I will go... only if its fun.

"Take up thy cross and follow Me," I heard my Master say;
"I gave My life to ransom thee, Surrender your all today."
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.

He drew me closer to His side, I sought His will to know,
And in that will I now abide, Wherever He leads I'll go.
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.

It may be thru' the shadows dim, Or o'er the stormy sea,
I take my cross and follow Him, Wherever He leadeth me.
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.

My heart, my life, my all I bring To Christ who loves me so;
he is my Master, Lord, and King, Wherever He leads I'll go.
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.

I was called to be a missionary when I was 8. For several years, I have considered this to be the anthem of my life. I have never been afraid of where God would send me. I have dreamed of sleeping in a hut in Africa, walking the streets of a European town, enjoying the hospitality of Latin church members or standing agog at the pagodas of East Asia. In the past, as I have sung songs like these, it has been with dreams in my mind of where “wherever” might be. I never dreamed God would NOT send me somewhere...exciting. I never thought He would tell me to simply go home. As I sat in church on Sunday, we sang this song as part of the invitation (the focus was international missions). At first I sang, unmoved, the lyrics I knew so well… but as I sang, I heard a still small voice speak softly in my ear “My love, you know this is not true. You have fought me about the one place I wanted you most. You have not followed me ANYWHERE. You have not been willing to follow me home.” I felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on my head. I was humbled by my own arrogance to strut around like I had no issues with obedience or surrender or following God. I had no issues so long as it came on my terms and in my way. My goodness I am self-absorbed. And yet, God does not give up. He keeps working His will in my life, no matter how disgruntled I am. That just goes to show you what a loving, faithful God He is!

Unknown

For years I have lived within a “comfort zone.” Even while traveling to third-world countries and finding myself in dangerous situations or completely alone on the missions field, there has been a “comfort zone” quality about it. “Comfort zones” provide a certain level of security, safety, acceptance and pleasure. Adventure, discomfort and possibility lie just outside that bubble of comfort. So why would a “comfort zoneless life” bring me misery? It’s rather confusing to explain but while I’m in the comfort zone, my life holds few surprises. It’s stable, change-less and predictable. I don’t have to exercise much faith and my spiritual growth is stunted. Also, my ministry is hindered because I’m not willing to take risks but because it feels good, I am willing to sustain these losses. Right now, I’m living outside of any comfort zone and there is no foreseeable time in which I will return to a comfort zone. I’m not intrinsically professional and yet I’m in a highly professional job. My passion is ministry and evangelism (if you haven’t noticed) but I find myself in a strictly unreligious environment. There are times I want to quit and give up. I’m scared. Part of me would rather go back to my comfort zone but I won’t. You see, I know I’m in the center of God’s will and with that knowledge, God’s peace is present. I don’t know why He has chosen this place and this time to demolish my comfort zones but it is forcing me to the extremity of my faith and further. When I think I can’t go further without danger or loss, God says, “Take another step my love.” So what about my misery? Well, its there, but it doesn’t have to stay there. This is one of those times when my will has to overcome my emotion and tell it what to do. “Put on your grown-up pants and knuckle through.” So God, its You and me. Let’s Roll.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

            I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

         I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

         My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

         I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.

         And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)

          When I first read this poem, I was stunned by its cement-like determination. I was told that it was found scrawled on the wall of a cell in charcoal by a pastor who was condemned to solitary confinement. He died there. This is the testimony he left behind. This story forces the question, what will I leave behind?

In Awe

I live in the south where tropical storms often send us week long downpours as a storms hits land. After days and days of thunderstorms, drizzles and grey, colorless skies, its wonderful to see the sun again. Yesterday, as I was driving home from work, I looked up and saw a stunning rainbow. As I pulled up to a stoplight, I snapped a photo of this beautiful sight. Later, while I was driving, I was thinking about what God was saying when He painted the first rainbow. It is an extravagant display of God’s love and protection of us. While I was thinking about these things, I saw a man and his son driving and the son was trying desperately to capture a picture of the rainbow with his phone. It was then that I thought of how many times God shows us his love and we overlook it. God painted the first rainbow after He flooded the earth. It was His promise to us that He would never cover the earth with a flood. Now, every time there is a huge rain, he sends another arc of colors. It is a reminder that no matter how bad things get, they will never be that bad. There will still be something beautiful after bad weather.

