Jesus went to the Cross and paid for our sins, and on the third day He rose from the dead having conquered sin and death.
After the resurrection, He continued to appear to His disciples as well as do many miraculous signs amongst them.He did so many miracles that they are not even all recorded, in fact the book of John says:
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.But these are written that you maybelieve that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you mayhave life in his name.” John 20:30-31
Jesus did many other miracles and in fact continues to do them in the present when we walk in faith and are led by His Spirit. Sometimes there are big ones and other times there are small ones, however the small ones can be just as mind-boggling as the big ones.
It is a mystery as to why some prayers take years to get answered, while others are answered in moments…Some divine mysteries cannot be explained rationally, but rather, are to just be accepted and to be thankful for and marveled over, just like His very resurrection.
During this season of Easter, it is good to reflect on Christ’s payment for our sins and His glorious resurrection, as well as to rejoice in His intervention in our lives in both big and small ways. The biggest miracle is of course having our sins paid for on the cross by Jesus and having been given eternal life through faith in Him.
Small miracles and answers to prayers are also good to reflect on, as they speak of the personal touch of God into our own situations and everyday lives.
The following is a short testimony about one of those little signs and wonders that happened recently when calling upon the living Resurrected Christ:
A Quick Little Prayer
We were taking a walk/hike recently and were a little over a couple miles into it, when I started feeling pain in my foot. I took off the boots I was wearing—which usually aren’t a problem—to find I was just beginning to get a blister, which is quite the nightmare for a decent lengthy jaunt like this. My foot was inflamed and irritated in a particular spot, but a full blister hadn’t formed yet.
We were close to the ocean, so we headed over to the beach, going down some stairs, so I could soak my foot in the cold water for a bit to help soothe it and possibly stop the inflammation. I was concerned, however, of putting my boots back on afterwards since it would just keep making the area worse and cause a full blister to form.
I was hoping that it might be possible to walk back on the sand with bare feet since we had a considerable distance to get back to the car… about 2.5 miles.
However, the tide had come way up and that was not going to be possible since there were quite a few cliffs on the way. The waves would soon be slamming into the cliffs and would be impassable. I was trying to think of what to do: Going back up and taking a route to walk back on streets with bare feet for that long could cause other foot problems.
I had the thought, what if I could find some abandoned flip flops on the beach? People sometimes leave stuff at the beach…however, because of the high tide there wasn’t much sand or beach left at all… but I still scoured the area anyway, but to no avail.
Even if I did find some flip flops, the hope of getting the right size—I have pretty big feet at size 13— was a quite the long shot.
I went back in the water soaking my feet again, praying what to do and just prayed a quick little prayer: “Lord, I could really use some old, abandoned flip flops right now…”
I turned around to walk back towards the stairs and there was a pair of old flip flops sitting right there… I was blown away! …I had JUST looked right there in that spot a moment before … what?… whoa!
I was flabbergasted… the Holy Spirit touched me as I picked them up… amazingly they were the right size too! My mind being blown, all I could do was thank the Lord!
I cleaned my feet and put on the flip flops and started heading back… I was able to get back to our car without any further pain or injury and avoided getting a full-blown blister... hallelujah!
I remember our old buddy Harald Bredesen— a friend, a mentor, and one of the fathers of the Charismatic Renewal— who used to say : “When do miracles happen? Usually when you need one.” Thank you, Lord!
Jesus rose from the grave to give us eternal life and life more abundantly in this present time. He answers some prayers in unexpected ways that sometimes blow our minds.
Most mind-blowing of all though is that He went to the cross and paid the price for our sins and then rose from the dead so that we could spend eternity with Him.
As we reflect this Easter, it is important to realize the brevity of life and that eternity awaits after the final curtain. Believing on Christ and His atonement means we get to spend it in Heaven.
Jesus did the ultimate miracle when He rose from the dead on the third day to give us life eternally after He died in our place on the Cross. This is Good News to be reflected on at this time of year, and it is also something to be shared with others when the Lord opens up the doors.
