Archive Jan-May 2015 - Raven Ministries

El Salvador

Update 4

“For they considered not the miracle of the loaves, for their heart was hardened….. they…besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as many as touched Him were made whole.” Mark 6:52-56

The third “Good News Report” comes from a Pastor we met in Santa Ana, El Salvador. We had driven the hour from San Salvador to meet with a group of Pastors; not knowing whether the group would be 5 or 50. God brought five Pastors to hear the Word of exhortation and encouragement

Update 3

Happy is he whose resting place is in the secret of YHVH, and under the shade of the wings of the Most High; who says of YHVH, He is my safe place and my tower of strength: He is my God, in whom is my hope. Psalms 91:1-2 BBE

Our Father is ALWAYS taking care of us! Even when we don't know we need it. Our next Divine Intervention was on a drive headed to check out the potential location for a future Pastor Couple retreat. About an hour and a half into the trip, Ron noticed Pastor Gabriel was having difficulty shifting from neutral into first. A little while later, and only 15 miles from our destination, we ran into backed up traffic that was barely inching along. Seeing signs of road work we thought it was just a short delay.

Update 2

And, the people believed: and when they heard that YHVH had visited the children of Israel, and that He had looked upon their affliction, then they vowed their heads and worshipped.

Exodus 4:31

When you recognize that God sees you in the midst of your trouble….it causes you to fall prostrate before Him in awe and rise up in praise. It is easy, at least for us, to not really contemplate the fact that God is with us and actively involved in everything that happens in our life. And in those times we can “chalk up” our experiences to being blessed and take for granted a Divine Intervention; falling short of basking in the reality that the Sovereign Creator of the universe stepped into our circumstances. Then we miss the opportunity, that He so longs for, to deepen our relationship with Him; to move from knowing about Him to knowing Him. 015

Update 1

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise….because he looked for a city which has firm foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:9-10

Pastors at Conference

The LORD is so faithful! As we keep holding onto the promise and looking for the city He is building, He continues to remove the scales from our eyes of faith. We are beginning to see it come into focus. Experiencing God move during this trip was, in many ways, unexplainable.

Pastors at Conference

He led us from groups to individuals to planning meetings to a broken and rebellious Pastor to a group of teenagers and young adults with the common link of being the sons/daughters of Pastors. Ron shared with 3 Pastor Groups (6 times in 2 days to the first one) and preached 4 times in 3 churches.

So while holding my back I prayed for each person in the waiting room. Then I called my associate to come pick me up. He was surprised at how quickly I was finished. I told him I didn't see a doctor I'm going to practice what I preach. So I returned home in great pain. When I got home and went to unlock the door I dropped the keys. When I bent over to pick up them up I was healed, the pain was completely gone and have never returned!" Praise the LORD for His Healing Power. Hallelujah!

Meeting with Pastor Group in Santa Ana

While we ate lunch and had a cup of coffee he fixed the clutch. An hour and a half and $30 later... we were on our way back. Praise the Lord! He always guides our steps. There are so many places we could have broken down where it would have been considerably more difficult and taken more time to get the truck fixed. We could have needed to be towed or broken down in the middle of all that traffic and not been able to get towed away for hours. So many possible scenarios. But God worked everything out where we basically took a drive with friends, stopped for lunch and a cup of coffee before heading home. Incredible! El Salvador Countryside

Using his limited Spanish he asked the Police officer to speak with his friend on the phone (I'm sure at this point he seemed highly suspect....still having the blood red eyes from his sinus infection and speaking Spanish like a 2 year old with a New York accent!) All of a sudden someone was standing behind him. It was Gabriela (little messenger of God), Pastor Gabriel's daughter! Now you have to realize there are over 2 million people in the San Salvador metro area, and half of them were probably on their way to work! And he ends up on the same highway at the same time in slow enough traffic for her to see him on the side of the road. Only our God!! She led him back to her father's house and Pastor wasn't even late for his meeting. Wow!! Only YHVH Mephalti (the LORD my Deliverer)!! Praise His Name!

Do we believe He loves us because we're His son? Jesus sees the problem & He walks on the water ready to pass them by. How many times in my life when I was struggling and I was saying God where are you? Maybe He passed right by because I was looking at my problem and He passed by because I didn't call out to Him? If we really believe the storm in my heart will stop

Meeting with Leaders of FIBAM

7. The devil wants to destroy you: Luke 22:31

8. Are we too busy? Busy doing many things for Him but not listening. Is He knocking because you have been too busy working for Him and you haven’t spent time with Him? Have you gone to the door to let Him in and He’s already gone? After ministering to the multitudes, Jesus went to be along with the Father.

9. Are we serving Jesus for ourselves or for His glory? One day we will give an account to the Master for our “journey to bring His Bride to Him.”

