God is building His Church

Mike and Kathy in Rio

In 1981 I had the privilege to visit several ports in Brazil with the ship M.V. Doulos. Since then I returned several times with M.V. Logos and M.V. Logos II. On every occasion I experienced the power of spiritual warfare as the strong spiritist religion here exist and in fact pray against christians.

On the last visit Mike was around 1 year old. What a lovely little fellow! He was the perfect baby, not like his sisters, he was content, always happy and quiet. There in Rio, during the night he started to scream and behave in a way that was totally out of character. Kathy and I realised that something spiritual was going on and we wondered whether in public someone had not put their hand on him with a curse. We called other leaders together on the ship and together prayed over Mike and in Jesus name break any spiritual activity directed out him. Guess what, he slept like a baby and back to his old self”

Its never good to try and make a film from a snap shot and I am only here a few days, but in my spirit I can see that the spiritual forces have been pushed back, at least in Sao Paulo and Santos. Light has dispersed darkness. God’s children are being added to His family daily in numbers that both encourage me and give me hope that this can also happen in Carlisle, England! Is there a formula? Can this model of growth be transferred to other countries? Of course there is the usual mess of ego and abuse with such growth but it is so cool to be in churches where there is liberty of the spirit and experiencing the light, love and life that Jesus brings. This in itself is attractive and “big” and exciting draws people to come and see what is going on.

We need the Brazilians to bring their joy, stories, passion and spiritual gifting to the nations of the world. We welcome you any time to Carlisle, England!

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“Just show up!”

When we invite someone over for a meal and they say “what should I bring?”, the reply is often, “Just show up”, but we still take a bottle or chocolates! Why can we not “just show up”? Why do we always think we have to bring something? Is this the same in our relationship to Father God? He says “come as you are” but we have to bring something, good works, good morals, good……

Over next weekend I will be returning to Brazil to speak several times at a conference there with OM. Its a great privilege to be asked and I look forward to visiting again. My first time there was in 1982 with Doulos. The church has grown steadily over the past decades where Evangelical Christians today account for 25%. May be they know something about “just show up” and I will be more blessed than be a blessing down there!

I find that when I “just show up” with God, He does not disappoint.  I have no idea what He is going to do but He is very faithful and often gives me opportunities to share about His love with someone, pray for a change in the spiritual climate or just enjoy His revealed presence. I will admit that He doesnt work according to my schedule! So often I have to shut up, look and listen.

What do I want remembered? What do I want forgotten?

I was with someone recently who had for 10 years tried to forget something they had done, something they were ashamed of, but they met up with people from that period and the indecent came to the surface. Whilst he had tried to bury the memory, others had made sure they remembered it.

In the Old Testament, you see people like Isaiah (38:3) who remind God of their lifestyle of faith and want Him to forget their sins, mean while God asks them to remember His Word.

It makes me realize that I simply need to bring to God all thought, all issues, those that when I think about and even though no one is around, go a little red in the face! Can I take on those memories I want to bury and forget and know they are covered by the Father’s love as demonstrated by Jesus on the Cross?