Dear Ones,
I’ve just finished finalizing the September Family News for publication and continue to be overwhelmed with the magnitude of ways in which the Holy Spirit is touching lives and hearts in our days. It so reminds me of what we read in the book of Acts and how the gospel spread in those times. He used ordinary people then, and he’s using us ordinary people now. And that’s the beauty of the true gospel of the Living Lord of Glory – (see I Corinthians 1:25-31) – He chooses to use the most unlikely vessels so that no man can boast and all glory goes to the Risen Son who is worthy of the reward of His suffering.
You’ll see as you read this month’s Family News that I included an exhortation from John for us to take seriously our covenant commitment to pray for one another and to become points of entry for His Kingdom to invade the kingdoms of the earth which are currently occupied by God’s enemies.
Many have expressed deep and heartfelt gratitude for the teachings and how they are changing lives. I understand how hearts which connect with solid Biblical Truth have a burning desire to express thankfulness and that our thanks and praises begin by being given to the ‘messenger’ through which that Truth was received. Haven’t we all been in that place?
But as we continue to read, pray and yield our hearts and lives to the Living Word, the Reality of who He is takes on a personal meaning. We know He is King of kings and Lord of lords in the universe; but now we begin to understand that He is OUR King and Lord. And when that happens, the direction of our praises rises beyond who shared the message, and instead go straight to the Message Himself. As we pray and continue to allow the Lord to write His Word on our hearts, and as we continue to yield to His indwelling Life within us, the focus of our gratitude will develop a new trajectory – we’ll see an ever rising chorus of praise given directly to the Lord of Glory Himself.
As we continue our development as disciples of the Living Word, learning through the written Word as enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we begin to change how we perceive and process Truth – the “middle man” begins to fade away and our connection to that Truth becomes more direct and comprehensive. It is imperative that we earnestly pray for one another, and especially for our brothers and sisters who are just now receiving this kind of Truth for the first time.
Father tells us that we can understand the things that are unseen by the things that are seen (See Romans 1:10). Many years ago, someone shared a vision they had received in which many new babies were being born into the Kingdom of God. These were unusual babies. From birth, they had full sets of adult teeth; they were meat eating babies right from the start. And I think that FMM material helps to ‘birth’ that kind of disciple – people who, from the beginning, are able to bypass the milk and are filled with the meat of the Word (See I Corinthians 3:2 and Hebrews 5:12)
I agree with some of those Family letters published for the month of September – I think time really is short and it’s imperative for us to take seriously the encouragements and admonitions from our Father. Not for us, not even for one another… for Him, so that He receives all the glory due His mighty and matchless Name.
Love and blessings to you and your families,
Your sister,Nancy
P.S. Stay tuned… I’ve asked others in the Omaha ‘home team’ to share their testimonies so that the world wide FMM family can get to know them too. I’m excited to see how Father is continuing to knit us together in answer to His Son’s prayer in John 17, that they (we) would be one as He and the Father are One (One, in Hebrew, is: “echad”).