If you truly believe that I work all things together for the good of those who love me, then you will let go of your own desires and wants. I desire to bless you beyond all you could ever imagine or dream! Rest in my presence and be filled with my peace that passes all understanding. Trust that I alone know your heart and look to me to fill your heart. My child never think you are not good enough for me. That is a tool of the enemy to draw you away from me, your Creator. I created you in my image and I love the way I designed you! I moled you into who you are knowing the ways you would bless others. Don't be fooled by the god of this world that airs you need to change who you are in order to be loved. You are loved, by Me, in order to change the world!
Amen.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Sad Truth - Trafficking
Demand:
Every year 800,000 new victims are locked in the sex trade against their will.
Every year the businesses in Bangkok rake in one billion dollars off of children alone
About 100,000 kids will go missing from America's streets this year.
Every year the global sex industry makes $57 billion.
Every minute two children are forced into the sex industry.
Due to porn, forced prostitution, early death to AIDS & honor killings about 500,000 females 'go missing' every year.
Our 'first' world is the largest consumer of porn & the sex industry it creates. The 'third' world is the largest victim. We have re-created slavery around lust.
The porn industry is 57 billion dollars strong.
Twelve is the average age of prostitutes.
Porn revenue is larger than the combined finances of all professional sports franchises & exceeds the combined revenues of all news networks.
12% of the Web is dedicated to porn.
12 – 17 year olds are their largest consumers.
90% of eight year olds have seen porn.
Scientific studies prove that view porn is addictive and leads to the following.
Results:
Rape rates in the USA have increased 523% in 30 years.
Males become violent. Incest and sibling molestation has increased.
Most battered women are those whose partners viewed porn.
Most porn viewers try out what they see within a few days.
Heterophobia heightened ( the fear of, distrust of, and disappointment with the opposite sex) is the common outcome of porn. In these instances, it often leads to homosexual and lesbian activity.
Men exposed to porn become callous to women. Marriage becomes devalued, and more bizarre forms of sex are required to stimulate. Multiple partners become the norm.
Impotence is a natural result of using porn.
Every day 8,000 teens in the USA become infected with a STD.
Children born out of wedlock, abortion, Viagra, date violence, STDs and AIDS have become a 'normal' part of our world.
In the USA teen pregnancies and single mothers in poverty cost us 7 billion in taxes.
78% of pregnancies are unintentional. Abortion is costing US taxpayers more than 5 billion a year.
Treating STDs is 10 billion dollars of tax funds.
Solutions:
Become a voice – find and use your voice for victims.
Host an Awareness Event in your home, church or place of employment.
Volunteer to help.
Choose to buy items made by rescued victims at Fair Trade wages. This empowers them.
Raise funds to support or start projects that rescue and restore – both locally and internationally.
Choose abstinence and faithfulness.
Become an intern; use your skills.
Connect with organizations who are doing something.
UGH! :(
Every year 800,000 new victims are locked in the sex trade against their will.
Every year the businesses in Bangkok rake in one billion dollars off of children alone
About 100,000 kids will go missing from America's streets this year.
Every year the global sex industry makes $57 billion.
Every minute two children are forced into the sex industry.
Due to porn, forced prostitution, early death to AIDS & honor killings about 500,000 females 'go missing' every year.
Our 'first' world is the largest consumer of porn & the sex industry it creates. The 'third' world is the largest victim. We have re-created slavery around lust.
The porn industry is 57 billion dollars strong.
Twelve is the average age of prostitutes.
Porn revenue is larger than the combined finances of all professional sports franchises & exceeds the combined revenues of all news networks.
12% of the Web is dedicated to porn.
12 – 17 year olds are their largest consumers.
90% of eight year olds have seen porn.
Scientific studies prove that view porn is addictive and leads to the following.
Results:
Rape rates in the USA have increased 523% in 30 years.
Males become violent. Incest and sibling molestation has increased.
Most battered women are those whose partners viewed porn.
Most porn viewers try out what they see within a few days.
