God's Promises

GOD’S PROMISES

Eastport, Maine
June 29, 2011

 Once again it is time for the sun to set over the horizon, but since the fog has already settled over Eastport it is impossible to catch a glimpse of the sun’s golden rays. The frogs are happily singing now as I sit in my little motel room, thinking back over my day. A quiet peace has stilled my heart; a peace that only comes from God.



I spent my evening walking out by the water on the rocks, thinking about so many different things. Sometimes I feel like a fog rolls over my soul just like the fog that settled over the rocky cove; a fog that does not hide the beauty of the sun’s rays but the beauty of God’s promises. But just because I cannot see and feel God’s promises does not mean they do not strengthen me and attend me each moment as I journey heavenward. So as I sat on one of the giant rocks looking out over the bay, God reminded me once again of His great and precious promises: I AM WITH YOU, MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, MY COMPASSIONS ARE NEW EVERY MORNING, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU, I HAVE HIDDEN YOU UNDER MY WINGS, I AM YOUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH, MY NAME IS A STRONG TOWER, I AM YOUR SAVIOR, I AM YOUR REDEEMER, MY LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE, I WILL NOT LET YOU FALL, I WILL DIRECT YOUR PATH, I WILL FILL YOU WITH JOY, I AM ALL THAT YOU NEED……….



And as I sat there out upon the rocks thinking upon God’s promises my heart was renewed and it was like I was given new strength. The Lord is faithful and I praise Him for I can not stand a moment apart from His grace. He fills my heart with joy and makes my soul sing with glad songs…songs of praise to my God! So I think and dwell and meditate upon the promises of God for they give me strength and joy to press on hard after Jesus. I am sustained by God’s grace, and each moment becomes more sweet than the next because each moment Jesus is with me as I walk this narrow path.



So I am here in Eastport, Maine now in a new place that is filled with new people and challenges and adventures. I face all of these things in the strength that God supplies and I face them as I stand firm in the promises God has given through His Word. I am here to honor and glorify my Lord and Savior and that is what I will do by God’s grace. May I be spent, may I be broken, may I be completely used up for the glory of my Lord who I love with all my heart! Jesus is my treasure!!! He is my joy!!! He is my life!!!

#3 The Lord Encamps Around Those Who Fear Him

April 5, 2011 One more day spent here at Training Center Yorktown, and the Lord truly blessed me with a fun time in training. During my time this morning with the Lord, I was soooooooo encouraged to read a verse from Psalm 34 saying that the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. He is with me every moment…I am never alone! And He will deliver me. I may feel a hundred different things: fear, excitement, weakness, stress, pressure, joy, etc; but the Lord is always with me and with Him I shall do valiantly. We started out our training today with some physical training and team/leadership building games at the gym. Then we had more classes on leadership throughout the day. Now it is almost time to head to bed and get some sleep before tomorrow’s physical training test. As I close another day I am left truly amazed by the God whom I serve. He fills my heart with joy and cares so tenderly for His children. So I praise the Lord Jesus Christ for paying my sin penalty, for taking my place at the cross, and for giving me abundant life!! I do not deserve any of this, but this wonderful gift of grace is mine because of Jesus and His great love for sinners. And this is this is the message of good news I have to share. And I want to encourage all of you who also are saved by God’s amazing grace that this is the message God has called all of us to share. God has placed us in this world to encourage fellow Believers heavenward, to share the gospel and be an instrument to lead unbelievers to Christ, and for some we are the only bit of heaven they will ever know…so let us be spent today for what truly matters. Let us give these people in our lives HEAVEN on earth, showing them Christ’s love and kindness. Always remembering that the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them.

The Journals of A Guardian...#1 On the Road Again

March 31, 2011

My family and I left Copperas Cove, Texas this morning and put in some good miles on the road. We arrived in Meridian, Mississippi and enjoyed a meal of pizza and wings. We are making it closer and closer to my training school. I am excited, but also a little nervous. This I know for sure though, God is with me every second of this adventure. I know He will teach me and challenge me in new ways.

