Leaving the 99

In Luke 15:4, Jesus says, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” (NKJV).  I often think of this Parable of the Lost Sheep when I am on a plane leaving the continental United States.  Our nation is quite blessed in many ways; one of which is our freedom of religion.  One would be very hard-pressed to find a city in America that does not have at least one church, a few Christian residents, and access to the Gospel through other media, such as television, radio, the Internet, or books.

There are billions in this world without Christ, however, a great percentage of them must be found.  Just as Jesus alludes to searching for the one lost sheep, we as Christians are mandated to leave the ninety-nine, and go after the one.

Our latest INFUSION ADVENTURE team has just returned from Guatemala, and we literally had to search for “the one.”  Using 4x4 trucks to navigate through the Guatemalan mountains, we reached two different villages that had no food (we brought thousands of pounds of food to distribute), and very little exposure to the Gospel.  While we were there, we preached on the roadsides, and many villagers responded to our altar calls.  We prayed for the sick, handed out Bibles, and some said the prayer of salvation for the first time.  A village with no church, no Gospel media, no electricity, water, vehicles, or even food, now have some Bibles, food, and born-again Christians.

Choosing to Serve

During the last few weeks in March, we had two INFUSION ADVENTURE teams in the country of Mexico.  Once again, I wish the world could have seen what I saw.

Generation Church, from Colorado Springs, CO, was made up of young people in high-school and some were of college-age.  Rather than going on some mindless Spring Break excursion with their friends, these students chose to make a difference in the lives of people in another country.  Through construction, children’s VBS’s, ministry to indigenous Mexican Indians, an outreach in a neglected barrio, and spending time with girls and boys from a church-run orphanage, they literally impacted the lives of hundreds of people.  One family had a new home built for them.  Another had their home enlarged.  A daycare center was prepared.  Many children learned about Jesus and had somebody love on them.  Teenagers living a very rough lifestyle heard the Gospel and made new friends.  The city of Juárez was prayed over repeatedly.

A team of nine women, three girls, and one man  from The Sanctuary, in Tampa, FL, held twelve conference sessions and services reaching out to young girls and women.  Many of those they ministered to have come from unimaginable backgrounds, and there was a literal change in the countenance of these girls and women by the end of the week.  God truly used this team in a powerful way to infuse the love and power of Jesus Christ into those who were desperate for change, encouragement, and wholeness.

Including GI staff members, forty-two people made a decision to serve God in Mexico, and as a result, lives have been changed for eternity.

Can Jesus count on me?

 

I believe the greatest tool of the enemy on Western Christians is not mediocrity, poor leadership, or even doubt.  I believe it is distraction.  Even as you read these words, there is a strong possibility that you are skimming the page, or thinking about what you are going to do the moment this letter leaves your hands.

Distraction is what causes great leaders to fall.  They become consumed with something other than what God has called them to, and they make bad decisions.  The first of which is to neglect their daily devotional time and prayer life.  Distraction also divides families, ruins businesses, and ultimately ruins lives.

Jesus says, in Mark 7:6-7, “'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain.”  As Christians, we are mandated by God to reach out to the poor, and go into all the world to bring the message of the Gospel.  Jesus is counting on His followers to obey His words, and see their generation touched by His power and His love.

When Jesus was arrested, his disciples literally fled.  When we are challenged to reach our world for Jesus, the enemy will do everything in his limited power to distract us from building the Kingdom of God.  Issues dealing with money, family, work, or sickness will arise the moment we make a conscious decision to put our lives on hold in order that some might be won for Christ.

I believe we can overcome distraction by staying in the presence of God.  Jesus is asking us to be His hands, feet, and voice to those who are lost and needy.  Can He count on you?

6,000

We have just returned from our latest INFUSION ADVENTURE to Guatemala, and once again, God was faithful.  As promised, we ventured into the mountainous regions of the country to deliver what ended up being over 5,000 lbs. of food.  This food was given to hand-selected families who were experiencing the worst of the starvation that is occurring in this part of the world.

Initially, we only had enough funds come in to feed 38 families.  Through God’s favor, and some strategic decisions made on the field, we were actually able to provide food for 116 families.  This represents a minimum of 500 people receiving enough food to last them several weeks.

Obviously our job there is not done.  Though we fed 500, there are 6,000 without food.  Many of them have literally been existing on bananas and water for several months.

We were also able to conduct several services and times of prayer and evangelism out in the villages.  In one area, we literally met with the people on a road because no church exists.

