Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s been a quick minute since my last post so I just wanted to give a few updates about my World Race and share a little bit of what I have been learning and been challenged by in the Perspectives course that I have been taking the past five weeks. Financially I am 25% funded! So thankful for all who have partnered with me financially and have given not just their financial support but prayer support as well. I’m excited to see who else the Lord calls to partner with me on this mission trip and how He’s going to continue to provide for each need. A route update. My route (Route 2) got cancelled last week because not enough racers had signed up for it. So I’ve had a week to decide to either join Route 1 or Route 3 that are also launching in August or change to one of the October routes. Easy decision right??? NOT! I was initially really upset that my route wouldn’t be launching because I had already gotten really excited about all the countries that I was going to be ministering in. But I know the Lord has a better plan and have decided to join Route 3. Route 3’s countries include South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. This route’s countries can potentially still change before we launch but probably not more than one or two. I’m excited to start getting to know the other 35 racers that are already on this route and begin learning about these countries more.
A little bit of what I have been learning in Perspectives-
It’s all about grace. It’s all about love. It’s all about mercy. It’s all about truth. It’s all about missions. It’s all about the church. It’s all about the cross. It’s all about discipleship. I agree. It’ll all about all of these things. However, I would say all that could be summed up with this phrase: It’s all about God’s kingdom.
God is on mission! God’s mission is to glorify his name. To accomplish this mission he choose to involve us in a personal way. He chooses to work through us to accomplish his purposes to reconcile the world to himself. When we participate in missions, we are participating in the King’s business of growing his kingdom. God’s kingdom is made of believers from every tribe, tongue, and nation who join in giving praise to the one true God. God calls us… no He allows us to participate in this building of his kingdom, but the actual responsibility is his. In the New Testament we find that the kingdom was the central subject of both Jesus’s first and last messages, and in Luke 8 verse 10 he states the kingdom was the goal, the intention, and the purpose of all his teachings. Jesus was on on mission to glorify his Father. Now he has passed the baton to us to continue the same mission. You can’t love missions more than you love God. While missions are extremely important in the life of a church, if it’s the ultimate goal, then it’s missing the heartbeat of Jesus. Jesus’ heartbeat is to bring glory to God. If the focus isn’t on God, then all efforts will eventually become futile.
Let me break all that down cause for us because that was a lot for me to take in and process the first time. In the reading for the Perspectives course, five lessons are spent looking at the foundation of missions starting all the way back in Genesis. Missions are often based on bad news meaning we advertise the huge number of unreached people groups, how many children die due to starvation each year, how many Christians are being persecuted in the world and so on. We display these all with the intention of drawing believers to the mission field to help meet needs. While all these facts are true, how do we respond to the need? Our initial reaction is to help with the physical needs and show compassion and kindness. But if that’s all we are trying to accomplish, then we are going to burn out with the overwhelming task of trying to meet each and every need and carrying everyone’s burdens. But missions aren’t ultimately our response to meet needs. The Gospel is Good News of great JOY! So instead of missions inviting people to help with the overwhelming amount of needs, invite them to participate in the joy of God’s work in making his name known to the ends of the earth (growing God’s kingdom). Missions is a privilege to participate in as we play a role in the coming of the kingdom of our God as he intended and as Jesus taught us by his example.
God wants us to be like Jesus who always obeyed him (even to the point of his crucifixion), and as believers that should be our desire. Several times in the New Testament Jesus announces that he had come to do not his own will, but the will of his Father who had sent him (Matt. 26:42; John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 8:29). Jesus told his disciples that he was sending them as his Father had sent him. So how did the Father send his Son? He sent him with love, he sent him with a purpose and mission. He sent him to live his life in such away that would bring people into God’s kingdom and ultimately glorify God. Now it’s our turn. Now it’s my turn. Jesus is sending us out in this same way. So how do we respond? How did Jesus respond? That is how we respond. What encouragement and hope! I have learned all of these things (I’m sure I haven’t communicated them the best way or as the speakers and the book so clearly do) but I’m still forging out how to live it all out on a day to day bases.
So what do we do? What do I do? I keep walking in obedience. I keep enjoying my God. When I’m enjoying Him, then I’m close to Him and that’s right where He wants me. I rest in His deep love for me, knowing he gives me grace when I fall short in my love for Him.
Big thank you to my sweet brother Carson for his amazing photography skills!