Share the Good News where the Lord gives you opportunity and continue to look to Christ for more blessings and miracles to come your way.
Praise God! Jesus died on the cross and rose again victorious over sin and death! "God credits righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:23-25 NIV) He died to give us eternal life through simply believing upon Him as our Savior and Lord and He also gives us his Holy Spirit freely!
Road Adventures: Signs, Wonders and Resurrection
We were venturing out on the road recently, and just headed out seeking to be led by the Holy Spirit. We knew that the Lord had something He was leading us to… but we weren’t sure what yet. On the way, after being on the road for a bit and stopping for some adventures, with nothing set up, the Lord suddenly opened the door to minister in Colorado, which we responded with: “Well, we are in range to make it over there so we will be there!”
We had a powerful move of the Holy Spirit in Colorado Springs at Iglesia Arbol de Vida on Missionary Sunday which we just happened to be there on that date—where we shared about some historical missionaries and we also had a bunch of teenagers, as well as others, getting filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit! Then in Denver at the YWAM Base, we shared about some of our own missionary adventures and prayed over those getting ready to depart on a mission trip themselves, all of it planned by the Holy Spirit…we just had to follow the Lord’s plan as it unfolded!
One of the adventures we felt led to take on the way was to go through Death Valley.
Death Valley Days
Death Valley is the lowest point in North America, as well as having the hottest recorded temperature on earth, and as we went through, we came upon an unusual phenomenon there at a place called Badwater Basin: This ancient dry basin, once a lake in ages past, was presently filled with water!
As we pondered this highly unusual phenomenon, the Holy Spirit fell on me with this verse: “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)And the Literal International Translation for this same verse reads: “Behold, I am doing a new thing, now it springs up, Do you not know it? Indeed, I put a way in a wilderness, In a desolate place—floods.”
Badwater Basin filled with water!
The reason behind this unusual occurrence was due to another rare event that took place some months back: when the first tropical storm to land in Southern California in 84 years, the remnants of Hurricane Hilary—originally a category 4 Hurricane—came ashore in Southern California. After dumping a truckload of rain in Southern California, the tropical storm blew out into the desert and stalled over Death Valley, dumping a whole year’s worth of rain in just one day. Death Valley was heavily flooded, and many parts experienced a lot of damage, causing it to be closed for repairs for months afterward, the longest closure in its history.
It was wild to see such a dry desert place like Badwater filled with all that water! In fact, we have visited here together a number of times over the years, and it has always been 100 percent bone dry… never even so much as a drop in it…it was so surreal to see it full of water! We felt it was a sign from the Lord of what His plans are to come, for His word declares:
“This is what God says will happen in the last days:I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.Your young men will see visions.Your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women,I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth below… And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 2:16-21
We were blessed to be friends as well as be mentored by two people who were used to reach unlikely groups that many saw as resistant: one was Harald Bredesen who led many people, such as mainline believers who had formerly rejected and resisted the work of the Holy Spirit, into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as well as lead many people to Christ. The other one was Lonnie Frisbee, who was also used by God to reach an unlikely group, far-out hippies, who most of society, as well as the body of Christ, had written off, and he led them into salvation and the filling of the Holy Spirit as well.
The Water of Life
There is an implication in the above-mentioned verse from Acts 2:16-21 that as the days become more last, we shall see more of the work of the Holy Spirit! Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as living water, we cannot live without water in the natural, and we need the living water in our spiritual lives as well.
When Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again, He made the way for our salvation, as well as for His Spirit to be in and with us. His disciples were indwelt with the Holy Spirit (John 20:22) right after His resurrection, and all who receive Christ are also automatically indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6:19). Even though His disciples were indwelt, they also needed the empowering of the Holy Spirit. This took place on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out in power.
