Sioux Lookout, Ontario
The Creative Works of God
by Rick Martin, Ministry Staff
The longer I live the more amazed I am at the creativity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. I see this in creation itself, but I also marvel over and over again in the way I see God weaving His tapestry of grace in and through people and their lives. Recently my thoughts have taken me to the way in which God uses us to accomplish His purpose. No big surprise here of course. God chooses to make us His witnesses. Let me provide some examples.
Through the years, my wife Linda and I have been privileged to work with The Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots U.S. This past year I have seen so many good people faithfully serving God and blessing the lives of others through their witness and service. The way God has been using the staff and their particular ministry and has woven them together is inspiring. It especially blesses my heart to see how God brings people together and uses their unique gifts to reach the hurting.
Another place we have seen God at work is the Rising Above conference that takes place in Canada. Linda has been one of the main speakers at their national conferences. I too play a small part by leading small group seminars. Their slogan is “First Peoples, Helping First Peoples” a clever slogan that intends to inspire Native people to address the many hurtsand pains Native people of North America have experienced and are experiencing now. Some of this is the result of the abuse that took place in residential schools Native people were forced
to attend as youth.
What has surprised us has been the way people have been coming to faith and are starting new relationships with God at these conferences. The conferences are not designed to focus on evangelism. On the other hand the leadership is very clear that the people coming know that it is a Christian conference. Many of the speakers openly share their own stories about how God moved in their lives to bring healing to the deepest parts of their own wounding. When the speakers share how God has given them real and lasting hope, people are moved by the Holy Spirit to accept God’s grace thus beginning new journeys with Jesus
themselves.
Just a few weeks ago I was at another mission conference, not a Rising Above conference. Two young Native women were asked to share about their lives. To my amazement they began to share how they had become believers and Christians at a recent Rising Above conference. Linda had been a main speaker at this conference, but we had not heard that anyone’s life had been changed by her testimony. Yet, this is what happened. In fact, one of the women relayed how she was not even supposed to be there and in fact did not want to be there, but somehow ended up attending the conference anyway. After listening to how others found healing and after she began to deal with her own hurts, the walls that kept her from seeing God began to come down. Through the amazing power of God’s Holy Spirit she was able to see Jesus and follow Him.
On another occasion, the leader of Rising Above, a Native pastor, was speaking at a church service. I was there helping with the worship. Again to my amazement, four young people came up to the pastor after the service wanting to begin their walk with Christ. Pastor Mervin Cheechoo had shared his own story of how God brought healing and faith in his own life. Yes, he was very vulnerable and open about his life and he used his own story to present the Gospel of hope. Again, God moved in a creative way to bring people to Himself.
In April we were invited to share our witness on the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska through our colleague in ministry, Pastor Ricky Jacob. I can still see my wife, Linda, counseling a Native woman late into the evening after we had finished a workshop on abuse issues. We were there to help people find hope in the midst of their pain. God used this to creatively draw people to Himself. He used Pastor Ricky Jacob to open the doors for us
to be there. Again, we saw God weaving our partnership in the Gospel together for His glory
in His own creative way.
There are many other stories that I could share like this that have occurred over the last few years at the Rising Above and other conferences. What is so amazing is to see how God longs to be in relationship with those He has created, and how He draws people to follow Him. He often does this through the witness of those who have gone through much pain themselves.
This is what I see with the staff at the Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots U.S. God has been using us separately and in different ways, but He also brings us together in partnership to complete His purposes in our own lives, as well as in the lives of so many others. And He uses you, our partners in the Gospel, to proclaim His Word to those in need. We are truly grateful for your prayers and financial support that enable us to share God’s love..