Run!
​Live like a refugee. 

This mosaic was designed in Syria by a Christian we had the opportunity to meet on the island of Lesvos, Greece. These fleeing refugees left their home is search of peace and safety. This picture depicts Elijah being carried up by the chariot of fire to heaven as told in 2 Kings 2:11.

It took Armani (not his real name) three months of work to complete this scene. He painstakingly laid each ceramic tile in place by hand. Cathy and I were amazed at the pictures he shared with us. Biblical characters and scenes were placed in local churches in Homs, Syria.

I looked at him and asked if these beautiful works of art are still intact. He shook his head and said they were all destroyed! Radical Muslim troops destroyed the churches and homes of Christian in our area. That was when we fled with my mother, wife and two children. 

I researched the city of Homs when we arrived home. The city of Homs was under seige for three years by the Syrian military. There was a truce in 2014 but fighting continued in their area of the town until November of 2016. In September Armani left with his family and became refugees on the run.

We forged a friendship with this family and sought to keep in touch as they go on their journey. They had amazing resilience to remain in Homs over the lasts five years during the civil war. But the enemy finally got too close! It became necessary to run from the enemy.

At what point would you run from the enemy? We resist the devil regularly. But when do you run the other way? God is capable of whisking each of us out of terrible situations at any moment. He knows we are there! He sees us! But he leaves us there for a purpose. Maybe we haven't learned and come to understand the teaching of Jesus.

Don't miss the special lessons God gives us each day. But at the same time balance the ability to resist with the need to run. We know the feeling of being a sojourner in this world. Encourage another sojourner today.

Cathy and Danny Sartin
www.deeperstillmissions.com
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Copyright © Danny Sartin and Deeper Still Missions. All Rights Reserved.
Life Nuggets are written for those who support Deeper Still Missions and its goal of missionary retention.   

Re-Prints: Deeper Still Missions devotionals are protected by international copyright laws. To request reprint permission contact the offices of DSM. Permission is granted and encouraged to forward this post in its entirety to others without making any changes or deletions.

A Kingdom Leader has another spirit that is different from the heart, mind and soul of others around them. Their frame of mind is to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. They are not following a man but God! They see opportunities and issues through the eyes of God

Would God call you a servant? Do you carry out the will of the Lord even in the face of a world that denies and defiles him. Do you remain loyal to the Lord no matter what the odds are that you face?

Joshua and Caleb saw the situation differently than all the other spies who entered the promise land. They saw the goodness of the land but most importantly they relied on the character of God.

Numbers 14:24 (NIV)
24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.1
 
Do you believe in God? Do you trust His Word implicitly? Do you carry out the will of the Lord despite pressures from a liberal society who attempts to wash away any hint of God's presence? It was no easier in the Old Testament than today.

Therefore, encourage one another.

Cathy and Danny Sartin
www.deeperstillmissions.com
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1 The New International Version. (2011). (Nu 14:24). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.Numbers 14:24–25 (NIV)Copyright © Danny Sartin. All Rights Reserved. Photos taken by Cathy and Danny Sartin in Africa.
Kingdom Leadership is written for missionaries and ministers serving our Lord in various parts of the world.
Re-Prints: Deeper Still Missions devotionals are protected by international copyright laws. To request reprint permission contact the offices of DSM. Permission is granted and encouraged to forward this email in its entirety to others without making any changes or deletions.