barriers

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Dana

photoSo what prevents people from surrendering their hearts to Jesus? We had some great discussions in the evenings with our high school students in Ecuador. Mostly we focused on faith.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists…” (Hebrews 11:6) Someone who does not believe God exists cannot surrender to Him. More and more in our society we see ‘unbelief’ as the huge barrier that separates people from God and from one another.

But the matter of ‘will’ can also be a barrier. On our last night in Quito we split the boys and girls for our final devotional. Another leader and I sat with seven young men in our hotel. Knowing the goal of faith is to trust fully in who Jesus is and what God has accomplished through Him, my friend shared the gospel from Paul’s letter to the Romans. After reading the following verses, we concluded that naming Jesus “Lord” means totally surrendering our will to Him.

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’” (Romans 10:9-11)

“So what are the barriers that keep us from this faith?” we asked. Their answers were from a teenage vantage point, but such honest responses reveal some of the reasons people of all ages decline Christ’s invitation. A sixteen-year-old said, “We don’t want to change. We like who we are and don’t want to embrace a life that calls us to be different.” An eighteen-year-old stated, “We enjoy our independence. We basically do what we want when we want and we really don’t someone telling us what to do.” A seventeen-year-old suggested, “Pride is the barrier. Pride keeps people from surrendering to Jesus.”

Sadly, we know that any barrier between us and Christ keeps us from true joy, true freedom, and true life. Our enemy knows that the gift purchased at the Cross is the hope for all men so he deceives through any method he can use. May we detect Satan’s lies and learn to trust the Father more and more.

Here’s a secret to growth I picked up in an Ecuadorian church:

“Asi que la fe viene del oir, y el oir, por la palabra de Cristo.” Romanos 10:17

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hearts

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Dana

photoWe had a great trip to Ecuador; thanks for your prayers! We worked with Pastor Manuel in three mountain villages. Our students served well and we enjoyed meeting many brothers and sisters in Christ who live in a unique section of the world.

While there, I was reminded of what God examines most carefully. We often look at beauty or size or monetary value… but God looks at the heart. Remember Samuel’s words before anointing David as the second king of Israel: “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (II Samuel 16:7)

From the ancient days to the time Christ walked the earth to now, God examines hearts and is never fooled. Jesus quoted a prophet when he witnessed the religion of those who claimed to know God. “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’” (Matthew 15:7-9)

During our trip, we tried to teach ourselves and our students this simple desire of God… that we completely give Him our hearts. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.” (Luke 10:27) “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:10)

Let’s ask God for the grace to remember what is important to Him. With the Holy Spirit as our Helper, we can present ourselves to the One who has given Himself to us.

“Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for Your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in Your truth.” (Psalm 26:2-3)

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method

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Dana

We know the method God uses to fulfill His purpose is best defined as ‘love’… a love so great that He gave His only Son to bring us to Him. And love is the method He gives us to show the world who He is. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)

I plan to be in Ecuador next week, so I probably won’t be able to write. Such trips cause me to ask God to teach me to love. I know I should request this every day, but when I find myself among the poor of another nation, I quickly remember my great need.

We will work again with Pastor Manuel and his family who demonstrate how to be humble servants of love among their own people. As we witness selfless love, we see the power and heart of Father God.

An eighteen-year-old girl from Albania left home in 1928 to pursue Heaven’s purposes. Her life-long journey resulted in demonstrating to the whole world God’s great love for the poor, the sick, and the dying. She called her group ‘Missionaries of Charity’ because she knew love is what the world needs.

These quotes from Mother Teresa help me remember God’s method:

“God loves you tenderly. What He gives you is not to be kept under lock and key, but to be shared. The more you save, the less you will be able to give. The less you have, the more you will know how to share. Let us ask God, when it comes time to ask Him for something, to help us to be generous.”

“I will never tire of repeating this: what the poor need most is not pity but love. They need to feel the respect for their human dignity, which is neither less nor different from the dignity of any other human being.”

“God pays attention to our love. We can work until we drop. We can work excessively. If what we do is not connected to love, however, our work is useless in God’s eyes.”

“Jesus announced which will be the final judgment of our lives: we will be judged according to love. Judged according to the love we have shown the poor, with whom God identifies: ‘You did it to Me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13

(“Mother Teresa in My Own Words,” by Mother Teresa, compiled by Jose Luis Gonzalez-Balado, ©1997 Gramercy Books)

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purpose

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Dana

We often pray that God’s purposes be fulfilled, but what are His purposes? A broad answer is a bit staggering: He plans to bring everything in heaven and on earth under the authority of His Son, Jesus Christ. “And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” (Ephesians 1:9-10)

If we narrow the ‘all things’ a bit, we again see the purpose of God being centered in Jesus and being accomplished through Jesus. “For He (Jesus) Himself is our peace, who has made the two (Jews and Gentiles) one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility.” (Ephesians 2:14-16)

If we narrow ‘all people’ to you and me, I think we could say that God wants us to “shine like stars in the universe” as we “hold to the Word of Life.” And we are not alone… “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” (see Philippians 2) So let us walk as the children of God, thanking Him for the Holy Spirit who leads and empowers us daily. Let us find our purpose in God’s purpose and constantly point to Jesus – the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of His purpose and grace.” II Timothy 1:9

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serve

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Dana

photoOur last ‘word for the day’ in Nicaragua was ‘serve.’ As John Bland, the founder of ‘Amigos for Christ,’ welcomed us on our first day, he started his talk in an unusual way: “I first want to introduce you all to a special group.” He pointed to five Nicaraguan women who varied in age from mid-twenties to mid-fifties.  “Ladies, will you please stand.”

As they rose, John continued: “These ladies get up at four o’clock each morning and begin preparing the breakfast you will enjoy. Then, after we leave for the villages, they clean the kitchen, then clean our dorms, then clean the toilets. This takes a lot of time and it is a thankless job. It is then time for them to prepare the dinner we will enjoy after our day of hard work. After they finish cleaning the kitchen, they leave the base around eight PM. These ladies don’t ask for any praise or attention. They are servants… and model the attitude of Jesus that I want to possess. Will you guys please give them a round of applause?”

As I heard John’s words and watched the small group take their seats, I smiled at the ‘upside-down values’ of the Kingdom of God. ‘The last shall be first.’ ‘The greatest shall be your servant.’ Perhaps without intending, the leader of ‘Amigos for Christ’ proclaimed what their organization was all about by honoring those whom most would call ‘the least of these.’

For any of us Americans who thought we deserved credit for going to serve a few days in a foreign land, we witnessed the power of ‘lifestyle service’ through humble women. It is easy to go work hard for a week, knowing we would soon return to our modern luxuries. It is more challenging to intentionally decide to be a servant… always. If I knew that becoming a servant of Jesus Christ meant that I would basically become nothing, would I sign up?

But that’s what Jesus did: “[Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant…” (Philippians 2:6-7) And He teaches us the path to true greatness: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45)

Let’s walk in His steps!

“You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:13-15

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