So I am excited to take this adventure that He has given me. For such a time as this God has placed me on the earth to be His witness and to gorify His name.

I want to make much of You Jesus!!!! I want to live every moment for You. Take my life...may I be used up for Your glory and fame...may I be wasted completely for You Jesus...broken and spilled out...wholly spent for Your name's sake.

So I am on the road again...taking the adventure God has for me.

Precious Jesus

Precious Jesus, You are near


When my heart is filled with fear,

When my soul is burdened down

By doubt’s and guilt’s clamoring sound.

When my life so weary be

from raging waves in my sea.

When my mind will not be still

And rest alone in Your perfect will.

When my eyes are filled with tears

From listening to all my fears.



Precious Jesus Your love’s the same

Through sun filled valleys and darkened plains.

through hardships, struggles, joy and peace

Through bitter days and sweet release.

Through crashing storms and raging seas

Through sorrows mark: character’s key

Through sin and failure, faith and growth

Through life and death and the cheering heavenly host.

Through all of time: future, present, past

Your love remains; it forever lasts.



Precious Jesus, I surrender all

Unto you my Lord…you heard my call.

For help to carry on in faith

When I was going to quit the race.

But your grace is greater than my sin,

Your love floods my heart within.

When such weariness overwhelms me so

You strength is mine, so onward I go.

Pressing heavenward toward my home.

Until then, You are with me...I am never alone.

MY ROCK AND REFUGE

November 29, 2010


The Lord comforted my heart this morning with verses from the Psalms. I was reminded once again that He is my rock and my refuge, He is my God in whom I trust and the sustainer of my soul, and He is my fortress and my Deliverer. Storms arise in my heart, and the waves and breakers of this life crash over my soul like the angry waves crash over my boat, but Jesus stands as my Savior, walking on the water that threatens my faith. He reaches out and pulls me up from angry torrents that swirl around me, and I am saved. He is God, His is the Almighty One who by the word of His mouth spoke the universe into being. So I trust in Him, I will fix my eyes upon Him, I will be satisfied with His love and rejoice in His salvation. My God is mighty to save, and He is mighty to sustain! Blessed be my God; blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ!

With God I Shall Do Valiantly

The Lord turned to Him and said, Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hands.

But Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.

I will be with you and I will strike down all the Midianites together.

--Judges 6:14-16

To set the stage, The Angel of the LORD has just come to Gideon with a mission to rescue the people of Israel from the hands of the Midianites. As I read this passage this morning, the words seemed to jump off the page at me. I have read the story of Gideon before, but these verses struck a chord in my heart. God had a job for Gideon to do, and Gideon was not stupid…He knew He could not do it. He is listening to the LORD give him the mission, “ to rescue Israel in the strength you have,” At this point it is kind of like Gideon raises his hands to stop the Lord from going on, “But God, what strength? I don’t have any strength. You are looking at the least qualified man for the job. You must have gotten me mixed up with someone else because I cannot do this.”


However God did not make a mistake, and He answered Gideon, “I will be with you.”


Gideon’s strength (or lack there of) was not what mattered, what mattered was the fact that God had a mission for Gideon to carry out, and He would cause Gideon to accomplish the task. God does not seek out people who have the ability to do His work, He calls people who are weak and “unqualified” so that His power and might are seen through their inability. The key to carrying out God’s work is not our strength, but God’s presence.


I feel a lot like Gideon. I am here on the Midgett as His witness, but I am so weak to accomplish the mission He has given me to shine His glory among these people. I feel like I am the least articulate person in the world, and I see so many unbelievers who could probably defend my faith better than I could. I am fearful, filled with worries and such an unlikely candidate to minister to these people…and I just want to tell God, “I CAN’T DO THIS. THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK THAT I AM COMPLETELY UNQUALIFIED TO CARRY OUT.” And I can just see Him smiling at me patiently nodding His head and saying, “I know…that is why I called you to do it.” All I can see are the impossibilities, but that just goes to show you how limited my view from here is. God can see the big picture, and He is not limited by my limitations.


