Living a 220 life

Are you married to a fool?

In 1 Samuel 25 we get the story about David, Nabal, and Abigail; a story rich with lessons in both marriage and faith. Though the story could produce enough lessons to fill a book, I’d like to focus only on a few. I first need to start with a reminder from Ephesians 5:33, “Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Folks, no matter your situation you are to both love and respect your spouse. We love and respect not because they’ve earned it but because we’re commanded to do so.

In 1 Samuel 25:25 we find Abigail explaining to David that her husband Nabal is a fool, “For as his name is, so is he; Nabal”. The name Nabal literally means fool. Now folks, let me first say, when you’re dating someone, if you find out their name is “fool” you might really want to reconsider the relationship. However, if you’re so smitten with love for “fool” and find yourself married to him/her and begin to reconsider I have further advice. 1 Corinthians 7:12-13 says, “If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.” Once you’re married you’re called to love and respect your spouse unconditionally. However, Abigail offers us a great look at a wife who finds herself married to a “harsh and evil” (25:3) fool.

Nabal acts foolishly and offends David by treating him badly. David in turn prepares to destroy the entire house of Nabal. Abigail finds out David is preparing to kill them all and acts quickly. In verse 24 Abigail pleads, “So she fell at his (David) feet and said: ‘On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant.” Understand, Abigails husband, who caused this whole mess, is off getting drunk at this point. (v36) Abigail did not have a great spiritual leader for a husband. Ladies, I understand so many of you desperately want your husband to be the spiritual leader he’s called to be but he just won’t do it. Don’t give up. He may be a Nabal or he may be may be a Saul who hasn’t been transformed into a Paul yet. Continue respecting him and praying for his spiritual leadership.

However, Abigail demonstrates that though the woman is called to follow her husband it’s not a blind following. Ladies, you are NEVER called to follow your husband into sin. NEVER! The only way for you to follow his leadership and to know when to not follow is to be so close to the Lord that you completely understand His will and His Word. Ladies, I encourage you: spend much time in the Word and at the Masters feet that you might be an Abigail to your husband.

Men, are you living like a Nabal right now? Understand, your actions have consequences for everyone when you’re the leader. Nabal’s foolishness created the situation in verse 34, “For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal.” Guys, wake up! We are the leaders of our families and one family at a time, we’re the leaders of this Nation. We can’t afford to live like Nabal. If you’re not leading your family spiritually, if you’re not moving both yourself and your wife closer to the Lord, you need to take a close look at your life. Where are your priorities? Are you Nabal? Ask your Abigail, she’ll tell you.

Friends, if you find yourself in a Nabal-Abigail relationship there’s still hope. We serve an amazing God who acts in mighty ways. I beg you, seek help from other mature believers. Begin walking with mature Christan friends and developing your personal walk with Jesus. As your personal walk grows, your marriage will also grow. If you can’t find any believers to walk with you, contact Beth and I, we’ll walk with you. AMEN!

Who are you?

Recently I was talking with some young Soldiers and inquiring about who they are. They would tell me where they’re from, what their interests are, and what their ambitions are. Typically, when I ask a young Soldier who they are I get responses such as a musician, a student, a husband, or a father. The response is usually the single most important aspect of the persons life and therefore becomes their response as to who they are.

Well, when I inquire of some more experienced Soldiers, who they are, I get a much different response. The response I receive from the older Soldiers is a near unanimous, “I’m a Soldier”. I began wondering what makes the difference between these two responses. I mean, the two groups are only 5 to 10 years apart in age and yet have a completely different response. Then it hit me; after an initial tour of duty, a Soldier must make the decision to either get out or re-enlist for another tour. Typically, when the Soldier decides to re-enlist it’s the decision to make the military a career. In essence, the military goes from something he’s doing for the time to a life style he will live until retirement.

The Soldier makes a concious decision to not only “do” the military but to “live” the military. Once this concious decision is made, the person begins to become a Soldier. Friends, the same is true about Christians. All too often I ask someone who they are and the responses run the gammet. Very few times is the response, “I’m a lover of Jesus” or “I’m a Christian”.

We must make a concious decision that we are not going to “do” church but that we are going to “be” lovers of Jesus Christ. Until we make this decision we are fooling ourselves; we call ourselves Christians yet we have ambitions for everything and everyone other than Jesus and His Kingdom. Revelation 3:16 says, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

Until you stop playing the church game; until you stop trying to look good on Sunday morning and Wednesday night, and you start living your entire life for Jesus you’re lying to yourself and living a lukewarm life. A life that is so displeasing to the Lord that He will vomit you out. Friends, I beg you, make a concious decision today that you will follow Him whole heartedly. Give Him all you have. Hold nothing back!

