"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:4-5
Victor is preparing for an Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade this coming week to the state of Oaxaca. The Lord has provided a pretty stable Mexican volunteer team for the crusades, but several of the key team members are facing incredible challenges this week and will be unable to attend the crusade:
As I was growing up, I knew that Satan was just as real as God. While God is all-powerful and has already conquered Satan through Jesus' death and resurrection, the Bible teaches us that Satan is the prince of this world and prowls around like a lion looking for somebody to devour. Spiritual warfare, spiritual battles are real. I have never been one to want to blame Satan for everything or see a demon on every street corner. Much of the evil around us comes from simply living in a fallen world; other tragedies come from our own bad decisions; but there are situations and circumstances in which Satan and his demons are at work. These kinds of situations seem to be much more frequent and obvious in third world nations, including Mexico. I personally attribute this to the fact that, in the United States, there are many more Christians, more prayer and praise, and still a lot of Christianity running through the fabric of the nation. (I recognize that this is less and less, but there is still more Christian influence in the U.S. than any other nation on this planet.) In many nations, including Mexico, witchcraft, sorcery and idolatry are so commonplace and proliferous that the Satanic spiritual forces accompanying those practices are so, too!
The local believers in Oaxaca who will be hosting next week's crusade, have been announcing the crusade in the community through radio and signs since last December! While Satan does not have the power to tell the future nor to read our minds, he is smart enough to be able to figure out, based on the past he has witnessed, what will most likely occur. He has seen the thousands of people that have come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ through past crusades, and crusades that have been much less announced than next week's crusade! So, he is trying other tactics - let's get rid of the team that goes on the crusades! But we already know that "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (I John 4:4) and "that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) These situations have given Victor the opportunity to contact other volunteers, some who have gone on one or two crusades and others who have never actually participated on a crusade, and request their help. It appears that several new volunteers will be participating!
As for life here at Refuge Ranch, Satan does not leave us alone for long! Some of you know about Martha's episodes that appear to be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder related to the traumatic events she lived through has a little girl. They are episodes in which she goes blank and is no longer interacting with the world around her and relives those past traumatic events. She hadn't had an episode for months and then had two this past Wednesday. I praise the Lord because she hugged me through the first episode and was willing to talk about both of them in a very healthy way.
Praise the Lord that we have the victory in Him and I encourage you all to continue to hold up Fishers of Men, the crusades, our children, the volunteers and staff in regular and fervent prayer! Thank you!
We are so thankful for each and every one of you that faithfully lifts up Fishers of Men regularly in prayer! While the Bible repeatedly reminds us that we are involved in a cosmic battle and instructs us to put an the whole armor of God. There are days and times in the ministry in which the battle is much more obvious. This week is one of those times!
Victor is preparing for an Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade this coming week to the state of Oaxaca. The Lord has provided a pretty stable Mexican volunteer team for the crusades, but several of the key team members are facing incredible challenges this week and will be unable to attend the crusade:
- Dr. Escamilla lost his wife several months ago to a long battle with cancer. Just this past week, doctors discovered a tumor in the back of one of his sons who is only in his 30's. They will be operating on him this coming Monday and fear that the tumor is also cancerous.
- Dr. Ely sprained her ankle last weekend. Then, on Monday, she was home resting when two individuals came to the door acting like patients. Both Dr. Ely and her husband are physicians and have a small clinic in their home. The men went into the clinic and proceeded to pull out hand-guns, tie up and gag Dr. Ely's husband and rob money, jewelry and electronics from their home. (Dr. Ely and her husband have had a very rough marriage, but the Lord is using this experience to show them how much they truly love each other as they came to each other's defense and feared for one another's lives during the robbery.)
- Dr. Leslie, a dentist, has had a very rocky relationship with her father ever since she became a Christian many years ago and he did not approve of her new found faith. He is now in the last days of terminal cancer, so Dr. Leslie has traveled to his home in Puerto Vallarta to be with him, but is in the middle of family spats over inheritance, despite the fact that her father has not yet passed away
As I was growing up, I knew that Satan was just as real as God. While God is all-powerful and has already conquered Satan through Jesus' death and resurrection, the Bible teaches us that Satan is the prince of this world and prowls around like a lion looking for somebody to devour. Spiritual warfare, spiritual battles are real. I have never been one to want to blame Satan for everything or see a demon on every street corner. Much of the evil around us comes from simply living in a fallen world; other tragedies come from our own bad decisions; but there are situations and circumstances in which Satan and his demons are at work. These kinds of situations seem to be much more frequent and obvious in third world nations, including Mexico. I personally attribute this to the fact that, in the United States, there are many more Christians, more prayer and praise, and still a lot of Christianity running through the fabric of the nation. (I recognize that this is less and less, but there is still more Christian influence in the U.S. than any other nation on this planet.) In many nations, including Mexico, witchcraft, sorcery and idolatry are so commonplace and proliferous that the Satanic spiritual forces accompanying those practices are so, too!
The local believers in Oaxaca who will be hosting next week's crusade, have been announcing the crusade in the community through radio and signs since last December! While Satan does not have the power to tell the future nor to read our minds, he is smart enough to be able to figure out, based on the past he has witnessed, what will most likely occur. He has seen the thousands of people that have come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ through past crusades, and crusades that have been much less announced than next week's crusade! So, he is trying other tactics - let's get rid of the team that goes on the crusades! But we already know that "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (I John 4:4) and "that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) These situations have given Victor the opportunity to contact other volunteers, some who have gone on one or two crusades and others who have never actually participated on a crusade, and request their help. It appears that several new volunteers will be participating!
As for life here at Refuge Ranch, Satan does not leave us alone for long! Some of you know about Martha's episodes that appear to be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder related to the traumatic events she lived through has a little girl. They are episodes in which she goes blank and is no longer interacting with the world around her and relives those past traumatic events. She hadn't had an episode for months and then had two this past Wednesday. I praise the Lord because she hugged me through the first episode and was willing to talk about both of them in a very healthy way.
Praise the Lord that we have the victory in Him and I encourage you all to continue to hold up Fishers of Men, the crusades, our children, the volunteers and staff in regular and fervent prayer! Thank you!
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