“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.” -Psalm 67

Remembering the Lord’s Faithfulness

We have been diligently working our way through the book of Acts, watching simple ordinary followers of Jesus move in the power of the Spirit. It was not without a battle, no doubt, as we will continue to see next week. I felt a need to pause this week and “remember the Lord.” This phrase came from the lips of my daughter, Lizzy, and resounded in my spirit. We can read the book of Acts as a mere history book. In fact, we can read all of the Bible this way. But one thing rings true—God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is unchanging and true to His word, forever and amen!

Modern Acts of Faith

Last week, I was in Latin America on an island that is being destroyed by communism and Santeria (witchcraft and demon worship). Two Arise teams overlapped one another as we took the gospel to two different areas of the country. What resulted is nearly 800 new followers of Jesus! Every time I return to this country, it is worse than when I left it, and the suffering of the people leaves me undone. As my heart is wrecked, I know that Jesus is their only hope, and this land will yield its harvest! Here are just a few of their current realities:

• Euthanasia was passed on December 23, 2023, allowing doctors and nurses to determine who lives and who dies.
• Christianity and Santeria are in a race for this country. The wife of the dictator is using every platform she can to call the country to blood sacrifices and idol worship (Santeria).
• In 2019, the government dedicated the country and all revolutions to a Santeria god called the “copper virgin.” Since then, the country has seen insurmountable disaster.
• China, Russia, and Turkey are aiding this country. In fact, Turkey has a vessel off the shore to generate electrical power for the tourism areas.
• More than 1 million people are believed to have left the country to date.
• The government is trying to eliminate cash and make it digital currency.
• Inflation is causing the little food that the people do have to be out of reach financially. On average, these people make $5 per month. One egg costs $0.50. The people are starving, and the government continues to export food.
• The middle class has been successfully eliminated; you have the uber-wealthy and extremely poor with no middle ground.

However, I watch and listen to the testimonies of the believers who have stayed there to bring Christ to their people. Jesus is meeting their needs and filling their bellies with good things. He is faithful to those who belong to Him!

Testimonies of God’s Work

As I sat yesterday listening to my friend and teammate, Kelly, share of God’s incredible wonder in this field, I wanted to share two testimonies from her and her father. They coincide with what we are experiencing and learning in just the first five chapters of Acts we have traversed. Jesus is alive, and He is still moving in mercy and wonder so that His glory will cover the Earth! Let your faith and expectation rise as you read the following.

“In the morning, we went to the house of a woman named Ledalmis and her nephew, Anthony, who lived with her in a small, one-room home. When we walked in with our translator, Edwardo, and the church worker, her neighbor also joined us. We talked, I presented the gospel, and all three prayed to receive salvation. Afterward, I said I’d like to pray for her eyes, which she shared earlier that she had severe cataracts and needed surgery. After anointing her with oil and praying, I asked if she could see better. She said not really and that she could only see shapes and could tell that I was wearing a blue shirt. I asked if I could pray again. After a brief prayer, she opened her eyes and started saying in amazement that she could see. She fell to her knees and lifted her hands and started to weep. She said, ‘I can see your beard,’ and she could see the things on her neighbor’s blouse and a few other things that she pointed to with excitement. I looked at her nephew and her neighbor, and they were both sobbing because of the miracle we were all seeing. She kept lifting her hands and praising God. After a little while, she asked if she still needed her surgery, and she showed me some of the supplies she purchased for the procedure. I smiled and told her that she won’t need the surgery because she was healed, and she laughed and praised the Lord.” -Jim Mozdren

“I was meeting with an older couple and their two grown children. The husband takes care of his wife as she is very fragile, has a bad hip, and uses a walker. They were all so sweet and collectively said, “Yes,” to Jesus as a family. After we prayed, I told them we worship the one true living God, and He has the power to heal, and we need to believe by faith that he can heal us. I got up and said I wanted to pray for the mother’s hip and started walking across the room to where she was sitting. As I kneeled down to be next to her, she put her head in her hands and started crying and talking to my translator. I wasn’t sure what was going on as my translator seemed amazed and wasn’t relaying what she was saying. She then shared that the woman said, ‘I can see! My eyesight has been restored!’ The Lord healed this woman’s eyesight! She said when we first came in that everything was blurry, and then she started pointing at our shirts and saying the colors and pointed across the room and said she could see the things on the table. It was so amazing to me that I saw the need for healing on her hip on the outside, but the Lord knew that her deepest heart desire was for her eyesight to be restored, and through her faith in believing He healed her!” -Kelly Mozdren

The Heart of Mission and Ministry

These testimonies stir my faith to believe and rest in the goodness of God! The worship song I shared this morning has been on repeat for me the last couple of weeks. It’s the cry of my heart.

“I want to bring You something You desire / Would You take this little oil and make a fire? / Meet me at this altar / Lord I am here for You / Consecrate me, I choose no other / I vow my love to You”

You have heard me say before, “We are in a wedding preparation season.” And as wedding invitations cover my refrigerator, my spirit is picking up the same theme. Jesus is longing for our vowed love and our consecrated lives. He longs to do more in us and through us than we understand. He is coming for His Bride! As my friend Joy continually reminds me to keep my gaze upward focused because His return is imminent, I admit a weariness in this season of waiting and harvesting as I speak this to my own heart, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).”

God’s Unchanging Promise

Just as the believers in the nation I mentioned above are facing great opposition and persecution, pressing and forging, God is enthroned on the praises of His people and is consecrating those who belong to Him. He is meeting their needs and the deepest cries of their hearts.

“Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.” -Psalm 139:4

“The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.” -Psalm 69:33

“As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.” -Psalm 55:16-18

A Call to Faith

To the desperate and longing, submit the desires of your heart to Jesus.

To those longing for deeper consecration, submit the desires of your heart to Jesus.

To the afflicted and suffering, submit the desires of your heart to Jesus.

He has not forgotten you. The same God of Acts and Kelly and Jim, who testified above, is the God longing to reveal the depth of His character and faithfulness to you. God is for you! He longs to answer the cries of your heart as you move in closer in greater dependence and intimacy. All of this is not for naught. He wastes nothing. And He redeems everything. Don’t take off your wedding dress or your dancing shoes; a wedding is coming, and your Groom is getting you ready to meet Him at the altar!

A Few Key Notes

• Join us May 27-29 for a time of prayer and intercession for the global Church and for revival in the nations. Sign up for a 30-minute time slot to cover the entire 72 hours in prayer.
• Join us for three cross-cultural dinners this summer on June 13, July 11, and August 15. We will enjoy a meal while learning about the Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim cultures and faith. You will experience an evening of sisterhood, education, and conversation as we discuss what God is doing among these three major world religions. Registration is free; you will only have to pay for the cost of your dinner.
• Come take the gospel to the nations with Arise. View our open teams and apply for one today!