Trusting the Gardner in the winter seasons

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What is our world in desperate need of?  Fruit! Yes, spiritual fruit that flows from the heart of a follower of Christ. We had a chance to spend several days with a high school team from the US talking about John 15, Jesus’ illustration of the Vine and the Branches.

You can imagine Jesus and his motley crew of disciples passing by a local vineyard and Jesus taking them on a detour in order to emphasize the patterns in creation and present a tangible visualization of the essence of true discipleship.

So towards the end of Oceans’ Kingdom Encounter a drive to the oldest vineyard in South Africa dating back to 1685 called Groot Constantia was a must. We challenged the students to spend time walking through this beautiful historic place meditating on John 15 and listening to what the Spirit may be saying to each one of them.

It was a profound time for the students and we pray the visual of the vineyard and the text will forever be etched in their mind.  For us leaders it had an incredible in pact as well and we hope to share some of what we encountered in the next few blogs.

As I was walking through the rows of the vines one of the thoughts which grabbed me was how dead the vine and branches looked. Here in the Southern Hemisphere it’s winter and and the vines have gone dormant. I have to be honest I enjoyed strolling through the vineyard during the summer season when the branches were bending under the weight of clusters of ripe red grapes.

But winter is a vital season for the vine as it is nourished by the winter rains and rests from a season of heavy production. It is also a busy season for the Gardner as Jesus points out in John 15:1,2, “He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more fruit.” In many ways the winter season is just a busy for the Gardner as the harvest time.

As I slowly strolled along I thought about how important spiritual winters are for followers of Christ. Yes, it seems dead and dormant and doesn’t look pleasing to the eye, but it is vital for our spiritual growth. The Bible and history gives us plenty of examples of Christ followers who experienced spiritual winters. It can be painful, dark and extremely lonely as the spiritual winter blows in and overtakes the soul.

Yet, these times are when our faith can be strengthened as we are called to trust the loving hand of the Gardner to faithfully care for our fragile branches. As I looked over the expansive vineyard that has been around for over 300 years it testifies to the faithful change of seasons where spring breaks forth and leads to budding new branches which will in time bring forth an abundant harvest.

Maybe you are in the midst of a winter season, it can be tough and unpleasant, but as you wait keep your focus on your Father, the Gardner. Trust that He knows what He is doing and is preparing you for an abundant harvest that will bless many and bring the Father Glory.

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines…yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength…”  Habakkuk 3:17-19

 

“This is how I fight my battles”

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Written by Mike Verkaik

What has God used to prune you in your handling of adversity? For me it has been my many trips to South Africa. As prepared, as I believe I am for every trip, the airlines seem to always create a new scenario to grow my capacity to surrender circumstances out of my control.

Last week as the team pulled into O’Hare airport, about 3 1⁄2 hours before our flight, I felt overly prepared for a smooth check in and entry through customs. We finished the preliminary check in process, and now waited for an attendant to come and finalize it. Passport? Check! Negative Covid test 72 hours prior? Check! Negative Covid test 48 hours before for Germany? What? Sir, we don’t need that, we are just flying through Germany. “Sorry, this is Covid, and things change, you will have to go across the street and get a rapid test. It takes a while to get the results, so it is going to be tight to make your flight,” said the attendant.

As I swallowed hard, my problem-solving mind revved into full motion as panic began to set in. My first reaction was, “We have got to go!” However, as I gathered the students and their bags altogether, pruning from past experiences were triggered as a song entering my mind.

In the valley I know your there with me and surely your goodness and your mercy follow me, so my weapons are praise and thanksgiving – this is how I fight my battles. And I believe you’ve overcome and I will lift my song of praise for what you’ve done. This how I fight my battles. (Upper Room)

Those are some of the unknown lyrics to the song Surrounded (Fight My Battles). Over the last few weeks I have been referencing and singing them quite a bit. The memories came from a conference at Bethel Church in Redding, California. What a revelation and pruning time it was for me as I listened to the words, so my weapons are praise and thanksgiving, for the first time. There in the midst of five thousand people God gave me a breakthrough into how to handle a personal storm, which I knew was spiritual battle that I was unequipped to fight.

Worrying was not the answer, neither was lashing out or getting angry. Believing that my Father has prepared a table for me, tells me He loves me, and has me in the palm of His hands was where I needed to go; where I desired to go as my small world came crashing in on me.

So, in the moment at the airport, instead of taking off to the testing center, I paused with the group, acknowledged our King, thanked Him for who He was and surrendered this situation to Him. Then, we took off at a fast pace to the testing sight.

