Psalm 96:3
"All our bags are packed, we're ready to go..." Remember that tune? We are officially packed and ready to head off to sunny Mexico.
It's funny. Try this experiment out with your friends, family, and co-workers:
Question: "Where are you going on vacation?"
Answer: "Mexico."
Responses: "Don't get too much sun." "Don't drink too much." "Don't get thrown in jail." [My personal favorite.]
Clarification: "We are going there on a stm (short term mission)."
Response: "What are you building?" "What is your project?"
Dead silence.
What do you say to those things when all you are doing is going there to...fellowship with brothers and sisters in the Lord...? Truly, what do you say? Our hearts have been joyfully serious in the last week as we've struggled to discern what the Lord would have us do while south of the border.
Here are some verses that really touched Megan today about the purpose behind our stm:
"And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
She said, "Many people have asked WHY we're going to Oaxaca. It would be so simple to say, "To build a church." How much more difficult to explain, "To build UP a church." I pray that we'd go down there with a heart like the Apostle Paul's."
And that is my prayer too.
I have to admit. I have been spiritually dead the last four days. My heart has been struggling to find joy in the Lord. I know what all the right answers are...I'm just having a hard time believing them right now. No, I haven't lost my faith, I just wonder what the Lord is doing with Megan and I at this point in our life together.
Increasingly we are dissatisfied with our American "church" experience. Church, and we know this, is not a building! It is a gathering of the elect saints of God. Those God has been gracious enough to reveal the glory of His Son, Jesus Christ. I think leaving the States will be positive for Megan and I as we try and discern what it means to be a disciple of the living God.
I can't wait to see my brother Nathan though and the brothers and sisters in Oaxca and the surrounding area. What will the Lord do in their midst? What will He do in the midst of my horrible crappy heart? For now I'll say as the Psalmist says:
"O Sing to the LORD a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him. The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." Psalm 98:1-3
That is our prayer.
It's funny. Try this experiment out with your friends, family, and co-workers:
Question: "Where are you going on vacation?"
Answer: "Mexico."
Responses: "Don't get too much sun." "Don't drink too much." "Don't get thrown in jail." [My personal favorite.]
Clarification: "We are going there on a stm (short term mission)."
Response: "What are you building?" "What is your project?"
Dead silence.
What do you say to those things when all you are doing is going there to...fellowship with brothers and sisters in the Lord...? Truly, what do you say? Our hearts have been joyfully serious in the last week as we've struggled to discern what the Lord would have us do while south of the border.
Here are some verses that really touched Megan today about the purpose behind our stm:
"And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
She said, "Many people have asked WHY we're going to Oaxaca. It would be so simple to say, "To build a church." How much more difficult to explain, "To build UP a church." I pray that we'd go down there with a heart like the Apostle Paul's."
And that is my prayer too.
I have to admit. I have been spiritually dead the last four days. My heart has been struggling to find joy in the Lord. I know what all the right answers are...I'm just having a hard time believing them right now. No, I haven't lost my faith, I just wonder what the Lord is doing with Megan and I at this point in our life together.
Increasingly we are dissatisfied with our American "church" experience. Church, and we know this, is not a building! It is a gathering of the elect saints of God. Those God has been gracious enough to reveal the glory of His Son, Jesus Christ. I think leaving the States will be positive for Megan and I as we try and discern what it means to be a disciple of the living God.
I can't wait to see my brother Nathan though and the brothers and sisters in Oaxca and the surrounding area. What will the Lord do in their midst? What will He do in the midst of my horrible crappy heart? For now I'll say as the Psalmist says:
"O Sing to the LORD a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him. The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." Psalm 98:1-3
That is our prayer.
posted by The Bakers at 9:24 PM
1 Comments:
Bless you Bakers as you experience our Lord in a new, refreshing light...that is our prayer as your chapter in Mexico unfolds...we love you both and can't wait to hear what God has shown you...we tried to call last night, but only got your voice mail :( Cam was sad. God Bless you!
Post a Comment
<< Home