November 8, 2009 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
So it’s Sunday and time to go to church. Really? The bible says that born-again believers are the Body of Christ. The Church should not be equated to a building or just a ritual. I’m not saying not to meet together, in fact just the opposite; please meet more and more together! However, the Church should be living an abundant life by loving God and other people; especially our fellow believers. So are we the Church, 24/7:365? Are we loving God and others the way Jesus did?
Lets admit it, we all fail at times. Our priorities get reversed from God’s desire for us. Our perspective narrows to include only our earthly existence: forgetting we are eternal beings, that we are aliens on earth, and that Jesus is coming back soon. We chase what is temporary rather than eternal. We feed our bodies instead of our souls.
We think God’s love is weak that He is unable or unwilling to judge the Body of Christ! How wrong are we! Our God measures the breadth of the Universe with just the breadth of his hand! He holds ALL people accountable, we will all give an account of our time of living on earth after our relationship with Jesus began.
It time to wake up Church! Don’t be lukewarm; as God will spit us out of His mouth! Lets ask forgiveness and pray for a renewing of our spirit in that His will be done and not ours.
So do something incredibly foolish by the world’s standards by faithfully doing what God has put in your heart! Sell your 2nd home & give the proceeds to your church, give your 2nd or 3rd car to a struggling single mom, go pray for the sick in Jesus’ Name, go to the widow’s home at the end of the street and help her keep her home up, and ….
Don’t be like so many in the Church that look to their own interests, rather be peculiar and bold by looking to the needs of others and determine to be God’s hand of mercy and assuring loving voice to those seeking Him and those truly poor.
In short, Be the Body of Christ!
November 6, 2009 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
There has always been opposing philosophies and elementary principals of the world that challenged the Church, however the real danger to the Church is complacent and sleeping Christians! There is a WAR all around us; we need to wake up and be watchful and appeal to the Only One who can fight for what is right.
Prayer is so vital to deliver the Gospel and much needed relief to those seeking God. There are so many things to be thankful for first. We have been blessed by your sacrifice to enable this work to make a difference in real people lives here. We thank God that he continues grant the leaders here divine wisdom so we are able to work along side our friends here of other faiths. We thank God for his favor toward those that come to a saving knowledge of His Son Jesus the Christ. We thank God for His indwelling Spirit, who continuously provides all things according to God’s will.
I have been given work that is impossible for me to do! Please pray for God’s wisdom, power and plan: that we clearly see what God desires, while we are sensitive to His daily leading with great discernment.
After visiting some villages this week (see home page), I “caught” a fungus. I thank God for this little nuisance, it is giving me a very small glimpse of what the daily challenges in the village must be like. Please pray it goes away without too much fuss.
Please pray for the many projects that are being undertaken. Pray they are well organized, effective, and fully supported. Pray for the seven villages we just visited, especially for the children’s health and education. Pray that superstitions would not prevent adults from taking children to clinics and that our work would have medicines available to help them in their great need.
Pray for my various ministries, I am involved in: discernment for my role in my home church (preaching, teaching, and administration), leading Bible Study on Saturday morning, helping lead a new university student ministry, Saturday Art Market House Church, Joe’s Kitchen Ministry, and personal evangelism.
November 6, 2009 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
God has a story for each of us. In this story, God used different people and life circumstances to bring “Yerri” to faith in Jesus Christ, after his many years of practicing a different religion. I had been in Ghana two weeks to the day, when I had the honor to lead Yerri to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Leah, a fellow missionary serving at the Center until next June, walks home to meet people along the way in hopes of building relationships to perhaps be given an opportunity to share the Gospel. She met “Yerri” on her second walk through town (a few months ago). Right from the start, Yerri was an intense fellow – reaching out to shake her hand, and holding it tightly, while looking intently into her eyes and earnestly saying such cheerful things as “Leah, you shouldn’t make too many friends in this town; be careful.”
Yerri tends to be a very guarded fellow. While most men in town will introduce themselves and quickly follow up with “Are you married? Will you marry me?” Yerri waited a few weeks to ask, “By the way, Leah, are you married?” He accepted Leah’s “No” thoughtfully, unlike the others who proposed.
