The Moravian movement started with the passion for Christ and a healthy perspective of Jesus not only as the suffering Savior, but also the King that sits enthroned. Their perspective of Christ spurred the Moravian movement where they had courage in the face of danger and tenacity of purpose. They exemplified William Carey's "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God."
I think for the church as a whole, we are lacking the passion for Christ. Just like John Piper said in his book Let the Nations be Glad, missions begins and ends in worship. "Missionaries will never call out, "Let the nations be glad!" who cannot say from the heart, "I rejoice in the Lord... I will be glad and exult in thee, I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High"(Ps 104:34; 9:2). If we, as the church, had this passion for Christ, then it would be evident in our obedience in going. Jesus said that if you love me, you will obey my commands. If we truly have the passion and love for Jesus as Savior and King, then we will go. Statistically, only 2% (or close to it) of the church's time and offering are given in response to the Great Commission. As our passion for Jesus increases so will our passion for telling the world increase, and that will be reflected in how we spend our time and our money.
This topic has been coming up as I have been studying mission and church history and I think it applies a lot to my life. I pray that Jesus give me a healthy perspective of who He is that spurs me to action.
Isn't it just like God to show up when we least expect it?!
For some reason in my life, He has taken me to places of surrender, and after I have surrendered, He blesses me incredibly. This happened when I was in Peru in 2009 with Adventures in Missions. Surrender was a common topic for the two months and I was having a lot of difficulty with it. Finally, after a lot of talking with Jesus, I decided that I would rather go where ever He lead, then finish up my last year at American University without Him. I wasn't sure where I was going to come up with the money to finish up my senior year since I had given that summer for His glory in Peru. Little did I know that He had it all planned out. Once I came home after the trip, my mom told me that American had given me financial aid. When I checked my account, I saw that the college was going to owe me money after I graduated! Praise Jesus! I really think that it starts with surrender.
A similar experience happened to me this week. I was talking to Jesus about World Race. I was not trusting Him to provide and was getting a little discouraged about the amount of people that were partnering with me in this. He showed me that I needed to give it to Him! After all, I can trust Him for my salvation, why couldn't I trust that He would provide for me?! After I surrendered and started making conscious efforts to speak Truth into my own life about His character and His plan, I checked my support account later on in the day and found that someone had partnered with me with a significant amount of money! He blesses me at the perfect times!
I know He is faithful and will complete what He started! Pray that I can keep a firm grasp on His Truth and stay rooted in Him!
I have been thinking about a term that I learned while in a college economics class, opportunity cost.
Put simply opportunity cost is the value of the next best (highest valued) choice that one gives up when making a decision. For example, you spend time and money going to a movie, you cannot spend that time at home reading a book, and you cannot spend the money on something else. If your next-best alternative to seeing the movie is reading the book, then the opportunity cost of seeing the movie is the money spent plus the pleasure you forgo by not reading the book.
This concept started to come up when thinking about Christian missions, the role of the church and ultimately my role in the big picture. Am I using my resources, my time, in a way that brings glory to God?
How much time to I spend doing things that do not really matter and because I chose to do these things, I don't have enough time for the things that really matter? Perhaps that is why Paul says in Ephesians 5:16 to make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.
Another way we can look at opportunity cost, or the actual cost of missions is in the eyes of those hurting, enslaved, lost, broken, and bound by darkness. What does it cost them when I decide not to go? What does it cost them when I decide not to speak up? What does it cost them when I purchase a new car instead of using my resources to glorify God? I pray that this perspective settles in my heart and in the hearts of those who read this.
Here are some interesting points that he made that are really making me think:
"I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with was is comfortable. We were setteling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abondoning ourselves."
When talking about the price of nondiscipleship he says:
" The price is certainly high for people who do not know Christ and who live in a world where Christians shrink back from self-denying faith and setter into self-indulding faith. While Christians choose to spend their lives fulfiling the American dream instead of giving their lives to proclaiming the kingdom of God, literally billions in need of the gospel reamin in the dark."
" We will see a purpose for our lives that transcends the country and culture we live in, and we will see our desperate need for his presence to fulfil that purpose in us. We will discover that our meaning is found in community and our life is found in giving ourselves for the sake of others in the church, among the lost, and among the poor. We will evalutate where true security and safety are found in this world, and in the end we will determine not to waste our lives on anything but uncompromising, unconditional abandonment to a gracious, loving Saviour who invites us to take a radical risk and promise us a radical reward."
Maybe we have it all wrong and are missing out! Maybe we need to be more radical?!
This trip has been haunting me since I was 18. I did a quick internet search for missions trips because I desired to partner with what God was doing in the world. I have been on several missions trips in the past. My hunger and desire for a better relationship with God started when I tasted what life would be like if I were fully surrendered to God while with AIM in Peru.
I have had the gnawing feeling that I am wasting the time that I have and not fulfilling the task appointed to me.
So here I go! I am diving in and seeking out where God is leading. I just want to be where He is! I am excited for the possibilies of knowing Him deeper so that I can make Him known!
Thought:
Knowing that Jesus only did what He saw that Father do. He only said what the Father said. He only moved where the Father lead. Jesus had the perfect relationship with the Father. He was submitted even unto death.
I have been struggling to start this blog about my journey of walking with Christ. I guess part of the reason is that I would have to write transparently. I was afraid of letting other people see "the real me" because if I did, maybe they wouldn't accept me or they would view me differently. I have been motivated by fear.
Choosing to do World Race in the first place was to act in the face of fear. The verse 1 John 4:18, "There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love (MSG)," kept coming up in my mind when making this decision.
I was afraid of....
the future,
vulnerability,
leaving,
people forgetting me,
not being able to be used by God,
and even
not being obedient.
Perfect love casts out all fear. I do not want to be motivated by fear. The only way that I can fight fear is by knowing God and knowing that His plan is good. Because God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love and a sound mind (1 Timothy 1:7). Its a daily process and it will get easier along this journey as I learn and understand the love of God.
What are you motivated by?
Quote for today:
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -Helen Keller