Let me ask you, Who are you? AMEN!

Benson’s Story

Benson is a 46 year old African from Kenya who passionately loves Jesus. The Lord brought Benson into my life in Iraq and has done so clearly to build a friendship and team that would advance the Word of God to the ends of the earth. Benson is married to the beautiful Monica and has five children; Roselyne Mutethya 19, Milica Naumi 15, Christine kathini 14, Angela Jane 12, and Joshua Mathano 6.

Benson served in the Kenyan Army for seven years during which time he joined the African Inland Church (AIC), a main protestant denomination in Kenya. Benson quickly became very active in his church and was asked to lead the youth church choir. Benson aggresively studied the Word of God under his pastor Geofry Mutua Muywoki and began teaching others. The congregation grew under the leadership of Geofry and Benson and soon found the need for more room. Benson and Monica prayed about the need and were led to give a piece of their land to the church, that they might have a house of worship.

After donating his land to the church, Benson was praying how he might serve the Lord in other ways. Nehemiah 1 was placed on his heart and he began crying out to the Lord that He might use him in a mighty way. The Lord answered this plea with a vision. Benson was called to reach the youth with the resources he already had. (Exodus 4:1-2)

Benson used an old black and white television, a video deck, and one box speaker to show videos to the youth. He showed video’s on the life of Jesus, Moses, Samson & Delilah, Esther, the Ten Commandments, and more. Many people, young and old, would travel great distances to come view the videos. Benson explains, “To my surprise, Jesus did wonders and I could see people surrender their lives to the Lord.” The word got around about Benson and the videos and he was soon invited to many churches and schools. The parents of the children requested Benson begin speaking on topics to include HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, peer groups, dangers of abortion, and more. He agreed and began studying these topics and teaching them at the same time. All the while the Lord continued blessing him with larger and larger crowds of people.

The requests to speak became more and more and Benson moved his TV and equipment into his wheelbarrow. Across the country-side Benson went and the Lord continued blessing him. Soon he upgraded to a bicycle to reach schools and churches even further away. He would strap the video deck to the handle bars, the car battery to the back of his bike, and the TV was carried on his back in a bed sheet. Benson was speaking every day to two schools a day. He would come home late in the evenings, risking his own life by riding through the African country side at night alone.

Benson and Monica grew produce in order to raise money to purchase more equipment. They invested every extra penny into the ministry, that they might win just one more for Jesus. Then, as Benson was shooting a video, a power surge spiked through all his equipment and left him with nothing. Benson began praying to the Lord that he might be blessed with equipment to begin the ministry again. Later, Benson volunteered to come to Iraq in order to support his family and try to save a little extra money in hopes of continuing the ministry God has called him to.

Benson and I are joined in prayer that God would raise up fellow believers who wish to support this wonderful ministry. What an investment in the Kingdom of God this is. Beth and I will be visiting Benson in Kenya and are praying the Lord has provided equipment prior to our arrival. Friends, won’t you pray about your role in Benson’s ministry to the beautiful people of Kenya. AMEN!

Teaching Teachers in Kenya, Africa

My dear friends, the Lord is calling us into an exciting time of advancing the Kingdom of God. You see, He’s linked me with an amazing man of God named Benson here in Iraq. Benson is from Kitui Kenya, Africa and has asked Beth and I to come to Africa in order to teach the Word of God. As Benson and I have been praying over the trip we’ve both heard the Lord’s calling to teach teachers who will be able to continue the work after we’ve left. (2Timothy2:2) This calling is the same calling 220 Life Ministries was founded on, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

Beloved brothers and sisters, this calling isn’t just for Beth and I; no, this calling is for a much larger group of committed believers around the world who desire the Kingdom of God to be advanced in a mighty way. This particular trip will be for approximately one week but will simply be one of many, in an effort to establish a teaching center in Kitui Kenya that reaches the entire continent of Africa.

