THE LORD’S CALLING
Over the last twenty plus years, my wife and I have tried to be a blessing and help in the ministry wherever the Lord has placed us. Whether it’s the physical needs of building/remodeling a church, helping with the music program (thank the Lord for an extremely musical wife), visitation, nursing home ministry, youth group, teaching and preaching; we have tried to please the Lord. Over the last ten years the Lord has given me the opportunity to teach the adult Sunday School fulltime and fill the pulpit whenever the opportunity arises.
The specific calling to Germany has been met with caution, counsel, study, fasting and prayer. A few years back I thought the Lord was leading me in a different direction in life and the ministry, but the path wasn’t manifested. After receiving some much needed counselling from Pastor Brian Donovan of Bible Baptist Church, the doors started to open up. Pastor Donovan counseled me to take my vacation time and spend it helping some missionaries. A month later, my wife and I were talking about where we should go on vacation that summer, but we didn’t have a clue what missionaries to visit. Three days later we got a prayer letter from a missionary in Germany that we never had correspondence with before. At the bottom of that letter the missionary hand wrote, “Hey brother, how would you like to spend a working vacation in Germany?” When my wife and I read that, our response was, “ Looks like we’re going to Germany!” Since that letter I have been there 7 times, my wife 5 times, and all of our children have been over numerous times. Praise the Lord!!!
Mind you, the previous paragraph doesn’t constitute a calling, but it did lay the ground work for further light and searching of the Scriptures. Space doesn’t allow for the full details that led to the door finally opening up, but the Lord finally let me out of the pressure cooker and gave the green light from the Scriptures that my wife and I were fasting and praying for. The Lord made it plain to me that He wanted us to go with the following verses,
“And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.” 2 Corinthians 8:10-11
By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have sold most of our possessions and are actively raising the support needed to fulfill the great commission in our lives.
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
For us this commission is to be in Germany.