Sunday, August 29, 2010

Not in Lake Jackson

As I go through my days here in Virginia I am reminded constantly that I am not in Lake Jackson anymore. We don't have nearly as many mosquitos up here, though there are ticks. There are hills! And not just hills but mountains. Yesterday a group of us went and hiked Old Rag Mountain (http://www.hikingupward.com/SNP/OldRag/ scroll down for pictures). I seriously don't think I've gone hiking on a mountain since Jr. High, and it was so much fun. For the most part there is a lot less humidity up here, though we have had some pretty humid days. It gets fairly hot during the afternoons, but cools down big time at night. Sometimes leaving the gym in a sweaty shirt at night makes for a really cold walk to the dorm. There are the inside jokes and Hot Rod quotes that I turn to say sometimes that I then remember no one will get. Sometimes I just want to go to the beach, but it's 3 hours away. A movie ticket costs 10 bucks! It was $4.50 in College Station and $5 in Lake Jackson. Not to mention missing the friends and family. The food is pretty good here too, but it's nothing like mom's home coooking! It's definitely been a fun month of getting to live in a different location, and it's hard to believe that it's half-way over. I'll be back home this time next month getting ready to move a lot farther away then Virginia!

I know I put this on just about every blog, but it's been incredible what all God has done in my time up here. It's a combination of some really awesome people coming to speak to us all day every day and an environment where there are few distractions and reading the Bible and prayer is a priority. The Bible is full of hidden jewels and I think that my understanding of God, His love, His grace, His glory, His righteousness, and His Word have changed quite a bit since I got here a little more than a month ago. Look up the Hebrew meaning of the word "worm" in Psalm 22:6 and it'll give you a bigger appreciation for God's creation. Watch this video http://vimeo.com/5428141 to get a slightly different perspective on the stories of the Bible. Read this article http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1995/1541_Did_Christ_Die_for_Us_or_for_God/ by John Piper and I think it may shift some thoughts about who man is and who God is and what salvation is all about.

All in all my time here has been filled with sweet time spent in group fellowship and personal devotion before my God. I hope that regardless of what distractions may come my way, when I leave in 4 weeks, my walk with God will be my source and my strength.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Planting a Church

It's crazy to think that my time at training is already a fourth of the way over. I overheard someone saying this the other day, and thought it to be very true: I came here thinking I was ready for the mission field, once I got here I realized how unprepared I really was. This last week was wonderful. We started the week talking about different cultures and the real importance of learning the culture and the language in order to communicate within their context. So please be praying that I can pick up Portuguese and a Brazilian lifestyle quickly. Toward the end of the week we focused on the actual process of church planting. My view of my position as a missionary totally changed these past couple of days.

At first I thought I would be doing a ton of evangelizing, I mean, that's what missionaries do, right? And I will be doing evangelism, but the real goal is to plant a healthy, self-supporting and self-governed church that then reaches out to the community around it. We looked a lot this last week at the book of Acts and studied how Paul and his partners went into cities and associated with the people. My job will be to find people interested in the Gospel and teach them the stories of the Bible. Assuming they believe and become Christians we start a church. Then my job will be focused more on equipping them to go out and spread the Gospel to their neighboring comunities who then will go out and spread the Gospel to their neighboring communities and so on. So pray not just for people in my future community to become Christians, but to become Disciples of Christ. Pray that they would take ownership, and that by the end of my two years in Brazil they would be a church with no need of an outsider from the USA. Sounds a bit ambitious, and really, really big, God big.

