Eternally Minded

I was recently challenged by Aristide Nyounai , Pastor of Providence Christian Church, to find out the definition of what a missionary is in the Scriptures. "Then Jesus came to them and said, ' All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.     Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,   and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" Matthew 28:18-20 There are two types of missions. Both have the same goal , but both have different requirements. There is, what I call, general missions : what all Christians are called to, and global missions: what some, mature Christians are called to, but all have a part in. I. General Missions: We have all heard the great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel, but sometimes it get’s confused. I used to ...

I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given me, for they are Yours...I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name, the name You gave me, so that they may be one as we are one...I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world...Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.  John 17: 9, 11, 14, & 17 I am definitely not an expert in prayer. It is a huge struggle to pray: to know what to pray for when the One I'm praying to already knows everything before I ask Him! (Matthew 6:8) But I have learned that the best way to be more like Christ is to imitate Him.  And Jesus prayed. He prayed early in the morning:  Mark 1:35: Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He p...

I have been raising hens on my own for going on two years! It's been so much fun! One addition I made to the flock was a valiant, dauntless, prince in shining feathers - rooster. The hens immediately fell in love with him! Though he crowed quite proudly in the mornings, I noticed he was actually quite a servant to these hens. In the mornings I would open up the hatch to let them out into their pen, and the rooster would wait until the hens got out first. He would also make sure every hen had first dibs on the food and scraps I would throw in. Every now and then, I let the chickens out to free range and when I do, I notice the rooster will go and find things for the hens to eat. He'll pick up a piece of grass and make little clucks until the hens run over to take it from him. He also is very protective, and attacks our dog, Pippin, when she harasses the hens. Maybe I think too much, or am a little obsessed with chickens, but I thought this is a great lesson ...

A lot of modern people have the wrong view of missions. And, perhaps, a lot of missionaries have the wrong view of missions, as well. Regardless, it is something severely lacking in our lost world. Christians get cozy. They stop going to the unreached peoples, stop being examples in faith and maturity to the younger in age and faith, and even stop endeavoring to understand more about God. A lot of 'Christians' aren't even missionaries to themselves! We get caught up in the world and forget to remind ourselves of the Gospel! The Bible is full of true stories about missionaries, how God saved them, how He called them, and where He sent them. The Old Testament prophet, Ezekiel, had an amazing story. In the prime of his life, God called him to go. And, unworthy though he felt, he went. More than that, God showed him how to do it. In many places, God distinguished that Ezekiel was only a son of man (Ezekiel 2:1 & 3, 4:1, 8:6, 11:2 and many other places!). God also ma...