Since returning from Toronto, I have been really convicted about living missionally. It is a great thing to be able to travel hundreds or thousands of miles away and tell others about Jesus. However, why do I find it necessary to travel so far to share the Gospel with others? Why am I only concerned about the salvation of the people living in other cities and nations? I am so bold and intentional on mission trips, but that stops the second I come back home. That is inexcusable! I HATE that I do that!
Since I’ve been convicted about this, I have really been praying that God would graciously enable me to live more intentionally. I am trying to stop focusing so much on the future, but instead learning to be intentional and focused on the present and the opportunities God is blessing me with right now. Since I have started earnestly praying this prayer, God has blessed me abundantly and has opened my eyes to all of the opportunities He has given me to glorify Him.
One group of people that God has particularly called me to minister to has been my co-workers. I just started a new job this week as a barista at a local coffee shop. I have been praying about this job for weeks now, and praying for the opportunity to be a light in this place. I started training Thursday morning, but Wednesday night I was able to go to Fusion (a Bible Study for college-aged kids at my church). We watched a video that night with a few clips from a pastor’s talk. He was challenging the audience to really take evangelism seriously. At one point in the video, he reminds the people listening, “That barista at Starbucks? The one you see every morning when you go to get your daily latte? Think about this: They have a soul. They don’t exist solely to make your coffee. They have a soul; an eternal soul.” That was such an awesome reminder to me about the importance of ministering to my coworkers! It was like God was giving me a friendly little nudge, and a gentle reminder about the importance of ministering to the people that I am going to be interacting with on a daily basis.
I had no idea about the spiritual lives of my coworkers, but I was anxious to see who God was going to call me to minister to at this new job. I was thinking that I would maybe be able to talk with one person, maybe two if God was really generous and wanted to bless me with plenty of chances to tell others about Him. Boy, did I underestimate Him! He was not kidding when He said, “Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10).
I was eagerly praying that God would send me to the spiritually dark areas of Newport News and enable me to share the love of Christ with the people I interacted with. I have recently begun to realize how few non-Christians I hang out with on a regular basis, and it is so sad! How am I supposed to tell others about Christ if I don’t hang out with people who aren’t Christians? So I prayed that God would help me develop relationships with people who didn’t know Jesus yet. He answered quickly.
I absolutely love my coworkers. They have been so kind and encouraging as I’ve been going through training. I cannot wait to get to know them each on a more personal level as we continue to work together. In the three days that I have worked, I have learned a little bit about each of them.
And you know what I have come to realize?
My new place of employment is a very spiritually dark place.
I have worked with 7 people so far, and none of them are living for the Lord. It is kind of intimidating. Each of my coworkers has different beliefs and lifestyles. One coworker is gay, one is bisexual and currently dating two girls at the same time, one is “involved” with many different people, one frequently makes inappropriate sexual comments, one is an out-spoken agnostic, and one is involved in psychics/palm readings/tarot cards. And I already love each and every one of them. They are such awesome people! I cannot wait to get to know them better. And I hope and pray that as I get to know them, that my life can be a testimony to the saving power of Christ. I pray that when they look at me and see my life, they don’t see me, but instead see the power of Christ displayed in me. I pray they see His saving grace, His steadfast love and mercy, His sovereignty, His forgiveness, His redemptive power, and Power as Savior in my life. I pray and hope that my life would speak volumes; I pray that God would open doors for us to have honest conversations about religion and the true message of the Gospel. I pray that God would open their eyes to their need for a Savior. I also pray that God would not allow me to settle in, get comfortable, and forget the urgency to minister to those around me. We are engaged in spiritual battle here! I want to be a Spartan warrior involved in the depths of the battle, not some pansy sitting on the sidelines! Instead of being intimidated, I am going to boldly charge forward for Christ and trust that He will equip me for what He has called me to and that He will clothe me in the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20). I am so thankful that He has blessed me with the opportunity to be a light in this dark place, and I cannot wait to see His plan unfold for my coworkers. Please keep them in your prayers.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
"Ask and I'll give the nations to you." Oh Lord, that's the cry of my heart.
