Weekly Update: Thursday, 03/22/12
Hello everyone,
In less than six days I will be traveling to South-East Asia. I still haven’t packed, but there are plenty of things to do here in the Netherlands before I start doing that.
Last Sunday I was able to talk to couple of high-school aged friends about the trip. They wanted to know about the cities I would visit, what I would do there, and, lastly, whether it was safe to go there. They spoke pretty good English, so I was able to answer most of their questions.
You know, they had pretty good questions.
The first two were pretty easy to answer. The cities are both beautiful and terribly polluted; throughout them you see a wonderful blend of ancient culture and new buildings, in many ways these two are still trying to find their place as they develop. In one of the cities I will go to there is the river Ganga (or Ganges). It’s a holy river to the people there, but it is lined with old factories that pollute it. The rest of the city doesn’t have any clean drinking water.
Now, that short description might not sound like best reason to visit a city. It isn’t, I am going there because God has called me to love the place.
Have you read the book of Mathew in the Bible?
There is a very important set of verses in there to understand why I can say such a thing like that. In Matthew 20: 34-40, we read that we are called to, ‘love God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves’. This is the basis for everything we do as followers of Jesus.
My wife and I were struck with that question yesterday while out on a walk. We were pretty wrapped up in our conversation as we made our way through a nearby park when we came around a corner and found two young people making out on a bench along the path – very awkward. We kept going at first, trying to see as little was going on as possible, but both of us felt like we couldn’t just keep walking on.
After a little ways we stopped and prayed about whether God wanted us to do anything.
His answer was yes.
Both of us were scared, we weren’t really sure what to do, both of us had second thoughts, but God had called us to do something – regardless of what would happen we were set on following Him. So, both of us made our way back and introduced ourselves. We didn’t come yelling or trying to make them feel bad, we simply came to tell them that God loves them.
They received the message well.
They didn’t immediately start confessing their sins or give their lives to Christ right on the spot, but we were faithful to tell them that God loves them and they listened.
That is a picture of what it means to ‘love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.’
Are we willing to love God even if it means doing something that risks our own pride? Are we willing to love others enough to tell them the truth?
Likewise, as I go to other nations, that is what God has called me to do.
As I go on this occasion I will be looking for ways to partner with other followers of Jesus who are called to do the same thing.
Is it safe? That was the last question my friends asked me. Well, no, it is not completely safe, but when has helping others ever really been that safe? Many times the most loving thing to do is far from being safe. However, the things that are the most valuable to do in life revolve around loving God and loving others.
So, in that way, lets live a very unsafe life given to God.
Other Updates:
– Today, my wife and I have started support raising again. Our family has grown, we feel that God is bringing us into a refreshed place of doing ministry, and God has already started answering our prayers. Please consider if joining our support team is something that God is calling you to do!
Scripture:
What gives us our faith?
Well, the quickest answer to that is God, but in reality God brings us through many things that help us have faith in Him. In 1 Samuel 17:31-37, we read about David’s faith in God as he tells King Saul why he knows God will help him beat the giant Goliath.
Go read it! What are ways that God has prepared you for what you will face next in life?
Praise & Prayer Report:
– God has begun answering our prayers for people to join our support team! Praise God for this and pray that more will join us in ministry too!
– Please be praying with us for my wife’s visa! While I am able to stay in the Netherlands for another 90 days, out of the next 180 days, we do not know if her visa will be approved before I have to leave The Netherlands. We are not sure of what we will do if the visa does not come before I need to leave again.
Thanks for all your prayers!
In Christ,
The Abiding Kingdom
The Abiding Kingdom 