Pure Christianity

Thoughts on Salvation and Giving

Salvation is giving on both parts. 

Have you guys noticed what idea is being portrayed in churches? That salvation is a free gift, and that we don't have to do anything but accept it? Where do we get this concept? Jesus gave His life so we could have eternal life. He died in our place. And when we accept His gift..we are His. But we have to trade our lives. He gives us His life, but we can't just say, okay, I'm cool with that, free ticket into heaven whoo! No. We have to give Him ours right back. It's a trade. We literally become His slaves because we are no longer a slave to sin. And if we're free from Sin..then that must mean we're a slave to God.

Now of course, this sounds really unappealing to the world who is blinded by Satan's lie of what's theirs. Like a little kid...NO, it's Mine! But the thing is..Jesus says take up your cross and die to yourself..every moment of every day. As Christians, we have no rights..because our lives don't belong to us, but our Master, God.

Christianity has become a religion. Let's be followers of Christ. Let's make it a relationship..not a contract. He says in those days we will no longer call Him our Master but my Husband. He rules over us but with love and He wants the best for us. Let's commit everything we have to God, our lives, money, possessions...because as Christians we should be doing that anyway. And when God asks us to give..we can do it willingly and happily, because we already trust Him with everything. So yeah, that's a challenge.

Let's Serve God without reservation and Give.

Rachel

How Much Is Too Much?

I used to attend a church in Texas. It is run by a man that I respect. I respect him, but often times, o.k. most of the time, . find myself on the other side of whatever topic is being discussed.

I was thinking of him lately because he used to say, haven't been to that church in some years so not sure if he still says it or not, anyway he had a phrase that went something like this; "Souls for the buck."

He would measure a mission project's success on how many souls they won compared to how much money the mission cost. So the more money spent the more souls he expected to be lined up in heaven in his corner. (Alright so he most likely is not thinking about stacking up people's souls in his Heavenly corner, but it certainly comes across that way.)

I sometimes will spend huge amounts of money on one person. Recently we paid a hospital bill for someone amounting to around 37,000 Kenyan shillings. I know that in the American context that is not a high hospital bill (should be around $578,) but in our Kenyan context that is a lot of money. One person, 37,000.

I could have fed a lot of people with that money. I could have paid the rent on a lot of houses with that money. I learned something a while back, God does not care about money. He does not need any, and he would spend millions on one person. So why should I be any different? (Come on he paves his streets with gold, not because there is so much but instead because it is so insignificant.)

How much is too much? I think the answer is; there is never a time when we can surpass someone's value as a human being.

I pour money, food, clothes, medicines, and love into people that I know will die. Some of them will die sooner than later. How much is too much? There is no answer. If I have to give my life for them, it is still not too much.

Sounds radical, but I think it is high time we started becoming radical. Radical in our deeds, not our beliefs.

 

Johnny Brooks

Missionary to Nakuru, Kenya. Co-founder of A Future and a Hope, a home for girls.

Stay With and In Him

“ By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar

of fire….” Exodus 13:21

Sometimes we get anxious about our futures. What job, where and if to move, what ministry, what church…the list

goes on and on. Our older children wonder who is the “one” God has for them and what is their special calling. We all

have desires and dreams in our heart about our lives and our children’s lives. Some are our own ideas, and some are put

there by God. All of them must be surrendered to His will; sometimes, on a regular basis. It has been my experience

that rather than a direct answer from God about such questions, more often than not he will lead you by His Spirit, His

presence, represented by the cloud and the fire. He will open and shut doors, arrange circumstances, bring agreement

and peace out of confusion. He is training us to TRUST HIM. The Israelites didn’t know three months or even three

days ahead of time when they would be moving. We are not guaranteed that either. God moved - they packed up and

followed. They did not take the most direct route either. What should have been a few weeks journey ended up 40

years. He had to refine them. He had to allow the old generation to die out. It’s the same with us. Our old flesh nature

has to die-God has vowed that it cannot see Him or enter the Promised Land. So how long we stay in the desert is

largely up to us. The key is remaining in His presence and following His lead (submitting willingly) moment by

moment in all the little small things. That is where we are being prepared for the next phase of our lives. Remaining in

