Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico, 2021

The Place of The Open Door

Doors have been a bit of a problem for us in our new house! The first week of our Children’s English Class on our patio, I was talking with the children, Phil came out of our front door, shut the door and terror filled his face. “Do you have your keys?” he asked. “No, do you?” I replied, fear rising in my heart…and off he went to get some help while I taught the children. That experience opened an opportunity for Phil to get to know most of the men and (their relatives) on our street as they tried to find a way to get into our house.

 The next week, the morning of our next English Class, I walked out of the bedroom, in my PJ’s and Phil was already up, in his PJ’s, only to realize that the bedroom door locked and would not open, even with a key! That closed door opened the door for further relationships with our neighbors.

 My heart is full of praise to the Lord this morning as he showed me, through the closed doors, we’ve moved from Sardis to Philadelphia! The place of the Open Door. What the heck does that mean you might be asking?

Phil and I have been in what we call “Bible College” part time in 2019 and 2020 and full time now in 2021. We have read through Revelations together 11 times this year (we are on number 12). We have also read completely through the old testament save 3 books and through the New Testament almost twice. We are grateful God has given us this “resting place” to allow His word to change us.

I can honestly say we had much in common with the church at Sardis; we were living there! The church in Sardis is revealed in Revelations 3:1-6

Revelation 3:1-6 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

⁴ Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. ⁶ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

In 2019 and 2020 God called us to spend much time in His Word and we became stronger in faith and in our ability to hear the Holy Spirit.

Our initial reason for moving to Mexico was to save money to come back to the U.S. and purchase property in the Pacific Northwest, and hopefully be involved in some kind of short-term ministry while in Mexico. However, the craziness of “c” and the insane real estate price increases completely shut those doors. We were unsure if our time here would be as tourists on a 6-month Visa or longer. Our entire first 6 months in Mexico was marked with uncertainty about our future; Mexico changed their rules about tourist visas and it looked as though we would be completely shut out of Mexico and back to the US in May.

But God had a plan! He used  2021 to surprise us with His loving provision, unexpected joys, ministry opportunities, all the blessings of our move to Mexico. and Open Doors.

This morning as I was journaling about our doors God whispered Revelations 3:7-13 to my heart and said…This is the year of the Open Door!

Wow! What a loving gift He gave this morning, assurance that we had moved from Sardis, the place of unfinished work, to Philadelphia, the place of love and obedience, the place of the Open Door. We are not perfect, but we have definitely moved and are sitting and learning to stay in that place of love and obedience. Receiving His love for us, obeying out of our love for Him and sharing His love with others.

Revelation 3:7-13 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The Open Doors of 2021

• A safe and comfy apartment as we transitioned cultures, Phil called it our “cocoon.”
• A hard fall for Celeste that opened a relationship with Susy, my physical therapist, who soon confessed faith in Jesus Christ and has been studying the Bible with me weekly.
• Relationships with a group of Mexicans who Love Jesus and give their lives to sharing Jesus with their people.
• Experiencing the blessings of Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box as it led to a 12-week discipleship of children and mothers and grandmothers.
• Participating in a church plant as a result of the Christmas Box outreach.
• Opening Mexico to us through a 4-year temporary resident visa. We can do everything except vote and work for money or open a business.
• Opening a relationship between Phil and a young taxi driver who helps us and has opened friendship with his family to us, it is wonderful to share the love of Christ with a family here.
• Opening many opportunities to share the joy of faith in Christ as we are recognized often as followers of Jesus in public places and by taxi drivers.
• Opening the door for fellowship with American believers in the produce section of the big box store here.
• Opening the door to our little casita for 4 years with no rent increase. We are out of the cocoon and ready to fly!
• Opening the door of this street to Jesus so the praises that flood the street on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, from the Assembly of God church on the corner can bring our neighbors the name of Jesus.
• Opening the doors of friendship in our neighborhood as all are Mexican but us!
• Opening the door of love and care to our neighbor neighbors family by Phil & our taxi driver building a gate to keep the 1-year-old from running into the street.
• Opening the door of ministry and friendship through our neighbor, to children and families in our new neighborhood by a simple weekly English class on our patio.
• Opening the door for Phil to build relationships with the men on our street (and their relatives) through locking ourselves out of our own casita.
• Opening the door for further relationship with the largest and most influential family on our street through our bedroom door being locked and needing help to open it.
• Opening the door for further relationship with a family when the father fell off a ladder and was seriously injured. They opened their home all the way to the bedroom to pray for him.
• Opening the door for relationship with another family by sharing our veggie and fruit scraps to feed the chickens. Simple, yet powerful things.

These open doors and so many more hit me this morning when I was journaling about the CLOSED DOORS we experienced God used to OPEN DOORS.

The Closed Doors

• Mexico changed their tourist visa requirements, virtually shutting us out.
• The house we really wanted in July was rented to someone else.
• Locking ourselves out of our own house (which was very stressful)
• The doorknob on our bedroom door locked and broke. We were still in our PJ’s.

So many more closed doors God used to open His doors!

And I think of how OUR open doors opened the doors for some of you to invest in the souls here in Mexico. Giving to the church plant, sewing group, to the YWAM missionaries (4 groups came here this fall!), making dresses for the little girls here. Some of you came to understand of the power of those little gifts in the Christmas Child boxes and invited us to share our experience here with your friends.

I am so grateful God has moved us from Sardis, where are works were not complete and put us in the place of the Open Door. The current global situation wants to close, close, close doors!

But when we move from Sardis to Philadelphia, from unfinished work, from weak faith and we WAKE UP TO HIS VOICE, repent from doing our own thing, from being overwhelmed by the things around us…we move to Philadelphia, the place of Love and Open Doors.

Revelations 3:7-8 These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 

There is a bigger promise to us who live in the land of the Open Door…

¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the eart¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

What Doors has God Opened for you or What Doors do you need Him to open? Move from Sardis to Philadelphia! To the Land of the Open Door.