In two more days, I will have pulled off one of the largest events of my life - my first 5K. Not running one, planning and executing one. But not me, God! And a team of extremely gracious volunteers who have given so much time and so much of themselves to help pull this off.
Will this event go off without a hitch - likely not, that's just life. I'm prepared for that, but in planning this event, God has shown me so much about Him, His grace, and His mercy. He has shown me this: When He gives a heart of compassion to others; when He shows others what is breaking His heart, He will help pull off both large and small feats.
What is this all for? It's about surrendering my will, my agenda and making my life what He wants it to be. Some days, the days are so busy and the days never seem to have enough time in them, but I would not have it any other way than knowing I am living out my faith. God did not call us here, on this earth, to simply exist - to be comfortable. He did not call us here to COEXIST.
What God did call us here for was to be the salt of the earth. In Matt. 5:13, Jesus says this, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."
Why are we here? Why do we choose to exist just for the sake of existing? What is the purpose in that? Instead, Jesus calls us to, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." - Matt 28:19
I'm reading this amazing book right now called, Radical, by David Platt. In this book, Mr. Platt challenges the reader - me - to really examine what that means. If we are called, and make no mistake, we ARE called, to go make disciples, then we need to wake up out of our wealthy American Dream and look at the world through the eyes of the 26,000 children that will breathe their lasts breaths today because of starvation. Or awaken our eyes and minds to the 1+ BILLION that live on LESS THAN one dollar per day, or the 2 BILLION that live on less than 2 dollars per day. We need to wake up to the reality that there are millions of children sitting in orphanages around the world and in our own country's foster care programs. We need to wake up to the fact that there are 20-27 MILLION slaves today. That is more now than there ever was during the entire trans-Atlantic slave-trade error. Men, women, and children, ensnared in the traps of the sex-slave trade and forced labor camps - being beaten, raped, drugged, and starved.
What are we going to do about these - and SO many other atrocities that are happening in our world? David Platt says this, "Anyone wanting to proclaim the glory of Christ to the ends of the earth must consider not only how to declare the gospel verbally but also how to demonstrate the gospel visibly in a world where so many are urgently hungry (and I would add hurting, abandoned, violated, and more!) If I am going to address urgent spiritual needs by sharing the gospel of Christ or building up the body of Christ around the world, then I cannot overlook the dire physical needs in the process."
This isn't about "faith by works" because God was pretty clear that we receive salvation through Him and Him alone, but God was also pretty clear with what He wanted us to be doing with our lives. 1 John 3:16 tells us this, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."
Again, I will recite Matt 25:40, "The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
As I continue to fight for the freedom of women and children that are trapped in the sex-slave trade, as I fight to bring new hope and life to their lives, I am reminded of and encouraged by what God did for us. He sent His one and only Son to live a perfect life here on earth. Furthermore, He sent His Son, knowing that Jesus would take on the burden of ALL of the world's sin, to die a brutal and gruesome death - FOR US! For me! He cared enough to save you and me!
What a loving God I serve.
Our lives are about loving God and loving others. That's your purpose. That's your mission. If you need help, or want to know where God is calling you, let's talk. Maybe I can help you figure that out.
When the disciples asked Jesus what the GREATEST commandment was, He could not list just one.... He HAD to list two. Read what Jesus answered in Luke 10:27, "He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."
Blessings to you.
Will this event go off without a hitch - likely not, that's just life. I'm prepared for that, but in planning this event, God has shown me so much about Him, His grace, and His mercy. He has shown me this: When He gives a heart of compassion to others; when He shows others what is breaking His heart, He will help pull off both large and small feats.
What is this all for? It's about surrendering my will, my agenda and making my life what He wants it to be. Some days, the days are so busy and the days never seem to have enough time in them, but I would not have it any other way than knowing I am living out my faith. God did not call us here, on this earth, to simply exist - to be comfortable. He did not call us here to COEXIST.
What God did call us here for was to be the salt of the earth. In Matt. 5:13, Jesus says this, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."
Why are we here? Why do we choose to exist just for the sake of existing? What is the purpose in that? Instead, Jesus calls us to, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." - Matt 28:19
I'm reading this amazing book right now called, Radical, by David Platt. In this book, Mr. Platt challenges the reader - me - to really examine what that means. If we are called, and make no mistake, we ARE called, to go make disciples, then we need to wake up out of our wealthy American Dream and look at the world through the eyes of the 26,000 children that will breathe their lasts breaths today because of starvation. Or awaken our eyes and minds to the 1+ BILLION that live on LESS THAN one dollar per day, or the 2 BILLION that live on less than 2 dollars per day. We need to wake up to the reality that there are millions of children sitting in orphanages around the world and in our own country's foster care programs. We need to wake up to the fact that there are 20-27 MILLION slaves today. That is more now than there ever was during the entire trans-Atlantic slave-trade error. Men, women, and children, ensnared in the traps of the sex-slave trade and forced labor camps - being beaten, raped, drugged, and starved.
What are we going to do about these - and SO many other atrocities that are happening in our world? David Platt says this, "Anyone wanting to proclaim the glory of Christ to the ends of the earth must consider not only how to declare the gospel verbally but also how to demonstrate the gospel visibly in a world where so many are urgently hungry (and I would add hurting, abandoned, violated, and more!) If I am going to address urgent spiritual needs by sharing the gospel of Christ or building up the body of Christ around the world, then I cannot overlook the dire physical needs in the process."
This isn't about "faith by works" because God was pretty clear that we receive salvation through Him and Him alone, but God was also pretty clear with what He wanted us to be doing with our lives. 1 John 3:16 tells us this, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."
Again, I will recite Matt 25:40, "The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
As I continue to fight for the freedom of women and children that are trapped in the sex-slave trade, as I fight to bring new hope and life to their lives, I am reminded of and encouraged by what God did for us. He sent His one and only Son to live a perfect life here on earth. Furthermore, He sent His Son, knowing that Jesus would take on the burden of ALL of the world's sin, to die a brutal and gruesome death - FOR US! For me! He cared enough to save you and me!
What a loving God I serve.
Our lives are about loving God and loving others. That's your purpose. That's your mission. If you need help, or want to know where God is calling you, let's talk. Maybe I can help you figure that out.
When the disciples asked Jesus what the GREATEST commandment was, He could not list just one.... He HAD to list two. Read what Jesus answered in Luke 10:27, "He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."
Blessings to you.
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