Him means obeying Him-and this is His command- that we love one another.( according to what Jesus said in John

15.) The kind of love that sacrifices what we want for the good and blessing of others- IN EVERYTHING. Now that

is much easier said than done, especially in the moment of conflict. Let’s face it our old flesh nature doesn’t want to

remain dead and crucified with/ in Christ. Each time we submit and obey Him, we are following that pillar a little

closer to the Jordan. Eventually He will lead us there as we stay in the center of His will on a daily and even moment

by moment basis. I always have to remind myself of this when I start to wonder and feel anxious about where we are

going. I need only to remember and do one thing-stay with and In Him.

In Him,
Heather

Mike

I have posted once or twice about Mike in the past, sorry don't have the links handy right now. He is a 10 year old H.I.V. positive boy, and a friend of ours. He is sick and in the hospital right now.

I don't have all the details, but will learn more today hopefully. I wanted to post it here so you can pray for Mike and his mom, Ann.

 

Johnny

Proverbs 19:17

One of my favorite Proverbs is found in Proverbs 19:17 and goes like this in the NIV (not a huge fan of the NIV, but it was handy:)

He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.

I take comfort in that kind of statement. Much of what we do is directed at the poor. I have invested in many small businesses, farms, and households with no hope (or desire) for a return on my investment from them. My purpose was simply to provide assistance, and show the love of Christ by not demanding a repayment.

Another version I have read says something like; He who lends to the poor, God will repay the debt. I know that is not exact, but cannot remember it exactly right now.

Not that I am trying to promote a "prosperity" message here, but it is good to know that by helping someone who is down at the moment, will bring a reward or blessing from Heaven. It gives you a bit more reassurance that those sacrificial gifts will not bankrupt you, at least it helps me.

There are times, like right now, when our budget is stretched thin everywhere, and my heart starts to tremble. I wonder should I have really paid that hospital bill? I start to avoid people with serious issues, because I think there is no way I can help them. I try to come up with excuses for not going to the office, where I know I will see people with needs. (Like right now I am supposed to be in the office but I am sitting at home. Don't worry I will be heading to the office shortly, I just forgot to type this yesterday.)

I apologize if this honesty is scary, but the truth is Kate and I are not super hero Christians. We, just like you and everyone else, struggle with our faith from time to time. Which is why I appreciate phrases like the one above from Proverbs. It brings me comfort. There is another one that really blesses me found in Matthew 19:29 (again from the NIV, because it is handy:"

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

There are more, but I am sure you grow tired of reading this. In fact, kudos for making it to the end (unless you skipped the middle part, then kudos for being efficient.)

 

Johnny Brooks

Missionary to Nakuru, Kenya. Co-founder of A Future and a Hope, a home for girls.

Next "Move" of God

Most of the time when I think of prophecy I am thinking of a speech. You know someone, who is working under the inspiration or guidance of the Holy Spirit, uses words to give you a message from God. The Bible is full of such examples, and in my own life I have seen it happen time after time. God uses someone, even myself sometimes (I know hard to believe God would speak through a vessel such as me,) to speak on his behalf.

However there are other ways that God speaks.

I have waited most all my life for a "move of God." Some of you will not understand that phrase, but those of us from the Charismatic/Pentecostal world will know the phrase. We have been taught to wait for the time when God will be moving in the Earth. Prophets would stand up and say "God is doing a new thing." Somehow I learned that these things happen in religious meetings and will be centered around hours of prayer. Nothing wrong with hours of prayer, but I believe that what God is doing now is something different.

The Bride of Christ, the church, has been incased in a shroud of religion since the third century. We have cared more for ceremony, ritual, and tradition than the Kingdom of God. The church is more interested in your attendance on Sunday morning then in the state of your heart. So what is God doing now? Well I believe he is calling the church to return to her first love.

We need to start living our faith. Faith in Jesus should be more than a Sunday morning event. When Jesus called the disciples they immediately left what they were doing to follow him. Each one of us will have to figure that out for ourselves. When Jesus called me I had to leave my religion. I had to leave my expectations, ideals, and experiences behind. This is the next "move" of God. (I use that term simply because it is what I am familiar with. Actually I believe that this has been the move of God since the beginning, and all others are suspect.)

