A Joint Effort

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. – Exodus 17:11-13

I was reminded in reading this recounting of a battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites that everyone has a part to play.  We rely on one another.  For the sake of this particular blog I could specifically discuss mission and how some are needed to go to the harvest while others are needed to sow into the mission financially, others to serve through intercessory prayer, others through encouragement, etc.  But the honest truth is that this concept of needing one another extends far beyond just mission.  We are the body of Christ.  We are called to be united, functioning as one to glorify our Lord and Savior. 

The only way Israel won this battle was through the joint effort of each individual.  They won because Joshua and the soldiers fought with the sword while Moses was postured in praise (raised hands), supported by Aaron and Hur.  Had any one of them decided their part really wasn't that significant, the battle would have been lost.  Each person has a part to play.  This brings to mind the passage in I Corinthians 12 where Paul reminds us that a body is made up of many different parts with different functions, yet all are necessary.  Whether you realize it or not you are vital to the body.  You are important.  You are significant.  You are needed.  And you have a part to play.

Called Here First

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with Him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.- Luke 8:38-39

I am so excited for my trip!  It's less that six weeks away and I'm thrilled to see what God is going to do in and through us as we minister to the people of Ghana.  As I've been preparing, however, God has been reminding me of my first calling.  It's okay for me to be excited about going to a foreign land to serve the Lord, but I need to remember that I was called to my home town, my family, and my school first.  He's been reminding me to "return home and tell how much God has done for [me]," 

As I learned on my last mission trip, and seem to have forgotten rather quickly, I don't have to leave my city or even my street to serve others and share the love of Christ with those around me.  I can do that wherever I am.  So often, however, I get so focused and excited about what God has in store for me next that I forget what He's doing right now where I am.  If I'm constantly focused on the next thing, I'll never stop to see the great things He has prepared for me here.

For those of you keeping up with my travel preparations, we are five weeks from departure as of tomorrow!  I'll be shipping out my passport Friday morning to the Ghanaian Embassy to apply for my travel visa.  I'll also be getting a myriad of vaccines that same morning.  Please be praying for both of these events:  that all of our visas will be approved and returned quickly and that I react well to the vaccines.  Please also continue praying for the members of our team - that God would build each of us up and strengthen us in Him.  Finally, pray for open doors and open hearts in Ghana - hat God would prepare the way for us and be setting up diving appointments.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.  I wouldn't be able to do this without you.

Jehovah Jireh

It's been a while since my last post, but I have some wonderful news.  As of now I have received enough financial support to pay for the cost of my trip!

Our God is so good!  This past Sunday the special music at my church was a song called "Because of Who You Are."  The whole song is talking about praising God because of who He is.  There's a whole portion that is simply singing the Names that have been given to our Lord.  I found myself with tears running down my face as I sang about how my God is my Jehovah Jireh, my Provider!  He has certainly provided me with so much more than I could have ever imagined.  It is by His grace alone that I am a month and a half into the process of raising financial support for my trip to Ghana and finding that I don't have to focus on that any longer.

If you haven't heard this song, please take a minute or two to listen to the video clip below.  It's an awesome way to worship God and declare who He is in your life and why He deserves worship. 

God has really been speaking to me lately about the importance of praising Him simply because He is worthy to be praised.  Many of us come before God in prayer with a "laundry list" of requests.  During a time of prayer with some of my fellow students God brought me to my knees and gently told me that I needed to start coming before Him in worship and reverence.  He reminded me that He knows what I need (Matt 6:32), He knows the cry of my heart (Ps 31:7), and He knows the desires of my heart (Ps 37:4).  He wants to hear from me, He wants me to pour my heart to Him (Ps 62:8), He desires to have that kind of relationship with Him, but there also needs to be a time where I just worship Him for who He is.  I had lost sight of that.  I had forgotten how worthy is my God (Isaiah 40:12ff). 

If you've got a few minutes now or over the next couple days I encourage you to take a moment and just consider how wonderfully magnificent is our God.  Take that time not to ask God for anything, but just to praise Him.  Perhaps just tell Him all the things He is to you - Provider, Redeemer, Savior, Faithful Father, Prince of Peace, Giver of every good gift . . . Another suggestion I've heard recently is to pray through scripture.  The Psalms are wonderful for this.  Choose a passage and read the words to God.  The other day I did this with Psalm 31 and spent over an hour reading and praising God for all the things He has done in my life.


I will praise Your name for ever and ever.  Every day I will praise You and extol Your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.~ Psalm 145:1b-3

God's Fellow Workers

I want to ask your forgiveness for the length of the last couple posts.  My point in them was simply to share a glimpse into who I am and where my passion comes from.  (That passion which got away from me while writing!)  The way in which God spoke to me at the retreat last March was so incredible that I felt I couldn't do it justice without telling the whole story.  Even in the last few weeks God has continued to lay missions on my heart more and more.  Actually, He's laid people on my heart and missions is only the means by which He's helping me reach the people. 

I do not take for granted the opportunities that God has laid before me in being able to attend a school that sees the importance of spreading the Gospel both in our community and to other nations.  I am so blessed to have people in my life that have encouraged me to seek God and obey His Will for my life.  People that have financially and prayerfully supported my trip thus far and who will in the future.  I cannot thank them enough.  My God is a great God and I am humbled at the opportunity to share His love, joy, peace, and compassion with others. 

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.  ~ I Corinthians 3:9

How awesome is that!  That we are God's fellow workers? 

Father, thank You for taking a sinner like me and showing mercy and compassion.  Thank You for sending Your Son to take the punishment I so rightly deserved that I might become God's righteousness and dwell with Him forever.  Lord, as I prepare to step out of my house and into the mission field that is our world, give me the boldness to declare Your love and the courage to live a life that constantly points to You.  I ask that all those who read this would know that they are called to be children of Light and to share that Light with those around them, whether they be at work, school, walking down the street, or in a foreign land.  We are all God's fellow workers!  Amen.