A Man of Full of God's Grace and Authority

Friday, May 9, I was asked to translate for a visiting speaker for a local pastors' seminar. Since I really enjoy translating and since I want to help out with the pastors' group when ever I can, I agreed.

It was quite an experience and an awesome blessing. The man I was translating for was Emma Okorie, founder of Living Word Ministries - Nigeria. I translated during the morning and was super tired... Having to listen very closely because of his distint accent and having to also translate was definantely taxing, but it well worth the effort. The morning session dealt with Honoring the Call on Your life and the afternoon was about Apostolic Government and the Church.

Wow. I've been around the bush a few times in these past 40+ of being in the church; I've heard and read a lot of things regarding apostles and apostolic ministry, but this was the best.

Walk in the grace God has given with a humble heart, a servants attitude and an intimate relation with Him were the central theme in his message. I know I've heard the same on various occasions before, but I could tell he was real, a true man of the LORD. God's grace and authority were on him. It was so good and God was speaking to me so much that a few times I almost had to stop translating to soak it all in.

I was blessed, challenged and encouraged.

If for no other reason, God sent Emma Okorie to Nicaragua for me. Thank you Lord.

Wisemen

"No wise man ever wished to be younger." - Jonathan Swift

step by step

"I used to try and take things in leaps and bounds. Now I've realized it's got to be step by step." - Tommy Bolin

power to change

 "When you blame others, you give up your power to change." - Robert Anthony

The Worst of Failures

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure." - George Edward Woodberry

This quote reminded me of a couple experiences I've had. While living in Managua I felt I should do some teaching and support of worship ministries in Bluefields on the "Atlantic coast, but I never did because I never had the money. How wrong I was! Later God challenged me as he let me know that it wasn't that the worship seminars never materialized because I didn't have the money. The reality of the situation was that I never had the money because I never followed through with the worship seminars. Mmmmm.

A few years later, as I began to perceive the need to do a series of praise, worship and prayer meetings in 8 different cities of Nicaragua, I remembered the situation with Bluefields and God's response to my excuse. For this ministry project I needed a very large sum of money and I needed it fast. I decided that I was not going to fail by not trying. I was going to go for it and if it resulted in defeat, at least I was going to have tried. I wasn't going "to die" lying down.

We were not defeated, but even if we had not been able to achieve the complete project we wouldn't have been failures, because we had walked with God and we had connected with His grace and purpose. As George Woodberry said, "Not to have tried is the true failure." The end of the story is that all of the time, the money, and the participants came together and the whole project, Proyecto Josafat, was a God moment. All the needs were met and we visited eight cities in the four corners of Nicaragua. People were touched and we impacted the history of Nicaragua.

God is waiting for his sons and daughters to move by faith, step out of the boat and walk on the water. I am sure that if more of us would take this risk there would be fewer and fewer failures in the Christian world. Instead, we would see the true Kingdom of Heaven advance in greater and more spectacular ways because nothing is to hard for the LORD.