Are you a doer or a hearer only?

I have a friend who has been faithfully exercising and eating healthy for over a year now.  Anyone can see that she has lost a lot of weight.  Many will look at her and say “I wish I could loose weight like that”.  Now I know my friend and she is willing to help anyone who wants to have a healthier life; she will guide them, she will encourage them, but she can’t do it for them. 

For anyone who will listen, God has told us how to live a blessed and prosperous life, but it’s going to be up to us to listen and to do what He says.  James 1:22 tells us: do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (NIV) It then goes on to say, if you do what it says, you will be blessed in what you do. (James 1:25)

The NKJV puts it this way: But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

It’s going to take some doing! 

Just going to church on Sunday morning and listen to a great sermon isn't going to change anything unless you’re willing to do something.  It has always been God’s desire to bless us and that is why He tells us what we need to do. 

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God” – Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (NKJV). Then the next 12 verses listed these blessings. 

My friend that I mentioned earlier sought to exercise and eat well.  She has found many other rewards as a result: more energy, healthier hair, better skin, and she sleeps better.  She didn't seek those things but they are a result of her seeking to eat better.

When we seek God, we can’t help but be blessed.  It isn’t what we seek, but blessings are the result of seeking God because they are part of the covenant.  They are what God has promised.

Jesus said: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (food to eat, clothes to wear vs. 31) will be added unto you. – Matthew 6:33

Are you a doer? Are you seeking the kingdom of God? Or are you trying to seek the reward and not God (the rewarder). 


Jesus said: “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as your self.” – Matthew 22:37,39

Are you a doer?

Jesu said: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” – Luke 6:38

Are you a doer?

Jesus said: “And whenever you stand praying if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses” – Mark 11:25-26

Are you a doer or are you a hearer only?

Highlights from Uganda

Denver has been working on writing down some of the detail from our time in Uganda during January and February 2014, and I plan to post some of that through several blogs but I see how quickly days and weeks slip by with no post so I decided to post this video with several of the highlights. 

I put the video together to show at our church after we returned from Uganda but I know many of you were not able to be there.  

The video can only begin to show some of what God did during out time there.  

Please pray with us as we seek God's direction for our time in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania this coming winter.

Good Honey

I saw an article last week about some bees in France that had produced blue and green honey.  At first the bee keepers were alarmed at the colored honey but discovered the source of the strange event.  The bees had been feeding on waste from an M&M factor.  The blue and green was a result of the bees feeding on the candy coating shells from the M&M’s.  Blue and green honey may sound like it would be kind of fun, but for the beekeepers this was a major problem because the honey was actually contaminated with toxins and not sellable.

 

It profited them nothing.

What you feed on will directly affect what you produce.  This is true for your body as well as for your spirit.  Sometimes it might sound fun, but does it profit anything?

 

John 6:27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

John 6:54-56 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

Many times we get caught up with the cares of this world.  Instead of feeding on Jesus and the Word, we labor for food which will perish and we feed on things of this world.  Jesus told us that the Father knows that we need these things, but that we should not seek them.  That if we would seek first the Kingdom of God, that God would provide these things.

Matthew 6:31-33 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

If we put good in, we will get good out. 

If we put evil in, we will get evil out. 

Proverbs 4:20-22 

My son, give attention to my words;

Incline your ear to my sayings.

Do not let them depart from your eyes;

Keep them in the midst of your heart;

For they are life to those who find them,

And health to all their flesh.

God’s Word produces the “good” honey

Jesus asked his disciples: Did you lack anything?

It has been over a month now since we departed Africa and returned to Alaska.  During our time in Africa, we had very little access to internet and were not able to keep up with blogs, but we know that there are many who are still anxious to hear the details of what God did.

To tell the entirety of this three month journey seems nearly impossible. From the personal interactions and growth in our own hearts, to the growth of each team member who traveled with us to the miracles of healings in each location and the reception of the message in God’s Word that we preached is more than most readers would be willing to sit thru. After all it was almost three months filled each day with hours of ministry, so we will be posting a few blogs over the next weeks to fill you in on some of the amazing things that God did.

We traveled to many locations throughout Uganda and Rwanda. Some churches were in cities, some in remote villages, some ministry was in prison and some were on the side of the road as we moved along traveling to our next destination. Almost always we were receiving phone calls asking when our team would arrive to minister. Almost always they said we were leaving too soon and every time we were asked to return again next year not only in the same location but also in nearby locations to hold other Pastors conferences for nearby pastors who had not been able to be made aware of the sessions we held.

