Last Monday Amy and I celebrated 25 years of marriage. It's hard to grasp how fast those years have gone by. The Lord has been so good to us and helped us at every point along the way. He has blessed us with six kids that all love Him and it was a huge joy to have each one of them with us over our anniversary week. Javen and Cullen and our Colombian "hijo" Juanes came from Iowa and we had a good mix of ministry and fun while they were here in California. On one occasion we went surfing at the beach and then later that afternoon we held an open air meeting in the main square. Another time we did prayer in the park followed by a visit to the golden gate bridge. It was a great couple of days filled with campfires and singing and evangelism and beaches and Bible readings. We thank the Lord for His many blessings!
One Sunday afternoon Juanes and I went out to play some park basketball.... The courts were crowded with several teams waiting to play. The winning team always stays on the blacktop and you have to bet at least $5 to participate.... Juanes and I weren't willing to bet so it was difficult to get in the game. Finally after about an hour of waiting and getting to know some of the guys, one of the teams needed some extra players and they put the money in the pot for us. We got kinda lucky, and our team ripped off six games straight and we held court until it was dark. As soon as the last game ended they started giving out the money for our winnings. I quickly called everyone over and as they gathered around I preached a short gospel message. About 30 guys listened intently..... and then they were shocked as we tried to distribute our winnings amongst them..... No one wanted to take it... It was a great opportunity to preach on how God offers a free gift of eternal life to each one of us but you have to RECEIVE IT! I took my money and I put it in the hands of one of the guys and I said: "Please accept this free gift as if from Jesus Himself. He loves you." Juanes then preached a short thought on how, he and I "had gotten into the game with a debt so to speak... much like how we all have a spiritual debt before God that we cannot pay and now the big question is: Will you receive or reject what Christ has done on your behalf?"
One of the guys responded: "We've never had this kinda thing happen at our court before... Could you guys come back every Sunday and play with us and share something from the Bible?" When our mini gospel-meeting ended we had some fantastic conversations with several individuals. We thank the Lord for these great opportunities!
Missions quote for the day by Kurt Von Schleicher: "Our God of grace often gives us a second chance, but there is no second chance to harvest a ripe crop."
Micah for the Tuttle's
John Westley said: "You have nothing to do but to save souls, therefore spend and be spent in this work." That statement has been ringing in my ears this month..... and lately, each time I've gone out to the streets to work with souls I've found...... that the fishing is really good!
When doing some personal evangelism in the main square of Wastonville the other day I ran into a guy named Enrique. He had never heard the gospel before and he had never owned a Bible.... We talked for about a half an hour and he was full of really great questions. He was interested in coming to church and starting a bible study together..... I'm having epic conversations almost every day now and it seems as if the whole world has become increasingly interested in spiritual things. Nothing like soul winning in these last days! ......
"The twelfth Imam is coming".... That's what the Muslim guy sitting next to me said when I asked him how he would interpret the crazy times in which we live.... We were in the San Jose California airport and we had begun a fantastic and very friendly conversation about the contrast between Christianity and Islam. He told me that he's a medical doctor from Sudan and he teaches from time to time in one of the Bay Area universities.
As I talked about the love and grace of Jesus, he talked about the exploits of Mahmud. Soon people around us started turning their heads to look at us and listen in. When he explained that Muslims are waiting for the twelfth Imam to reveal himself and become the ruler of the world, I showed him that the Imam he was describing seemed to correlate to the antichrist of Revelation. He agreed and was fascinated at the thought that both religions share a similar eschatology, but from opposite sides of the coin. After a great discussion about this he suddenly got up and said: "I'm sorry, I have to go"..... I was left by myself thinking that I had really messed up the conversation, but then after a few moments he came back and said: "Sorry about that, I just realized that I had to print off my boarding pass.... But I want to know more about Jesus."
I immediately asked him what his opinion was about the Christian view of Jesus being God.... He said: "Well, we believe that Jesus is one of the prophets but not that he's God. Why would you come to the conclusion that Jesus is God?" I answered: "Well, I'm glad you asked:)....
