Do You Believe?
Matthew 10:8
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give."
Today’s post is going to mess you up. It’s going to take you
all over the place and it is going to bring you home. This post will give you a
glimpse of a love that surpasses logic and understanding. And this post is so
much about you. Please forgive me if I prayed for you before you read this and ask God to move you by this story. I
prayed:
O Lord, rend our heart. Open it bleeding to feel what you
feel. To love like you love. To be the chosen of the Chosen ONE to bring your
purpose, your love and your Kingdom to this world today. In Jesus powerful
name. Amen.
This community at SUM believes in miracles. And we were part
of a miracle for Gina. You can read about that miracle, here and here.
But today it’s time for another miracle.
This is Lisa Stewart.
Lisa is a 90-pound, spitfire who is so in love with Jesus that every time she starts to talk about Him, her voice quivers and tears
spring to her eyes. I kid you not.. Every – single – time. It’s like this fascinating,
kinda, funny fountain of love from the Holy Spirit that bubbles up. It’s one my
favorite things to do to Lisa is to just ask her anything about how much God loves….
It’s like an automatic sprinkler system *grin*. And I poke a little humor her
way but my friends, I LOVE THAT ABOUT LISA. I love her passion for Jesus, her
belief in miracles her limitless compassion, love and purposeful serving for
those who have less than nothing.
It’s time for all of us to share in a miracle. I KNOW
without doubt that God has uniquely placed all of us together in this online
family because we have a tender heart and truly know what suffering is about.
We have been broken and bleeding and through that God has birthed in us a
compassion and empathy for others who lie broken along the road like the man
who was beat up and left on the road to Jericho. Do you remember the Good Samaritan
story? Go read it again today and let God speak through those words. I just
read it this morning and it nearly took me to the floor. (Luke 10:25)
Mercy. It’s about love and it’s about mercy.
God has been so merciful to me. And to you!
So, it’s time for another community miracle. And I promise
you Dineen and I have been praying for months for God to show us our next
miracle. And we waited and waited and waited. Finally, Lisa shows up to have
lunch with me last week. With tears, with smiles with her love and that’s when
I knew. Our next miracle is also part of Lisa’s.
You see Lisa is a missionary who serves a tiny population of
villagers in a remote area of Nepal.
This is the story of these two villages and why they are so
important to us. Lisa explained that through one man who came to study as a
missionary here in America, the gospel of Jesus Christ returned home with him and
a small Christian church was born within this heavily Hindu practicing area.
Lisa linked elbows with Depak and has been traveling to this area for years
now. She serves, she loves, she shares Jesus.
As Lisa was telling me about her most recent adventure, I
was deeply touched. The villagers just received two new water wells. Prior to
this there was not one single safe source of water. The water was contaminated
and Lisa put it bluntly. The villagers ingest tiny worms through the contaminated water, parasites, that
slowly eat away at their insides. Yep, sorry to be so graphic, but it is the
brutal truth.
So just this summer two wells were installed.
One in each village where they serve.
So why the long story. Because this is the end of a long set
up. It is a Jesus-set up that is so powerful it’s astonishing, beautiful and so
filled of love that it makes me gush like Lisa.
Now read this and see if you see Jesus and how He worked among
the needy while on earth. After the wells were installed earlier in the summer,
Lisa traveled with a team of physicians to bring medical care to these Nepali
people. They have never seen a doctor, ever.
And here is the set up. First they provided clean water.
Then they provided medical care, and then guess what? They were introduced to
Jesus and they were prayed over.
Do you know what happened? Over 400 Nepali villagers prayed
to receive Jesus into their hearts.
My friends, why does this matter to us? Well, these are
brand new Christians. Our brothers. Our sisters. And guess what?
This December is their first Christmas. And with our help we
are going to give them their first Christmas present.
Let me explain. It’s about Malaria (read the description of
this ugliness here). Lisa contracted Malaria while in Nepal. She described to
me such horrible sickness that it’s too graphic to share right now. Her
sickness led her to pray and God said, “The Nepali people often suffer with
this sickness. Help them.” You see what happens is the bad water and the
parasites weaken a body to such a point that when a child, the elderly or weak are bitten by a mosquito
carrying the Malaria, it can kill them.
Now here is where I’m going to mess you up. This woman was
waiting in line to see the doctor. And what this photo doesn’t show is that
when this child was examined by the doctor, he looked over at Lisa and shook
his head. The terrible indication obvious, this child would not survive.
I think Lisa cried a fresh telling me this story. I know I
did.
But,…… and with God, there is always a “but” to the story
and Jesus died so there would always be hope.
A simple solution for this tragedy is twofold, one the water
source. It has been provided. Two, malaria nets.
That’s where we come in. An entire family can sleep under a
net at night and that will protect them from the mosquitos that only come out
after dusk. One net is $5.
It is our privilege to be part of these villages very first
Christmas and to present each family with one mosquito net.
Let’s storm the gates of heaven and allow God to love on
these people and allow ourselves to be part of it. I’m praying now for 500
nets. NO. Let’s pray bigger, 1,000 nets. That will be enough for two villages.
Ask God about this. Ask Him if you are to be part of this
love offering. You can give $5, or $10 or $15. But no more than $15. All of us
must be part of this love in motion. And if you can’t give, it is absolutely
OKAY… Really, really okay. But, if God moved your heart, then get your card out
and click over to our Paypall account.
This is the $5
This is the $15.
My friends, this may seem like a small thing but …. But with
God, these people will KNOW that God’s people love and love with a mighty
power. The darkness of Hinduism is about to feel a quaking in Nepal because God
is on the move and He is using ordinary women, wives and moms and dads out
there to change a people.
Thank you. I love you. Jesus loves you.
We will only have this miracle for three short weeks. The
last time you can make a donation is November 25th.
And the great thing, Lisa will have photos for us when the
nets are delivered for Christmas.
God is good. He has given us so much. Thank you for giving
to others this season of miracles. Love and hugs, Lynn
God bring your miracles and let us bear witness to your signs and wonders. In Jesus name. Amen
My friends, if you are okay with it, would you please share this post with your friends, family and Facebook. Thank you.
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