There is a lot of work that Global Infusion can and will do to infuse life into this area of the world.  More food needs to be brought in, but this is just a temporary solution; we need to find a permanent one.  In this region of 6,000 people, there is only one Pastor, and he cannot reach them all himself.  We are scheduling another team to go back to Guatemala in April.  This will be a powerful trip, and the outreach you will be involved with will see an immediate impact.

If you have never looked into the eyes of a malnutritioned person, there is a part of your heart that has not yet been broken.  The images you have seen on television showing starvation around the world simply pale in comparison to standing in front  of a live human being who lacks a basic necessity of life.

Our lives in the West are extremely convenient.  Many times when I travel, I get frustrated when I do not have quick access to the goods and services I am used to living with at home.  One becomes very resourceful at times like these, however, there are many people in this world who face insurmountable circumstances.  They will not overcome these challenges without outside intervention.

When I was in the country of Guatemala a few months ago, I met a Pastor who has taken what responsibility he can to help a group of 6,000 people who are experiencing starvation as you read these words.  1,200 of them are under six years of age, or over sixty-five; these are considered high-risk, which means they will be the first to die.

In conjunction with Pastor Oseas, Global Infusion has researched the costs and distribution methods to help families obtain food.  We are only limited by financial resources.  There are people ready to go to Guatemala right now to literally deliver food to those who are in need.  All of these volunteers are believers who are trained to concurrently share the Gospel with each family.  Pray, give, or go - you can help make this vision a reality.

1.85 Billion

I remember speaking to a man in the jungles of Guyana while I was leading a mission trip. I will never forget him because of the look on his face. It was the look he gave me after I explained why our team was in his country. We were there to tell people about Jesus Christ, and how He came to save us. The man just stared at me in silence as I spoke to him through an interpreter. Eventually, I realized this was becoming a very one-way conversation, and I asked my friend, the interpreter, why is this man not responding to anything I am saying? My friend laughed, and immediately explained to me that he is listening intently because he has never heard of Jesus, God, or the Bible.

Apparently my friend already knew this information, and that is why he laughed. Now I was the one staring. He continued on to say that most likely no one in this village of more than 1,000 people have heard the Gospel message.

Have you ever met someone who has never heard the message of Salvation? You can rule out the majority of people in North America, because most have been exposed to the Gospel in some measure. Yet, as of the summer of this year, there are 1,850,402,000 people who are considered unreached. In other words, they have never heard of Jesus Christ, not even one time, or how they can be saved through Him.

You may not think we are saturated with Christianity here in North America; that is until you come with one of our Global Infusion teams to see the effect of Islam on a Middle-Eastern country like Egypt, or the Hindu domination in India.

A number like 1.85 billion people who have never heard the Gospel can be overwhelming. You may ask yourself what can you, as just one person, do to lower that number? What can you do as a Christian to reach those in other countries who may have had brief exposure to the plan of salvation, but have not made that commitment? If you are reading these words, then God wants to speak to you about reaching the world for Him.

From Ujjain

Ujjain, INDIA - As these words are being written, we are currently in the country of India where for the third year in a row, we are facilitating a conference for indigenous Indian Pastors. In addition to the multi-day conference, we are spending time preaching and ministering in village churches and teaching at the college campus run by our contact’s organization. Graduates of this college will ultimately be sent to the unreached people of India to evangelize and plant churches.

The city of Ujjain, located in north-central India, is known as the city of temples. The Shipra river, which runs through the city, has extreme importance to Hinduism. Once every twelve years, over a million people make a pilgrimage to Ujjain, strip down their clothes, and bath in the river. They believe that this action will wash away their sins. Within 2 kilometers of this river, there are over 3,000 temples. There are many mentally ill, deranged, and demonized people in this city.

One of these temples is built to the god Shiva, the god of death. Thousands of people filter through this immense complex, which also runs several stories underground. They bring various sacrifices to this god on a daily basis. Other temples are built to the god of alcohol and even the god of witchcraft. The Pastors we worked with, can verify that human sacrifice and eating of the dead regularly occur at the temple devoted to witchcraft and evil.

Please pray for our Christians brothers and sisters in this city. These are not fictional stories, or events that occurred many years ago. They are real, and they are happening right now. The spiritual atmosphere in the city of Ujjain is dark, heavy, and demonic. Yet in an area full of Hindu fundamentalists and anti-conversion laws, these incredible men and women of God continue to evangelize and plant churches.