Here Rests My Soul

April 30, 2010

This I know is truth that God is good and He is sovereign. I see His hand at work in my life in every detail. In His goodness and by His providence, my leave chit was speedily approved, and by the same goodness and sovereignty my flight home was delayed. The same hand that sustains also inflicts; the same God who gives also takes. Through joy and sorrow, He teaches us that He is good, He is sovereign, and His glory is our joy. Perhaps I’ll miss time with my family, but the Teacher knows best, teaching me to be content in Him in all circumstances. He is teaching me that His love is better than life. So I rejoice that God is good and sovereign. I rejoice that I am going home, and that I am stuck in Seattle. I rejoice that God is my joy, and that is Him my heart finds rest.

Morning Walk

I enjoyed a wonderful walk through Buelevard Park this morning, spending some time in prayer and Bible reading. I set out from my boat and made my way down a quiet walking trail, across a long boardwalk, and over to the park where the Wood's Coffee shop is located. The Lord gave me such a special time with Him as I refocused my heart and eyes back upon the cross of Christ, meditaing upon the Good News that has set my heart free. I want to make it a regular habit of preaching the Gospel to myself. Oh how I need it every new day! When I don't my whole perspective on life goes down the drain because I am not fixed upon the Cross.

I was encouraged in my Bible reading that my Defender is strong---the Lord Jesus stands before the Father interceding for me---and God has provided the Lamb. I can know the Lord not because of who I am but because of what Christ did for me in taking my sin and giving me His righteousness. My heart is so joyful in knowing Jesus. I am here to glorify Him and to share this Good News. I have all the reason in the world to smile and rejoice today because I know Jesus and He loves me!

The Question We Never Think to Ask

~The Question We Never Think to Ask~

God has certainly used the Coast Guard to stretch me in many ways in my walk with Him. He has given me opportunities to share my faith with the unbelievers I work with, He has shown me how dear His friendship is, and how precious His Word is to me. I have never been surrounded by unbelievers 24/7 before and I have found it to be a good challenge for me to learn how to live Christ before them.

Lately I have been wrestling with fear---fear to share Christ, fear of what to say, how to say it, when to say it, and who to say it to. I know I should share the Gospel, but I have felt parallelized by all the unknowns that nag at my soul. I do not want to be afraid and do not understand why I am afraid. I long to be like the missionaries that I read about and like the apostle Paul who boldly proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ, but my heart shrinks back afraid of what might happen. I get nervous about saying just the right words and end up saying nothing at all because I do not want to mess up. I even find myself unconsciously avoiding and evading opportunities to share Jesus with others. I try to stay away from such confrontations with people.

But the Holy Spirit has convicted me with a question, I have never thought to ask before. I have asked myself what will others think, what will I say, how do I convey my faith attractively, or is now really the best time to bring Jesus up? Perhaps these are not the right questions I should be asking though. The question I should ask myself is not what others might think if I share about Jesus; but rather, what will God think if I do not share with them about Jesus?

The One who took my place at Calvary, who bore my sin, endured God’s wrath, was buried, and seated at God’s right hand, stands defending me before the Father against Satan’s accusations. He intercedes for me and speaks on my behalf. How dare I shrink back in fear, and hide the Good News of Christ from others because of what they might think! I should not fear man, but God alone. My eyes should not be fixed upon what others may think---the waves crashing around me---all that I should care about is glorifying my precious Lord. I am His and my heart must find refuge in Him. The world will hate me, but that is because I am not of the world.

I struggle with this, but the Holy Spirit has challenged me to fear no man, and only fear the One true God. He is my joy and I must not hide Him---He is the best thing in my life and I must proclaim the Good News. He will uphold me and give me the strength and courage to live for Him in a world that hates Him.

