News From The North...

By -

Greetings from the schizophrenic North

From an early frost in late September to unseasonably warm and dry in late October. Weird! But that’s Southeast Alaska. The only thing we can depend on is lots and lots of rain!

As I (Mark) write this I am struggling. I really don’t want to address what I feel compelled to address, but I know that Voice, so I’m going to go for it and trust that His grace and love will overshadow any failing on my part.

No doubt many of you are aware of the StrangeFire conference that was held last week. For those that are not, here’s a brief summary. A well-known and influential leader hosted a conference for the (apparently) primary purpose of condemning those that believe that the gifts of the Spirit are still valid and active today. In the lead up to this conference, the leader stated, in no uncertain terms, that those in the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement are at best heretics, and that, in fact, most of these are not even Christians. The fall-out from this is exactly what you might expect. Many are hurt, offended and wounded. There is a sense of betrayal, akin to being disowned by family.

But as grievous as the charges hurled at the Spirit-filled believers were, their response, for the most part has been wonderful! Instead of returning fire, most have responded with a call to prayer, love, and forgiveness. This, one would hope, will be the real legacy of  this conference.

I don’t want to leave the impression that there was no truth brought forth at this conference. There was. There are teachings, doctrines and practices within the Spirit-filled church that need to be examined in the light of scripture. But that is true of every steam of Christianity that exists. However, this is not why I bring this up.

I’m sure that some of you reading this have felt the bite of this wound. So have I. But let’s not allow that pain to become bitterness, or the doubt sowed to become unbelief. We stand on solid ground and we have a Comforter that rejoices in turning our wounds into sources of healing for others. Let’s not deny our pain or our doubt but give them to the One that will turn any burden into a blessing.

This coming year promises to be a full one. As of right now, we are working toward at least 3 trips, Romania, India and South Sudan. The tentative schedule is Romania in mid-February, India in April and Sudan in the late summer or early fall. If all this is going to happen we’re going to need a lot of the Fathers’ provision and a lot of help from His family. The cost of the trip to Romania is going to be about $3000.00. Would you ask the Lord if He would have you help with this? We would also like to see some folks join us on these trips, so let us know if any of these pique your interest.

You folks are the BEST! Year after year you are faithful to give and pray and for that we are truly grateful! God has truly blessed us with a great family.

Yours for the Kingdom,

Mark & Julie

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Mary Ann's Desk

By -
Image
“And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen” Mark 16:20 The first order of the day is to wish you a very Happy and Wonderful New Year as you venture out into the new opportunities that await you. Some folks are wondering if the world will come to an end in 2012, as the Mayan Indians and others have predicted, but our faith is not in these predictions. Our faith is in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ who told us to “occupy ‘til I come” (Luke 19:13), and so we carry on in full assurance that He is with us and will be with us all the way to the end, no matter when “the end” occurs. LTI’S CALENDAR FOR 2012 IS ALREADY FILLING UP Mark leaves for India on February 24th, and we are expecting this to be a most fruitful conference. Please read Mark’s column for all the details. I have planned to be in Nigeria again this year in March. However, the date for the conference is not yet known, a...
Read more

Uganda Trip Report

By -
Image
“ And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2 We arrived home on May 30th, safe and sound from a wonderful time of ministry in Uganda. KAMPALA - the capitol of Uganda, and the place where we ministered, is a most beautiful city. Originally positioned on 7 hills, now spilling over onto 10, Kampala is a lush paradise of tropical plants, trees and flowers, and home to some of the most beautiful birds I’ve ever seen. Although its location is just barely north of the Equator, its altitude of 4300 feet above sea level provides a moderate climate year round that is most enjoyable. The southeastern part of the city is on the shores of Lake Victoria, the world’s 3rd largest lake by area, Africa’s largest lake by area, and the largest tropical lake in the world. As a result, the city enjoys the benefits of breezes that blow across the lake into the city. My travels in Africa a...
Read more

It's Been a Busy Month...

By -
Image
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3 G reetings to you today. I thank God for you and trust you are enjoying the richness of His blessings in your life every day. A Very Busy Month The Blog At some point in every day I sit at my computer to write on my blog apassionformissions.org, becoming more and more skilled in doing this project. There are still a few more “construction” things that need to be done before the site is finished. I think everything will be accomplished by the end of this month. I am very happy with it and thank the Lord for this tool that will allow me to cast the net for new generations of full-time missionaries until He comes again. Some of the topics that are, or will be written about are: the vision for the blog, including Casting the Net with details;  The Need, The Call and The Preparation for ministry as a missionary; God’s ...
Read more