Which is why prayer is absolutely needed in every little bit of where I'm going and what I'll be doing. Just as God went before the Israelites and won all of their battles if they'd obey, so I need Him to go before me and prepare hearts and win spiritual battles for any of the river community people to know Him. Here is a verse where Paul has the same mindset, "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledfe of him everywhere." (2 Corinthians 2:14)

So please do pray that God would open the eyes of the people to whom I am going. Pray that God would raise up men and women to take the Gospel to the surrounding communities. Pray that I would be an obedient messenger accurately proclaiming the truth that they need to hear. Pray that I would be able to teach these men and women about the character of God, and pray that I would be able to equip them and prepare them to do ministry of their own. But pray most of all that God's hand would be in this. He alone can bring people unto Himself, and He alone can send people out with their faith on a solid foundation. So pray, beg (like the persistent widow of Luke 18) that He would already begin preparing people for His Gospel. Thanks.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Evangelism

This should not be news to anybody, myself included, considering that I am here to be trained as a missionary, but there is a big push for evangelism. We have to 'evangelize' to someone at least three times per week. We are in class all day (which the classes by the way are great!) and then in the evenings I've been able to focus on digging into the Word, praying, and of course playing some basketball/frisbee/soccer. Because most of us stay on campus Monday through Friday, they allow us to evangelize to other people that are here for training. It's kind of funny in and of itself to be sharing the Gospel with those who are called to go out and share the Gospel full time, but it's for the purpose of allowing thoughts to move from the brain into words out of the mouth. Anywho, Saturday we had an opportunity to go out and share the Word. We went to a Caribbean music festival downtown. Armed with Bible tracts and partners we walked around looking for people to talk to. My partner and I quickly split up thinking that it would be best to cover more ground. For me personally I'd rather engage in conversation by myself rather than having someone else looming over my shoulder... a little less aggressive I'd say.

In the hour and a half I was there I talked to three people in particular. One guy I talked to was named Donny. He and his family were Christians and we ended up talking for about 20 minutes. I told them about what I was soon to be doing in Brazil and they told me they'd be praying for me, then they told me all about their involvement in their church and how they share the Gospel in their workplaces. It was a real good conversation. The next man I talked to was named Charles. He and his wife run one of the little shops there in the town square where the music festival was being held at. We ended up talking for about 40 minutes- mainly about the history of the city and all the sights to see before I leave. To try and make things a bit more spiritual, I asked him if he attended church anywhere in the area. He told me that he attended a Baptist church on the west end of town, but then he stumbled over his words trying to remember the name of the church. He said that he doesn't know the name of the church because he has been going for so long that he just doesn't bother to look at the signs anymore! I took it to mean that he seldom goes, so I told him that I'd be going to Brazil and emphasized the fact that I was going to be teaching that Jesus is the only way to the Father and therefore the only way into heaven. He knodded his head, then started talking more about historic downtown. Having had a nice conversation I wished the man and his wife well and proceeded to walk around for a couple minutes. Then I met Lawrence, a city worker. Lawrence informed me that he grew up Baptist, but he hated how they made you put money in the offering plate. And he especially did not like the fact that most Baptist preachers drive nicer cars and own nicer clothes than the people in their congregation. I tried convincing him that that was not always the case, but then we moved onto more serious things. When he was 16 he became a Jehovah's Witness. Not really knowing too much about Jehovah's Witnesses, I asked him a few questions about his beliefs - about salvation, about heaven, about Jesus. Unfortunately I couldn't talk to him for too long because we were meeting to leave at a certain time. I feel like we made some progress, and I left him with a tract explaining salvation and eternity.

