Believe

With all the incredible reports of success you read month after month in our newsletters, emails, or blogs, do not be fooled, none of this comes without a price to be paid.  First and foremost, the greatest price that could ever be paid was done so by my Savior, Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross, and His subsequent resurrection.  This amazing act of sacrifice sparked a chain of men and women across the pages of history to BELIEVE God and take giant steps of faith in order to bring the Gospel around the world. 

Take our contact in India, for example.  As a high-ranking official in the Indian army, he converted to Christianity from Hinduism.  After this radical transformation, he set out on a God-given mission to plant churches all over India and propagate Jesus wherever he went.  One of his sons, a dear friend of mine whom I attended grad-school with, has told me stories of his father being chased by militant Hindu zealots, seeking to kill him and his family.  He also recounts stories of he and his siblings passing out from hunger when they were young because there was no food in the house.  Their father had chosen to follow God and had received a vision to change his nation, but from an objective point of view, God had abandoned him.  In the face of criticism and persecution, he BELIEVED in God.  Today, thirty years later, Indian Evangelical Team (IET) is on pace to cross 7,000 churches planted, with over 250,000 people in combined church membership.

Throughout my entire life, my family has faced many challenges in ministry.  Even this year, we have experienced a physical transition from one state to another, gone weeks without a paycheck, spent days upon days separated from one another due to mission trips, had one door close and another one open for our office, and run GI operations with very little personnel.  Ask God what He wants you to do to further the Gospel around the world through Global Infusion.  Some people have told me they cannot afford to give towards missions right now; I say, in the scope of eternity, we cannot afford not to.  This is what I know:  God’s heart breaks for lost souls. God gave me a vision.  God’s ways are not my ways.  God is faithful, and I BELIEVE.

Just one little thing

In my recent trip to Egypt, I was with a few members of our team, late one night, in a perfume shop speaking with the owner.  There were places to sit for the patrons to relax and decide what to buy.  We took advantage of these seats, but we were there for a different reason.  Earlier in the day, one of our team members saw the potential for sharing Jesus with this man, so she promised to return, bring some friends, and spend some time talking together.

This young man seemed like a prosperous businessman, and he made it very apparent that he was a devout Muslim.  You could see in his eyes, and hear in his voice, that he truly believed what he was saying.  He knew that we were Christians, and he went on endlessly about how he believed Christians and Muslims were virtually the same in their beliefs.  He talked about how we both seek peace, joy, health, wisdom, and eternal life.  We seek to better the world we live in, and he gave many personal (almost Pastoral) examples from his own life.  We give alms (tithes) to God.  We pray to the same God.  Most of what he was saying was debatable at the least, but at the end of his comparison, he said, “There’s just one little thing that makes us different.”  That one little thing he was referring to, was of course, Jesus Christ.  That one little thing is certainly not little; in fact, it, or He, is the only thing.

We are not the same, my Egyptian friend.  What separates us now is what will separate us for eternity if you do not accept Jesus as Lord.  There are many people in this world that are confused, blinded, and lost.  Global Infusion has been reaching them, and we will continue to reach them with your support.  Please prayerfully consider how God will use you to support our ongoing vision to impact the nations for Him.

The REAL Inconvenient Truth

One week before we arrived in Egypt, there was a mission team of Egyptians and Sudanese that were ministering in Sudan.  Their goal was to get to various villages that have not received much attention in regards to receiving the Gospel.  As you may know, Sudan is in a militant state right now, and on top of the war, the poverty, the political corruption, and the genocide, there is persecution towards Christians.

An Egyptian friend of mine, named Bassem, was leading this team.  Their trip was very successful, and on the last day, they got into their van to return home, and began heading north towards Egypt.

Prior to reaching the border, the van was stopped, and attacked by Islamic fundamentalists because they knew there were Christians inside.  They had fully-automatic weapons, and with these guns, they opened fire.  The driver somehow managed to drive away, but not after 4 members of the team were shot dead, and 11 others were wounded.  Bassem survived.

The real “inconvenient truth” has nothing to do with global warming.  It has everything to do with Jesus Christ, the Cross, and the Word of God.  The world cannot deal with this man from Nazareth or His death and resurrection.  The Gospel confronts people where they are, and it is the most inconvenient of truths.  It does not allow you to live any way you want.  In infringes on one’s personal lifestyle.  There are parameters, restrictions, and guidelines to follow.  In humanity’s quest for personal wealth, fame and power, the Gospel is deemed foolish because it does not focus on such things.  In fact, it speaks to pursuing their opposites.  And what kind of person believes in a man that lived twenty centuries ago, supposedly resurrected, and continues to monitor our lives through some ethereal method?

