to the jew first & also to the gentile
After the ministry precedent set by Paul and Barnabas when they returned to Antioch following the First Missionary Journey (Acts 14:26-27), we desire to rehearse for you in this post all that God has done, particularly with our first summer volunteer team up in Ladakh (the work of mustering next summer's team has already begun), how He gave a door of utterance amongst the lost sheep of the House of Israel and yet also "opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles." This summer, with a solid group of young people who truly grew in their walk with the Lord, FPGM had the great privilege to taking the Gospel TO THE JEW FIRST AND ALSO TO THE GENTILE in the high places of the earth.
times that try men's souls
But alas, there is no place for the "summer soldier" or the "sunshine patriot" in the Remnant Body of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no place for shrinking back from service to our Heavenly King or for restraint in preaching the glorious Gospel in a time when this nation and the churches of this nation have committed a double capital crime: "they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jeremiah 2:13). No, "all these things must come to pass" (Matthew 24:6), and there is yet the Blessed Hope of the Believer: "the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13)!
sowing wind, reaping whirlwind
I begin typing as I sit here with Jamie at the Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, waiting for our flight back to Romania. ‘Twas a crowded and hectic subway journey just to get back here from the old city. Wow, we had quite a time in Istanbul . . . but wait, I must not get ahead of myself. Truly, much led up to this point, and the Lord has been very good. Thank you for all your prayers.
the Lord halts an entire nation for one man
Sometimes, God has to do big things to get a man’s attention. In this situation, the LORD literally shut down an entire country so that one man could get saved. Isaiah 55:9 immediately comes to mind.
a stronghold in the day of trouble
In the past four days, the Lord saved our lives from certain serious injury, saved our truck from near destruction, and miraculously saved me from being stranded on a lonely mountain highway in the snow. In three separate incidents, He proved to be a stronghold and our Protector. All praise, honor, and glory be to his name.
an ohio youth prison
I mentioned that I might be able to preach at a youth prison facility. For those of you who prayed for this, I want to share how those prayers were answered.