“Humility is the surrender of the soul to God.”

“Humility is the surrender of the soul to God.” Francis Frangipane

What is the soul? It is your mind, will (ability to make a choice), and emotions.  We need to learn the lesson of Gethsemane, surrender.  Jesus is our example of how to yield your mind, will and emotions to a loving Father. Although everything about surrendering to the cross has the appearance of cruelty and violence it is the very love of God that enabled Christ to fulfill his call to redeem the world. The love the Father bestowed upon His only begotten son empowered Jesus to suffer and die in our places so that we could be redeemed from believing the hideous lie that God is not love.

What keeps us from humbling ourselves before our loving Father and asking for His forgiveness and love?

We believe our own good works make us acceptable to God.  When we are performing well, loving our neighbor, preaching the gospel and serving others we can approach God boldly, but when we see our selfishness and the anger in our hearts, we hide from God’s presence.  Humility is the virtue that draws us from the shadows of hiding behind good works or; surrendering to God when we have sinned against Him.  I worship God because He is good not because I am good.  We are a fragrance to the Lord when we have a broken and contrite heart and we choose to worship Him from our places of disappointment, anger, fear or rejection.  We need to come to Him as we are and offer Him the sacrifice of praise because He is worthy. I have come to realize that when I worship God from a place where I feel unacceptable, He covers me with His wings and speaks that I am His own.  He made a way for me through the death and resurrection of His son.  I can boldly come into His presence and receive the longing of my heart, to be God’s own child.

Kerry

Hope

I awoke early this morning with the faces of many poor children imprinted on my mind, and I thought of their priceless value; yet many struggle for their basic needs. I began to think of things that could motivate me to be a better advocate for these beautiful lives.

I have learned that my own human compassion is a non-renewable resource, it has a beginning and an end. So you can see my dilemma when I see innocent lives marginalized and in pain, my knowledge that I have the potential to become desensitized and unmoved overwhelms me. Who has the compassion and love for every broken life? Where can I find this love that is not my own to give to the lonely and poor?

I have come to understand that if we are disconnected from the unending love of our Heavenly Father, the pure love of God cannot flow through us unhindered and uninhibited. Please understand we are the same as those we serve, orphans. The natural state of humanity has been an orphan spirit since sin entered the world through one man. How do we receive a new name and a new position?

Look to Jesus, the yielded, obedient Son of God, who gave His life joyfully so we could be a part of his family. He is our example of how to be a son. He was fully yielded to His loving Father, putting his life into his Fathers capable hands. He is the resurrection and the life. I have seen with my own eyes the greatest needs of the poor and they are not food or education, they are a deep need for identity and destiny….hope. Who am I? Does anyone care for me? What will I become?

Jesus showed us to be great you need to be a servant of all. To live you must die. To be a son you must obey and carry a cross. Can you hear the call of the cross to identify with Jesus and lay your life down? We need to die to our selfish ways to receive the resurrection and life that is our promise as children of God. His work is complete but ours is only beginning. Will we give Jesus the opportunities to shine through us as we identify with his death and suffering; going with joy to the cross so that eternal life may spring up and rivers of living water will transform orphans to sons.

“I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind but now I see.”

Remember there are many expressions in the Kingdom of God but only one door,

Kerry

Transition for the Blacklocks

Transition, no matter how hard you try to make transition easier it is by nature difficult but necessary. We are now professional movers and after playing musical beds for 3 weeks we finally have everyone in their own bed and hopefully they will keep these beds for awhile. We have been going at break neck speed for almost 3 weeks and as always it finally takes it toll and we learn to surrender fears, anxieties and misappropriated expectations to the beautiful feet of Jesus. Picture with me the beautiful scarred feet of our Lord and then try not to surrender your worries, is it possible?

I got to fulfill a life long dream of studying Spanish in another country. Our family spent a week in Antigua as students and this was such an amazing experience for me personally. I got to see this beautiful city from the perspective of a traveler, and I have not appreciated the beauty and diversity of Guatemala so much as I do now. It is so interesting to have a second chance to see something from a new perspective. So it begs the question, what did I see? I saw people from all around the world being hosted by gracious people who make you feel at home not only in their casas but their hearts as well. I saw art, architecture, a huge open blue sky painted with wispy clouds and cascading flowers and vines. I ran through villages and up endless hills to watch people play soccer in dusty dry fields. We were chased by children through the streets as the crazy gringos ran. I am so thankful for this opportunity to embrace this beautiful nation and its rich tapestry of people. Please pray fervently for our family to fully understand Spanish, I believe if many believe with us this year we will have our breakthrough.

Our students will be arriving next week and that is always exciting for our kids. They have been restless and fighting a lot; getting used to home schooling and being away from the comforts of home. This area is a huge prayer target for us. When the kids are at peace we have peace too. They have their own trials and ups and downs and it is a challenge to allow room for everyone's difficulties while learning to embrace God’s will for our lives. Please pray, my desire is that we serve God as a family and that each of us will feel at home here in Guatemala. God’s grace is sufficient and as we pray together we see His grace rain down over us.