Leah was getting a bit weary of Yerri’s intensity though, dancing around being more than “friends.” God’s timing is so good, because she had in her mind to end their acquaintance. When they next met, Yerri casually mentioned, “Oh, by the way, did you know that ‘Amos’ is my brother?” That stopped Leah in her tracks: ‘Amos’ is a dear Christian’s brother of mine and Leah’s with ties to the Center of Good News! She certainly couldn’t try to end the acquaintance. She prayed, “Lord, You are somehow at work in Yerri’s life – help me to discern the part I need to play.”
On Monday, Oct. 12, Yerri and Amos came by Leah’s and my office. Amos announced that it was Yerri’s birthday, and then in front of his brother stated that “it is very important that you pray for Yerri and try to help him become a Christian.” Pretty bold, so you know that Amos has shared the Good News with his brother many, many times! After Yerri left, Amos turned to Leah with his brother’s earnestness and urged, “Please do everything you can to help him become a Christian. He likes you, Leah.”
Due to this statement, it seemed appropriate to me to have a discussion about God using all our emotions and expectations to draw us to Him, even when our motivation and associated emotions and expectations are misplaced. We all agreed to gently and respectfully try to move Yerri’s focus from Leah to Jesus. Yerri thought he was visiting to court her; God had other plans.
That evening Leah walked home again, passing Yerri. He joined her and accompanied her for half a mile or more. Yerri kept saying things like “Leah, I told my brother I will come to church, but I said that only because of you.” God was continually gracious, because every time Yerri made a relational comment, they passed someone that Leah was able to greet in the local tongue, thus breaking the flow of conversation; Leah would then turn their discussion to spiritual things.
God is so good and obvious sometimes! They passed a sign with the words “Born Again.” Leah pointed it out to Yerri, saying “Today is your physical birthday (God’s timing is perfect); but I want you to know that my prayer for you is that before I leave Ghana, I will celebrate your spiritual birth.” He’d never heard the phrase before, and she gave him a thorough explanation. Separating now, Yerri said intently, “Leah, we have very important matters to discuss about ourselves. I will come and see you tomorrow.”
So Yerri’s big day was at hand — he had worked up the nerve to ask Leah to marry him. It was 10:00 am, Tuesday Oct. 13, and Leah had a visitor: Yerri. We all said our greetings in our office. God was so gracious, because almost immediately they were discussing spiritual topics. Yerri’s attention shifted toward me, as he asked for my perspective on Jesus, God, sacrifice, good works, and much more. Yerri had some questions about his religion’s holy book, which I was able to help him with, not that I’m an expert. Again, God’s plan is so detailed: I had just finished a book that did a great job of expressing the religion’s worldview and life. It helped my perspective immensely to understand the issues Yerri was internalizing in the moment.
We asked Yerri many questions, too, allowing him full expression of his worldview and learning what God had revealed to him. Yerri understood that Jesus is the Son of God, the need for the Cross, and that he had sinned in his life; but….
Yerri changed the direction of our conversation. Yerri began to tell us how worried he was about Leah walking alone through town. He vividly recounted the story of another white woman who got attacked. As he wrapped up his horror story, he said, “Leah, I’m just warning you. If I do not tell you of the danger, then I am only loving you through my teeth, not from my heart.”
We had previously talked a lot about love. Wow, talk about a divine opening: Leah said, “That is the kind of love Mr. Joe and I have for you! We see the danger you are in if you die without Christ in your life, and if we do not warn you to trust Jesus, we love you only through our teeth, not from our hearts.”
A little later Leah asked him, “You say you like to listen to sermons sometimes on the TV; you say you’ve read the Bible sometimes; we’ve been talking to you about Jesus, and we know Amos has been talking to you about Jesus. What more do you need to help you with your decision about Jesus?” Yerri looks at me and says, “Mr. Joe, she is making things very hot for me, isn’t she?”
I had a sense that Yerri wanted to believe, but God gave me a sense that he was thinking about the cost of being a Christian. So, I ignored his remark and said there is a cost to following Christ. After I had given him a few examples of possible repercussions, allowing Yerri to really think about possible persecution – that God would demand His desire before Yerri’s, and other costs – Yerri realized that the potential repercussions would not really bother him, because he would be doing what was right. I said that in that case, there really wasn’t anything preventing him from talking to God right now and asking Jesus to be his Lord and Savior, and – Yerri agreed!
