Reflections

by

10 Year Anniversary

Wow! I can’t believe it has been a whole year since I’ve written a blog AND I can’t believe it has been 10 years since I moved to Ecuador! In some ways I feel like I’ve lived here forever and in other ways, it seems like I just moved here yesterday.

Today I had a special party, where I invited 30+ of my closest friends to celebrate with me (I so could have included more, but we were out of room). “Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.” I literally had people that I’ve known for 10 years, some I just met a few months ago, and everything in between. (I’ve known the lady that owns the restaurant from early on – in fact you might recognize her dog Socks, who I’m pictured with, from this blog.)

Here are a few pictures of the gathering, as well as the testimony “toast” I gave.

by

Still Singing

Once again, my lack of posting activity pretty much stems from the fact that there is so much I could say, I just can’t narrow it down. 😆 But this song just welled up inside of me so strongly today, I wanted to share it with you here. I hope it is your song too:

by

Giving Thanks!

So here we are in a new year – is there anything about 2020 you can give thanks for (other than it’s over)?  Actually, I have been giving thanks all throughout 2020.  Most especially because the Bible says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)  And I can wholeheartedly say this is how I’ve spent my year.  I learned a long time ago that I am the one who chooses whether pressures and difficulties make me “bitter or better.“  This year has allowed me to experience the fruit of those choices.  I confidently stated before I left the US and ever since, that great shakings were coming.  They have come, and like the “birth pains” the Bible has prophesied, they will continue.  This past year was the “flash flood” that exposed the hidden foundations under our houses.  Thankfully, many have been awakened and have seen this past year as a time to examine what their faith and hope was placed in: Good health? Financial security? Government? Comfort? Routine? Friends/family? Job?  This year has shown us that if our faith and hope is placed outside of anything but God, we are on shaky ground.

Yes, if you look on the surface, it looks like everything is collapsing all around.  But for those with eyes to see below the surface, life is bursting forth!  “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)  This year, although mostly shut away in my house, I’ve never been busier!  In the fall of 2019, God quite providentially connected me to pray with an organization that makes disciples in some of the darkest countries in the Middle East. I quickly became a prayer coordinator/leader, and we have been doing multiple weekly Zoom prayer calls long before Covid made it cool! 😊 I can tell you that God is moving in amazing ways all across the world to begin to: 1) unite His body in global prayer; 2) fulfill Jesus’ final prayer to make us one; 3) reap a great harvest across the earth.  The acceleration I’ve witnessed the Lord do in the Spirit this year from my “upper room” vantage point has been nothing short of amazing!  And yet, it’s only the beginning…

So in the words of the Apostle Paul, I would like to encourage you to begin 2021 with “…set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:1-2) One way to do that is to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunities only recently afforded to us to gather with the global body in a “virtual Upper Room.”  Today was the first day of a 24/7/365 Zoom prayer call room, where groups from all over the world will come together in worship, prayer and praise all day and night for all of 2021, with a corporate gathering each Friday at 6:00 a.m. pacific/7:00 a.m. mountain/8:00 a.m. central/9:00 a.m. eastern.  You can go to this website to learn more and register for access to the private Zoom link:

I hope that no matter what 2021 holds for you, at the end of it you can joyfully say, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” (1 Chronicles 16:34)
by

Excellent Perspective

Hello Friends,

I wanted to share this article that was recently published by Dr. Michael Brown (a Messianic Jewish Believer).  He summarizes very succinctly here, the perspective I’ve been viewing this thing from since the beginning.  I hope it will encourage you too:

https://askdrbrown.org/library/getting-god’s-perspective-current-crisis

by

Perspective

I’ll keep this short and sweet.  As of date, the coronavirus has now infected 133,100 people of the world’s estimated 7,800,000,000 total population – yes that’s 7.8 BILLION!  The normal seasonal flu has between 3 to 5 MILLION cases deemed “severe” worldwide.  Yet the whole world is in complete panic and people are calling this a “pandemic.”  I call it a big smokescreen!  “Close borders,” “eliminate paper money,” blah, blah, blah.  Are you really going to swallow what the media is spoon feeding you, or go on a media fast and put things into real perspective?  “The only thing to fear is fear itself.“  Be reasonable people – spread facts, not fear.

“And that’s all I’m gonna say about that!” 😉

by

Ending Well

I know I haven’t written much this year, but that’s not been because of lack of things to say! You know what they say: “Still waters run deep.” My problem has been quite the opposite – so much to say and not being able to find the time or words to do so. This has been a pivotal year in my life. On the surface, everything looks the same. But underneath, the Lord has been doing a deep renewal, literally from start to finish.

I still have no words to begin to describe or sum up this latest “journey” I’ve been on, which is still unfolding in quite supernatural ways. But I wanted to put something down before the year’s end, and this email I received today was the perfect catalyst. So I share it with you here in its entirety and hope that it will inspire your New Year in a new way:

Dear Mary,

New Year’s Day is just around the corner, and you may have a resolution or two on your mind. The truth is, while New Year’s Day is often all about renewal (“New Year, New Me”), I think it’s also about sacrifice.

We give up sweets and join gyms. We renew our commitment to health and well-being, and in doing so, give up something that once brought us comfort or pleasure.

