Walled City Worship

    

 

     The Kowloon Walled City was a place in Hong Kong that China said was theirs and Hong Kong said was theirs but because of the legal conflict, neither had much control over the place. It became a place where gangsters, drug addiction, prostitution and gambling were a normal part of life. In 1966 in this neglected place, a lady named Jackie Pullinger started reaching out to the people. Twenty-some years later when we first came to Hong Kong, the work was already well established. Part of what I did working in that ministry was to go to the Walled City at least once a week to pray with drug addicts and also to help teach English.

 

     The Walled City had  a very special place in the midst of all the darkness there that was a church for people of the Walled City. The name of the church was "The Well" and one of my memories was of a waterfall from a broken drain pipe that fell into a large drain just outside the door. A tarp was hung over the doorway so the water wouldn't splash on anyone, but once you got inside the presence of God was awesome. Drug addicts were being prayed for by workers or ex-drug-users. There were times that people were set free from demons or received the Holy Spirit but the best part was the worship in Cantonese. The guys had a lot of joy and really could make a joyful noise to the Lord.

     Just last weekend I went to a Jubilee celebration at the place where the Walled City used to be. Now it is a park called the Walled City Park. The night we were there, I think there were around thousand people. It was good to see some of the guys that I used to work with. The main reason to get together was to have an extended time of worship and prayer. As we were worshiping there were times when we would pray for the sick. As we were praying for the sick, skilled musicians would play instruments right next to those who were sick and receiving prayer. People were receiving healing in the two hours we were there.

 

  If you want to know more about Jackie Pullinger's work, she has several books including: "Chasing the Dragon" and "Crack in the Wall."

What did those in the time of Christ FEEL!?

 

 

 

One of my main ministries here in Hong Kong is to pray for people for healing of the emotions. One of the first goals is to help people know what they are feeling. Lately, I have been thinking about what people felt in the New Testament times and how it relates to us in the modern age. Here are a few thoughts:

 

I wonder what Peter felt when he failed even when he tried so hard. Jesus rebuked Peter more than the other apostles. There were times when Jesus told Peter that he was a man of little faith, although the Greek says that Peter had undeveloped faith. In the end, Peter was a man of great faith even his shadow healed people as he walked by.

I wonder what John felt when he cuddled up to Jesus. John knew what relationship was. He knew Jesus' love. He even said he was the disciple that Jesus loved.

I wonder what the lady that wanted the demon cast out of her child felt when Jesus told her that He should not feed the dogs with the children’s bread. Knowing that Jesus is love, I realize that He was just speaking her language. He was just wanting to be her friend. In the end, the demon was cast out.

I wonder how the other disciples felt when Jesus took three of His disciples with Him and they had a mountian top experience but left the others behind. Everyone has a different relationship with Jesus and I guess it wasn't any different at that time.

How did Pilate feel when the Jews wanted to kill Jesus and He did not want to put Jesus to death. Even Pilate's wife had a warning dream not to lay a hand on Jesus. In the end, Pilate acted out of fear of the Jews but at the same time fulfilling prophecy and accomplishing God's will.

How did the soldiers feel when they were beating Jesus or did they feel anything? Most of the time when people have to do bad things to people or they have had bad things happen to them, they become frozen in their emotions. In the end, I'm not sure what happened to those guys but I hope they became Christians. They did experience the blood of Jesus.

What did Judas feel when he realized he had betrayed Jesus to His death. Most of the time, Judas was so interested in his own wants that Judas did not have a real relationship with Jesus. In the end, he couldn't go to Jesus for forgiveness so Judas died in his sorrow. It's sad when this happens because Jesus's loves never fails.

What did Mary feel when she saw Jesus being mistreated and hung on a cross? His mother watched as her hopes of prophecies spoken over Him went into the prophecy grave yard. In the end, she found out it was just a death of a vision and God raised Him up from the dead.

What did the disciples feel when they were cowards and ran when Jesus was in His darkest hour? Fear, shame, confusion, and depression? But after the Holy Spirit came, they turned into different men.

What did the leaders feel when their whole religious system and even their whole culture was being turned upside down？ Like many of us, when our world is being turned upside down, our feelings go crazy. In the end, they tried to destroy the very thing that would have given them life.