The mission He has given me to accomplish here does not rest upon my ability nor upon my strength, but upon His power and might. I so easily forget that His work cannot fail. He is with me here on the Midgett and He will accomplish His work.


So He calls me to go forth in the strength I have…and my first response is “what strength?” And His response is, I AM WITH YOU…I WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS MISSION. So I go forth in my weakness, in my inability, in all the impossibilities that weigh me down, and in all the limitations that hold me back…I go forth not because I can but because God is with me and He is the one who is accomplishing His work here. I can do nothing, but through Christ I can do all things.


I am a lot like Gideon. But what the amazing thing is that the same God who caused Gideon to accomplish a seemingly impossible task is also the same God who enables me to do His work here on the Midgett. He does not change from day to day…He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His love never fails, and His faithfulness is new every morning. So I press on because He is with me; I press on becasue with God I shall do valiantly.

November 24, 2010

November 24, 2010



Winter has certainly set in here in Seattle, and all is snowy and white. I was out and about earlier, getting some last minute things at the store for my upcoming patrol, and I could definitely feel the icy wind cut right through my coat. Now I am staying nice and warm in my rack, writing, and listening to Christmas music. Tonight shall be fun because I bought all the makings for s’mores!!! So I am going to see who all wants to join me in s’more making and eating later on.


It is hard to believe that I will be heading back out to sea here very soon. This week I have been especially praying and committing this upcoming patrol to the Lord. I do not want to waste the time God has given me to be His light here on the Midgett, and now as I realize that this will be my last patrol, I want to make sure I make the most of every second. I want to glorify God in all that I say and do and think; I want to make much of Jesus; and I want to finish hard, testifying to the Gospel of God’s grace to the people who are here on board with me. I do not want to leave here, and people think that I was just a nice person, that I was just an optimistic person---no I want them to know without a shadow of a doubt that the reason I smile every day is not just because I am a happy person; that the reason I wake up each morning is not just because the sun decided to rise; that the reason I work hard when others are not is not because I am just a “go getter”; that the reason I don’t complain when others are complaining is not just because I have fortitude---no the reason for all of this is because I know Jesus and He has saved me and filled my heart with joy! He is the reason not anything else…and I want everyone on this boat to know that Jesus is the one who makes me smile, He is the one who fills my heart with joy, He is the one who has given me a living hope, He is the one who has saved me, and He alone can satisfy their hearts.


Pray for me, because I can do nothing in my own strength. Pray that I will trust Jesus to be my strength and courage. It is so completely silly and ridiculous that I give in to fear when I serve the King of kings and Lord of lords. So I ask the Lord for help to sustain me and strengthen me to do His will. I know that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)!!!


So I press on, rejoicing in my Mighty Savior, resting in my merciful Father, and working in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel here for the glory of God.


Immanuel: God with us. And if God is with us who can stand against us? I shall not fear for my God is with me!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day 2010

I give thanks to You, O God, for You are holy and good; You are gracious and merciful to me.

By Your great love, You have saved me and called me Your own through the death of Jesus my Savior.

For I was lost, dead in my sin; I completely and utterly hated You above all things. I did not obey Your righteous laws nor was I attentive to follow in Your ways. No, like a sheep I had gone astray, I had turned to my own way.

But in You great mercy and compassion You came to earth and sought me out. You found me and forgave  me my sins.