Our difficulties were far from over after receiving our negative tests. The trials continued as the next agent required a South African health questionnaire we didn’t need, our bag tags did not print out, there was a strike at the airport in Paris and

they lost six of our seven bags, taking eight days for Ashley and Elijah to receive their bags.

Talk about experiencing some turbulence – put your seat belt on! Or just sing, praise, thank and trust a Father who is the good shepherd. Who will refresh your soul, guide you on the right path, tell you not to fear because He is with you, anoints you so your cup overflows and reminds you that His goodness and love will follow you, even through unpredictable airports.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him. (Psalm 40: 1-3)

“When the Enemy comes in like a Flood…”

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Patty and I had just crawled into bed on stormy cold South Africa night and there was a knock on our door-usually not a good sign. Thobeka, one of our team workers at the Retreat Center, frantically said you need to call the municipality, the sewer is backing up and back of the retreat center is flooding.

After a useless plea for help on the phone we made it down to asses the matter-which was worse than I thought-as the rain continued to pound and water from the gutter was backing up.  A knee deep lake had already formed and water was pouring into one of the buildings.  As the rains and winds continued, it felt like we were trying to put our fingers in a dyke that was ready to collapse.

Deep into the night 10 of us on campus kept trying to overcome the flood with our buckets,  a shop vac, and whatever else we could think of to resist the surging water.  We all were looking up to the heavens praying that the rain would stop so we could make some head way. All of us were wet, shivering, and feeling defeated by the elements, when Thobeka, our on campus  engineer, handed us each a broom and told us to start to push the water.  With buckets and brooms we started to create a river from the low spot into a drainage area.  As we worked in unison we redirected the water and the water level began to drop lower than the building.  By 1:30 AM the rain had ceased and flooding had stopped.

As we feverishly worked together I recalled aa Bible verse I learned as a boy from Isaiah 59:19:

“When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.”

I thought about how hopeless it all seemed until we worked as a team pushing the water to  create a river and divert it towards the parking lot. The flood was a great “team building exercise” for all of us on campus.  No one person on their own could have fought off the flood, however together in a united rhythm we made a plan.

Spiritually  that is how we fight off the enemy of our souls, the one who seeks to swallow up God’s children into his demonic flood (see Rev. 12:15ff.).  Our “standard” is Jesus Christ who by His blood brought us into the Father’s family and united us together by His Holy Spirit so that in Christ we can overcome the enemy.

Lately, here in South Africa, and all over the world it seems like the enemy has opened up the flood gates and is unleashing spiritual destruction.  But as I was reminded the other night knee deep in diluted sewage, there is  power in unity.  Think for a moment if the church that Jesus built through His blood and by His Holy Spirit would work together as one to fight the flood. What if we stopped fighting each other and started focusing on the face of Jesus and shining forth His image as one to a lost and dying world?

Wonder if we stopped building our kingdoms and worked together to build His Kingdom bearing fruit from the vine of Christ’s “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” (Gal. 5:22)? Wonder if His children would jump in the sewage of a sinful falling world and work as one to live into the grace of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ?

What an hour for God’s church to come alive and live as an untied family to overcome the spiritual flood seeking to consume us. We have a Mighty Standard, Jesus, to rally around who claims, “nothing is impossible for those who believe!”

 

 

A Jim Beam Skillet, $10 and the Wonderful Goodness of God

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Jet leg hit hard coming back to Africa. For two nights I had a lot of time to think, pray, and contemplate our quick trip to the States as sleep was scarce. We had so many divine appointments and overwhelming gifts from God’s children-which left us humbled and overflowing with tears of praise and great joy.

One of the encounters I was giving praise to the Father for in the early hours of the morning was for a couple named Happy and Josie, pictured above.  Mike Verkaik wanted to show me the room Oceans rented for ministry at the Wooden Shoe located in Holland, Michigan. Together we spent some time praying in the “former motel room” praising God for how the Holy Spirit has been using this space to touch children with the Gospel as well as be a light and a safe place for the residences.

As we left the room it felt like a river of shalom had  flooded our souls and it was hard to leave. Mike noticed the door was opened next to it and said, “Tim you’ve got to meet this couple who are getting ready to move out into an apartment.” As we walked the shalom continued to flow as we were greeted with loving smiles and Josie exclaimed, “I know you, you are the guy who wrote the book I read!” She went on to ask about the work in Africa and what was God up to.

