Monday, May 23, 2011
May 23
“Missions is God finding those whose hearts are right with Him and placing them where they can make a difference for His Kingdom.” H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-by-Day, 5/23
I think we have a limited idea of what “missions” is in the church. Too many relegate it to a special Sunday once a year when missionaries come in and tell how they’ve spent the church’s money. That’s about as involved as the congregation gets--giving their money. But at least they’re doing something. Some churches put no emphasis on “missions” and leave it to the denominational hierarchy. What Blackaby is talking about, however, applies to every single Christian. Every one of us is a missionary in that we have a mission. It starts in our homes, moves to the neighborhood and out into the community. It’s within our churches and across the country and throughout the world. It’s wherever God plants us or directs our attention. But just because we are surrounded by needs doesn’t mean we are able to meet them. We must first have a heart that is right with God, otherwise, our work will be self-motivated and self-empowered. This leads us into the sin of pride and eventually into burnout. To have a heart right with God requires a humbleness that is born out of our recognition that without God we are nothing. If we truly believed this at our core, we would partake of God in the same way a man dying from thirst would partake of a cup of water handed to him.
“As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?” Psalm 42:1, 2
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AMEN! How true! Keep pouring out your heart.
ReplyDeleteAt age 12, I wanted to be a missionary but they told me because of my illness I could not be one. I continued to try and be one where I was and for the next 30 years I did my best but all seemed to fail and I found out it was all pride when God showed me it was His Son all along living my life. It was in my pains and failures that He would comfort me so others could see Him in me (2Cor.1:3,4). He showed me I was nothing and still He used me to touch lives in the many cities I lived in. Another 20 years later and He has fulfilled my desire to go abroad and tell about His marvelous grace He has given me through it all. A quotation I made up goes like this: “If you want to be Somebody, you first have to learn you are a nobody, and second you have to know you are dwelling in the midst of the Almighty”.