When I was in college, I went to visit a friend in upstate New York. She took me to this “glen” for a walk. It was more like a ravine etched out of the rock that was overgrown and bedecked with greenery. It was and is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. After wandering around, engrossed in the sights around me, it hit me. God made all of this just because He knows I love it. It wasn’t even His masterpiece. His masterpiece He made with His bare hands, the rest He simply spoke and it existed. It seems that the more I see of this world and all that God has made, the more I am unknowingly in awe of the Creator of the World. It is then that I remember that things like rainbows and glens are nothing compared with Heaven. So what about the boy and his father taking the picture of the rainbow? It reminded me that we are awed by God, even when we don’t realize it.

Public Witness in a Professional World

So, how does a person have a public witness without forcing the Bible down throats? How do take every opportunity to witness but still respect other people and their “free will”? What about not denying Jesus to people? How do all these things work together, especially if you work in a critical or cynical environment where Christianity is seen more as a crutch for the weak-minded?
I sat down with my dad the other day to discuss this very topic. My new job has the beauty of allowing me to meet so many people and many of them are in need. They need a skilled physical and spiritual physician. What kills me is that this does not mean that I can just go around introducing these people to my Love, my Lord. Instead, I have to be silent and pray to myself. Prayer is a powerful thing and I don’t want to belittle that but sometimes I feel like it is insufficient. Like a Tylenol for someone who is having an amputation, it does not begin to even partially relieve the problem.
Dad said the best witness to be is just to be like Christ. Be different from the world. It still feels insignificant but it plants seeds. Wouldn’t I be risking the opportunity to be a light to hundreds of people if I cross the line by witnessing? Isn’t it seen as unprofessional even though salvation is better and more fulfilling that anything else in this world? Am I denying my Savior by keeping silent? I am confused but this I know, God brought me into this job and He will take me out when my job has been fulfilled. All I must do is love on Him and obey Him everyday and He will bless. He will plant seeds. He will tell me when to speak and when to keep silent.

Blog 12: Snake on a Pole

Mother has been added to the number… the number of those claimed by the plague. The snakes are everywhere. They are even in the tents. They’re not just any snakes either. They are asps. One bite from them and a healthy, grown man can die in just a few hours. Just when we think all is lost, word begins to spread. Moses, he raised up a symbol. If you look at it after a snake bites you, you will be healed. It’s a silver snake twined around a wooden pole. Rumor has it that many have been healed, but I am skeptical. How could what is supposed to kill me, give me life? Then my day comes. Dispite my precautions, I’m bitten by a snake. my family and close friends tell me to look at the symbol, but in a moment of unbelief, I refuse. The poison courses through my veins and stills my heart.
I was talking with a friend of mine. We discussed various patients’ need for God. Doctors have such an open door to witness but sadly many of them are lost and there for cannot see spiritually. I made the point that even if all the doctors in the world were saved, not all patients would have an ear to listen. That’s when my friend reminded me of the story in Exodus or Numbers where the Israelites are cursed with a plague of poisonous snakes. Moses tells them that their “salvation” rests in a glance. All they have to do is look at a symbol of a snake on a pole to be healed. Sadly, there is inference in scripture that some of the people refused to look. I have to constantly remind myself that, some people will refuse even so great a gift as a personal relationship with Almighty God. They will refuse because it doesn’t make sense, because it’s too easy or simply out of defiance. As you witness, remember this sad truth.

Jerusalem Road

How do you witness to a Jew, to someone who only believes in part of the Bible? Isn’t it like hearing half the story to only believe in the Old Testament? Don’t you get the wrath of God without His saving love and grace? God is not the inconsistent. He continually restates, throughout scripture, that He loves us and wants us to know Him in all His glory. I was once shown a “Roman Road” to salvation that was entirely Old Testament verses. Part of witnessing is knowing your audience. If you are talking with someone who believes that translators have tainted the New Testament or been in some other way falsified, don’t use New Testament verses to witness. Here are the Old Testament verses I was given for witnessing to a Jew or other person who holds to the Old Testament alone. Notice how similar the “Roman” verses are to the “Jerusalem” verses. (All verses in KJV) If you have taken the time to memorize the Roman Road, pact with me to memorize these as well. It will add depth to your witnessing pool.

Ps 14:3 “They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one.”

Ecc 7:20 “For [there is] not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

Is 59:1-2 “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid [his] face from you, that he will not hear.”

Lev 17:11 “For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul.”

Is 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting.”

Dan 9:26 “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

Joel 2:32 “And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”

http://www.chosenpeople.com/main/index.php/evangelism/157-presenting-messiah-to-your-jewish-friend