"She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:20; 25-56;30
I have been taken aback lately by the sudden switch in direction the Lord has taken my heart, and our relationship. Don't get me wrong, the sudden switch is good, and I feel my heart being filled with the spirit even more now than before however, the suddenness is taking me a while to dissect and process with the Lord. He is showing me an entire new understanding of who He is and what I am to Him and in Him. For the past several months I have found myself all over the place surrounded by the topic of "missions." I have been in classrooms, in tents, in meetings, and a part of countless conversations surrounding this calling of "missions"and what it means for us to be "missionaries. I'll say this... this idea of us being "called to missions" is a huge reason my heart has changed direction. I have, for a long time, felt "called" to some type of overseas missions to make the name of Christ known. I thought this meant going out of the country a few times, loving on lost people, and telling them about Jesus... sounds pretty good and accurate, and I agree... but to some degree more needs to be added to my old way of thinking. This radical heart change and perspective that I have been hearing God in for the past few months is this truth: We are ALL called to missions!!! All of us that are living breathing believers and followers of Christ are called to Missions. However, this calling we have is not a calling of need from the Lord it is a calling of Invitation from the Lord. An invitation given to us only through God's grace to come alongside Him and See for ourselves God "giving sight to the blind, making the lame walk, healing those from disease, making the deaf hear, giving the dead life, God being preached to the poor. " Luke 7:23 When I realized, and resonated, on the truth that God's mission to make His name known to every people of every nation will be achieved with or without me through God's great power and promise I was humbled to my knees and then grateful for the opportunity to become his apprentice. To watch him, and do everything He does. With a joyful heart I share the gospel to the lost, to those around me. The gospel being- The good news not just the good news of salvation, but the good news of Jesus Christ... ALL of Jesus Christ, not just His death and resurrection. The Gospel is Jesus.... He is the good news and the gospel is what I joyful share everyday by engaging with people... Being in the midst of ALL people. Being with the worst, seeking out and loving the lost. Not just sharing with them the promise and hope that comes through the cross but, by showing them Jesus everyday by letting Christ's love funnel through me and onto them by meeting basic needs with the love of Christ. "If someone needs help I am to take them in."Lev 25:35 "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you do not demand it back." Luke 6:30 " Share food with the hungry, provide the wanderer with shelter, set the oppressed free, clothe those that are naked, not turning away from your own. " Isiah 58:7As soon as Christ's love engulfs someone then the redemptive promise given to us through the cross will be reveled to them, and they will experience true intimacy with God themselves. I heard recently that we are called to make disciples not decisions and
after all isn't that, "the great commission"-Make Disciples. God went
out and sought to build up disciples. Making disciples is engaging in peoples lives, and living out Jesus every second of the day right next to them. Letting God do the work of the heart is a joyful thing to watch and experience. We are not inviting God to be a portion in Our story- He is inviting us to be a part of His. I am praising God that He is a RELENTLESS PURSUER of my soul... even as I try and sit silently in His presence I pray for discernment between hearing the voice of God calling to me and just hearing the teachings and voice of man. Nothing is more trustworthy and fulfilling than the true voice of God. It's a radical heart change when you humble yourselves to the understanding that God is King, He will be victorious, this earth belongs to Him, we belong to Him and He will make it all His again one day soon. Christ Jesus will never stop pursuing us, and beckoning us to accept His ultimate invitation to join Him on His mission as he restores His kingdom and restores His children. It puts things in a new perspective and makes it seem silly if we were to live for anything else except for the one true King.
