The Calling pt.4

Part 4 of 4 of a series of reflections on key verses that have shaped me and my calling to be a full-time missionary to Guatemala.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

    And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

The message of reconciliation. The most wonderful message we can share with people. God’s perfect plan for not only reconciling people to himself but also to each other. It all comes from Christ offering his life in our place.

I don’t have much to add about reconciliation that I haven’t already said before. This appointment to serve as God’s ambassadors, carrying with us the message of reconciliation, it is something that I can not ignore. I am called to participate in this ministry of reconciliation by going and pleading with people to, “Come back to God!” Through teaching, through acts of mercy, through prayer, through living with others in discipleship. Through all these things I hope to bring honor and glory to His holy name. God has tasked all of us in reconciling people to him, and I am answering that call by saying, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8). We can choose to be onlookers to God’s redemptive work in the world, or we can choose to engage with the work, pushing the ministry forward for the good of all people and for His everlasting kingdom.

Would you join me in this ministry? Would you be willing to join my team and send me? We are all called to participate in this same ministry, and I may be called to go, but  I can not do this alone. I want to invite you to join this ministry in partnership.

Join me in praying for this ministry and getting updates through my newsletter.

Join me in giving financially towards this ministry.

Read part 3.

Read part 2.

Read part 1.

The Calling pt.3

Part 3 of 4 of a series of reflections on key verses that have shaped me and my calling to be a full-time missionary to Guatemala.

“For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

    But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of the messengers who bring good news!’” Romans 10:13-15

Everyone. Not some people. Not most people. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. These words are as true back when Paul wrote the book of Romans as they are today. And Paul’s follow-up to this quote is also true today. Paul lays out a plan for how people call on the Lord for salvation. It all begins with someone going and preaching about God. That is what I am called to do.

I desire to see people from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue stand in heaven before the Lamb worshiping Him for all eternity (Revelations 7:9-10). If we all desire this end goal for every soul on Earth then we must also desire to participate in God’s vision for global missions. I am called to participate by going, by being sent to the nations. I desire for the Gospel to be spread in all directions, to all people, in all nations.

There’s a reason why the Cross Crosslet has become such an important symbol for my life and my ministry. The Cross Crosslet represents the spreading of the Gospel in all four cardinal directions; north, east, south, and west. I pray for all WORKERS sharing the Gospel all across the world that together, each day, we would take one step closer towards making Revelations 7:9-10 a reality.

Read part 2.

Read part 1.

The Calling pt.2

Part 2 of 4 of a series of reflections on key verses that have shaped me and my calling to be a full-time missionary to Guatemala.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sister, you were doing it to me!’” Matthew 25:34-36, 40

The least of these. The family trapped in poverty. The children going to bed hungry. The young girl lured into prostitution. The community without clean drinking water. The daughter abandoned by her parents. The son escaping this world through drugs. The wife trapped in a system of injustice.

The list goes on-and-on. We live in a broken world. Sin has destroyed countless lives. The needs of the multitude are too great to count. The injustices that people face daily are overwhelming. However, I refuse to ignore the injustices in the world. I can not turn a blind eye to the needs of people. God has called me to love the least of these.

I have had many experiences working with marginalized people, each one has had an impact on my life. God has called me to be a servant for those in desperate need of help. He has called me to feed the hungry. He has called me to pray for the stranger. He has called me to go and sit with those in the depths of despair. He has called me to be a father to the fatherless.

My heart is open to God’s leading to share His love with anyone who is seeking. My prayer is that God would use me to not only serve people but also share the Gospel. I pray that my deeds and words would align with His so that countless people would know Jesus as their one and only savior. For Christ loved us when He took the punishment for our sins. Just as Christ still loved us as He suffered on the cross for our sake I too desire to LOVE ALWAYS.

This immense calling to love is not possible without God. I would be foolish to try to care for the least of these through my own power. For only through the power of God’s spirit can we show unconditional, self-sacrificial AGAPE love. Alone I would be fearful of this calling, but with God I am confident in this call to love the least of these.

Read part 1.

The Calling pt.1

Part 1 of 4 of a series of reflections on key verses that have shaped me and my calling to be a full-time missionary to Guatemala.