What did people feel after being healed after many years of sickness? Have you ever thought what it would be like to be healed after years of being sick? People that were deaf probably couldn't sleep because of the noise. Those who were blind may have been in vision overload because of regaining their sight.

Even though there is no way we can know what people felt at that time, I doubt that it was much different than we feel today. I'm sure that the ones that followed Jesus after He died had a fulfilled life. The encouraging thing is that if we go to Jesus we can have an amazing life, too.

 

Bruce Isom

There may be struggles in doing what God wants us to do

 

     Many times we think if God is really into what we are doing it will be easy and fruit will manifest instantly. We live in a world of instant everything. Fast food restaurants with food available instantly, shops where we can buy things right away if we have the money or the credit. There are few things in life that we have to wait for.  When we watch TV or movies we see people instantly fall in love and get married in a very short time. This sometimes happens in the Christian life but is rare.

 

     Jesus who said that we will have abundant life, also said that if we are to have fruit in our life we may also have struggles. In 2 Corinthians 11:23 - 28, Paul lists a bunch of problems that he had. His life was not easy and smooth. It definitely was not instant. He could hardly walk into some towns without someone trying to kill him. There were times he was hungry, fasting because he had no choice but to fast, in danger, no home, even at the point of death at times if not dead and raised back to life when people prayed for him. He also had many other problems in his life that are listed in this passage. Now this is about the life of a man who by his ministry and letters has been one of the most influential in shaping the church from his writings.

 

     Many times in the Church in richer parts of the world we have this instant mentality. If we have a few problems thrown at us it seems that our whole world falls apart. Many times we feel like God should have an instant fix to our problems. If Paul walked into many churches in these countries they would have him going through counseling, encouraging him to give more so he would be rich, and trying to figure out why he is always having so many problems. I've even heard people say that if Paul would live the way God wanted him to he would not have the problems that he had. But in 1 Corinthians 4:16 and 11:1 he said we were to imitate him which means that he knew that he was a person that we could learn from and to live our life like him. 

 

     The struggles Paul had probably had nothing to do with sin in his life. Most of the time it was warfare because he was advancing the "Kingdom of God" and invading the kingdom of darkness. Many times even when we are serious about growing in God we will start to experience warfare and problems. If we press into God when these things happen we will grow in the Lord. It seems to be part of the maturing process  (1 Peter 1:6-7; James 1:2-4).  Then at some point God will lead people into a ministry of some kind and many times there is warfare that we go through just from doing what God wants us to do.  Then when we are fruitful in that ministry there are seasons when problems keep coming all the time. By saying this I'm not saying to go out and look for problems. You don't need to expect something that God may not want you to go through.

     If we are not living the way that God wants us to live then we can also expect problems. These are not warfare for living a Godly life but God allowing problems so we will get our eyes on Him. If we are wanting to live the way that God wants us to, these kind of problems can either push us to God or literally suck the life out of us. Hebrews 5:8 tells us that even Jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered. It is also true in our life that God will use problems to push us to Himself and to use problems in our life to help us to live for Him.


     Sometimes we can also develop what is called a "victim mentality" and expect bad stuff to happen to the point that it happens just because we expect it to happen. I have known people that every time they get a new job the same bad things happen to them. These people have been very gifted and know their jobs well but always seem to have personality conflicts with coworkers. After having a few jobs where the same conflicts happen they start living in a victim mentality and soon lose their job. To break out of this Christians need to trust God to help them change their life and know that He wants the best for us. For some, they have had people say things to them that become a curse in their life. If they pray to break these off and can seek God to help them change and trust Him to change their situation there are times when they and their situation will change.

     Sometimes we have sin in our lives that causes us to have problems in our life. I have prayed with some people because they were sowing lies, unforgiveness, judgements, gossip and even curses by the words they spoke.  When we sow crap into the lives of others by the things we say about them or what we do to them it will definitely have an effect on our lives.  Most of the time it affects us more than the people we were speaking about.
 

     The main reason I wanted to write this is that I hear of people that have problems and they think that it is because God has it in for them. I know that I felt that way when I first became a Christian. As I grew in the Lord and God changed me I realized that some of the problems that happened in my life were from things that I was doing and not from God wanting to abuse me. I want to reassure people that if they are wanting to live Godly in Christ Jesus that there are times that difficult things happen but that does not mean you are not loved by God. I want to guarantee you that God loves you and because He is love, everything that He does in your life is because He loves you. But there are spiritual laws and if we break them, there are consequences, and bad stuff can happen in our lives.

