What are you seeing?

Hello friend, 

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118: 24

The Bible gives us these sweet words of comfort, yet many people live in a state of fear and mourning. 

I recognize that we are going through unprecedented circumstances. But even seeing all that God has exposed, barely coming out of a pandemic, facing war, rumors of more fighting, inflation, and much more, we can still trust God. 

Moreover, those of us who are followers of Jesus should be living victoriously. We do not need to get caught up in the world’s negativity. That is not living a victorious life in Christ. 

Today, I encourage you to seek the Lord and join Him where He is working. I urge you to ask the Lord to open your eyes to the work he is doing and to invite the Holy Spirit to draw near to you. Ask God to turn any fears you have into hope, encouragement, and love. We have a tremendous opportunity right now to share the Gospel with those without Christ and share with the unregenerate in the church who are unsure about the fullness of a life walking with Christ. For those fully devoted followers of Christ, we can lead them to know Christ in His fullness. 

I am praying for you and myself that God will open many doors these days for us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

God Works Through Refugees

I have encountered many beautiful people over the past month, but I have a story to share about a specific group. This group from Ethiopia has come to the United States legally seeking refuge from their war-torn country in Africa. 

Many of these Ethiopians came to Christ and had to hide from groups that persecute Christians in their country. One of my new friends in this community told me that he heard as a young boy that God was in a church not far from his home, so he would secretly go there looking for God. 

He shared with me that when he was ten years old, he was sitting in the church, and the teacher said to him that God is here because God is in us. That day, he finally understood what he had heard three years earlier, and he asked Jesus into his life. 

He continued going to church and was in a group that studied and taught him how to live a Christian life. He escaped threats on his life and ongoing persecution four years ago and now runs a business in the United States and serves as a lay minister in his church.

I am not sure that we as American Christians fully understand this kind of commitment to Christ. We are seeing the threat of persecution in countries like Finland, Ukraine, Haiti, Africa, India, China, North Korea, and yes, here in the United States. Yet, we have Christians in the US whose occupations are threatened because they stand for truth. It is time for us to re-evaluate our lives and be fully devoted followers of Jesus. 

Is there evidence in your life of living out the Christian life even though you could face persecution for it? I pray it to be so with you.

Ministry Updates

February has been a busy month as I have led multiple prayer meetings in Washington, DC, Louisiana, and Texas. 

I had the opportunity to participate in some updated chaplaincy training with the Louisiana State Police and some online training. 

The weekly prayer calls are growing, and I am thankful for the many people that join those calls. 

I received the license to a book I wrote a few years back called Teaching the Jesus Way. Now I am working to get the format updated and updating some of its content with the hope of publishing it by the end of this year. 

I thank God for your encouragement and support. I hope and pray that God uses me in your life to do the same. 

Thank You

I thank you for your continuing support for our family as our daughter-in-law nears the completion of chemo. She will have surgery in late April, so Jerilyn will be able to come home for a few weeks while our daughter-in-law gets ready for surgery. Jerilyn has been with them since the end of October, so she is ready to come home, and I am more than ready for her to be home. 

We are forever grateful Jerilyn has been able to help, encourage, and be with our son, daughter-in-law, and grandsons. Your support through prayer is appreciated. We are praying and trusting for the complete healing of Ann’s body. 

I am helping with the Shape the Nations Conference at the end of April. I would love for you to join us in DC and participate in this event. 

In closing, May the Lord Bless you and encourage you. May you see as He sees and that the things of this world will grow dim as you lean into Him.

Let me know how I can pray for you these days. I love you and thank God for you.

With a Grateful Heart,

Pastor Jay