Missions

Once in awhile I look at my life and say “Wow I’m not a success”

And I wonder if I should go back and get another degree, or change jobs, or move or all of the above.
Or become a missionary. That’s often in my “list of things”. Missionaries have been with me and around me for my whole life – at my parents home we have kept missionaries at almost every opportunity.
Listening to them talk about their lives and trials and successes is wonderful! I work with the kids & teens in my church, and I am sure that having missionaries stay in your family, when you are a family with kids, helps them realize what missionaries really are. Anyway this is the time of year where I help to work with the Missions Committee at church, figuring out a theme for the conference, and making a banner. And certainly in the past I have gone forward to tell God I would be willing to go where He leads.
But I don’t think I need to go anywhere today: Today God is impressing on my heart what a bad missionary I am even in my office.
I need to shine as a light for Him, to be different, to have integrity, to tell people I will pray for them and actually do it.
To witness. To have a heart for the eternal welfare of the people around me right here. My friends and relatives.
The only thing the lost get to keep after this life are their memories. Do you really want them to remember you as the Christian who never told them about Christ?
Let me just pray for the wisdom and courage to be a better witness where I am. To pray each day for this missionfield, along with all the foreign ones.
Wherever we are, we are on the missionfield.

Beware the Rebel Sigh

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
wean it from earth; through all its pulses move;
stoop to my weakness, mighty as thou art,
and make me love thee as I ought to love.

Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh;
teach me the struggles of the soul to bear.
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh,
teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

Words by George Croly

I have to say that I frequently deal with “the rebel sigh” – the bit on the inside of you that whines and protests Why are they asking me to do this? Why do I have to do this? Why am I supposed to do this? I do enough already.

It’s a very, very human emotion. And it leads to a strangling thorn of bitterness in the soul, that will overtake your soul’s garden, and worm its root deep until it is the only thing you can find there.

The way to overcome this emotion is to go back, with Isaac Watts, to Survey the Wondrous Cross, where your journey began. To see what Christ did for me, through His death. And to realize that,

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were a present far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all

We are only here for a short while.  I want to echo Josh Wilson and say

Oh, I refuse to Sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself.

And go, do the work I have been called to do.

Inspiration

  • We need people to inspire us to demonstrate a passion for a God-sized vision.
  • We need people to inspire us to listen more, talk less, and pray without ceasing.
  • We need people to inspire us to discover amazing things about God’s Word.
  • We need people to inspire us to depend on God continually.
  • We need people to inspire us to go beyond averaging and merely existing.
  • We need people to inspire us to be personal and relevant.
  • We need people to inspire us to be an authentic leader.

Who are you inspiring?

(Someone gave me this quote, but I don’t know the author.)