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During these last few months, we have been surrounded by fear, injustice, uncertainty, change, discomfort, disease, and death.  I wish I can reflect on this time and say that through it all I have responded in a Christ-like manner at all times.  

But while I cannot say that, God’s grace has been sufficient.  I’ve repented often, received his forgiveness, and asked for His help to obey and follow Him during these times the way that He desires me to follow Him.  

Here are 3 things God has been teaching me during this time.  I pray that they encourage you as they have encouraged me.

1.  “Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one…” – Hebrews 11:16(a)
   
   Many times during this season of lockdown, I’ve longed for things I used to be able to do.  I longed for hugs from friends and family.  I longed to go for a walk without a mask on.  I longed to go sit by the beach and stare at God’s beautiful creation.  While all of these things seem reasonable, I’ve realized the more time I spend longing for them, the less time I spend focused on Him – abiding in Him and following Him.
   
   God is teaching me to “long” for Him and His Kingdom more – long for His presence, long to hear His voice, long to walk in His ways, and long to do His will.  The more that I long for those things and direct my focus and my energy towards Him, the less time I spend focusing on the things of this world as well as what I do or don’t have or can or can’t do on this side of heaven.
   
   
2. “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…” – Hebrews 12:1-2
   
   A couple of weeks into lockdown, I was feeling completely overwhelmed and mentally exhausted.  I realized that every time I checked the news, social media, or my group messages, it was stealing mental energy away from me.  It was hindering me from being fully present with my family and the people I minister to.  And it was hindering me from being present with the Lord.
   
   God is teaching me to be very intentional to throw off things that hinder me or cause me to sin.  In this case, it was all of the media inputs at my fingertips.  We’re called to think about and focus on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8).  Sadly, I rarely find those things in the news or on Facebook. So I’ve drastically reduced the amount of time I even allow my eyes to read these things and my mind to process then.
   
   God has reminded me to fix my eyes on Jesus – on what He did on the cross for us, on the way He lived His life, on the commands He has given me to obey, and on the fact that He is a risen King – now and forever.  I must remove anything that hinders my ability to fix my eyes on Him and follow Him.

3. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching” – Hebrews 10:24-25
   
   When I haven’t been stuck in my own mind wrestling with the realities we have been facing in the world, I’ve been reaching out to others in the church and community that God has placed in my life and ministry.  However, early in lockdown I noticed a lot of my conversations were centered around just ensuring that the person was “OK.”
   
   God reminded me in this Scripture that he has called us to not only be “OK” and wait for things to return to “normal”, but that we should rather be considering and giving careful thought towards how we may encourage and spur one another on toward love and good deeds while God continues to work and be active around us. He wants us to persevere and grow more like Him, especially during trials.
   
   We are in a constant spiritual battle, and thankfully we don’t have to face that battle on our own.  We must encourage one another to trust and follow the Lord into the “new” he is leading us into, rather than try to hold on and hold out for a “normal” that may never return.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Just hours before the President of South Africa came on to television and announced that we would no longer be able to meet in large groups (and would one week later be forced to lock ourselves in our homes), God had continued to write an amazing testimony of His hand at work in my life.

Four years ago when I was just visiting South Africa, I was invited to preach in a church for the first time in my life. I only found out days before preaching that it was in Nyanga – an area known as the “murder capital of South Africa” – in the 15th most violent city in the world.

Four years later, we now we live and minister in South Africa – and the Lord has opened up so many opportunities to declare the gospel here and to make disciples focused on following the Lord and doing the same.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I found out last month that this same church in Nyanga that I preached at 4 years ago was one of 18 churches from the Cape Flats region – a notorious region in South Africa that continues to remain poverty stricken with disturbing levels of gang activity – coming together for a 3 day equipping time that we were helping to lead with our partner church here.

First, we joined church leaders from across all of Cape Town along with these 18 Cape Flats churches for two days to worship the Lord together and to examine the Scriptures to discuss God’s heart and blueprint for a healthy church. Sadly, many churches have distorted the gospel and led the people astray from God’s truth, especially in the Cape Flats region.

Next, we had leaders and teams minister to each of these 18 churches that Sunday. I was asked to return to the church in Nyanga and preach there once again. It was incredible to see Him bring this connection and relationship back into my life. This time I was accompanied by my wife as well as a team of 12 others leaders that we partner with.

It was so special to preach to this congregation again and to see God continue to do a beautiful work in the hearts and minds of the congregation – even as this church sits right in the center of one of the darkest areas in the world. Many people responded to the preach seeking more of Him through repentance and prayer, including a number of the teenagers which was amazing. We saw God move in power and bring both physical and emotional healing during this time as well.

