Nicaragua Spring 2009 - Going Full Throttle

A jam packed couple of weeks.

Devotional - 1 Peter 1:13-15

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written; ‘Be holy, because I am holy.'"

Let us be active participants in the bringing of God's kingdom on earth, and let us not be passive bystanders. You desire us to take action and not be stagnate. But as we do this let us be self-controlled and strong-willed, not giving into selfish desires or being chaotic in our thinking. We are to be disciplined and obedient, living with a correct frame of mind that is knowledgeable and not ignorant. Let us not go back to our days of youth and immaturity. Lord, You have called me to a life of holiness. Let me embrace this with all my being, not giving in to Satan's sensuous temptations. Grant me pure thoughts, pure eyes, and a pure heart. Cast out darkness and obscurity, and let me revel in the light and clarity. Lord, shine in me, so that I can be holy. I can't do this on my own and I desperately need You.

Devotional - Hosea 6:6

"For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings."

Lord, let me come to the alter and stop sacrificing to You my works and achievements. Let me simply come and adore You. There is not a first fruit that I can give that would be pleasing to Your eye. Give me comfort in the fact that Your sacrifice is sufficient and nothing else needs to be offered. I have nothing else to stand on except Your son. All I want is to come into a fuller understanding of You. Let mercy, justice, and humility be my only aim.

Nicaragua House of Prayer - Granada

A promo video for the House of Prayer in Granada, Nicaragua.

Devotional - Hosea 1:2

"When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, 'Go, take to yourself and an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.'"

We, the United States, are simply a 21st century Israel. We have prostituted ourselves to every indulgence that this world has to offer. We have slept with pride, envy, greed, gluttony, lust, sloth, and wrath. We have done and seen it all, still leaving us unsatisfied in the end. We have abandoned our first Love and have replaced it with trinkets of pleasure. Every new day brings a new passion to chase after; a chasing after the wind, which you can never hold on to nor sustain. We have only been faithful to our own desires and prideful ambitions. We have replaced holiness with immorality and faith with skepticism. We find an unsatisfying lover and move onto the next until we have had our fill. When will the United States finally stop defiling the marriage bed of devotion and go back to the Bridegroom? It will only happen if our ivory towers of pride are shattered and instead replaced with a foundation of humility.

Devotional - Philemon 1:6

"I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints."

How true it is that love is the great sustainer. It conquers all and holds everything together. It is what binds relationships, marriage, and family. It encourages and lifts others up, keeping us going day to day. It refreshes and makes us feel alive, giving us a purpose to keep living. It is the same emotion and will that allowed Onesimus to return and have Paul send him gladly. And it is what gave Paul the wisdom to ask if he could be rejoined by his former master not as a slave, but as a dear brother. I pray that this same love will overflow from me to be able to share my faith with boldness and confidence. I don't want to back down when opportunities arise, but I want to share the love that has been given to me. I am sorry for the times where fear has overcome courage in situations of sharing my testimony. Why have I let awkwardness or discomfort control my actions? I should only be controlled by You and led by the Spirit. Let the active participation of sharing my faith give me a more complete understanding of every wonderful and abundant thing that has been given me.

Costa Rica / Nicaragua Spring 2009 - Hitting the Beach and Riding the Waves

My awesome spring break in Costa Rica, along with pictures from my ministries.

Update To My Supporters

This is just a little update of what God has been doing in my heart recently during this semester in Granada. I wrote this letter to my supporters a month ago and just sent it out last week by mail. I wanted to give some time to allow them to see it, and now I would like to share it with everyone else.

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Dear Friends and Family, Originally written Feb. 11, 2009

I write to you with a humbled heart and a blessed life. I couldn't be here without all of your support. Thank you so much for the prayers when I am unaware; they keep me going day to day. I am definitely on a journey of learning, maturation, and strengthening. This new year is bringing fresh opportunities down here in Nicaragua, and I am excited about where God has me involved. My weekly schedule is packed with spending time at Vida Joven (Young Life), Hogar de Ancianos (a local nursing home), and Corazon Contento (Happy Heart), a school for mentally-handicapped children.

The Lord has been so gracious with me these past two weeks and has been meeting me in such a powerful way. My joys started out Sunday night when a group of us went to Restoration, an electrifying church that is full of the Spirit. We were also joined by our new Christian brother (Andy), who we helped lead to Christ during the Fall of last year. If you would like to hear more about that God story, I would greatly encourage you to go to my blog, jdrussell.myadventures.org, and see my post entitled, "What a Glorious Day". It has been amazing to see such a powerful transformation take place in his life, one of God renewing his mind, tenderizing his heart, and rejuvenating his spirit. He once was a slave to sin, ravaged by sorrow and despair, but now he is a servant to Christ, empowered by joy and hope.