Beth and I want to invite you to join us on this incredible mission. We are looking for support in several areas. The first is PRAYER. Psalm 37:5 says, “Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” We are praying for at least 50 people to commit our way to the Lord on a regular basis. If you are willing to pray daily for this trip as an individual and once a week with a group, we’d love for you to sign up. Hear me my friend, we NEED prayer warriors for this trip; people willing to wholeheartedly intercede for this trip regularly. This is an opportunity to change an entire continent without leaving your own home. Please prayerfully consider this commitment. We truely need each of you.

The second need is financial support. Beth and I will need to raise approximately $3000. Let me challenge you with Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” Now, I’m not simply challenging you, no; Beth and I are putting our own money into this trip as well. As you may know, 220 Life Ministries is a tent builder ministry which means we have a secular job to support the ministry. We don’t rely on donations to survive; we rely on the Lord and the job He’s provided. With this said, any financial donation will be directly used to bring the Word of God into Kenya in a mighty way. Please pray about this eternal investment and consider where your treasure is.

The third need is this: we are looking for another couple to join us on this trip. If a single wants to join us as well this is great, but we are praying for at least one other couple to join us. In Luke 10:1 we find, “…(the Lord),sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go” Please pray about this commitment and contact Beth and I with any questions.

I will continue offering updates from Kenya as we get closer to the trip. I will soon be adding a testimony from Benson about his ministry in Kitui (it’s awesome!) and a brief history of the Kitui church we’ve been invited to speak in. I’ve added a Kenya mission page on the 220 life website for additional information or to make a financial donation on-line. You can see the page by clicking this link Kenya Mission. Friends, I can’t fully express how exciting this journey is. The Lord has shown me a glimpse of His mighty hand working in this and I can tell you for sure, if you join this journey, you WILL see your wonderful Jesus in a glorius way you’ve never imagined possible. He WILL be glorified through this journey and you will be blessed for being a part of it. I pray each of you partners with us in some way and contacts us soon to express your commitment. AMEN!

Budgeting for Eternity

My friends, if you google search Christian budgeting you’ll get a whole mess of sites to “teach” you the proper way to budget your money. Some are very good and are helpful in ensuring you stay out of debt however, scripture offers a different concept for budgeting in light of eternity. You see, we’re taught to make wise investments which is good advice; we’re just taught to expect the returns on this side of death. God teaches us to make wise investments with an expected return after death.

Yes, heaven is the obvious return for our investment in Christ. When we surrender to Him we’re guaranteed a place in His kingdom. This is not the investment I’m speaking of. I assume you’ve already made that investment. If you haven’t, you must make that investment first before you’re permitted to make any of the following investments. What I’m speaking of is the reward in heaven.

Matthew 5:12 says, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” This verse is encouraging Christians who are being persecuted. The reward is not refering to entrance into heaven but rather a reward in heaven. 2 John 1:8 says, “Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.” Understand, some will not receive a full reward when entering the kingdom of God. Certainly, simply entering heaven will be amazing, but scripture teaches not all will be equal in heaven. The inequality will not be that which we know on earth, but it will exist none the less.

Scripture speaks of different crowns we can earn by our actions on earth. The fact some will not earn crowns and others will earn many crowns is one more example of the inequality we’ll experience in heaven. Remember, we’ll be in the presence of our Lord and will be removed from pain and sin; it will be heaven! However, some will wish to offer more to their King but will be unable due to their actions on earth.

Luke 12:33-34 says, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no theif comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” My friends, the actions we take today will impact us in heaven! The Lord cares about what we do with our time and our money because it reveals our heart. So let me ask you: What do you spend most of your time doing? Is it something bringing glory to the Lord? What do you spend most of your money on? Is it something bringing glory to the Lord? If the answer is no to these questions then you’re investing in the wrong side of death.

Please understand I’m not saying we earn salvation. We can not earn heaven! Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” So we don’t earn heaven…but we do earn rewards in heaven. Look at the very next verse in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Friends, God created us to do good works and He rewards us for doing them.

What are you investing your time and money in today? Tithing is a good thing but that’s not going to cut it. The Lord doesn’t want 10% of your money; No, He wants 100% of your heart which includes all of your time and all of your money. Take a look at the expenditures of your money and time and you’ll see where your heart is. Is it with God? If not you may want to reconsider your investments. It is 100% guaranteed you will die and all your possessions will remain here. You will lose on this investment…guaranteed. However, investing in people, relationships, advancement of the kingdom of God; those things will go with you…guaranteed. Those are much better odds than wall street. Friends, surrender your life to Him right now; give Him your heart, your money, your time, give Him all of you. Commit your life and your resources to Him! AMEN!