Billy Graham, one of America's greatest evangelists, said we need to understand that Paul made a command in Ephesians 5:17 that we are to seek to be regularly filled with the Holy Spirit, on an ongoing basis. The Reformer Martin Luther also said: “You need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit for the rest of your life, on an ongoing basis, lest we fall back to the world and unbelief.” We need to be like the wise virgins who kept their lamps full of oil and burning. Christ holds out an open offer to freely receive of His Spirit, all we have to do is ask.
The Cross Has Made the Way
Jesus went to the cross and paid the price for our redemption, a price I could not pay, one you could not pay, He paid it once for all! He also gives the Holy Spirit freely just as he gives salvation freely. There is, however, a barrier that must be overcome in the human mind and human way of thinking.Everything has to be paid for in this fallen world: you have to pay for gasoline, you gotta pay for your car, gotta pay your bills, gotta pay this and that and the other thing, pay pay pay pay! However, God gives us salvation and His blessings freely.
This is thus something that is antithetical to the human mind and thus the word of God must be dwelt upon to let the Holy Spirit bring revelation so we can grasp this truth. Human teaching that does not line up with the Word of God and His grace only muddies the water and makes it difficult for people to receive. Trying to earn His blessings often becomes a barrier to being able to freely receive.
No matter how good a life one might live, nor how many good works one might do, no matter how much one may fast, or pray, or seek to do good works… it can never be sufficient in itself nor supersede the work Christ has already done for us. There is only one sacrifice that is sufficient, and Jesus made it for us when He, as God's spotless, unblemished, lamb of God, who was without sin or stain, laid his life down freely for us on the cross, to redeem us. Jesus went to the cross and died for us because we cannot do it for ourselves; we cannot pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps or be good enough, and we can never do enough good works. We are sinners who need a redeemer and redemption.
Praise God Jesus is the redeemer who wrought that redemption on the cross, and through simple faith in Him alone He freely gives us that redemption, as well as by that same grace gives us His blessings.
The Bible says: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things.” Romans 8:32. God, in offering up His own Son as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, has already given us the best. Thus, by that same grace, He will give us His blessings when we ask in faith and humbly rely on His grace.
Understanding Christ’s Payment and Redemption
Paul in his most systematic and comprehensive epistle, lays out clearly in Romans 3:21 – 25 Christ’s payment for us:
“But now, completely apart from the law, a righteousness from God has been made known. The Law and the Prophets testify to it.This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all who believe. In fact, there is no difference,because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God but are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Righteousness only comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
The Bible says righteousness is credited to us when we believe upon and receive Christ. We cannot create a righteousness of our own to recommend ourselves to God as justification.
God justifies us Himself through the sacrifice of His son on the cross and through faith in that sacrifice and receiving it by grace. Jesus offered himself up as God's once for all sacrifice for our sins on the cross.
It is apart from the law: Paul uses the law and works often interchangeably, and is saying no attempts to keep the law on your own, nor seeking to be without sin on one’s own terms, can ever suffice, we must look to Christ alone as our redemption.
Paul goes on to say “all have sinned” and as he states earlier in Romans 3:10: “There is no one righteous, no not even one.” One cannot make themselves righteous through their works, law-keeping, prayers or fasting. All have sinned therefore they must find redemption outside of themselves. As Paul, a man who was a Pharisee and religious person, yet whose heart was dark, realized when he encountered Christ: all his religious works and religiosity were a pile of dung and worthless (Philippians 3:1-9).
Paul is emphatic in his teaching: “It is by grace we are saved, through faith, it is the gift of God, not by our works, so no one can boast!” Ephesians 2:8-10
It is by grace, and grace alone, meaning unmerited favor is given us through faith, thus it is not by our works, not by our striving, nor our good lives, but by God’s grace through Christ’s redemption are we saved and by that alone. We are called to do good works of course as believers, but those good works do not merit salvation, they should be a result of knowing and walking with the Lord and being led by His Spirit.
