My Father's House

I have been thinking lately about Jesus' words in John 14:1-3. He says, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." Sometimes we read things like this very familiar passage of scripture and we just figure it means what we were taught in Sunday school years ago as small children. I have been wondering if Jesus really meant that He was going to prepare us a place in heaven. We all have visions of mansions and large rooms where we will hang out one day in heaven with Jesus. I'm not convinced this is what Jesus is talking about here. While I am not prepared to throw out all my Sunday school training over these few verses, I have been considering another angle on these verses that open up something more for us in understanding who we are in Christ. Could it be that Jesus is referring here to the fact that He is about to go through all that is necessary to accomplish redemption for us and by so doing preparing a place for us in the Father's house. The idea of house here has some interesting meaning as well. In Hebrews 3:5-6 the writer says, "Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are." We as the body of Christ are the "house" of God. So what Jesus is saying that through His redemptive work of suffering, dying, and being raised from the dead, He has prepared a place for us in the Father's house, the body of Christ. At the time Jesus spoke these powerful words of comfort and promise He had not yet accomplished what was necessary to make this possible. Once He had finished the necessary work, He would receive His disciples again unto Himself. Then comes the kicker -- "so that where I am, there you may be also." Now that sure sounds like heaven and the rapture and all that good stuff. But let's look further. Paul makes a very interesting statement in Colossians 3:1-4 where he says, "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." This sounds like to me that we are already with Christ in God.

So, what am I saying through all this? The point is that we need an overhaul in our thinking as it relates to our relationship with God in the here and now. While it is nice to consider the sweet by and by, we need to focus on the fact that we are in Christ NOW! Christ has prepared us a place and we are in it now if we know the Lord personally. I think we often miss the fact that we should experience the blessings of our inheritance in Christ now and not be waiting for some time in the far future or the live after! How we see ourselves now in Christ will directly affect how we experience life each day. We have a place secure in Him today so let's set our minds on Him and realize that we dwell in His presence now. What a difference this can make as we face each new day in Him!

Ministry and Family Update

This month was a very blessed month with ministry. We continue to be so encouraged as we see God working in the lives of many folks around us here in Worcester. We are meeting on a regular basis with believers throughout the city. We are seeing the Lord strengthen and build His body. As we meet together and fellowship we are experiencing more and more of the life of the Lord together. We are also seeing the Lord work in the lives of others as folks are faithful to share what the Lord is doing in their lives during this season. Please continue to pray that the church in Worcester will be unified.

Cliff taught in the YWAM Worcester DTS this month. The DTS is a small school this term, but full of students very hungry to learn and receive from the Lord. Cliff was asked to teach on the church and missions. He had a wonderful time with the students as they studied together. Cliff will be teaching again in September and has been asked to offer spiritual counsel to the September DTS staff during their school which will run from September to March. We also had the privilege of hosting a YWAM outreach team from Ireland in our home one evening this month. They were really fun and we shared a meal and had a very powerful time in the presence of the Lord together. They were only here in Worcester for a short time and then they were on to other parts of South Africa for their outreach. We are blessed to have the relationship with the YWAM base that we do and trust that the Lord is using us there to be an encouragement.

Cliff is also meeting regularly with a team working on the street kids project and the reorganization of the Kibbutz El-Shammah ministry here in Worcester. We have been in relationship with the folks involved at the Kibbutz now for 10 years and we have always had a big place in our hearts for the ministry and vision they have to reach the underprivileged areas of Worcester. Cliff is considering serving on an eldership board that will help provide spiritual guidance to these important ministries. We will share more with you concerning these ministries as things develop.

Cliff will be traveling quite a bit the next few months into other African nations. He will be ministering in a city-wide meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe in July for a week. The conference is "Effective Ministry Through the Holy Spirit." He will then go from Harare to Tete, Mozambique where he will be ministering in a leadership meeting for two days. From there he will travel to Blantyre, Malawi to spend time with leaders there as well. In August he will be joining Rene Brown in Kisumu, Kenya again for time with leaders. On both trips Cliff will be accompanied by a young man that Cliff is mentoring. Mlamli is a young Xhosa man who lives across the mountain from us in Wellington. He is working with young believers in a black township where he lives and really has a heart to equip the church. This will be a life changing experience for Mlamli to travel outside of his home country.

We would like to ask that you pray about being involved in our ministry financially this month to help support these trips in July and August. The outreaches to other African nations is a big part of what we believe we are to be doing and they call for a financial outlay over and above our normal monthly expenses.

Also, our dear friend Johnny Willemse, who is confined to a wheelchair due to Polio, has a need for a new battery for his electric wheelchair. He only has to replace the battery about every three years. The battery costs about $300 and we would like to raise the money to buy him a new one as soon as possible. Just let us know if you want to contribute toward this very practical need.

Thank you all so much for your continued love and support. We give thanks regularly for you and pray that God would bless you in a special way today.

Love,
Cliff, Stephanie, Camille, Natalie, and Wesley