“You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:14-16

Light. Light makes vision possible. Light erases darkness. Even the smallest light is capable of filling a space and covering darkness. In the account of creation in Genesis light was the first thing that God created. God’s response to this light? God declares light as being good (Genesis 1:3-4).

Look up into the night sky and take in the glory of the stars within our galaxy. The lights from these stars travel vast distances across space and time to light our night sky. Light is capable of traveling much farther, beyond our home galaxy.

Meet Icarus, the most distant star ever photographed. How far away is it? 9 billion light years. That distance is almost unimaginable, yet light was able to travel that distance. The point I’m trying to make is that if light is able to travel immeasurable distances across space shouldn’t the light within us at least be able to travel next door to our neighbors?

We must be willing to go and share this light with others. I know that I am called to go and to boldly proclaim the good news of the Gospel. Matthew 5:14-16 has had a huge impact on my testimony and my calling to cross-cultural missions.

We can not allow darkness to reign and cover the hearts of people. The light from God can pierce through the darkness and give people a clear vision of the truth of the Gospel. God has called me to fight against this darkness with the light He has given me. He has called me to travel to another country to boldly share this light with those still trapped in darkness. No longer will I hide my faith like I did for so long. I am called to let my light shine and actively seek those who are desperate for a Savior.

“I have told all your people about your justice.
I have not been afraid to speak out,
as you, O Lord, well know.
I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart;
I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power.
I have told everyone in the great assembly
of your unfailing love and faithfulness.” Psalm 40:9-10

Being

We may do many things for ourselves and for God, but what about being with God?

Jesus tells us to, “Abide in my love” (John 15:9). To be in His love. To remain in His love. To be completely surrounded by this love. We are surrounded by this love already, but we may have not come to that realization yet. Within our heart we can see what can not be seen with our earthly eyes (2 Corinthians 4:18). That which is unseen is eternal, his faithful love lasts forever! (Psalm 136).

To abide in this love means to be safe within God’s presence and His love. Ask yourself, do you feel safe with God? Are you vulnerable with Him? Is there anything you are trying to hide from Him?

What may be preventing you from feeling safe with God, to fully be with God? Bring these things before God in prayer, ask that He may further restore your soul (Psalm 23:3). May this restoration lead to a further deepening of your relationship with God, a further being with God.

I pray that you would not be fearful of this relationship and that you would lay everything down before the Lord. This relationship is real, more real than any earthly relationships you may have, because it is a relationship that is not marred by sin. This relationship is deep, one that you have the privilege of spending a lifetime diving into deeper everyday. You have the privilege of being filled by this relationship, and yet this fountain of love, from which this relationship flows, will never run out. Although there will always remain mysteries and wonders about our God you can trust that He cares for you no matter what may happen (Romans 8:28).

This relationship is marked with sorrow and lose and pain. You will discover that this sorrow was part of His plan to form you into one who can be with God, enjoy God, be confident in the love of God. Like fire purifying gold, be confident that the pain you experience through this relationship will purify you (1 Peter 1:7). Through this purifying process may you understand how much God desires you. Abide in this knowledge that you are beloved by God.

Seek a life of being with God. A life that will lead to rest and nourishment (Psalm 23). While it is good to do things for God and He has called us to do this for His glory, do not push the being to the wayside. May God Himself be the goal of your life. Prayerfully seek to be in a real relationship with the living God!

10 More Songs

For the past 2-3 years I have almost been listening exclusively to United Pursuit. Basically, since my last post about music, United Pursuit has introduced me to so many wonderful songs of worship. Each and every one is calming and life-giving. I wanted to share ten of my favorite songs by them and I hope they will speak to your heart like they have mine. It was hard to narrow it down to just ten because they have so many awesome songs. Hopefully you enjoy them! (Apologies in advance if any of the links are broken after the time of posting)

10. Peace Like a River

9. Never Going Back

My favorite song from their excellent album “Simple Gospel.”

8. Holy

I love the ethereal sounds to this simple worship song.

7. You Will Keep

Taken straight from the words of Isaiah 26:3-4.

6. Kingdom

“Your love is better, than all the world can give.”

5. Watch Over Me

I find this song to be great meditating music.