Another exciting thing I would like to talk about is our Prayer House. It has been such a refuge and solace for me since returning to Nicaragua. The idea of having a sacred place set aside for prayer and worship began in the heart of one of my team members, Caleb Spitler. He was inspired by IHOP, no not the pancake house, but the other one, the International House of Prayer. He went to one of their conferences over Christmas break, and God pierced his mind with a vision for our own House of Prayer down here in Nicaragua. I have gone out there at nights roughly 2 to 3 times a week and it has been amazing to see God come and meet me at my innermost needs.

Last week, I came to Him with uncertainty and doubt about the future and specifically about what I will be doing after this trip. I paced around this little 10 x 20 ft. rocky space of four concrete walls and no roof, looking up into the twilight expanse and petitioning to the Lord. I was so desperate to hear from Him about what was to come next for my life. Then all of sudden, I heard a chirping noise come from one of the holes in the wall and I didn't know if it was some type of bird or even possibly a bat. I wondered if it was God's way of saying that He was ready to speak. Therefore, I decided to take a seat in the middle of the room and see how God would show up. I remained silent for quite sometime and desired for God to speak to me in a new way. I continued to look from a distance at the hole where I heard the noise come from and I wanted to see if anything would fly out. Instead, that specific hole began to fill itself in and look exactly like the rest of the wall. I pondered what this could mean and then more of the holes in the wall began to fill, until only a few gaps were left. Then, at the center of the wall stood a distinct, black cross.

Now, I believe there could be a natural explanation for this occurrence, but nevertheless, I believe God was speaking to me in a new and alternative way that night. He was calling me and inviting me to take part in History (His Story). And He is not only inviting me, but He is inviting all of us to play an active role in His kingdom as the Bride of Christ. I believe each hole that was filled represents the work that the Church has already completed, and the remaining holes signify the work that is still to be done before Christ's return. There are still gaps in this grand story authored by God, and we are called to fill these gaps. There are still places to go, faces to encounter, words to speak, relationships to resolve, and miracles to be done. And at the center of the whole illustration, God reminded me that it all revolves around what Christ did on the cross. He filled the void in our life and bridged the gap between us and the Father. Likewise, our role is to bridge the gap between culture and Jesus, and to demonstrate to the world how He is the only thing that can fill the empty space within our hearts.
A group of fellow believers who have really taken hold of this concept are our friends at Torre Fuerte (Strong Tower), a local church that is right in the middle of one of the poorest parts of Granada. These witnesses for Christ are caught in the fray against gangs, drug abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and sexual immorality. In the midst of darkness, they are lamps that brightly shine for Christ everywhere they go, and prayer is the one constant that sustains them and unifies them. Since the end of last year, they have gathered together to pray for Granada and their community, starting each morning at 4:30. Some team members and I had the chance to go one morning this week, and it was an experience that I will never forget. We had at least twenty people all joined together, bowing down with their faces to the floor and their hearts raised to God. Despite speaking different languages and coming from contrasting cultures, we shared a fervency to encounter God and meet with Him intimately. We sought not only a change and revival to take place within Granada, but we also sought for a change within our own hearts and desires.

This has been the greatest fruit I've seen from persistent and passionate prayer; a transformation of my will towards God's will. As I get to know Him more intimately, God shapes and molds my desires to become more like His. And even though He has not been specific about my near future, He keeps whispering to me, "It's o.k., don't fret. Place all your anxieties on me." He is calling me into a life that is in complete trust of Him and utterly free from worry. I am constantly reminded of the passage in Matthew 6:31-33, which states, "So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." I hope many of you will find comfort in these verses during these difficult economic times, and remember that if we seek God first, He will provide for all our needs.

Thank you for being a part of this ministry and being involved in what God is doing in Nicaragua. I pray that God will give a ten-fold blessing to each of you who have supported me. I am eager to see what God still has planned for me during the rest of this trip and also for the next season of life. He has been pressing on my heart a new desire, and I am excited about the prospect of what is to come.

A fellow actor in History,

JD Russell
jdrussell.myadventures.org

Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle

My first music video. I simply love this song, and I hope you love it too.

Devotional - Daniel 1:17

“To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.”

God, what favor you showed on these four Jewish youths. They were not willing to relent of their personal convictions and give into culture or ungodly authority. They were steadfast and faithful to You, even if death was the potential outcome. And because of their faithfulness You blessed them immensely. You gave them the gift of memorization, understanding, and recollection. They had the capacity to be wise beyond their years and surpass their counterparts in knowledge. Then you picked Daniel out specifically to be able to interpret dreams and visions. Lord, I ask for gifts such as these; for an extraordinary ability to understand scripture and interpret visions. Let my nights be focused on You and my dreams give You praise.