. Things had gotten so bad for Elijah that he no longer had the discernment to notice even a remanant in Israel. Based on the number of fighting men recorded in the days of David in 2 Samuel 24, I think that it is safe to assume that in all of the twelve tribes there were probably around 8 to ten million people living in all of it's territories. And out of all of those people, Elijah could not discern the existence of faith in the hearts of anyone in the entire country. Yet in 1 Kings 19 we find the Lord reminding him that there in all of that sea of unbelief was a hidden remnant of believers.

"Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel - all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him." 1 Kings 19:8

When you study Israel's history you find that the inevitable result of idolatry (turning away from God) was that the family unit always broke apart. When either an individual person or an entire culture turns away from the Lord you have the invetiable consequence of the breakdown of families. When our vertical relationship with God is compromised our horizontal relationships with the people that God has set around us always suffers. First is the vertical, second is the horizontal. When the first suffers, the second always falls apart. Marriages break down, relationships between parents and their children suffer, relationships between siblings become strained.......we could just keep going.

"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." Malachi 4:5,6

The purpose and intent of God is to restore relationships. First, vertically. Second, horizontally. God's Spirit is a reconciling Spirit.

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he committed to us the ministry of reconcilition......We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

God's intent is to reconcile us to himself, knowing that in the course of time this will lead not only to our restoration with him but with the entire family of God as a whole. God knows that as we reconnect progressively with him it will open our hearts to others and form bonds that become eternal. As we continue to read the book of 2 Corinthians we see this play out.

"We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange - I speak as to my children - open wide your hearts also." 2 Corinthians 6:11-13


"Make room for us in your hearts.... I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you." 2 Corinthains 7:2,3

First comes vertical reconciliation with God, then as we do our horizontal relatiohsips with one another open up as we make room in our hearts for each other. According to the prophet Malachi it would start with the man who would come in the spirit and power of Elijah, that is John the Baptist (Matthew 11:14), then proceed through Jesus himself, then continue through the apostles and subsequently through successive generations of Christians down through all of history. God's attempt at reconciliation continues on. But when men break off from God, people break off from each other. It's a proven historical fact. And the ones that end up suffering the most are women and children.

Inevitably, when you have the absence of God's reconciling Spirit, what you have is an impending breakdown of social order that extends right through the family unit. As a consequence, many women becomed widowed, both physically and spiritually, and children become orpans, both physically and spiritually. When I say widowed, I am not just referring to the death of the husband and/or father. I am referring to the abandonment of women and children by their husbands and fathers.

The word used for widow in the old testament was almanah. It comes from the the Hebrew word alman. Alman means bereavement, a divorced person discarded by their spouse, someone forsaken by another person. The Greek word for widow is Chera. It means deficiency, someone who lacks a husband either physically or figurativelly. (Note the word "figuratively.") Chera comes from the Greek word Chasma or Chasm. It means vacancy or gulf and is related to the Greek word Chao from which we get the English word Chaos.

What we see in both definitions is that in the pre-exilic Hebrew culture a woman could be considered "widowed" in situations where they were discarded by a spouse through divorce. In the Post-Exilic Hebrew/Roman culture a woman may be considered widowed even if her husband was alive simply by the husband not fulfilling his duties as a husband as both provider and protector of the family, even if he was still physically around. The impending result of such a condition was familial and societal chaos in various aspects of the culture. I believe very much that this was a major problem throughout Israel in the days of Elijah. Consider that Jesus said the following:

"I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years....." Luke 4:25

There were many widows in Elijah's time. And Why? Some through death, but many through divorce and abandonment. Consider the fact that a Hebrew man could divorce his wife simply for not liking something about her. That's right. If you were a Hebrew man and you didn't like something about your wife you could just divorce her, period.

"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning." Matthew 19:7,8

"If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled." Deuteronomy 24:1-4

Just for clarity sake, here is Deuteronomy 24 in the King James Version.