I also got to see and catch up with MT, one of the former gangsters I met at Drakenstein prison 4 years ago who is now faithfully serving the Lord and proclaiming the gospel back in the same neighborhoods where he used to be caught up in the gang lifestyle.

As we now endure a lockdown here in South Africa and are making many adjustments to the way we minister for the next few weeks, I’m so grateful that God allowed us to be part of His beautiful work in the Cape Flats just before the lockdown happened.

Thank you all for your prayers and continued support of what God is doing here in South Africa through our ministry. Your partnership is truly special and treasured.

¹  The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. ³  He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. – Psalm 23:1-3

As 2020 began, I was invited to preach at a couple of church congregations for the first time.  The theme I felt the Lord highlight to me was – Where is God leading you?

So often we can begin the new year with a sense of hope and expectation – just because the calendar changed.  We hope this year will be better, this year will be different, this year that one thing (job, promotion, home, spouse, etc) will be added to my life that will make all of the difference.

But how much of our focus is on the Lord – who He is, who we are in Him, and where He wants to guide and lead us?

¹ The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.

Jesus Christ is Lord – that’s undeniable. The question is – do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord – right here, right now, at this point in your life?

If I were to ask you about your life this past year – the activities that were most important to you, the thoughts that dominated your mind, the words that came out of your mouth, and the way you spent your money – would it be obvious to me from the way you lived your life this past year that you do acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and that you have decided to follow Him with your whole life?

¹ The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.

You may have entered 2020 thinking that if you just had that one thing added to your life – then you could be happy, then you could be fulfilled, then 2020 would be the best year ever.

If the Lord is your Shepherd, realize that you lack nothing in your life. He has given you and will give you everything you need – the things that He knows you need, not necessarily the things you think you need.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

You may have had some time off from work over the holidays where you relaxed and rested physically. However, you may still feel tired as we have moved back into the business and routine of day-to-day life.

We need spiritual rest in addition to physical rest. The Lord refreshes our soul. We must remain in Him, spend time with Him, and trust Him with our circumstances in life. We must trust Him even in our times of rest where we worry that the world may fall apart if we don’t continue “doing” all of things we think we need to do, and rather realize that He’s still in control of it all.

³  He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

When we see Him as Lord and as our Shepherd, we realize that he wants to lead us somewhere. By faith, we have to trust Him with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding, but submit to Him in all our ways (Proverbs 3:5-6).

He is faithful to establish our steps and make our paths straight.

³  He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Lastly, we need to remember that everything is for His name’s sake. It’s all for His glory. Our lives here on earth are meant to be lived in a way that brings Him glory.

⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. – Colossians 2:6-7

As Thanksgiving approaches, we have so many things to be thankful to God for. Even as we reflect on our time so far in Cape Town, we are overwhelmed by how God has allowed us to impact lives here, as well as how He has provided for us and protected us on this journey.

One amazing testimony that we want to share involves Sumari’s mom Elize, who visited us in Cape Town two weeks ago and attended church with us that Sunday evening.

Elize had recently noticed a blind spot in her vision, and was diagnosed with macular degeneration by an eye surgeon. Macular degeneration is incurable and would’ve required surgery to prevent her from going blind completely.

The doctor actually told her that even after surgery, there was only a 30% chance that her condition would improve. There was even a 30% chance that it would be worse after the surgery. Here is a scan showing her nerve attached to the middle of the retina and threatening to tear it completely.

During church the elder leading the meeting gave an invitation for people to come forward for prayer for various reasons. Elize didn’t come forward, but instead stayed in her seat and prayed to God asking Him to heal her eye. While she experienced an overwhelming sense of God’s presence at one point, she only later found out that God had answered her prayer.

Upon returning home, Elize returned to the doctor for a follow-up appointment to prepare for the surgery. The doctor did a follow-up scan and was completely speechless as he viewed the results. He said that a miracle had happened because her eye is now completely normal!

Here’s her follow-up scan showing that the white line (nerve) is no longer implanted into the retina:

We are so grateful for each and every moment that God displays His incredible glory and power to us. We pray that you will be filled with an overwhelming awareness of the love of Christ, and that you will know this love that surpasses knowledge.

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. ⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. – Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

South Africa has once again been in the world’s news headlines this month for the wrong reasons. Violence and killings have taken place here as immigrants from other African countries have been targeted by South Africans that are angered by the high unemployment rate and other poor economic conditions in the country. 