But your sweet tooth may not be the only thing you will need to sacrifice this New Year’s Day. In Galatians 2:20, Paul says something shocking:

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

After convincing the new Church to follow Christ and receive life, Paul is essentially promising that we must die first!

Most of the time, we are content to live with a partial savior. We think that our problems will largely vanish after we get saved and then we can stand on our own two feet – one and done! Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.

The biggest problem (your separation from God and subsequent condemnation) is solved when you are born again. But, one problem remains. Even though we are saved, we don’t really know how to live through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are used to depending and relying on our own self-sufficiency and idols.

In my book, The Last Words of the Martyrs, I introduce readers to men and women who died, some literally and some figuratively (ie. spending years in prison). However, their deaths yielded their greatest growth. Forced to live off the resources of God, they left the world behind.

There is a pattern of suffering that emerges in the lives of persecuted Christians and shows up in the lives of the great heroes of the Bible. They had to earn a degree in pain and suffering from the University of Life before they could be used by God.

Their “education,” their suffering, worked to deplete their worldly self-reliance and self-confidence, a process that lasted for decades. Only from a position of exhaustion and dependence could each man be shaped by God for His ultimate purpose.

As Christians, we must reframe our thinking with regards to the pain and suffering in our lives. As human beings, our gut-reaction to pain is to fight, pull back, or flee. Yet, this struggle is often the only path to great spiritual growth!

So, my radical prescription for you is to embrace your pain instead of trying to run from it.

As you go into 2020, let God teach you the lessons that He wants to teach you, even when it’s painful, letting him grow you into a man or woman after His own heart.

Because in dying, we will find life.

Be Blessed,

Jeff King
President of International Christian Concern
Author of Islam Uncensored and The Last Words of the Martyrs

 

by

It’s A New Revolution

Some of you may remember that in 1978 at the age of 13, I lived in Iran.  My dad took a job there and my mother and I moved to join him a few months later.  But the 1.5 year assignment was cut dramatically short by the sudden spark of a revolution.  It was a very intense time that culminated in our sudden departure, when my father’s company first sent back the families, and then the employees, shortly before the Shah fell and everything went dark.

But despite what was happening politically and in the media, when I returned home, I had a very different view of the Iranian people than my friends.  They said they hated them because of what they saw on TV.  However, the exposure and experience I had was to a people of high character, ethics, kindness and compassion.  And they were just normal people trying to earn a living and make it through life the best they could, like the rest of us.  The short time I spent in Iran was deeply impactful and implanted so many life lessons in my young, impressionable mind.  I never forgot my experiences there.

Fast forward to less than a decade ago, when I began to hear stories that despite the darkness that had overshadowed Iran (or maybe even because of it), the good news and hope found in Jesus was spreading throughout the nation.  And over the years the reports have continued to swell.  The statistics say that more Iranians have come to faith in Christ in the past 20 years, than in the previous 1400 since Islam came to Iran.  What’s happening there is nothing short of supernatural!  But that’s only part of the story…

The real story is not only their salvations, but the incredible FAITH that is being manifest in these new believers.  They are radically changed and passionately obedient disciples of Jesus, who have truly counted the cost of following Him.  “They do not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Revelations 12:11)  They have no buildings, no programs, no curriculum, no worship leaders – nothing that characterizes the Western version of Christianity.  And despite the fact that they risk their very lives to share what they have come to know, they are replicating themselves and transforming their world.  I challenge you to take a few hours to peek outside your Western window and watch this documentary movie (featuring Joel Richardson) about what God is doing behind the scenes in the nation of Iran – where the fields truly are “white unto harvest.”  I guarantee it will stir, inspire, humble and challenge you in your faith:

MARANATHA!

by

Gail’s Guest Perspective

I’ve asked all my previous guests to write their reflections of their visit and my life here.  Both Deanna and Dana graciously obliged me, and now here is Gail’s guest perspective on her trip:

After five years, I was returning to Ecuador to visit my dear friend Mary.  When I left, her Spanish was limited and now WOW!  I was impressed with how well she speaks with all the locals.

She has built a very nice home with a great beach and mountain view from her roof-top patio. You can enjoy your morning coffee while lying in one of her roof-top hammocks.  Where else can you share a just out of the oven (built on a bicycle) “pan de yucca” while exploring downtown Puerto Cayo.  When Mary lived in the states, she did not cook very much and now she serves you gourmet meals.

She shares her daily Ecuador life along with meeting her very nice circle of ex-pat and Ecuadorian friends.  Buses, taxis and of course walking are her modes of transportation, and a couple of times you will find yourself a little out of your normal comfort zone.  But rest assure it is safe and fun.

Mary and I have always shared a love of coffee and food.  So needless to say we sampled and ate our way through the cities we visited.  She gives you, as she calls it, “A taste of Ecuador,” and does a fabulous job.  Mary is a great tour guide and knows the history of her new country.  What a great way to sitesee Ecuador – my own personal tour guide!  I had an adventure of all the senses – sight, sound, smell, touch and most especially, taste.  Mary shows you both the coastal and mountain regions of Ecuador.  I went 14,000 feet above sea level through the Caja National Park.  I left with a better understanding of why she loves her new country.