Living a 220 life

Faith that moves mountains

Friends, how do we experience the miraculous power of God in our lives? I mean, Jesus told us in Matthew 17:20 that if we have, “faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” I don’t know about you but moving a mountain sounds pretty impossible to me. However, Jesus really meant what He said and really meant for us to believe what He said. So how do we get even a tiny mustard seed size faith that is large enough to move mountains? Romans 10:17 says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” In other words, if you want your faith to grow you must spend time in the Word of God. Therefore, Romans 10:17 sets us on the pathway to gaining a miraculous faith able to move mountains by telling us to get into the Word, but the question still remains: What is faith?

In Matthew 6:30 Jesus asks His disciples, “Why do you have so little faith?” Now the guys He’s asking this question to have recently left everything they own to follow Him. These guys certainly believe Jesus is the Son of God. They believe! So why do they have little faith? The answer stems from the definition of faith. You see, faith reflects at least two ideas: trust and belief. Trust is a personal reliance upon the Lord for all sustenance and protection. Belief is an affirmation of truths. So, the disciples believed but hadn’t learned to trust Jesus yet. They had little faith because they had little trust. Ultimately, little faith results from our failure to understand our value to God and the extent of God’s protection of us.

Peter began growing in trusting faith the longer he spent time with Jesus. One of the most incredible stories about Peter comes from Matthew 14. Now remember, Peter was a normal guy who messed up all the time. He wasn’t Jesus, the Son of God. Peter was normal just like you and I. However, in Matthew 14:28 Peter yells out to Jesus, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” Then guess what Peter did…yep, you got it, Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. Wow! That amazes me every time. How do we get that type of faith? We trust Him! As our trust in Him grows our prayers will change. You see, prayer isn’t meant to inform God about our needs, it’s meant to express our trust in His provision.

Friends, if you want a faith that moves mountains you need to trust Jesus to provide the power to move the mountain. When you pray, you must understand that “Nothing is impossible” if you believe and trust. Now remember, faith comes from the Word of God. John 15:7 says, “If you remain in me and my Word remains in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you.” My dear friends, abide in Christ daily through His Word and then confidently climb over the side of the boat so you can walk on water. NOTHING is impossible for us when we are abiding in Christ! Trust and believe Him. 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!