You lived a perfect life and fulfilled the law on my behalf. You were betrayed and disowned by Your friends and handed over to wicked men. You were mocked and beaten, You were laughed at and scorned by the ones You had made. You held their very lives in Your hands as they spit on You and beat You. Then You were led to Golgotha as You carried Your cross. You were nailed to it and hung upon it. You not only bore the horrible physical torremnt from the hands of sinnful man, but You also bore the wrath of God. You crushed by Your Father and He turned His face away from You because You took upon Yourself the sin of all who would believe. You became sin for us though You had never sinned, and You gave us Your righteousness though we had never done anything good.

You were pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquity and by Your wounds we are healed.

You die upon the cross and gave up Your life as a ransom for many. Then they laid You in the tomb, but You did not remain there for long because on the third day You arose! God was satisfied with Your sacrifice and brought You back from the grave. Our atonement had been made now we could come to the Father through Jesus the Son.

Thank You Lord Jesus for this priceless gift of salvation. Thank You for giving us Yourself and for making peace between God and man.

We are now hidden in Jesus covered by the blood of the Lamb.

So I give You thanks, O God, for apart from You I would be destined for Hell---seperated from You forever---I would never have known true joy and never received abundant life. So I give thanks to precious Jesus and I glory in Your holy name.

O Immanuel has come! God is with us! We are not alone in this world for God is with us. O thank You Jesus Christ!

Pressing on in Christ

The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful Saturday. I enjoyed breakfast at IHOP with some friends from my boat, and then I headed to one of my favorite places in the world (not really!) Barnes & Noble. But on a rainy Seattle day, a book store is a perfect way to spend the day(-:

As I sit here right now looking back over the past couple weeks, I am just completely blown away by God's amazing grace! The work I have seen Him doing in the lives of the people on my boat, overwhelms my heart. And I know that God has always been at work on my boat even when I cannot see...but how amazing it has been to see the work of the Lord. O He is mighty to save!

My prayer to the Lord has been that He will give me a heart of compassion for the people on my boat. I have never been through what most of these people have gone through, and when they tell me their struggles and the suffering they are experiencing...most of the times I do not know what to say. I beg God in my heart for words, but often times I am at a loss. And perhaps that is best and what God wants. Maybe the very thing He wants me to say is nothing, but to pray for them and tell them verses from the Bible. I am His servant here, and I want to glorify His name in everything.

God is so good to me and sustains me every new moment. I remember when I first arrived on the Midgett, people were so amazed that I was always smiling...when I was painting, when I was mess cooking, when I was vacuuming up water in the rain! I remember they would tell me that, once I had been on the boat for a couple months I would be just like them and hate life. Well, a couple months passed by and I was still smiling (not because of me but because Jesus gave me such an amazing joy in Him), so they told me that it was because I had never been out to sea before, and once I was underway I would be just like them and hate life and the boat. Well, I went out to sea on my first patrol in the Puget Sound (and lived to tell about it!!!!), and was smiling more than ever. They told me it was because I had never gone down south on a patrol. They said those patrols would be the ones to break me. Well, we went down south and I was still smiling and still filled with joy in Jesus. And now I have been here on the Midgett over a year! And I think everyone has finally given up. God has been at my side, faithfully sustaining me every moment. He is the one who supplies me with joy here on my boat. Apart from Him I would be like everyone else...the only difference between me and them is that I have Jesus in my heart, filling me with inexpressible joy. I have hope in Jesus and this hope is anchored in Christ. I am held by grace and sustained by grace. I would walk away from Christ, I would give up, I would go down the same path of self-destruction that the other people on my boat are on if it were not for God's amazing grace. Thank You Jesus, for I do not deserve Your grace, but You have lavished it upon me anyway. I am in awe of how mighty and gracious You are! Praise be unto Your name!