"When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her; then let him write her a bill of divorcement, an give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house;....." (KJV)

I underlined the word uncleanness in the KJV of Deut 24:1-4. The Hebrew word is Ervah. It means nudity, blemish, shame or uncleanness. Ervah comes from the Hebrew root word Arah. Arah means to make bare, to pour out, to discover, to uncover.

What I think the verses were intended to mean is that if an Israelite man found out, after being married to his wife for a period of time, after he got her home and she let her guard down and stopped putting her best foot forward, that she was a gossiper, slanderer, refused to have children, was an idolater at heart, something that God himself didn't like, that he could then divorce his wife, even if she wasn't cheating on him. I think it was meant to have spiritual applications. What I think some Israelite men wanted this verse to say was that when a man married a woman and got her home and began to learn all about her personality, her quirks, habits, beliefs, tendencies, what she looked like with no clothes on, .....and he found something that he didn't like about her, regardless if she was a righteous woman or not, that he could just send her away with divorce papers in hand.  I personally believe the verse was meant for spiritual application, not for personal gratification of the man. Remember that under some situations a man couldn't divorce his wife. See Deuteronomy 22:13-19. In God's eyes I believe a man had to have a good reason spiritually to issue the divorce papers. Remember, God hates divorce. He always has.

"Another thing you do: You flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, 'Why?' It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 'I hate divorce,' says the Lord God of Israel, ....Malachi 2:13-16

When men divorce their wives, without reason and approval from the Lord, they are in effect making social widows of them and orphaning their kids.

So what does all of this have to do with Merida, Yucatan, Mexico? As a family we have now been here for almost 4 1/2 months. We have met people very quickly and befriended many, both inside and outstide the church. We have been to more parties, get togethers, lunches and social gatherings than I think we went to in the previous 5 years in the states. And the one thing we keep seeing over and over and over again is this.......Sexual promiscuity, infedility, men abandoning their families and divorcing their wives and leaving their kids behind can be a common thing down here. It's very, very common.

I told you earlier that we regularly attend Iglesia Bautista Norte. This is where the Lord has placed us for now and we are grateful for that. And I can tell that we have seen instance after instance where women and their siblings were abandoned by their fathers as little girls or where women and their children have been abandoned by their husbands today. It is also very, very common for husbands to cheat on their wives. It's almost socially expected. The way it was explained to us by Tammy Aldred is that some little girls are told from the time that they are young that when they get married they can expect their husbands to be unfaithful. The shame and dishonor that sometimes goes with being a wife in this culture can at times be beyond words. The courts in Mexico don't enforce child abandonment laws or alimony and child support laws. Those things don't exist here. Men just leave if they feel like it with no legal consequences. And most of the time they don't come back. So far we have not heard of one instance of reconciliation where a man returned to his wife and kids. Not one.

About a month ago I was having lunch with a man from IBN who I am starting to become good friends with. We will call him Roger. Christine and I just love Roger and his wife and daughter. They seem very committed to the Lord.  At lunch Roger was telling me that his father-in-law abandoned his wife, all of her siblings and his mother-in-law when the children were very young. He said it was very traumatic for them as one can imagine. His wife's father moved away to another city and hooked up with another woman and never came back.

A few weeks ago Christine was talking to another lady in our church. We will call this woman Renee (not her real name). Renee and her husband just had a beautiful little girl. They are a really sweet family. Renee is bilingual. She and her husband are both school teachers. While Renee and Christine were talking Christine commented on how much Renee's daughter looked like Renee. Renee looked at her and said, "You know, people always tell me that I look like my dad. But I don't remember him. He left us when we were young and I have not seen him since."