What does this have to do with God speaking? There is a prophet in the Bible named Hosea. God wanted him to prophesy, but he wanted him to prophesy by example. He was to do something that would embody the message of God.

So I believe today that God wants us to return to caring for our neighbors. I believe he wants us to stop ignoring the poor, and blaming them for all their problems. He wants us to care for the sick. He wants us to abandon our religion and live our faith.

I feel that what we are doing here in Kenya is an example of what God wants to do. Now don't misunderstand me here. I am not saying that what we are doing is perfect, just I feel that we are on the right path. I want as many people as can to begin following Jesus and to be a part of what he is doing in the Earth today, because following Jesus is a much better alternative than following ourselves.

Our team here in East Africa is the prophecy.

 

Johnny Brooks

Missionary to Nakuru, Kenya. Co-founder of A Future and a Hope, a home for girls.

Our little secret... where your donations go.

It's 2 am and this article has been rolling around in my mind for a few days. Now that I'm up typing it, I don't know how to begin.

For many of you who read our blogs regularly, you know that we, the Brooks family, help orphans and occasionally we reach out to those in need in our community. Well, it's not true. Not entirely.

You see, Johnny and I along with our kids, we live with orphans, yes, but that is not our ministry. We focus on it quite a bit in our Internet presence, but the secret is, we don't just help 'the least of these' from time to time. Our real ministry, if I may use that term, IS helping 'the least of these.' We live with orphans, that's our lifestyle, and we want to open more homes in the future, but our day to day job is actually helping people outside the home.

I know many of you have heard a few of the stories of people we've aided, but what you may not realize is that we are afraid of overwhelming our readers. Every story you have read, is just one in over 637 people we've seen in our office, opened a case file for them, and aided just in the last 6 months.

I didn't want this article to come out as if we are bragging or posting numbers, but Johnny and I have been wondering HOW to raise money to help these people. Most people who donate are giving to A Future and a Hope, but I thought you might be interested to know that in the last 6 months, we've given away in the form of aid over $17,000 USD OUTSIDE our home. That is 40% of all of our donations received. The other 60% goes to our orphan project. I.e. paying school fees for the orphans, feeding them, etc.. Let me say this:  If you give us money, we will spend it. We cannot turn away people who have needs when we have the funds to aid them. There. I said it.

Two days a week, Johnny and James meet people in the office. Usually 30 or more people flood in asking for assistance. Some need emergency surgeries. Others just need enough money to get to the hospital for testing, and some are being held prisoner in the hospital until their fee is paid. Others need glasses or help starting a business. Some need help with school fees. They fill out a form with their requests. Meanwhile, Ben is 'out in the field' doing leg work. Since we don't give out cash to cases, either Ben or Johnny must personally take care of whatever needs there are.

Then the other three days of the week (usually more), Johnny, James, Ben and sometimes Ali visit people and/or go to the office and look over all of the case files trying to prioritize the needs. Then they go out like Santa bearing gifts of food to the hungry or clothes to the naked. Or they take the ill to the hospital, or release the well from the hospital by paying their fee, etc... It is an AWESOME job!

Yep. That's what we do. We don't have an orphanage, really, we just live with orphans. What we really do is help 'the least of these.'

 

Have you ever seen a child get excited over a bag of flour? This picture is of some very grateful kids. They are holding two buckets of 'goodies' you bought them. Thanks for making it possible!

 

  Kate Brooks

Missionary to Kenya, East Africa

Co-founder of A Future and a Hope

ANOTHER "WORD" ON PROPHECY

On my birthday last week, my wife, Heather, gave as a gift some free time to me.  I took advantage of that time catching up on some homework and visiting a couple of places I'd been wanting to see.

At the end of that wonderful time, at about 10:30pm, I drove up to the top of a nearby mountain in order to spend some time with the Lord in prayer.  I don't know about you but it's easier for me to sense God alone, among nature, and in seclusion.