This past weekend, in arguably the most diverse township in the country (and also one of the most violent), we got together with the church there to celebrate what the Lord has done in the lives of the people there since the church was launched 10 years ago. 

People from 8 different nations and multiple tribes from within South African came together to worship and praise the Lord for who He is and what He is done in our lives. It was a beautiful reflection of the Kingdom of God.

As we continue to see more and more craziness not only in South Africa but around the world, we keep our eyes fixed on our Lord and Savior and the only answer that we have to provide to others – Jesus.

Psalm 33:20-22 – We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

A dear friend of ours took this photo a few weeks ago. Pete was preaching in a township nearby (for our US friends, townships here are typically associated with severe poverty, violence and brokenness). I cannot help but both smile and tear up when I look at this picture. What I see is not just my husband, but a picture of how God wants us to live this life here on earth…

in prayer, with our arms wide open to receive from Him what He has for us, whether it’s blessings, guidance, discipline or instructions, holding His word in our hands and close to us so we can hear His voice, and in community with other believers to support, encourage and pray for us.

Pete went to this township to teach and encourage others, but instead we were encouraged by how they received him, prayed for him and their response to the word God spoke through him.

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. – Proverbs 12:25 ESV – https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.12.25.ESV

In times when you get anxious about this life, fully surrender it all to Jesus, keep His good word close to your heart and be intentional to surround yourself with others who are fully surrendered to Him, people who will encourage and pray for you.

There are so many different views of what discipleship is and a ton of resources on how to disciple better.  But if we use Jesus as the model, we see that he discipled the 12 disciples by inviting them to follow Him and live life together.  In that context, He then taught them and imparted His life and His knowledge to them before sending them out.

Dayana came to South Africa with us 9 months ago as part of our team to serve the Lord here alongside us.  As she entered her last 30 days of serving the Lord here in Cape Town, we felt God calling us to invite Dayana into our home to see what He wanted to do in that time living in close community together.  Here are some of things we learned…

1 – It takes sacrifice to disciple and invest in someone intentionally as part of your life.

While we all live “busy” lives, we have a lot of choice over how we spend our “free time” as well. Sadly, many people spend hours of their free time in front of their televisions or electronic devices and social media.

Are you willing to lay down your personal agenda to spend time with others or invite them into your daily activities that you would normally do alone or just with your family?

Are you willing to invite someone into your home to stay with you to help them or invest in them, knowing that there will be some disruption to your personal space and activities at home?

If we don’t truly value pouring into others, we won’t make the sacrifices necessary to do so.

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but of yourself less.” – C.S. Lewis

2 – God knows exactly what we need, and often gives it to us even without us asking.

When we felt God calling us to invite Dayana to stay with us, one reason we thought He may be doing so was that she would benefit from experiencing Christ through witnessing how we interact in our marriage and parenting as she prepares for her own upcoming wedding in May.

What we didn’t expect was the blessing we received as Dayana offered time and time again to watch Arielle for us. We hadn’t planned for her to do so, but it allowed us to fully engage in numerous ministry opportunities without “distraction.” We were also able to enjoy a few “date nights” and continue to sow into a healthy marriage.

It was a wonderful blessing for us that we didn’t even know we needed. But God did 🙂

We were so blessed to be part of launching a new church congregation in a very poor informal township here called Khayelitsha.

People came from all over Cape Town from the other JoshGen congregations to support, pray for, and worship with the local residents of Khayelitsha.

It was such a blessing to see the entire room completely full. Some of the leaders had to stand in the back against the wall because there was no more room for more chairs.

The singing, dancing, and worship carried from inside of the church out into the community just outside the church walls. Seeing such a diverse group of people from many different backgrounds worshiping together reminded me of this verse:

“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” – Psalm 86:9

Khayelitsha was one of many informal settlements built during the years of apartheid and segregation, and is reported to be the largest and fastest growing township in South Africa.

It is also one of the poorest areas of Cape Town with an average income per family of $1,872 a year.

Please pray that the message of hope and truth, the gospel of salvation, will be heard and received by the people of Khayelitsha.

Before you rush into the new year and create a set of resolutions or goals, take the time to reflect on this past year as well as celebrate what you’ve learned and accomplished.  Here are 5 things that God has either shown us or reminded us of this past year…

1. God is a provider.

Leaving the workforce where we were paid for our time worked was and still remains an adjustment for us.  It feels way different to rely on partners and donors rather than an employer. But God is reminding us that He is our provider regardless of where the money comes from.

Each month we’ve been here God has provided the funds we’ve needed for life and ministry- either through a recurring monthly gift or through a surprise donation when we least expected it.

