Setting the Captive Free!
If you've been staying connected with us on FaceBook, you've seen the BIG news we shared about Brian joining the staff of Wipe Every Tear (WET). You can read the full post by clicking the link above or the button below and you'll get all the details!
We plan to share regular updates and specific prayer requests here on our blog. If you want those to arrive in your email inbox, please let us know.
Let's jump right into the first update!
Hey Brian, what do you do?
Brian's position with Wipe Every Tear is self-funded. If you'd like to partner with him in setting the captives free, you can support him in these ways:
- Tax-deductible, online donations can be given online through EquipNet. (Link below)
- If you’d like to donate by check, please make checks payable to 'EquipNet', making sure to include Brian's account number, Equip4734, in the memo section on the face of your check. The check can be mailed to: EquipNet, P.O. Box 860, Alamo, CA 94507.
- If you’d prefer, you can give directly to Brian via Venmo (@Brian-Johanson) or Zelle (770-820-7267) or mail a check to our home address (please request).
The seed you’re sowing is going into good ground! It’s soil that will see freedom brought to generations and ignite cultural transformation throughout the world as the impact goes well beyond the Philippines and her people!
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Freedom is only a few feet away. . .
A whole new life awaits as this door opens before her. She's struck by the truth that long held hopes, dreams, and opportunities can actually become realities. Yes, it is a long road to walk, but the knowledge that it's a road of freedom gives her the courage to take each step knowing it's now her road to choose and to live.
This is what we do at Wipe Every Tear! We open a door of opportunity - one that can lead to a life that may even be more than they've dared hope to have for themselves.
PARTNER WITH BRIAN - there are so many ways! Reach out and let's talk more about it!
And, please help Brian get the message out that "she's worth it" by sharing his posts on FaceBook and Instagram, as well as following, liking, and sharing Wipe Every Tear's social media.
Join Us on the November Trip!Have you ever asked yourself, “What can I do to make a difference in rescuing girls from the sex trade”?
If your heart is being stirred to set women free from the bondage of the red light district, join Brian and me as we co-lead the next open trip November 6 - 15, 2024!
This trip is open to men, women, couples, and even families!
Reach out to us for more information. We'd love for YOU to come with us!
Not ready to go? Partner with us and support the rescue efforts through giving and through praying!
Need more info? Let's chat!
REVIVAL IN THE SEX TRADE!!!
Live Update Posted April 23RD
A team from Atlanta recently went to the Philippines to partner with WET in their efforts to bring revival to girls trapped in the sex trade. How awesome is this update?!
All 20 girls give their lives to Jesus! 19 of them baptized in water!
We are in awe of how God moved so mightily on this trip and at the getaway. This is the first time we have witnessed ALL girls who joined the getaway give their lives to Jesus and almost ALL be baptized!
God is pursuing them so radically! We praise Him for their lives. They are a NEW CREATION! They are DAUGHTERS of the King!
We are now on our way with these beautiful women to visit our safe house called, Hope House. They will see that this IS REAL! They will see what hope and future await them.
We invite you to stand in prayer and declare for eyes to be uncovered, for courage to say YES, and for Holy Spirit to move them into God’s plans for their lives.
Want to learn more about the work we do at Wipe Every Tear? Click below to read more and watch a video and feel free to reach out to Brian to chat more! (770-820-7267 or brianjohanson@wipeeverytear.org)
Click Below to Follow, Like, & Share!Thank you for partnering with me!
Living for Him,
Brian (and Andrea)
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
Where He Is . . .
Is always where we want to be and that very rarely looks like what we expect.
Ever have one of those moments as you’re reading the Bible when you can’t move past a verse or two – you have to know more? That was the case with me this morning. I love those moments because they send me on the most glorious rabbit trails of searching out word meanings, reading commentaries, and researching on the internet. That may sound boring to some, but I’m unapologetically an avid student and when I’m learning about my favorite subject, faith, it’s an absolute joy to me!
So, what captured me today? It was Matthew 11:16-17, two verses that hadn’t yet been underlined in my over 25-year-old Bible, so they’d obviously not made an impact previously. This is Jesus speaking . . .
“But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions and saying: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament.’” Let me give you a bit of background before I dig into what the Lord was speaking to me in those two verses. In the larger picture of this passage, Jesus is talking to the multitudes and is validating John the Baptist and his ministry. He’s calling out the people, including the teachers of the law – the Pharisees and Sadducees, for their responses to John’s ministry. While many people believed in the message John preached, they didn’t all believe he’d come as Elijah to prepare the way for the Messiah, many ridiculed him for the way he lived as a Nazarene and fasted, and some certainly didn’t like how he delivered his message. Jesus, on the other hand, didn’t fast, He hung out with “sinners and tax collectors,” and drank wine. There were plenty of those who weren’t pleased with that either. They refused to be satisfied.