"#1-Look at all the radical miracles that He did. #2-Look at all the radical things that He said. #3-Look at His radical resurrection from the dead. #4-Look at the radical birth and growth of the early church. #5-Look at the horrific martyrdoms that the apostles were willing to die because they really believed that Jesus had risen from the grave." #6-Look at what some of the secular historians of the first centuries (Josephus, Tacitus, Lucian) wrote about Jesus."
At this point we were being called to board the plane and my new friend asked: "Do you have a Bible? I'd like to learn more." .....
This last month I was able to preach in Oregon, Washington, New York and Texas. All of these opportunities were great and the Lord seemed to use each one, but my highlight for September was a week of prayer with 17 men in Seattle. These men traveled from several different places around the North America to meet at an Air B&B and pray. JUST PRAY! We spent a couple of days praying for souls. We prayed for churches to be awakened. We prayed for personal holiness. We prayed for new life. We simply prayed that God would begin to do great things in our lives and in our nation. It was an amazing time as God fanned the flames of revival in our own hearts!
After our time of prayer in Seattle eight of us drove south to pray for and spy out the land of Portland. When we got to the main square downtown we split up and did some personal evangelism. I went around asking people the question: "What do you think the solution is to our nations problems?"
I talked with an Antifa guy who was decked out in tactical gear, replete with a bulletproof vest and about ten loaded guns. He said that he and his buddies were there to ensure peace and safety and bring happiness back to the streets through militia-type force...... Oh the Irony!!!
Then I talked with a group of teenagers that were part of a march to protest the causes of climate change. They said that the answer to our problems is to end world-wide pollution and stop the coronavirus pandemic... I asked about how to stop the sin pandemic... They just laughed...... Oh the darkness!!!
I talked to the leader of a homeless camp who said that there is no answer to our problems, so he just escapes through heroine..... Oh the death!!!!
I talked to a right wing political activist who had set up several signs that described how our country is degenerating into socialism and losing its cherished freedoms. I agreed with this guy on a lot of things but his view was totally devoid of God and devoid of love for our fellow man. He thought it ridiculous that I believed in a real Jesus who is raised from the dead and returning soon. He said that he was an atheist and that morality is relative to each individual's preferences.... At the same time he believed it was his mission to show people what the coming consequences of our nations impending social, religious, economic and political meltdown will look like if we continue down this path..... Oh the disconnection!!!
At one point a fight broke out right behind me and one of the guys pulled a gun on the other. After a few terrifying moments the altercation ended, thankfully no shots were fired....
Conclusion: This world has a whole lot of darkness and death and disconnection. When you turn from God's light you get darkness. When you turn from God's love you get disconnection. When you turn from God's life you get death. Politics wont solve the problem. Addressing climate change wont solve the problem. Drugs wont solve the problem. Antifa wont solve the problem. According to the Bible the only thing that will save this broken world is the gospel of Jesus Christ that radically transforms a person from the inside out... Jesus, who is the embodiment of light and life and love is the only hope for this world!
Missions quote for the day: "If you're not fishing, it might be because you're not following." .... Jesus said: "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men."
Micah for the Tuttle's
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Micah for the Tuttle's
On week #2, after Amy had fulfilled her task of speaking to the teenage girls at wilderness week it quickly became my turn for an intense stretch of preaching back at Turkey Hill. I preached 25 times in 14 days to the high school and college age group and the Lord did great things. God was really working in the hearts of several young men. One night, after hearing the gospel many of them were totally broken over their sin and were crying out to the Lord. There was no manipulation or appeal to emotionalism, I just got done preaching and sat down and then God began to work. Some were on their knees and others were prostrate on their faces. Huge breakthrough's seemed to happening in many lives as spiritual chains were falling off.
Greetings to all of you who pray for us and follow our adventures as we seek to serve the Lord. I have received several emails and texts asking for an update and information about our move to California..... So here it is:
Most of you probably know how, three and a half years ago, when we came back from Peru, the Lord led us very clearly to stay in the USA and work to encourage His people in the areas of evangelism, discipleship, church planting and missions. Although it felt like my heart had been ripped out, the Lord encouraged us and has filled our schedule with countless opportunities to fulfill that mission. Our schedule continues to be very full and we thank God for the many open doors and opportunities He has given us to preach the gospel and encourage saints all over North America. As these few years have passed I still miss being in Peru in a full time capacity but now I feel fully healed of that displacement.
