What's Under Your Hood?

"Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." Matthew 23:28 

Greetings Brethren,
 
     I am so thankful for the past two months. The Lord uses everyday events to reflect the ultimate purpose in life - to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Recently I purchased a new vehicle. In January Tauri the Taurus (my Silver Ford Taurus) was lost to a minor collision and I collected from my insurance company. After much car-shopping from February through March I purchased a salvaged hybrid in Detroit (Honda Insight 2013) and was surprised with sundry repairs to satisfy engine and airbag lights. The car looked very good outwardly. The mechanic restored all the body damage, but what exactly lay under the hood?

Honda Insight ("Lil Gray") Post Accident

     In May I learned of a friend planning to travel down to Arkansas in a pick-up truck. I suggested she borrow my new hybrid instead. She made it only through Illinois before she was the tail of a four-car pile-up. The Lord be praised that all four drivers were safe and unharmed. Listen to what happened next! At the body shop in Illinois this salvaged vehicle continued to be a lemon. It was at this insurance-contracted shop that certain short-cuts were discovered - the shop in Detroit left unfinished work hidden. The shop in Illinois refused to make repairs unless certain aspects of that original restoration were corrected. My insurance refused to pay for any repairs unrelated to the accident in Illinois. So, after days and weeks of contemplation it was agreed that I would invest more money so that the vehicle would meet my insurance company's operational standard. The repairs on the car should be complete by July.

"Lil Gray" in Illinois Auto Body Shop

Can you hear the Lord's lesson in all this? Though the outward restoration was complete, all the problems left on the inside made the car structurally unfit. What use is the body of a car if the engine structure is faulty? Would you drive it? Some may think, "of course not Joel, I wouldn't even purchase a car with a faulty engine." I consider my car selection a learning experience -- I will be wiser the next time I shop for a car. But don't miss the point: how sorry would we be if we were wise in our car selection, but very foolish in our soul-searching? Why do we sell ourselves short? Why hinder the work the Lord wants to do within us, by settling for merely outward change?  The Lord is not a shady mechanic. Many of us would like to settle for an outward refinish in our spiritual life. However, He is unsatisfied with that, He will continue deeper than outward restoration. He is a good mechanic Who wants to restore you and me from the inside out. The question is whether or not we will allow Him to open up our hoods and let Him deal with what really lies within. The people He sends us to will not receive effective service from shiny vessels containing horrible hypocrisies! Jesus deserves our bodies and our hearts, not our charades.

     So maybe we are willing to lay down our lives for others. If we lay down our lives, yet we have nothing but “self” or “unlove” inside, then we gain nothing and others are harmed. If we desire to lay down our lives for souls, then we must yield everything that is inside to the Mechanic Who will restore the internal injuries and garbage. I remember hearing a man's message calling Christ's servants to the middle east. Inside, my response to God was, "fine, send me there to die." His answer to me was, "No Joel, first you must die here." He was implying, "the inside". What did Christ mean when He commanded, "Deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me"? We must die to our own desires and wishes and carry the burden of another's sin onward to Calvary where all sin was atoned.

     Please, pray that my “inside world” would be surrendered before God so that He can repair it and that my life would be a service to others. This summer I will be headed to Jordan and Egypt to teach English camps. I've had my reservations about short-term mission trips, but as one brother has put it, “The body of Christ needs one another in presence and in personal relationship!" And this quote is from an indigenous brother who was offered money from a short-termer rather than purchasing an airline ticket. Upon the completion of these camps I will return to the states and serve the Faith Discipleship Center of Oelwein, IA as staff for one year. Your prayers are needed to help me lay down my life for other souls. Please send your life updates my direction. Feel free to text, call, or mail me using the information below. If you are led to support financially, feel free to send checks made out to International Messengers with Joel Huebner in the memo. Send to:

International Messengers
PO Box 618
Clear Lake, IA  50428-0618

Thank you so much for your prayers,




Joel Huebner
305 6th St. NW
Oelwein, IA  50662

(201) 701-1125

jhueb298@gmail.com
(715) 252-1503
   

Highlights:

In January a friend introduced to me a ministry (Jobs for Life) which helps people develop skills to market themselves in the workforce. It was faith-based and most of my time was devoted to job-hunting.

In April, I was especially honored to witness the marriage of a good and seasoned friend, John Latta. John and I endured a life-changing discipleship program in '13 and '14 together. We not only endured the program, but we endured each other. Congratulations John and Carrie! I've never seen that many groomsmen!



The annual conference hosted by Pure Life Ministries (PLM) was a wonderful reminder (Rev 2:5) and much inward repentance can correct a man's course – Praise God! It was wonderful to visit with old friends and meet new ones. Dave and Randy supervised John and me at a PLM job-site until we graduated the program. They and the others remember us.

In May I trained with the International Messengers Jordan Team which will depart for the middle east on July 16th.


Last month the Evergreen Center Alumni Reunion June 2016 (ECAR8) was held and we were encouraged to walk as royal priests of Jesus, interceding for the souls of people.

Then He said to them, "The harvest truly [is] great, but the laborers [are] few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Luke 10:2