The Subtle Deception of Familiarity
Some will no doubt say: Well, I'm familiar with all this, this is nothing new. And in their zeal to find some fringe new secret revelation, they go off into the weeds and soon they don't see the forest for the trees. As Luther declared: We can never know, understand, teach enough, preach enough, on this great truth of Christ’s great redemption for us. Its depths can never be fully mined.
We must therefore as the Scripture says: Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And let his Word and his Spirit continually open our eyes more clearly unto the magnificence of all He has done for us through His death and resurrection.
The Holy Spirit and God’s Peace
Romans 5 says: Now that we understand this justification that comes by faith through grace, we have peace with God. Though we may have trials, tribulations, difficulties and spiritual warfare in this life, we must understand that we have a relationship with God that is solid, secure, and nothing can separate us if we are in Christ.
Peace with God is the longing of every human heart: Though people may not understand it, it is what they are longing for, it is what the heart seeks. Praise God, we have it through Jesus Christ, who paid the full price when He died on the cross for us and rose again to give us life. Not only that, but Romans 5 goes on to say that He gives us the Holy Spirit, and it is in the infinitive form when he says “gives” meaning He has, He does, He will! We need to learn to live in and walk in the Spirit. The Scripture declares that the Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing.
Times of Refreshing
There are epochs in history where the Holy Spirit is poured out corporately in great measure. Personally you can always have as much as you want, all you need to do is ask and believe and receive: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13) In these corporate outpourings, however, there is typically a heightened understanding of the great redemption of Christ, His work on the cross, and the righteousness that comes by faith. This is something that has been altogether missing in many modern attempts people have had to whip up a revival on their own.
The Reformation was a return to a focus on Christ and his work on the cross for us and His grace given freely to all who believe: A return to the righteousness that comes FROM God and is by grace! This became the foundation for the revivals that followed in its wake: in England, in the early American colonies, and on and on!
George Whitfield, known as the Grand Itinerant, who was one of the main leaders of the mass revival in the early American Colonies known as the Great Awakening, regularly preached on: “The righteousness that comes from God.” As Nathan Hale came into a meeting Whitfield was about to preach in, he walked into the Holy Spirit’s atmosphere and was touched by the presence of God and a word came to him: “Are you trying to create a righteousness of your own by your own works?” He was convicted and surrendered his life to Christ and was born again on the spot without a word even having been preached yet.
We are told that the Lord will bring times of refreshing. We thus must turn and fix our eyes on Jesus who did it all for us on the cross. It is Him, Jesus Christ, whom we are to glorify and lift up, Christ whom we exalt!
As we celebrate Easter, let us fix our eyes on Jesus and receive freely the abundance of his Spirit, letting Him pour out on us, bringing refreshing, renewal, and filling every dry empty place in our hearts and making them full! Hallelujah, He is Risen!
We recently ministered with Centro Cristiano Esperanza in Orange County sharing a message of hope on the grace given to us through faith in Christ and His power that is available for our lives today. It was a blessed time and the presence of the Holy Spirit was very refreshing.
We also just had a divine appointment recently when we were driving home and it was getting late, so we stopped at a motel for the night. When leaving the next morning, I forgot something in the room and had to go back. A male service worker had already begun taking care of the room. I started talking for a few minutes and as we spoke I felt led to ask if he needed prayer for anything. It turned out his good friend had just died and had the funeral coming up the next day and so he would actually really appreciate some prayer! He went on to say that he had been a believer for some years but had some ups and downs and his friend passing away had really shook him up. I spoke to him about God’s mercy and love and then prayed for him and he was clearly ministered to in a significant way. He shared afterwards that he was greatly encouraged by this divine appointment and thanked me for stepping out in faith to ask if he needed prayer! Hallelujah!
Reflections
As we have entered fully into the new decade, it causes us to reflect on the grace that the Lord has blessed us with to be able to minister in different places around the world over the last few decades, including: Latvia, Romania, Kosovo, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, England, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Argentina, Ghana, West Africa, and in the US: all over California, as well as in Arizona, Oregon, Montana, Colorado and Hawaii.
