What part of NEVER don't you understand?

As always before I post something, I pray for the Holy Spirit to guide me as to what to share with y’all. He reminded me of this Bible verse He has been whispering in my ear for a long time now. Then I started “reasoning” about what to say and I could hear His still voice telling me “what part of NEVER don’t you understand? 

Pow, pow!!! I can openly and honestly tell you that within the last months, every time I have any doubts, just the thought, about our finances due to our low income as missionaries, within seconds (no kidding) I can hear this Bible verse resonate in my ears and consequently my heart being convicted of my little faith, once again!  I should not doubt our Lord's word, truth and promises. He will NEVER forsake us. He will NEVER abandon us. He cares for His creation.

The great I AM, the Creator of everything we see and do not see or can’t even think about, will NEVER leave us. He is Jehovah Jireh, God our provider. He said it and He will carry it out. God is not a man, so He does not lie (Numbers 23:19). He will NEVER depart from us. He can’t do it. He is omnipresent. He is in everything & everything exists because of Him.  

He is love (1 John 4:8), not just any kind of love, but agape love, unconditional.  He is patient (1 Corinthians 13:4) and He NEVER gives up on us (1 Corinthians 13:7) Nothing can separate us from His love that is revealed thru Jesus Christ (Romans 8:38-39)

He will NEVER forsake us. As per dictionary forsake means to renounce or entirely turn away from, to be deserted, abandoned or to be forlorn. This definitely doesn't sound like our Abba Father.

He is so close to us that we practically take His presence for granted. Yes… as close as a heart beat… in every breath that we take. We are the ones who “step away” from His presence.  

I can hear His Holy Spirit whispering in my ear "I Am here, what do you want, what do you need my little child?"

To God be all praise, honor & glory forever and ever. Amen! 

Blessings, Love & Hugs in Christ!

His servants

Gary & Marielos Kurtz

                                                                                                                

Our Total Dependency on Jesus

Lately different parts of my body have been in pain to the point of me having to stay at home resting. I was feeling kind of down for not being able to serve. Then, I got distracted and my mind started playing tricks on me. I started thinking of myself as  “useless!”  So, I said “Lord I really need You right now.” After praying, this Bible verse came to mind: 

I thought to myself, what does that have to do with the way I am feeling right now? Thank God for His loving and faithful Holy Spirit. He brought to mind that without Him we can do nothing; that includes our thinking. When we are lead by our flesh and not His Spirit, we can easily lean into our own understanding and forget we are children of God created with a divine purpose. Also, it made me think that if we do not remember every detail of our lives is a gift from the Lord, we could easily “separate our secular life from our spiritual life” when in reality we are a whole being who should be one with Christ at all times.

Yes, He is the vine and we are the branches. Like all fruitful plants, the vine has a trunk, branches or shoots, leaves, flowers and/or fruits. One of the most important parts of a plant are the branches. Without them, the plant cannot produce fruit, but let us not forget the branches need the sap (Holy Spirit), the leaves need the Light (Jesus). The source continues to be Him. 

Jesus said “those who remain in me and I in them, will produce much fruit.”

The branches are of the same nature as the plant, and have only one life and one spirit with it. In the same way, we are to be of the same nature of our vine Jesus, like-minded, of one Spirit. This fruit we produce must be a sweet Christ-like aroma, a flavored Christ-like life and testimony. If we abide in (live in union with) Him as our source of life, we can really say we are living branches.

For apart from me you can do nothing. 

What happens to the branches that fall or are cut from the vine? 

This makes me think of death and decay and two of the fruit of the flesh: Impurity and corruption. I looked for synonyms of those two words and words related to them. I cannot help but to see them as reflection of a spiritual dead life apart from Jesus.

Synonyms of impurity: adulterant, contaminant, contamination, defilement, pollutant.

Words Related to impurity: blot, blotch, spot, stain, taint, dirt, filth , grime, muck, scum, sludge, smut, soil, blemish, defect, disfigurement, fault, flaw, imperfection.

Synonyms of corruption: breakdown, decay, decomposition, festering, putrefaction, rot, spoilage
Words Related to corruption: crumbling, disintegration, dissolution, curdling, fermentation, moldering, souring.

The branches cannot choose what vine to “adhere” to in order to exist and produce fruit. Jesus is the one who chooses them to bear fruit.

Jesus' invitation is for total dependence and trust (comparable to our faith). Just as the branches trust and 
depend on the food provided by the vine for their subsistence so, we must trust and depend to receive everything from Christ. He also desires total consecration. Just as the branches live only to produce fruit, so we must live to produce fruits for His glory.

Finally, the Holy Spirit reminded me that while I was not able to serve Him with "giving fruit with my hands," I could abide in Him while serving Him with my heart. He challenged me to concentrate more on the spiritual than on the physical, to spend more time praying for others and on reading and meditating on His Word.

Thank you Jesus for Your unfailing love! 💕 

Our Call To Be Missionaries

In 2011, Gary told me he felt God was calling us to be missionaries in USA. He shared with me how after going thru a Bible study about the talents in Luke 19, the Lord had practically pointed His finger at him and have told him he was the one with one talent and asked him what he was going to do about it. Gary prayed and was convinced that was the call the Lord was giving us. I told him "I haven't heard anything!" He said ok, so let's keep praying about it.

Having to leave my country and my whole family behind was a "concern" of mine. This was a big move; I wanted be sure it was God's idea and not just my husband's. While in a women's retreat, I ask God, "Lord, I know this may be wrong to ask from You, but I need some proof. I know we have to live by faith and not but sight, but I need You to show me that this is of you. Right now the economy is not good so people are not buying "toys," so if you sell our Harley Davidson, I'll believe You. "Later, we had a break and I decided to call my hubby. After a few minutes, he told me "guess what? I sold the Harley, cash, no question asked!" I went quiet for a few second while feeling the Holy Spirit pressing in my heart and I couldn't help but cry! Gary had absolutely no clue of my request to the Lord so I told him. It was undeniable this call was from Him.

That was the beginning of the many ways the Lord was going to confirm His call to serve Him in the USA as missionaries.

Why Jesus is The Way RV Ministry?

Many have asked us why we chose "Jesus is The Way" as the name for our RV Ministry.
Well, for us there's no other way to live our lives but by "His way." 
When we think of the whats, wheres, whens, hows, whys of life, the answer is always going to be Jesus is The Way, not "a way", but "the only way." Since He is our Creator, He knows the purpose and the reason of His creation, so He knows how to "fix" it. He knows and He is the answer to all our questions. Jesus is the only way we will find the meaning to our lives and our existence. 
Let's go thru some of those questions:

A. What is the way to happiness or to success? 
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) 
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 
6 Seek  His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

B. Where do we come from, where should we go in times of need, guidance or direction? 
John 1:1-3 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.      
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through Him,
and nothing was created except through Him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. 

Isaiah 40:28 (NLT)
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God, 
the Creator of all the earth.

C. When will we stop worrying about things concerning our life: future, finances, health, family? 
Psalm 23: 4 (NLT) 
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for You are close beside me.

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)
7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

D. How can we find peace, have hope to endure thru difficult times?
Psalm 18:2 (NLT)
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.

E. Why are we here? 
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT)
31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

God truly knows everything about us as His children.

                                         Click here to read the whole Psalm 139