4. Take Emptiness Away

This song has helped me through some really difficult times. Beautiful reassurance and full of hope.

3. All My Love

2. Wave After Wave

The transition to “Set a Fire” is wonderful! “Set a Fire” is another one of my favorites from United Pursuit, but I already talked about it last time.

1. I Proclaim

One of my all time favorite songs. For me, this one is unskippable.

So maybe this is your first introduction to United Pursuit and you found your new favorite band. Or maybe they’re not for you, that’s okay! Or maybe you’re a life-long fan! If you are a fan, what are some of your favorite songs by them? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Reflections

(These are reflections from my mugging incident that I wrote back in March, 2016)

John 13:30 (NLT)
“So Judas left at once, going out into the night.”
February 11, 2016, around 8:30pm, I was walking to the nearby McDonald’s in order to meet with a group to go downtown and minister to people on the streets. It was near the McDonald’s that four guys jumped out of a car and mugged me at knife point. They took my wallet, with my visa inside, and my cell phone. I was safe but really shaken up. The remainder of the night was spent processing the mugging with authorities and then talking through some things with a previous friend.

If I had not gotten mugged I would have left the country.
The days leading up to that day were full of incredibly difficult Spiritual Warfare. There was a grocery list of reasons as to why I wanted to leave. I felt worried, insignificant, hopeless, useless, helpless, trapped, discouraged, guilty, lonely, lost; the list goes on. So I was going to leave Mexico. I was going to buy a plane ticket that evening, pack my bags during the night, and then disappear. Satan almost won.
Almost…
But thanks to the people God has placed in my life, and Him using this mugging event, I am still here and I have climbed out of the pit of despair I had fallen into.

I was reflecting on this a while back because of what I had read in John 13:30. Judas left Jesus, He fled from Jesus to be alone in the night. He ran from Him and this would lead to further misery for Judas. While it was in God’s perfect plan that Judas would betray Jesus, I can’t help but compare myself to Judas as he left Jesus to go into the night. There have been times in the past where I would flee from the people who are trying to help me. I would flee into the night to be alone, and that is not a safe place to be. I flee from Jesus, I flee from His perfect love, I desire to be miserable. It all only makes things worst.
So on the night I was mugged, instead of remaining where I was and taking action to fight the enemy, I left Jesus and went out into the night…

This is a photo of the place I was mugged, this was my first time back here since it happened.

Ephesians 6:17 (NLT)
“…take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Instead of going out into the night full of despair and a selfish desire to flee from the ministry God has placed me in, I should have remained at home, stopped, and meditated on His perfect Word. This is the strategy God has been revealing to me that I must use in order to fight off all strategies of the devil.
I am sick of being helpless to the attacks of the devil. I am sick of allowing my misery and suffering to continue. God has given us countless ways to fight off the devil, but it requires us to take radical action. We can not wait for rescue, we need to do something!
Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the full armor of God, each item is used to protect ourselves from the devils attack, but finally we are handed our weapon, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” We can fight back! I am fighting back! Instead of hiding away and focusing all of my attention on my struggles, I am instead going to turn to Jesus. Only by turning to Him and His Word will I finally be victorious over the devil.
James 4:7 says, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” I want the devil to flee from me, not for me to cower in fear under my defenses. In order to accomplish this I must submit to God, I do not have the power alone to defeat the devil. I must make the conscious decision to submit my will to God’s perfect will. I must surrender my pride and selfishness. I must focus on God instead of my situation and the troubles I face. I must run to His open arms.
I’ve been looking at Job a lot recently. He suffered much more than I have, so how did he remain faithful through it all? Job 23:10-12 gives us the answer. Job remained faithful through suffering because he, “treasured his word more than daily food.” Job treasured the Word of God. By remaining in the Word, through the good and the bad, and by putting to practice the Word, I too can endure suffering and remain faithful.
So, my new strategy is to turn to the Word of God when I am under attack from the enemy. Isn’t it amazing how God can use a tragedy like a mugging for His good?

This is a photo of my Bible. Not just any old Bible, MY Bible. I think I first received it before one of my first short term missions back in High School. It is one of my most prized possessions.  It has followed me everywhere I go, it will continue to follow me. It has helped me and encouraged me countless times, and it will continue to do so. But I must make the conscious effort to turn to it when I am in need. God has given us the wonderful gift of His Word, cherish it forever! Cherish it more than daily food!

