Hi all,
Before I get into some things the Lord has shared with me about this year, I need to give you some information and updates.
KWOWI: We now have 63 children sponsored in Uganda and Kenya, which is a huge blessing to these children and families. That support helps provide meals, schooling, and even personal items and school supplies. This small monthly gift of $41 goes a long way. You can help a child flourish.
A team from our Tulsa house churches will be traveling to Uganda starting February 20, and will be visiting the children and churches there. They will be joined by leaders from Kenya as well, so we appreciate your prayers for their trip. It is also expensive so anything you can do to help with expenses would be welcome. You can see the children and the work there by going to: www.kwowi.org
Scotland conference: We are excited to be having our conference in Glasgow, Scotland this year, June 8-11, as you can see above. Glasgow is a great jumping off point for seeing the rest of Scotland, the UK or EU, and the conference will be amazing.
The cost is all inclusive, meaning 3 nights lodging, 8 meals, tea time with snacks, use of the facility and the conference. It’s being held in one of the last family owned hotels and conference centers in Glasgow. For those staying over Monday, we will do some site seeing together. If registered and if staying over, email us to let us know at cwowi@aol.com so our hosts can make plans.
Our focus is to help house churches get started – On our web site we have 10 Q&A videos about house church (under resources), along with various articles, and teachings, books, podcasts. Audio series ‘House Church 101’ and ‘Things I’ve learned since doing house church’ are also very helpful. If you are interested in starting a house church, please contact us for this is our focus!
Zoom meeting next month, see registration above, will be about how to strengthen and develop our spiritual core, as per the subject below.
Prophetic
My audio teaching series this month on Truth, and specifically, ‘absolute truth’ is part of the larger message the Lord has spoken to me about concerning this year.
Did you have friends unfriend you over the past couple of years because of politics or ‘the shot’? Have people separated themselves just by staying where they are spiritually speaking, while you’ve moved on in the Lord? Do you have a ‘divine dissatisfaction urging you on from the inside out to make changes, while other friends are happy to live life as is?
Why was such strife and division in the body of Christ allowed?
I asked the Lord why He allowed such strife and division to rise up in His body the last 2+ years over the US and other nation’s elections, and Covid shots and policies.
He said “So the hearts of many would be revealed for all to see, in the hope they might judge themselves. For there are many who thought themselves wise, who thought themselves mature, who thought they knew more and became lifted up in pride. They needed their hearts exposed for they would not judge themselves. They should have been eating steak but I couldn’t even feed them milk. Many were carnal, acting like they weren’t even in Me. This was allowed to go on (strife/division) that they might be exposed for who they were, for righteousness is revealed faith to faith, and in this, many failed. Many more however, judged themselves and kept their hearts right before Me, even suffering loss, and have found favor for they have continued to walk circumspectly before Me.”
He went on to say many repented. But because of their actions separating themselves from others without just cause, their relationships with those they rejected though restored, would never again be where they were before their sin; “For they must walk out the consequences of their actions.”
Having come through all this…
And having said all that: He said this year is a year of building up (new) strength, and strengthening what we have. It is a year of gathering strength and stabilizing our lives. It is a return to absolute truth, having left things pruned off remain pruned in a strengthening of the simplicity of our faith and walk with the Father and Lord.
Many will do well this year…
Because they chose right and had lost nothing, even gained over the last couple of years in every way. Many have the Biblical truths of relationship based faith expressed in the home church relationships awakened in them. They will move deeper into these things and be strengthened and grow, and many will start new chapters in their lives; finding fulfillment they’ve never known in the simplicity of the Biblical pattern of relationships and faith.
For many, this will be a year of becoming stable, getting rid of distractions, simplifying your spiritual life, returning to your core. It will be a year of tying up loose ends, and cutting things that are peripheral – things that are ‘out there hanging around’ your life but don’t contribute to your life. He is speaking this to us now in preparation of the coming years after this one.
To return to your core, to what’s really important spiritually, is an act of judging yourself. Some have already done this in the last couple of years, and 2023 will be a year of great strengthening and growth. This is what He is saying to many at least in part, for this year. I’ll share more in next month’s Zoom online meetings, especially about how to strengthen what you have, and how to change course to what He has for you in this year.
My heart has always been to know the ways of the Lord, the behind the scenes ways He does things. I hope this newsletter has provide insight and inspired towards humility and maintaining our first love, our first priorities.
Thank you for your patience. We are swamped with people who want to start house churches or finding a cwowi affiliated house church near them. Keeping up with everything has been a challenge, thank you for your prayers for wisdom, and support.
Thank you so much for being in our lives. Thank you for your prayers and financial support! We appreciate you!
Blessings, John & Barb, Brian & Amy.