    Now I have mentioned two different types of problems. Those that come from living a Godly life and those that come from not living the way that a Christian should. Some people have asked me how can you tell the difference between the two. I think that the best way to know is by what is in your heart and what comes out of your mouth. If you are sowing crap it will definitely be coming back at you. If you are sowing good God has your back and He will take care of you. If you are doing what God wants you to do and bad things happen, God always shows up and takes care of the problems even when it looks like nothing will work out. If you feel that you are living the way God wants you to live but nothing good ever seems to happen in your life then there may be some past sowing and reaping that is happening in your life. Keep living the way that God wants you to and there will be a time when your sowing good will reap a harvest. If you are doing things that aren't Godly pray that God will help you to stop doing those things. Sometimes you may even need to find someone to pray or even mentor you to get out of the problems.

     Keep up the good fight and don't give up. If you are going through problems it is important to pray so that you will know what God wants you to do about them.  I'm not writing this so that people will go into shame and blame but to understand why they may be going through problems. I'm sure there are other reasons for people to go through problems since mankind no longer lives in the Garden of Eden, so keep looking to Jesus to get your answers.

We are His Workmanship Created for Good Works in Christ

Ephesians 2:10 WEB For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.

 

     I love this verse. There are many Christians that feel like after they have done their duty of going to church that there is nothing more for them to do. The rest of the week they are trying to be good people, do a good job at work, be a good husband or wife, or be a good parent.

     The Bible says that there is much more to the Christian life. Each one of us has been made by God for His purpose, not our own plans. Last week I listened to a man that said that 98% of people just fall into a job and do it all their life, most of the time without liking what they are doing. These people just exist and if they are Christians not sure what the life of Christ living in them means. The other 2% find life exciting and fulfilling because they are doing what they were meant to do in life.

     God can make even a boring job exciting. I had a job soon after I got married working for a print shop. I wanted to share the gospel with people but was scared to speak up. Even though I was scared I spoke up anyway. Soon some people that worked there started bringing their Bibles to work and asking me questions about the Bible. I was able to answer their questions and encourage them in their walk with the Lord. This made that job worth my time.
     It is important that what ever we do in life and especially in our jobs that we let people know that we are Christians and love people to Christ. Many people see us condemning unsaved sinners more than they see us loving people the way that Jesus has called us to do. We need to find out what those good works are that we were created for and do them with a loving heart. Many times we miss the abundant life that the Bible says we will have because we don't walk into those good works.

Feel free to leave me some feedback.

Bruce Isom

    

　

Crazy Provision

  
     Since coming to Hong Kong the Lord has led us to trust in Him for provision. There have been times where we have had more then what we need and times where we live from week to week. Sometimes we have lived from day to day but always have had what we need. Lately our provision has been unstable but mostly just scraping by. It is during these periods of time that I have been tempted to go find a job but so far the Lord has showed our family to keep on with what we are doing.

      God's provision hasn't always made sense in the moment. Not too long ago we were worried that we couldn't pay the rent and after letting key people in our life know God starting providing in some unusual ways. One person that my daughter knows gave us a new ice cream maker. It was one of those electric types that has a compressor so we don't have to buy ice. It makes great ice cream out of powered milk that we buy at the store here but it does use a lot of electricity. Someone else found out our living room air conditioner has been broken and went around to different friends and took up a collection to get us a new air conditioner. The air conditioner  is the largest one in our apartment so it also uses a lot of energy. At the same time we have been very grateful to have that air conditioner working. He has been providing for luxuries in the midst of our struggle for essentials.

     The third thing that happened was my wife and I were invited to house sit for a very nice house  boat. At this time we had just enough money for transport there and back. The boat was in a marina and was part of a exclusive club. Most of the people there would not understand our life style.  The next two weeks we lived in a world that we would never have even dreamed of.
     After that it was back to real life, trusting God for provision,  enjoying ice-cream made with the new machine, enjoying the new air conditioner, and God is still providing for everything we need. Trusting God for provision is never boring and He always comes through.
    

