Revolutionary

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” -Luke 6:32-36

Today I was thinking about the feeling of "being used". When most of us think about this, it is associated with bad and negative thoughts and past memories of times in our lives when we have been taken advantage of when we least expected it, let alone deserved it. I had this same reaction; just utter distain and hurt. I've had plenty of times in my life, big and small, where people have taken from me... where I have "been used." I bring up this point because today, my eyes were opened and thoughts that were not my own flooded in and renewed me; the past 6 hours have been revolutionary! When thinking about how awful it is to "be used," it dawned on me... why? What does Luke 6:32-36 tell us to do? What have my prayers been lately? This was my duh moment! As Christians we associate being used by God with positive and fulfilling feelings; when God uses us to impact others, we feel great! But being used by God does not always come with such feelings of success and accomplishment. To truly be used by God is to extend yourself in a way where either positive or negative feelings can occur. Most of us are willing to sacrifice if it is accompanied with a positive outcome for oneself, but would we be just as willing if those positive outcomes were replaced with the feeling of "being used?" Taken advantage of? Hated? Non-payment?


The world tells us to do the polar opposite of what Luke 6:32-36 tells us to do. In fact, it tells us to be the polar opposite… “Only be giving and loving to those who deserve it. You are protecting yourself from hurt and future pain. And cutting the people out of your life who don't deserve your love and attention will help you do this. Otherwise you are naive and stupid. ” I realize that I’ve fallen for this straight up lie because living this way has done nothing beneficial for me; it has actually hindered my relationship with God and the potential impact I could have on other people. Instead of the protection and lack of pain that this thought process promises, I'm actually doing more harm. Who am I to decide how I am to be used by God? I say I am willing to sacrifice everything for Him and yet I'm blowing of people who have done me wrong. It is human nature to not want to be giving to someone who isn’t the same back, but this is where we are called to stand out as someone who is different! Not act like the "typical sinner" with such selfish ambitions. Not just to do but to live this way! This is where we fall short because of our sinfulness. We are physically incapable of achieving this level of self-sacrifice, I am completely incapable,… unless we put all our trust and faith in Him daily. “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it’ (Luke 9:23-24). My life is not mine to live... I live for Jesus and Him alone. I am to die to my desires and make His my own! But, "Will I?" is the question. 

Am I fully prepared to ask God to be used to the point of emptiness? By people who have hurt me or disappointed me? Are you? Is anybody really? I know I want to be; I ask that God allows me to extend myself in a way that is not humanly possible but can only be accomplished through Him and Him alone! So that when I interact with others, they do not see me but they see who Jesus is! And when I feel so drained and ready to give up, I have to cling to Jesus because He will renew my hope and give me the strength to continue on. Then and only then will I be able to show love to those who may not "deserve it."

John 17:20-26

Jesus Prays for All Believers

 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." John 17:20-26

This is who I live for. God's son prayed for me, for you, and for those who do not know Him yet. I've never felt so loved.

Attacked

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." -Ephesians 6:12-13

Lately, it has been so hard for me to keep my focus on this trip and on the Lord in general. My life is so incredibly hectic right now! This semester has been full of constant work, projects, and meetings; it is unbelievable how much time grad school takes. With that said, I also have other things going on to take up even more time.... scholarships, finding an internship, figuring out my class schedule for the summer and fall, realizing that I'm technically done with classes after one more semester (SERIOUSLY?!), organizing things for this summer while I'm gone, and fundraising for this trip i.e. baking and selling cupcakes. These past few months have been a whirlwind and it's hard to believe that I only have 2 more weeks left of school!

Even though my life is crazy and at full capacity, I'm ashamed to look at that list and not see time with God anywhere. How can I go about my life and not give Him the quality time He so deserves? I'm trying to live my life for Him and yet all this clutter of activity seems to be interfering with that. Do I think this is a coincidence? No. How ironic is it that my life became SO crazy and busy after my decision to go on a mission trip this summer? Very. Satan is deliberately trying to ambush me. I know this because the closer this trip is getting, the more I struggle in my relationship with the Lord and my preparation for this trip. Even writing this blog has been challenging for me! I can't have it any more and now that I've realized what's going on, I have to fight back. I will not fall for his tricks because I can not; my trip to Malawi is so much bigger than myself and in order to accomplish what the Lord wants from me, I have to focus and be prepared. This summer is not about going to Africa or helping orphans, in fact it's not about me at all. It's about being a servant and learning to give unconditionally in the name of Jesus. I'm ready to be used in whatever way God has planned for me.

So please pray. Ask that the Lord will keep Satan away and guard me from his attacks. And pray this for my teammates because if I am feeling attacked, surely they are as well.

Fundraising

These past few weeks I've been extremely anxious about raising all of the money for my trip. Ever since I've sent out my letters, I've been racking my brain trying to think of unique and original ways to earn all the money I need to finance my trip... so much so that I've had trouble falling asleep on certain nights! I know it is not beneficial to worry about anything; God WILL provide and get me to Africa if that is His will for me. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"... "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" Matthew 6:25-26; 33-34.


How true this verse is! The beauty of my financial situation is that I have to be reliant on God and put 100% faith in Him. The creator of the universe, heaven and hell, and everything that surrounds us... He will take care of everything; God's purpose is bigger than money! Earlier today I came across another person's blog who was raising money for a mission trip. She had such a wonderful perspective and I just had to share:


RAISING SUPPORT … Aren’t these often the two most intimidating words when it comes to going on a missions trip? If you’re like me, doesn’t the idea of sending letters to your friends and family asking them for money make your palms sweat and heart race? I just sent out over 50 letters in the mail yesterday, and I have to admit, part of me felt guilty. Thoughts racing through my head included, “Oh, why am I sending a letter to them? I know they don’t have the margin to support me right now,” or, “These people probably get hit up for money every year from multiple people. Should I add to that?” My need for acceptance so easily overwhelms my thoughts, and I feel like people are going to look down on me for sending them a support letter. But I do it, because even though those thoughts creep into my head another thought is more prevalent.

