Category Archives: Uncategorized

How can Jesus shine through you? Part 3 Generosity

Kindness was the topic of last week and of course I will ask you how it encouraged and challenged you to grow in that area. I feel like there is always room to grow when we compare ourselves to Jesus and the Father in the prodigal son story!

How can Jesus shine through you Part 3 GenerosityWhen we see the father of the prodigal son again we see generosity. First of all he gives the son an inheritance he does not deserve. Then when the son comes back he gives him an expensive robe and a ring and he throws a big party for him. That is again generosity undeserved. We see the same in the life of Jesus. He is generous with his gifts. If it was in healing people, or by bringing new hope through an uplifting word he was always generous. Or remember the story of how he feed the huge crowds with fish and bread, that is also pretty generous. He also was generous with his time by investing in people one and one. And then with giving his life he showed the greatest generosity of all to give all of us the opportunity for undeserved eternal life. Its amazing the generosity he showed.

So how can each one of us do that every day.  First of all we need to understand that generosity is not just when it comes to our wallet. Its in every part of our life time etc.  So we could start by being generous with our time by helping someone across the street when they need it. Maybe help someone to get the groceries in the car at the store. Buy a coworker lunch or just bring an extra lunch to share with someone. Be a listening ear to someone who lost someone. Maybe give an extra tip to the waiter or buy someone a coffee in the line behind you. Give towards a worthy cause in your community and be the first one who helps someone if they need help. These are just a few examples of how to do it, but you just have to apply it to your situation! So 1.2.3 and GO!!!

 Hey our friend

How was your week? We are back! Our time in Jamaica went well! Many people got encouraged and empowered. When we got back we had a bay area ywam meeting with the leaders of all the other bay area ministries. It was really encouraging but also a bit sad since 2 of our really good friends are leaving. Pray for them in the transition process while they get ready for further oversee missions in the future. All our normal events went well too. It’s a blessing to see everyone again.

So don’t forget 1.2.3. Generosity!!!!

God bless you

Markus and Jen

How can Jesus shine through you? Part 2 Kindness

Last week we talked about Patience and how its so important for others to see in our life. How did it go? Did you feel an improvement and did you have the opportunity to be more patient?

How can Jesus shine through you Part 2 KindnessToday we want to write about Kindness. What always struck me about the Father in the Prodigal son story is his kindness. He showed kindness after the son asked for his inheritance early. That was a very dishonoring thing in that time, because it was pretty much saying you are dead to me. But the father didn’t respond with hate or anything, no he showed kindness. He did not agree with the decision the son made, but again he showed kindness. It even shows till the end when the son comes home. The Father never says anything about his bad decision; no he runs towards him, wraps his arms around him and puts an expensive coat on him and the family ring on the finger to establish him back. After all the son did, the father never gave what was deserved, no he always gave kindness.  During the life of Jesus we see the same thing. He always showed kindness to people that nobody would treat kindly, think about the lepers. These were people that were rejected by society; the only way they could make a living was through begging. But Jesus doesn’t walk away or ignore them; no he shows kindness and brings healing. Or think about the children that came to Jesus. Children didn’t have a very important position in society and were more seen as an annoyance. But Jesus said let them come to me! He extended Kindness.

So now it comes back to us. Since we represent Jesus in this world, how would that look for us? It might be showing kindness by visiting elderly homes or hospitals. Maybe it could be showing kindness to people in our community that need a helping hand. Or it might be extended kindness to the cashier at the supermarket that might not be fast enough. It can look many ways but when we do it it will change people and the world along with it! And again remember kindness is not based on how the other person deserves it. So lets work on our kindness!!

Hey our friend

How was your week. We are still in Jamaica teaching but we are coming back on Tuesday. Please keep us in your Prayers that God will use our words so people feel inspired and more hopeful through the teachings. Please pray for our transition back which will be a bit of a culture shock.

Remember to keep working on your kindness towards others!

God bless you

Markus and Jen

A word of Revelation for 2018

…To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Revelation 21.6 (NIV)

a word of revelation for 2018Do you remember that feeling: You get an email for a free product and you get excited about it. But then you start reading the fine print and the free product ends up being not so free anymore and the initial excitement is gone.

But in the verse for the year 2018 God gives us a total free promise. He promises us water from the spring of life. It’s the water Jesus talked about to the lady at the well. The water that when you drink it will never let you go thirsty again. So that is actually a great free offer! Also the thing with His promises is that He keeps them!

So when you go into this new year take Him up on His offer. Let him fill you with living water which comes along with all the good things Father God has! Let 2018 be the year where we always run to the right well for water, the one that will always sustain us.

 Hey our friend

20171226_133638First of all Happy New Year!! We hope you had a wonderful celebration with friends and family!! The San Francisco firework and our celebration was really fun! We are excited for this new year and the things God will do! Its every year exciting to see what happens. Be excited for the year and the things you can experience together with Father God!

May God bless you richly!!

Markus and Jen

Merry Christmas

Hi friend

christmas email

These days with all the negativity out there, it’s hard to stay optimistic about the state of our world.  We may feel overwhelmed or helpless with what we can or can’t do to make a difference.

What about if we became “hyper local” and focused on serving the community where we live?  What if we took Jesus’ command seriously and began to love our actual neighbors?

We hope the video at the end will encourage you this year that through small acts of kindness you have what it takes to change the world!

God bless you

Your Friends,

Markus and Jen

Love your Neighbor Perseverance and Reconciliation

So what were you thankful for and how does it and is showing in your life?

Love your neighbor Perseverance and ReconciliationOne of the main things in loving and investing in neighbors and our communities is perseverance. It always reminds me of Jesus and how he invested in His disciples over and over again. He never gave up on them and always persevered. But even in his own life he never quit even till the cross he was perseverant to finish well.

When we build true relationships we have good and bad days. Especially in the hard days we need perseverance to keep being committed to each other. When you work through hard things together you will grow closer together. I remember situations where we had hard days with people, but instead of walking out of the relationship we choose to work on it. And the thing that happened was that we got closer and had a deeper relationship with each other.

I am sure that you or somebody you know had a bad experience with a neighbor. You had the choice of shutting off the relationship or fix it. Maybe you still have that separation going on right now and you choose not to persevere. So we want to challenge you in this pre-Christmas season to persevere and do your part to fix it. So make this week’s goal to take the first steps by just doing something nice for that person. Maybe bring over some fresh baked cookies or something else. Start walking into this season with a heart of perseverance and reconciliation since Christmas is the time when Jesus came into the world to reconcile us with the father. Let’s persevere so we get to see how it changes our life, relationships and neighborhoods.

Hey our friend

Thanksgiving is over and we hope you made it back out of the food coma! We had a wonderful celebration for thanksgiving which we cohosted with a neighbor. It was a lot of fun! It showed how our area grows closer together which is amazing! We hope that you also had a great Thanksgiving celebration. Jen and I had a few days off after thanksgiving which was fun. For the next few weeks it will be busier with Christmas coming up so it felt good just to slow down for a little bit.

So remember this week to persevere and reconcile with a neighbor!

Have a blessed week and be a blessing!

Markus and Jen