One Saturday a month Christine attends a woman's outreach at IBN. I will go into the purpose of these meetings a little more in a minute. This last Saturday, while at the November meeting, the ladies of IBN were studying about living a holy life before the Lord and fleeing from sexual immorality. All of the sudden, one of the ladies started crying and started pouring her heart out about how lonely she was. We will call this lady Lynn. Lynn is now a single mother of five children with a few of them being teenagers. She has to work full time to support her kids and is concerned for their protection. Lynn's husband had an affair and has left them completely. No child support. No help. No visits. Nothing. (And just so you know....minimum wage in Mexico is $50 pesos a day for 8 hours of work. That's .50 cents an hour USD or basically $4.00 USD per day.) Some of these women are trying to raise kids by themselves on $20 USD per week.

Then after Lynn shared, one of older women spoke up and started consoling Lynn. This woman had been through the same thing years before, raising and supporting her kids by herself. She was trying to let Lynn know that she had been through it and that Lynn would make it. Then, two young women who happened to be sisters began to interject and share. One of the sisters had been through the same thing. Got married, got pregnant, husband had an affair, husband left her and the child. She is now a single mother of one. Then another lady sitting directly next to Christine started crying. This lady had also been through the same cycle. Got married, had kids, husband left and hasn't seen him since.

After this, another elderly lady started to encourage Lynn. As she was doing so she started breaking down in tears and started sharing how this whole pattern had happened to her when she was younger. Marriage. Kids. Divorce. Husband left. Women raising kids on their own. Our culture here in Merida is full of orphans and widows. This is a re-ocurring them here. We see it over and over and over again. When this meeting started the agenda was set on other things. This meeting was not intended to center around Women and Children Who Have Been Abandoned by their Husbands. That was not the plan. It just happened. Folks, women and children are wounded in this culture. The hearts of fathers in many instances have turned away from their kids and wives. And the ladies are caught in the middle, just trying to pick up the pieces.

It's very common. Very common. The scriptures say the following:

"My eye affecteth my heart." Lamentations 3:51

What people see with their eyes affects what is inside of their hearts. Here, in Mexico, there is no such thing as a Family Plan on your cable package. At around 8 or 9PM everynight and especially on the weekends, many of the basic cable channels show nudity and soft porn. Some of the commercials for movies have nudity. I was at the gym with my son Joseph about 2 months ago, swimming and running while having some father/son time. And when I looked up at the TV screens around the gym there was a Mexican music video with naked men and women running around on the T.V. screens. Total nudity. In the middle of the day on T.V. I couldn't believe it. I was floored. I looked around the room and no one looked embarrased except for me. Needless to say we don't go to the gym anymore.

In the U.S. you always have an option to get a cable T.V. package that has all the curse words cut out of semi-clean movies. Not here. Four letter words, F-bombs, whatever was in the original cut of a movie is what you get. The people of Mexico don't invest themselves into keeping their culture free of demonic influence. They have no problems risking exposing themselves to such things or their children. Do you know why so many men are wayward here? Pornography. This is a porn culture. Porn breeds adultery. The US is the porn manufacturing capital of the world. I have written on this in the past. But the Christians in America are more diligent to demand and to set up filters in the systems of entertainment to try and block that out from their kids. It's a more organized effort with corporate and technological support. You don't go to Gold's Gym or 24 Hour Fitness and see porn on the T.V. screens around the room. In the US a good deal of this garbage is filtered out of the main stream. Not here brethren.

So how are we participating in ministry? Well, so far the Lord has opened a door for Christine. As I told you before, IBN is having monthly meetings to try and help these mommies with early child-hood development. The pregnant moms, babies and single moms need help.

Last month the ladies of IBN gathered for a 2 1/2 hour workshop and ministry time to the pregnant moms, moms wanting to be pregnant and new mothers. The wealthy class and the growing middle class here are becoming educated about the importance of good eating, vitamins and healthy living before, during and after pregnancy. They are also learning about the importance of the parents role in childhood development. The poorer class does not have access to this information or the products needed to carry this out.


So in response we are trying to help with supplies and education. To start October's meeting, Michelle, one of the IBN ladies, made a game for the ladies that created a baby shower atmosphere. Michelle is super creative and put some hours into a really fun game for everyone to play. About 35 ladies attended.

