Idols in our life

My pastor... well our sending pastor not our current pastor... spoke Sunday about idols in our life. How sometimes protestants condemn other religions for bowing down to idols. He was speaking on 1 Corinthians 1: 1-17 he focused on the part where Paul is begging for those in division to be in unity.  They were all broken into factions by who had baptized them. Isn't this typical of humanity, we boast of our accomplishments, name drop, and try to lift ourselves above others. We all do it to some degree, we have that desire to lift ourselves up and be just a wee bit better than the other guy.

Then it hit me I totally qualified as the person he was talking about. I sat there stunned, as the Lord convicted me. Being at GFA where we are encouraged to think of ourselves as one in a million, special, called by God, this mantra of words keeps telling me I was "SOMEBODY". When had this crept into my heart? I sat there repenting.  Images of K.P. telling us we were special, to be in America but be better than those poor weak minded christians in American churches.  For years I had held myself a wee bit higher than those that "just go to church." GFA never seemed to work with any other organization, I always assumed it was because we give "100% to the field." This mentality of "we are better than them" was there rooted in my heart... when had that happened? Oh my!

Hurtful comments from last summer came flooding into my mind. I realized I had been so stressed over that time.  I was allowing a man to hold Gods' place on Gods' throne. God gave me an image of a small man holding a scepter with his arms crossed, frowning, sitting on Gods Holy Throne... he was tiny, it was as if someone put an action figure on a really large chair.  I felt so sad.

Afterwards I processed this in a journal because I wasn't home or connected to the internet.
I wrote down that:
I had sought to please man over God.
I feared man over God.
I cared more for safety and security than God.
I had in-fact become complacent.

God was asking me again will you follow me and only me? My answer is Yes! I put my future in his hands once more. He is my sole guide.

So what is it you do??

Many people just don't get Gospel For Asia's method of reaching the lost. I think that is why K.P Yohannan wrote Revolution in World Missions so many years ago. Once you read that book you finally "get it."  Sunday I was explaining what our family does, to Sweet Potatoes teacher and she kept thinking we worked for our (totally awesome IBC) Church, and that we travel to India on a regular basis.

I think I got through to her, but to be sure I texted her the website. I see this often, people think of soup kitchens and door to door sharing as local missions.  Overseas missions are people who travel and live in-country doing bible translation, church planting, or medical missions.  We don't fit into any of those categories so confusion abounds. When I explained we raise up "locals" to go locally, She thought we flew the students here to train them and then sent them back. Why is it we have plenty of Indian trained doctors working in the USA. Trained in India!, but we immediately jump to the thought "Missionaries have to be trained in the USA?" When I then elaborated we have in-country bible colleges I saw her think oh "a bible college"  when I elaborated on the scope of the ministry, adding in Bridge of Hope schools, well digging, women's literacy, and radio.  She looked at me and said something along the lines of "You must be much larger than I had thought. I've never heard of your organization."  Ding, Ding, Ding we have a winner! 

Sadly people don't seem to get it, we are a polygon shaped peg and all they know is round and square pegs.  We have a large multifaceted organization, 100% of donations for the field, go to the field. Home team staff raise their own support read that as: live on donated money. We live in the states (bombarded by advertising, and the message Keep up with the Jones's,) choosing to live simply and serving the Lord here instead of over there... Which makes Grandparents happier because they can actually hug their grand kids once in a while, instead of just using Facetime to see them.  I sometimes wonder, do they stop and think where: Do all the videos come from? The printing of the books? The processing of the gifts?  Do they picture just a small staff to handle the scope of what the Lord has entrusted to us? 

On that note I'd like to share a video Desperation for Clean Water This is one of the things I "get" to do here at the ministry.  I really love using my voice in this way. How better to use our tongues than to share stories of how we can help others. 

We are often told "Living as a missionary in the states is one of the hardest things to do." It is true.  The pull of family, churches and friends all wondering why you choose to live a simple life, when life could be so much easier if you quit and got a "real job." Questions like "Why aren't you being a responsible man/woman/parent and providing better for your self/family?" often get heard. The answer is; the call to be obedient to God is greater. I think that is why they call it "called to be a missionary" Tho I have not yet learned to always enjoy living by faith I have been continually amazed at the Lords faithfulness.