Heterophobia heightened ( the fear of, distrust of, and disappointment with the opposite sex) is the common outcome of porn. In these instances, it often leads to homosexual and lesbian activity.
Men exposed to porn become callous to women. Marriage becomes devalued, and more bizarre forms of sex are required to stimulate. Multiple partners become the norm.
Impotence is a natural result of using porn.
Every day 8,000 teens in the USA become infected with a STD.
Children born out of wedlock, abortion, Viagra, date violence, STDs and AIDS have become a 'normal' part of our world.
In the USA teen pregnancies and single mothers in poverty cost us 7 billion in taxes.
78% of pregnancies are unintentional. Abortion is costing US taxpayers more than 5 billion a year.
Treating STDs is 10 billion dollars of tax funds.
Solutions:
Become a voice – find and use your voice for victims.
Host an Awareness Event in your home, church or place of employment.
Volunteer to help.
Choose to buy items made by rescued victims at Fair Trade wages. This empowers them.
Raise funds to support or start projects that rescue and restore – both locally and internationally.
Choose abstinence and faithfulness.
Become an intern; use your skills.
Connect with organizations who are doing something.
UGH! :(
Monday, May 2, 2011
Is the American Church a Joke?
I am currently reading The Forgotten God by Francis Chan, ouch! So much is lining up with what God has already been doing in my heart and connecting with what was shared on Sunday. So here I go!
In the intro of the book Francis proposes this question: "If he was born and raised on a deserted island with nothing but a Bible, had only read about the New Testament church yet had never seen a church, would he recognize his own institution he was leading as being remotely similar to what he read about in the New Testament?" He came to the conclusion that he would not recognize his own church system as being even remotely similar to what he read about in the scriptures.
I recently read in another article that he had the chance to spend some time in Asia with underground church communities and shared with them what the American church system is like and how many join or leave that church based on the worship band, liking or not liking the pastor, the variety of programs offered to them, etc.
They laughed at him.
In fact, the more he shared with them on our church system, the more they laughed because they thought he was telling them jokes!?
I find it heartbreaking that the underground church, who has suffered so much, would see us as joke. Not because they have been misled in that view, but because in many ways they are right. They must think we take our freedom for granted...? From their point of view some of the things we do must seem ridiculous and overdone. It got me thinking that somewhere along the line I have lost the desire to let the Holy Spirit move in and through my life and I can't be the only one. Have we strayed so far from the church of the new testament that we are now just viewed as an institution, a business, a community center of sorts, aimed to give a fast fix to the get it now generation? Please understand I am not mocking or saying it's wrong to have programs to draw people in or to use them to reach out because I have seen them be used mightily here in our culture and it's part of the way we connect, but I am saying we (the church body as a whole) are More and should desire to be More than those things, not just merely defined by them. No amount of activities or bands or dynamic speakers will bring the Holy Spirit to us if we are not willing to allow the Holy Spirit to be an active, permanent part of our life, I think that's where we differ from those in the underground church. They thrive on the Holy Spirit to make changes in their lives, they cry our desperate for him to hear their prayers, the cling to the knowledge that he is alive and working in them and through them! They know He alone will protect the church they are not allowed to have.
Are we missing the Holy Spirit as the main attraction and feature of the church? I don't mean just the church I personally attend, I mean as a worldwide body of believers...
Acts 4 - Peter and John do something extremely courageous, they go before the all the big wigs (Sanhedrin) and proclaim Christ when asked to defend what they have done. v.8 - "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Did you catch that? "Filled with the Holy Spirit", there was no band, no lights, no glitter, just the Holy Spirit and a man willing to listen and allow the Spirit to work through him.
The bible goes on to say in v. 13 - "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."
That's my heart and my point in all this, do people see us and recognize that they have been with Jesus? Or do they just say, "gee that was a nice service." and go on their merry way? It is the prayer of my heart for my church and in my own life that others would sit with me and know that they have seen Jesus, not merely because I told them I am a Christian, but because they experienced him in my life.