What Should Take Place When We Meet



Living Stones

 

     1 Corinthians chapters 12 to 14 tell us a lot about what to do when we gather together. Because the Corinthians were so excited about Spiritual Gifts, their meetings sometimes could be chaotic because everyone was doing their own thing. This may not have been entirely bad. Paul didn't say that what they were doing was wrong, just that the order and how they were doing it was wrong. He then gave them instructions on how to meet in a more orderly fashion. 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 were written to bring some order but not to stop what they were doing.

     1 Corinthians 14:26  says that when they came to gather, each one of them had something to contribute to the meeting. This was not a passive church.  Each one had a song, something to teach, a tongue, a revelation from God, an interpretation of a tongue. They were so excited about what they had that it became a big mess. Nobody wanted to wait their turn. Paul did not try to stop them but instead coached them on how to bring some order to their meetings. His final message in this passage was that each participant needed to make sure that what they were doing would build up the church rather than tear it down. 

      1 Corinthians 12:31 tells us to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. The Greek word for earnestly desire is "dzay-lo'-o" which also has the meaning to covet.   We are not only to desire but to covet the best gifts.  We are not to covet things of the world like money, materialism, worldly power, etc but we can covet those things that come from God. One of the most important things to remember though is that we have to keep our focus on Jesus. We can not put the gifts above Him.

      The gifts include ministry gifts like the list in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11 including apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, miracles, healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Since we are told to covet these gifts I don't believe that God would tell us to have that strong of a desire for these gifts if we couldn't obtain them. I believe that everyone has been called into these ministries as we mature and they are not just for a few people. Certainly not limited to those that have been to seminary. In fact Ephesians 4:12  states that these gifts are for the perfecting(equipping) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: The Greek word that has been translated perfecting in the KJV is "katartismos" and it means to equip.

 

     Among ministry being done in various parts of the world, it is those that are multiplying themselves that are growing the fastest. Thousands of people are becoming Christians and as they learn how to live the Christian life. They are then equipped and taught to equip others. Because of this focus, churches in these parts of the world are growing more quickly than in areas where the church has existed for thousands of years, but have lost the vision to equip and release.

 

The Hong Kong Anywhere Church

     When it comes to where and how to meet, there are thousands of opinions. That's why there are so many denominations and beliefs. As a new believer, I wanted to know what the perfect church was from reading the Bible. Then, I would know which one to attend. Ha Ha Ha. Most of the New Testament was written to correct the church even from the beginning. In other words, the churches that Paul started were not perfect. So, I found out by looking and being a part of different churches, that the "Perfect Church" and "Perfect Christian" do not exist.

     To know me well is to know that I'm very passionate about what church is supposed to be like. I'm like most people, so there are things that I like and there are things that I believe should be in a church. I am not like some of my friends that feel that God has made it a command to meet in a house.  Or like other friends that believe you should meet in a very large group before you can call it a church. Although I had a church in my home for three years and enjoyed the experience, I have not found in the Bible any command to only meet in homes.

     I have gone to several of the largest churches in Hong Kong and have friends there. I love and respect the pastors of those churches but still enjoy smaller churches. Whenever a church is over three-hundred people, I start to feel lost. There have been times friends and pastors have told me that a house church is not a real church, because in their mind the Greek word for church means a large assembly. I haven't found this to be true from the studies that I have done.

     Acts 2:46 says they went to the temple and from house to house. Acts 3:1 says they went to the temple to pray. In Acts 5:20, they also went to the temple to tell people the gospel. In Acts 5:12, the church had a healing and miracle service in Solomon's porch. This was a huge building. I came to the conclusion that God doesn't care where you meet as long as you come together to meet. The important thing is what you do when you meet. More on that in a later blog.

     In Hong Kong, it costs a lot of money to rent or own a place to meet. Most people work extremely long hours and usually have rotating days off. Many Christians burn out trying to go to church in the traditional way. If the church isn't taken to the people, there is no way they will even go to church.

     I have a friend that works for an insurance company that started a fellowship in his office. His group became number one in his insurance company. I have other friends that have started churches in areas just to meet the need that is there. I know of several churches just for movie stars, so they won't be chased by paparazzi. There are some churches in Hong Kong that can't afford to rent space so they meet in restaurants. In different countries, there are intentional churches planted and they multiply before they get big, so more people will believe in Jesus. These are some of the fastest growing movements in church history.
     There is a church here in Hong Kong that meets in a restaurant each week. They reserve the whole place and buy a meal for each person that comes to the meeting. The offerings they take up must pay for the meals. One time, I talked to the pastor of the church and he said that they had planted six other churches from that one church.

