July 2004Dear Friends and Partners,Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverence the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1
Did you realize that God has a race marked out for each of us to run? As we approach the halfway mark in the year, I am revisiting our ministry goals and vision. I find doing this periodically helps me make adjustments to stay on track with our overall direction. During some of these times of reflection, I discover that I have gotten so busy with daily tasks and short-term projects that I have lost the focus of where we are headed as a ministry. When activities don't line up with the vision or goals that God has given us, those activities can hinder us from finishing our race. Even though these activities may generate good results, they can actually become weights that slow us down. Once these hindering weights are discovered, I take the necessary action required to free the ministry and myself from them. It could simply mean delegating the task to someone else in our organization, or eliminating the activity altogether. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Psalm 37:23
No Christian should be running aimlessly. God knows exactly where we are to be in the race He has marked out for us. As I consider the different seasons in our ministry, there have been instances where God has led us in directions other than what we thought. The way God has led me can be likened to the way a river flows. Every river has places where the current is swift, and other places where the current slows to almost a crawl. I like it when life and ministry are fast paced; it's the crawling that I struggle with the most. Things that cause rivers to slow are changes in depth and direction. I have never seen a straight running river. On the contrary, rivers are full of bends and curves. Likewise, God has rarely given me a vision or a goal and taken me straight to it. To be honest, I have spent too much time trying to get to places I have seen in my spirit by taking a short cut over rough and dry terrain, when all the time God has provided a well marked out course through a winding river of events. In retrospect, I have come to the conclusion that there are many things I needed to experience for growth and maturation along the course set by God. If it seems that God is making a change in direction, then change with Him. I have learned instead of persisting in a certain direction out of stubbornness, that if I change and flow with God He will carry me. I have found as I follow God it's not the direction He desires to change, but me! Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Psalm 127:1
It makes good sense to stay in the river of God's direction in everything we do. What God plans and builds, He will maintain. Rivers are full of changes. These changes don't have to take us by surprise. Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would tell us things to come. If we are attuned to God's Spirit we may not know exactly what is up ahead, but we will sense change. A river with no bends or turns isn't a river at all. It's a canal. Canals are man made, whereas rivers are forged by nature. Did you know that when man makes a canal, he must maintain it? Canals have to be dredged periodically to keep the depth adequate for large ships to pass through. Because both silt and the water must be dealt with, dredging may demand more intense labor than digging the original canal. On the other hand, a natural river takes care of itself. Momentum from the current is constantly removing dirt and debris from the river's bed. I don't know about your life, but I don't possess the energy or the resources to maintain more than a few projects in my personal life, let alone to maintain what is required for an international ministry. That's why it is vitally important to follow God and periodically check our spiritual compass to be sure we are right where He wants us to be. Let's put our efforts into what God has planned and allow Him to maintain what has been accomplished. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:14
To do anything with longevity we need God's help. His power and ability come to us through His grace. The longer I am in ministry, the more I acknowledge my great need for God's grace. When I am in His plan, I am also in His grace. Think about it: if we are in the center of the river, which represents God's plan, the river carries us in its current. That is a picture of God's grace! His ability and power help us when we are doing those things that He impresses upon our spirit. If we have experience with a river, we will be more sensitive to its flow. We will be able to detect where the dangerous, shallow places are and where the safety of deep waters can be found. If we are sensitive, we will notice when the river begins to slow, announcing a change in depth or direction ahead. With this sensitivity, we can navigate our lives and ministry with great confidence. The same is true of being led by the Holy Ghost; if we pay attention to His leading and His prompting we can avoid the rocky shallows that would love to shipwreck our lives. I need His grace and leading. Without it, I would end up shipwrecked or run aground. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
I was sitting in our living room recently when I noticed a picture we have had on the wall for a long time. Photos of our children, Vinnie and Krystal, surround the picture. A simple watercolor, it depicts a small stretch of railroad tracks with a stout locomotive pulling a few cars trailed by a red caboose. Under the picture a caption reads: "Train up a child in the way he should go." As I looked at this arrangement, it occurred to me that our born-again lives are much like that little train. The tracks on which the train travels were laid long before this particular train began to run on them. Like these tracks, God has not only cleared a path for us, but He has laid out easy to follow "rails" in our spirits. The Word tells us that God knew us even before we were formed in our mother's womb. In advance of our coming into this world, He has prepared good works for us to do. Once we find God's plan and set our lives on the tracks that He has laid out for us, we can begin to surge through life with a great faith in our destination. Our confidence doesn't lie in our momentum, but in God! Traveling on the rails that God has laid is not always easy, but it will always take us to and through the purposes God has preordained for our lives and ministry. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
It's good to set goals and take inventory of where we are headed. However, without prayer this exercise is only a good habit and a human discipline. God has a plan for each one of us. Finding God's purpose for our life is easier than most choose to believe. He said to ask when we lack wisdom and He will give it. When we ask, the answer is always sure to come. Some are convinced that hearing from God is difficult. I am convinced these people are looking for the answer in the wrong place. Where does the answer come? Most often God will speak to our spirit by His Spirit. We may receive a knowing or understanding that isn't even in words. It is in learning to quiet ourselves and spend time with Him in the Spirit where the most intimate things such as direction are shared. Remember, "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God." We are not to be led by our intellect or our flesh, but by His Spirit. The Spirit of God resides in our reborn spirit, and that is where God speaks to us most frequently. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6
Quiet times with the Lord allow us the opportunity to hear from Him. This shouldn't be something we practice semi-annually; it should be a part of our everyday routine. If we are not spending daily time with the Lord talking and listening, then we most likely will have trouble discerning His leading once or twice a year. Here's a hint: intimacy is built through time. When we are intimate with God the result will always be peace. Peace is not the ultimate indicator of God's will, but peace will always accompany His will. I don't mean that everything will make sense and add up in our logical thinking, but we will have a deep peace within our inner man. This deep running peace produces soundness in our mind. When we step out of God's will and direction, we will begin to lose the peace that resides in our spirits. Then, our thought life will become confused and chaotic. The mind that yields to the direction and flow of the Spirit will be at peace. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Romans 8:16
Another way to determine if we are on the right track is to see if there is agreement between our spirit and the Spirit of God within us. In other words, is God's Spirit testifying with our spirit? When I step into the things that God has prepared for me before the foundation of the world, something inside of me comes alive. When we begin to walk out our destiny something inside of our spirit stands up and shouts: "YES! THIS IS WHAT I WAS CREATED FOR!" When I step out of a plane onto the soil of a Muslim or Hindu nation, something inside of my spirit stands at attention. My heart begins to pound with excitement as I walk into my destiny of proclaiming Jesus to those who have never heard. Knowing that in a few short hours I will be standing on a platform seeing people who were spiritually dead come to life through Jesus Christ as they receive the King of Kings into their hearts, I am energized by the Spirit of the living God inside of me. It quickens me and gives life unto my flesh. That is God's Spirit testifying with my spirit. What a wonderful place to be! I encourage you to take time with the Father to check your spiritual compass. Are you flowing in the river of His Spirit, or is He moving on your heart to change direction and flow with Him? We have all been created for a purpose, and each one of us has a part to fulfill in God's plan. I can't run your race and you can't run mine. As we find and run our own race, we will be working together to bring God's will into the earth. Remember, together we can! Your missionary evangelists, 
Kenney & Neja Linhart |