And now here in a few short weeks, I will be getting back underway and heading back out to sea for another three months. I am going to miss land and my coffee shops and my church family, but I am convinced that this is God's will and that He has me on  the Midgett for such a time as this. Soon my time on the Midgett will come to an end...but until then I am here to declare the gospel of God's grace. And my goal is to share it with eveyone on this boat---that everyone would know the reason I smile and the reason I am joyful. This will probably be my last patrol and then I will be going to advanced training school and after that go to a new duty station and finish up my remaining time in the Coast Guard. So just like a runner in a race sprints his very hardest as he sees the finish line come into sight...so I also sprint with all my might to the finish line. O God may I glorify you on the Midgett and declare your name and praise that all may know that You are God and You are mighty to save. I pray that when others look at me they would see You...I want to point to You in everything.

So as I prepare for this upcoming patrol, I face it with a renewed joy and a resolved determination to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so excited! And yes I am afraid and scared to death at the same time! But I know the One true God and He is so wonderful and so good...and He supplies all my needs. He gives me strength, He gives me joy, HE HAS GIVEN ME SALVATION! I know that in Jesus Christ I am more than a conqueor because He has loved me and made me His own.

So I press on hard after Jesus. He holds me by His grace, He sustains me with His love, He teaches me in His faithfulness, and HE IS ALWAYS WITH ME. He will never leave me...in Him I press on...in Him I am strong, though I am weak...courageous, though I am afraid...righteous, though my works are as filthy rags. I am hidden in Christ!

#2 Even When We Cannot See~Midgett Adventures #3

July 8, 2010

I stood watch this morning, and half way through my four hours we entered a thick fog. Visibility was greatly reduced as I stood lookout, and the danger of us colliding into another vessel rose dramatically. However the officer of the deck continued to instruct us to stand a vigilant watch and to continue looking for contacts that might submerge from within the fog. He also scanned the horizon with his binoculars, keeping a sharp eye out for contacts.

As I was up on lookout, the thought occurred to me that our lives as Christians are very similar. We all experience times when we are surrounded by fog, and the trials and hardships we face seem to overwhelm us. We cannot see where we are going or if we are going to stumble in our walk with the Lord and collide in our faith. But God is faithful and is holding us through all of life. And when the “fog” surrounds us we can be sure that we are held by His grace. Just because we cannot see does not mean we stop being vigilant in pursuing the spiritual disciplines of the faith. We should press on reading God’s Word, praying, memorizing, fellowshipping with other believers, etc. Do not give up when the way is hard and difficult. Trust in the Lord---He will uphold you---for He holds you even when you cannot see.

#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.

Blown Away!

Well, it has been quite a while since I last posted anything. Life has been busy and filled with lots of good challenges. I have been mess cooking the past two weeks, which can be draining. The Lord is ever faithful in sustaining me and upholding me through His Word and through cross-centered music. I have come to love the song by Aaron Shust, "My Savior and My God." I  would listen to that as I washed dishes and cleaned tables. God has greatly encouraged my heart with His love throughout the past several weeks...when I feel down and discouraged, He brings the Gospel to my mind. "Christ has died for me, He has made a way that I can have peace with God, I am clothed in His righteousness, and in Him I hide!" Preaching the Gospel to myself is a definite must to keep my eyes focused on the cross. I do have some fellow Believers here on the boat, but most of them do not think about the cross and live discouraged lives. It is only by God's grace that He has taught me that the Gospel is not just for unbelievers but for Believers!

Now that I am no longer mess cooking, I will be working back in Navigation. I am also taking two classes that keep me busy with homework and projects. I am doing well, though even if I don't have lots of down time...it helps make the patrol go faster. I miss all of you back home, and it encourages me greatly knowing that you are lifting me up in your prayers.