Javen and Cullen have been studying at Emmaus and because of that we have made Dubuque Iowa home base for the last few years. It has been great to be close to our older sons who are doing very well in the Lord and are now finishing college. Cullen just graduated with a major in intercultural studies and is currently doing his internship in Bogota Colombia. Javen is studying Christian counseling and he needs one more year at Emmaus after which he plans to go on to do a Master’s degree elsewhere.
Now that those two young men are transitioning to the next step of life we feel that the Lord is directing us to a new home base. We have been praying about this and we feel that the Lord is moving us to Freedom California. We have now done two spy-out-the-land visits there and we have found that “the fields are white for harvest”. During our times there we have also become better acquainted with the “Freedom Team” who has invited us to work with them. The Freedom team consists of three couples (Scott and Lynne Degroff, Dan and Cyndi Williams and Micah and Christina Williams who are all from assemblies in the midwest).
The team started about three years ago and it gets its name because of the town in which the ministry is located (which is about 90% Spanish speaking). The team’s desire is to do evangelism and discipleship and to start a new assembly in town which would hopefully be instrumental in starting new works across the west coast. They have laid a great foundation of prayer and made many key contacts in the area but they desperately need an evangelist and Spanish speakers to come and help.
On our first spy-out the-land visit when we began to feel that the Lord was leading us to Freedom, Amy and I went for a walk to pray and discuss the possibilities of moving there. After much walking and talking we both felt like Freedom CA is where the Lord would have us go, so we prayed and asked the Lord to make it crystal clear. After praying we noticed the street sign on the corner where we were passing by........ The cross streets were "Tuttle" and "California"! I put the following picture on our last blog post, but I didn't say anything about the street sign in the background.... Please look closely! How's that for a sign :)
California, with its high cost of living and its politics is not a place that I thought I would ever want to live but it really seems that we would be a great fit with this team and with their vision for making Christ’s name great in that part of the country. Many christians are leaving California and it seems to be becoming increasingly dark. What a great place to shine for Jesus! So please pray for us and with us as we begin to make Freedom California our new home base. We hope to continue our itinerant ministry, but to lesser degree and we still plan to make short trips to Peru but our main focus will be on evangelism and discipleship and church planting there in Freedom CA. Please pray!
Our last trip to Freedom was filled with many exciting evangelistic conversations. In the above picture I wasn't really trying to poke this guy in the eyes :) I was actually pleading with him to repent and come to Christ. He was a drug dealer, alcoholic and a womanizer who had abandoned his own children in several different cities. We had an epic hour-long conversation about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come. He had been in and out of prison many times and he thought it rather funny that he's so vile. At the same time he was keenly interested in the Bible passages that I shared with him (1 Cor 6:9-10) (Rev 20:11-15) (Luke 16:19-31) (Matthew 20:1-6) (John 3:36). He was quite alarmed at the Bibles teaching on hell and also very astonished that even he could be forgiven through the grace that Christ offers.... In this picture I was telling him: "Don't you see, there are spiritual chains draped all over you, only Jesus can remove them! Come to Christ while you still can." He replied: "Man, I think I see a halo over your head..... It's like God called you to give me a wake-up call." I said: "I don't know about the halo part but I do think that this was a divine appointment to shake you up. Repent while there's still time." ..... I gave him a fist bump and then he said: "I still think you're probably an angel or something but hey, thanks for caring enough to share this stuff with me."
During the course of the last two weeks we spent in Freedom we had several children's meetings out in the park. We just went around inviting the kids and their parents to come out and play games and listen to message from the Bible.... and they came! Amy translated on several occasions while Bria and Josiah and Mya helped in different ways with the kids that showed up. One day we had more than 100 kids from the neighborhood! A few adults heckled me from the back but I was able to preach my heart out and the Lord really seemed to be working. Afterward there were many small groups and individual gospel conversations going on. It was an epic day of evangelism for the whole Freedom team and we pray that the Holy Spirit continues working to bring real conviction in the lives of many souls!