We are thankful for God’s grace to minister through us and have been blessed to experience many receive Christ, get filled with the Holy Spirit, and receive healing and deliverance. It is a blessing to see lives impacted by the Kingdom of God in these different places as we have ministered over the years. We are thankful for the different divine appointments we have experienced along the way as well.
Books We’ve Been Published In
We have also been blessed to have some Holy Ghost Stories published in some different books over the years, including:
Kernels of Hope: Real People, Real Stories by Bob and Gail Kaku. The divine appointment sequel to the Israel story but this Holy Ghost surfing miracle is on the Coast of Spain where a divine appointment took place with some guys who just turned out to be friends of the surfer from Israel!
Not By Might Nor By Power: The Great Commission (Book Two) by Lonnie Frisbee with Roger Sachs. Shares about Lonnie’s influence on us as well as a story of Bryan getting filled with the Holy Spirit.
Not By Might Nor By Power: Set Free (Book Three) by Lonnie Frisbee with Roger Sachs. Shares stories from a mission trip to Colorado with Lonnie (interestingly enough, much spiritual warfare was experienced in the Colorado trips mentioned) and a wild encounter while hiking in Tahquitz Canyon in Palm Springs, amongst some other things.
If you’re interested in one of the books we’ll get you a copy for a donation of whatever you can afford—typical suggested donation is $15 per book. These are also all available at Amazon.com.
Audio and Video Programs
We have also been able to create a host of different audio and video programs that are available on different formats and platforms. They have covered lots of different topics, including those from Christian History such as the Reformation to Revivals to Biographies on Revivalists and Reformers as well as Divine Appointment Stories and Mission Adventures and many other topics.
The programs on historical Christian figures are amongst our more popular topics on different sites. I see now more than ever the dire need for programs like ours that tell the history that has largely been ignored by secular institutions. Moreover, our programs do it from a uniquely Spirit-filled perspective which is something that is greatly lacking in this arena. For example, our recent program we put out on Charles Finney talked about his powerful Baptism in the Holy Spirit, others who’ve done programs on Finney have omitted this important aspect of his life and ministry, not even mentioning it at all.
Here is an endorsement of our ministry (link: https://youtu.be/TYtTLR5K_pY) from a historical figure himself, Harald Bredesen, one of the fathers of the Charismatic Renewal, and some of what he had to say in his endorsement of our ministry:
Of all the ministries I’ve worked with, there is none that I have the greatest confidence in the purity of the motivation and the fact that it was the Holy Spirit who gave birth to it than Grace World Mission, led by its founders, Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux...I’ve seen the sacrifice; I’ve seen the zeal; I’ve seen the Spirit-ledness…and I am so happy to be a part of it—I hope you will be and will support it as well... I’m sure He’ll bless you for it.
Our recent ministry update includes a few recent divine appointments, as well as an account of a recent outpouring where the Holy Spirit moved powerfully. We also have a link in our update to a powerful historical podcast we recorded on Charles Finney’s Conversion and Baptism in the Holy Spirit, which is one of our latest uploads to our SoundCloud pageand offers fairly easy access for listening on demand.
A Little About Charles Grandison Finney
Charles Finney was a powerfully used evangelist and minister in America in the early part of the 1800’s. He also ministered in England. In fact, he is considered to be the forerunner to those who did mass evangelistic campaigns later like D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, and Reinhard Bonnke. Like Martin Luther, Finney also studied law, however it was after becoming a lawyer that Finney went on to experience a dramatic conversion and soon after a very powerful baptism in the Holy Spirit…which he says “took place before he even knew what that was.” His baptism/filling of the Holy Spirit also touched several other people right as it took place and included some manifestations that have been seen in many different revivals, such as profuse weeping, holy laughter, and God’s overwhelming presence!
