Category: Motivation for Missions
God Uses “Bad Legs”
Can God use you? It is a good question. Some people told Elinor Young that her polio crippled body would prevent her from her dream of becoming a missionary. But she believed that whom the Lord calls, he uses. And that he equips those whom he calls. Watch this amazing woman’s journey to becoming a Bible translator that ultimately ended in the Kimyal Bible Translation.
God Does Not Need Missionaries
by Stacey “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” Acts 17:24-25 Sickness and Death We have been studying French with a friend here in Albertville who is preparing to go to West Africa to serve as a pilot. He is married with four young children. A couple weeks ago, he found out he had a tumor on a Friday, flew…
Why We Do What We Do
By Stacey We have realized that most of our blog posts are written under the assumption that our readers are believers in Christ. So we thought we would switch things up a bit and write a blog devoted to those who do not know Christ and might be scratching their heads wondering why we live the way we do. This may be you and you may have thought to yourself: “Why would they go to a remote tribe to mess up the people’s way of life? The people in Africa are fine the way they are!” In response to that, we unashamedly admit…
Hymns and Rap: Motivation for the Christian Life
by DaveWe have an old Baptist hymnal that we use for our family worship. I like singing these with the kids because in them is a great depth of Christian experience. Through singing these songs we learn of the holiness of God (Holy, Holy, Holy), the fullness of my own need for the Lord (Out of My Bondage), and the amazing depth of the love I have received (O The Deep Deep of Jesus). And then there are those hymns that were written for the sole purpose of motivating people to go out of the pews and spread the Good…
Living Crazy: Some Good Reminders from Fellow Missionaries
By Stacey In class the other day a friend was sharing that she visited a country in Africa in order to determine if she could serve there long term. After a few days of observing the living conditions (dirt floors, rampant illness, unsanitary food preparation), she went back to her room and determined that she could not live there. She cried out to God and said that she could not do it. His response was: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32 In coming to the realization that…
How Heaven Motivates Missions
I am so thankful for my Dad. I have never met anyone who believes with as much assurance and zeal that Christ could return tomorrow than him. Heaven and the return of Christ comes up in almost every one of our conversations. I can remember as a young girl that my Dad told me that if he were to die, he would want his funeral to be a party with lots of balloons and that he would want me to wear bright, cheery clothes–all because he would want me to celebrate the fact that he was in Heaven. And these…
Bible Lessons from a Spy
I have been reading my Father’s Day gift recently, it is a book called Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. It is a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and with a title like that I could hardly resist! Bonhoeffer was a pastor and a leader in the German resistance to Hitler, earning him the title of ‘spy’. His life was ended by the Nazi’s in a concentration camp as a result of this resistance. I have been so inspired by Bonhoeffer’s example and even though I am only 40% through the book, I thought I would post something he said that has…
The Life we were Supposed to Have…Not Worth Comparing to Future Glory
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. – Romans 8:18 We arrived home safe and sound from California a couple days ago and while we were there we could not help thinking life in California was the life we were supped to have. A few of the friends we spent time with were friends that I have had since kindergarten. Several of my relationships were from high school and then in Southern California we spent time with people we knew in college. We…
11 Ways to Deaden your Desire for Missions
Maybe you have listened to a sermon or a missionary appeal and you have thought to yourself, “I am there! I am going to that unreached people group!” After church, you get in your car and have lunch with friends, then you go home and do some yard-work. Monday morning rolls around and you drag yourself out of bed, sit in a colorless cubicle for 8 hours, come home to more work, and then repeat this cycle day in and day out. Come Friday afternoon, your once-passionate-heart for missions is as dry as a bone. You do not feel much…
Missionaries: All they have is Christ!
On more than one occasion an unbeliever has responded to our life story by saying: “So, you’ve adopted four kids and you’re moving to Africa…you’re definitely going to Heaven.” Typically, people either love us or despise us for who we are and what we are pursuing. We are not surprised when we are hated, but what turns our stomachs is when people mistakenly assume that we are good enough, on our own, to be approved by God. The line of reasoning seems to be, “Well if you’re willing to sacrifice that much, God will have to let you into Heaven.” …
