Well, one month has flown by quickly! We originally planned to update a bit more here on this blog, but we've been pretty busy up until now. I haven't been "home" for 3 years! So much has happened and changed that there's just a lot to catch up on with family and friends. Also it's the first time my family and friends have seen Nora, so we have been having a lot of times just enjoying the company of our loved ones here in the U.S. You can read our most recent English newsletter here. Or our Dutch newsletter here (they are different because they go to different audiences).
We have spoken with some churches and individuals and we know that we have been an encouragement. We see worldwide that God is awakening peoples' hearts for true discipleship, but it can sometimes be a lonely road . Not everyone in the church is willing or wanting to be discipled. Some would rather leave it with the salvation prayer and just comfortably live out the rest of their days a Sunday Christian. But God has called us to DIE. He called us to follow Him no matter what the cost. And he called us to become like Him. All of those things require movement, a willingness to change, to be taught. And only a person who is truly in love with Jesus will be able to walk this path. Love is the only motivating factor that endures through struggles and difficulties. Knowledge, obligation, duty...they aren't enough. Only love can set our hearts on fire and move us to give our all for the One we love.
And the church has lost love. There's a lot of talk about love, but it's become a point of theology rather than a lived out reality. And so through us sharing our heart and desire to see Christians become different people, to be transformed as they come to know the truths of God, we know that we are giving a hand to the others who feel the same and who don't have people around them who understand.
The more and more we live out this calling, the more strong it becomes in our hearts. And the more opposed we become to the religious spirit, to a faith that is demanding and harsh, critical and selective, that can be earned by acting and lost by honesty. Our hearts yearn for Christians to know Christ on the inside and for the Living Water to bring transformation, to turn desert into a fruitful garden that people will see and then turn to believe in Him.
So we have one more month of furlough to go. We're going to enjoy my homeland, take time to rest and be refreshed. And when we find ourselves in the position to encourage and impart our passion for honest faith, we are going to take that opportunity and pour out our hearts! Thanks for being a part of our journey and I hope you are encouraged today!