As we were talking she got an angelic look on her face and started to chuckle. Mike responded, “Josie, what is God telling you?”  I thought I might have missed something, but Mike had seen this before and knew God was speaking to her.  She reached into a bag and pulled something out and said “God is telling me to give you this for your ministry in Africa.”  She handed me $10 and a new Jim Beam skillet. Josie saw the expression on my face, which must have looked confused, and said, “don’t rob me of the joy of giving.”

Yes, humbled again and doing all I could to hold back the tears as this amazing couple were powerful tools of Abba’s love.  I can’t explain all the thoughts and emotions that were bouncing about in my brain as we ended our time holding hands in prayer.  Only God can do crazy stuff in the most unusual ways and places to show His absolute goodness.

Remembering this amazing encounter with Josie and Happy, along with so many other touches from God during our time in the states, helped pass the sleepless hours, later in the morning I turned to my daily Psalm reading and this was a portion of what I read:

“I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise Your name forever and ever.  I will praise You every day; yes, I will praise You forever. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise!…I will meditate on Your majestic, glorious splendor and Your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue…Everyone will share the story of Your wonderful goodness…” Psalm 145

As I finished praising God with this Psalm for His “wonderful goodness” we experienced in the US God said “I’m not done showing my goodness even right here in Africa.” There was a lady outside the retreat center wanting to speak with me. I opened the door to a familiar face I knew from Zimbabwe, “Pastor Tim, the LORD has blessed us and we felt Him telling us we need to bless Oceans Retreat Center with a gift.”  She handed me an envelope with hard earned money from two refuges trying to survive in a foreign land.

Yes again humbled, and tears, at the “wonderful goodness of our Father God!”

I pray Abba Father will give you a story to tell today of His Wonderful Goodness!  How our world desperately needs to hear about our Good Father!

 

 

 

Our Great Need for Spiritual Fathers

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By way of a miracle Patty and I were able to get back to the US for a few weeks. It has been a whirlwind of a time trying to pack in a wedding, family visits, some ministry appointments and a little biking.

One of the gifts was to spend time with our fathers.  As we repack our suitcases to head back to Africa I reflected on the importance of father’s in our lives. We go back to a South Africa where roughly 15 % of all children are orphans and 62% of children under 18 live without their father. The effects of fatherlessness has been devastating on every aspect of the society.

On Father’s Day I spent some time thanking and praising God for my grandfathers, fathers, and spiritual fathers who have deeply influenced my life.  Without the presence of fathers and spiritual fathers in our lives we are rudderless ships tossed every which way by life’s storms.

Ever since the beginning of creation there has been an all out assault against the Father child relationship. Adam and Eve’s Father was God. Daily they communed with Him walking in His pure love and security. But as we recall they chose to listen to the father of lies, Satan, who deceived them into believing they did not need God as a Father  and that they could manage just fine on their own. Look at the devastating results of trying to live with out The Father.

The Father overcame the fall and its damning effects by giving us His only Son to restore us back to the Father child relationship. He has also filled His followers with the Holy Spirit so that we rest in the great assurance that we have been adopted back into His family and can know our Father intimately (Romans 8:14-15).

Certainly our world is in desperate need for men who are filled with the Spirit of the Father to be spiritual fathers to orphan sons and daughters. That orphan spirit that started at the fall in the garden with our first parents has crushed countless souls with the spirit of abandonment and rejection. Just visit a prison, a gang infested city, a drug rehab center and listen to the stories.

I praise God for grandfathers, my dads, coaches, teachers, and pastors who were agents of the Heavenly Father speaking truth into my soul that shouted louder than the lies of the enemy. I wonder if the majority of the chaos our world is experiencing is due to the absence of spiritual fathers who can point us to Jesus the very image of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3).

7 years ago on a Father’s Day in Lesotho Africa as Oceans Ministries was just starting I was asked to preach in a local church. I shared with them the vision of Oceans: to make the love of the Father known to spiritual and physical orphans around the world. After living the past year in Africa, as well as seeing how Covid exposed deeper heart issues all over our world, I’m even more convinced of the vision.

Our world needs the Father and our world needs fathers and spiritual fathers who will reflect His love to lonely and abandoned children, teens and adults. Each of us needs that voice in our life. If you don’t have one ask God to bring you into relationship with someone who can be the Father’s love and voice to you.  Or maybe He is calling you to be a spiritual father to a son or daughter He is bringing to you. Join us as we pray into the prophecy of Malachi 4:5:

“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.  Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”