Llana, a member of IBN, led the meeting the rest of the way with a power point presentation she produced about the importance of taking care of yourself before, during and after pregnancy along with step by step development expectations for new babies. Llana is a native Meridian with a degree in childhood development that she earned at one of the Universities here in Merida. Llana explained the importance of taking vitamins before you are pregnant, especially Folic acid.




Llana's presentation.

 

Baby Bib



Tammy Allred presenting a gift basket.

The ladies had a wonderful time of prayer, teaching, sharing and fellowship. They ended the afternoon with 6 special gift baskets to give away. 3 baskets were filled with items for ladies and the other 3 were made just for the 3 pregnant mom's in the group. The baskets were filled with lots of products a mom-to-be would need, like vitamins, ointment for sore nipples, some diapers and wipes, baby lotion. Christine wanted to make these ladies something extra special, so she whipped out her sewing machine and put together some adorable bibs with matching burp cloths for each Mom. One is pictured above on the right. They were so excited!!

Stay tuned for our next update as we will have another outreach at the end of November for the Mom's with new babies. We have 4 new Mom's so far that are coming and possibly more. We are preparing more gift baskets and Christine will be creating something very special for each mom.

Many Yucatecans who were born here never leave. One of the few exceptions to this would be some of the upper class Yucatecans heading to the United States or other countries for advanced levels of education. This minority of folks usually come back to utilize their education and provide services here. Examples of this would be various fields of medicine or architectural practice. There is also a small weathly class of people that gained generational wealth from Henequen production. You also have a growing middle class among the educated. However, that still leaves the majority of Yucatecans largely uneducated and often impoverished. Many of them have stayed that way from generation to generation. This is primarily a Catholic society which historically has cherished having children but that has incresingly suffered from many of the social breakups we discussed earlier.

Some of the wealthy and middle class have learned through education how to take care of themselves before, during and after pregnancy, but the lower class here is not educated about the importance of diet and vitamins before, during and after pregnancy. For generations, they have learned that you just have a child, feed them and protect them, but they do not understand the importance of early childhood developement as no one has taught them. They are often too poor to buy these necessary items. They hold there babies almost all the time, crawling is not really encouraged and necessary stimulation does not happen. What you see in their children as they grow is a lethargy and a lack of necessary development

This lower class that we speak of is growing in receptivity however. Again, we have teamed up with Tammy Allred of Inglesia Baptista Church to provide early childhood development information and supplies like vitamins, books to read to their children, baby rattles, developmental toys. Llana, as previously mentioned, helps with her education in early childhood development to help us teach these moms and moms-to-be about the importance of taking care of themselves and their new babies to bring them to full development potential.

This is were you can help. Mexico typically does not produce alot of these items we have been talking about, so they import them which really drives the price up, almost double in some cases in comparison to the States. We can purchase most of these items here at Wal-Mart as they are the least expensive even here. Please consider a donation for us to provide pre-natal vitamins, developmental toys and other necessary items. We cannot receive care packages as the mail system here can sometimes be unreliable. Many packages are stolen or looted before they arrive.

Please help us break the cycle here for these Mom's with education and supplies!!

Folks, remember, only .04% of our city knows the Lord. We have very few Christians in our city. Because this vertical relationship is broken, horizontal relationships within families suffer. We have a culture here where pornography is unrestrained in many settings. This leads to father's being pulled away from their wives and kids. The evidence is all around us. Orphans and widows are everywhere. Please pray for us to have a spiritual impact on our city and those around us. Please pray for the orphans and widows of Merida. Pray that the message of the Lord would spread rapidly through our city and be honored, that the Lord would work with us and confirm his word by signs that accompany it. We need your help. Pray for us. Let us know if you want to be involved. We do not ask for ourselves. We ask for others.

In  Christ,

JEB

jayblackshear@yahoo.com

http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.