Live Dangerous

"We are so utterly ordinary, so commonplace, while we profess to know a Power the Twentieth Century does not reckon with. But we are 'harmless', and therefore unharmed. We arespiritual pacifists, non-militants, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the-death with principalities and powers in high places. Meekness must be had for contact with men, but brass, outspoken boldness is required to take part in the comradeship of the Cross. We are 'sideliners'---coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous!"
--Jim Elliot

O God, the same is true of us...we stay on the sidelines---close enough to feel like we are doing something, but far enough away so we won't get dirty. We talk about spiritual things, read all the "how to books", live our spiritual lives through others as we look at You through the eyes of people like Hudson Taylor, Jim Elliot, Mary Slessor, and Jonathan Edwards, and we plan on becoming serious about our faith someday when we have more time. I know we are starved spiritually. We know this life is but a vapor, but we cling to it fiercely wishing to linger in the Shadow lands. We are paralyzed by fear, overwhelmed by stress, consumed with comfort, enamored by things, and weary when it comes to spiritual things. So God, I pray that you would work in our midst for we are helpless and stuck in our sin. Root us from the comfortable and make us live dangerous lives for the sake of Your name. May we stop knowing You just through the lives of other and actually know You ourselves through Your Word. Work, O God, in our apathetic hearts.

My Heart Is Set

April 6, 2010

Recently I have been reading a biography about Mary Slessor who was a missionary in the late 1800s. She had such passion and love for the people of Calabar, Africa. She pressed on amidst great challenges and difficulties to tell the people there about Jesus. Oh how I want my life to be spent doing the same thing! I want to go to Africa and tell the people there about Jesus. I want to share with the lost that they can be forgiven and know Jesus too. God has people in Africa---the harvest is ripe in the field---and I want to be one of the laborers!

Missions is not the same as it was 100 years ago when the missionaries took their caskets with them to the field, but the heart of missions should never change. As for me, I may not take a casket with me, but I fully intend to be spent and poured out for the people of Africa. I want to lay down my life for them that they may know Jesus. So my prayer today is that God would prepare me for the work He has already planned for me to do and that He would give me a love for the people He will send me to. I really struggle with compassion and having a selfless-love for others with no strings attached. But God is able to work in my heart---uprooting sin and making me into the vessel that can best be used by Him for His glory.

My heart is set, my mind made up, and my soul determined to share Christ with those who have never heard, to go where no one else wants to go, to shine the Gospel’s light in the dark, and to be broken for my God in a foreign land. What is more, I have the joy of holding God’s Word in my hands and reading it whenever I want…I must share what God has given me and I long to give the people in Africa God’s Word so they can hold it in their hands and read it for themselves.

The Things We Do

The smallest things become great when God requires them of us; they are small only in themselves; they are always great when they are done for God.
--Francois Fenelon

Let us not trick ourselves into thinking that we should do extraordinary things for God, but that we should do the things He's given us because He is extraordinary. The things we do must point to God---not to ourselves. So do not seek to do the greatest thing, but do the smallest thing (the thing God has given you to do right now) for our great God.

Remember The Lamb

Draw near to the cross of Christ. Remember His nail pierced hands.
He was pierced for our transgressions; crushed for our iniquities.

Remember the Lamb---the Lamb of God! Who suffered in our stead, and bore the wrath of God. Remember His wounds that healed our souls! He was forsaken by His Father, now such pain we’ll never know. Remember the Lamb!

Know and rely upon God’s love. Rejoice in the risen Son.
He conquered the power of death and crushed the chains of our sin.

Remember the Lamb---the Lamb of God! Who died that we might live reconciled to God. Remember His wounds that healed our souls! Now we are received by His Father, such joy we’ll always know! Remember the Lamb!

“Remember the Lamb” written by Sara-Grace Waite 2009

Trust

“You have listened to fears, Child,” said Aslan. “Come, let me breathe on you. Forget them. Are you brave again?”
~Prince Caspian 

How often do we also fall into the trap of listening to our fears instead of trusting in God's plan and resting in His providence? I think we struggle greatly with this in our daily lives. We take our gaze off our precious Savior and Lord and fix it rather on the fears and doubts that surge around us. There is only one thing we can do, and that is to cry out to God to help us. Turn to Him, fix your eyes on the cross, trust in Him, and wait upon the Lord to save you from the fears of this life. We are in a war and we must fight and battle our enemy. We will only find bravery and courage as we fix our hearts and minds upn the Lord as we draw near unto Him---so near that the fire of His breath falls upon us, purging our hearts and cleansing our souls of all self-love and pride.