Now why do I tell you about this? First off, pray for Lawrence. He needs to know about Jesus. He needs to believe in the God of this universe and Jesus as his Son, who paid the sacrifice to forgive us of our sins. But I also tell you this because it's made me step back and think. Three weeks ago, if you would have asked me how to measure spiritual maturity in a person, I think it would largely have been based on Biblical knowledge. Criteria would have been quiet time length and how many times said person has read through the Bible. A good prayer life would have worked its way into the equation, as would theological perspective and backing. I probably never even would have asked about evangelism practices. But as I look through the pages of Scripture this is so opposite of what the Christian faith is all about. So many passages tell of God's love for the nations and His desire to see them be saved. Look at the very life of Jesus. Time with His Heavenly Father was very, very important to Him. I don't in any way intend to undermine quiet times. They are important and essential in becoming more Christlike. However, the New Testament is full of stories in which Jesus was telling others about the Kingdom of God. He was telling people about being born again, about the living water from which you will never thirst again, and about the need to give all you can for the sake of the Gospel. Once again, I'm not saying that evangelism is more important than daily time with God. Jesus spent long periods of time by himself in prayer. I'm saying that personal time with God and evangelism are two aspects of spiritual maturity that shouldn't be separated. Praying and meditating on Scripture is just as important as telling others the Good News of the saving grace of JesusChrist. The sad thing is that for so long I have overlooked this dimension of being a disciple of Jesus. I mean, what were Jesus' last statements? The last thing Jesus says in Matthew is, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." And in Acts we find Jesus' words to be somewhat similar, "...you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." As I look at these two passages that record some of the last words of Jesus I wonder how I could have lived so much of my life as a follower of the man who said these words with relatively no practice in these words.

So, I ask that you would pray that I may have boldness. I ask that you would pray that God would give me a heart for the lost people in Brazil as well as the lost people all around me. The church in Acts was marked by their boldness and they kept praying that they would be more and more bold. Pray that I may deny my flesh and walk in the Spirit. That I may do things out of my comfort zone for the sake of the One who sacrificed all.

Someone told us today a pretty good little saying. Paul knew only two days. He knew today. And he knew 'the day.' He knew the present, and he knew eternity. I pray that my today's would be lived in light of the end day, that God would welcome me into heaven saying, "Well done my good and faithful servant."

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Refreshment

Psalm 16:11 says, "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." I think the main reason it's taken me so long to write anything on this blog is because we do so much here that I don't even know where to begin to communicate what God has been teaching me. So, if I in any way seem a little scatterbrained, just bear with me.

I read this verse in Psalms this morning, and I think it so wonderfully explains my time here so far. We've stayed pretty busy going in and out of classes from 8:00 - 5:00, but the evening times and morning times have been so full of what's important. I've been able to keep the main thing the main thing, and that's putting God first. And what a joy it is to put God first rather than letting the flesh try to compete with Him. It's just been refreshing. I've been able to spend so much time reading the scriptures, and it really does revive the soul. It makes me wonder why I didn't spend much time reading God's Word and Praying back at home. I think the answer is simple - Distractions. With the Internet, and TV, and Movies, and you name it right there at the house, it's easy to simply forget about God and give Him second place. While here, it's been so much easier to really focus on what's eternal. Peter, John, and Paul all called themselves bond-servants of Christ and the Bible says that we are the same. The Greek word there is Doulos. A definition of Doulos is one devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests; a slave. According to this definition, if we are followers of Christ, then we are slaves of Christ, and if slaves of Christ then we should be so devoted to obeying Christ in our lives that we disregard our own interests.

One of the weirdest things about this is that when we finally do give Jesus the reigns, there is no regret. At the surface level it doesn't sound fun to be anybody's slave. It's not exciting to forsake our own desires in order to follow someone else. But for some reason, when we stop holding on to our lives too tightly and follow Jesus every step of the way, there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Instead of watching SportsCenter I've been reading my Bible, instead of wasting time on facebook I've been praying. And I can tell you that it has been an incredible week, just sitting back letting God fill me with more and more of himself. There is no regret in living for Him.

If I could ask you to keep on praying though then I would greatly appreciate it. Keep on praying for the lost along the Amazon River where I will be going. Pray that God would begin opening their eyes to the Truth. Pray that when I get there God will have already been at work among them even if they don't realize it till I get there. Pray also for me. Pray that God would continue working on me, molding me into the obedient follower that I must be before He sends me out. Thank you all so much for your prayers, He does hear them!

"That times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord..." Acts 3:20