Forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.

The Verse above is one of the last things Jesus said while being on this earth. He puts a lot of value into forgiveness. Why? Here are 2 reasons: One for others and one for you. This week I want to look at the one for others.

Have you heard of Jim Elliot? The story of Jim Elliot and his wife is a story of the power of forgiveness. He went to bring the gospel to a tribe in Ecuador. While doing that he was killed by the tribe leaving behind his wife and child. Now the wife had 2 choices: Either she could live her life in hate and become bitter at the people who killed her husband or she could forgive. She choose the second, but not just that, she actually kept going with what her husband started bringing the gospel to that tribe. Out of that many people in the tribe became Christians. They saw the teachings of Jesus in action and saw the results and love it produced.

Now look at Jesus. He had all those people right in front of him that nailed him on the cross. They nailed him on the cross for speaking the truth and being innocent. But how does he react?  Right in that moment he chooses to forgive. He lives by what he preached. He lived his message. By forgiving others he gives them the opportunity to be free. He opens the door for them to turn around and change and come back into relationship. He releases judgement from his hands into the fathers hand. Also when Jesus shared on forgiveness he gave it as a command. If we don’t forgive God will not forgive us. Did he say that to guilt us into forgiveness? No he said it because he knows the power it has and how it can change us and others.

Ask yourself those questions:

1. Who are some of the people in your life you have to forgive (people who hurt you, bullies, false friends etc.)?
2. Bring them in Prayer before God and forgive them!
3. Ask God if there is anything you did in that situation that requires to ask for forgiveness? If you did go up to that person and ask them personally for forgiveness.

Hello friend

We hope you had wonderful Easter week. We celebrated with friends from our building. It was so special to celebrate this day together. We also went to a local mess in which we had the opportunity to meet more people from our community. Our times at the coffee shop were also fruitful with great conversations. It always reminds me of Jesus and the apostles and how they went to were the people were instead of waiting for the people to come to them.

We want to invite you to partner with God and us to bring community to people and through that Gods love in a way they never experienced it before. Right now we are in need of $1.300 more on a monthly base to cover all our cost. Pray about joining our team in this way! You can do it with any amount you would like. Find out more on how by clicking on this link. If you personally cant join us in this way could you share it with family and friends who might be interested in joining. Thank you for your help. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. You are a true blessing!

Don’t forget Forgiveness!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

This is a movie trailer to the movie they made about jim elliots life

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name Most High.

Psalm 9.1-2

When I was praying about what to write in this weeks blog, God pointed me to the first 2 verses of Psalm 9. These are some things that stuck out to me.

David talks about how he will tell of the marvelous things God has done. Despite the hard circumstances he wrote the Psalm in, he chooses to look at all the good God has done in his life and through writing the Psalm sharing it with many others. In a way he encourages us to remember and speak about the goodness of God to others even if we go through a hard time. He also encourages us to praise God and worship Him even if we don’t feel like it. Why would he say that? I think he says it because he knows that when we take our focus off our problems and praise the one that has all the solutions our perspective shifts. And we can see that in verse 2. He is talking about that he will be filled with joy because of God. Now remember his circumstance: He committed adultery and cause of that the son that was born out of that situation died. David just lost a child. Every person that I know that lost a child, said that it was the hardest thing they ever had to go through in their life. So you see it was not something easy that you could just forget.  But David knew to get out of this hard time, he had to look at Father God and remember that He is with him.

I want to encourage all of us this week to share some of the great things God has done in our lives with people around us. Share about hard seasons, in which He has walked you through. It will open the door for greater encouragement and also hope for the people you share with as well as bringing a greater level of hope to yourself. Every person on this planet is in need of a father who is with them!

Hey our friend

How was your week? We hope amazing. 2 of the highlights of our week was the game night at our house and Jens cousin coming for a visit. It was wonderful to see people come together and play games and just connect with each other. It was wonderful. When you create a space for community and invite people into it, it will happen. We see that at everything we are doing.

God is so amazing, this year our cost went up with increase in rent, health insurance and other living costs in San Francisco, but since the beginning of the year we have already seen a big increase in monthly support. Right now we are still in need of $1.300 to cover our total monthly cost. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. If you are not, but you would like to join our financial support team, find out more by clicking on this link. Thank you for considering us.