The moon was high and full in the sky, bathing the scenery around me in a blue tint of light.  The sound of distant crickets could be heard.  Way below, the lights of the city lay stretched out in a twinkling canvas of gold, whites, greens and reds.  A large oak tree loomed a stones throw away and overhead.  The night breeze rustling the leaves in a continual cycle of ebb and flow both stirred and calmed my soul both at once.

As I sat there listening and waiting for the Lord I remembered my son asking me earlier that day "Dad, how come God won't speak directly to me with His voice?"  So there on the mountain I asked Him "Lord, why don't You ever speak audibly to me like in the days of old?  People would likely think I'm crazy but what would it hurt, really?  What if You spoke to us sometimes as men and women speak to each other?"

Sitting there, hoping a little that maybe, just maybe He'd actually do it tonight, what I felt I heard the Lord say back could be expressed in this way:

  How lovely is the sound of the breeze as it moves through the leaves of the oak.

  How lovely is the sound of the breeze as it whistles through the pine trees.

  How lovely is the sound of ocean waves crashing against the rocks of a distant cliff.

  How lovely is the sound of a waterfall cascading into plumes of foam and spray.

  How lovely is the sound of a brook as it babbles it's way over the pebbles of a stream.

One thing is required to bring these sounds of comfort, healing, and strength.  Resistance.  The wind must cause things to move against each other.  The water must fall upon, collide with, and rush across.  It's not truly the wind we hear.  It's not really the water we hear.  It's the water or the wind against that source that brings this response.

After reading Johnny's post on prophecy I think this post really goes along with what he said.

God is speaking everywhere.  Through people.  Through circumstances.  Through the breath of His Message on the pages of His book.  And in your own spirit you can feel his breath blow.  Can you hear Him?  He is speaking...

James Matthews

Listening

Let's continue with the listening to God topic, James has a great post on this subject that I will put up soon. Since God is not a man it stands to reason that God does not speak like a man would speak. (Man=Human)

So it is necessary to learn to listen. I remember the early days of my marriage to Kate, and to be honest I was a terrible listener. I had no clue how to catch and interpret the little hints she would leave for me, o.k. I still have little ability to understand. However I have learned and made the necessary adjustments.

The same thing applies with our Creator. When He speaks to us he leaves the message in, sometimes, the most unlikely of places. I hesitate to share some of the ways he speaks to me, not only because sometimes they are strange, but I think each and everyone of us needs to develop that ability for ourselves. So I don't want you to take how God deals with me as a prescription for how he should deal with you.

Of course some of you have been speaking with God for many years, you just didn't know. Maybe it is time you acknowledged him?

Sorry if this seems like rambling or disjointed thoughts, but I am still trying to put some of the thoughts I have been having on this subject together. I recently came to understand the core of our ministry better, but I struggle with how to share it. So you have to wait a little while longer.

 

Johnny Brooks

Hello and Goodbye

Shola, a recent addition to our team, went into the hospital this past Saturday to give birth to her first child. We discussed it a month or so beforehand, and she explained to me how she wanted to have a natural birth if at all possible. There had been two other failed pregnancies before, one of which was a still birth by caesarean.

So I hoped for the best with her. Alas it was not to be. She was unable to give birth naturally and Saturday night she was operated on, and gave birth to a baby girl. This was the fulfillment of many years of desire for Shola and her husband. They wanted a child with all their hearts, and complications in their lives had so far prevented them from reaching parenthood.

Unfortunately those circumstances did not give up so easily, and the girl died fourteen hours later. I do not know what happened, the hospital staff will only say that the child developed a nose bleed that would not stop. No matter what the medical term may be the baby is no longer with us.

My heart breaks for Shola, because I know how important this was to her. When I visited her in the hospital yesterday she was shaking and not really able to communicate well. It is in those moments where I pray fervently for the right words to say. I think I pray because I know deep down in my heart there are no right words to say. I do hope she finds her way out of the grief and back to us.

You know I thought my part was to pay the hospital bill, Shola and her husband are unable to pay so I offered to help (this is something we try to do for the poor when possible,) but seems that God brought us together for much more then bills.

Shola needs support now and we shall give it to her.