I recently listened to this song, “You Said” by Shane and Shane. I instantly fell in love with it. I heard it right before I left for the mission trip to Toronto, and it was such an encouragement to me. It was also my prayer through out the trip. The lyrics are simple and strongly rooted in Scripture. The part that really resonated with me was
“You said, ‘Pray and I’ll hear from heaven,
and I’ll heal your land.
You said, Your Glory will fill the earth,
Like water the seas.
You said, ‘Lift up your eyes,
The harvest is here. The kingdom is near.
You said, ‘Ask and I’ll give the nations to you.’
Oh Lord, that’s the cry of my heart.
Distant shores and the islands will see Your Light,
As it rises on earth.”
I love this song for so many reasons. One is that is reminds me of God’s promises to us. His Word tells us these things! We can cry out to God, knowing with full confidence that He has told us that His Glory will eventually fill the earth, that He will give the nations to us. His Word also calls us to GO and be Christ’s ambassadors, His messengers, to GO and make disciples of ALL nations/people groups.
When we were in Toronto, I got to see the urgency to go and preach the Gospel to all nations. It was such an eye-opening trip for me! We got to learn about such diverse cultures and various religions. One day we visited a Hindu temple. I wasn’t very familiar with the Hindu religion- I only really knew what I had been taught in my history classes. We learned that Hindus have over 330 million gods. I can’t even grasp how big a number that is! When we visited the temple, I got a taste of just how many gods that is though. The walls were all intricately hand-carved and shipped in from India. There were carved figures of gods covering the walls, from floor to ceiling, all the way around the temple. Everywhere you looked there were idols. People were praying to them, admiring them, and worshiping them.
It may be easy to just quickly pass over that thought, but as I was surrounded by all of this, I was suddenly struck with the truth of this. I was standing in the middle of this temple, surrounded by people who were worshiping millions of gods in vain, because they were devoid of the one true God. You guys- I can’t even articulate how important and urgent it is for us to go out and boldly proclaim the Gospel! This is real. Without God, people are going to hell. I don’t always see it so clearly. I often try to sugar-coat is as much as I can so that it is “less offensive.” But when I look at Scripture, it is very clear that Jesus is the only way to know God and get to heaven. I just hate to sound so “exclusive” and “judgmental.”
But as I was surrounded by all of these false gods, it really struck me. I might be afraid to boldly preach the Gospel, but we are all called to boldly preach the Gospel, to all peoples. Even if it is offensive. Even if they don’t believe me. Because, frankly- it’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s about worshiping the one true God and giving Him the Glory that He is due.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYuWOx2pp38
“You said, ‘Pray and I’ll hear from heaven,
and I’ll heal your land.
You said, Your Glory will fill the earth,
Like water the seas.
You said, ‘Lift up your eyes,
The harvest is here. The kingdom is near.
You said, ‘Ask and I’ll give the nations to you.’
Oh Lord, that’s the cry of my heart.
Distant shores and the islands will see Your Light,
As it rises on earth.”
I love this song for so many reasons. One is that is reminds me of God’s promises to us. His Word tells us these things! We can cry out to God, knowing with full confidence that He has told us that His Glory will eventually fill the earth, that He will give the nations to us. His Word also calls us to GO and be Christ’s ambassadors, His messengers, to GO and make disciples of ALL nations/people groups.
When we were in Toronto, I got to see the urgency to go and preach the Gospel to all nations. It was such an eye-opening trip for me! We got to learn about such diverse cultures and various religions. One day we visited a Hindu temple. I wasn’t very familiar with the Hindu religion- I only really knew what I had been taught in my history classes. We learned that Hindus have over 330 million gods. I can’t even grasp how big a number that is! When we visited the temple, I got a taste of just how many gods that is though. The walls were all intricately hand-carved and shipped in from India. There were carved figures of gods covering the walls, from floor to ceiling, all the way around the temple. Everywhere you looked there were idols. People were praying to them, admiring them, and worshiping them.
It may be easy to just quickly pass over that thought, but as I was surrounded by all of this, I was suddenly struck with the truth of this. I was standing in the middle of this temple, surrounded by people who were worshiping millions of gods in vain, because they were devoid of the one true God. You guys- I can’t even articulate how important and urgent it is for us to go out and boldly proclaim the Gospel! This is real. Without God, people are going to hell. I don’t always see it so clearly. I often try to sugar-coat is as much as I can so that it is “less offensive.” But when I look at Scripture, it is very clear that Jesus is the only way to know God and get to heaven. I just hate to sound so “exclusive” and “judgmental.”
