Greetings all who wrestle for the Kingdom,

In or Out of the “box”

Most everyone has heard the phrase “We have to think outside the box” at some point in their life.  According to Wikipedia the phrase relates to a traditional topographical puzzle called the nine dots puzzle.  Management consultants of the 1970s and 1980s tried to make their prospective clients feel inferior by presenting them with the puzzle. The challenge is to connect the dots by drawing four straight, continuous lines that pass through each of the nine dots, and never lifting the pencil from the paper. The puzzle is easily solved, but only if you draw the lines outside of the confines of the square area defined by the nine dots themselves. Thus, the phrase "thinking outside the box" was born. The Word Mavens refer to Prof. Daniel Kies of the College of DuPage, who observes that the puzzle only seems difficult because "we imagine a boundary around the edge of the dot array.  You can find it by going to Google and typing “Nine Dots Puzzle”.

An easy puzzle to solve if you draw outside the imaginary box of what you can see.  It demonstrates how you can limit yourself by how you see and what you think is true.  It is not possible to solve the puzzle if you stay inside the box created by the nine dots.  Many times we see the ‘facts’ of our situation this way.  There is no solution, it is not possible  ….   you are looking inside your box and not at God.

We have an even better box. 

I was teaching a couple of years ago at the “W” about big issues vs. little issues and how God does not distinguish between them.  He is concerned about the small and the large.  I used two boxes to illustrate and put the little one inside the big one at the end of the teaching.  We then wrote out all of the requests for the night and put them in the “box” and swarmed it.  A swarm is where everyone lays hands on the person (or in this case box) and then everyone prays out loud at the same time whatever the Holy Spirit directs them to pray.

We had seven miraculous answers to requests in the box that night reported the next week.  No laying on of hands, no protracted explanations of needs, no long times of invoking God.  Just a few minutes praying whatever God directed to pray and leaving the result with Him.

Even more miraculous to me is the fact that as we have continued to use the “box” as a ministry tool once or twice a month we see the same result every time.  People healed, broken minds and hearts mended, relationships restored. 

Amazing.

Last week God showed us again how He is the one who does the work if we trust Him.  A 12 year-old boy came to the “W” even though he did not want to.  He was suffering Clinical Depression according to the counselor at school, had lost his hair due to stress and had a severe Sun burn on his head and face.  The nose was beginning to look like it was infected and it was painful.  We had the “box” for ministry that night.  His mother put a request in for God to restore her son’s joy.  He asked for healing of his burns.  He felt tingles during the swarm over the box and got very warm (it was freezing in the room that night).  He went to the bathroom after the “W” and looked at his face and all of the skin was normal with no burns or flakes or irritation.  He came back in to tell us and was beaming.  His Mom later told us his joy came back full force because he had seen God do a miracle for him.  Oh, and a cut he had on his hand the scab was gone and the wound healed.  He had not asked for that but it was still healed.  Wow.  What a mighty God we serve.  Oh, and his hair started to grow back last week.

The point?  Do not limit God to what you can see or what you know to be true (i.e., the facts of your situation).  Sometimes you have to think “outside the box” to solve the puzzle and sometimes thinking outside the box means putting a request in the “box” trusting that God will do the impossible because no box can contain Him.  May we all trust God to do what only He can do and watch as He works outside the box in response to our prayers.

Thank God with us for these reports from inside and outside the “box”   …

REPORTS:

• A man who had suffered strokes five years ago had not felt anything in his right leg since the strokes and also was still struggling with words longer than two syllables.  He also had an injury from a logging accident eight years ago and had not been able raise his arms above his waist any more.  He was prayed for at the Conference in Reed City last weekend via the box and also in individual ministry time.  When he got home on Friday night and took off his shoe he could feel a hole in his sock.  He had feeling in the leg.  The next morning he could raise his arms above his head and as Claudia talked to him he began using words four and five syllables long.  How Glorious is the God we worship.

• A man with a Sty on his eyelid was prayed for and in the morning it was just a small bump.  Thank You Lord.

• A young girl had hives and was very uncomfortable.  She was prayed for and the next day woke up with no hives and all irritation gone.  Yes!

• A woman was prompted to put a request in the box that all IED’s (bombs) in Afghanistan be rendered null and void.  That night a Canadian Unit began a mission that they described as hopeful but not particularly confident that they would have success.  They found four IED factories and captured thousands of IED’s and destroyed the capacity of the Taliban to make more via these locations.  The prayers of a righteous person are effective and accomplish much.

• A woman who is being treated for Cancer had a CA-125 blood test and the results went from 560 to 34 (almost normal numbers) in one month even during the Chemo and the Doctors cannot explain why this happened.  We can.  Thank You Lord.