 

AGAPE

Reflecting on 2015, my first arrival to Guadalajara, Mexico. God taught me a lot during those first eight months.
Some of the big things God taught me I’ve talked about before. One of the big ones was about the Holy Spirit. I am still learning a lot about the Holy Spirit and it’s role within our lives. You can read more about the Holy Spirit HERE. In close relation to the Holy Spirit I have been learning about the importance of raising up workers instead of merely believers. This requires new believers to truly depend on the Holy Spirit to guide them as they minister to their friends and family. You can read more about the raising of new workers HERE.
The third major thing I have been learning this past year, and perhaps the most important, is about AGAPE. This study of the word AGAPE began back in October when I lead our group through a 2 part deconstruction of 2 Peter 1:5-7. You can see the result of our discussion in the two pictures below. Click on them for a larger view.

Word-by-word we discussed what each word meant and how we could better improve ourselves in relation to each word. We also looked at the Greek for each word and the greater meaning behind the word. Eventually we arrived on love, AGAPE love.
I had learned about the “four loves” during my time at Taylor University. Storge: familial love. Philia: brotherly love. Eros: romantic love.
AGAPE is the most important love. It is the highest kind of love. It is unconditional, sacrificial love.
AGAPE is love in it’s truest, perfect form. All other loves need something added to it.
AGAPE is the love that God is (1 John 4:8).
AGAPE is the love that God shows (1 John 4:9).
Here’s the part that really blew me away. I always thought that AGAPE was some distant love that only God was capable of showing, it was impossible for us as sinful humans. But, I began to read other passages in Greek and I realized that AGAPE is used much more frequently than any other form of love. Jesus uses AGAPE countless times in John 15:9-17. He commands us to AGAPE each other. John also talks about how God showed us AGAPE love so we should also show AGAPE love to others; 1 John 4:7-21. Paul talks about the importance of AGAPE, the attributes of AGAPE, and the greatness of AGAPE in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. These are just some of the passages that stuck out to me. Go check each one out and replace the word “love” with AGAPE.
So we are commanded to AGAPE others, and AGAPE is awesome and perfect. But the question I had was, “How is it possible for us, totally imperfect, broken, miserable humans? How can we show perfect AGAPE love?” The answer: we can’t. Only God can show AGAPE love. Sorry folks, that’s it end of story.
….
….
….
Just kidding. Turns out there is one more peace to the puzzle.
AGAPE is the love that God enables in His children. God accomplishes this through the Holy Spirit. Once again, the Holy Spirit enters into the equation. Don’t take my word for it; “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: AGAPE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
Because we have the Holy Spirit within us WE can show AGAPE love. God expresses His love through us because His Spirit lives in us. Read 1 John 4:7-13 again, that’s what John is talking about there. He lives in us and we live in Him, the Spirit is proof of this. We have been bought with a price, we are His children, so we can and should show AGAPE love for others.
With all of this in mind I have been trying my hardest to show AGAPE love to people. Once again, it’s not always the easiest, so that’s why I need to be filled with His Spirit continually. Only He can show AGAPE, I merely act as person He can show AGAPE through. Let’s continue to practice showing AGAPE love to others. Self-sacrificial, unconditional, perfect love.

Twisting

There are many different ways to describe what sin is. “Missing the mark” is perhaps the closest definition to this complex, three letter word. It is a good description of sin; we try our hardest to be holy and righteous, to please God, but all too often our broken, human nature causes us to miss the perfection that we receive when we live with God.

I’ve heard of another definition of sin that I really like. I’m not sure exactly where I heard it, but another definition for sin might be “the twisting of something good.” Allow me to explain.

The twisting that sin causes can be related to “missing the mark.” We are trying our hardest to obey God and live pure lives, but we continually miss the mark, or our ways are actually twisted.

Basically, God has given us something good. He has created us in His image, we have been created to do wonderful, good things that are pleasing to God. We are good, until sin entered the world. Now we continue to sin, by taking this wonderful life God has given us, and twisting it into something horrible.