But as I was surrounded by all of these false gods, it really struck me. I might be afraid to boldly preach the Gospel, but we are all called to boldly preach the Gospel, to all peoples. Even if it is offensive. Even if they don’t believe me. Because, frankly- it’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s about worshiping the one true God and giving Him the Glory that He is due.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYuWOx2pp38
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Nih'na Kulu Murasala
Nih'na kulu murasala ---> "We are all missionaries" in Arabic.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”
-Acts 17: 24-27 (NIV)
God really showed me the truth of this verse while I was in Toronto. I was really convicted of my failure to live missionally in my daily life. I find it so much easier to pay money to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to share the Gospel with complete strangers, but I fail to see my daily life as an opportunity to share God’s love with others. 2 Corinthians 5: 20 tells us that we are Christ’s ambassadors. I am the worst ambassador ever! I am supposed to live each day as a representative of Christ- that is definitely sobering. I should live each day knowing that my surroundings are my mission field! We are all missionaries- not just those who serve in other countries. Some are called to international missions, but we are ALL called to be ambassadors right where we are. This passage in Acts tells us that God has placed us all somewhere for a purpose. Do we realize that? I don’t live like I know that. I waste my time while I’m at college. It is so easy to get caught up in planning for the future, but that leads me to waste the present! God has called me to CNU for a purpose. I may not know specifically what purpose that is- but God does.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”
-Acts 17: 24-27 (NIV)
God really showed me the truth of this verse while I was in Toronto. I was really convicted of my failure to live missionally in my daily life. I find it so much easier to pay money to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to share the Gospel with complete strangers, but I fail to see my daily life as an opportunity to share God’s love with others. 2 Corinthians 5: 20 tells us that we are Christ’s ambassadors. I am the worst ambassador ever! I am supposed to live each day as a representative of Christ- that is definitely sobering. I should live each day knowing that my surroundings are my mission field! We are all missionaries- not just those who serve in other countries. Some are called to international missions, but we are ALL called to be ambassadors right where we are. This passage in Acts tells us that God has placed us all somewhere for a purpose. Do we realize that? I don’t live like I know that. I waste my time while I’m at college. It is so easy to get caught up in planning for the future, but that leads me to waste the present! God has called me to CNU for a purpose. I may not know specifically what purpose that is- but God does.
God Bless the Canadians.
For those of you who don’t know, I recently went to Toronto on a mission trip. I cannot even describe how awesome the trip was! I learned SO much. So, since I haven’t blogged in a while, I decided to try to write some blogs about it ☺
I’m sure you guys have figured out by now that I have been praying for a CNU hockey player (Ryan Dove, #9) for a few months now. God has been teaching me a lot, and one thing that He has been stressing recently is unshakable faith. I am so easily discouraged, y’all! I’ve only been praying for 6 months, and I’m already losing hope, wondering if Ryan will ever come to love the Lord. Shortly before I left for Canada, I was praying to God, wondering if my prayers were even doing anything. I know that God hears our prayers, but sometimes He says “no.” I know that He is sovereign and His plan is perfect, but I still hope that Ryan is saved. I don’t want God to say “no”! Anyway, I was praying a lot about whether or not my prayers really meant anything, if they were really doing anything. It’s hard to pray for someone you don’t know and can’t talk to! I have no idea where he’s at spiritually! So I was getting very frustrated.
But that does not justify me losing faith. I may not know where Ryan is at with his faith; but I do know how big my God is. I know that God is mighty to save, willing that none should perish, and sovereign over all creation. So why am I worried? If He wants to save Ryan, He will- I just need to be obedient in my call to pray for him.
Still, God knew that I was getting a little discouraged, and starting to doubt if I was even still being called to pray for Dove. So He gave me a little push in the right direction. He’s pretty great like that. ☺ On the ride up to Canada, I had been praying for Ryan a lot. The next day, we had to exchange our money over to the Canadian currency. I’m not sure how familiar you are with Canadian bills, but you should check out the $5 sometime. If you flip it over, you’ll notice that there are hockey players on the back. One of the hockey players has his back to the viewer, and he’s wearing a number on his jersey. What’s his number, you ask?
