Tag Archives: Hope

What you do MATTERS!

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 “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?

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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

Run on His strength and help others to do that too

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I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Philippians 4.13

Run on his strengthWhen I read this verse I feel inspired. Paul a man who wrote half of the new testament, a man who pushed a mission movement forward that changed the world, a man who went through really hard seasons and persecution  and didn’t give up tells us how he was able to do it. It was not on his own strength, but it was in the strength of Christ that he was able to succeed. He never walked through life alone, but he put his trust in Jesus. How did he do it? He realized that if he trusts just in his own abilities he would never been able to fulfill the great things God has planned for his life.

After he had an encounter with Jesus on the Road to Damascus it flipped his life upside down. Many would say it was this moment that transformed his life and made him state that he can do all things through him. I think it was this moment, but more important all the moments that followed after when he felt the body of Christ around him encouraging him and helping him, the man who used to be there enemy. I think that is what made that encounter with Jesus even more real, when he saw how Jesus power helped people that he was out to kill, to help him and accept him as one of their own.

I believe that this is a key for believers and new believers to trust that they can do all things through Christ, when they had an encounter with Jesus and then see how Christ works through others and when they start to encourage them that they can do it too!

I want to challenge us today to really believe what Paul is saying: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! But not just believe it, but live with that knowledge and walk it out. And when we do that encourage others along the way with the things God did through us and how He can do things through them as well!

Hey our friend

Wow what a week here in San Francisco. We had  a wonderful brunch with neighbors. We also had a great time at our encouragement group. It’s a wonderful community that we started 2 years ago and which meets once a week and brings hope to the people that come. I’m amazed how much courage it brings to people that come. If you would like to know more on how the group works and how you can start one, email us!

Remember this week to run on his strength and not your own and help others to do that too.

Have a great week!
Markus and Jen

How to train your caring muscle

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How to train your caring muscleIn the city of San Francisco dogs outnumber children. I don’t know another place where people love their animals so much. Jen and I both really love animals but the level people love them here is above us. But how do you understand and care more for things that people around you care so much about. Immerse yourself into their culture. So recently Jen went to a class to volunteer at a local shelter in which the people shared passionately about the animals and why it is important that we care. When she came back she had a greater understanding and heart for people that love their pets so much. All it took for her was to get immersed into the things people care about here and to understand why they care about it.

The biggest dog we have ever seenWhen you do that it changes your heart towards people. From a value system based on what we think is important to a value system that values what is important to others. Of course with that also be wise, pray and don’t go against your biblical believes.

We want to challenge you to increase your caring muscle by looking at your community and see how you can care more about the things they care about!

  1. Find out what your community cares about
  2. Hear someone speak on that who is excited about it.
  3. Get a heart for it and connect through that with the people in your community

Hey our friend

We hope you had a fantastic week!! This week we had a lot of meetings. A board meeting at YWAM, a meeting about a prayer event for San Francisco and our usual Staff Meeting. As much as most of us are not excited about meetings, they are needed to get things done and also catch up on the process. You also get to know sometimes great people which otherwise you would have never met. I have to remind myself of that when I am in them. We also had a Visitor from Germany which was awesome!!

Start this week with training your caring muscle!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Catch me if you can or Redemption is possible

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Catch me if you can or Redemption is possibleLast weekend Jen and I watched the movie Catch me if you can. It is a true story about a man who was a con artist who was pretending to be a pilot, a doctor, a history professor and an attorney and while he did that he was making his own checks to steal millions. While he was running all those frauds an FBI Agent was making it his mission to bring him into custody but also started to have a heart for him. The interesting turn in the story happens after he is caught and in jail. The Agent talks to his Boss in the FBI to use the young man. So his boss decided to actually offer him parole if he helps them with Fraud cases which he does. Later on he starts his own security firm to help banks to make things safer. The Agent and the ex con were friends for the rest of their lives.

What I really liked about this story was the part of Redemption and how it came along. The agent could have been really bitter since he went through a lot of trouble cause of this guy, but he decides to use his help to bring change in the FBI. Out of that something changed and all the things the young man used for bad he actually turned around and started to use for the good.

I believe that this is the way God wants to work with us. He wants to turn our biggest failures into our biggest success. And he also wants to use each one of us to walk along others to get there in their own life. I believe each one of us can do that.

  1. Ask yourself the question what failures did I have in my life and then ask God how He wants to redeem them!
  2. Walk alongside another person that might be in the middle of a struggle in their life and help them by praying for them and walking alongside with them to also come to a place of redemption.

Hey our friend

I want to start this off with a prayer request to all of us! let’s pray today for the families and friends of the people that died in orlando. Pray for God’s peace and comfort over each one of them. Let us as a followers of Jesus bring hope to the ones that lost hope in this killing. Let us show the love of our Father which is greater then hate! Let us not bring our agendas, let’s just respond with love and care! Let His love shine through us!!

Also here is a short update on our week. We had a great brunch on Saturday and also a wonderful game night at our house on Friday. It’s always so wonderful to share our home with friends from our hill. Over the years we lived here we have seen a little community form which is really awesome. Start doing it at your house. It will enrich your life!

Be a person that brings Redemption from Father God!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen