Hi all,
Before I get into more of what the Lord told me for this year, we would appreciate your prayers.
As you read this…
A team of 3 from our Tulsa house churches will be in Uganda visiting with leaders from Kenya and Uganda, visiting the children and many of the house churches. Thank you for prayers for Brian, Daniel, Valerie and others during this time, that the Father will pour out His Spirit with revelation and healing, wisdom and peace. They return the first week of March – thank you!
You can see updates at www.kwowi.org as well as see some of the children needing sponsors. Updates will also be on our main site under ‘network’ and then ‘network updates’ at www.cwowi.org.
Scotland conference, Thursday June 8 through Sunday the 11th
There are about 6 more weeks to register for this all inclusive long weekend with us. Many if not most attending are doing house church, so if you are in the learning process about it, this is a great way to learn from experienced people and form instant friendships.
For me personally, I love just having the time to ‘hang out’ with everyone. We are keeping the numbers small for that reason, but there is still time and space for you. Registration closes April 8.
While we will have some panel discussion and teaching about house church, the main things I’ll be sharing are on other subjects as the Lord leads me to share. There will be deep worship allowing the Holy Spirit to move and minister in our midst so that everyone gets prayer, lingering in His presence to see what He might share. We will have question and answer times too – it will be a weekend of ministering to the whole person in balance; the Word and Holy Spirit moving among us.
On Monday the 20th I’m doing a 3rd interview on the Deep Believer channel on YouTube which will be posted in the next week or so. I’ll share more visitations and behind the scenes of the ways of the Lord. Since I was a teen my heart has been Psalm 103:7 – He made known His ways to Moses; His acts to the children of Israel. I’ve always wanted to know His ways, the behind the scenes ways of the Father – sharing these things makes everything else fall into place.
More on what the Lord said
Last month I shared some of what the Lord shared with me about this year. I had asked about why He allowed such strife and division in the body over the ‘pandemic’ years, and elections in many nations. This is part of what He said:
“(It was) 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…Many more however, judged themselves and kept their hearts right before Me.”
Some of the rest:
“Strengthen what remains. Strengthen what you have. For many, this will be a year involving a course correction….Many are being moved to set their homes in order, reducing debt, to let that which does not contribute to their life, go. And to seek the genuine.”
“Strengthen what remains.” Over the ‘covid years’ many have lost friendships over politics or ‘the shot’. Many have lost friendships because they are going in a different spiritual direction than their ‘church friends’.
Many during the last 2 years or so have lost loved ones to death. We are to strengthen what remains. Drop the peripheral things that distract us, web sites that do nothing but tickle the ears and stir up controversies, to shift focus on the investment in true relationships.
“Seek the genuine.” I thought that was an interesting phrase He used – evidently many are seeking ‘real people’, and have had enough of the show, looking for the flow. There are those of us who are just real people sharing life…we’re all saved by the same blood so are all equal, just with different functions in the body. Stay real.
What if rather than spending 2 hours on web sites that only serve to feed curiosity about things which do not actually contribute to growth in the Lord, that time was spent with a friend at a coffee shop talking about the Lord and life? It is time to make decisions focused on investing in each other.
Things which have been pruned away the last couple of years – don’t try to re-grow them. Strengthen what remains. He had commented that some will repent and seek to repair what they had earlier destroyed. That can be done of course, but those once destroyed relationships will never be the same – one has moved on over the last couple of years and the other is playing catch up. It’s just not the same.
Course correction
The other thing He said was that for many, this would be a year of course correction. It means you are walking along in Him, and suddenly you see the need to change direction, to change where you are headed spiritually.
Changing course is a new experience. It means pushing your comfort zone. It may mean others around you don’t understand what you are doing, they see nothing wrong with continuing as things have been.
But you know that inside you, in your spirit, things have changed. That divine dissatisfaction won’t rest until you change direction, seeking out others on the same spiritual page.
Jesus, Peter’s mother-in-law, and a change of direction
In Mark 1: 29-29 we see Jesus and His disciples visit Peter’s mother in law’s house. She is sick with a fever, so Jesus heals her and she begins serving her many guests. We are told in vs 32-34 the whole city was gathered at the door of the house, and Jesus healed many and cast out demons. Verse 32 says this happened at sunset.
Verse 35 tells us Jesus ‘a great while before day’, went off alone to pray. Eventually Peter and the disciples found him exclaiming: “Everyone is looking for you!” Everyone thought they would start where they ended the evening before. But Jesus had other plans: “Let us go into other towns that I can preach there, for that is why I have come.”
This was a course correction for Jesus. No one understood. What about those who were not healed the previous evening? The text says Jesus healed many, it doesn’t say the whole city was made whole, which means to everyone else it seemed it was an incomplete work.
That morning they wanted to start where they had ended – leaving in the midst of great success did not make sense. Why start something and just when things were going strong, leave? Think how many sick people were disappointed. Think how confused the disciples must have been. But it was the Father’s direction for Jesus.
We have times in our lives the Father changes our direction, and we alone know what He has put in our hearts. In the natural it makes no sense. We can break Jesus’ process into parts: First was the flow of the Spirit, then came rest (sleep). Then a ‘wake up’ revelation and time of introspection, seeking the Father, considering all things. During that time He made a decision, and when others asked, He told them what He was doing.
Flow, rest, wake up, revelation, consideration, decide, take action. Where are you in that process?
Personal note: I want everyone to know how much each one of you is appreciated. Our two Zoom meetings this month were so encouraging (personally) to see so many from many nations, all of us pretty much on the spiritual page – it is encouraging.
And whether I’m challenged with theological questions and dialogue in emails, or receiving donations to support us, prayer requests or asking for wisdom, I pray for you all. With each donation I see in my inbox, I linger and pray. With each person asking for direction or wisdom, I pray. It’s just a running dialogue as soon as I wake up I thank the Father for all who support us in prayer and finances, and for those doing church in the home in our network, and asking if He has anyone in particular He wants me to pray for.
And all of us – John & Barb, Brian & Amy, Valerie overseeing our efforts in African nations – we all appreciate you so very much.
Thank you! Blessings,
John Fenn