Would the persecuted of this world see our church system differently if we operated on the Holy Spirit and not just on programs alone? Would we "turn this world upside down?" would we change the hearts of those who don't believe or see?
I think we would. In fact, I know we would.
This is all said out of love and what God is doing in my own heart so please know when I say all these things I say it to myself first and if you leave taking something from it then praise the Lord! ;) For the record, I don't think we desire to be a joke, we just need a kick in the booty to get back in line.
Ask yourself, if you were living on a deserted island and had nothing but the Bible, what would church look like to you? In my mind, I don't see a church that needs to host the next big thing or a body that desires to be poured into, but I do see a church willing to to be brave and pray for one another, to step out in faith and use the gifts they have been given, I see believers willing to lose their life for the sake of the one who gave His. I see the persecuted church.
In the intro of the book Francis proposes this question: "If he was born and raised on a deserted island with nothing but a Bible, had only read about the New Testament church yet had never seen a church, would he recognize his own institution he was leading as being remotely similar to what he read about in the New Testament?" He came to the conclusion that he would not recognize his own church system as being even remotely similar to what he read about in the scriptures.
I recently read in another article that he had the chance to spend some time in Asia with underground church communities and shared with them what the American church system is like and how many join or leave that church based on the worship band, liking or not liking the pastor, the variety of programs offered to them, etc.
They laughed at him.
In fact, the more he shared with them on our church system, the more they laughed because they thought he was telling them jokes!?
I find it heartbreaking that the underground church, who has suffered so much, would see us as joke. Not because they have been misled in that view, but because in many ways they are right. They must think we take our freedom for granted...? From their point of view some of the things we do must seem ridiculous and overdone. It got me thinking that somewhere along the line I have lost the desire to let the Holy Spirit move in and through my life and I can't be the only one. Have we strayed so far from the church of the new testament that we are now just viewed as an institution, a business, a community center of sorts, aimed to give a fast fix to the get it now generation? Please understand I am not mocking or saying it's wrong to have programs to draw people in or to use them to reach out because I have seen them be used mightily here in our culture and it's part of the way we connect, but I am saying we (the church body as a whole) are More and should desire to be More than those things, not just merely defined by them. No amount of activities or bands or dynamic speakers will bring the Holy Spirit to us if we are not willing to allow the Holy Spirit to be an active, permanent part of our life, I think that's where we differ from those in the underground church. They thrive on the Holy Spirit to make changes in their lives, they cry our desperate for him to hear their prayers, the cling to the knowledge that he is alive and working in them and through them! They know He alone will protect the church they are not allowed to have.
Are we missing the Holy Spirit as the main attraction and feature of the church? I don't mean just the church I personally attend, I mean as a worldwide body of believers...
Acts 4 - Peter and John do something extremely courageous, they go before the all the big wigs (Sanhedrin) and proclaim Christ when asked to defend what they have done. v.8 - "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Did you catch that? "Filled with the Holy Spirit", there was no band, no lights, no glitter, just the Holy Spirit and a man willing to listen and allow the Spirit to work through him.
The bible goes on to say in v. 13 - "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."
That's my heart and my point in all this, do people see us and recognize that they have been with Jesus? Or do they just say, "gee that was a nice service." and go on their merry way? It is the prayer of my heart for my church and in my own life that others would sit with me and know that they have seen Jesus, not merely because I told them I am a Christian, but because they experienced him in my life.
Would the persecuted of this world see our church system differently if we operated on the Holy Spirit and not just on programs alone? Would we "turn this world upside down?" would we change the hearts of those who don't believe or see?
I think we would. In fact, I know we would.
This is all said out of love and what God is doing in my own heart so please know when I say all these things I say it to myself first and if you leave taking something from it then praise the Lord! ;) For the record, I don't think we desire to be a joke, we just need a kick in the booty to get back in line.
