Are you a Christ-follower?
As a Christ-follower, Jesus does not want you to keep this wonderful secret to yourself. Conversely, if you are keeping the Good News to yourself, perhaps you are not His quite yet. And that would make you a mission field. And, fair game for the latest guru with the path to PEACE!If you are a Christ-Follower. If you love Jesus. Then, your “job” is to be a missionary. I think perhaps that we have a skewed idea of what a missionary is.
Do you have to go to another country to be a missionary?
God wants us to be unhindered by the things of this world. He wants us to hold it all loosely. With gratitude. But loosely. Perhaps you have not yet had a big enough crisis in your life to help you realize that all your earthly “crutches” have turned out to be worthless in the midst of a crisis or great loss. That is when you actually experientially grasp that: “When God is all you have, you realize God is all you need.” And when you come to that glorious place of realizing God is actually all you need, you simply cannot keep that Good News to yourself. Hence: You are then a missionary. Telling others the Good News how to get to Heaven. You simply cannot keep it to yourself. You long to read His Word and then to share what you are learning. To help others find that peace in the midst of chaos. In the midst of the storms of life!
Feeling inadequate and ill-equipped for the task?
That’s a good thing and a stepping stone into realizing that you actually need God! God says ASK. ASK for whatever you need. And He means it! ASK for wisdom. ASK for understanding. ASK for favor. ASK to BE a blessing. ASK according to His Word, which means that we must spend lots of time reading His Word. Out loud makes it stick to your ribs! And makes it more deeply absorbed into your soul. When you hear your own voice speak the Truths of God from His Word, you are forever changed.
Give what you have in faithful obedience
What is God asking you to give? He tells us to leave all behind and put our hand to the plow and follow Him without looking back. That simply means to be busy about the work at hand. Bringing others into the Kingdom with you. That simply is not possible to do consistently if you are not His! You cannot share Him with others, if you do not have Him as your own Savior AND Lord!
He simply asks us to give what we have
Money yes, but it is more than that. It is an investment of yourself into others. For HIS GLORY! Not for what you can get in return. It is time, talents, skills, gifts, stuff. A listening ear, kindness, a smile. A loaf of bread, a meal. A letter, a phone call. All those things are gifts you can give. It honors the Lord when we are giving them out of a love for Him and out of obedience. Looking for nothing in return. Just giving out of a pure heart, whatever God impresses on you to give.
When you give your all
It is the oddest thing ever! God works in ways so against the grain of what seems like the right thing to do. But, when we give all He asks us to give, there will always be enough for us. With some left over. Like the stories about the loaves and fishes in Scripture. He lifted the offering of food with gratitude up to the God who created everything! Yet, His disciples who “knew” Him, and had traveled with him for as much as three years, did not believe there was enough. They had not yet become “missionaries”. They were skeptical. They had not yet been fully tested by losing all. They had not yet lost Jesus to death. Then, they lost all. They lost Him! He died! But then, when they had experienced despair and great loss, He came back to life. And breathed the breath of the Holy Spirit onto them and they became unstoppable missionaries. Truth tellers. Jesus freaks. Christ-followers. NOTHING could keep them quiet now! They lost all and rose out of the ashes into service for the King of Kings! JOY germs!
Up until then, they were a mission field
So, are you still a mission field, or are you an unstoppable missionary? Are you up to the task? God gives us the CHOICE. Choose to give all to Jesus. OR stay as you are, holding tightly to a life that you feel you cannot release (YET). You can CHOOSE to remain a mission field, tossing about with every wind of doctrine. Always looking for something new or “more” to satisfy your longing. Trying all sorts of worthless ways to fill the God-sized-hole He has put in each of us. That hole that only God can fill.
God is waiting for your full devotion
Only God can change you from a mission field to a missionary. But you have to ASK Him to do that. And when that happens, whether you are overseas away from your birth home, or whether you stay where you are, you will never retire. It is a full-time “job” with benefits out of this world. And, going “back home” is Heaven and that is the Good News, friend!
God bless you bunches!
Thanks for all you do!
Marantha! Come Lord Jesus!
Awaiting His shout,
The MomCourager™
