Today I cannot shake what I read this morning...
Earlier this morning I was reading a verse in 2 Timothy 2:17-18 and it says "And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some." And my Bible connected this verse with 1 Corinthians 15:12 "Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection from the dead?"
Then later...
"The challenge to the missionary does not come from the fact that people are difficult to bring to salvation, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, or that there is a barrier of callous indifference. No, the challenge comes from the perspective of the missionary's own personal relationship with Jesus Christ--"Do you believe that I am able to do this?" (Matthew 9:28). Our Lord unwaveringly asks us that question, and it confronts us in every individual situation we encounter. The one great challenge to us is--do I know my risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? Am I wise enough in God's sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus Christ has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God's only call for a missionary?" (My Utmost for His Highest)
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." Matthew 28:19
I am a missionary. I believe we are all missionaries honestly; we have a mission and a purpose. My intention in all that I do is to make disciples, to lead people closer to Jesus Christ himself. We do studies together. We read the Bible together. We pray. We do nice things for people. We discuss our thoughts on our faith. We volunteer our time. We worship in song and hopefully in lifestyle.
And this question glared at me from the page of the book this morning:
DO I KNOW MY RISEN LORD???
Of course I do. I serve you, Lord, everyday. My goal is to know you and make you known!
this was my first response in my heart after I asked myself this question. And then almost immediately the word RISEN struck me.
Do I actually know my RISEN Lord?
Do I live like I know Christ has risen? Is at the right hand of God? Interceding for me? That He raised me up to the heavenly places with Him (Eph 2:6)? That His power is made perfect in my weakness? That He has authority over all in heaven and earth?
I don't know...
Today, I am repenting. I confess that I do not live like Christ ROSE...that I often live in "the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" and completely forget the first and last part of this verse, which was "that I may know Him and the POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION...if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Phil 3:10).
Is it possible that Paul is saying that to fellowship in Christ's sufferings is only as important as knowing the power of His resurrection? That they are both essential to knowing Christ?
I want to know the power of Christ's resurrection...HERE....NOW....ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
I work with high school students, college-aged students, and young children. How can this translate to everyone I work with??? How??? I don't want to make "good little Christians". I want this younger generation to know Christ, not just know about Him. That they would love earnestly and well, in Spirit and in truth.
I love what I'm doing at Pine Valley; yet something is stirring in me. This past weekend we had our first Light of the City weekend, where a select group of our campers form a children's choir and worship at local churches. We played games, rehearsed, painted pumpkins, and read from the word together.
This year, our theme for our chapel time is WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?. When Jesus asked his disciples this question, he started with "who do people say I am?"....yet that answer did not matter to Him. He followed up with "who do you say I am?"...you who know me best. And Peter answers "You are Christ". My fear is that our staff and kids have churchy answers...but it does not penetrate their heart to the core. Over the next six weekends of LOC, we will explore six different traits of Christ.
My prayer is that we would hunger to know Christ...
and partake in His sufferings AND the power that raised Him from the grave.
If you made it this far, enjoy the pictures from our first Light of the City weekend (October 22-23)! So many thoughts swirling around my head today...