Jun 17, 2015
We had the amazing privilege to have a pastor from a local church come and share with us just a little while ago. His first question that he asked us was “what do you love most?” Next he asked us “what do you think God loves most?” Right away my thought was “His people.” Well, to my surprise I learned that there is one thing that God loves more than me and you and that’s Himself. Then we were also asked “what are your thoughts when you think of God loving Himself most?” In our eyes it seems selfish. God is the greatest and He loves what is the greatest first. The only reason we think it to be selfish is because of our own selfishness and is not about us. But if God didn’t love Himself most, it would be idolatry.
Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul, He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
1 John 2:12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake.
Romans 1:5 Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations.
Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see Your good works and give glory to Your Father who is in heaven.
Notice how these verses point to His name and His glory, and these are only a few of them. The Bible is filled with verses like these. Gods purpose for us and all His creation is for His glory and for His name to be lifted high. Let’s do all things for the glory of God and His Son Jesus Christ.
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Jun 10, 2015
As my class and I read through How to Pray by R.A. Torrey I ask myself, how do I know if I am abiding in Christ and staying connected to the vine? If I am in Christ and the connected to the sap (the Holy Spirit), I will bear fruit accordingly.
Therefore, to abide in Christ means that I need to be surrendered to God. By surrendered I mean as the Lord shows me areas in my life that I need to give up, that I do. It will be a continuous process of surrendering to the Lord for the rest of my life.
Yes, this is going to take a lot of time. I wish I hadn’t prayed for patience all those years ago. The Lord is finally answering my prayers. If that is the way that it needs to be, then the Lord will give me grace and strength to persevere.
Now the real question is, how will I practically apply or act upon what the Lord showed me?
With the Lord’s help, I will surrender those things in my life that the Lord shows me and to seek to abide in Christ. I may have to surrender on a continual basis, maybe even moment by moment. Lord, I am going to need your help even more than before. I know You are faithful though, so I’ll make it. No problem.
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Jun 3, 2015
Here are a couple of testimonials of students who went through the School of Discipleship program:
“I have been serving the Lord at GFA for almost two years, and Lord willing I will continue to serve here for many more. I have been extremely blessed by being here. Every day I am surrounded by people who truly love the Lord and want to serve Him with their lives, and who truly have a heart for those who do not know Jesus as Savior. The leaders at GFA are gracious, loving and humble, and they represent the Lord well. I know I can trust them and that they truly care about every person serving here. I learn so much through their examples all the time. The Lord has used my time serving here to grow me and to make me more like Him, and I am so blessed that this is where He has placed me to serve Him.”
-Taylor
“I have been with Gospel for Asia for three years now, and I have been blessed in so many ways! Through my time at Gospel for Asia, I have been challenged to use my gifts for the glory of God and to grow in Him daily.
“Gospel for Asia has also given me the ability to be part of a movement that is reaching millions of people with the Good News of Jesus. This alone has blessed me so much! Lives are being changed, fellowships are being established, and every day people are hearing about Jesus for the first time!
“I thank God for the opportunity He has given me, through what I do at Gospel for Asia, to serve Him in what small capacity I have and carry His message to millions of people who have never heard of His amazing love. I am undeserving of the privilege.”
-Josiah
To find more testimonies from former students go to:
http://www.gfa.org/schoolofdiscipleship/student-testimonials/
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May 20, 2015
Recently God has been reminding me of His call on my life here at Gospel for Asia. I know that God has called me here, but in recent weeks it has gotten tough.
It all started during Lent (the 40 days heading up to Easter). The whole focus of Lent is on Jesus’s death on the cross. I started having this thought, “If Jesus could give up everything to die for a sinner like me, then why couldn’t I dedicate my life to Jesus and reaching the 2 billion people who have never heard of Jesus.” As much as I tried to shrug it off, I simply couldn’t.
These are people who Jesus loves they are going to Hell, 80,000 of them every day without having heard of Jesus before. Why shouldn’t our hearts break for the people of Asia (especially in Nepal where the earthquake happened)?
Yet while this was going on, I was reminded of some of some of the difficulties serving here at Gospel for Asia. This is when God started asking me another question. He started asking me, “Are you willing to suffer hardships for my sake and for the sake of the call I have given you?” I was a little hesitant to answer that question.
With this question, you can go to two extremes. The first one is to blurt out something like Peter did and then be rebuked by the Lord at the end. The second extreme is to run away just like Jonah only to be turned back. The Lord knew my heart though. He knows I would be able to (with His strength) to continue in His calling and not run away.
Jesus never promised our life would be easy if we followed Him and shared the Gospel. On the contrary, He promised hardships and suffering to all who followed Him and His calling. Though this certainly didn’t attract followers, it sifted out His true followers from those who wanted to get something out of Him.
At the same time though, Jesus promised our lives would be fulfilling. Not only are we spreading God’s kingdom throughout the world, but the Lord promised heaven for those who believe in Him and do what He wants them to do. I choose to follow the Lord, what about you?
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May 19, 2015
I’ve been asking myself a bunch of questions lately, questions like, How do I come before God when I pray? What would be the first thing that would come out of my mouth if I saw God with my own eyes? Do I trust God enough with my problems to come before Him on my knees instead of trying to change things in the flesh?
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” Isaiah 55:8
Hearing the testimonies of the staff and what they willing left behind to follow Christ is mind blowing. Also, hearing field reports of individuals giving their life to become a missionary and suffer in the flesh to preach the gospel in an unreached village, having only the cross before them, giving their whole life, holding nothing back. Then hearing the amount of people that are baptized and added to the church daily, and all the lives that are transformed for eternity. It is challenging me to not hold on to anything besides the cross and trust God with everything and every detail of my life, to follow Him wherever He leads me and evaluate myself in the light of eternity. What will have truly mattered in my life?
I can build a reputation if I want. I can become famous for something and use up all my time and efforts for that. There are so many different dreams to chase but it will all come to an end sooner or later. I want to invest in something that will last. I want to be a good steward with the time, resources and talents God has entrusted me with. I don’t want to chase after dreams that will end and wake up at the end of my days with empty hands to present to Jesus. I want all of my life to belong to Jesus, because holding back is not worth it. There is no better place to be than in the center of God’s will even when I don’t understand His ways or see the whole picture.
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