• A man who is part of the Wider Wrestling Team was driving in NE Ohio going home and heard the Holy Spirit say “stop for coffee in this town” so he pulled off.  He did not see a coffee shop and so he inquired of the Lord and God said “turn right, then turn left” and he came to original downtown area but still no coffee shop.  He saw a shop with some big BBQ cookers smoking in front and God said “that is it”.  No sign on the building indicating that it would even have coffee.  He went in and they indeed sold coffee so he ordered a cup.  While chatting with the clerk found out that the cookers were for a fund-raiser later that night for a missions trip to Mexico some of the kid’s in town were embarking on.  He asked why there was no jar for contributions on the counter in case someone who would not be there later could still contribute.  He got a confused look so he suggested that they take an empty pickle jug from the back and put a sign on it saying “Missions Trip Contributions” and also put the name of the church so anyone writing a check could know who to make it payable to and put his $20.00 in the jar.  He then was musing to the clerk that it seemed odd that God would send him here just for a $20.00 donation to the trip and a man walked up behind him and put a check for $2,500.00 in the jug and said “I have been wanting to donate for a week and did not want to leave a check without an organization on it.  Thank you.”  Thank You Father for directing your servant and blessing Your flock.

• A Pastor had a large issue with the IRS and did not know how to resolve it or pay the fines and penalties, etc.  He reported back that the IRS came back and recalculated and he does not owe anything.  Thank You Lord. 

• A man was on a very turbulent flight and was beginning to get very nauseous.  He decided to pray as he had heard at the “W” and as he prayed the nausea left and he landed without incident.  Yes.

• A man dealing with fear and sleep issues was prayed for at the “W” and the fear is gone and he is sleeping well.  God grants sweet slumber to His children.

• A man was working in his yard and piece of stone fell and put a deep gash in his head.  He does not have medical insurance so he did not want to go to the Emergency Room.  Instead he laid his hands on his head and called his flesh to knit together with no harm and the bleeding stopped and when he gave the testimony at the “W” four days later you could barely see where the cut had been.  Your name is Rophe indeed, the Lord our Healer.

• A dog was having a skin reaction and was very uncomfortable.  The family prayed and as they prayed the bumps went down and the dog relaxed.  By morning the skin was normal.  Thank You Father for caring for our beasts.

• A man with Evans Syndrome (where the body attacks its own blood cells) was prayed for by a member of the WWT and was healed instantly of all symptoms.  Indeed and amen.

• A woman who suffered multiple strokes was prayed for via the “box” and all symptoms and results of the strokes are gone.  Enough to make you shout.

• A man was awakened in the night by the Holy Spirit and told his wife to get dressed because they needed to leave.  As they drove around not knowing why they were up he spotted a man lying in a drive.  He stopped and the man had no pulse and was not breathing.  He ran up to the door of the house and had the man at the door call 911.  He then said “God must want this man to live because He called me here to help him”.  As he was saying this to the home owner the man in the drive coughed and sat up.  By the time the EMS got there he was doing fine.  Thank you Father for a servant who hears Your voice and obeys.

Here are some additional things to be aware of as WT members;

OPPORTUNITIES:

·         Please continue to pray for the staff and workers at your church.

·         Many of you on the WT have ordered a copy of Stark Raving Obedience.  Thank you.  Would you consider sending an email note to your address book asking people you know to look at buying a copy as well?  I can send you a sample note if that would be helpful.

·         Please continue to pray for Ted and Claudia and the OMWB as they speak and minister;

o   July 26^th the OMWB will be leading worship at the Gunn Lake Chapel South of Grand Rapids.  Service is at 10AM and here is a link to the map - http://maps.google.com/?sll=42.61056,-85.54556&spn=0.05,0.05.  Some pre-release OMWB CD’s will be sold after the service.

o   August 1^st OMWB will be playing at a fund raiser/block party for United In Christ Ministries in the Black Hills area of Grand Rapids.

o   August 16 Ted will be teaching the AM services at Dexter United Methodist Church in Dexter, MI. (95% sure but tentative)

o   August 21-22 we will be having a regional Church Prayer Leaders Network conference in Grand Rapids.  This conference will be in support of the publication of our book Stark Raving Obedience.  Ted, Claudia, Isaiah and others will be speaking and leading breakout sessions.  Location will be at Resurrection Life Church in Grandville.  OMWB will be doing worship.  To Register or for more information go to http://prayerleader.com/content/blogsection/2/5/.

o   August 29 Hearing and Healing Prayer Conf. Dexter United Methodist Church.  Free will offering.  (95% sure but tentative)

o   We are also planning on additional conferences in Dallas (CPLN Regional Oct. 9-10), and later in Nashville and the Chicago area.

The August team leaders for the Sunday Wrestling Team activities will continue to be Steve and Ruth Zwierzinski and Joe Martino.  They will be “on the ground” before and during the services to assist with any questions or prayer needs that might come up.

You are appreciated and prayed for often.

Ted and Claudia Kallman

Wrestling Coaches

“The best prayers often have more groans than words.”

“The difference between true and false repentance lies in this: the man who truly repents cries out against his heart; but the other, as Eve, against the serpent, or something else.”     From the sayings of John Bunyan (1628 -1688)

Seven characteristics are found in a wise man. A wise man does not offer his answer before one who is wiser than him. He does not interrupt another man who is speaking. He is not hasty to answer. His questions are pertinent to the subject under discussion. His answers are in accord with the accepted decision. When he speaks, he presents his material in an organized, linear manner. When asked a question to which he has not heard the answer, he answers honestly and says, "I do not know, I have not heard." (m.Avot 5:7)

Ted Kallman