Jun 12, 2013
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:35
Love for one another. It sounds like an easy task, especially if you are in a good mood, the person you are with doesn’t annoy you, and things are going as planned. However, we are not always in the best of moods, maybe the person you are with rubs you the wrong way, and the circumstances you find yourself in may be chaotic. How do you love someone then?
Lately I’ve been learning how to love people when I don’t feel like it, or would rather be alone. See, Christ asks us to sacrifice ourselves, and serve others in His name. If I am loving others with HIS love, then He will continue to replenish it, and as I continue to pursue Him, His love will automatically flow to others.
Love is not a feeling that comes and goes, it is a way of life, a choice. I certainly don’t “feel” like loving my enemies, but the Lord says to do so. It isn’t easy, but it is a commitment. It’s a full time job to love others, finding ways to serve them, listening when they need an ear, not avoiding them when you want alone time.
It is a hard lesson to learn, but I’m finding that when I choose to allow the Lord to love others through me, even when I don’t feel like it, it’s rewarding to see the other person smile. Sometimes they won’t even know it’s you that wrote that note, that you did the dishes because you know it’s less stressful for that person to live in a clean apartment. But really, we don’t perform acts of love for ourselves to get praise, we do it so that the Lord can love others and receive all the glory.
Anyways, thank you for listening. I am still in the process of learning this lesson, and am finding that unity between the Body of Christ is much more appealing than the separation that occurs from unbroken people.
Please pray for me that I don’t let my own selfishness get in the way of loving my brothers and sisters, my family, friends, and those around me. I will be praying for you too.
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Apr 23, 2013
First of all, I just wanted to say that this blog is amazing! This is my first time blogging anything, and it definitely won’t be the last!
Alright, now to business……
For those of you who don’t know me very well, I thought it would be a good idea for me to let you know a few things about me.
My parents have been with Gospel for Asia for almost ten years now. When I was nine years old my family packed up and drove from Washington state with it’s mountains and tress, to the wide open spaces and vast horizon of Texas. We then started to serve at the Gospel For Asia office in Texas. It was quite a transition for my family, but totally worth it!
Knowing this about my family, you now know that I have grown up around the community of Gospel For Asia for over half my short life! It still boggles my mind to think about it.
While being at Gospel For Asia, I have seen many School of Discipleship students come and go. Some stay and raise their support to come on staff, and others go back home to follow the call that God placed on their lives.
As I observed the School of Discipleship students from the perspective of a staff kid, I saw young adults having fun and growing in their walk with the Lord. By the time they graduated, most had a passion and love for Jesus I wished and longed to have as well.
Now that I am a School of Discipleship student myself (at the Canadian campus), I see now that the School of Discipleship is not all fun and games. There are times of fun, don’t get me wrong. However, there are also seasons of struggles and trials. Please don’t misunderstand me, I have learned so many lessons during the couple months that I have been here. I praise the Lord for the trials because I realize that I cannot grow in my relationship with Jesus unless I die to myself daily. I am encouraged when I remember that as I go through the refining fire, I will end up as pure gold. Thank you Jesus!
I am extremely thankful to the Lord for His call to give one year of my life to serve at Gospel for Asia Canada. I now have passed the stage of Gospel For Asia staff kid to a School of Discipleship student. Praise the Lord!
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Apr 18, 2013
There are many times in my life when I think I have learned as much as I can in a certain area, and since God has grown me and healed me, I don’t ever need to come back to that area. Yes, the Lord has healed me, and I’m not saying that His healing wasn’t perfect and what I needed at that time, but there is always room for growth and it’s my own pride to say I don’t need to grow anymore in that area.
Recently I have started a Bible Study. Before starting this I was a little weary because I know the Lord has healed me from my past and I’m moving forward in my relationship with Him because of it. I was under the impression that since I know the Lord has healed me, I’m invincible (in a sense) to what may come up regarding my past. But that was my pride speaking, and a lie from the enemy in his attempt to keep me from seeking the Lord continuously in that area of my life and continuously taking each thought captive that I may stay in the light and not stray from the Truth I believe.
So far in the study I have learned about the wrong and right guilt and shame, about righteous and unrighteous anger, and more about Jesus’ anguish on the cross as He willingly laid down His life for me.
I always find it interesting how the Lord speaks into my life. I’m not sure if it’s because I have a thick skull to get through, or if it’s just His way of solidifying a certain message, but He always relates everything in my life to what He is showing me. So, I am learning about all these things at the same time, going through trials that relate to the things I’m learning, and then reading about the life of Jesus and how much He loves me, all at the same time. I guess that learning things in threes to make it permanent really is valid! 🙂
Anyways, that is where I am right now and I’m sure the Lord has more for me to learn through these studies. Please pray for my heart to be open and soft to His molding and teaching. Also that I will have patience with myself as I am a slow learner sometimes.