This word twisting is quite descriptive or almost violent. Imagine you have some brand new Play-doh right out of the container. Its perfect, cylindrical shape is quite appealing. Suddenly you grip it in both hands and violently twist the Play-doh. It’s no longer a nice, perfect form. It’s original shape has been destroyed, however it is still Play-doh, it may even have some similarities to the original shape. But it has become mangled and turned into something different.

Before

After

That is what happens in our lives when we allow sin to take hold of us. We have something good and perfect, a life with God, and sin has come around and messed everything up. It may still look like we are following God’s design for us, but in reality our vision has become skewed.

Need something more applicable to our lives? How about all the different world religions? All throughout history humans have fallen into sin as they worship false gods. They seek something good, they seek after God, but sin twists their view and they begin worshiping idols. They take the image of God and twist Him into something that will fulfill their earthly desires.

Another example is in concern with the Sabbath and we see this frequently throughout the Bible. How often do we see Jesus heal on the Sabbath and then be criticized and rebuked by the religious leaders for working on the Sabbath? These religious leaders have taken one of God’s commandments, something good and holy, and they have blown it out of proportion. They would go so far as to ignore serving those in need in order to follow the commandment they had twisted.

I’m not sure if this definition can be applied to all of the atrocious sins mankind has created throughout history but it certainly can be applied to many.

Can our twisted selves ever be repaired? Well, we can get close. Going back to our Play-doh example; truthfully, the only way to form it into it’s original shape would be to start over. You can try to reshape it and come close to that cylinder but you will never recreate it exactly. Right now, God is reshaping us back to that perfect form and eventually the time will come when He will start over and we will finally be made perfect again.

I like this idea that sin is “the twisting of something good” because when we see people caught up in sin, or when we find ourselves drowning in sin, we can know that sin has skewed our view of what we believe is good. We need someone else to help guide us back to the proper life, or we need to guide others to proper understanding. By constantly asking the Holy Spirit to fill us continually we might better avoid the the skewed image that sin presents us. We believe that what we are doing is pleasing to God but sin can easily blind us to the truth and twist our lives if we are not careful.

Turning Gears

Recently I have found myself reading a lot about what the Holy Spirit is. Too often I find myself feeling empty and not opening up, allowing the Holy Spirit to fill me. I head into events and activities without being fully prepared and aware of the Spirits work in my life and how God works through me. So, I’ve been doing a lot more reading about the Spirit, it’s various attributes, and how it affects my being.
Firstly, the Spirit is proof that we live in Him and He in us (1 John 4:13) God lives in us, we are His chosen children. God loves us first, He is love. Because of this, love comes from God. And because He lives in us His love is brought to full expression through us. He lives in us because we have the Spirit within us. (1 John 4:7-12)
Secondly, the Spirit is proof of God’s promise. He chose us to be His children, He promised this inheritance long ago. We have the Spirit to remind us that He paid the price for our salvation when He died on that cross. Let us join together and praise Him in light of this Good News! (Ephesians 1:13-14)
The Spirit is much more than just proof of God making His home in us. It is much more than just proof of His promise. The Spirit empowers us. We no longer need to be timid or fearful, we have the Spirit to give us great strength. We need not depend on our own abilities but instead we can rely on the Spirit to work through us. (2 Timothy 1:7) God can accomplish great things through us by working through the Spirit within us. We can not even imagine what God can do through us but we must not allow our fear to stop the work of the Spirit. (Ephesians 3:20)
Finally it is only through the empowering work of the Spirit that we can even begin to understand just how great God’s love is for us. God loves us, so He gave us the Spirit, and the Spirit gives us the ability to understand this love. This process is all God’s doing, how incredible is that? (Ephesians 3:16-19)
Basically, what I’ve concluded thus far is that the Spirit keeps the gears turning in our lives. Without the Spirit we would grow so distant from Him. None of our work would bear any fruit. We would shut down, we would be lost, confused, depressed, our world would crumble without the Spirit. The Spirit provides perfect joy and direction in our lives.
I am probably just beginning to scratch the surface of the Spirit’s work and all that it does. But despite all of these things God has been teaching me I still find it hard to be filled with the Spirit throughout the day. Please be praying for me that I would allow myself to open up my life to the Spirits work within me and through me.