I am grateful for this lovely lady. Today (in the US) we celebrate our 36th anniversary (I began celebrating yesterday here in Australia). I am on a flight to Melbourne, so we celebrate at a distance, but next week we will have a proper celebration. We have lived an extraordinary life in so many ways and it has been a delightful journey full of fun, impact, and wonder. There have been hardships along the way that God has redeemed, and through which we have grown. We wouldn’t be who we are without God, the hardships and each other. I love you, sweet lady and I am forever grateful for your partnership, companionship and friendship!
Praying through Psalm 107 today, the Psalmist repeats a phrase, “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever . . . They cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress.” This has been true of me. I have often cried to the Lord in times of trouble and he has delivered me from my distress. Sometimes the trouble was brought on by my own poor choices and yet when I cried out to the Lord He still met me with love and mercy and redeemed the circumstances of my life that had resulted from my poor choices. Sometimes the trouble came from other people’s poor choices, yet when I cried out to the Lord, He drew near and comforted and healed me with his tender love and redeemed the crisis in my life. God has often met me in trouble. He has faithfully redeemed times of trouble and distress in my life to help me know and be like Jesus. One day, I will come to my last trouble and breathe my last breath and Jesus will lead me over to the other side of the grave and I will live with the One who conquered death forever. His steadfast love endures forever.
It has been a great visit in Perth with my friend Dean Groetzinger. We wrapped up the Soul Care Conference last night. A powerful time of freedom for so many. And today I am preaching at True North three times, then tomorrow we begin a Holy Spirit Encounter at another location in Perth. Grateful for all God is doing. I always enjoy the people of Australia.
In 2019 I went to the doctor because I was experiencing a lot of hip pain. He prodded, poked and probed to figure out where it was hurting and then he asked me one question: “Do you travel much?” I laughed and told him I was doing about 150,000 miles a year on a plane. He asked, “Are you still flying coach?” I said a lot of the times and he replied, “Do you want to walk when you get older? You have to start traveling 1st class on long flights or you will be in permanent pain.” I try to fly first class more now, but on a long flight, when I most need it, it is expensive. I had Polaris, first class, on the longest flight here to Australia (15 hours), but the two other flights (10 hours) were economy. And yesterday I experienced quite a bit of pain in my right hip. Last night, I only slept 5 hours. But at one point I was up because my hip was hurting so bad. I fell back asleep and when I woke up the next time all the pain was gone. I figure that people were praying for me in the day time there in the US, in the middle of the night here in Australia, and it enabled me to catch a little sleep and wake up without the pain this morning. I just wanted to say thank you! I appreciate the prayers.
I arrived safely in Perth yesterday afternoon (2:45am ET). Slept decent and we begin Soul Care in Perth in about an hour. I’ll be teaching while many of you are sleeping back in the US. Grateful to spend time with Dean Groetzinger and be with his church again for Soul Care. I appreciate those of you who remember in prayer - Soul Care here through Saturday, preaching for True North 3x Sunday, and Monday and Tuesday doing a Holy Spirit encounter in Perth before I fly off to Melbourne and minister at Red Church.
Halfway to Australia. It is a 35 hour trip; more than a full day in the air, plus layovers, airport security and custom lines, and the like. I hate being gone from home for 2 weeks and this trip I will be gone over our anniversary, which isn’t my favorite. But Jen has always had the mindset that you can celebrate something special on any day; it is still a celebration. So we will celebrate when I get home. Today, I spent a long time giving thanks. It is always good for my soul. Never ceases to shift my perspective, lighten my burdens, cheer my countenance and uplift my heart.
On another note, one of the challenges of travel is to flip your clock and overcome jet lag. Here is my approach: I pushed through last night until nearly 2am ET and then slept 4 hours. Now I will push through until 1am Perth time and try to grab a couple of hours in the middle of their night. I get there at 2:15pm in Perth on Weds and I will push through till about 9pm and typically I can flip my clock in one day. It has worked for me for years gratefully.