I suppose if I were to sum up the past several months and even the past two years, the lessons God has taught me all seem to derive from the book of Philippians. The joy we have as followers of Christ is not based off of circumstances and feelings, but off of Him. Situations, people, pain, suffering, and even sin can never take away that which is most imoprtant to me---Jesus! Oh how I love Him...sometimes I feel like I could explode with the joy in knowing Him...and to think I have only tasted but a small bit of it. I am comforted by the fact that I am not HOME yet! Someday I will be with Jesus...and I will see Him face to face. My faith will be turned to sight. What a wonderful day that will be! My fellow Coasties cannot comprehend my joy nor the reason I am so happy when I tell them why...because I know Jesus and He fills me with joy. It is a mystery to them, but not to me. How could I be anything but joyful in knowing and being known by the Almighty God who has saved me. Believers who do not think and rejoice in the Gospel daily will be robbed of joy, drained of strength, and conformed to the word around them. We must fight for joy...true, lasting joy in Jesus. Sometimes God's presence seems far away...maybe even gone...but we must not trust our feelings. When God's presence seems far away cling to His promises.

So here I am clinging to the promises of God, amazed by His love, and filled with joy in knowing Him. I am saved by grace and I no longer live but Jesus Christ lives in me. I am not home yet, but someday soon I will be with Jesus and until then I want to live life with all I have got for His glory. O that I may be spent and used up for Him and make it to my heavenly home all used up, spilled out, and worn out from serving Jesus...and yes, smiling as I cross the finish line.

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.

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.

Midgett Adventures~ #27 The Missing Link

February 19, 2010

The Missing Link

Of late Hudson Taylor’s life, but more specifically his day-by-day walk with the Lord has challenged me greatly. This man who gave himself for the lost souls of China was dedicated to his God in a way not many Christians are today. He was a cross-bearing man who “counted all things as loss, compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord” (Philippians 3:7). I also want to follow Hudson’s example and be completely and wholeheartedly committed to my God and serving Him. I want to take up my cross and follow Jesus and that is the daily battle I face as a warrior of the faith and soldier of the cross.

This leads me to wonder why there are so few Believers who also long to be like Hudson and live for God as He did. I have felt so confused because I see plenty of professing Believers who can talk up a storm about God and sound so sincere and genuine and in part they are, but then I watch them live their lives and things do not match up. It is as though God gets Sunday (just the morning mind you) and as long as He gets His hour or two at church then the rest of the week is theirs. Why do so many claim Christ as their Savior but so few obey Him as their Lord? And what has happened to cross-bearing men and women who will give all willingly, eagerly, and happily for the sake of Jesus’ name?

So I have been contemplating and mulling over these questions for the past several weeks, but today I believe I have an answer though perhaps just in part. I started a new book, which is actually an old one that I read back when I was thirteen---Knowing God by J. I. Packer. Oh, how it is full of rich teaching and instruction for Lovers of Christ! In it, I believe I have found my answer to why so many professing Believers who seem to be genuine Christians live such powerless lives and have so little passion for God’s glory. Packer starts his book by delving into the topic of knowing God and makes the quick distinction that there is a difference between knowing about God and actually knowing God. I believe that Christians today know a lot about God, but they do not know God. They fill their minds with knowledge but their hearts are empty of true fellowship with the Almighty One.

How little we think God is that we fit Him into the mold we want Him to be instead of trembling in His presence that He would even draw near to us. For surely that is what it is, not that we are drawing near to God, but that He has come to us and befriended us. Oh, let us stop knowing Christ through other peoples experiences and actually know Him ourselves---daily walking with the Lord as we spend time pouring over His Word and treasuring it in our hearts (yes there is a difference between reading and treasuring), momentarily lifting our souls up to God in humble prayer, exalting His name on high, and rejoicing in who He is.

So this is my challenge for all Believers, a challenge I have first of all been challenged with myself, know your God and do not just know about Him. Do not let a day go by that you are not in the presence of the LORD. He is always with us---His presence, He has promised us---but are we living our lives with Him?

Midgett Advenutres~ #24 Know Christ

February 16, 2010

The past couple days I have thoroughly enjoyed rereading Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret. The book truly challenges and encourages my heart as it causes me to think deeply about my walk with the Lord. Hudson was a man who knew his God and loved Him. Christ was most precious to his heart, which is why he spent his life serving the Lord in China, enduring suffering and trials that I have never even imagined undergoing. His passion was fueled by God’s great love and faithfulness in saving sinners and bringing them into His awesome presence to know Him. Hudson’s life was real and full of spiritual blessing because his eyes were fixed upon that which is unseen.