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Nov 1, 2012
In January, I got to visit the mission field. It had been five years since I’d been there. During that time, I met up with an old friend, Gabriel, and this time I got to meet his wife and daughter. His wife is energetic and kind and makes amazing ginger tea. Their daughter, Faith, is two years old. When Faith was born she had a band around her kidney that restricted all blood flow; this meant she had to have that kidney removed. Having a kidney removed as an adult is a major thing, even more so for a baby that’s just a few months old. The prayer request reached us here in the States. Since she was my friend’s daughter, it hit especially close to home for me. The Lord’s hand was so evident throughout Faith’s surgery and she did fine. Her other kidney picked up all the work it needed to do. Praise the Lord! She is now healthy and incredibly smart, and she loves to sing. When I visited she knew about 30 songs in several languages. I know the Lord has a special plan for her life.
Spending time with people like Gabriel and his family made the trip really special for me. Getting to see how the Lord had grown and used friends during the five years since I’d seen them was encouraging. It’s just a simple thing, the reunion of friends, but it was a wonderful snapshot of all God can do in a life and how faithful He will be to complete the work He has begun in each of us. None of our journeys are complete; they’re just five years further along so it gave me a lot of hope, too, hope in all God will do in the future. It has nothing to do with us and everything to do with who He is.
I sometimes liken the part I get to play in building God’s Kingdom to the part a two year old plays when they help wash dishes. They might throw some suds around on the dish, but the adult takes care of the real work. This isn’t to say the Lord only gives us petty jobs; rather, He’s the one accomplishing the work, no matter how big or small. It’s His power and strength working through me, and doing it with Him is the greatest treasure. Just like time spent with your two year old is the real treasure, not the twice cleaned bowl.
It’s Him enabling us to serve. It’s Him walking with us every step of the way. “He who called you is faithful; He will surely do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24
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Oct 29, 2012
How many of us have ever been in some kind of situation that made us just want to scream? I know I have; But really, what is it that makes us so jumpy, so on edge? Maybe it’s our tendency to want to control everything.
Really, when you think about it we would have been a lot better of if God had just made us robots with no freedom of choice, and no personal creativity, but He didn’t. So there comes a problem that we as Christians all face. We all “freak out” when our “control” over circumstances is threatened.
It’s true! Think about it, I can’t begin to tell you how many times, in my own life, when God stepped in and said “ok I’ll take that, you have had it way too long” or “this is how I want you to do it” or even just plain and simple “no” that I started running around (mentally) like a chicken with my head cut off because my “control” was threatened, I “freaked out”.
I absolutely love the quote from a certain movie that I like where the heroine says to the hero “don’t freak out!” because I feel that that’s exactly what God is saying to us! Psalm 46: 10 says “He (God) says, Be still (Don’t freak out!), and know that I am God…” and I must say that God has really been challenging me with this verse over the last couple of weeks.
I was sitting down thinking the other day (a dangerous occupation) and it occurred to me quite humorously: The animal God chose to relate us to as Christians was sheep, SHEEP!? I don’t know about you, but when I heard this I wanted to say (freaked out) “Come on God, a sheep? Really?”. Friends, the fact of the matter is, sheep are stupid and easily freakoutable. I wanted to say: “God, about this whole sheep thing, I personally would love to be an eagle or a wild mustang”. But I didn’t, in all my wisdom and knowledge, I decided to give God the benefit of the doubt; after all, He does know everything. Then it hit me, what’s really amusing about this sheep comparison is that we even make bad sheep!
When a sheep gets to know its master, and learns to hear His voice and recognize, it comes when called. But in keeping with our analogy from earlier, when I (one of God’s sheep) hear His call I tend to want to run the other direction.
I’m so glad that God gave us examples to look at and apply to our own lives especially in those twelve men that were closest to Him. When you think about it Jesus’ disciples were masters at the art of freaking out. Look at Mark 4:35-39 “…when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Isn’t this great?! I love it! I can just here Jesus waking up and saying to those guys “Could you please stop yelling?! And Peter stop hiding in that barrel we’re not going to die!” (That was a paraphrase). Now we come to my favorite part in verse 39 “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” I have a sneaking suspicion that Jesus was not just talking to the wind and waves here. I know what I would say if I woke up to my friends yelling and screaming at me, and the wind was blowing, and huge waves crashing. I would say exactly what Jesus said: “Peace! (stop freaking out) Be still!
Another place we find this example of being full of peace in God is Psalm 37: 7-8 “Be still (peace) before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret (don’t freak out)—it leads only to evil.” In this passage it is a little different. Here we see that “freaking out” can actually damage our relationship with God (“…it leads only to evil.”)!
Friends, the Bible says “do not fear, worry, fret (don’t freak out)” over a hundred times, almost as many times as the word grace is mentioned! So why is this so important? Why is it so damaging to us to worry? The answer is simple; Freaking out causes us to focus on our self, to take our eyes off of Christ, and ultimately, (if not dealt with) causes us to try and take the control of our life back from Jesus!
So how than, if we have a problem of “freaking out”, do we deal with it? The prophet Jeremiah says “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” The answer: We simply trust Him. Remember the Lord and who He is, be still and trust that whatever the issue is, He is bigger! Also memorize Psalm 25: 4-5 and let that be your comfort whenever you are tempted to “freak out”.
“Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”– Psalm 25: 4-5–
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