A Soul Awakening

A Soul Awakening


Lately I have been struggling knowing what to say when I share my faith and witness to my fellow Coasties. An overwhelming fear and dread has paralyzed my heart and I have not known what to do. I have cried out to God, but continue to struggle. However He is perfect in wisdom and faithful to make me like Jesus, and He has been teaching me to wait on Him, but as I have been reading Macarthur’s book, He a great soul awakening has been taking place in me by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I have been worried and anxious about what I should say when I am sharing my faith---because I have been trying to make it appealing. BUT I KNOW WHAT TO SAY!!! The Bible is clear---enough trying to please men for I am a slave of Christ.

So may the Lord’s name be praised for He has shown me my sin and forgiven me! And now through the Spirit’s power I must destroy it and not allow even a remnant to survive. I have been weighed down by the burden of sharing my faith because of fear of so many things because I have fallen into the trap of watering down the Gospel to make it sound good. But God has delivered me by His power and continues to deliver me---to preach the truth of the Gospel as His Word declares without fear for it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe…I have been entrusted with the message and God is in control of the results.

What great weights have been lifted from my soul, what renewed joy is mine in Jesus!

I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD TO SAVE!

Holy Spirit, help me live this out every moment.

#1 Rooted In Jesus~Midgett Adventure #3

July 7, 2010

Well, a new adventure has begun for me here on the Midgett. We set special sea detail after lunch and pulled away from the dock. If all goes as planned we shall not be pulling back into Seattle for another three months. We are headed out on our South Patrol down towards Costa Rica---our mission is drug interdiction along with doing a lot of individual and all-hands training. I am excited to be setting out once again, and glad that I will be going to see new places and do new things.

It’s funny though how fear and anxiety will bombard you even when you do not know why. But I find great comfort and assurance in God’s  Word especially in the Psalms. I read and reread Psalm 130, 121, 107, 27 last night and this morning. My heart may feel overwhelmed at times but God sustains me and His promise is sure…He will never leave me nor forsake me.

We are deviating of course a little bit tonight because earlier today a Coast Guard helicopter crashed of the coast of Washington. Three people were killed and one is in critical condition. We are heading to see if we can clean up any wreckage. What a sad day for those families to have to hear such terrible news. It certainly brings a solemnity to my own heart, and makes me realize that we never know when the Lord will see fit to bring us home so we should make the most of every opportunity. So I must live this moment right now to the fullest…I must live with no regrets and as if it is my last because it very well could be my last. And how do I live to the fullest? I believe the only way I can live my life to the fullest every moment is to be preaching the gospel to myself. Reflecting and rejoicing upon the salvation I have in Jesus and knowing His love for me. My heart must be rooted upon my Savior or I will waste the moments He’s given me.

Give Me Words To Speak!

June 25, 2010

“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
--
Ephesians 6:19-20

This morning I read these verses during my devotions with the Lord. I think we place Paul on a high pedestal in the church, and sometimes fail to realize that He was just an ordinary guy like us. He was a sinner, saved by grace, and transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit. It is true that He knew God in a way that many of us cannot even begin to imagine, yet it was not because He was the “super apostle” or something like that, but because He lived a cross-centered life…He made Christ His number one priority in everything.

Read these verses again. Paul was afraid…he experienced fear when it came to sharing His faith. But He did not allow fear to hold Him back or keep Him from doing what Jesus Christ had commanded Him to do. So what did He do? He turned to the Lord for help…and he asked his friends---the Ephesians---to pray for him.

I feel so inadequate to share my faith here on the Midgett. Fears torment me and threaten to overwhelm me at times, and when I do find the courage to speak up when people ask me about my faith or why I am so happy, I feel like my tongue is tied in a million knots. I am Christ’s ambassador here on my boat, but I struggle having the courage to testify to the gospel of Christ, and finding the words to say to testify. So I turn to the Lord as Paul did, and I present my plea before the Father. “O give me Words to speak! Give me words to declare Your grace and truth to these people who need You and may I declare it fearlessly as I should!”

Pray for me, Lovers of Christ…that God would give me the words to speak when He brings opportunities into my life to share the gospel. And pray that I may declare the gospel here on the Midgett fearlessly as I should.

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.

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.

Courage

“Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast…encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today…”
--Hebrews 3:6,13

Courage is not the absence of fear but a resolve to face fear; a courageous person is not someone who is not afraid, but someone who resolves to act upon their convictions in spite of fear. God has not called us to live comfortable and safe lives, but He has called us to be people who take risks for His glory, standing up for our faith amidst opposition. Believers must have courage to stand up against fear, hope to press on amidst doubt, joy to smile in sorrow, and dependence upon God to be the supplier of all our needs. Not only are we called to be courageous people who risk all for Christ we are also to be encouragers to other Believers. We must be giving each other courage to stand. When a Brother or Sister is weak and fearful, Believers must stand strong and give the ones who are weak courage to stand. Always be recalling to mind and reminding each other of the cross of Christ. The cross is where we will receive all we need to live for the Lord. At the cross we will find the courage to face all that God has in store for us.

Do not fear

Do not fear when the waves are crashing, when the wind is howling, and your heart is thudding. Do not be afraid when all within you doubts and longs to seek security and ease. Do not fear because Jesus is with you right by your side, holding your hand. Run hard, fight relentlessly, gaze upon Jesus, and do not fear. When all within you says be afraid---do not fear, but trust because the one who holds your heart will not leave you alone. Do not fear.