Finney is in many respects a product of the Reformation; similar to Martin Luther he received a revelation by the Holy Spirit regarding the grace of God. Finney was given a revelation from his experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit that: “Justification by faith through grace is a present reality and something to be received now.” Not just something to hope for at the end. This was the effect of the Reformation as it fanned out through history, it brought forth evangelism.
Our friend Harald Bredesen, a Lutheran that got filled with the Holy Spirit himself and who also recaptured that original Lutheran revelation of "justification by grace" via the filling of the Holy Spirit, said when he witnessed to others: The problem with religion versus the Gospel, is that religiosity often leaves one stuck in limbo not knowing if you will be hung or acquitted on the Day of Judgement, hoping the rituals one did will be enough, which they never can be. The Bible however makes it clear that the Gospel saves and brings forth eternal security: salvation was brought forth on the cross through Christ and all you need to do is receive Christ as Savior and Lord. Then you have peace with God having been justified by His grace through faith (Romans 5:1-3).
Finney took that revelation he received into the harvest fields. And while Luther’s revelation resulted in the Reformation, Finney’s revelation resulted in pioneering campaigns of evangelism. Though they may have differences in some respects regarding the way they looked at things, the truth they received by revelation of the Holy Spirit about God’s grace brought great impact. Finney also worked tirelessly to bring an end to what he called “the vile sin of slavery.” Many other believers like him worked hard to do the same in this respect as well. It is important to learn about historical figures like Charles Finney, a Holy Spirit-filled warrior who battled for souls, as well as to free those in slavery. His conversion and filling of the Holy Spirit is an extraordinary power encounter. Check it out, I’m sure you’ll get a renewing touch of the Holy Ghost by just listening to that powerful Baptism in the Holy Spirit that Finney experienced! Here’s the link to our podcast on Charles Grandison Finney: https://soundcloud.com/graceworldmission/finneys-conversion
The Need for Programs Like This
After graduating from Fuller Theological Seminary, and while ministering in different situations, I began to see the need to share certain aspects of Christian History, a lot of which was rarely covered in general and basically flatly ignored, particularly by secular universities. (I attended a few of those before my graduate studies at Fuller and they were biased against, and edited out, much of the Christian History of the US and other places then, and have only gotten worse now!)
The many contributions made by Christians like Finney—who was quite a well known and popular figure during his time—are often purposely ignored in the secular school system today. This is especially pronounced in the secular universities, with the modern zeitgeist that willingly embraces a collective historical amnesia and biased slant. One of the axioms of Stalinism and Marxism was: If we rewrite history then we can control the people. We can see this happening today throughout the land.
Learning about believers like Finney helps to give us perspective and is a step in seeing beyond the historical revisionism of our day.
We have put out lots of different programs, including those on historical Christian figures, which are amongst some our own more popular topics on some sites. I see now more than ever the dire need for programs like ours that tell the history that has largely been, and is being, ignored by secular institutions. Moreover, our programs do it from a uniquely Spirit-filled perspective. We appreciate your prayers and your prayerful consideration towards financially contributing to us in this seriously needed work! Here is an endorsement of our ministry from a historical figure himself, Harald Bredesen, a Lutheran that got filled with the Holy Spirit who was one of the fathers of the Charismatic Renewal, and some of what he had to say in his endorsement of our ministry:
"Of all the ministries I’ve worked with, there is none that I have the greatest confidence in the purity of the motivation and the fact that it was the Holy Spirit who gave birth to it than Grace World Mission, led by its founders, Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux...I’ve seen the sacrifice; I’ve seen the zeal; I’ve seen the Spirit-ledness…and I am so happy to be a part of it—I hope you will be and will support it...I’m sure He’ll bless you for it." God Bless! Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux
We were ministering in Europe recently and were able to stop by Geneva, Switzerland, along the way and see the Reformation Wall, a feature in Geneva that shows some of the trajectory and different aspects of the Reformation. One of them is a relief that shows the Pilgrims who came across the sea in the Mayflower and started the first sustaining colony in the New World—the previous colony attempt by others had folded due to starvation, freezing, and other hardships.