Share your God story with someone in your life.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

When you read the book of Matthew you notice how it starts off with mentioning the ancestry of Jesus. Why does the bible put such a value on the past? I believe for once it is to remember that we are a piece in a bigger picture, but second it is even more important to know our past when we walk into the future.

When I look at my wife and her history I can see why she has such a heart for missions. Growing up, her dad had a huge heart for missions. He was a big networker and helped to start mission trips into Jamaica. By doing that he helped local Pastors in Jamaica to start churches. Also while Jen was there a Pastor prophesied over her that she will be a missionary someday, which you can see is very true today J. He also started the concept of small groups in his church. In his time small groups didn’t exist. He also had a huge heart in bringing the gospel to people that left the Amish. He could do that because he understood where they came from since he was at one point Amish.

Now look at my family. Growing up I stayed with my grandparents a lot since both of my parents had to work to pay the bills. So I grew up seeing the love my grandparents had for God daily. But that love was not just hidden in there house, no it was showing daily when they connected with people. My grandpa was very involved in the church and helped to build a new building. When he was younger he was involved in youth ministry. I remember many years ago my car had some issues and my grandpa told me to go to a certain car shop in his town. When I mentioned my grandpa to the owner he was so excited and told me how my grandpa let his youth group many years ago and left a huge impact in his life. My grandpa always had a huge heart for people and always tried to encourage them and point them towards Jesus. He did it in practical ways by fixing stuff for them or just by having them over to his house for coffee or food.

Now forward to today. When you look at the ministry my wife and I are doing you can see in some way how God already started shaping it in the past. He put both of our heritages together and combined them to create something new to bring His love to people.

I want to challenge you with this to look into where you came from to get a better understanding and clarity on where you are going. Look at your families’ heritage. It will help you to understand yourself better. And if it was a bad history, it doesn’t mean you have to go the same direction. Look at different kings in the bible and how some of them were really bad but then there sons who became kings after them changed that and lived totally for god’s glory. Remember Jeremiah 29.11!!

Hey our friend

How was your week? We hope it was a good one. Jen and I were able to spend some time with friends. It was wonderful. We also were able to support friends from the neighborhood by going to their concert and let us tell you it was amazing!! When you do things like that you also show your friends how you appreciate them.

God is so amazing, this year our cost went up with increase in rent, health insurance and other living costs in San Francisco, but since the beginning of the year we have already seen a big increase in monthly support. Right now we are still in need of $1.300 to cover our total monthly cost. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. If you are not, but you would like to join our financial support team, find out more by clicking on this link. Thank you for considering us.

Remember this week to find out more about your family history!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Many times I read the story of the Lady at the well in John 4. I love how Jesus brought change to that lady. He did everything needed to get her attention and to help her find freedom.

The first thing he does he talks to her. Jesus broke the boundary of talking to a woman and then also a Samaritan one. Both of them were looked down on in that society Jesus lived in, a Jew would never talk to a Samaritan and especially if she was a woman. But Jesus didn’t care about culture, he cared about the person.
Second he talks to her about a solution, a way to freedom. He tells her about the living water He has that can set her free from a inner thirst for more. Jesus is first giving a solution before he addresses the problem.
Third he calls out her problem. Jesus talks to her about her husbands. From the beginning to the end of that conversation Jesus always showed love but also addressed the area in her life that has to be dealt with
Fourth He reveals himself. Jesus tells the lady that he is the Savior she is waiting for. That causes the lady to run back to the town, share her testimony about Jesus and cause through that an excitement in the town that the whole town came along. That day salvation started for many people in that region. And why? Because Jesus put value on one person that nobody valued.

So when we look at that story we see how Jesus brought people into the Kingdom. It was mainly through love and caring for someone in a powerful way. He didn’t judge, but shared the truth. He didn’t create fear, but instead gave a solution. He didn’t care about his status, instead he choose to love no matter what.

I want to encourage each one of us to share the good news about Jesus with people but to do it in a way that people can understand and also see that he is really the best thing that can happen to them!

Hey our friend

We hope you had a wonderful week. Jen and I both got better from a pretty bad cold we caught. We also had a meeting with all the bay area works. It was good to see everyone and hear what God has been doing in all the different places. Our DTS Students are doing well in North beach and have a wonderful time at the boys and girls club. Keep praying for them to be able to encourage many of the kids at the Club!

Lets ask God this week to open the door for us to share the good news with someone in our lives!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen