Dear Ones,
I’ve been reminded recently how often our brother Paul opened and closed his letters with beautiful affirmations and so I want to begin this letter with his greeting to the Philippians:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
And all I can say to that is “Amen!”
I just finished rereading my letter from last month so that I had a refreshed launching point from which to write now. And I do see Father slowly but surely unfolding His perfect plan and timing to bring together our FMM visitors with the Adat family. I am so grateful that He’s taught me to trust even when I don’t see or think I see contrary ‘facts’ that seem to indicate an opposite direction from what I first thought I understood of His leading.
For example, the last number of months found the home base FMM family flying high in thankfulness, excitement and anticipation. We had been seeing Father do amazing and marvelous things in and through our whole world wide family and the inclusion of the Adat family was like icing on the cake. Dad John was receiving regular ‘downloads’ which turned into weekly lessons that he shared with us and then on the website. The Exodus insights were flowing like a river and the family was being fed a rich feast from the Word.
Currently, however, as Mum has been sick and Dad has been tending, caring for and advocating for her needs in the medical community, there’s been no time to write. There’s no doubt in my mind that he is clearly being about the Father’s business (Luke 2:49) and doing exactly what the Lord wants him to do in these days. And this new ‘assignment’ may appear to be getting in the way of his previous assignment to write and publish the Scriptural downloads.
But I’m convinced that more than one thing is true here. Yes, the writing and publication of the Exodus series is currently ‘on hold,’ and some may think the enemy is attacking big time. Maybe he is… but he’s still a defeated foe and deserves no credit – he cannot ever thwart Father’s perfect Kingdom plans and purposes or the timing of their unfolding here on earth. So what else is in the mix? I believe it has to do with the growth and maturation of the FMM family at large. As the very difficult parts of the end times continue to get closer and closer in time and space, it will be imperative that all disciples know their God – I mean really KNOW Him.
We must know that He’s real, that He’s reigning, that He’s risen, and that He’s right here in our midst. We must know that whatever He leads us into or allows to unfold in our lives is for a purpose that He may or may not choose share with us. And that has to be okay. If we are truly disciples under orders, then we can rest in the fact that our Commanding Officer knows the battle plan and how we are to fit into it. The victory is ours – we know that from the written Word, so let’s trust in our indwelling living Word to carry out the process regardless of whether it’s easy or difficult, regardless of whether it’s painful or costly, regardless of whether we understand or not. He is worthy of that level of trust and nothing short of that will hit the mark.
I urge us all to take seriously the mandate to pray for one another, especially as we remember Dad and Mum in our quiet times. Let’s be like Aaron and Hur were to Moses… let’s hold up their arms so that the battle can be won and our Lord can receive the glory due His matchless Name! I’ve included below an update from Dad so that we can pray both with the Spirit and with the understanding (I Corinthians 14:15)
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Beloved Family,
Although Mum’s illness has been very serious, filled with complications and has weakened her very much, I’ve not lost any of the peace and joy that I’ve been experiencing since this Follow Me journey first began. But that peace and joy certainly aren’t due to the appearances of the things that we’re facing. And they don’t come because of the natural impulses of worry and insecurity that suddenly rise up from within me. They don’t come from the glimmers of imaginary catastrophic misfortune that appear to be looming ahead of us. No…the peace and joy are not coming from the scary, desperate-seeming circumstances in which we definitely find ourselves.
So I can only conclude that the Source of our peace and joy is our awesome Lord Himself… abiding with us…supplying, protecting, teaching and taking us through all of this…step by step, issue by issue. He is confirming at a very deep, personally intimate and existential level, what I’ve been trying to communicate to you in my writings over the past two years: He is Real…He is risen from the dead…and He is right here with us, at all times, just as He promised He would be! It doesn’t depend on circumstances…no matter what the situation may be…as long as our Master is here with us…He will be the one handling everything on our behalf. And that assures me that despite appearances, EVERYTHING is going to be all right, for He will always be with us and will never leave or forsake us. That’s all that matters.
Yesterday, on top of everything else, we found out that Mum had contracted pneumonia! And she wasn’t doing well at all. So last night I put her in my Master’s hands. And this morning when I went to see her, much to my surprise, she was much improved. I saw vitality in her face and heard it in what she was saying. I saw her gaining in strength and mobility…with a normal temperature, a productive cough and a pretty good appetite. I heard her talking about everyday- life things she hasn’t mentioned since she began to get sick in late December. She talked about our daughter bringing a deck of cards so that they could play Gin…and she told me how many days were left before she can get out of the rehabilitation center and come back home. That’s the first time she’s talked to me at that level since all of this began. Life is coming back into her!
The Lord is with her…bringing her through this…proving to me that what I am trying to convey to the Follow Me Family is exactly what He wants us all to know in preparation for the Last Days. In the Last Days, all disciples and the rest of the world will experience‘Wilderness Conditions.’ At that time we will have to know Him and His ways deeply and intimately, so that His Peace and Joy within us will serve as our endless wellsprings of ‘Living Water’ flowing up within us and overflowing from within us to the desert that will be all around us…coming back to life and fruitfulness.
And so I thank Him for this precious time…and all that He is showing us as a result of it. It isn’t just for me; it’s for all of us. And He is not here to lose or be victimized. He is the Lord of Glory and He has already won…for us all!
Dad
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As we join our beloved Dad and Mum in their prayers and praises, even in the midst of the current difficulties, may our wonderful Lord continue to receive glory and honor through His trusting, yielded disciples.
In His matchless love,
Your sister, Nancy