El Reino

I received new inspiration from my wife to revamp my blog and get on with the show. So here is the new look at least for now. I will consider this is my way of unofficially celebrating Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year). New year--- New blog.

So a lot and not a whole lot has been going on down our way. We are now well into the rainy season, but the weather has been exceptionally well. It has allowed for us to get a lot of work done at the training center, some days much more than others. We now have a great couple who are the care takers on site: Diego & Fanny. They are about our age and we have developed a great friendship with them. The Lord is doing great things in their hearts and they have taken great interests in coming to church with us. They recently told me that they feel as if they are part of a family with us and our church. So you can pray that the Lord continues to use us and the Church to speak to the depths of their hearts of His salvation.

Normal days have involved painting, cleaning and fixing floors, and removing large piles of trash, limbs, and other hideous eye-sores around the property. So it seems as though week in--week out we have a cleaner, organized, and more of a finished product. I have been thinking lately and asking the Lord to remind me the purpose for all this labor. It all seems so tedious sometimes and exhausting, but we have to keep plugging away at it for our brothers and sisters in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. I think about my brothers and sisters in Sudan who live in such a dry and desolate land and what an amazing day it will be when they arrive on the site in the plush and green primary rain forest surrounded by the many animals, plants, and sounds of God's creation. I think on that day all the thoughts of exhaustion and second guessing of "Is it really worth it?" will vanish as the Holy Spirit works in so many hearts. Until that day comes, we have to keep pressing forward.

In other matters I have given the United States economy some thought and maybe I can shed some light. I am no economist by any means, nor do I have any political insight or even the patience to be up to date and understand the latest of political happenings. But I know enough in this moment that the situation seems grave and worsening. I don't understand 400 page bills that propose $700 billion dollar bail outs (even though I am not sure how this works to come up with almost a trillion dollars when you are already nearly $10 trillion in debt, is someone printing more money?--- I don't know, hence my earlier statement). I don't really understand how Wall Street works and all these complex deals being passed about in the darkness. But what I believe the issue which has lead to such crisis is not just in the United States but in the entire world. It was something that Jesus spoke about in the book of Matthew chapter 6, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." The heart of the world is in earthly kingdoms. The world values it's earthly kingdoms because it is blinded to the true reality of the Father's Kingdom. The treasure of this world is dependent on building riches and glorious kingdoms that are so fragile and crumble at the slightest drop in the S&P 500. These kingdoms face sure destruction in the coming of the King Messiah. I like what one Christian artist named Jason Upton sang, "And who will we praise when we've praised all our lives, men who build kingdoms and men who build things, but Heaven does not know their name?" So to the body of Christ, remain in the peace of your King and His Kingdom. As markets fall, housing markets flop, and banks fold--- remember your only and primary concern is to be the "the kingdom of God and his righteousness". This worldly kingdom does not dictate our lives if we place the Father's kingdom and His righteousness as our only and primary concern. So Church be encouraged and allow the Spirit to bring conviction of any area that has tied you and your family to this earthly kingdom.