Worship=Missions=Worship

Missions exist because worship doesn't.

-John Piper

I read this quote in a class last year and it has stuck with me ever since then. I have even gone back to read that article several times since the class has ended. I have marked and highlighted something in nearly every paragraph. The gist of the article is this: God is ultimate, we are not. Piper says that worship is the goal and fuel of missions. I find this to be resoundingly true. We do missions because of the passion we find when we worship, thus it is the fuel. Because of the passion we have for God we desire that others may experience the same, thus worship is the goal. 

When we do not have a passion for God, we do not have a passion to go out into the mission field. When we do not have a passion for the salvation we have received we do not have passion to see others saved. We have this passion only when we spend time in worship, reflecting on the beauty of God. Our time in worship fuels our excitement for missions. 

A "good" missionary isn't a "good" missionary just because of their methodology or the ministries they lead. No, a missionary can have the best plans and ideas for ministry but without God's heart for the lost their work will be in vain. When compassion for the lost is lacking, it is likely that our worship is lacking. Missionaries must share the passion that God has for those who are lost. The more we worship, the more we  grow in appreciation for our salvation and desire for others to be saved.

I gravitate to the Psalms when I am not sure how to worship. When I don't know how to pray, I find that some of the best prayers are already written for me...

 ^"May the peoples praise you, O God;

    may all the peoples praise you.May the nations be glad and sing for joy,    for you rule the peoples justly    and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, O God;    may all the peoples praise you."
-Psalms 67:3-5

"Sing to the Lord a new song;

    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;    
proclaim his salvation day after day.
 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples"

-Psalms 96:1-3

We Are Not Our Own

It was no coincidence that this morning’s reading from My Utmost for His Highest began with this quote, “A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: “You are not your own.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” While the context of this verse is actually talking about sexual immorality, it can pretty easily be applied to every area of our lives.

The control we believe we have in our own lives is so very deceiving. If our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, they can serve only that singular purpose. If the Holy Spirit is to inhabit our bodies, then we must relinquish all control over what they do. We must forfeit all say in our own lives because even the life we live is not really our own. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

My lack of control over my own life has manifested itself in many ways over the past several years. The first significant time was when I was 15. I had plans to be part of a three week mission trip to Curitiba, Brazil. Thanks to several setbacks along the way, the trip fell through. Instead, I ended up in Nicaragua with a youth group from a different church, an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. Since that year I have been on several other short term trips and begun a degree in Intercultural Studies and Global Missions.

Over the last one to two years, I have wondered if my call to missions had been misread or misunderstood. I have been frustrated and confused. Maybe full-time missions was never my call. Maybe I had missed a sign along the way. Surely God wouldn’t have changed His mind on me. No, that wasn’t it. Our time had not yet come. It wasn’t until March of this year that Jeremy finally told me he was ready to pursue our calling. As soon as I was ready to be content with a life of short term trips and American living, my husband was on board to sell our possessions and dive headfirst into a new culture.

This August we interviewed with One Mission Society in Indiana. We received the call confirming our acceptance and now we will begin the process of preparation. Together we were called and together we will journey to minister to the hearts of Spain. 

Jesus Across Cultures Pt. 2

You may want to go here first:
Jesus Across Culture Pt. 1

I am an Intercultural Studies major. This means that I'm not sure what I want to do with my life following graduation besides throwing a nice little party for myself. Maybe graduate school. Maybe straight into a new job (Sorry, Liz, makes me sad too). But who knows.

I chose this major because after years of dreaming of travel and new places and cultures I have never encountered before I knew that it was more than just a daydream, this is a calling. A calling God has placed on my heart to see His creation. To experience the hearts of His people across the world. I need to know not just through the television or internet or the stories of others, that there is a whole world out there that experiences the same God I do in ways that are completely foreign to me.

You see, we get into this rut thinking that "the church" is just our building with out sign out front, with our pews, with our pastor, with our sanctuary. You see, that's just not it.  You see, the church is so much more than just a building or a few certain people that we associate with. It's not just one denomination who sings similar songs or preaches similar messages. NO. The church is so much greater. So much larger. So much more beautiful than a steeple or a freshly carpeted sanctuary.

The church is God's children. His children who worship Him with unity only found in Jesus Christ who is our salvation. A unity found not in the color of our skin or the language that we speak, but the same love that flows down from heaven and fills the hearts of those who know God as their Father and Redeemer. The true church knows no boundaries. No walls, no confines to keep it from growing and loving.

The church loves the broken and wounded.
The lost and abandoned.
The scared and the scarred.
The poor and the rich.
Those in darkness who need the true Light of Life.
Those who seem so unlovable, they need the church the most.

These needs know no cultural boundaries. But neither does the love that cures them all.