Ask yourself, if you were living on a deserted island and had nothing but the Bible, what would church look like to you? In my mind, I don't see a church that needs to host the next big thing or a body that desires to be poured into, but I do see a church willing to to be brave and pray for one another, to step out in faith and use the gifts they have been given, I see believers willing to lose their life for the sake of the one who gave His. I see the persecuted church.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
If God Were a Color
My great grandma G.G. passed when I was 26 and she was 96, I am so blessed I had to chance to really grow up with her and know her because in many ways she was the one person who truly understood me, my best friend. She taught me how to pray and love God and know Him personally and she always talked about the sparrows and God's love for us in light of how He cares about the sparrows, (hence my sparrow tat, not for captn' jack like you thought...). She also instilled in me that if everyone wears red, you wear blue. That simple statement left such a huge impact on me as a kid. It was a revolutionary idea. Go against the flow, be your own person, own who you are and let no one tell you different. I'm not sure if she knows the impact it had on me, good or bad haha!
I was a strange kid, in a good way, I think... I was very shy until I started acting, in theatre that is, not just acting out. But, when asked about something I always had an opinion. I was not afraid to stand up to bullies or to my teachers if asked to read what I considered and inappropriate book. I never backed down when asked to speak less about God in my reports and never stopped our prayer circle before a performance when told it did not include everyone, even though I invited everyone. I never dated because I did not see the value in dating someone I would not marry, why waste our time? Man! How did I survive high school haha! When God is in the marrow of your bones it becomes necessity to live it out no matter what age you are. Granted, I was and am by no means perfect and I think... I have grown to show the grace I have been given. I guess thats why when the random lady in Walmart told me I should 10 or 15 pounds it did not shake me. Of course I do! Who doesn't!? lol But I know who I am and maybe it's just another shade of blue for me? Another way to rebel against what everyone thinks I should be... I will never be a size 2 nor do I want to be so blue it is! :)
Every once in a while G.G and I would talk about stuff going on in my life and if felt like she was not understanding where I coming from, I would say "G.G., if everyone wears red, I wear blue." And she would smile and squeeze my hand and say, "that's right, you do!". Lord, I miss that hand!
That was God to me as a kid and now, He was always the blue I chose to wear and still choose.
What color is He to you?
I was a strange kid, in a good way, I think... I was very shy until I started acting, in theatre that is, not just acting out. But, when asked about something I always had an opinion. I was not afraid to stand up to bullies or to my teachers if asked to read what I considered and inappropriate book. I never backed down when asked to speak less about God in my reports and never stopped our prayer circle before a performance when told it did not include everyone, even though I invited everyone. I never dated because I did not see the value in dating someone I would not marry, why waste our time? Man! How did I survive high school haha! When God is in the marrow of your bones it becomes necessity to live it out no matter what age you are. Granted, I was and am by no means perfect and I think... I have grown to show the grace I have been given. I guess thats why when the random lady in Walmart told me I should 10 or 15 pounds it did not shake me. Of course I do! Who doesn't!? lol But I know who I am and maybe it's just another shade of blue for me? Another way to rebel against what everyone thinks I should be... I will never be a size 2 nor do I want to be so blue it is! :)
Every once in a while G.G and I would talk about stuff going on in my life and if felt like she was not understanding where I coming from, I would say "G.G., if everyone wears red, I wear blue." And she would smile and squeeze my hand and say, "that's right, you do!". Lord, I miss that hand!
That was God to me as a kid and now, He was always the blue I chose to wear and still choose.
What color is He to you?
The Bigger Picture
Thought - If everything in our lives can be explained apart from the work of God in our lives, then something in our life is wrong.
We end up being not all that we were made to be. We are living outside of His presence and in our own story instead of the one He is writing.
I listened to a teaching the other day where he said, if you would stop living in your own little story and start living in the larger one God is writing, you would find abundant joy and happiness and give up the lie of this world that says "it's all about me." Lately I am learning a lot about what it means to really press in to God and seek Him in a deeper way so that I don't miss the larger picture of what He is doing. Meaning I can be so consumed by one tiny little detail going on in my story that I miss how God is wanting use me in the bigger picture, mainly, in someone else's story. I have made so many mistakes by living in only what I can see and it does nothing to further His kingdom and that's something worth changing.
