March 2021 Conchshell Chronicles

Hurricane Relief

We are making many trips downriver with food, school materials, and building supplies. Rodolio, Danilo and our teachers have been very busy repairing school buildings, and feeding our families. Schools are now open, and classes have begun.

We have great needs of desks, chairs, window screens, doors, and paint for the walls-lots of paint– for our eight schools. Enrollment is over 1700 students this year! We also want to purchase more seeds for this next planting season.

You may join our efforts by donating online at seekthelamb.com.

  Thanks

 Lamb Bleatings

Sometime within the last 15 years, I received a significant “dream or vision or a very long thought” of a scene that has lasted within my heart and mind until this day.  The vision has played within my heart and mind repetitively in my being over and again always the same and always with a deep sense of encouragement that rises up within me.

More recently, I have been sharing this hope and dream out loud to close friends. 

I have never doubted it to be from my Heavenly Father who has over the years spoken to me directly in many ways.  My ultimate Creative Creator that keeps on inspiring Life, Truth and all the ways that are right, good and peaceful.

I was sitting at Central Assembly of God in Vero Beach, Florida. As I sat and had my eyes closed, I went away for a moment and “saw” a huge black, beautiful pot or cauldron sitting at the front of the church.  It reminded me of the decorative black incense containers that sat in front of a Box (we supposed represented God and our ancestors). We would put incense in the container and pray to the box representing Kamisama (God).

This Cauldron was a 100 times larger not meant for a human to drop incense into it.  As prayer and worship proceeded all around me, I noticed there was smoke that began to rise up from the Container and it proceeded upward.  I felt it was as a pleasing aroma to the Lord and it was good.  As we continued to invite the presence of the Lord through our praises, worship and prayers, I noticed that the smoke began to billow out of the pot and not only was it going upward toward heaven but it began to “drip” over the sides like water overflowing onto the ground and dispersing into the crowd of people…some sitting, some standing and some began to be visibly affected as this “smoke” passed by and touched them.  There was a sense of “wow there is something going on here” that was good, right, powerful and in order. 

The praises continued and the smoke continued to go up and rise up over the sides and it reminded me of my childhood when we played with dry ice or “gas ice” as we called it as kids.  The smoke continued to fill the sanctuary touching every person in its path and having an impact.  I then saw in my minds eye that people started to get up and walk out the doors of the church with this smoke upon them as if they were walking in it and through it because it was swirling with the movement of all who were in it.  I watched as people went to their places, work, offices, barbers, gyms, libraries….wherever they went they went with this Essence swirling around and having an impact upon anyone they were coming into contact with. 

As I came back to the moment I was in, I was hopeful that this would be something that I would remember for sometime in the future, but I didn’t think it made sense for the moment.  Over the years, I have thought about it many times and recently when this COVID Plandemic occurred, I felt the Lord saying,

“Watch, wait, and pray. And continue Praying without ceasing. I am in control. No man, no circumstance, no plan will rise up that shall surprise me.  I am God. Believe only Me.  Look to only Me.  Do not look to the right or to the left to determine your present or future.  Look only to Me or you will allow yourself to give in to fear, confusion, anger and trepidation. Remain close ….TRUST ME ONLY.

When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, the LORD appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”                         2 Chronicles 7:11-16

Through this unusual time in history, I am convinced that God is taking care of a lot of inner business in many hearts and lives and He is revealing the evil not only abroad but in our own hearts and lives.  We are the temple of His Holy Spirit.  It is no accident that we are forced to stay inside and face some of our own realities and judgements against ourselves. 

We can be distracted by the world around us as humans usually are.  However, we would do well to focus up and within and take care of and consecrate our own Temple.  God dwells in the praises of His people and He has chosen us and as we turn from our own wicked ways He fills us and uses us more and more.  I am seeing a definite release in my own life as we have been plowing through many of our issues, habits, and evil ways.  There is more freedom and the ability to allow things that used to bother me to somehow slide off of my back a little easier and faster. We are getting wiser in our marriage in the ways that the Enemy who is active and very real has laid up traps for us to step into.  We are gearing up to fight smarter , stronger, more accurately and not just floundering around being angry or confused by the many darts flying about.  I continue to press forward to maintain my Hope and focus upon my Source and the only One with full understanding and the Reigns that run this universe.   

Laura 

Preparing My Mind For Action

Christianity was born in a pluralistic society in the Greco-Roman world of the First Century. Many so-called gods were worshipped; sexual morals were fluid and free; might was right, and the weak served the strong; women were inferior to men, just above slaves in the social order, and they could not even testify in a court of law; Human life was expendable, and unwanted babies were often thrown off bridges in Rome into the Tiber River; Romans were the privileged race, with all others having less rights; philosophers debated over the meaning of life and provided varied answers to what happened after death.