“I hope I live to see the day when Christians stop fighting and attacking other Christians, and live in unity and charity on mission for the King. When we are battling in the trenches to set the captives of hell free from sin, bondage, and disrepair, it hardly seems appropriate to turn our weapons on fellow soldiers on the same mission for the same King. I love the axiom of John Wesley: “If you love Jesus, give me your hand and I’ll work with you.” ~ from my book Deep Faith
Headed home after a fruitful Soul Care Conference in Michigan. Grateful for all the people who serve at these conferences, for all the people who host and all those who serve on ministry teams. Grateful for all the people who have been equipped in deliverance and are helping people find new levels of freedom. Grateful for all those who are set free and for the testimonies so many have shared with me.
It is a quick turn around for me. I leave tomorrow afternoon for Australia for two weeks. I love Australia and my many Aussie friends. I am in the middle of a long travel stretch - with a week to Poland (which Jen joined me on) and two weeks to Australia. Already looking forward to being home again!
“Without faith, we are surely doomed to distrust and disobey. Without faith, we are certainly limited to what we can accomplish with our gifts and our endeavors. Without faith, trials and hardships will go unredeemed. Without faith, the church will be reduced to preaching and programs without the Presence and Power of God. Without faith, our hearts are bound to be injured by the difficulties of life and to become hard against God” ~ From my book, Deep Faith
“I have calmed and quieted my soul” Psalm 131:2. One of my longings in life is to have a still center, for my soul to be like a lake early in the morning, perfectly still. I want to have my soul become like a sanctuary, quiet and still within me, where I can draw near to God, commune with his presence, and hear his voice. I want to stay there even when the day gets busy and things speed up, even when the world is tumultuous and circumstances accelerate, I want my soul to be quiet so I can be in touch with God’s presence and hear his voice. Lord, help me to abide with you in the sanctuary of my soul.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in life is the only time I am miserable is when I am making life too much about me. The more selfish I am, the more self-focused and self-centered I become, the more it robs me of peace and joy. The human proclivity is to make life too much about ourselves. The cry of our souls is too often “what about me? What about my rights, my feelings, my opinions, my needs, and my wants?” The lie is that if you get what you want, do what you feel like, it will lead to self-fulfillment. People people full of self are never full of joy. Jesus constantly calls me to pick up my cross and follow Him, to make life about God and others. And over and over I discover that Jesus’ way is the way to abundant living.
This month Soul Care has passed 200,000 sales in English. It has been an amazing journey for which I feel grateful to God every day. I am grateful God taught me these things, grateful God used these principles in our marriage, grateful He enabled me to write about them and that He has used them to help so many other people. And I am grateful that God has spread these books so far and wide; it has become a life change movement. It wasn’t anything I orchestrated or anything I could take credit for; it has been a God-thing and I have watched in wonder and gratitude at all that God has done and continues to do. Thanks to all of you who have bought it, read it, talked to others about it and even bought copies as gifts!
I have taken a ton of hits in ministry, have had many podcasts done against me, blogs written against me and radio shows done against me. Never for a primary doctrine or major theological issue. Yet, I have determined I will die with no enemies and bless those who curse me because this is Jesus’ way. But I have also concluded that some people can never be appeased, never be pleased and never be satisfied. Keep your hand to the plow and do not look back. Sorry Beth. Keep up the good work.
I was reading the book of Ruth this morning and something struck me. A good man, named Boaz, was one of the kinsman redeemers. Ruth’s husband had died; one of the kinsman redeemers could marry her, but they had to be willing to further the line of her former husband. They had to be selfless and continue his family name and lineage. There was a man, whose name we do not know, who was in line to be the kinsman redeemer before Boaz. He could buy the land, and take Ruth as his wife, but her sons would then inherit the land. He was not willing to do that selfless act of continuing another man’s lineage. So he backed out. We never discover his name; he is left out of the history books forever. Boaz bought the land, and took Ruth as his wife. She gave birth to a son named Obed, who became the grandfather to King David, who became the one through whom the Messiah would enter the world. You know if that unnamed man could choose over, don’t you think he would make an unselfish choice? Fear often causes us to be selfish, and selfishness robs us from making our greatest kingdom contributions and leaving our best legacy for God.