     I wrote this not to say that any one church is correct or incorrect. I wanted to try to stimulate people to take their view of the church out of the box and try to take the church to the people. Jesus said in Matthew 18:20 that where two or three people are gathered in his name He would be there. I don't believe Jesus cares where believers meet as long as he is being lifted up.
     One of my dreams is to see groups of people meeting every day or night. Whether that is in their work place, in restaurants, parks, or even in a church building.  

The Walled City

     When I first came to Hong Kong, I worked for St. Stephen's Society. Part of our work was in a place called the "Walled City." There is a book about Jackie Pullinger's work that she wrote called: "Chasing the Dragon." The book reads like a novel but is a real story. If I hadn't worked with this lady, I may have had a hard time believing that this story is real. 

    When I first started working there, one of the workers told me that people have to be partly crazy to want to do this kind of work. I was offended at the time, but thinking about it many years later, I can see why she would say that.

    My visit to Hong Kong was the first time I had ever left the USA. I landed in a city of 7 million people all stacked on top of each other. It felt like a big bee hive. Some people from St. Stephen's Society picked me up and took me to Hang Fook Camp. This was a place that was used to help drug addicts begin adjusting to real life.  I didn't sleep the first night. However, I'm not sure if it was jet lag or excitement about being in a new segment of my life.
     The next day, I was told to take 2 addicts and 2 older brothers as we called them to an island and pray for them to come off of drugs. And so my life as a missionary began.

 

     I don't work with this group any more, but it made an impact on my life.  I have come to respect the work that she does and enjoy the times when I run into those that have come out of her work.

 

Here is a video link to a documentary that was made the year we worked there.  It tells about the work that Jackie Pullinger and St. Stephen's Society do much better then I could.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itXkvGh1J0o

Why Would God Judge the World ?

   

      Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-2 that if we judge we will be judged back. What we sow is what we will reap back. Many times the church does this and then we are surprised when it comes back and hits us on the backside. We may see the effects on the nation we live in and blame it on unbelievers when the problem can often be linked to the Christians and their attitude towards those that don't believe in Jesus.

     1 Peter 4:17 says that judgement begins with the household of God. Why would God be judging the Church? From reading various passages in Scripture like the letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, we see that God still has a standard for the church even though we are saved by grace.

     An interesting point is that the only church in Revelation that was not judged was the church that loved. When believers can look past the sin in peoples' lives and take the love of God to unbelievers, the impact will be dramatic and life changing. There are different ministries in the world today that are bringing many people to the Lord through simply bringing God's love. Many Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus have become Christians because missionaries just loved on these people.

     So is there a time when it is alright to recognize issues as being not right? In 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 Paul said we are not to keep company with those who are in the church who are fornicators, or covetous, or extortioners, idolaters, railers (people that are, by habit, abusive or slanderous in the way that they speak), and drunkards. Other passages of the Bible mention other sinful habits that fit into this list. We are not even supposed to eat or spend time with people like that. This is a tough passage.

      I want to say that I believe these behaviors are fruit of wounding, and that some Christians have weakness in these areas based on past hurts. Unfortunately, the church often does not know how to minister freedom. The Body of Christ also does not always offer understanding and compassion to those desiring to change. Transformation takes time and sanctification is a process. The heart is more important than outward behavior - and it is those who are unwilling to seek help and justifying their sin but believe themselves to be Christian that we are told to distance ourselves from. On the other hand, verse 12-13 says we are not to judge those outside of the church but leave those outside for God to judge. 

     Why was Sodom judged ? I used to think that it was because of the sexual sin. When the angels went to check out the city, scripture records that all the men in the city wanted to rape the angels. But Ezekiel 16:49-50 said that that main issues were that the people had plenty to eat, a lot of free time, and they did not help the poor in a way to get them out of poverty. So God destroyed them. Now I do want to clarify that I believe sexual sin is a byproduct of the other problems.

