Zebra Ministries
Welcome to the herd!
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Good morning
Zebras,
I hope this
note finds you all well. Even though I’m
not writing, I continue to pray for you every day as I wait on God.
Before I left Korea,
Katherine and I went to the Goseong Unification Observatory. Built on a hill overlooking the river separating
North and South Korea, its name says it all.
From there you can “observe” the North Korean landscape and everything
inside speaks to the goal of Korean unification.
There is an exhibit
there entitled “My Hometown” where people who fled during the war have shared
their memories of people and places they can no longer see. (See attached
photos.) When they fled, they thought it would be temporary. They never thought they would find themselves
trapped, unable to return to their families and friends by a boundary built by
the world to establish peace.
As I walked
around I felt God’s Spirit so powerfully that I thought “Somehow Zebras is tied
up with all of this.”
Zebras was originally
started to encourage God’s women at my church to hang together and support one
another. It quickly grew to include
women from other churches, but it was a pastor who saw the bigger vision was unity. These are the verses he referenced when he
wrote an endorsement of the ministry.
John 17:20-23
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me
through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in
me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that
you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may
be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete
unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you
have loved me.”
Nowhere, in my
opinion, is disunity more obvious than in Korea. The South enjoys the luxuries of the modern world,
while North Korea lives in conditions we don’t even like to think about. Our peace came at their expense and I am
praying it is time for God to act.
(Just think of
the revival that would start if God acted while the eyes of the world are on
Korea because of the Olympics!)
Korean churches
hold prayer services at 4 a.m. which means, with the time difference, if we
prayed every day at 11 a.m. we would all be praying at the same time. (Isn’t that cool!) Korean Christians and American Christians all
praying together, separated by distance but united by the Spirit.
I haven’t
really decided what to do with all of this except to commit myself to pray
every day at 11 a.m., for the duration of the Olympics, starting on Monday. And I’m letting you know in case you want to
join in.
2 Chronicles
7:14 “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray
and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven
and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Love,
Jill
Friday, January 19, 2018
I wrote the following letter before I left Korea. Originally,
I was going to post it as soon as I landed but I didn’t want to be melodramatic,
so I decided to wait and pray until someone inquired if I was okay. (Somehow Michelle, I knew it would be you.)
In January 2010 after listening to me speak someone I
greatly respected, said to me: “You’ve gone from teacher to prophet.” I had no idea what they were talking about,
but it was a sentiment that was repeated many times over the last seven years.
Teachers teach, but prophets are people sent by God to
teach His Word and to call the church to repentance. Tozer says, “Prophets comfort
the affected and affect the comfortable.” But the thing about prophets is they can never
be wrong.
Good morning Zebras,
It is 10 a.m. Sunday January 14 here in Korea and in eight
hours I will be boarding a plane for the ten-hour flight back to America. If
God has not done the miracle He has had me praying for before I land, I will be
taking a break from teaching His Word.
Deuteronomy 18:20–22 “But the prophet who presumes to speak
a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the
name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart,
‘How may we know the word that the Lord
has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass
or come true, that is a word that the Lord
has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be
afraid of him.”
I knew I was risking the ministry when I shared with you
what God was having me do. I could have gone and returned without anyone ever
knowing, but that isn’t what God told me to do.
And I would rather look like a fool for believing and obeying God, than
look “wise” before men.
2 Samuel 6:14 “And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was
wearing a linen ephod.”
If you have never done something scary and risked it all
for God, then you don’t know what you are missing.
Matthew 14:28–29 “And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is
you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out
of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”
I love you Zebras, I’m still praying for the miracle and
when I see it, I’ll be back.
Jeremiah 28:9 “As for the prophet who prophesies peace,
when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”
Until then, stay safe and follow God with your whole heart,
mind, and soul; being willing to risk everything for the only One who deserves
it.
Much love,
Jill
P.S. While I wait two songs are keeping me company, “Live Like That” by Sidewalk Prophets and “What Faith an Do” by Kutless Both can be heard on YouTube.
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Good morning Zebras,
Thank you for your prayers, yesterday was wonderful.
Today’s Oswald is about Isaiah.
Isaiah 6:8 “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom
shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’”
Sometimes God just needs us to go.
That’s how I felt about this trip. I just needed to go; God
was in charge of doing the miracle. I was only in charge of letting people
know. No man or woman can pray a
miracle into existence, miracles are God’s domain, but when He whispers in your
ear to go somewhere and pray for one, you need to go.
People have God neatly in a box, whether they realize it or
not - He is good for Sunday morning but not for everyday life. But God will not be contained. He is alive
and in charge of all things, and He has the right to impact every aspect of
your life.
God’s people should not hide their faith, they need to
“nail their colors to the mast”. (This is a phrase taken from the days of sea
battles, when the flags were nailed to the mast so that they could never be
taken down and replaced with the white flag of surrender). So that even if it
looks like we failed, we don’t have the option to deny God. And I did that with this trip. Not only did I post on Zebras, I also posted
on my personal Facebook page. My “crazy”
is out there for everyone to see.