As I led Yerri, he talked to God in his mother tongue. After some discussion, I suggested that Yerri thank Jesus, out loud, for being his Lord and Savior; he did so in his mother tongue, while we prayed along with him.
Yerri left our office shortly after noon, commenting that God is so great, because he had come to our office for one purpose, and found that God had a different purpose for him that day! Praise God with me for this answer to the prayers of many. We are just little pieces of God’s beautiful puzzle: to Him be all the praise and glory! Please pray that He will protect and nurture Yerri at this critical time.
Thanks for the part you are playing through prayer and support. Nothing God is accomplishing through me would happen apart from your prayers and support. Please continue praying with me: may Yerri simply be the first-fruits of many who will come to eternal salvation in this city and beyond! God used so many circumstances and people to bring Yerri to Himself: Yerri getting a Christian name at birth played a role, a missionary from the 70s and 80s, his brother, TV sermons, a sign by the road, a Bible he’d previously read, Leah, and lastly myself.
So has God put anyone in your sphere of influence who is seeking real answers to life’s biggest questions, seeking the best and most satisfying path in life? Are you available to God? You have the time, but are your priorities supportive of being God’s chosen vessel for them? We need to wake up and re-prioritize our lives around loving God and other people, as nothing else is more important. You will suffer, but it will be eternally rewarding!
November 5, 2009 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
In 2005, the Center set out to make a difference in a very poor district in Northern Ghana about 150 km the Center. The above statement was made by the leader of one of the seven villages we visited this week. As we talked to all the community leaders, the same sentiment was expressed in many different ways: “Our children now know that they are not alone, that other people love them;” “The women are now suffering less;” and “The gap between that time and now is very long.”
Three people, real heroes, who work for the Center are delivering all types of interventions to these communities. Some of these villages are so isolated that none of their children ever went to school. So education of children is a Center priority, so they are building schools, supporting teachers, providing school materials, and administering a child school sponsorship program. The Center supports a school feeding program too, ensuring every child gets a hot lunch 5 days a week.
Some communities are fortunate enough to participate in the Center’s She-Goat Program. In one community, 53 children were given a goat. The goat is not killed, rather bred so the offspring can be sold to pay for school fees (Ghana government charges each student) and pay for family necessities. Some of the offspring become a source of meat for the family too.
The education of children was not the only area lacking, but adults too were hungry to change their lives too. The Center provides business skill training, health, hygiene and nutrition courses, and other life skill training. The Center not only taught about heath and hygiene, but has built public restrooms and water systems to improve daily living conditions and to prevent the spread of diseases.
The Center in cooperation with an international partner is providing micro-loans to women to start small businesses. This has radically changed families. They now have a source of income, rather than being 100% dependent upon farming to survive.
While I would like to say that the Center work is done, it is far from over. These seven communities still lack so much. Every child is not sponsored, there is not enough micro-loan funds to meet the incredible demand, more schools are needed, some schools are built but children must sit on the concrete because no furniture can be purchased, some of the wells are still far from some communities, and the list goes on and on.
The reason I went was to learn first hand the work and needs of these villages. About half of my time in Ghana will be spent trying to develop relationships with Ghanaian and foreign organizations and people to develop stable funding sources for all these and many other humanitarian projects. This aspect of my work is daunting to say the least, so please pray that God directs me in all that I do with wisdom. Your support of this mission will help expand all these works in these communities and hopefully to the other 50% of communities that are without any interventions in this poor area.
God also gave me an opportunity to share Jesus, when I was asked to pray over a girl who was recently paralyzed from the waist down. The village took her out of the hospital due to farming season (couldn’t afford having people tend to her in the hospital. The health need is so great with only one clinic in this large area staffed by a physician assistant. Please pray for them and thank God for the great resources we have in the Western World.
October 29, 2009 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
I had my day all planned out; at least I thought I did. God had another plan. Anyway, Rev. arrives early this morning, about 7 am, requesting I be ready to leave in 20 minutes for a dear friends burial. She had just passed and he had gotten the news late. I said sure. I had left my cell phone in the office so he couldn’t reach me last night, when he was informed.