      We need to quit thinking that the government is supposed to fix problems. Pain in this world provides opportunity to show God's care. There is much the church can do to practically show the love of God and meet the needs of others. One example is in the area of poverty: People in the church should be doing things to train others in types of work that will help them become financially independent.

      So if judgment starts with the household of God where does this leave us ? As a church we need to quit judging those outside of the church. This does not mean that we stop noticing that there is sin in the world. Rather we need to recognize that it is God's loving kindness through us that will change people not our judgments. We need to use some of that free time we all have to just love on people so they will know the love of Jesus.



Feel free to leave me an e-mail or a comment. I want to know what you think.

 

My Journey to Hong Kong

Downtown Hong Kong

Not too long after I became a Christian I wanted to become a missionary to Africa. I thought Africa because that’s where I thought all missionaries went. Sometime after I became a Christian, God gave me my first vision -  at least the first one that I knew was from Him. After having the vision I knew I was supposed to come to Hong Kong. Hong Kong was one of the last places on earth that I would have picked to be a missionary. I didn’t even know where it was. I was pretty normal for my circle, because many of the people that know me, after my family moved here, thought we were living in Japan. So for all of you who don’t know where it is, Hong Kong is in the most southern part of China.

I had a friend that worked for the Lancaster Vineyard Church. He was a caretaker for a ranch where they trained missionaries. I called him and told him that God had told me to go to Hong Kong. He knew a person named Jackie Pullenger who was (and is) a missionary in Hong Kong. He helped connect us with her.  After two years, they contacted me and asked me to come and check out the work to see if I thought our family could work there. After another two years they asked us to come and work with them.

Jackie Pullenger’s ministry, St. Stephens asked us to receive missionary training through another ministry in Los Angeles before coming to Hong Kong. So I quit my job. My family and I went through a summer training with a group called “Servants Among the Poor” in downtown LA known as Skid Row. This is an area full of drug dealers, drug addicts, prostitutes, alcoholics. and many homeless who slept in the streets or in abandoned cars.  We learned how to reach out and love the people who lived here. We were some of the few white people in the area. This experience greatly reduced our culture shock when we moved to Hong Kong.

When I dreamed of being a missionary I always thought that I would live in some remote village somewhere. Instead, I ended up living in a city of 7 million people with a high population density –all living on top of each other. My family has worked with drug addicts, street kids, troubled youth, and the working poor. Some of the troubled youth have been in the Chinese mafia (Triads). Over the years, we have spent much of our time praying for those that have been emotionally damaged and developing inner healing materials appropriate for Hong Kong. In addition discipleship materials, and literature that helps promote Biblical literacy as a focus. We have also put out a Bible to help people learn to read and use the Bible in Cantonese.

Some of my vision includes

Developing an online course to teach about moving in the spiritual gifts.

Opening a center where the poorer people can come and receive inner healing and counseling.

Hosting a school where people can learn what their gifts are and be equipped in those gifts.

Equipping Christians all over the world to grow into the callings that God has called them to.

Encouraging church leaders to see all of their people as gifted and equip them to become what God created them to be.

Living Like The Seventy Sent Out

 

     At one time Jesus sent out a group of seventy men to preach and demonstrate the Kingdom of God. One of the accounts is in Luke 10 but the story is also accounted in the other gospels. Jesus told them not to take anything with them, no money, food, clothing except for what they wore and no extra shoes. They were to experience God providing for them. When they came back they had a lot of great stories and were excited to have seen what God did in their lives.

      There are some people in today's world that God tells to live this way in one form or another. There are missionaries and church workers I know that just trust God for what they need although they may have some support from their home church. On the mission field, these missionaries are called "Faith Missionaries." People have asked me how we finance our missionary work and I have told them we live by faith. Some understand what we are trying to say but others will respond with "we live by faith too." I agree that if you have a normal life, job, paycheck, etc ... and that is what Jesus has led you to do, you are living by faith in a broad, general sense. But when I'm talking about living by faith as "Faith Missionaries", I am talking about those that trust God to put it on some one's heart at the right time to donate to the work they are doing to build the Kingdom.

     My wife and I, together with our two daughters have been living as faith missionaries for 22 years. We get about one fourth of what we need from donations each month and then trust God to provide in whatever manner he chooses for the rest. We have found out that when God wants people to live like this that He does provide at least their basic needs. In the last 22 years, there have been four specific seasons that have been more difficult and challenging in terms of our provision but God has gotten us through it.