I love God and I believe with my whole heart and soul that
He could do a miracle that would not only obliterate the nuclear threat, but
also free His people in North Korea. And
I’m not going to change my mind, or my prayers, just because it hasn’t happened
yet- that wouldn’t be faith. And it is
faith, combined with our obedience, that pleases God.
Hebrews 11:1–8 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped
for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received
their commendation…And without faith it is impossible to please him, for
whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who seek him…By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a
place…not knowing where he was going.”
I love you Zebras, I return to America this evening.
Love,
Jill
Friday, January 12, 2018
Good morning Zebras,
Just a quick update.
It is 7 a.m., Saturday, January 12 here in Korea. When I first arrived, I felt like we were
supposed to go to the DMZ today for a time of prayer. But as the days went by, doubt set in, and I
started to think, “It is freezing out there!
My going there isn’t going to change anything, I should just stay home.”
But on her way home from work last night, God prompted Katherine
to try and rent a car so we could go. I
told her she didn’t need to bother, but she persisted and reserved a vehicle. So, if everything continues to work out, we are headed to the DMZ today.
Perhaps that is why the disciples traveled in pairs- when
one got weary, the other one could step in and finish the task.
I love you Zebras. The world needs the nuclear threat
disabled, but the North Koreans need to be set free as well.
God told Moses he had heard the cries of the Israelites
enslaved in Egypt and He was ready to set them free.
Exodus 3:7–8 “Then the Lord
said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people…and have heard their cry
because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to
deliver them…'”
Praying God has heard North Korea’s cries and He is ready
to act on their behalf.
Love,
Jill
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Good morning Zebras,
It is 8 a.m. Thursday, January 11 here in Korea. I hear the talks went well, but I haven’t
seen the miracle I was sent here to pray for.
But rather than giving up, God has me praying in my dreams.
Like David, it is the man who steps out in faith and truly
believes who sees the power of God.
I love you, and I believe with my whole heart that God
desires to do a miracle for His people. Not because we deserve one- we don’t-
but because He loves us and desires to show the world who He is.
And I covet the prayers of every one of you who agree.
Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic
powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly places.
Love,
Jill
Monday, January 8, 2018
Good morning Zebras,
It is 9 a.m. Tuesday, January 9 here in Korea, and as the South
Korean military helicopters fly over in preparation for the meeting today with
North Korea, I felt prompted by God to remind you to pray.
The meeting is scheduled to take place in one hour at the
DMZ, at the village where the armistice was signed in 1953.
I love you Zebras, praying for God to show His hand today and
save the people He has created from the foolishness of men.
Love,
Jill
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Good morning Zebras,
God taught me a
lot about prayer last year.
First it is
possible to carry another person’s burdens.
My elbow had
been hurting for almost a year, the doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong
with it. But when Gary prayed for it to
be healed, God gave the burden to him, now my elbow is fine and his hurts.
Second, prayer
for people you do not know makes you love them with the love of God.
My neighbors
went on vacation and I felt compelled to pray for them while they were gone. I didn’t really know them that well, but after
a week of concentrated prayer God give me a great love for them. I still don’t know them that well, but I sure
do love them.
Third, we don’t
know who can hear God. He can talk to
anyone.
The neighbors I
was praying for are not saved, so I wasn’t sure they would be able to hear my
prayers, it is a long story, but I felt I was supposed to pray they would bring
me back a bear. When they got home they
didn’t give me anything, but a week later one of them gave me the bear pictured
below. They had bought it on vacation
but had forgotten to give it to me.
Fourth, burdens
given to you by God are different than normal prayers.
When the fires
were raging in Napa/Sonoma I was burdened to pray for God’s people like the
world was ending because that’s how it felt.
If God didn’t stay his hand and stop the wind it “felt” like the fire
was going to consume the world. It was
not a pleasant feeling, in fact it was rather awful, but I had no choice but to
pray, because the burden consumed my life.
Fifth, you do
not have to limit your prayers to only your circle of acquaintances.
If I am praying
for someone to get a job, I could just as easily pray for all of God’s people to
get a job. The Bible says to pray for all the saints, not just the ones you
know.
And finally,
God has taught me that prayer is powerful and effective and too little used to
combat the evil that's ruling the world.
The real work of God’s people is prayer.
When the
disciples asked why they were so ineffective in driving out an evil demon,
Jesus replied, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” Some manuscripts add fasting. (Mark 9:29)
So, with all
that knowledge I’m heading to South Korea for a week of fasting and prayer with
my daughter who lives there. I think I
need to get closer to the situation, just like with the fires. I was never endangered from the Napa fires,
but I was consumed by prayer because the fire was real. I could see its effects. Yet I wasn’t burdened in the same way, when
the southern part of the state burned. There’s
something about proximity that adds urgency.
I will arrive
in Korea on the 8th and God willing I will return on the 14th
because I believe God wants me to get closer to the threat and to physically
combine my prayers with Katherine’s, who loves Korea and the Korean people with
a love given to her by God.
If you feel
prompted to join me in prayer for God’s world and His people, please do.
With much love,
Jill
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