9. The same as Ryan Dove’s.
It may sound stupid, but that was so encouraging to me! I felt like God was confirming that I was still called to pray earnestly for Ryan, and that He was hearing my prayers. I may not know what’s going on in his life; I may not be able to talk to him, or invite him to church; but I can always be praying for him. And I know that God hears me. He may not answer the way I want him to, but He will hear me. And His answer will be perfect.
I’m sure you guys have figured out by now that I have been praying for a CNU hockey player (Ryan Dove, #9) for a few months now. God has been teaching me a lot, and one thing that He has been stressing recently is unshakable faith. I am so easily discouraged, y’all! I’ve only been praying for 6 months, and I’m already losing hope, wondering if Ryan will ever come to love the Lord. Shortly before I left for Canada, I was praying to God, wondering if my prayers were even doing anything. I know that God hears our prayers, but sometimes He says “no.” I know that He is sovereign and His plan is perfect, but I still hope that Ryan is saved. I don’t want God to say “no”! Anyway, I was praying a lot about whether or not my prayers really meant anything, if they were really doing anything. It’s hard to pray for someone you don’t know and can’t talk to! I have no idea where he’s at spiritually! So I was getting very frustrated.
But that does not justify me losing faith. I may not know where Ryan is at with his faith; but I do know how big my God is. I know that God is mighty to save, willing that none should perish, and sovereign over all creation. So why am I worried? If He wants to save Ryan, He will- I just need to be obedient in my call to pray for him.
Still, God knew that I was getting a little discouraged, and starting to doubt if I was even still being called to pray for Dove. So He gave me a little push in the right direction. He’s pretty great like that. ☺ On the ride up to Canada, I had been praying for Ryan a lot. The next day, we had to exchange our money over to the Canadian currency. I’m not sure how familiar you are with Canadian bills, but you should check out the $5 sometime. If you flip it over, you’ll notice that there are hockey players on the back. One of the hockey players has his back to the viewer, and he’s wearing a number on his jersey. What’s his number, you ask?
9. The same as Ryan Dove’s.
It may sound stupid, but that was so encouraging to me! I felt like God was confirming that I was still called to pray earnestly for Ryan, and that He was hearing my prayers. I may not know what’s going on in his life; I may not be able to talk to him, or invite him to church; but I can always be praying for him. And I know that God hears me. He may not answer the way I want him to, but He will hear me. And His answer will be perfect.
Friday, May 7, 2010
So...let's read our Bibles :)
I finished classes a few weeks ago, so I’ve had a lot of free time recently. I’ve been reading through a few books recently, namely The Pleasures of God by John Piper, Crazy Love by Francis Chan, and Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels. They’re definitely worth reading if you ever get the chance. In reading the books, I noticed first off the different tones of the writers. John Piper is very heavily soaked in deep theology, while still grounded deeply in Biblical truths. Francis Chan and Bill Hybels seemed to focus more on applying Biblical themes to life, and are also deeply rooted in Biblical truths. However, the books are all challenging in different ways.
Piper’s The Pleasures of God was VERY intellectually challenging. It is definitely something that needs to be read and reflected upon. It takes a lot of mental concentration and dedication. It is by no stretch of the imagination “light reading.” Francis Chan and Bill Hybels, on the other hand, are not quite as strenuous to keep up with; they are challenging in different ways. Piper challenges how we view God and uses TONS of Scripture to support what exactly God takes pleasure in. It was a book that was amazing at shaping doctrine and one’s perception of God. But it was definitely very saturated with deep theology and requires a great deal of commitment to pondering the doctrine contained in the chapters. Chan and Hybels present readers with a more elementary message, but a message that is nonetheless equally as eye opening and challenging.
Crazy Love holds Christians accountable to the Biblical standards of love. He simply presents Scripture and lets it speak for itself. He looks at what the Scripture honestly says, and doesn’t try to explain anything away. But it is still so challenging! It forces the reader to really evaluate how we are letting our lives be shaped by the Gospel, how we are obeying Christ’s commands. Hybels does much of the same thing. He challenges the reader’s view of prayer. He presents Scripture on how we are called to pray. He also offers practical steps that Christians can take to improve their prayer life.