     Each season has been different. One season we found eggs for a very cheap price if we bought a carton of 30 eggs at a time, so that was our sole source of protein. Sometimes people would ask us to come over and would bring food for us not knowing we didn't have money to buy food. We ate so many eggs that for awhile after we were through that difficulty, some members of my family no longer liked eggs. Other seasons we found chicken really cheap and ate chicken most of the time. 

          It has been an interesting and sometimes very exciting life.  There are times when it has been very stretching and a few times we have had to let people know we have a need but God has been faithful to take care of us.

     Let me know what you think. Leave me an email or a comment. If you have a prayer request leave me an email and I will pray for you.

Bruce Isom

The Church That is Alive

   

We all want to believe that the church that we go to is alive. I'm not saying that your church isn't alive, but in Revelation 3:1 the church in the city of Sardis had the name of being alive but God said that this church was at the point of death. I would hate it if God said that the church that I was a member of was almost dead. This passage also shows that we can be deceived and think that we are on the right path but be totally wrong.

     The interesting thought is that Revelation 3:2 says that those who are in this state have a choice whether they stay this way. The Holy Spirit first tells them to be watchful. The Greek word for watchful is "grēgoreuō" and it basically means to become aware of what is going on. This is not only in the natural world but the spiritual world. In other words, don't walk around in a spiritual stupor.

     The second thing the Holy Spirit tells the church is to strengthen the things that remain. While the book of Revelation was being written, all the other scrolls that became the Bible had already been written. In passages like Colossians 4:16 Paul told churches his team had planted, that they should pass his letters around to each other. Hebrews 6:10-15 says that they already had a history of mature believers that they were supposed to imitate. The church did not have any reason not to know how to live the Christian life. They needed to start living the Christian life, instead of just going to church and pretending to be Christians.

     So what is it that makes a church alive? In Revelation, it says that the church should have listened to the instruction that had been given to it. The church in Sardis already knew what they should be doing. It is easy to go to church and be passive. I have gone to church, heard amazing sermons, walked out the door and nothing changed in my life. It is too easy to become a spectator when we go to church. When we receive instruction there is supposed to be a continuing response to the words we hear in the life we live and everything we do. God wants His heart to transform our hearts so that He becomes a natural part of who we are.

     Revelation 3:2 says that their works were not perfect before God. The Greek word "plēroō" that is translated "perfect" means complete. Ephesians 2:10 says we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, works that God has planned beforehand for us to accomplish.

     - There are things in our life that God has especially planned for just us and only us and there is no one else that can fulfill those things. Even if you are part of a team to accomplish those things you are still the one on that team that is needed to fulfill that part that only you can do in the way that you do it.

     - God doesn't want us to be just content to be a "good person" -- He doesn't want us just to be nice to people at work, be good parents, give money to ministries, or be the best friend. On the other hand, I'm not saying that those things are not included in the list that God has for us. He has a much bigger plan for us than what we can imagine.

     Revelation 3:3 says that it is important to God that we obey Him and fulfill what He has planned for us. It is important that we remember those things that God has burned into our hearts. He doesn't give us a vision or Godly desires just have us bury them and not do anything about them.

     In Revelation 3:5 there is an important statement with conditions. If we overcome then our name will not be blotted out from the "Book of Life" and Jesus will confess our name before our Father and His angels. How we live our lives does make a big difference to God and maybe even our salvation. Jesus is saying that having an active faith is part of showing that we believe in Him. If you really believe in God it will show in how you live your life. 

Bruce Isom

Many Churches Keep Their Members From Growing up in the Lord

     This is a "picture" of a new Christian. The Bible says that when people believe in Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit, they are given gifts. These gifts are besides the gift of salvation or the gift of Jesus in our life. These are supernatural gifts because even though believers get a new "operating system" for their life, they also get updates as they mature in the Lord.  Sometimes we get "updates" as we are reading the Bible, praying, receiving teaching or just living life -- these "downloads" will teach us spiritual truths. In the Bible these "upgrades" are called renewing our mind: Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23 or getting rid of every defilement of spirit: 2 Corinthians 7:1.

