Dear Friends,
Over the past few weeks, I have been greatly challenged by the following passage from Peter’s first epistle:
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. (1Peter 3:8-11)
At Life Connections, our principle calling is to promote unity within the Body of Christ, but seeds of unity cannot be sown in an atmosphere where evil is repaid with evil or insult with insult. Unity naturally flows from harmonious, compassionate relationships in which brothers and sisters deal with one another in love and humility. How easy is it for us to retaliate when mistreated by others? But imagine for a moment if we (the Church) actually lived life as these verses suggest. Instead of repaying evil with evil, what if we blessed those who injured us? Instead of insult, what if we responded with compassion, sympathy and love?
At Life Connections, it is our desire to be a blessing to the nations. That is our mission . . . our calling. But as we walk out that calling, we will undoubtedly experience difficult times. Circumstances will rise up and challenge us. We might even be insulted or repaid with evil. And if that be the case, how will we respond?
As you walk out your faith on a daily basis, I want to encourage you to be a blessing. to all those who God places in your path . . . no matter how they might treat you in return. This is our challenge as believers . . . not to respond as the world would respond, but to respond with love and humility.
And as we walk out our calling at Life Connections, I want to thank you for your partnership, for your support and prayers. Together we can demonstrate God’s love to a world in desperate need. Together we can demonstrate the unity and harmony for which so many hunger. And together, we can bring life to the nations.
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We’ve been rather busy over the last few months. Here’s a brief summary of recent activity:
Mexico
In March, we took 38 people to Tijuana for a weekend to work at a local orphanage. We installed new tile in the bathrooms, rebuilt a fence (which meant lots of digging!), entertained the children with arts and crafts, and blessed everyone with a big BBQ lunch. Many of our team members enjoyed memorable experiences, including Kristin who related the following:
Prayer Also Moves Houses
During this trip to Tijuana, I just wanted to prayer walk. That was my only request. I had done some prayer walking on previous mission trips, but God was about to knock my socks off. God rounded up a team of three and we went out from the orphanage to walk the neighborhood and pray however he led us. Greg noticed that one of the houses was so dilapidated and he was moved to pray for the family that lived there. As we began, we noticed the man of the house was motioning for us to come closer and invited us in. The inside of the house was dirt floors and brick walls, with a corrugated tin roof that was half-collapsed. God used Jennifer to bridge the language gap and we found out that the family was actually moving that day into this house from another house close-by. Apparently, they found this house to be an upgrade! We invited them to come down for lunch at the orphanage and when they didn’t show up, a few more of us went back to take the food to them. Very long story short: It was only the wife and her sister attempting to move the house that afternoon. Within 90 minutes, a team of eight of us (plus, the mom and sister) ended up moving the entire house, gas stove with gas tank still attached and mice escaping as the guys carried it down the pot-holed street! God had plans to bless that family through the hands and muscles he created. As we prayed with the family before we left, all I know is I was ministered to by the Lord. His care for his children, no matter our situation, will always be far above our expectation. He meets us where we are at, brings others along to help complete the work and puts us in upgraded circumstances. Praise him for his infinite grace! –Kristin Sherk
Pray for LA 5K
When it first became clear that we were to facilitate a 5K run as a means to awaken the church of Los Angeles to pray, we were a little overwhelmed. None of us at Life Connections had ever done anything like this before, and to be honest, we were more than just a little intimidated by the task before us. But as we prayed, two things became clear. First, God wanted this event to take place. This was evident throughout the planning stages of the event as He answered one prayer after another, sometimes before we even had time to ask. And the second thing that became clear is that this event was not about attracting numbers of people. Without question, we wanted to see a large turnout, but He had other things in mind. You see, this wasn’t an event. It was a call . . . and probably one of many. The church of this city is being called into action. We are being called to pray. And from that perspective, we must look past the numbers.
With slightly under one hundred and fifty people participated in the run, we had representatives from all areas of the city! Prayer warriors came from South Central. Both the Valley and the Westside were well represented. And there were folks from the San Gabriel Valley, too.
The entire morning was filled with prayer and worship as individuals and small groups placed their requests before our Father. From beginning to end, a wonderful atmosphere of peace surrounded the event and engulfed all who participated. Not one person was injured. The entire event went off without a hitch. Praise God!
Pastor Prayer Summit
On May 8th and 9th, LCI was privileged to facilitate our second prayer retreat for pastors serving on the Westside of Los Angeles at the beautiful Serra Retreat Center in Malibu. Eleven pastors participated (as compared to six on the previous occasion), representing seven different churches. The central theme was drawn from 2Kings 3:16 (“Make this valley full of trenches”), and all present sensed that for renewal to come, we must first begin working together in unity. Just how this plays out in our respective ministries remains to be seen! All those who participated committed themselves to remain open to the Spirit’s lead on the matter. A third Summit is planned for early October. There is no doubt that the subject of unity will again be the central theme. As we look to the future, it is our hope that Life Connections can be used in many other communities to bring pastors and ministry leaders of different denominations and backgrounds together for the simple purpose of supporting one another in prayer.