The meetings were more than meeting and messages. The meetings were ANNOINTED meeting with Jesus speaking thru His Holy Spirit building relationships and love with people who most often spoke an entirely different language than ours.  It was thru this process that I was made aware that God is not waiting to tell His Body ALL truth until we can receive it. He has already told us ALL TRUTH NOW – we just have not translated it to our own understanding as of yet, and the better we get at translating the Word of God the closer to the Full Knowledge of God we will become. It is not God who is changing but WE who are changing from Glory to Glory boasting in who He is.

The details of the journey began with a focus on the people and location we had planned to move in and out of and then we began to see God working in the hearts and lives of each of us who were traveling as a team of 7 members as well. Our personal interactions brought as much growth between us individually as the sessions at each location. The Giving of our time, worship, our love, dedication, and adjustment to the needs of the group made the whole experience an ongoing journey that likely only those of us involved will ever be able to fully comprehend.

We want to thank all of those who gave so we could believe in this outreach succeeding. However, even here is part of the miracle. Unlike last year when Stacey & I went to Africa and our entire budget was in our hand before we left America, this year it was not. In fact we were $6,000.00 short of our budget for this trip when we left home and we did no hold in our had two of the needed plane tickets even to return to the United States and Alaska at our departure. It was a walk of Faith. Yes some people had support us in part, our church had given some, and we had given some of our own. Yet this three month mission was going to be a work of calling those things which are not as though they were + Faith= God said GO and Do this and we were going to do. He was going to have to take care of the detail of how it was going to be accomplished. To make the story even more interesting, at every location we had budgeted a certain amount to accomplish different needed items. When we arrived at each of those locations The Lord showed us things He was asking us to do in addition to the ones we had on the list. These things involved more money than was budgeted for those locations. It was our faith being tried as we choose each time to include the new decision and give extra to that location. Since I have begun to tell this story here, I may as well add that each church responded to our teaching on Breaking the Spirit of Poverty by giving offerings and sowing seed into our ministry faithful to God’s Word. Now before you conclude that these offerings made up the shortfall needed let me say that all thought the money given did add up over time –the entire income from these monies was about $500.00.     

I am not sure how good you are at math or budgeting? Yet most casual readers will recognize that begin $6,000.00 short minus giving more than was planned + $500.00 does equal breaking even. Yet God began to do things like stretch money further than planned or maybe we choose to give and do without things we had planned for and at the end of Uganda Stacey informed me that if we did not have to rent a vehicle in Rwanda we would have what we needed for the rest of the mission – even the new plane tickets to New York, and then the other one to ALASKA! Yet this financial Blessing is such a small part of the trip it is only worth mentioning because God performs His Word Faithfully.

We have seen Him Provide our funds in advance. We have seen Him provide as we go, and now we know that we only need to follow His direction to our spirits and He is taking care of everything we need. We believe our equipment is on its way for future trips as well, including our own plane and sound equipment, projectors and vehicles to accomplish what He directs us to continue to do.

Please continue to pray with us.

Yes it is right for me to feel this way

Over the past several weeks, Denver and I have traveled to many villages and churches here in Uganda.  We have come to bring them God’s love and His word. 

We were blessed to take with us a team from Uganda who does singing and dancing ministry and also children’s workshops.  If you get a chance to look at our facebook page, you can see several of the pictures of them and what they do.  Thank you Gloria, Josephine, TK, and Princess Samantha.  You truly will be part of our family forever.  Also to our special friend and brother John Robert who drove the team through the country and took such care to watch over us all.  We love you.

Because of limited internet we have been unable to post blogs all the details but it has been an amazing experience and so many lives have been touched, including ours.  Our journey began in Entebbe Uganda at Tabernacle of Christ Church and then continued to Miracle of Faith Church in Mukono.  As we were leaving Mukono, I wrote a blog that I was unable to post because we didn’t have internet.  Although there is much to tell about all the travels, I have decided to still post the blog about Mukono Miracle of Faith Church. 

More to come as time allows:

We have spent the past twelve days in Mukono, Uganda. This is the second preaching Conference during our time we will spend here in Africa this year. For this Conference we returned to Mukono where we had preached our final two days of the previous trip to Africa last March. We did eight days of teaching at the Miracle of Faith Church as well as open air conferences for three nights and a soccer tournament that was sponsored in our name.  When I think of my brothers and sisters in Mukono, I have a greater understand of Paul’s writings to the church and the Miracle of Faith church is like my church of Philippi. 

Paul writes:

I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.  God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Yes, it is right for me to feel this way about the people of Mukono and God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.  When we travel and preach the Word of God, we give all we have of ourselves, both financially and spiritually. The refreshing of the spirit is critical in order to be able to continue to give.   Our family at Miracle of Faith Church always fills us in a way that leaves me bounding with joy.  

