As I pack for Africa, I can't help but think about my trip to India last year. What a time of growth, refining, and discovery. A time of humbling, discomfort, and appreciation. Andrew and I decided to go because the command is clear... MAKE DISCIPLES. I find that we are tempted to do everything else except the ONE thing Jesus told us to do in the Great Commission. So we asked ourselves an all-important question: Are our plans self-directed or Christ-directed?
So Andrew and I signed up for India. I also found out that God does not bless based solely on our motives. God ALWAYS blesses HIS plan. That is where our heart for missions opened up. That is where God told us that we will one day be long-term missionaries. With that comes excitement and fear. But fear is only the devil trying to get me to do something else rather than spread the gospel to unreached nations.
In India, we got to do something I have NEVER done before. We shared the Gospel with people that have NEVER heard the name of Jesus. I'm talking blank stares, weird looks, shrugging of shoulders NEVER heard. So we told them. In the village below, they had a huge Hindu temple in the middle of their village. They just finished a child sacrifice upon us arriving. We got to tell them that the sacrifice has already been made... His name is Jesus. There is so much power in that name when they heard it for the first time. You could have heard a pin drop.
So... I could go on about India, but this post is about AFRICA!
So we are heading to Ethiopia tomorrow. We will be doing lots of training and evangelizing to women and children. We will be partnering with LIA (Life in Abundance) where they take the poorest of poor and give them essentials but mainly give them the gospel training they need to see who the ONE true God is!
Andrew and I took a missions class with David Platt (life-changing) and he told us missions and evangelism starts with our hearts. John Scott says, "The greatest single hinderance to evangelism today is the secret poverty of our own spiritual experience." Evangelism is the overflow of our hearts! We must have a LIVING relationship with Jesus Christ. We need a ZEAL for the kingdom. We NEED to have a burden for the lost. Isn't it sad that I sometimes get caught up in my comfortable life that I forget that there are people that will die and live apart from God? Isn't it sad that Jesus commanded us to go to them and I forget to pray for them? With evangelism comes spiritual battle. So we become extremely dependent on Him, and the Holy Spirit lives in us, so why do we fear?
So today, wherever you are. Share this gospel:
The good news that the just and gracious God of the universe has looked upon hopelessly sinful people and sent His son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to bear His wrath against sin on the cross and to show His power over sin in the resurrection so that all who have faith in Him will be reconciled to God forever.
So, I am taking this great news to Ethiopia tomorrow. Please pray for our team of 11 ladies (my mom and Lexie Strong included). Pray we share the Word, show the Word, teach the Word, and SERVE Ethiopia. Pray we are confident in God's sovereignty even when times get tough. Pray that the poverty doesn't make us as sad as spiritual poverty.
So, I also challenge YOU: Sacrifice your agenda each day and get involved where God is at work! Here is a Francis Chan video that is very convicting to do just that. Click here to watch it. It's only 3 minutes, but VERY convicting!
Africa, HERE I COME. Lord, HAVE YOUR WAY IN ME.
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