Now, back to verses 16-17. What Jesus was doing was likening the people to children who played in the marketplaces. Several commentaries mention children would have seen their parents at weddings and funerals and could easily pretend play at those things and likely often did. These children were frustrated because whether they played the flute and danced, like at weddings, or “mourned,” their friends weren’t happy with either and didn’t want to join in with them. It was the same with John and Jesus – the people weren’t satisfied with either way of living and preaching.
This got me thinking about dissatisfaction in the church body today. For instance, some are “Team Traditional,” while others are “Team Contemporary” (and there are different views on what “contemporary” looks like among churches). There are cries of dissent over all kinds of things in the church.
- “There’s too much grace preached and not enough repentance!”
- “Worship has become a glorified, too-loud concert all about people and their needs, rather than it being focused entirely on Jesus!”
- “Tradition has no place in modern Christianity – that’s for churches that don’t preach the salvation message. It’s just dead religion.”
- “People have become too familiar with the Lord in their desire for intimacy with Him. There’s not enough fear of the Lord in the church today.”
I’m not saying there aren’t valid points in what I’ve written above. What I’m pointing out is that there will always be those who oppose one “side” or the other, just as people opposed John or Jesus.
My question for God was, “Where is Jesus in all of this? Is He in the flute playing or in the mourning?” Here are some personal opinions of mine that lead me to believe He’s in both.
- I’m so thankful for His grace given to me every moment of every day . . . and I believe in the importance of repentance in our walk with Him. I love that it’s His GOODNESS and KINDNESS that draws us to repentance (Romans 2:4 ) – that part of the message is often left out.
- I see beauty in the hymns and the ways they can draw us into His presence. I really appreciate the words and meanings of those songs written so long ago and love how many of today’s artists have re-recorded those hymns in powerful renditions. I’ve been totally caught up in His presence through those yet choose much more contemporary worship on a daily basis because that’s what I love. There’s a place and room for both. I’ve been grateful for each time I’ve needed Jesus to meet me in hard places in my life and He’s done so through songs that are more about me and my needs than about the beauty of His holiness. In this season, I’m much more in search of songs about Him than about me because I’ve finally discovered everything I need is found in His presence.
- I have pretty strong feelings against religion because I believe Jesus died to forgive us of our sins and free us from the law. To me, religion is the law – it’s the trappings of legalism that hold people in bondage to “do/don’t,” “should/shouldn’t”, and “have to.” I want to see people freed from the shackles of religion and brought into encounter with God. Why? So they can experience the truth of who He is, rather than be bound by legalism and a wrong view of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and so the things they do or don’t do stem from the love for and depth of relationship they have with Him. That doesn’t mean I believe Jesus looks at all traditions and things of the past as “bad” or “useless.” For instance, I believe there’s a place for quiet contemplation and meditating on Him, spending quiet time in His presence, much as monks and others have done for centuries. There’s also such power and transformation that takes place through Communion, yet for most, it’s mainly become an act done on a specific Sunday of the month and lost its meaning and purpose. I also believe in the supernatural and the realm of the Spirit. I believe in praying in the Spirit, miracles, healing, raising of the dead, partnering with angels, visions, dreams, the prophetic, and so much more that’s available through our relationship with God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. Many discount so much of what’s available to us through the Spirit realm because the New Age movement hijacked much of what was meant for Christian believers and accessed it through an entirely different spirit realm.
- The fear of the Lord is crucial in our walk with Him yet often, we ignore this aspect because we don’t know how to walk out fearing the Lord. I don’t believe our loving Father would ever ask us to be afraid of Him. He would never require something of us that would drive a wedge between us, especially not after having sent His Son to die on the cross so that we might be forgiven, redeemed, and restored to right relationship with Him. To walk in the fear of the Lord is to walk in reverence, awe, and wonder. We simply haven’t understood how fear is defined.
In response to the John and Jesus debate about which was right or better, Jesus said in the second part of Matthew 11:19 (NKJV), “Wisdom is justified by her children.” In another version (NASB 1995), you read, “Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” My favorite is “God’s wisdom will become visible by those who embrace it” (TPT).
Wisdom isn’t found in arguments over this or that being right or wrong. It’s found in the person of Jesus. Together, let’s find Him in the dancing and in the mourning. Where He is is always where we want to be and that very rarely looks like what we expect.
I think there’s a lot more we can discuss on this topic and what I’ve written has just scratched the surface. What are your thoughts? Reach out and let me know!
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
