Category Archives: Uncategorized

Rock or sand foundation buildings

Rock or sand foundationRecently I was reading a book which quoted a parable Jesus gave, the one with the wise man who build his house on the rock and the man who build it on sand (Matthew 7.24-27). One thing that really spoke to me was the fact that the storm came to both houses. But the one house stood through the storm the other didn’t.

In 1989 San Francisco had a pretty strong earthquake. One neighborhood in specific is built on landfill and because of that doesn’t have a very solid foundation. When the earthquake hit, all areas of the city felt the shake but the area build on landfill felt it the worst. Part of the freeway collapsed as well as many houses got destroyed.

When you read the parable in Matthew it is really clear that the storm hits both houses pretty hard. We as Christians will face hard times, the bible makes that clear many times. But it also talks about that God is with us in those. So we need to do a checkup and see where our foundation is built on. In which areas do we still have to grow in our trust in Him and in which ones are we more secure? When hard times come we can often see the cracks in our foundation and what things we have to work on. Spend time this week to ask God to show you the areas you have to work with Him on. He is faithful and will show you. We all need a strong foundation in Him because He will never fail us and at the end of the day we all want to be the house that is standing.

Hey our friend

Last week we celebrated the 70th birthday of my Dad with a whole family vacation. It was a great time. For the next few weeks we will be in Germany so you will not get many updates from San Francisco, but please keep praying for our city. Thank you so  much!!

Don’t forget to check your foundation!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

What you do MATTERS!

 “I believe that God made me for a purpose. But he also made me fast. When I run I feel his pleasure.” Eric Liddle

what you do mattersLast week we wrote about the movie Chariots of fire and I want to elaborate a little bit more on that. Again it was 2 runners that both ran in the Olympics. Eric was born to parents who were missionaries, but he felt God gave him this gift of running. So he decided to run for Gods Glory. He decided that the area in which he was really good at he would be able to bring the Gospel in a new way by living it right there. He used that gift that God gave him in a nontraditional ministry setting. But reality is we should never separate sacred and secular.

A job as a missionary or a Pastor is not more sacred then working in business or in any other job. When we separate the two we make one job more valuable than the other and with that one person becomes the one to look up to and the other the one to look down on. But reality is that each job done for the Glory of God is valuable. Do you think Paul was less valuable as a man of God when he made tents then when he preached? He was as valuable because he was doing things for the Kingdom of God. He was providing places for people to be save from the weather. And I am sure he was able to share with many tent makers about his faith while making the tent. He would have not been able to share with them if he would have not made tents and use the gift God gave Him in this area.

And that is also a reality for any job. God has given you gifts, use them. He gave it to you to bring His Kingdom into this world (on earth as it is in Heaven). It does not matter where you work but it matters why you do it. A Sports man, a movie maker, a CEO, a Cleaner, an Artist, a worker at Mc Donalds and so on, who is using his gifting to bring Glory to God has the same importance as the Pastor who preaches to his church or a missionary who reaches a tribe in Brazil. The importance is to live our faith in whatever place God placed us.

I want to encourage you today that what you do for the Kingdom in your workplace is as important and valuable as the work people do in more traditional ministry jobs.

Ask Him this week to show you how important it is what you do!
Ask Him to show you how to use the gifting’s he gave you in an even more powerful way in your workplace!

Hey our friend

We hope you had an amazing week!! We wrapped up everything last week before we head out to Europe surprising my Dad for his 70th birthday. Please pray for all the things in north beach while we are gone. Pray for Bethany who will be running everything while we are gone. Also pray for a good start for Josia a relative of mine who will help out for the rest of the summer! Thank you for all your prayers!!

Remember that you are significant and what you do makes a difference in this world!!

Have a great week!
Markus and Jen

Why do you do what you do?

why do you doRecently Jen and I watched the movie Chariots of Fire. It is a true story about 2 runners that both won in the Olympics in 1924. But the reason why they ran was totally different. One ran for proving to himself that he is worthy. The other ran to bring Glory to God and win for His name. It was inspiring to see how it played out for both. One was totally joyful in what he does and the other was totally just focused on the success.