Another day I struck up a friendly conversation with a guy named Omar. Before long we were talking about spiritual things. He said that he used to consider himself a Christian but little by little he has drifted away from the Lord and he's gotten into some really bad stuff lately. He remarked that he hasn't read his Bible or gone to church in more than three years. Immediately I opened up the word and shared from Hebrews 2:1-4 "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation."..... As we talked he was quite amazed and commented: "I never visit this park but for some reason I just felt like I should come here and ask God to help me return to Him.... and then God sent you!" .... Yet another divine appointment!
One of the Sunday's that we were there we attempted to do "Church without walls". We prepared 100 hotdogs and 100 tacos with chips and drinks to give away in the park. We were hoping to attract a big crowd and then share the gospel... Well, the big crowd part didn't happen but I preached anyway. There were about 15 souls that heard the message, all of whom listened intently and many fantastic one on one conversations happened afterward!
We still have many events on the calendar that we must keep, so for the next six months we will be in and out of California a lot. Please pray for us as we start to focus more and more on ministry there in Freedom!
Missions quote for the day by Peter Taylor Forsyth: "It is not our choice to spread the gospel or not. It is our death if we do not."
Micah for the Tuttle's
Many of you know that we have sensed that the Lord would move us from Dubuque, IA which has served as home base for the last several years. We have been diligently praying about and considering where the Lord would have us go to maximize the gifts and abilities he’s equipped us with for His work. We have been praying about a handful of really cool options.
Last month, we spent three weeks in Freedom, CA with the already established Freedom Team. We have known and prayed for this ministry for a while now. So, it was with great joy that we met a number of the precious people the team has been loving on and ministering to. We felt a rare freedom in making friendships, with the team as well as among the local community. In the span of a very short time, we were able to clearly distinguish the Lord’s invitation to join the work there.
It is with great joy and confidence that we share that church planting in Freedom, California will be the primary focus for ministry in the US in the upcoming years. Lord willing, we will continue to participate in the DITP in Lubbock, Texas; make short trips to Peru; as well as prayerfully accept a number of speaking engagements in North America. Our status as missionaries in North America (and beyond!) continues and as always, support can be channeled through Christian Missions in Many Lands.
We are excited to learn from the existing members of the Freedom Team while putting into practice the lessons the Lord has so faithfully taught us over the years! Please pray for the Lord’s work to flourish! We want to be faithful in answering his call to go and make disciples. We are asking the Lord to form a new assembly of believers in Freedom!
Please stay tuned as Micah plans to share more about the Lord’s leading in our upcoming move. We’d also like to introduce the Freedom Team and the nature of the work there in California.
Amy and Micah for the Tuttle's
The house at which we were staying was situated right in front of a park where there was a constant flow of people from morning to evening. Every morning at about 6:00 a.m a man would arrive and awaken half the neighborhood by blasting semi-satanic music through a loud speaker which he transported in on his bike, he would then proceed to shoot hoops for the next three hours ...... I was usually reading my Bible at that time and the interruption practically begged me to go share the love of Christ with this “disturber of the peace” ..... So that’s exactly what I did. The first day I went over and just started talking with him and rebounding the basketball for him. Before too long I asked him what he thought of the Bible.... he immediately went over to his boom box, turned down the volume and said: “I’ve never really read it before.” ...... So, each morning when I heard the hell music I would go over there, he would turn down the volume, we would shoot hoops and then talk Bible. One day we talked about Noah and the flood and coming judgment. The next day we talked about Lazarus and the rich man and the reality of hell. Another time we talked about coronavirus and pandemics and the plagues of Revelation. On another occasion I shared my testimony. Each day involved a really great conversation after which I'd pray for him. One of the days a neighbor asked me how in the world I got him to turn his music down..... I said: “Well, we just start talking bible and it's such an interesting conversation that he just turns down the volume on his own.” ..... The neighbor incredulously exclaimed: “What?!?”.... Instantly I had a new contact to share the gospel with!
