Ministry to the Poor

I read something just now and it made me realize how often we in our culture misinterpret things of God. As common as the writings of Paul have become, I often take lightly the great depth of insight they contain. He weighs each word according to proper usage and speaks clearly the words he intends. I struggle with mission trips, not because of the phrase, just simply because of the short amount of intense effort done leaving the community served in a few weeks max and going back home leaving them with maybe a resurrected building, a nice coat of paint on their peeling church walls, cleaned streets, or vulnerable hearts left with a verbal commitment to this Christ that is still partly a stranger to them. My heart breaks with the feeling of abandoning these weak souls, usually with a group member telling me, "we left pamplets," that makes me wonder if they really understand, has any good resulted in this trip, will they be changed, will they know the God I know..? BUT LISTEN~ Paul was a frontier missionary, a pioneer missionary, whose job was to plant the church in places where there were no churches and then move on while the church went on with the work of evangelism. He says at one point, "But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions.." REALLY?! I'm pretty sure if anyone said that nowadays we would consider them arrogant. But he wasn't! He knew His task. He was the first guy in and knew what needed to be proclaimed. Moreover, he knew the necessary prayer life to bring to saving grace that particular town.

But actually here's my point. Do I know the God I proclaim? Paul knew deeply this great God and could not contain himself but to share this great joy. He wants to go to Rome but has been unable due to the task he willingly operates of spreading the gospel to foreign places. We have this free Book, this free guide to knowing God, realizing our life purposes, understanding conflict and other people, yet I somehow don't adequately use this vital tool. This vital tool we call the Bible with its life-giving words. Its words that should be the reason we 'live and move and have our being'. What will it take for our generation to see the magnitude and importance of scripture?

a new adventure

So I've started this up again... bringing back memories already. In a way it's for me, I find it almost selfish to hold on to things or tidbits I've learned that are not mine to keep. In other ways, it's maybe for you.. not sure how, but maybe so. I've been asked my many to keep it going, so here we go.

Scripture often makes my heart stand still, if only for a moment, over the amazing way each word was written. The Bible transcends all worlds, all generations, all languages, all everything. It's just as alive today as ever. That's thrilling to me. "The Lord said to Samuel, 'How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.' And Samuel said, 'How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.' And the Lord said, 'Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom declare to you'" (1 Samuel 16:1-3). This struck me tonight as I read it and realized the awesome grace of God. Do you hear it- the fear in Samuel's voice, the lack of trust in God when it all comes down to it. But do you also hear the patient, collected, merciful voice of our God replying in our words, "ok, you're insecure and worried.. I'll give you a way out. I'll provide you comfort and visible protection. That's fine and I love you. I know you're human and I'm ok with that." Such mercy, goodness, kindness. No anger or burning wrath over what we in our age would probably consider lack of faith. I find myself so stressed over presenting myself to God and being the person I want to be. Come as you are. Samuel was scared, he told God.

The only God I can believe in (and as far as I know it's the right one) is the God that deeply desires for honesty, truth, intention, and meaning. A God that yearns for us to cast ALL our cares on him- our insecurities, our lack of desire to pray, our impatientness, our lack of love for another, our faithlessness, our stuborness, etc. all of it; not praying for the big things and fixing the little ones on our own (you know the little ones like increasing patience, joy, passion for reading the Bible, loving other people etc- the ones we forget that only GOd has the power to do, we just to ask and wait in expectation for him to fulfill)