This is a good picture for all of us. Are we getting our value out of what we do or do we do it to bring Glory to God? It was amazing to see the amount of people this Christian runner impacted just by the fact that he did what he was really good in and also by living the principles he believed in. But he did all of it because he loved god. Whatever you do in life make sure your focus is right. We can do good things for the wrong reasons. Its important for all of us to ask ourselves the question why we do what we do. It doesn’t matter if you are working at a company, are a Pastor or any other job the question is important for each one of us! When we do it out of a love for God our attitude is different and it will show people more of the love of the father. So ask yourself the question Why do i do what i do???

Hey our friend

We had a wonderful Staff Retreat last week. It was a great time to spend time with the bigger YWAM Family of the Bay area. We felt encouraged by the things God is doing in all the different places and got refreshed by different Stories and Testimonies. We want to encourage you to connect with a few friends weekly to share about the good things that happened in your life and the things God is doing. It will really encourage you!

Pray this week for the upcoming election season. Pray for Gods peace and that relationships won’t be destroyed by different opinions.

Don’t forget to ask yourself why you do what you do!

Have a great week!
Markus and Jen

Consistency brings Change

consistency brings changeWe hope you enjoy this weeks’ video Blog!

Hey our friend

National Night outGod is good and that is true for every day of your life!! During the last week we had a big event in our neighborhood which was called National night out. It is a day to bring the community together with the purpose of crime prevention and to get to meet the local police. I enjoyed meeting people and seeing updates on things that are going on in North Beach. At the a friend of us and his church small group was able to pray for all the police officers. Please keep praying for our police in this challenging time!!
I wonder if all of us as Christians could do something similar to bring the community together  to build relationships? Lets keep pondering on that.

Thank you for all your prayers for our 81 year old friend who faces eviction. Last week many people gathered to show their support in the park!! Lets keep praying

Remember Little things done consistently brings change!!

Have a great week!
Markus and Jen

You can do it!!

yiu can do itRecently Jen and I watched the new Will Smith movie Concussion. The film was about head injuries of football players in the NBA and how a doctor fights for the truth. The doctor is a man from Nigeria and he worked hard to get all his degrees. His job now is to examine people who died. When he does that he finds out that football players that died often had the same kind of problem in there brain. He does research for which he pays from his own money and through the research he knows that he is right. The injuries came from a continuous hitting of their heads. Since the NFL is a huge organization they try to shut him down, but he did not give up because he wants to do what is right. He keeps fighting for the truth even if it meant for him to be sent back to Nigeria.

One thing that really spoke to me was the fact that he put everything on the line to do what’s right. He did not quit or back down till the truth came out. And when the truth came out he did not even look for a benefit for himself, he just wanted the truth and the right thing to be done.

It is a great parable for our lives as well. There will be days when we face things where we know what’s right, but it will cost us something to do the right thing. Many times in life it is easier to just choose the easy way, but this is not what Jesus called us to. He told us that it will be hard and that it will create challenges, but it is worthy in the end. So if you have opposition in your life, don’t quit. Keep moving forward. Let God guide you how and make a difference. We are called to make disciples and bring the good news to everyone we know, so lets do it and remember:

 YOU CAN DO IT!!

Hey our friend

Birthday Geburtstag 2016I hope your week was as good as mine! I (Markus) had a great birthday celebration last week. It was a so much fun we went hiking for 2 hours and then celebrated with 2 friends. Each one shared something special they saw in me. I felt so encouraged after this time. I want to encourage all of us to tell people around us what we love about them. You will see how it lifts them up.

Thank you for all your prayers for our 81 year old friend who faces eviction. As of this point there is nothing new to write so lets keep praying!!

Remember opposition is not bad, it will strengthen your muscle!!

Have a great week!
Markus and Jen