Visiting the Reformation Wall in Geneva, Switzerland. (Check out this short video we filmed right at Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims first landed:
These early settlers on the Mayflower were part of a movement in England that came out of the Reformation. Known as Puritans, they sought to return to the New Testament. They were a revival movement that was outside the camp in England as they felt that Christ must touch the heart; mere head knowledge alone, nor just knowing a bit of doctrine, wasn’t sufficient, Christ must fill the heart. As they landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, they laid out a few things, including that they were taking on this endeavor "for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith." On a previous trip a little while ago, we were able to visit the very place where they landed. The museum at the site talks about the good relations they had with the Native Peoples in that time, and in fact how they were helped by them. It was duly noted that these early Pilgrims and their faith and endurance, were something to be thankful for in that early seminal history of America…. Happy Thanksgiving!
England
We ministered first in London, England after stepping out in faith to make the journey across the pond.
Ministering in London, England, where we experienced the Holy Spirit filling and encouraging as we shared about John Wesley.
The Lord met us in power as we ministered! We had been visiting a few sights connected with John Wesley, the English revivalist from the 1700’s while in London and other places, and incorporated insights from that into the messages we shared. We experienced people getting very blessed from this insight, receiving encouragement, renewal, and empowering for evangelism in their own lives, as well as a few who surrendered their hearts to Christ! Praise God!
Divine Appointment in Cornwall
In fact, while visiting a site connected to John Wesley’s ministry in Cornwall, we had a divine appointment with a fellow believer who volunteered now and then at the site, and had actually been called in unexpectedly that day. Talking with her, we found out she was going through, and had been through, some heavy trials in life, including with her health. She responded positively when we asked if we could pray for her. As we prayed, tears streamed down her face as the Holy Spirit touched her and ministered to her. You could clearly see she was buoyed by the touch of the Holy Spirit upon her. Her whole countenance had changed and brightened when we finished praying. We were also able to help her with closing up and putting some heavy things away, which she appreciated. She then helped us by going in front in her car and guiding us to find our way back out to the main roads out of this tricky little maze-like area. Many of Cornwall’s roads are ridiculously narrow with huge hedges on each side—they were built for medieval carts, not cars—you can get a good scare from oncoming traffic, as well as getting lost really easily. We all got mutually blessed by the Holy Spirit leading us to step out and minister to her that day.
France
We ministered in various places in France, including the Loire Valley, in Tours, in Marçon, and in Paris.
We ministered in various places in France and were blessed to experience renewal, healing, deliverance and divine appointments.
The Holy Spirit moved powerfully in the different meetings and churches we ministered at, with people getting filled and refreshed in an awesome way and with some powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit, as well some healing and some making decisions for Christ! In fact, a young man in the Loire area was powerfully baptized in the Holy Spirit in a dramatic way, the Holy Spirit filled him very powerfully and continued moving on him well after the meeting was over; he was greatly renewed as were others who testified to that as well. We experienced some very powerful deliverance take place too in different meetings by those who felt heavy oppression come off their lives as we prayed and ministered to them. A man testified he was set free from heavy burdens weighing him down and was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit as we prayed for him, as were others. Gloire a Dieu!
Divine Appointment in Paris
We also had a divine appointment in Paris, one with a worker at a place we stayed at. We were talking with her and sharing and she turned out to be a believer from another area originally. We ended up praying for her right there in the hallway, and she got powerfully touched and renewed—living in France as a Christian can be very tough spiritually!
Spain
We had a blessed time ministering in Barcelona, Spain, as we shared about the Reformation and grace in a few different meetings. We had a powerful visitation of the Holy Spirit as we ministered. In fact, a young girl just 11 years old got powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit in a very radical way: the Holy Spirit had begun to touch her and when I began to pray for her, it was like a wave of love and power just flooded her, knocking her to the ground where she just soaked up His presence for a good long time!