Do I have to raise support? Can’t I just pay for the trip myself? We get asked these questions a lot. And here’s what we say. No, you don’t have to raise support. If you can pay for the trip yourself and want to then that’s your choice. BUT, and here’s the thought that’s in my head when I am raising support … what if raising support isn’t about the money? What if it is about the people? By sending your friends and family a letter telling them what you are doing and asking for support monetarily and through prayer, aren’t you giving them the opportunity to get involved? Aren’t you giving them the opportunity to grow their faith in some way?

Maybe they can’t go on a trip this year because of work, or health, or some other reason. By asking them to come alongside you in some way you are giving them the chance to be a part of something that God is doing. You are giving them the chance to have their faith strengthened as they walk through the journey with you. Sure, they are not getting on the plane with you. They are not physically touching the orphans you are serving, or looking in the face of the college students you meet, or actually hammering in the nails of a new facility. But, they are a part of it, because they helped you get there with their financial donation; they are a part of it, because they are going to God in prayer on your behalf. Some of their prayers include praying for bonds to be formed and praying for life change to occur. And guess what? Because of your willingness to write that letter and send it to them, despite the discomfort you feel, their prayers are answered before you even step foot on a plane. A bond has been formed between you and them, and you experience life change as you trust God for the money to come in and find He is faithful. And ultimately, they experience life change as well as they journey with you and hear about where you went, who you served, and the amazing things that happened because both of you decided to do something.

After reading this, I was so encouraged! And what's awesome is that I totally stumbled on this randomly! God knows my struggles lately and He made sure that I found this. He will take care of my needs. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

FYI

If you're going to be in ATL April 16-18th you should come with me to the Local, National, and International Medical and Health Volunteerism Conference!

"More than a conference...it's a happening which is attracting some of the most giving and generous humans on earth. Whether they are doctors, nurses, physician assistants, students, or lay people...the people at this gathering want to make a difference. They are a distinct class of people because they so greatly exhibit the empathy gene. They come from all places, whether they are a Christian, Muslim, Hindi, Jewish, etc network of folks who celebrate life by saving lives and reducing suffering, an Indian medical society, a group of 12,000 generous Pakistani doctors living in North America, or a non-profit local inner-city free clinic. They are not in it for the money. The lives they impact on are lives which would not be impacted on if they, themselves, were not there. Already over 100 of these individuals have offered to volunteer their time to speak about their journeys at this conference."


Check it out : http://emoryimvc.webs.com/

Happy Easter!

I know this might sound a little weird but I feel like today was the first time I realized the true meaning of Easter... what it really means to us as Christians and how it is the sole purpose for believing in Jesus. Of course I know what happened on Easter and how amazing that is for us but what Andy Stanley's message showed me was that Easter was more than Jesus dying for our sins and rising again; it was the physical proof! Maybe I'm the only one but it never dawned on me until today of how impactful that was! He died and CAME BACK TO LIFE! I feel like this is my "duh" moment... this is the foundation of Christianity... but I never really though about it until hearing today's sermon. Andy spoke of what happened after Jesus rose from the grave in Acts and the impact of Peter and John's eye witness accounts. (Check it out here if you have time. It's awesome! http://www.northpoint.org/site/message-mp3)

 Imagine what it must have been like to hear about someone coming back to life let alone the man who claimed to be the Son of God! And then you see Him!?! How could anyone deny Him after that?? What more proof can you ask for... He died, in front of hundreds of witnesses, and then came back to life, which was witnessed by hundreds more!! No one can do that except the Son of God! And this, Jesus dying and rising from the dead and Peter and John's account, is the reason that so many converted and chose to believe (Acts 4:4)! Because they had proof (i.e. first-hand accounts) beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was who He claimed to be. Who else in history has proclaimed his future death, died like he said he would, and then came back to life like he said he would? Only one man's name is on that list and it is Jesus. I encourage you to read Acts 3 and 4 and put yourself in the audience's place. Would you believe?

What is so awesome about this story is that it is just as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago! No one else has done what Jesus did... I dunno about you but I haven't heard anything on the news about some one coming back to life after being dead for 3 days haha. It is history and we even have multiple accounts of it from the apostles! When I thought about why I believe in Jesus, I had no better reasoning than I just do. But today I realized what my reasoning was..... he died and rose again!! And people saw this! And they shared their story of it and people believed! And that is how Christianity spread. The death and resurrection  of Jesus is the physical proof we have to set us apart from other religions and teachings; it is why He is so important!

I feel like God revealed this to me today.... this year of all years, at the age of 24, and after hearing an Easter sermon every year for those 24 years... to remind me of the support that I do have when telling others of Him and Jesus! This revelation could not have come at a more perfect time because of my service to Him this summer. It is not my job to convince others of His existence but to tell the undeniable story of Jesus. And from there He will work. In Africa, I will be telling others about Him, His love, and of Jesus and what He did for us. Praise the Lord for His preparation of me! Pray that He continues this in me everyday before, during, and after this trip.

I am humbled by this so much because of how many times I've heard this story yet consistently failed to realize its impact! I am so human and I ask that the Lord reminds me of that everyday, in order that I may remember who I live for and what my life means. "Then he said to them all, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his live will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it'" -Luke 9:23-24.