10. Are we hard hearted? The disciples were amazed that Jesus calmed the storm, “because their hearts were hard.”

11. Do we trust Him? “For they got not the land [of Canaan] in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your countenance [did it], because You were favorable toward and did delight in them.” Psalm 44:3

He gave Ron from Mark chapter 6: Do you believe…when others reject you, He will provide everything you need, He has a plan even when things don’t go the way we think they should, there’s a time for rest, God wants to save your city? Do you know….what it is to be alone with the Father, He might be ready to pass by, that sometimes our hearts get hard? Meeting with Pastor Group in Santa AnaAfterwards, one of the Pastors shared the following: “sometimes our hearts get hard and it shows by our low expectations. A few years ago I was preaching to the congregation that they didn't see healing because they didn't have faith. Later that night I woke up with tremendous pain in my kidneys. So I called my associate pastor to come take me to the hospital. The pain was unbearable. When we arrived in ER there were 40 people waiting. I was told it was probably a kidney stone. As I sat there I was reminded of my message from earlier that day.

We asked a road worker about the delay and he said there was an accident up ahead. After half an hour we had only traveled a mile and the problem with the clutch was getting worse so Pastor Gabriel suggested we head back rather than continue on to the resort. Sitting in trafficBecause of the road work, the highway was reduced to one lane in each direction with cement barriers on the side of opposite traffic and a narrow shoulder on our side. The traffic in our direction was bumper to bumper, but moving freely from the other direction and quite heavy at times. Right after deciding to turn around we noticed off to right there was a small driveway where he could actually back up to turn around....only due to the clutch problem he couldn't get it in reverse. There was a slight break in traffic for the opposite direction, and Ron and another Pastor travelling with us jumped out and pushed the truck in reverse. Pastor Gabriel was able to get the truck in 2nd and we headed back. We realized we couldn't go far because he could only use 2nd gear and we would probably lose that soon. "It just so happened" that we were less than a mile from the city where the other Pastor’s church is and he knew a mechanic there. The mechanic got us in right away.Following is one the ways God intersected Ron’s life during our recent trip to El Salvador:

He was driving to our representative’s (Pastor Gabriel) house the morning after he arrived in El Salvador and ended up on a new freeway. He was in heavy San Salvador traffic, inching his way along when he realized he was headed in the wrong direction. So he exited the freeway only to find himself on another freeway. Now he's totally lost...and speaks limited Spanish. He tried to contact Pastor Gabriel to get directions and let him know that he was going to be late, but the call wouldn't go through. After what seemed to be an eternity....and two failed attempts, he finally got through to our business rep, Roberto Choto.Pastor Gabriel, Sister Berali and Gabriela, with Luan & Ron Roberto has navigated us by phone a number of times in the past from various places in El Salvador. But, even Roberto couldn't help this time; due to a lack of landmarks in the area, Ron couldn't even describe where he was. Then he saw a police officer and pulled off the side of the road.

We also met with Pastors/Couples one-on-one and had two meetings with the leadership team from FIBAM (the group of Salvadoran Pastors and families we began serving in 2001) to plan a retreat for this coming summer. It was hard to change gears fast enough to hear and speak what the Father was saying. But, He always showed up and touched hearts in ways mere words never could.

Looking back over the “Words” that the Father spoke through Ron (fromPK Day Luke 22:31-32; Jeremiah 1:5, Song of Solomon 5; Joshua 1:1-9; Joshua 14:15; Genesis 24; Mark 6) , there are some common principles that stood out.

Do we believe what we (say) we believe? Do we believe God has a plan for our lives?
God wants holiness: “As for me and my house (me personally and my marriage) we will serve the LORD. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Everything we do, everywhere we go, everything we feel, and everything we think.....we expose to the Holy Spirit.
God wants intimacy: Revelation 3:20 Jesus said I'm at the door knocking. If anyone opens the door I will come in and sup with Him. Jesus wants to spend time with us. Jesus is the lover of our soul. Our hearts get hard when we lose our love for Him. Rev 3:20. He's knocking because the door is closed.
God wants obedience: The religious people knew the law but they didn't know the power of God. We don't have all the answers when people want to debate us....but this one thing I know. Go and wash, walk in faith and obedience.
God will be with us: God told Joshua “as I was with Moses, I am with you….be strong and very courageous”, to observe to do according to all the law. He told Joshua it was going to take strength and courage to be obedient, but He would never leave or forsake him.
God knows you: “As Jesus knows everything about you. The God of the universe that the stars bow down to - knows everything about you. The enemy is trying to destroy our faith in God. After He finished His time with the Father He saw the disciples struggling. Do you believe He knows your struggles?

Ron Preaching at Miramonte