Another highlight of this missions trip was when, we as a team, went to a nearby migrant workers community. We went door to door and visited about 30 houses where we were warmly welcomed and had good gospel conversations at nearly every home! We invited some of the kids out for soccer and a short message from the Bible..... and many came! There was an overwhelmingly good response to the whole event! The adults and kids alike were begging us to come back. Now the Freedom team needs to just get permission from the housing administration for long-term work out there. Please pray for them as they follow up with this!
One night while doing evangelism near a taco truck, Ellia and I were able to start up a good conversation with three super tall guys. Each of them stood at about 6’ 8” and were wearing basketball gear so I asked them who they played for and they said they were from the University of Merced California and they had just won the championship for their division. One of them said he was planning to enter the NBA draft this year! After talking basketball a bit with them I was able to share my testimony and how God transformed my life through the reading of His word. They had all kinds of great questions and we continued with a fantastic gospel conversation for quite some time. After praying for them, the NBA prospect commented: “This must be a divine appointment or something because I really needed this”. ....... Please pray for Derrick Chiwike and his buddies!
Missions quote for the day by David Brainerd: “All my desire is the conversion of the heathen . . . I care not where or how I live, or what hardships I go through. I care only that I may gain souls to Christ.”
Micah for the Tuttle's
Today a guy at Hyvee (a supermarket) asked me how my Easter went. I said "Great, We went to church and afterward our kids did an easter egg hunt".... and then I asked him: "So, what do you think? Is Easter more about bunnies or Jesus." He responded: "Well, There is absolutely nothing that indicates that Jesus ever even existed, let alone resurrected from the dead." I said: "What year is it?" He said: "2021" I responded: “Two thousand years ago, in the middle east an event occurred that permanently changed the world. Because of that event, history was split. Every time you write the date, you're using the resurrection of Jesus as the focal point.... I would say that's one indicator....” He said: "I never thought of that before." We ended up having a great and conversation. After a few minutes I left him with a gospel tract and friendly fist bump. Please pray for Dan!
In the last five weeks we have seen winter fade away and spring come into full bloom! That month, with all of its weather changes, was also packed with a lot of ministry for us in Iowa, Canada and in North Carolina. We started by traveling through the snow to the other side of the state where I preached in Greenfield. Then I went to Canada (through zoom) with a total of 10 messages to Toronto Ontario, Vancouver BC and Portage la Prarie Manitoba. After that we loaded up the van and drove out of the snow to NC where I preached 10 more times (in person) to churches in Greensboro, Randleman, and Yanceyville. From there we drove the 1000 miles back to Dubuque IA where the tulips are now blooming and we arrived just in time for me to preach on Easter Sunday at our church here in town.
Next up: Texas! We continue to be a part of the Discipleship Intern Training Program in Lubbock where I am one of the directors. Because of COVID we had to, once again, cancel our Peru trip that we were going to do with the DITP at the end of this month. So now we plan to do the mission trip right there in Lubbock Texas. Please pray for the students and I as we hope to continue our study in the book of Acts and also do a lot of evangelism around the Texas Tech campus from April 19-30.
Me: “Really!? That’s a great perspective! I would have to say that I totally agree!"
Marco: “You do?"
Me: "Yes, Christianity is a crutch and I would say that you need that crutch!"
Marco: "Well, I think that a crutch will kinda slow me down… If you know what I mean.”
Me: “Oh, thats where you're wrong… once you get used to the crutch, you can really go!"
Marco: "How so?"
Me: "Do you understand why a handicapped man uses a crutch?"
Marco: "Well, yes….. it's because he has a disability"
Me: You might not recognize it yet but you've got a spiritual disability and you need spiritual help. God is offering a crutch to anyone who will receive it."
Complete change of demeanor…. Guard goes down…
Marco: "I've never had a conversation like this before .... Who are you?"
Me: "Just a disabled guy who's leaning on God's crutch and trying to offer it to others in need.”
Marco: "How did you know I needed to have this conversation?"
Me: "Ha! God is always setting up divine appointments!"
After this we took a seat and had a lengthy and fantastic talk about Romans 1:16 "The gospel is the power (crutch) of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." Please pray for Marco!
