Generosity of the Saints

June 24, 2009
One of the things I wrestled with prior to embarking on itinerant ministry was the reality of flushing away a viable business in which i had worked for over 27 years. Although God had blessed me with some personal savings, I did not have the funds to retire. It took a long season of wrestling with the issue of God's provision to trust that He would provide for my needs. Friday, June 19th, I hung up my heat gun. Sunday the Lord overwhelmed me with tangible demonstrations of his love for me through the saints. The small house church that sent me out, aided by brethren from our equally small west coast sister church, gave me a princely sum. None of these people have great wealth. I write this as testimony of their voluntary obedience (I didn't ask for the funds nor do I feel led to do so in the future) As Paul writes in 2 Cor. 9:12, "For the ministry of this service is not onlymeeting the needs of the saints but is overflowing in many thanksgivings to God." I am extremely blessed to have the opportunity to share this testimony as i begin my travels.

Our Lord Jesus also blessed me with a phone call from our brother Ross, who with his wife Trina, has also received a calling to itinerant ministry. We shared for over an hour and discovered that God had spoken virtually identical things to both of us. We talked about the possibility of "cross-pollinating", ministering to one another's contacts to give a double dose of encouragement. Jesus had previously given me a vision of a number of saints with different gifts and ministries (1 Cor. 12:11) traveling between the different ekklesias to encourage the saints. I'm excited about the future.