The Power of The Blessing

I (Matt) experienced an amazing moment in my life this summer that I would classify as one of the top 5 impactful moments of my life; and it came as a HUGE surprise. We were home this summer from Guatemala; resting, working, finding out 3 of us have Celiac, enjoying Canada, prepping for a bunch of push ups and generally processing through the inner workings of the soul. I would call it a good summer and a hard summer. The summer of 2013; which also happens to be my 40^th year on the planet.

The day was Wednesday August 13^th. My lovely wife Kerry and our friends Loren and Cathy Jespersen were organizing a small golf tournament for Fe Viva. They had worked hard getting it ready and yet there were still problems leading up to the day. One problem was me; I am not a fan of golf and I mentioned to Kerry that I was planning not to go, but attend the BBQ afterwards. She said that I could not skip it because I have to represent Fe Viva that the tourney. So I went, had lots of fun and then at the BBQ received one of the biggest surprises of my life. Towards the end of the BBQ it was revealed to me that this whole day was all a guise for a 40^th birthday party. I was not going to be in Canada to celebrate with friends there, but Kerry and Cathy planned a great big one for my.

It was an amazing experience. At the end of the night, friends and family spoke of blessings, prayers and encouragement over my life. I cried the whole time. The words people spoke over me were so powerful that I would say that it was one of the top 5 experiences of my life. Those blessings were huge and they will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Now during this time I was preparing for another big event, because I like to do big, crazy events, and the power of this night created something that blessed many people. I call it the Power of the Blessing. I was preparing to do 10,000 push ups in one week. (Another crazy idea that I always seem to come up with.) I had a few people who were joining me, but that night I found out that there were many others that were going to join me. I had not promoted this event that much; I was tired all summer and just wanted to stick to my word that I would do these push ups and hope that we would raise a few thousand dollars. That night I found out that people were going to sponsor a good amount and as it turned out we raised over $72,000 that week.

I strongly believe that this all came about because of the blessings that people spoke over me.  These words created something incredible. It was not because I had a good idea, or was an incredible promoter, but because of the love, power and blessings of people and their belief in me. I would like to thank everyone for blessing me, encouraging me and believing in me. One thing that God has spoken again and again this year that I will use for the rest of my life is this:

If you know you are loved, you can accomplish anything.

 

Remember people; we are loved by the creator of love and He gave His all for us. Let’s give our all for him.

To Those Who Will Not Shrink Back.

Revelation 12:11

 

A win for the Glutards

We found gluten free pancake mix, syrup and rice flour in Guate. 

What's next?

Kerry

Here are some of my revelations/thoughts/insights/new life sayings to live by I received this summer:

You can accomplish anything if you know you are loved.

"Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."
-William Carey-
If we believe God does great things, as His child, we will follow His lead.

In the end God will say, "Well DONE my good and faithful servant, not well SAID."

Matt

Pouring the roof of our house in Guatemala

Here is a time lapse video of pouring the roof of our house in Guatemala. A home to spread life, love and freedom

Click on the link: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeXFbig4eRQ&feature=share&list=PLjIEso7Vo6rwHwpMyMrjPEhXwkFMmtkHW

Abby @ Casa Esperanza Children's Home

Inside the gates of Fe viva in Guazacapan Guatemala, the children's home Casa Esperanza stands tall. Behind the fence which encircles it 32 children live happily; children who would otherwise be living in neglect, poverty or abuse. Many who visit Fe viva and hear about Casa Esperanza think of it as an orphanage but in the entire house only 2 kids are real orphans. Most of them have parents but some like these three sisters Stephanie, Daniela and Carmencita will never return to live with them. When they first arrived in June 2012 they could barely walk. Stephanie 5 didn't talk much and moaned for communication. Daniela 4 barely smiled and was less conversant than her sister. Carmencita, around 2, could not stand or walk without assistance. They came with scars and bloated stomachs. Carmencita came with a fever and the Tias (aunts) thought she was going to die. They only stayed for 3 days and then went to a nutrition centre to be put on IV. They stayed for 4 months to recuperate.

 

When they came back you could see a definite change. Stephanie's vocabulary expanded immensely and she warmed up to everyone. Daniela showed us her beautiful smile and her energetic side. Carmencita's health had not improved as much as her sisters and she was sent back to the nutrition centre for another couple of months. She finally came back to stay in January 2013. At first she had severe separation anxiety and never wanted to walk. Gradually she began to walk more. She loves flower petals so I would scatter them around on the ground and get her to pick them up. To her it was just a game but she got a lot of exercise out of it. When there were no flowers nearby I would walk her around to pick lemons that had fallen from the trees inside their yard. Now in March 2013 when she sees me coming through the gate I can hear her calling " Aiii, Aiii." (Abby, Abby). She walks almost all of the time now. She still enjoys picking up "mones" (limones) and she loves running around and sliding down the slide on the playground in the yard. Everyone who meets her instantly falls in love with her. It has been a blessing to see her grow and become strong. In her big brown eyes you no longer see pain and suffering but love and joy. 

 

Abby Blacklock 14

 

For more information go to www.feviva.org 

 

The Key to the Missionary

“All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore, and teach all nations.”

–Matthew 28:18-19-

The basis of missionary appeals is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the heathen. We are apt to look upon our Lord as one who assists us in out enterprises for God. Our Lord puts Himself as the absolute sovereign supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say the heathen will be lost if we do not go; He simple says – “Go therefore and teach all nations.” Go on the revelation of My sovereignty; teach and preach out of a living experience of Me.

“Then the eleven disciples went... unto a mountain where Jesus had appointed them” (v.16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him for myself, and how to get to alone with Him; I must take time to worship the Being Whose Name I bear. “Come unto Me” – that is the place to meet Jesus. Are you weary and heavy laden? How many missionaries are! We banish those marvelous words of the universal Sovereign of the world to the theshold of an after-meeting; they are the words of Jesus to His disciples.

“Go ye therefore...” Go simply means live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say – Go into Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, but, “You will be witnesses unto Me” in all these places. He undertakes to establish the goings.

“If you abide in Me and My words abide in you...” – that is the way to keep going in our personal lives. Where we are placed is a matter of indifference; God engineers the goings.

“None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself...” That is how to keep going till we are gone.

Oswald Chambers

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me

God has many believers, people who put their trust in Him to deliver them from the power of sin and death and receive salvation. If you are saved does this make you a disciple or follower of Christ? 

Salvation is a free gift that is received when you confess your sins to God and receive Jesus to be your Savior. Many only know Jesus as Savior but not as Lord.  The cost of being a disciple of Christ is giving up my right to govern and rule my own life.

                  The rich young ruler came to Jesus and desired to know how to inherit eternal life. Jesus reminds him of the commandments and the young man replies, “All these I have kept since I was a boy.”  Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack, go sell everything and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away because he had great wealth. Mark 10:37

Many times our focus in life is for personal holiness, just like the rich young ruler we desire a method we can follow to obtain eternal life without having to surrender our lives to Jesus. The ruler told Jesus that he has always followed the commandments hoping that through his own personal holiness he would be justified. Jesus desire is for nothing to come between us and Him. Is our desire for Him what gets us up in the morning and lays us down at night? God knows the question to ask us that exposes the reality that is in our hearts. As Christians we know that it is right to put God first, many believe that at salvation we have totally surrendered our lives to Christ. This is not so, we have received eternal life but each day we need to walk out our salvation by daily denying ourselves and following Him. How can we be sure that we have surrendered our lives to Christ? What is the test of identification?  God is calling us to reduce ourselves and renounce everything that comes between our relationship with Him. We must understand that only one thing saves a man's soul and that is absolute reliance on Christ, but to be a disciple we need to learn how to be God’s possession.

Jesus is always our model on how to have a relationship with the Father. His life was a living example of how to surrender to the Father who is good and merciful. Jesus came to do His Father’s will; He said he only did what he saw the Father doing. When Jesus came to earth he emptied himself of all he possessed in heaven, his place, position, and his power to identify with us. He came in the form of a man, taking on the nature of a servant, which is the lowest, humblest position; he was even obedient to death on the cross. Although Jesus gave up everything he had he was still able to do miracles, signs and wonders and even raise the dead. How is this possible?  He was able to do this because His life was not his own, he surrendered it to the Father and God used His life to break off the power of sin and death.

God is calling us to identify with his Son to learn the lesson of Gethsemane, “Not my will but your will be done.”

What areas of our lives are we living for ourselves and not for Him?  I have learned all the places in my heart that want to accuse others, pass judgment, live in darkness and isolation have not come in contact with the love of Christ. When you have gazed into the eyes of Jesus your heart will cry out like his did on the cross, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” We need to learn to bring our hearts before the Lord and have him examine us, what areas do we try to hide from God or try to rule our own lives. His desire is to make us like Himself broken bread and poured out wine. When you gaze into the eyes of Jesus you will see the cleansing pools of His kindness, humility and love. It casts out all fear, guilt and shame. Learn the prayer of a humble servant: Help me to see others greater than myself. This is identification.   

Kerry Blacklock