Musing – Take on a Giant Challenge and how might the LORD use you?

 Hebraic Musing – Take on a Giant Challenge and how might the LORD use you?

How can any of us take on a Giant Challenge like “Saving” the world?  A little personal testimony:

I accepted the Lord on August 28, 1977.  When I came home two days later and told my wife that I accepted Jesus Christ as my LORD and Savior, she informed me that she and all our children had already accepted Jesus.  Typically, when the man of the house gets saved, he wants to assure that his whole family also gets saved; but my family was already saved.  So what should I do?   So, ever since then I have always felt it was my job to evangelize the rest of the world.  But isn’t that a Giant Challenge?

After becoming involved with the FGBMFI (Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International) we moved to Escondido, and found myself elected president of the FGBMFI chapter in Vista, CA.  I found myself sharing my testimony as the speaker at various Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner meetings in Southern CA.  An evangelist friend who ministered world-wide kept inviting me to the Philippines.  While it sounded interesting, the Holy Spirit kept saying “No”.   A few months later I was seated at the head table at a dinner meeting alongside the featured speaker, Garmond Mindt, who had his evangelistic ministry in the Philippines, holding large and very successful crusades.  After a short discussion, Garmond invited me to come do a tour in the Philippines with him and his team.  This is when I took on a Giant Challenge!  I said “Yes” and made arrangements to go, despite the fact that I was unemployed and had a family of 6 hungry children to support! 

After an indescribably impactful three weeks ministering in the Philippines, I came home still unemployed; but the Lord had His surprise for me.  In a few weeks and after a few phone calls, I committed to employment with my old consulting firm, Alexander Proudfoot, to work and live with my family in Belgium, Europe, for two years.  After making all the “move” arrangements in Escondido, CA, I found myself on that long flight to Europe with time to spare and some curiosity, so I opened my diary from the Philippines trip and tallied up the cost of that trip – it totaled $3,200, money spent on faith!  More time to kill so I recapped the compensation package for this Belgium employment with salary, housing, tax benefits and education allowances for the two children, etc.  It totaled $320,000.  As I looked at that number I recalled one of the big messages I picked up in the Philippines – “Give to God and He will provide a 100-fold blessing”!  I was in tears, realizing that the Giant Challenge I took to go evangelize in the Philippines resulted in a 100-fold blessing!

Since working, living, and ministering in Europe for three years (they kept me an extra year), my jobs and my heart have had me doing an extraordinary amount of international travel enabling me the experience of sharing the Gospel rather freely in 33 countries outside of the States in the years ever since. 

Thank you, Lord, for providing me with a Giant Challenge, and the H.S. boldness to say yes!

Points to Ponder

If we feel called to do foreign missions, shouldn’t we also be evangelizing at home?

What happened to the Bible characters who accepted Giant Challenges?

How much faith does it take to accept a Giant Challenge?

What might happen if the Lord asks you to take on a Giant Challenge?

What Giant Challenge does the Lord have in front of you?

“The light that shines the farthest, shines brightest close to home” – Garmond Mindt’s favorite saying.

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                          May 14, 2024
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
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