A pastor friend of ours came along with us. We drive the 2.5 hours to almost Burkina Faso; far North. After the burial, we go to the widower’s home to greet him. Shortly after arriving, my pastor friend received a phone call. You see last night, he had visited a 16 year old girl, who was not feeling well. Her village is near the Center. She and her brother are the only two Christians in this family of another faith. My pastor friend had taken a keen interest in them due to their family situation.
Well like I said, the phone rang. It was another pastor informing by friend that the 16 year old girl, the girl my friend had prayed with last night, passed away early this morning. They were calling to ask my friend to bury her. Since we were so far away, the other pastor said he would stand in for my friend, who became very solemn; but said she is with the Lord.
In the US, we are blessed with a level of medical care that everyone has access too. Just being able to go to an emergency room in the US is a blessing! Yet, here access to any medical care is severely limited.
This was another day of God reminding me to be thankful of all the advantages He has given me and all you too, who live in countries with advanced medical facilities.
Please though, don’t put your trust and hope in those advanced medical facilities, living like they will keep you alive forever. Even though this tender girl has passed, she will have eternity to live in absolute glory with her Maker, because she realized her need, confessed it to God, and by faith asked Jesus to be her Savior and Lord.
We all die one day: no matter our status, our income, our age, our friends, our toys, our hopes, our dreams….in an instant they are all gone.
October 14, 2009 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
At Rev.’s mother’s funeral; about 8 hours South of the Center. We left 10 PM Wednesday night, after church 3 hours of church service; arriving at 6 am on Thursday morning.
Names not given due to privacy.
October 12, 2009 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
Hope all of you are well and safe; enjoying being in the presence of our King and God. There is much happening in Ghana to pray for as there is in the US! Your encouraged to let me know your prayer request to, just go to the Contact webpage and write your prayer request or just say HI!
Thank God for the tireless ministry workers here at MAB.
Lift up Pastor Moses, especially: there is much needed from him and many obstacles both spiritual and earthy that he has to go through to do what God has for him.
Please pray for travel safety for the many families traveling back from Rev. Johnson mother’s funeral.
Pray that I would continually yield to the Holy Spirit, so that many would come to know Jesus and many that do would grow in Him through this mission.
Ask Jesus to pull down the strong towers of unbelief that buffet the Gospel message and from evil spirits from snatching the Word implanted in those truly seeking God.
Please pray for God’s wisdom and understand as we discern and integrate my role in the broad mission here.
Thanks for all your prayers and please keep them coming our common enemy does not tire!
Blessings,
Joe
September 30, 2009 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
ALL PRAISE and THANKSGIVING TO GOD FOR HE IS GOOD and THANKS to all those that are praying and supporting this mission:)!!!
I left LAX, on time, 5:25 pm on Monday the 28th. I sat next to a Belgian guy, who spoke little English. I knew none of his language. We attempted a few niceties, but not a lot more. You can only look at a guy so much and smile until it gets a little creepy LOL! We arrived (everyone on the plane:)at London Heathrow at 11:25 am the next morning. We arrived early, because of a strong tail wind. This gave me time to go to, guess where, Starbucks and buy some coffee beans, which I had forgotten to buy before leaving. Yes, I did bring a French Press and small coffee grinder with me for my “comfort food/drink.” It was a little dicey going through Heathrow’s Security. My carry on baggage was screened out for hand search due to the 240,032 or so electronic components in it! Duh…
A very talkative and pleasant young lady was the one searching my bag. She was very thorough. She pulled out me coffee grinder with its shiny blades, looked at me; now tears are flowing down my cheeks, so she just didn’t have the heart to take it away (kidding but there was likely a look of horror on my face). She had already “pinched” my scissors, again duh….I bought an electric hair clipping set (due to high incidence of people getting AIDS from a haircut, really), but forgot to take out the dang scissors. It took me a good 15 minutes to repack the bag because Anne Ringer had packed it PERFECTLY and I could not get all that stuff back into it no matter how hard I tried, really! So I ended up putting a big book of Africa in my laptop bag. Thanks Anne:)
Our plane left on time at 2:25 pm for Accra, Ghana. I must admit, a wee bit of stress started to set in due to just the thought of going through Ghana Immigration and Customs. Right then, I thought of all you praying for me and God going before me; regardless of how the situation turned out, God would be faithful so I became relaxed. Thanks again for your prayers. I sat next to a very, shall we say, large African man; dressed in formal business attire. I had about 6.5 hours of sitting in about 3/4 of a seat, LOL. You just gotta laugh at the subtle ways Satan tries to get us frustrated or mad at life’s little inconveniences. He wasn’t interested in any conversation, so again had a quite flight to think, read and pray.
