To Know God...and Make Him Known

McCalls

On Mission

Save The Date: June 9th @ 6:30p Dessert

(Southern California Location TBD)

Norway to Myanmar

Aloha !

A Poem

There is a poem that Count Zinzendorf wrote. It is intended for us to ponder our friend of the heart; or as he would’ve said in German, our Herzenfreund. It goes like this:

Before you seek a blessing, seek Jesus.

Before you seek a feeling, seek Jesus in His Word.

Before you seek a gifting, pursue Jesus the Giver.

Before you seek a healing, seek Jesus the Healer.

Before you try to become holy, trust Jesus He will do it.

Before you become lukewarm, seek Jesus to the uttermost.

Before you are drifting, make Jesus your anchor.

Before you plan your day, trust Jesus with a prayer.

Before you worry, trust Jesus for your care.

Before you say ‘I want’, ask Jesus what He wants.

Before you ask for something, give Jesus all your praise.

Before you seek riches, let Jesus be your treasure.

Before you attempt to use Him, let Jesus use you.

Before your lamp diminishes, let Jesus be your torch.

Before you seek signs and wonders, let Jesus be your wonder.

Before you seek an encounter, know that Jesus lives within you.

I don’t know who this poem is for, but I had a sense, a prompting from the Holy Spirit, that it needed to be in this email. Whoever it is for, I bless you to know the author of your life and perfecter of your faith even deeper than you ever have before. That you would,  rightly, put Jesus at the center of your life rather than yourself, your job, or your family. It’s in Jesus name I pray. Amen. 

Norway

I’m so grateful for all your prayers as Malakai and I traveled throughout Norway. Our time in Molde was so special as we stayed with friends and met with the teams from Kona. One highlight from Molde is when I led a 3-hour worship set to kick-off an all-night prayer and intercessory worship time for Norway. This was in partnership with the outreach team. The hearts of young and old Norwegians were hungry to seek after God through worship and prayer. Even Malakai’s heart was hungry to worship God. I gave him the choice to stay home but he insisted he wanted to worship God with us. He prayed for me before I started the worship service and his prayer about brought me to tears. It was a bold prayer that stirred my faith to believe. To believe that God could do more than we could ever ask for or imagine through choosing to spend time with him. It was a joy to watch my son in the front worshiping God with his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. From Molde, we had a delightful 6 hour drive to the Grimerud base for the Prayer Conference. I felt so honored to have played a leadership role for such a monumental time for the country of Norway. It was a gathering of over 600 people across different denominations, different prayer streams, etc. They were putting aside their differences in order to seek after God for revival in their country. The second day of the conference was a full day of fasting and praying. At one point in the afternoon, we felt that there were people in the room who hadn’t repented to one another and forgiven one another for past offenses. We announced it to the crowd and gave space for them to seek each other out and extend forgiveness to one another. What happened next absolutely blew me away. It was a straight two hours of people seeking out every person they needed to repent to and joyfully repenting to each other for the wrongs they had done. At the end of two hours, it was clear that something had shifted in the room. Unity in the body of Christ, in Norway, had risen to a new level of faith. Forgiveness hit the room like a ton of bricks and an overwhelming sense of God’s love turned hearts of stone into hearts of flesh; filled with compassion for one another. That evening became a full-on explosion of worship to God! It was exciting to watch, normally withdrawn and reserved Norwegians, release a roar of sound in worship to God. Hundreds of over 80 year olds to 19 year olds exploding with joy! The joy of the Lord had become their strength! As I was contemplating in prayer what God was doing, I asked Him, “Lord what would revival look like if I was in the middle of it? How would I know?” His answer to me? “Look around.” At that moment I realized that every person around me was experiencing freedom from the cultural chains that normally hold them back from following Jesus wholeheartedly. These people came from every corner of the country and I knew they would go back to their homes with a fresh empowering of the Holy Spirit to co-labor with Christ in breaking the chains that kept Norwegian Christians subdued. 

What Holds You Back?

The questions I continually ask myself, and I believe every Christian should be asking themselves is: What cultural chains hold me back from following Jesus wholeheartedly? What unbiblical ideas do I hold on to that, consequently, keep me from giving my all to Jesus? Which good life am I after? Is it the good life that Jesus has offered? Or is it the American Dream good life? We are the temple of God and we are God’s people. When we humble ourselves, pray, and seek His face, He commands forgiveness and restoration. Let’s ask God, collectively, to ‘create in us a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within us!’ 

Myanmar

Please pray for my family and me for strength, courage, and boldness. I leave for Myanmar on the 21st of this month. I will be helping with an evangelistic outreach in the area of Kalemyo. We will also be running training for local pastors, evangelists, and worship leaders. I will be partnering with leading 3 days of training of biblical worship. Also in practical application for their local context. Pray that hearts and minds will be ready to receive the training. Pray that the cross of Christ would be plainly understood and that a demonstration of the Spirit’s power will take place. Pray, most importantly, that the gospel message will fall on good soil. We are believing that we will be able to help shape the constitution of Myanmar as the leaders see the impact of Jesus and the word of God in their country! This is just the beginning of a concerted effort towards Myanmar while we have a wide open door to the country.

Thank You

I’m truly grateful for all the ways that you stand with us as team members and co-workers in Christ. None of the breakthroughs we are experiencing would happen without the collective effort of the body of Christ. I believe that our partnering is making advances in the Kingdom…even more than we could ask or imagine. Our God is just that good. 

P.S.- Be on the lookout for an email next Wednesday with the subject “Exciting New News!” We have something news and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you all!!

May the Lamb who was slain receive the full reward of His suffering!! 

Peace be with you,Chris, Lizzi, Malakai, Laila, and RhemaPPS: As noted above. Please save the date on June 9th @ 6:30! We would love to share dessert with you that evening, to connect in person, hear what God has been up to in your life, and tell God stories! (Location in Southern California TBD)

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM