Isabella and I spent the last five days in the Dominican Republic. We got back late last night and this morning I feel led to share a few things with you about the trip. Before I get into the message, I want to share some pictures.
Here is a link to some of the children in our school that meets in the morning: https://goo.gl/sMwRHz
Here is a link to some of the children in our school that meets in the afternoon: https://goo.gl/7uan0N
While we were in the DR we spent time with the children in our schools. A good portion of the children speak “some” Spanish, but all are fluent in Creole. Since Isabella speaks Creole, she went around and asked each child what they wanted to be when they grow up. Thankfully, each child has dreams and aspirations. Many wanted to be doctors, engineers, nurses, police officers, teachers, and stay-at-home Moms. Without getting into the political reasons as to why these children were not accepted in the public school system in the Dominican Republic, suffice is to say that many of these children would not be receiving an education if we were not providing an environment for them to do so. Most of their parents cannot pay for school, so we provide it free-of-charge. We are truly thankful to be in a position to do so and we look forward to pouring into their lives for many years to come.
Our oldest student is 14 years old and he is only in 4th grade. As I talked to him, it was good to see how enthusiastic he is about receiving an education. He and a group of older children were head-and-shoulders (literally) above the other children in the 4th grade class. As I looked at them I thought of my 9yr. old son, Joshua. Joshua is about to finish the 5th grade. In one way, it hurt my heart to see 13 and 14 year old children in 4th grade. But in another way, it made my heart glad that they are getting and education and they are optimistic about their future.
We spoke life over the children, we prayed with them, and we told them of the plans the Lord has for them. The Lord has instructed us to purchase land and and build them a school and a church. It will be called Grace Destiny Christian Center (GDCC). Souls will be saved, the sick will be healed, children will be taught, and lives will be changed forever, all by God’s amazing grace.
While in the Dominican Republic I was ministering to an architect. He is a young professional with a bright future. He did not know anything about the grace of God. As I ministered to him I was led to compare his work with plans, to God’s work with plans. I told him that God planned for his arrival and God’s plans for him were finished before the world began. When I said that his eyes got as big as two silver dollars. He had never heard this before. He did not know God planned for his arrival on the earth. I told him that just like a construction worker could not lay one cement block until he finished the plans for the project, he could not take one breath in this world until God can finished the plans for his life. This reality changed this young professional’s life. The more I ministered to him, the more he opened His heart to the grace of God and the plans God made before the world began.
Isabella and I are extremely thankful to be able to go wherever the Lord leads us to, to do whatever He leads us to do, and to experience all He has called us to be. Along the way we see the sick healed, the discouraged encouraged, broken relationships restored, the bound free, and the poor changed by the Gospel. If God can do this through us, two ordinary people, with ordinary backgrounds and small beginnings, then surely He can use you!
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Our God is in the business of doing extraordinary things through ordinary people.
a) God does not seek to work through you because you are so good, but rather because He is.
b) God is not looking to use you based on your limitations, strengths or weaknesses. God is seeking to use you based on His power. That’s why you must die to yourself, your past, and your limits.
c) There is nothing God can’t do through a person who is totally submitted to Him!
2. God is the Master-planner.
a) God finished the plans for your life before you ever took one breath or one step on this planet.
b) God mapped out your life down to the smallest detail. He played out your life, in eternity, before Him like a movie. So when God looks at your life now, in time, in the earth, He is looking for what He saw in eternity.
c) When you die to self you are able to live out the life God planned and it is an amazing life, enabled by God’s own power.
3. God is love.
a) When Isabella and I see the children in our schools in the Dominican Republic we can’t help but feel the love of God. Love is not something God has. Love is not something God does. No, LOVE is who God is.
b) The love of God will compel you to build-up those the world has torn down; to seek out those the world has thrown away.
c) God loves every person on this planet, regardless of race, skin color, nationality, gender, or family origin. God is love and He loves everyone, everywhere. If He LIVES IN YOU, then His love should flow through.
*Note: Before I close out with the confession I am led to share the following. The project in the Dominican Republic is going to get done, because God planned it. Since it is God’s will the project is blessed. If you want to get in on this blessing, you can participate by donating. No amount is too small for God. All donations are tax deductible in the United States. Here is the link: http://ripministries.org/donate.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a season of refined focus for me. I bring my life into focus in 2016 by simply dying to self. I die to me. I die to everything I became without You. I die to every desire I developed that is not pleasing in Your sight. I die to every limit I see when You are telling me to do something. I die to relying on my own strength, my own finances, and my own relationships. As I die, You live. As I decrease, You increase. As my selfish ways are crucified with Jesus, Your selfless love is able to flow through me for all the world to see, and more importantly, for all the world to experience. When people come in contact with me they will come in contact wtih LOVE HIMSELF and Your limitless power will change their lives forever. Your love and power have come TO me and now they flow THROUGH me on a daily basis. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