Pastor Margaret, George, Rolant, and everyone at Miracle of Faith Church hosted our time; covering our hotel, transportation, and food cost. The church also took a daily offering for us to help cover the cost that will allow us to travel to an orphanage in Katogwe and to bless the children there with school supplies.  This is an amazing thing for a church that is still believing God for a building to worship in and chairs to sit on but they have understood what God teaches on sowing a seed and have put their faith in God to provide what they need. This takes great faith to great faith to let go of what you have, not trusting in money but trusting in God and I know God will bless them for this because He is faithful to His word.

George our host asked us if they could host a soccer (football to Ugandan’s) Tournament in our name.  When he ask it did not seem like much of a request to us and we agreed.  Little could we know how much of an outreach this was. Many teams competed prior to our arrival but we were able to attend the final day; and two final matches, first the under 16 age and then the under 11 age group.

After the final match ended we were supposed to say a few words to the group and crowd and give a few small love gifts to whomever we wished and award the trophy for the final match. These boys, many of them orphans, hung on our every word not knowing we had uniform to share with them when we were done speaking. We shared where we are from and how we came to Africa. 

The tournament was built around HIV /STD education, and counseling.  We shared connecting the information on the pamphlet with the response of the crowd. Some took the pamphlets others did not. Some read them others did not. We likened this to the way people treated God and His Word. Many people just ignore it; some read it thinking they know what it says and others look deeply into Jesus and learn from what He has said. The game of life is coming to the final goal. Will we champion by faith in Jesus or lose the Game without a score?

Then we began to recognize the volunteer coaches, team captains, and goal keepers with Jerseys. We awarded Honorable mention jerseys to the losing runner up teams and gave recognition to the organizer with a few journals and jerseys as well.

The audience was so touched by our love that they announced that each Year they were going to hold the Denver & Stacey Tournament adding events as they are able. The amazing part is they just wanted to use our name and never ask anything from us other than our recognition.

If you could have seen the love of the children for us – players and non-players alike- Children whose clothes themselves were beyond repair sharing smiles and love for no return. The leaders encouraged the teams to give each other gifts at the conclusion as sportsmanship. We were blessed when two teams agreed to share their gifts to honor us; a simple plastic cup so full of love that it is priceless.

The church also blessed us by allowing us to bring four of the boys from Abba House and hosting them as well.  Mukono welcomed them with open arms.  Julius, William, Grace and Emmanuel have made us proud with outstanding behavior and participation.  These four boys have not had many, if any, opportunities to leave the orphanage on field trips, so to see them so well behaved was a breath of fresh air.  . Each of the boys was able to help in the conference in many ways. They all helped with the daily children’s lessons and children’s worship.  They also assisted with translating, worship, sound systems, setting up the open air conference, and many other things that I’m sure that I am forgetting to list.   My heart was overflowing with joy every time I saw one of them getting involved and helping. My family is growing every day and I now have four more sons and the family in Mukono counts them as their new sons as well.  It was very difficult to let them go at the end of the time but I know already that God has a plan that will lead us back to spending even more time with them.

 There were too many details of the conference to give in one short blog but Denver spent many hours teaching this week on the finished worked of Jesus Christ, the Blood Covenant, Breaking the spirit of poverty, Right Thinking, and the High Priest. I also did a teaching on Healing and on the final day, together we did a marriage teaching. Many people testified to healing of spirits and of bodies throughout the conference.

One special testimony came from one of the boys that had traveled here with us. He told how for the first couple days of the conference he was seeing there was chapatti for sale and he was wishing that he had some.   Then on the third day I gave him 1000 shillings (about 40 cents).  One chapatti cost 500 shillings so he bought one and had enough left to buy another the next day but then Denver taught on sewing a seed and so he decided to sew the 500 shillings (20 cents) instead.  God blessed him with 2,000 shillings, so he bought chapatti and again sewed part of the money, and then God blessed him with 5,000 shillings. 

I actually saw all the boys sewing money into the offerings more than once and this blessed me because I could see that they were hearing Gods word and putting their faith in Him and not in the 500 shillings that they knew would get them a chapatti.

 This is the heart of the people here.  They may not have much to give by American standards but like the widow with two bits, they give all they have, and it does up.  What they have all given will buy some school supplies for others, and soap for widows. 

We will continue to pour ourselves out as offerings these weeks to come, but we leave Mukono full and ready to give. 

Philippians 1:9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.

 

 

Our daughters and sons

Denver and I have been very blessed to spend the last couple of days with the children at Abba House.  Our hearts have grown in the love that we have for these special children.  We did not have some big master plan about what we would do with our time with them but have just taken each minute as it comes and tried to get a little time with each of the children to love on them.  We love them each so very much and I know it will be very difficult on each of us when we leave but they will always have a special place in our hearts.

 

Last year when we came here, we had only a short time to give them their gifts of shoes, sheets, and bibles and did not have the time to get to know each little heart.  The children did not forget, and have even written letters to some of the children that had written to them last year.  Many of them have expressed how much they appreciated these gifts and yet how they did not understand why we were not able to stay and spend the time with them. They need these supplies like shoes and sheets and they appreciate them so very much, but there is nothing more that they want than to be loved. 

