Missions

So often we find ourselves overwhelmed by missions. “Save the heathens!” We try and become the Holy Spirit and try to convert people to Christianity, but that is not our job. We look at the numbers and become overwhelmed. What happens when the masses are concentrated down to the face of a little boy, a little boy who has no home, does not speak or hear, a little boy who feels alone in the world? When we focus on numbers, we do nothing, but when we focus on each individual soul, lives are changed.
I know I have been called to foreign missions, to go into all the world, but it has always been me thinking of it being my responsibility for people to change. It’s not though. A few weeks ago I asked God to give me a heart like His. I found myself torn up by campers who went home, and I found myself overjoyed when just one camper came to Jesus. This week missions hit me hard in the face. Meeting the little boy, and having to learn how to communicate to him is just a small picture of what reaching the unreached will likely be like. Having to learn how to communicate, build relationships, and teaching them little by little. I have seen such amazing things this week. Some of us were talking and it became evident the work that God had from the beginning. All of us put together we cover all the bases as far as relating to kids, if we took even one person out we would be less effective. Truly God put this team together.

Missions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTVpyUOR_fI

You know I am really getting more and more frustrated here. I live in the Bible belt, roughly 30 congregations that claim Jesus as Lord in my town of 3000. I am not only frustrated that the body of Christ is dismembered into 30ish segments in this town alone, but I am also frustrated that the Great Commission "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." which was the last thing Jesus said to his disciples does not seem to be carried out anymore. I see churches whose focuses seem to be on reaching those inside the church or else those with the city. There are occasions when they support a single people group that is considered unreached, but why do we only focus on one group of people. If there are 3o congregations in my town, it is probably safe to assume the number reaches somewhere close to 100 in a larger town 30 miles from here. What if every single church in America that had a congregation of lets say 150 or more chose to train and sponsor missionaries to unreached people groups? What if people instead of focusing on making the church bigger, better, or prettier, started moving, started denying themselves and went into the world and reached those people?

Freedom?

I need to know this is semi new for me. Has anyone else been quieted for saying something about Christ? At work I was having a jolly good time working the grill and talking with my coworkers which is fine as long as we stay busy. About two weeks ago I was conversing with my coworker who asked about some things in Christianity. I started talking and my boss told me to leave Christ out of McDonalds. I like to work lobby when I am tired because it requires little to no thought, but on a normal day I really don't mind the grill or fryer or whatever because I am something close to conscious. At first the thing with my manager didn't seem like much, but as of late I have discovered that I am working lobby almost everyday, while I dont mind much, I wonder if there is a reason behind it. After all only one person works lobby at a time and there is little to no chance to come in contact with my coworkers. Furthermore, I figured that Christ was not spoken of because it might 'offend' someone, but my coworkers can speak with freedom about drugs, alcohol, sex, and who they screwed over recently with language filthier than the bathrooms I had to clean. Of course when I say something they say either I am being intolerant or else attribute it solely to "religion".

100 Hearts of Hope

I have been thinking about for awhile how to take my hobby, crochet, and use it to glorify God. I can make crosses and all but that really did not seem to be it. Today I was struck with an idea that could have only come from God. What if I make 100 crocheted hearts (I can make one in about 20 minutes) and give them to people around me and took that opportunity to also share with them the good news of Jesus Christ? Hmmm..... that sounds like a mighty fine idea. Tell me what you think?