5 QUESTIONS THAT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
A revolution in a village
Dear Reader,
Thank you for being a free subscriber to The Three Taverns.
5 QUESTIONS THAT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
I was invited to preach in Luweero District, Uganda in the middle of the bush country while on a trip to that country in the late 90’s.
A church structure made of thatch, wood and mud housed about 100 believers in traditional dress. Sitting beside me on the “stage”, which was made of compacted mud as hard as concrete, was an elderly man of about 70 who had scars all over his body and face. He had a smile that lit up the room full of joy from the Holy Spirit. He had survived torture as a pastor in prisons during the Idi Amin days.
I had no idea what message I was going to bring to these people. What did I have to offer them? As I stood to speak I felt the Spirit nudge me to open up Romans 8 and speak from that chapter. By the end of the message, which literally took form while I spoke, I had called it the 5 QUESTIONS THAT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
I noticed that while I was preaching the young man who was serving as my interpreter began to be very emotional. He was choking up and tears rolling down his face, while he would also smile in understanding what I was saying, as he repeated to his neighbors and friends what the Lord was saying from this scripture.
After about an hour of sharing this message and the forgiveness it brings, spontaneous dancing and celebration broke out. Women began to line up at the front to speak forgiveness for atrocities against them, their children and their husbands.
Men began to speak forgiveness to those who had tortured or wounded them. Weeping and public forgiveness began to be expressed. It was astounding. I could not understand a word they were speaking because they were talking in Lugandan, their tribal language, but I could see the results. Later when I got back to the house of Alex and Catherine Mitala who hosted me it was explained to me what had happened.
During the civil wars between 3 warring generals after Idi Amin fled the country, this district of Luweero and the region around it had suffered as badly as any in the entire country. Children had been kidnapped to serve in the armies. Families had been tortured and killed. Some had violently had their noses or lips cut off to shame them.
The people sitting in that church meeting all had lost family members or had known someone who had suffered this pain. The message of forgiveness in the midst of those horrible memories had come to them in power from the Holy Spirit through the word and they were responding in repentance and forgiveness. Such an overwhelming gratitude overcame me that I spent the afternoon thanking God.
Here were the 5 QUESTIONS I shared with them that day:
1. “If God is for us who can be against us?”
2. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”
3. “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?”
4. “God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns?”
5. “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?”
And the triumphant conclusion? “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”
Here is a photo of the actual Bible page I had with me as I spoke this message:
The world needs to know these questions and their answers! Share freely!
TAVERN TALKS TUESDAY, AUGUST 20
Each Tuesday morning a group of men gather at The Mission Cigar & Social at 7am.
We tell stories.
We talk about life.
We give and receive prayer.
We talk about Jesus and life with Him.
THIS WEEK: John Birdwell will tell his story of serving in New Zealand to lead students to Christ, overcoming personal challenges, the breakdown of his life and marriage, and God’s power to redeem. And he is even remarried to his wife! Everyone who knows John is encouraged by his love for God and his joy. Don’t miss his story at “Tavern Talks.”
Bring your coffee, your Bible, Febreze if you go to the office after, an open mind and open heart. You can purchase a cigar as well to enjoy your first cigar of the day.
We are really grateful to Mark, Monte and Willie for opening up The Mission early each Tuesday and participating in Tavern Talks!
SHAMELESS PITCH: GOD’S MONEY!
Gold and silver have been called God’s money. It is a store of wealth, a metric of value, that God put into the earth since the dawn of creation.
Dollars are not. In fact, dollars are not really money, they are currency. If currency stops moving it loses value as it is eaten away by inflation and taxes.
Currencies, including the US dollar, are just the unbacked liabilities of bankrupt governments. The US, in particular, is overindebted. The country has borrowed capital accumulated in the past and is mortgaging future earnings to finance an artificially high current standard of living.
In 1971 the U.S. dollar was taken off the gold standard. Before the 1971 devaluation, there was almost no credit card debt; now, it’s over $1.1 trillion. There was almost no student loan debt; now, it’s a trillion and a half dollars.
The price of gold has gone up 5 times since November to record highs. It is predicted that both gold and silver will increase by triple-digit percentages by mid-year 2025.
Getting some gold and silver is a prudent move to have something of tangible value. The company I am part of has the best prices for gold and silver on the planet. No one beats our prices. And there is a way to create a secondary income inviting other people to join the membership as well.
I’ve been able to help several people get started in the last couple of weeks. Are you next? Click on the image below to see more.
Working together, pointing each other to faith in Jesus, standing together through good times and bad, all are what we are called to do! As we do, Jesus is doing what He said He would, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”
Looking Up!
Tod Bell
Chief Tavern Host
P.S.
