Hi all,
How do we live as people of faith in a world economy that is retreating into recession? How do we live as people of faith when the Judeo-Christian cornerstones of society are under attack?
I saw a statistic that said in the US the average family was paying $435 more per month as of February this year, just to live than it did a year ago. And it’s gotten much worse since February. Inflation in the US is far worse than in the EU, UK, Scandinavia, and correspondingly, disposable income in the US has fallen dramatically.
Some will remember the Lord telling me years ago there would come a time in the US when the economy was strained, and a drought would hit the US threatening food supplies. In the general time frame would be 2 hurricanes and earthquakes – though I hope by prayer those in particular can be delayed or lessened. That drought is in fact hitting the west so hard, this autumn and next year will see a dramatic decrease in foods coming from the west. People will be growing their own food more and more to supplement their groceries.
And yet the work that Jesus is doing in us goes on unaffected.
In fact, He is the Master at using circumstances to grow us in Him. That is His main focus. Whatever happens in life, His provision will always be the one that leads us into faith, character development, and relationships in Him.
The Lord’s provision may not be what we’d always like. For some it may be multiple generations living under the same roof to save money. It may not be seen as the highest and best solution, but it will be the Lord’s provision for many. People will need to start gardens to supplement their groceries – yet that may be the Lord’s provision. Discipline of lifestyle and delaying or cutting back on extras may be required – and yet what we have to do in common sense is the Lord’s provision. We keep a positive attitude, worship, and look for His provision.
For years the Lord has dealt with the body of Christ about getting serious about their faith, about getting out of debt, about laying aside things which separate in order to focus on Who we have in common. Remember He had told me some 3 years ago a time would soon come when our faith would be precious to us – and we’ve seen that in the pandemic and in the US, the election cycle.
These are the most exciting times to be walking with the Lord.
When He appeared to me and told me to start CWOWI, He said “It is against a time to come”. He had said earlier that year (2001) “As it was in the beginning so it must be now; I’m moving in relationships.” All that we’ve been asked to judge ourselves on up to this point, is so we can have that network of people who are on our same spiritual page, in preparation for more difficult times.
In the US there is time before things really turn. You may recall He had talked about the 2022 elections as being a last chance to slow the evil, and there are about 4 years or so beyond, but then evil will come to the US with a vengeance. In other nations you’ll recall, He spoke of watching Germany, France and Italy. He said when Merkel left office there would be big changes in Germany, and it would become very bold once again, and we are seeing that. There is more, as some will recall from our Zoom meetings, for I shared more detailed things in those.
But my point is no matter what happens in the world, growth in Christ advances. Struggles with people, with health, jobs, finances will continue as they always have – but how we use these things to make right decisions that cause us to grow in Christ, that is the real issue in each and every situation. He has always said for those who walk with Him, there would be provision, and many in the world will look to the close-knit groups of Christians walking through life together as something they want…and many will come to the Lord in the coming days.
What to expect…
A season has shifted in the Spirit for the body of Christ. The season to judge ourselves on strife and division in our hearts has come and gone, with casualties on one side, and on the other side those with more intense and precious faith. The next season is about actually applying what we know in the Lord to daily living – in our relationships.
The Lord used the last 3 years or so to expose immaturity in the body of Christ. People proved their immaturity by breaking fellowship for various reasons – political, vaccine, end times views, and more. Truly when a person gets in strife with someone who has done nothing worthy of breaking fellowship, their issue is with Jesus, not the person from whom they separated. Paul told the Corinthians in his first letter, 11: 19, that the strife among them was good for it revealed who was genuinely growing in Christ and who was not, who valued the body of Christ and who did not.
I think we Christians who have had it easy are finally starting to wake up and realize this isn’t a game.
We aren’t adding Jesus to our busy lives, we are giving Him our lives. In doing so, people want the genuine. They want a group of people around them who believe as they do, who they can walk through life with no matter what comes. They realize they can’t go to their auditorium church for help with the electric bill, but their friends they fellowship with are there to help them. Not to criticize the auditorium down, it’s just that the structure makes it such funds have to go to maintaining a church building, not the true church, the people. Many will close in the days ahead, unable to pay the mortgage.
I’ve long taught that the church Jesus is coming for as He describes it in Matthew 25: 31-40 as a body who is watching out for each other – food, drink, taking people in, visiting the sick – a very humble, practical, mundane sort of faith that looks out for each other. That is what we will look like at His return.
The way to get there historically, is by economic hardship and persecution. When Christians had to depend on one another for food and supply, it was economically difficult and a time when Christians were blamed for the troubles in society.
Some have likened the western church to the Laodicians who said they were ‘increased in goods and have need of nothing’, but spiritually the Lord called them lukewarm and not righteous before Him – spiritually naked though they thought of themselves as spiritual warriors. The Lord made it their choice to rearrange priorities, or not. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” was how He put it. Will God’s people especially in the west, respond? Will we follow common sense and faith to do the hard work of relationships in Christ? Or take the easy road trying to not ‘rock the boat’ of our lives?
I don’t have concerns for those who read this, but rather for those who remain thinking that nothing will change, that are hoping things will ‘get back to normal’, not realizing ‘normal’ has changed. I feel for those who are like the Laodicieans thinking because God has blessed them financially they are insulated from hardship. We all have friends like that, and all we can do is what the Lord is leading us to do – while we pray for them. I really feel for those who don’t have the Lord in these times. How stressful and caught up in fear of the unknown they must be.
“Do good to all men, but especially too the household of God”. When Paul wrote that in Galatians 6:10 remember they were meeting in homes, so he was especially talking about the local people you fellowship with in homes. They are our first priority, those in our sphere of relationships. Do good to all, but especially to those in the household of God.
When I talk about our conferences
It occurred to me when the word ‘conference’ is used, people think of a rushed weekend full of information crammed into a series of workshops until the brain is ready to explode, lol. But that’s not the case with us.
For example, we had a wonderful conference in the Netherlands a couple weeks ago that was more like a relaxed family reunion than a conference like the above. Eating our meals together in particular, time to relax and visit in the afternoons, afforded times of meeting new people – we had people from 15 nations there – and learning from each other what life is like, what the Lord is doing, is valuable beyond measure. And we sorely missed those who could not travel to be with us due to vaccine requirements – praying travel restrictions will enable all to travel internationally.
Our US conference is October 7-9, Columbus Day weekend, is fast approaching, and I encourage you to consider coming. These busy but relaxing weekends are great for meeting new people you instantly feel like you’ve known all your life, with deep worship, teaching, prayer for one another, Q&A, and more. Especially if you’ve felt ‘all alone’ out there or wanting to meet others on the ‘same spiritual page’, please strongly consider coming, pray about it, see how the Lord can make the way. It will be a blessing.
KWOWI (Kids Without Walls International)
Our efforts continue behind the scenes to build the web site to people will be able to click and support specific orphans and single mother children – another month or so probably before we are fully up and running. For now please visit our web site and find KWOWI across the top menu, or copy this link: https://churchwithoutwallsinternational.org/kwowi/
Chris and the new group home
We were able to go inside the new group home where he will be placed –The first time we visited Chris got very angry. When I took him back to his current group home he wheeled into his bedroom, and then got angry, threw his Kindle against a window, breaking both…
People with brain injury, whether at birth like Chris or accident or war, often do not like transitions and with therefore have outbursts – it’s a matter of processing information and the brain working slower than the pace of events. But last week we visited again and the idea of moving is settling in…he was calm, upbeat, positive. There are still several issues including safety issues they have to address, but process is being made. Thank you for your prayers, for your support, for being in our lives.
Blessings,
John & Barb, Brian & Amy.