While these two books may not be as soaked in deep theology, they are still deeply challenging. They call one to examine their life and see how exactly it lines up with the Scripture they preach. It is definitely humbling to read through some of these books and the Scripture passages the authors present and compare it to our lives. Jesus’s simple command to love seems easy enough to follow- but I fail to do it so often! Likewise, Scripture is very clear that we should pray, but I have only really started to pray constantly and earnestly recently. And I’m still learning about prayer- how God calls us to pray, why He calls us to pray, etc. These books are so helpful with providing me with a sobering view of myself, as well as an honest look at what Scripture says.
It is so amazing how simply Biblical truths and commands can sometimes be so enlightening to us, when we just take the time to actually look at them! Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love has become so popular recently! I know SO many people who have read it and loved it. However, is he really saying anything amazingly enlightened? I’m sure he would be the first to tell us that he has simply presented us with Scripture! Why is it that we have had these commands for centuries, yet we are still so amazed when we read them? We are so challenged by these commands! I am so grateful for authors like Chan who will honestly present the Scripture’s commands, and challenge us to live in light of them. I must also wonder though- what would happen if the Church actually started to read our Bibles with as much conviction? Instead of reading books about Scripture, why don’t we read the Scripture itself? That is where all of these challenges are coming from! Why don’t we go straight to the source of living water? I wonder how different the body of Christ would be if we took an honest look at Scripture, and strived to live in light of its commands?
Piper’s The Pleasures of God was VERY intellectually challenging. It is definitely something that needs to be read and reflected upon. It takes a lot of mental concentration and dedication. It is by no stretch of the imagination “light reading.” Francis Chan and Bill Hybels, on the other hand, are not quite as strenuous to keep up with; they are challenging in different ways. Piper challenges how we view God and uses TONS of Scripture to support what exactly God takes pleasure in. It was a book that was amazing at shaping doctrine and one’s perception of God. But it was definitely very saturated with deep theology and requires a great deal of commitment to pondering the doctrine contained in the chapters. Chan and Hybels present readers with a more elementary message, but a message that is nonetheless equally as eye opening and challenging.
Crazy Love holds Christians accountable to the Biblical standards of love. He simply presents Scripture and lets it speak for itself. He looks at what the Scripture honestly says, and doesn’t try to explain anything away. But it is still so challenging! It forces the reader to really evaluate how we are letting our lives be shaped by the Gospel, how we are obeying Christ’s commands. Hybels does much of the same thing. He challenges the reader’s view of prayer. He presents Scripture on how we are called to pray. He also offers practical steps that Christians can take to improve their prayer life.
While these two books may not be as soaked in deep theology, they are still deeply challenging. They call one to examine their life and see how exactly it lines up with the Scripture they preach. It is definitely humbling to read through some of these books and the Scripture passages the authors present and compare it to our lives. Jesus’s simple command to love seems easy enough to follow- but I fail to do it so often! Likewise, Scripture is very clear that we should pray, but I have only really started to pray constantly and earnestly recently. And I’m still learning about prayer- how God calls us to pray, why He calls us to pray, etc. These books are so helpful with providing me with a sobering view of myself, as well as an honest look at what Scripture says.
It is so amazing how simply Biblical truths and commands can sometimes be so enlightening to us, when we just take the time to actually look at them! Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love has become so popular recently! I know SO many people who have read it and loved it. However, is he really saying anything amazingly enlightened? I’m sure he would be the first to tell us that he has simply presented us with Scripture! Why is it that we have had these commands for centuries, yet we are still so amazed when we read them? We are so challenged by these commands! I am so grateful for authors like Chan who will honestly present the Scripture’s commands, and challenge us to live in light of them. I must also wonder though- what would happen if the Church actually started to read our Bibles with as much conviction? Instead of reading books about Scripture, why don’t we read the Scripture itself? That is where all of these challenges are coming from! Why don’t we go straight to the source of living water? I wonder how different the body of Christ would be if we took an honest look at Scripture, and strived to live in light of its commands?
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