I wonder what would happen if we started living by letting the scriptures dictate our actions vs letting our story dictate how we interpret the scriptures in our lives? As Dell would say "we would turn this world upside down!" THAT'S my desire and my passion, whether I live here in the US or in another country, whether I clean toilets or serve in children's ministry, I want to live with the Holy Spirit in my life in a way that turns the world upside down! God's script is so much better than what we can come up with so just let it play out and be willing to hear Him and act on what He shows you and He is faithful to do so! We have a wonderful, merciful God whose heart breaks for His children when we hurt and rejoices with us when we have victory! There is blessing for those living in God's design and hurts and joy are all a sweet part of it.
We end up being not all that we were made to be. We are living outside of His presence and in our own story instead of the one He is writing.
I listened to a teaching the other day where he said, if you would stop living in your own little story and start living in the larger one God is writing, you would find abundant joy and happiness and give up the lie of this world that says "it's all about me." Lately I am learning a lot about what it means to really press in to God and seek Him in a deeper way so that I don't miss the larger picture of what He is doing. Meaning I can be so consumed by one tiny little detail going on in my story that I miss how God is wanting use me in the bigger picture, mainly, in someone else's story. I have made so many mistakes by living in only what I can see and it does nothing to further His kingdom and that's something worth changing.
I wonder what would happen if we started living by letting the scriptures dictate our actions vs letting our story dictate how we interpret the scriptures in our lives? As Dell would say "we would turn this world upside down!" THAT'S my desire and my passion, whether I live here in the US or in another country, whether I clean toilets or serve in children's ministry, I want to live with the Holy Spirit in my life in a way that turns the world upside down! God's script is so much better than what we can come up with so just let it play out and be willing to hear Him and act on what He shows you and He is faithful to do so! We have a wonderful, merciful God whose heart breaks for His children when we hurt and rejoices with us when we have victory! There is blessing for those living in God's design and hurts and joy are all a sweet part of it.
2 Cor. 2:18 "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." are you willing to live in the unseen?
I choose to let the God of this universe write my story, to live by the Holy Spirit, and let the scriptures dictate my life. :)
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Oh by the way.... Thailand.
I'm going to Thailand! Lord willing...
I have been praying about a lot of things including missions and well God has laid Thailand on my heart, randomly out of the blue, it was not on my list of things I was praying about! But... since He did, I kept it quiet and told no one cause I wanted to be sure I was not crazy... I asked a few girls to pray and fast with me and I asked the Lord that if Thailand was where He wanted me, to just have someone, anyone, just walk up to me and say "Thailand!" cause that sounded like a good plan to me!? haha!
A few weeks ago at Barros pizza, we walked in to order and it’s been the same two girls working there forever and randomly the brunette tells me "guess what!? I got accepted to teach overseas next summer!" and I said "yay congrats, where?" and she goes "THAILAND!" so I laughed, "haha!" and even though it was not a direct, "Rae, God says go to Thailand super spiritual moment", I felt it was exactly what I did pray for! I took a step of faith and filled out the application. I was accepted!
I'll be going to Bangkok, Thailand with a group called Adventures in Missions, I will leave end of October and return in about 2 weeks I think. I found this trip through something else I was looking at and when I saw the nature of the trip I knew this was it and why the Lord had said Thailand.
The nature of the trip is human trafficking and it's an area He placed on my heart right before moving to China. The team will focus first on ministry to trafficked young women and children in two major red light districts-Patpong and Nana District. The goal is that we will see with His eyes and feel with His heart as we encounter various opportunities for ministry relative to human trafficking. Our overall mission is to encourage, uplift, and work alongside ministries which have been working diligently inside Thailand for many years in these areas. We want to offer hope in Jesus and a way out of that lifestyle! It's an intense trip so they only take 15 women and keep it short; therefore we need Lots of prayer!