I have to share with you one amazing missionary story. This morning I woke up at 6:30 because I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to go to the “Friends of Jesus” breakfast. ( for those who are not familiar with this term; this is what I renamed the prostitutes breakfast ministry). I got up and quickly got ready and squished into the front of the van beside Karla (leader of the ministry) and we were off, like so many times before. We pick up the women from the bars around 7:00 am and then feed them breakfast, have worship, share multiple testimonies and pray with them all before we have to have them back by exactly 9:00 am. This is the most amazing part and everyone who has been involved in this ministry can attest to this, God miraculously holds back time for us. We were able to have three women share with translation, serve breakfast and coffee, sing worship songs and minister to the women. I have been in ministry for 17 years and I know this is not humanly possible in 2 hours, but we do it every time and leisurely as well. As I was praying for a couple of Jesus’ friends I felt such oppression and deep emotional pain. I did not feel we had broken through. Karla asked if I had something to say and I said no sadly and walked away. Then a few minutes later, unplanned the Lord gave me a word and Karla and I delivered it seamlessly like their was no translation. The intimacy of the Spirits words through the testimony of brokenness in my life brought a river of love and healing into the room. When we were leaving many of the women came over to me to receive a hug from the very arms of Christ. It is hard to explain with words the intimacy and transparency that enveloped the room. I held them like long lost daughters who came home from far away lands. This is the picture; we are God’s long lost children and he sent his very own Son to bring us home. Walk in eternity today and be the hands, the feet, the arms, the eyes, the ears and the very heart of Jesus.

Kerry

Matt and Kerry Blacklock

Fe Viva World Missions

011 502 4688 1494 (Guatemala Cell)

matt@feviva.org

www.feviva.org

www.blacklockepics.blogspot.com 

Words that have inspired and challenged me this week.

Words that have inspired and challenged me this week.

Our ambitions need to match the size and scope of Christ's ambitions in coming to the earth. Did the only begotten Son of God humble Himself and come here to be violently and brutally murdered, hung on a cross, despised and mocked, then come back from the dead and preach and teach for forty days just so we could be prosperous and have emotion-stirring praise and worship times and pass out colorful leaflets and set up clever websites, all while people around us are depressed and committing suicide , spreading AIDS, dying of hunger, wrecking the planet and much more? I think not.

Sunday Adelaja in ChurchShift

For a long time the church has taken care of itself only, but the time has come to take responsibility for every sphere of society, from our circle of friends to our families; from our workplaces to our city councils and schools; from sports and the arts to politics and business. Today the church needs to bring peoples and nations out of the desert, where they have been wandering. The kingdom of God is God's total answer to man's total problem. It is synonymous with God's will and ways. When He says,"Your kingdom come" (Luke 11:2), it means through you and me. we are to walk in power. Every gift and talent we have is to be exercised in service of the kingdom. Believers need to start social organizations and charities that will become strong social movements that captivate people's attention. We need to find effective ways to serve the homeless, the troubled, the orphan, the beaten, the addicted,the criminal, the helpless.

Sunday Adelaja in ChurchShift


God bless

Matt

Spanish in Antigua

We just had out first day of Spanish classes in the beautiful city of Antigua. We all did well and we are proud of the kids for their hard work. They are so great at jumoing right in in new places with new people to meet all the time. The home we are staying in is wonderful. The family is wonderful and one of their daughters is the girls' age. They have been having lots of fun. It should be a connection to have for a while. It is always wonderful to see children play together with such freedom no matter where they are in the world. Liam is enjoying the cooler weather; he is a hot box so Fe Viva is always an overheating place for him. Please pray for his core body temperature to go down so he can handle the heat.lol. There is a young woman from Denmark staying the same home as well. Kerry had a great conversation time with her. Picked up one of our MTS students today. She is taking 4 weeks of Spanish so she should be fairly good come the start of MTS.
Thank you all for praying for us and enjoy all the snow.

God Bless
Los candadonegroes

Our Mailing address in Guatemala

To send letters to us in Guatemala:

Fe Viva World Missions
El Cocalito, Poza de Agua
Guazacapan, SANTA Rosa
Guatemala, C. A.

We love to receive mail!!!

Heading to Guatemala

We are leaving for Guatemala in less than 24 hours with mixed feelings from us all. Happy that we will see our friends again, excited for the work God has in store and ready for more adventure, but sad about leaving our family and friends here, the wide open spaces and the nation we love. Had the bg talk with the kids last night about why we go and the surprises God has in store for us this year in Guatemala. Please pray for them as they miss their friends in Canada and meet their friends again in Guate and make new ones.

We will be doing our youtube messages again this year, with a special twist; The Head Cam (to reveal the driving rituals and more in Guate) If you don't receive these emails, let me know at matt@feviva.org and you will get them.

God Bless

Matt