I had that conversation…. and many others like it, at Texas Tech In Lubbock Texas…. Amy and I and the kids spent 10 days there last month while I was doing evangelism and teaching through the book of Acts at the DITP institute. We had plans to be in Peru with the students from the Discipleship Intern Training Program but the Covid rules and regulations in Peru tightened up about a week before our departure and it became obvious that it was going to be quite complicated to get through all the "hoops" with a big team. I really thought I would be writing this months blog post from the jungles of Peru...... but alas, the pandemic! In the end we were able to postpone the trip until April 24th…. We are praying that that date works out :) In spite of the sudden schedule changes we still had a fantastic time and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience with all the students there in Lubbock.
On our way back home we spent a couple of days with the saints from Northside Bible Chapel in Wichita KS. We enjoyed a lot of mutual encouragement with the believers there and it was great to open Gods word and preach a few times there on Sunday. When we finally headed back to Dubuque we were greeted by a polar vortex and we've been experiencing sub zero Fahrenheit temperatures ever since. It is very cold and we've got lots of snow! Its supposed to get down to -20F tonight…. and that’s not counting the windchill!
We thank the Lord that, neither arctic cold nor coronavirus nor travel restrictions nor face masks can stop the gospel as it continues to go out through zoom meetings. This last month I was able to preach, not only in the USA but also in Honduras, Peru and Canada through Zoom. We are grateful for technology! What a great day and age in which we live…. It may be that the end of the ages has come upon our generation and we must look for every way possible to continue getting the good news out in these dark days.
Missions quote for the day by Amy Carmichael: "We have all eternity to tell of the victories won for Christ but we have only a few hours before sunset to win them.”
One more missions quote for the day by Jonathan Edwards: "Resolution one: I will live for God. Resolution two: If no one else does, I still will."
Micah for the Tuttle's
Preaching an Exclusive Gospel in an Inclusive World
1 comments Posted by the tuttle tribe at 1/21/2021Last week, I received an invitation to speak to a secular college in Portland, Oregon via zoom. I was told that they have been looking for speakers who have lived in a cross-cultural context to share their experiences with the student body. Reportedly, one of the recent speakers shared about his experience in Asia, centering his talk on how one can find happiness through Buddhism. Following this presentation, one of the board members suggested they have a Christian missionary speak about his or her cross-cultural experiences. The other board members, who believe themselves to be very tolerant, postmodern and inclusive, agreed to the idea. This is how I ended up receiving the aforementioned invitation which I eagerly accepted! I sent them the requested bio and went to work on preparing my talk.
It wasn't more than a couple days later, I was again on the phone with the dear sister who had been coordinating things. She related that her supervisors had done their research and had decided to retract the invitation. After only an initial search, both Facebook and Youtube had turned up enough material for them to quickly determine that I was not the kind of Christian missionary they were looking for. Someone that preaches Jesus is the only way to heaven is definitively dangerous. They concluded that missionaries that try to change cultures and convert people of other religions into Bible believers are radical and exclusive.
Though disappointed at the unrealized opportunity, I was elated and encouraged that my message was clear to them. The gospel is an inclusive yet exclusive message. It is an inclusive message because "whosoever believes shall not perish but have eternal life." All are invited to come into a right relationship with God through Christ. It is exclusive because God has made it clear that there is just One Way. The religions of the world can’t save you from the wrath to come. Only those who trust Christ will be saved from sin and hell. This salvation is obtained by grace through faith in Christ's redemptive work alone. Our own merit and efforts are excluded - neither morality, nor rituals can save sinners. Only Jesus Christ can save! (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1Tim 2:5).
The world desperately needs the love of Christ and as followers of Jesus it is our responsibility to communicate His love! Please pray for us as we continue to preach this inclusive and yet exclusive gospel message revealed in God’s infallible word. Next up: Texas Tech in Lubbock Texas!
Micah for the Tuttles
Missions Quote for the Day by Walter Martin:
"The gospel is an exclusive message in an inclusive world and we are called to share that exclusive Jesus with others. Truth by definition is exclusive. If truth were all-inclusive, nothing would be false."