I arrived at Accra, Ghana’s Capital, at 8:24 pm, tired but excited. My luggage came out right away, oh ONLY 1 piece came out. I waited another 30-40 minutes for the last 2 to come out on the last cart! God gave me plenty of opportunity to pray through each circumstance, so as not to get anxious or discouraged. Oh by the way, when you land in Accra DON’T tip the luggage porter at the baggage carousel, especially don’t show a $5 bill as “porter panic” sets in to help you out. Oh why not tip, because apparently all they are allowed to do is pick up the bags, the same bags I had been lugging around, and put them on the cart at the carousel, because they are not allowed through immigration or customs…duh duh duh…anyone see a trend here.
Of course, I felt obligated to tip him the $5, since he knocked out two other porters to reach me before them. Handing him the $5, he says; oh not so open its ILLEGAL! You see I have done a lot to get to know the culture before going! LOL
Anyway, the immigration agent was very very nice. He commented I was staying for a long time and then promptly stamped my passport. In like flint so I thought, however it was stamped 60 days visit allowed. No problems, now I just have to go register with Ghana Immigration to stay. This cannot be done in advance, unless a quota has been issued by the government to the organization one is working with. Center of Good News tried, but was unable to get it issued, so I will be applying now for a work permit.
Please pray that it get issued or that they determine I can stay with one which they might since I am not employed by any Ghanaian entity.
Lastly for this blog…I was met by two very welcoming and friendly faces; Rev. and his wife. It was now about 10:15 pm. They had been there since 7 PM, because they wanted to be sure they did not miss me coming out! Bless them. The first thing we do standing in front of the airport, Rev. prays thanking God for my safe arrival, for Seabreeze Church for sending me, for the good plans He has for us all and much more. We have prayed in public or semi-privately no less than six times in the first 18 hours together. God is real. I’m blessed by Rev.’s example of acknowledgment and dependence upon Him. We went straight way to Rev.’s brothers home, where supper was waiting. Then went to bed one tired but peaceful man. Yet there is the lingering sting of leaving my loved ones and dear friends behind. Blessing to you all from Ghana! Akwaaba, You are Welcome HERE!
Please pray for wisdom, understanding and for me to yield and be totally dependent upon God through the many circumstances ahead. Especially pray for Rev. and his family for protection. Pray for peace and comfort too for his family, we will all be attending Rev.’s mother’s funeral next week.
September 5, 2009 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
Thank you for your continued prayers. My prayers for you and your family have been to more clearly understand God more, his will for you life and that you walk with him pleasing each day.
Pray that people in Ghana are receptive to God’s love and that I am an expression of his gentle and respectful love. Pray that I walk with wisdom and discernment according to God’s plan, being pleasing to him. Pray that your gifts are used in such a way that people experience God’s love for them.
Pray that my confidence in God expands and that I walk the way I truly am in Christ, totally dependent upon his power to accomplish all he has each day in the physical and spiritual realms. Pray for peach and comfort for my family, whom I miss already, they too are experiencing a cost from my mission–many are not Christian but God is faithfully using all these circumstances to glorify his name.
August 12, 2009 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
I hope you and your loved ones are faithfully persevering through these uncertain times. God has a plan, not necessarily an easy path; nevertheless, stay the course! Our prayers are helping those hurting in Ghana. I’m in Ghana now able to express His love and care for those in Ghana, because of your faithful prayers and sacrificial support.
If you decide to be a financial supporter, whether it is a regular or one-time gift, in addition to being a prayer partner, you can donate online at: Seabreeze Church, ensure your donation amount is entered in the Seabreeze Ghana Mission block. All donations are tax-deductible and restricted for Seabreeze Ghana Mission (SGM) use. If you prefer to send a check, please make it payable to Seabreeze Church and write on the memo line, Seabreeze Ghana Mission. Send your regular or one-time donation to:
Seabreeze Church
SGM
18162 Gothard Street
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