How much I think we miss as we live our lives upon this earth grasping for all we can fit in our hands yet caring so little for what is truly important. We are content to make Christ a part of our lives, but we do not realize that He is not content to being just another trophy on our wall---He must be our life. All our energy, strength, time, passion, and zeal must be used to glorify His name. Our hearts are so often empty and wanting because we do not turn to the Lover of our soul to fill them. Instead we search for joy in all the wrong things and all the wrong places when Christ stands by calling to our hearts to find rest in Him. We shrug Him off though with excuses: I’ll get more serious about my faith when I am older, I just want to have fun, Jesus is boring, etc. We buy into Satan’s lies and step farther and farther away from the Cross.

I plead and urge you, my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, not to linger any longer from His presence. You are missing the very best and your lives are becoming empty because you are pursuing that which is empty. Oh, run after Christ! Treasure Him and know Him! He is the only One who can satisfy your hearts.

Midgett Adventures~ #23 The Promise

February 15, 2010

“We did not come to China because missionary work here was either safe or easy, but because He had called us. We did not enter upon our present positions under a guarantee of human protection, but relying on the promise of His presence.”
--Hudson Taylor

How often we limit our service to the Almighty God by making life decisions based off fear or discomfort. We reason to ourselves that we surely cannot do such and such a work or go to such and such a place because we may be placing our families and ourselves in harms way. God surely would not want us to do something that would take us away from the amenities (oops…necessities!) of life that we are so accustomed to. We long to have the vibrant, genuine relationship with the Lord that we read so much about in missionary biographies and in books about the saints of old, but we are unwilling to leave the warm fireside at home and go out into the darkness in order to spread the light of the Gospel. When given the choice, we would rather dabble in temporary pleasures and comforts instead of being spent for something that will not fade away.

This is the pitfall, we all must be careful of because it is so easy to seek comfort and safety and avoid pain and heartache. Who in their right mind would go to China, leaving family and friends (not to mention the promise of a successful medical career) behind knowing you may never return or see them again upon this earth? Who would delight in spending the best years of his life in a foreign land, spending strength and health on a work that at times seemed to be unraveling at the seams, laying children and Beloved in the earth for the sake of the ministry, and sending his surviving children back home to not see them for years at times? Hudson Taylor did all this and more, not because he had some fascination for suffering or hardship, but because He loved Christ and willingly followed Him to the ends of the earth. He knew, believed, and acted upon the confidence that this life is not all there is, but that something so much greater is yet to come. He heard and felt the cries of the lost souls in China and layed all on the alter to take them the Gospel. Was He crazy? Did he have a death wish? Did he care so little for his family? Only God knows the depth of his sorrow, the tears he shed as he watched his wife and little ones slip away, the heartache he felt as he looked at a photograph of his children who were London, wishing he could be with them, or how his heart yearned to comfort the other missionaries he was leading as they walked through deep darkness and difficult trials.

This man of God had not come to China because it would be easy or painless. He knew the cost would be great, but he was committed to following Christ wherever He would lead him. He did not press on because he knew he would be protected from harm or that his family would not face danger, but he pressed on because he knew and believed that God would always be with him and would never leave or forsake him.

And should this not be how we live our lives? Following hard after Christ is not safe nor is it comfortable and any who think it is or should be are greatly mistaken. Christ did not come into the world to bring peace but a sword---He has sent us out like sheep among wolves. We will face hardship and difficulty---we have been promised persecution. But another promise shines forth, giving strength and endurance to all lovers of Christ who follow Him no matter what and that is the promise of His presence: Immanuel---God with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us; He is always with us and in this, we should press on, basing our every decision off this promise and not our fear.