Stained glass tools of the trade.

You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. (Psalms 45:7 NKJV).

Things work better with a little oil.

Recently, Susan has returned to making stained glass art. Her tools and supplies have been sitting in the garage since we moved here nearly four years ago.

Because she wanted to do stained glass again, we cleaned out a space in the basement storage room, added a workbench, brought in her tools and glass and dusted them off, so she could create stained glass art once again. 

One of the most essential tools is her glass cutter. It’s a simple device shaped like a pencil with a carbide roller, used to score the glass so it can be broken accurately.   The cutter has a reservoir in its stem that supplies oil to the cutting wheel. Without the oil, scoring and cutting glass is hard plowing.

Well, after sitting in the garage for 4 years, the oil wasn’t flowing to the wheel. Susan did everything she could to get the oil flowing to no avail. Then I tried for a time without success. Finally, I took a bolt off the end of the device and started blowing into the reservoir, and the oil began to flow. 

Similarly, sometimes there is a blockage in our lives, and the oil isn’t flowing like it should. We need the winds of the Spirit to blow upon us to open out the channels of life in our being.

In our morning prayer time recently, I found myself praying, “Lord, let the oil of your Spirit saturate our lives. Lubricate our marriage, our family relationships, our health, our home, our ministry. Lord, grease us up so that we can flow better with you and others in every area of our lives.”

When we pray a prayer like that for ourselves, we also pray it for our friends and ministry partners. I want to encourage you that the oil of the Holy Spirit is available for you today. The above scripture from the Psalms refers to the Lord Jesus. It is quoted in Hebrews 1:8 with reference to Him. Indeed, Jesus was anointed. The oil of gladness was upon his life and ministry on the earth. Certainly, He had sorrows too, but His joy was seeing people come to know His Father. He was anointed with a purpose in life.

That same anointing that was upon Jesus is now upon the Body of Christ. He is Christ, the anointed One, and we are His Body. We carry the Jesus anointing, and we spread the oil of gladness wherever we go.

I have always said that the anointing, whether it is the anointing to preach, the anointing to heal, the anointing to grandparent, or the anointing to do stained glass is God’s love in action. When we pray for the anointing to flow, we are praying for God’s love to flow in our relationships and in everything that we do. 

Grease us up, Lord, and let your love flow through us! 

Meetings in Tolna, North Dakota

In October, I had some wonderful meetings at New Life Fellowship in Tolna, North Dakota, where Pastor Jeff and Karol Kapelle have ministered since the church’s founding in 1988. At a gathering of men I spoke on “Make Me a Vessel of Honor” from 2 Timothy 2:20-22. As men, we need to be containers to carry God’s glory to our families and the world around us. 

I also spoke on “Dr. God,” based on the scripture in Exodus 15:26, Leeser, where God says, “I the Lord am thy Physician.” In another service I spoke on “The Jesus Anointing,” based on Luke 4:18-19, where Jesus spoke of the anointing on His life to preach, heal, and set the captives free. That same anointing is still in operation today.

The sewing classroom in Benin.

Benin Update

Painters are finishing their work on the classroom addition in Benin, West Africa, which we helped to construct through the giving of our partners and partnering churches. It’s great to see the sewing machines which we purchased in their designated place in the new facility, along with classrooms for the electrical engineering, civil engineering, and the Bible School. We continue to support the Bible School monthly, which is raising up ministers for rural areas in Benin. Learn more about the mission in Benin.>>>

Prayer Requests

Please pray with us for these needs:

• That our new book would help many people to become faithful followers of Jesus.
• For Tom and Susan’s strength and health to fulfill our mission.
• For an increase of the anointing to preach and bring healing.
• For new open doors for evangelism.
• For our online ministry to reach many for Jesus.

Thank You!

Thank you for your prayers, the words of encouragement you send, and your financial support. You are a very special treasure to Susan and me!

Some Letters from Our Friends

How to Pray with Power Video>>>

Dear Tom and Susan, Thank you for your powerful anointed ministry through this video! I received a healing and deliverance from mind oppression that I have been going through. (Southern Minnesota)

Following Jesus Book>>>

Finished reading your book. What a blessing. Thank you. (Minneapolis area)

More Partner Updates