We are traveling home from Poland. We had a good day helping people get free yesterday. We were a little shorthanded, so we didn’t leave the building until after 8pm, got back to our hotel in Krakow at 10:15 and up this morning at 3:15. But we caught a nap on the plane and we are looking forward to being home. Seeing people set free from bondage and torture, watching fall when the Holy Spirit speaks tender words of love over them, and hearing the difference it all makes in their life never gets old. And equipping new people to step out in deliverance, who get to be used by God to assist others to this freedom - that never grows old either. Grateful to do it in a new country and leave another footprint of Soul Care ministry behind. Home soon - 3.5 hours left on the flight.
For years I have said Soul Care is not a book to be read like a novel or a conference to be attended in three days; it is a lifestyle to be adopted and integrated. We have to live these principles out. Yesterday, someone wronged me in a pretty significant way and I hurt and angry. Before I went to sleep last night I prayed blessings on the person who wronged me and worked through forgiveness. It cost me a good night’s sleep, but profited my soul. Today, I taught on forgiveness as I taught Soul Care here in Poland and someone came to me at the break and said that was the most important moment for them in the conference. It is one thing to know your material; it is another thing to live it. That was the moment that opened the person’s heart to what Jesus had for them. Day two is in the books. DDay tomorrow. Prayers appreciated.
Finished Day One of Soul Care in Ustron Poland today. I have done Soul Care in dozens of different contexts, cultures and people groups. People have often asked me what is the difference in the various cultures I have been in, and there are, of course, differences. There are unique things about each culture. You can feel the difference often from place to place. But, people are more alike than they are dissimilar. We all blow it and we need forgiveness; we all get hurt and we need to forgive. We all want to be loved and accepted. We all, at times, try to establish our sense of significance and worth from what we have, what people think of us and what we do, rather than receiving it freely as a gift from God. Soul Care speaks the language of the heart and the language of the heart and soul transcend culture. Day one is in the books and we are off to a good start.
Today we drove to Ustron where the conference is being held; we have 120 people coming to the conference, which is a goodly number for the first time in a country. But, Soul Care has sold 1700 copies so far in Poland, so that helped pave the way. The publisher told me it takes 1000 sales to make a profit here in Poland, so it has been a profitable venture for them - for which I am grateful. Tonight I am meeting with the deliverance team and the conference begins tomorrow. We stopped along the way at Auschwitz today, but unfortunately we couldn’t get in, so we were only able to see it from the outside.
Jen and I flew into Krakow today and are wandering around the city with some friends before I begin tomorrow about two hours from here. We have about 120 leaders coming to the conference. I’ll train them in deliverance on Wednesday and take them through Soul Care until Saturday, then Jen and I fly home at 6am Sunday. It is a beautiful city. Looking forward to being with these leaders. Pray they will have ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to receive all God has for them.
When my journey in life comes to a close there will be a long list of people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude - certain family and friends are obvious. They were there for you and with you through thick and thin to support and love you. But my list will include an untold until heaven hoard of people who have loved me and prayed for me from afar because they have benefitted from my ministry in some way. And then it will include those who have gone before me and helped pave the way. It will include many people who I have never met, but whose lives and writings have impacted me. For me, many of these people were long gone before I was born, but they left their writings behind and made a mark on my soul. No author or writing has had greater impact on me than Fenelon’s book, Let Go. I look forward to meeting many of these people when I get to Heaven and finally getting the long overdue opportunity to say a well deserved thank you.