How You Can Pray:
-Against spiritual attack
-Pray for the women and children stuck in the cycles of human trafficking.
-Pray for the relationships we will form with the women in the major red light districts.
-Pray for the Patpong and Nana Districts and the people who flock to these areas as a way of getting away and handling their own rejection.
-Safety
-Pray my heart would be teachable and flexable cause this is a rough area where sometimes I think a machette would be more effective (kidding..)
At this point I have paid my deposit to secure my spot, but I am confident God will provide the rest. I feel so blessed He would give me the opportunity to go and I am excited to see what He does! Friends and family join me in prayer for the trip because I know it will be pretty emotionally and spiritually intense and I am not sure I am equipped for this area, but I am willing to go. :)
Thank you all for your love & support!
In His Love,
Rae
Come follow Me to the darkest places Come to the hurting, the howling, hallow faces, Come with Me to the addicted, convicted, and caught, Come with your light, run with your salt, Come to the sorrow; the suicide tree Come to the stable, Come follow Me. Amen!
I have been praying about a lot of things including missions and well God has laid Thailand on my heart, randomly out of the blue, it was not on my list of things I was praying about! But... since He did, I kept it quiet and told no one cause I wanted to be sure I was not crazy... I asked a few girls to pray and fast with me and I asked the Lord that if Thailand was where He wanted me, to just have someone, anyone, just walk up to me and say "Thailand!" cause that sounded like a good plan to me!? haha!
A few weeks ago at Barros pizza, we walked in to order and it’s been the same two girls working there forever and randomly the brunette tells me "guess what!? I got accepted to teach overseas next summer!" and I said "yay congrats, where?" and she goes "THAILAND!" so I laughed, "haha!" and even though it was not a direct, "Rae, God says go to Thailand super spiritual moment", I felt it was exactly what I did pray for! I took a step of faith and filled out the application. I was accepted!
I'll be going to Bangkok, Thailand with a group called Adventures in Missions, I will leave end of October and return in about 2 weeks I think. I found this trip through something else I was looking at and when I saw the nature of the trip I knew this was it and why the Lord had said Thailand.
The nature of the trip is human trafficking and it's an area He placed on my heart right before moving to China. The team will focus first on ministry to trafficked young women and children in two major red light districts-Patpong and Nana District. The goal is that we will see with His eyes and feel with His heart as we encounter various opportunities for ministry relative to human trafficking. Our overall mission is to encourage, uplift, and work alongside ministries which have been working diligently inside Thailand for many years in these areas. We want to offer hope in Jesus and a way out of that lifestyle! It's an intense trip so they only take 15 women and keep it short; therefore we need Lots of prayer!
How You Can Pray:
-Against spiritual attack
-Pray for the women and children stuck in the cycles of human trafficking.
-Pray for the relationships we will form with the women in the major red light districts.
-Pray for the Patpong and Nana Districts and the people who flock to these areas as a way of getting away and handling their own rejection.
-Safety
-Pray my heart would be teachable and flexable cause this is a rough area where sometimes I think a machette would be more effective (kidding..)
At this point I have paid my deposit to secure my spot, but I am confident God will provide the rest. I feel so blessed He would give me the opportunity to go and I am excited to see what He does! Friends and family join me in prayer for the trip because I know it will be pretty emotionally and spiritually intense and I am not sure I am equipped for this area, but I am willing to go. :)
Thank you all for your love & support!
In His Love,
Rae
Come follow Me to the darkest places Come to the hurting, the howling, hallow faces, Come with Me to the addicted, convicted, and caught, Come with your light, run with your salt, Come to the sorrow; the suicide tree Come to the stable, Come follow Me. Amen!
I have a confession...
I am not a missionary. Don't get mad at me, yet...