Ministry in Barcelona, Spain, where we shared about the Reformation and grace, something the Holy Spirit showed us the country is in much need of.
There were also some new believers there who we got to know; they had just recently come to Christ and were also powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit in a very dramatic way, getting deeply touched by God’s love as the Spirit of God immersed them and overwhelmed them in His grace and love. There were many others who got filled with the Holy Spirit for the first time also, along with some who surrendered their hearts to Christ! We had many share how blessed they were and how much they needed that message of God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, gloria a Dios!
Ministry at a Conference in Riverside
Ministering in Riverside on faith and the Holy Spirit and in San Diego.
We were blessed to minister at a conference on faith and the Holy Spirit as the main speakers in Riverside before this EuroMission trip. The Riverside INV Church invited us and specifically said they were desiring for people to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We were fully up for that! We preached, shared, and prayed for people at a number of back-to-back meetings and workshops, who came from a couple different congregations. It was a blessing to experience the Holy Spirit filling, empowering, delivering, and setting free, and healing many people inside and out through the power of Christ’s glorious Holy Spirit who comes to heal brokenness and set captives free! Glory! The leaders also brought up some of the younger kids to receive prayer, and they also were ministered to by the power of Spirit at the last service. In fact, there were some young girls of about 12 the Lord touched in a powerful way that had their hands in the air and tears streaming down their faces; the Lord filled their hearts and they shared they had never experienced anything like this before, hallelujah!
Southern Border Region and The High Desert
We ministered out in the High Desert area of Hemet at the end of the summer. We have previously done a lot of PrayerFests in this area with our friends Jeff and Jeanette, where we introduce those who haven’t had a Charismatic background to the filling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. On this particular occasion, we ministered at a special meeting at their church where the Lord filled a number of people, including some young kids, with the power of the Holy Spirit. It was an outdoor meeting that had us sharing and then praying for people out on the lawn of the church into the warm summer night! It was a service that combined the congregations together, having the Hispanic congregation join the service so that Mercedes and I were ministering together with myself speaking and her interpreting—like we so often do—and then praying for people. The Lord filled many in a powerful way and there were a few that also raised their hands to surrender as well as rededicate their lives to Christ, praise God! We have been ministering down in the Southern Border region in different meetings recently as well. We experienced some being filled with the Spirit, as well as people receiving Christ, and many receiving physical healing in these particular meetings, including those who testified to receiving healing in the back, shoulder, and necks, right as we prayed for them. In fact, one lady shared how her back was healed in a meeting when we prayed for her, and then she hurt her back again overdoing something. So she found out that we were ministering in another place in the area, and came and got prayer again and got healed again! Praise God, His mercies are new every morning!
Canada
Blessed time in Victoria, Canada, where we were stoked to cover some of the ground where our old friend Harald Bredesen used to minister!
We had a powerful time ministering in Victoria, Canada in the summer! The Holy Spirit was moving and we received testimonies of healing, including back issues healed amongst other things, praise God! Our son Patrick and a friend experienced a person receive healing right when they laid hands on them. We also saw the Holy Spirit powerfully renewing many people in a deep way, one young lady who was overcome and fell over when we prayed for her shared how renewed and revived she was; in fact she had never really fallen over before, but realized now it was the overwhelming love and power of God coming over her. We were blessed to talk to some believers up there who remember the days when our old friend and mentor Harald Bredesen used to minister in Victoria! We were also blessed to experience some divine appointments while taking a little time to hike and surf up there. A lady we ran into while out hiking was telling us about some of her trials; she didn’t have a charismatic background, but got an introduction when we prayed for her! Reminded me of old times with Harald when out on prayer walks together! Hallelujah! We really appreciate your prayers and support! Bryan, Mercedes and Patrick Marleaux
