Romans 1:16
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.
So much has transpired since I last posted and I pray what I share will move you Christians to think about the power of sharing the Gospel and the true power of the Kingdom to which you have been called. I will share just a piece so far.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Ephesians 4:1
Also to perhaps move to those who do not know the Lord Jesus to be made alive in the light of how awesome our God really is and how unlike the god the world who does not know him says he is. There is power in Jesus. For real. It just takes coming to Him and believing.
Forget the world’s words man, just believe.
There has been much talk thus far about the nature of our mission.
That is, how do we define the mission of any AIM team out on the field. This may seem like it should be obvious but we serve against an enemy who uses very gentle slopes to decieve and I can say that it is, and has been, far too easy to be consumed with projects, services, ministries and so on. Gospel and service becomes humanitarianism alone.
My co leader, Patrice Deaton, posed a great question however:
Are we really just another branch of the peace corps or are we Christian missionaries?
As I mediate on this statement I arrive at the truth that the difference is God’s Spirit within us and that it all hinges on the Gospel of slavation for all who believe.
It couldn’t be more important.
As I mentioned already our team was preparing for an outreach to the Massai people of the lower plains here in Kenya.
Upon arrival I immediately noticed the “True Africaness” of this missions effort.
I am talking about being in the middle of no where, sleeping in tents, people in animal skin, tribal dancing….(at one point as my translator told the story of him killing a lion to become a man, we came across a group of ten Giraffe!)
This was my third trip to the contininent but this was the first frontier African mission.
We spent all six days that we were their waking up, eating and then breaking into groups and walking sometimes kilometer upon kilometer to visit homes.
Encouraging the believers and preaching, for many students the very first time, the Gospel of Jesus.
It was so much like the missions we liken to our own scriptures but I know it can be done anywhere!
People were getting saved every day! The students simply opened the word faithfully and let the Spirit work.
I spoke to one man after the Spirit’s prompting the second day we were there.
I knew he was very proud and the leader of some of the people. I called him out on some things and challenged his perception of this weak, powerless Jesus and because of this insight from the Spirit I was able to share with Him of Christs strength and power and rule.
He thanked me for sharing and asked if we would pray for rain. There was serious drought and it had not rained in some time. We did so and then went home.
That night it rained so hard our tents flooded from the ground up. The reserviors overflowed and we were forced to sleep four guys in one bed in a mud house.
Two days later i saw him again and asked:
“Did you happen to notice that it rained the other night?”
He answers, I will never forget this,
“ I have been back and forth through all the land and I have never met a man who knows the God who when he asks will send the rains.”
Paul says the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
There is much power in the efforts of our God to reach the peoples of Africa and America and Canada alike.
I see that it is the great need of every believer to know and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit to show the world there is more to our Christian lives than morality and words but there is ACTIVE relationship with GOD.
GOD who is love, who brings rain, who saves wives and men and families and heals bodies and delivers us from the sting of death and will leave our very graves empty and powerless!
MAN oh MAN… It’s such a blessing to read these blogs man.
I get FIRED up cause God is SOOO good and doing AMAZING things EvERYWHERE. I def got chills reading this man…I felt like I was there with you. Keep up his work man!
Dear Sir,
With tears of praise in my eyes I write to thank you for taking the time to encourage your sisters and brothers in Christ. Your exhortation was beautifully stated and I pray that Our God of power and might will bless your ministry and give you the grace through His Holy Spirit to gain very beautiful feet before your work on earth is completed.
Sarah Taylor directed me to your blog. I’ll certainly thank her.
This was so encouraging to read Blair! I’ve been experiencing similar convictions concerning not only ministry efforts, but also things like worship and sermons. Christian means Christ-centered. If the gospel and glory of Christ isn’t at the center of whatever we are doing or studying, then it’s not Christian at all. Man, the whole Bible points toward Christ, from Genesis onward! He needs to be the LORD of everything!
A book recently recommended to me was “Ashamed of the Gospel” by John MacArthur. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet due to the abundance of “to reads” on my shelf, but perhaps it’s worth looking into. I look forward to hearing more of what comes of this cross centered outreach you’re a part of.
Grace & Peace
YES YES YES brother! God is doing a mighty thing there in Kenya with you guys! Keep leaning on Him for strength and He will continue to provide it! Praying!
SO glad I got to taste a little of your life there, Blair. God has definitely supplied everything you guys need to build and extend His kingdom there. I’m praying for a balance of time between outreach and personal time with the Father. PS – the Swazi and SA teams send their love!!
Hey Blair it is so exciting to hear how God is working through you and your team. Signs and wonders, miracles, God making Himself real. Signs and wonders follow the preaching of His word. I pray that these things will happen in Canada as well. I pray God pours out His spirit on you and your team and for the rest of us at home as well. God bless all of you.
Blair,
We really do serve a powerful God! He has been reminding me of that this past week, and your story just added to it. May He continue to show Himself powerful through your team!
Erin