When I moved home from China that completed my 5th or 6th "mission trip", but I have never considered myself a "missionary". I was approached by someone asking about how I like being a missionary and I thought, "Well, I'm not, I'm a Christian and I am just living out what He has called me to do." I guess I never looked at myself as a missionary mainly because I never thought of myself as someone who could stand in front of a crowd or walk up to a stranger and share God's word to bring them into a personal relationship with Him. Or that I had to live over seas or travel to another country to be one. In my naive christian eyes that was a missionary to me and I did not fit all of that bill so how could I be one?
Until God showed me more.
I had a realization awhile before moving to China that the Lord used in my life to set me free of the pressures of that word. I always expected that to wear the badge of "missionary" that it has to come with a tally of those you have saved, like "we" in and of ourselves actually do the saving, ha! I was always so nervous to carry the weight of it because I knew I could not live up to it. God showed me that His word does not say "Missionaries, go out into all the world and make disciples...." it says simply, "GO!" That's when the burden lifted and He showed me that its the duty of all believers to be a light to this world, not just someone who is deemed a missionary and there are many ways that He uses us to share the word of God in order to lead others to know Him. I learned long before China that I had a gift for building relationships with people I did not really know and He has used that to bring others to Him by just living among people and being in each others lives. Some, have the gift of just saying, "hey you need Jesus" and people come to know Him and its Amazing! I think that is the beauty and complexity of our Lord. We assume because we do not live or travel to foreign countries that we are not missionaries, but brothers and sisters, you are! You are a believer and you have a gift inside of you that He desires you to use! The word tells us that they will know we are His disciples by our love. It should flow out of us like oxygen and His spirit in us is not something the world can ignore! Sometimes you just give someone a cup of water, others you give the word of truth and sometimes you end up giving the non-homeless guy you thought really was homeless fruit snacks and all can be used to lead others to Him. The good news is when He does call you to speak, He is faithful to fill you up with words, I have seen Him do it in my life many times. We are by default, missionaries, by simply living the life He has called us too!
Therefore, GO!
I guess I have a confession...
I AM a Missionary ;)
In His Love,
Rae
When I moved home from China that completed my 5th or 6th "mission trip", but I have never considered myself a "missionary". I was approached by someone asking about how I like being a missionary and I thought, "Well, I'm not, I'm a Christian and I am just living out what He has called me to do." I guess I never looked at myself as a missionary mainly because I never thought of myself as someone who could stand in front of a crowd or walk up to a stranger and share God's word to bring them into a personal relationship with Him. Or that I had to live over seas or travel to another country to be one. In my naive christian eyes that was a missionary to me and I did not fit all of that bill so how could I be one?
Until God showed me more.
I had a realization awhile before moving to China that the Lord used in my life to set me free of the pressures of that word. I always expected that to wear the badge of "missionary" that it has to come with a tally of those you have saved, like "we" in and of ourselves actually do the saving, ha! I was always so nervous to carry the weight of it because I knew I could not live up to it. God showed me that His word does not say "Missionaries, go out into all the world and make disciples...." it says simply, "GO!" That's when the burden lifted and He showed me that its the duty of all believers to be a light to this world, not just someone who is deemed a missionary and there are many ways that He uses us to share the word of God in order to lead others to know Him. I learned long before China that I had a gift for building relationships with people I did not really know and He has used that to bring others to Him by just living among people and being in each others lives. Some, have the gift of just saying, "hey you need Jesus" and people come to know Him and its Amazing! I think that is the beauty and complexity of our Lord. We assume because we do not live or travel to foreign countries that we are not missionaries, but brothers and sisters, you are! You are a believer and you have a gift inside of you that He desires you to use! The word tells us that they will know we are His disciples by our love. It should flow out of us like oxygen and His spirit in us is not something the world can ignore! Sometimes you just give someone a cup of water, others you give the word of truth and sometimes you end up giving the non-homeless guy you thought really was homeless fruit snacks and all can be used to lead others to Him. The good news is when He does call you to speak, He is faithful to fill you up with words, I have seen Him do it in my life many times. We are by default, missionaries, by simply living the life He has called us too!
Therefore, GO!
I guess I have a confession...
I AM a Missionary ;)
In His Love,
Rae
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