     Christians need to use that giftedness God has given them to mature into spiritual adults. If they don't use it they will stay in the baby stage of their Christian walk until they either start using it, and hopefully mature in that gift, or die as a baby Christian. Many believers may have years of teaching, but if they don't have opportunities to move in the giftedness that God has given them, most will stagnate and  have a spiritual death in their hearts. Many times this is a reason that people loose their first love.

     I have heard many people tell me that they don't have any gift at all. There are people that are gifted in knowing what a person's gift is. Many times they have an apostolic or prophetic gifting or just get words of knowledge. There are Christians that will receive a gift just because an apostle or prophet laid hands on them and imparted a gift, 1 Timothy 4:14. Sometimes believers are walking in those gifts and they are so much a part of their life, they don't even know it.

     Some Christians seem to think that if they were gifted they could do almost anything. When I was younger, many people including myself, thought I was a computer expert. That didn't mean I knew everything about computers, but the things I didn't know, it seemed easy to find the answers and apply them. There were also many things I didn't know but that didn't mean I wasn't gifted with computers. It's the same way in the Church. There are things we do better or very well and there are things we just can't do at all unless God gives us that gift in our life.

     A call to all leaders: No matter what size of church you have, house or mega church,  the church is meant to be a place where believers are equipped for ministry. This is not just giving those in your church a bunch of head knowledge, but practical experience along with it. Train yourselves to look at those in your church and see who they are even when they don't see it themselves. Then ask God to use you or other people in your church to gently carve away the marble to see the masterpiece underneath. This is a process, not necessarily an instant transformation.

 

Bruce Isom

 

 

    

More Vision for Church

     After going through the hippie thing I became a Christian in 1974. I became a believer after my wife and I visited a friend who had become a Christian. I believed in Jesus because the Holy Spirit touched me and not because our friend talked me into it.

Just married! 1974

     I didn't have any idea what it meant to follow Christ. I had some religious background because I went to a Baptist church as a teenager. The Pastor there was an evangelist but he was also older and should have retired many years before he did. So every Sunday instead of teaching the Bible, he tried to save everyone in the church, even though except for a few of the kids every one else had already believed in Christ.

     My wife and I started to read the Bible to find out what Church and the Christian walk was supposed to be like. When we read the Bible we were surprised to find out that it wasn't just a place to go sit on a pew on Sunday. It was supposed to be an interactive, use-your-gifts type of meeting. So when we started looking for a church it wasn't an easy task because most of the churches we visited didn't fit with what we felt like the Bible was talking about.

     We did find a church that was more interactive. It was a church that allowed men that the pastor was discipling to teach on some Sundays and it had what we now call "open worship". If someone felt like the Holy Spirit wanted them to lead out in a song, when there was a brief pause they would just start singing or shout out the name of the song. Usually someone would lead out with the song in the worship time. It was not chaotic at all, the Spirit-led flow was amazing.

      We had an "open mic" for part of the time where people would give testimonies or ask for prayer. As a new believer I felt guilty because I smoked cigarettes. I had tried to quit many times with no success. One day when I was in church the Lord spoke to me and told me to go forward and ask for prayer. When I did, the Lord set me free and now I haven't smoked for nearly 40 years.
     I want to let everyone know that I don't hate other types of churches. It is not my intention to stir people up to hate their churches or their leaders. I hope more to stir up churches to use the gifts and let the "Body of Christ" function in the way that God intended.
     Now I have walked with Jesus for around 42 years and still desire to see churches where many people can be involved in ministry and participate in meetings. There are different movements in the world today where people are planting churches with the intention of people using their gifts. Many of these churches are growing by the thousands and from studies they are still able to do a quality work. I will talk more about spiritual growth and about these types of churches in future blogs.

 

Bruce Isom

Introduction

 My name is Bruce Isom and I have been a missionary in Hong Kong for 22 years. I became a Christian 42 years ago during the Jesus Movement. This was a period of time in the 60's and 70's when many hippies became Christians. After I became a Christian I started reading the Bible to find out what Church should be like so I could better pick a church to attend. It was at this time I became passionate about what Church should be like and how to walk the Christian walk. Even after 42 years of following Jesus I am still learning what it means to be a Christian and expect to keep learning until Jesus calls me home. In this blog I hope to talk about Church but also things that just take place in life.

Bruce Isom