Christianity declared there to be one God, with three distinct personalities, who is reaching out to every man and woman of every race and personally inviting them into His Family; sex was to be confined within a marriage relationship; the weak were to be protected by the strong; Babies tossed into the Tiber were rescued and raised by Christian families; women, men, slaves & masters were all equal and accountable to God; God declared that this life was just the beginning of eternal life, and we all have the choice to decide where we will spend it.

In spite of these cultural conflicts and small beginnings, in a very short time Christianity became the dominant world view through out the Roman Empire. Not because of its philosophical teachings, but because of the power of the Living God to satisfy all the desires of humanity. It still is. Christianity is the fastest growing spiritual movement in the world today, in Asia, Africa, Central & South America, and even in North America and Europe.

In our world today, we find ourselves in a similar cultural climate as our First Century brothers and sisters. We live in a pluralistic society where all morality is fluid, and there are no absolutes. Human life (young and old) is not sacred, but sacrificed to convenience and societal needs. Sex is for self-pleasure. The strong dominate the weak. Political systems seem to become more oppressive. Religious freedoms are curtained.

Peter wrote a letter to his fellow Followers of Jesus scattered around the Roman world who were enduring opposition and trials, reminding them of the realities of being in God’s Family.

God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace. 1 Peter 1:2

He reminds them of the benefits of their salvation, the inheritance that awaits them, and God’s protection over them in spite of the hard times they were experiencing.

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. ⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Peter 1:6-7

What a word of encouragement for those First Century as well as for us Twenty First Century saints!

It is then that he gives us our instructions on how to endure these trials:

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. ¹⁴ So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. ¹⁵ But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. ¹⁶ For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16

As I look at my own personal situation, I understand that I should prepare my mind to respond to the culture around me in a very “holy” manner. I should not fall back into my old habits of solving my problems and meeting my needs, but now walk with God and do things His way. The word “holy” means set apart. My dictionary of Biblical Languages tells me that in the Hebrew language the word is “Qadosh”, which mean to have a moral standard that is different than the culture around you and comes from God Himself.

God wants to use me to reach this culture. He wants me to respond to the challenges and opposition not in my old ways (loud arrogant behavior), but in His ways- loving people, understanding them, and serving them. Although I don’t understand all the ramifications of this strategy to reach this generation, I trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to touch the heart of anyone, like He touched and transformed me.

I’m preparing my mind for action by understanding the roots of how our present culture thinks, how we got here, and how to respond the their thinking. I’m inspired by Paul’s address to the Athenian philosophers as recorded in Acts 17. He appealed to their hearts, not just to their heads. He “reasoned” with them in the market place, the center of the city. “Reasoned” in the Greek is “dialegomai’ and refers to the Socratic method of questioning, which is to give an opinion, then ask a question that raises and exception to that opinion, and then offer a better opinion.

I’m reading “Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning” by Nancy Pearcey, and have started a book club with our ministry leaders. On Saturday we are watching Francis Schaeffer’s film series "How Should We Then Live?  The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture." which was filmed in 1978 but you would think it was produced last summer! Nancy was student of Francis and co-authored books with Chuck Colson. Schaeffer’s film is now on Amazon Prime Video, so many can watch the very poignant episodes. These are solid resources that are prepping my mind for “dialegomai” with my secular friends, which I have many.

I’m encouraged know that the Holy Spirit is moving in the hearts of many of my friends. He will do His part, as we do ours. Be encouraged! Lean into the culture around us. Prepare your minds for those conversations. Live your life for others, loving and serving them. Do whatever God tells you to do, even if it makes little sense. The big wave is here, so paddle in and stand up for the ride of your life.

Michael

Seek The Lamb Giving

Please consider helping us this month with our schools, the relief efforts, or supporting one of our missionaries.

Here is the link to our secure PayPal page>

Seek The Lamb Giving

Rio Coco Beans Coffee

We have added a new blend of our coffee to honor our recently departed brother and family member Hal Jones, the founder along with his wife Lana of Global Hope Network.

If you liked our Christmas Blend, you will love this!

You may read the story of Hal's extraordinary life in ministry in Asia, Africa, Hawaii, and the Middle East. You may also order some of this delicious coffee.

Global Jones Coffee

Thanks for spending time with us this month.

Please keep us and our friends in Nicaragua in your prayers.