 

We have received many letters from the children and one of them that I read today asked if she could be our daughter.  Yes, she is our daughter.

We have eight children plus however many more the Lord gives us.

 

 

 

 

To us they are all our children and yet we also know that God is calling us to many places and we can not actually take them with us but we will love them and pray for them and we hope that God will allow us to come visit them often.

 

 

 

 

Many missionaries come to bless and yet there is no greater blessing than the love we receive from these children  

Just call us friends

From the heart of Denver but it is my heart as well

I Corinthians 3:14 says there is a reward for our work…
Heb 11:6 says we must believe God is a rewarder of those who seek him…
As a follower of Jesus Christ there is nothing more satisfying than giving. When that Giving involves a child who is on the receiving end nothing can be closer to bring joy to warm the givers heart.
Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
In the Sermon on the Mount , Jesus taught His disciples to Bless the Poor in spirit; to bless those who mourn; to bless who hunger for righteousness.

 He said even a cup of cold water given in His Covenant Name would be rewarded.
Like you -As follower of Jesus- It is the most joyous thing to Love people and children.
To see the smiles on their faces when they get the understanding that somebody loves them and thinks they are important.

 Here is Africa the people call Stacey & I- Pastors. Really it is not what they call us that bless us.
 I will tell you a secret of my heart.
What blessed me the most- is to see the change in the faces as we arrive and begin to speak of how Jesus changed our lives and put love in our hearts for people. The initial reception is usually kind, yet often guarded or even resistant…..it is this change to the melting heart into friendship that happens as we speak that is my greatest reward. 

As we are preaching the people, who were guarded, become one in spirit with us and us with them. This is exactly the greatest reward that we can receive as brother and sisters in Jesus. Call us apostles, call us pastors, calls us priest of the Lord, or just call us friends. We are not looking for titles….we are looking for the melting of the heart into brotherhood and love as one in unity that is occurring everywhere we go.
We saw it in Haiti; we have seen it in Mukono; we have seen it in South Sudan, and this week it is happening again at the Tabernacle of Christ’s Church in Entebbe, Uganda under Pastor Kaaya and his people.

 Julius a 17 year old of Abba house asked me recently what the meaning of “Worth It All was? I cannot explain the answer to that question better than this: the answer to your questions Julius is: “this melting of the heart to acceptance is the meaning of Worth It All Thank you friends.

 

Old friends and New friends

Greetings from Uganda

We have changed hotels and now have better internet access for a few days so I wanted to take a few minutes to give you some updates on our time here, although to tell you everything would not allow me the time that I also need to rest.

We have been so blessed to see old friends and to meet many new. 

Last year we were only able to spend one day with the children at Abba House, but they had not forgotten us and they had not forgotten the children that had written them letters. They greeted us with smiles, hugs, and questions.   The first question is always to ask how our children are doing, usually followed by wanting to know why they did not come with us. The questions that followed were questions of the children at the church.  They also wanted us to know that they still have some of the balls that we brought to them.   What a joy it has been to see them all again and to meet the new children that have joined the family.  We were excited to see Julius and spend time with him.  He took us around and showed us the garden and other things that they are working on there.  We also meet new missionary friends that have been at Abba House and have been such a blessing to the children there in so many ways. 

The children were so blessed with the new school shoes.  I do not know if words can help you know just how much it means to them that everyone in Healy cares so much for them.  In America we do not fully comprehend what it means to them because for them, even though they have never met you, you are family to them.  For them, they will never forget what you have done.  

 

   

 

 

 

   

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, while we were visiting the children at Abba House, they received a visit from two couples from South Sudan and have come to Uganda because of the current fighting in South Sudan.  The most crazy (only God) thing is that the couples were from the orphanage that we had been to last year while in South Sudan. What a blessing it was to catch up with old friends and hear the updates of what is going on there, not just the fighting, but what God is doing through the new missionary couple that has come.  I can’t say that I know for sure why God put this meeting together. Perhaps it was simply to bless me with updates for knowing what is going on with these children and widows that I love so much, or perhaps God has yet another purpose but for now it just leaves me smiling and saying “only God”. 

We have had two nights of service at The Tabernacle of Christ Church. This is the church that actually operates the orphanage there.  Pastors and people have come from many churches and I believe that they are receiving from the Word of the Lord.  There is a precious older lady, who does not understand what I say to her, but I take her tiny hand in mine and I hope that she knows how much I love her.  Another man who I learned from one of our new friends is over a 100 has been there both nights and Denver was able to pray for him and for healing for his back.   The people of Uganda receive us with such love and so much hunger to hear God’s word.