Whenever I am in a country such as Egypt, a country dominated by a man-made religion or cult, there is one verse that just seems to make so much sense.  In 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul writes: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  Until you talk to a devout Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Atheist, or any other spiritually misguided person, you may not fully understand the deep reality behind this verse.  To the unbeliever, Jesus Christ and His life appears suffocating and terribly inconvenient.  But to us who have experienced a true transformation, the Cross of Christ has set us free eternally, and His power is active in our lives every day.

What I See

I wish that everyone who reads our monthly letters, and sees our INFUSION ADVENTURE videos, or hears a representative of Global Infusion speak, could see what I see.  As the frequency of our trips overseas continues to increase, so does the incredible need I see around the world for a powerful, loving, healing, Savior.

If you could see what I see, you would pray relentlessly for God to open doors for you to reach out to those who are lost, broken and hurting.  You would see the cares of this life grow strangely dim.  You would see a planet full of people overcome with every kind of darkness imaginable.

What is it exactly that I see?  I see the images of abject poverty.  I see the results of nations blindly swearing allegiance to demonic powers.  I see the hopelessness in the eyes of the physically and mentally ill.  I see the desire and abilities locked up in the mind of the uneducated children.  I agree that there is much work to be done here at home, but “over there,” in countries that many people rarely give a second thought to, the situations are far, far worse.

I also see a solution.  To some, the purchasing of some land and a solitary building seems like an every day, low-end, real estate deal.  I, however, see a World Missions Campus that is dedicated to impacting people and nations around the world with the message of Jesus Christ before time runs out.  Before time runs out for them.  Before time runs out for us.  Before time runs out for our world.  Jesus said, “Behold, I come quickly”

(Rev. 22:7,12).  Please prayerfully consider how you can be a part of making this Campus a reality.  If you could only see what I see…

The time is now

The time is now.  The time is now to reach souls, to pray for the hurting, to hug a child, to build a house, to give away food, to meet a need as Jesus would.  As I talk with many people who are considering going overseas with us on a trip, the necessary cares of their lives seem to crowd their decision to step out in faith.  For those who ultimately make it to the mission field, I encourage them to walk through life with the same faith it took to come on the trip.  Life will always get in the way of doing something for God.

Life is a series of decisions, and those who follow the leading of the Holy Spirit will make Godly choices that lead to a life of victory.  They will also walk in the will of the Father and impact the lives of many people around the world.  The lost need us to make time for them, and that time, is right now.

Bare minimum

I have heard many, many sermons when the Pastor encourages the congregation to slow their lives down and take time for God.  This, of course, is very important, but it is also just the bare minimum of what we should be doing as Christians.

Daily Bible reading and prayer, coupled with being active in a local body and being proactive with our faith (ie: witnessing, mission work, social justice endeavors) are still just part of what we are already expected to do as Christians.  According to the words of Jesus, we have quite a mandate on our lives as His followers.  If you want to do an little exercise that will open your eyes to the basic expectations of Christianity, read Matthew 10.  When you read it, imagine for a moment that Jesus is talking directly to you.  Put yourself right in front of Jesus as He is instructing His disciples; because if you consider yourself a Christian, you are, after all, one of His disciples.

Once you have read it, you will see that Jesus was not exactly dangling the fleeting carrot of financial prosperity in the face of His followers.  In fact, He was explicitly warning them that the Lord’s work would come with great risk.  This risk, however, did not lack reward.  As a result of the Disciples’ work, thousands upon countless thousands are in eternity with Jesus forever.

Global Infusion was started by faith, and exists by faith.  The battle we fight for souls on the mission field is very real.  There are entire nations totally blind to the Gospel, and we need to get to the people with the message of Jesus Christ, and get there soon.

GEF

Imagine growing up in a place where clean water is just a dream; a place where food is scarce. A place where the majority of people who fall ill, die because there is no medicine, and there are no real doctors.

Disease is rampant, especially AIDS, and the oldest person in your village is 57, but she will die soon...she has lived longer than most.

Electricity and fuel are virtually unobtainable, yet some days you see large medicines on wheels traveling rapidly across the rugged terrain in the distance. You wonder where they have come from... where they are going.

You live in fear. Not only of what tomorrow may or may not bring, but the demonic spiritual climate around you is ever-present; the chanting, the rituals, the curses. The witch-doctor is not a figment of your imagination; he lives less than a half-mile from your family's hut.

Welcome to the village life in West Africa. This is not a scene from history, but from the twenty-first century. Hundreds of thousands of Africans live in such conditions; not because they want to, but because they have no choice. Living in the city requires a good job. A good job requires education; something that is in the formal sense the word, is non-existent in the villages. 

This past month we sent support funds out of our Ghana Educational Fund (GEF).

We are currently sponsoring the education of 217 West-African village children.  Without our support, these children would not receive an education, and they would be confined to living in their village with very little hope of ever going to high school, college, or getting a job.