We are so grateful for each of you who has generously given of the money that God has given you so that we can further advance His Kingdom and impact lives here in South Africa.

Also, we finally moved into our new home this month. He provided us with the perfect short-term housing situations throughout the year and has now provided us with a place to call our own for this next season.

God has just reminded us again and again this year that He is our trusted provider.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33

2. God is faithful.

God has recently directed us to partner with an amazing local church here that is doing great things both in South Africa and globally.

It’s a huge answered prayer, as we came here with a very small team trusting that God would align us with local leaders that shared our vision for equipping, discipleship, and life transformation.

We’ve been invited to join in with their eldership and leadership teams to learn from each other and see how God wants to use us in 2019.

We took our step of faith to go when he said go, and he has now faithfully positioned us to make a significant impact for His Kingdom.  It’s super humbling and super exciting all at the same time.

Our vision as we enter 2019 remains the same – to create a movement of thousands of souls on fire for Christ who are building up leaders and bringing love and hope to the hurting and broken people around them.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” – Proverbs 19:21

3. Some things are better “caught” than taught.

One of the things that drew us into this new church was the love that the elders (pastors) and church members clearly have for each other as well as for Christ.

Every time we walked into the church, different people would stop and ask if we are new, and then welcome us.

We received dinner invitations.  People offered us furniture.  We were invited to life groups.  People helped us move.  We had meals brought to us after we moved.

Honestly, it became a bit overwhelming.  Even though I know it clearly reflects God’s steadfast and abundant love for us, it’s so rare to experience it so practically and personally.

It’s one thing for a pastor to teach that we should love God and love others.  It’s another thing to see a church body of believers actually living it out so well.

It wasn’t until I personally experienced the way this group of believers actually lives their lives devoted to Christ that I was given a new vision of what church should look like (which actually reflects what we see in the bible.)

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” –  John 13:35

4. It’s all for God’s glory.

This world can so easily draw you into what YOU should have and what YOUR rights are and what YOU are entitled to.

We quickly think that the whole world revolves around us – our thoughts, our preferences, and our comfort – rather than living a life that truly has God at the center of it where we live the way He wants us to live and we love the way He wants us to love.

God saves us by His grace, but not so we can just live our lives any way we choose while we are still here on Earth.

He saves us so that we can bring Him glory through our lives by the way that we live.

Regardless of whether you are on the mission field, in the workplace, or at home raising your children, the way you live your life (in reality and on social media) should point people to God and bring Him glory for who He is.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31

5. Discipleship requires commitment and sacrifice.

It’s clear that we are commanded to make disciples.  It takes intentionality, commitment and sacrifice to obediently do so.

Jesus modeled discipleship by spending a lot of time doing life with His disciples.

Realizing that more is caught than taught, we have to rearrange our lives to prioritize discipling others by spending time with them.

We have to invite others into our lives, and we have to be willing to sometimes sacrifice our agendas to enter their lives.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” – Matthew 28:19-20

Comment below and share a lesson that you learned in 2018.

God bless you!

One benefit to having an American accent in a new country is that it usually starts a conversation about what brought us to South Africa and we then get to share our testimony.

As we told our server Jean-Marie at the coffee shop this past weekend about how we felt God led us to move to South Africa, she shared that her family had moved here a few years earlier on faith as well, believing this is where God wanted her and her family to be.

She then continued to share how it’s been some of the toughest years of their lives since they moved as they’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices.  Despite being obedient and following God’s leading, their lives had actually gotten more challenging and difficult rather than easier.

What struck me the most and really inspired me though was that she shared this story from a place of faith and trust that God was still good and still faithful in the midst of all the pain they had experienced.

We asked her if we could pray for her and she excitedly accepted and asked if we could pray for her outside.  What she shared after we walked outside was so powerful…

“For the last 3 months, it’s been so hard and I’ve been literally crying out to God.  Nobody in the church would pray for me during this time and it’s hurt me so much.

Earlier this week as I was crying to my husband and expressing this hurt, he felt like the Lord was saying that someone would come into my work and pray for me.”

I really had to hold back the tears as she shared this story with us, realizing that God had sent us there at that specific point in time to pray for her, when she would really know that it was God answering her prayer.

I encouraged her that this was God’s way of showing her and reminding her that He sees her, that He is with her, and that He loves her so much.

I’m continually in awe at beautiful moments like these where God gives us a glimpse of His love for us.

Don’t miss an opportunity to encourage someone or pray for them.  You really never know how badly someone may need it unless you take the time to stop and truly ask them how they are doing.