Wednesday, April 11, 2012

What is a missionary?

What is a missionary?

This post is dedicated to all Christian Missionaries. We love you!

 I believe that if most people are asked what a missionary is they would probably think of the typical Hollywood stereotype.  Their idea would be a tall, skinny, pasty-skinned, Cheeto haired, narrow minded, nerdy type individual who wears round, wired-rimmed glasses, Birkenstock sandals, brown cargo pants, a green t-shirt, Boonie or jungle styled hat, and clutches a Bible while traipsing through a dense jungle in search of a lost native pagan tribe in need of conversion.  At one time, although possible today, some, most, or all of these characteristics applied to what a typical missionary would be.  However, this is so completely limiting and not reflective of what a true missionary is.

So again I ask "What is a missionary?"

A missionary is like,

A fireman who rushes into a burning building to save the lives of people he may, or may not know or a doctor or nurse who cares for the sick, injured, and dying.

A CEO of a company who is in charge of the growth and welfare of a company and its employees or a banker who must manage the accounts of others.
 
A network marketer who must build his company from nothing or a salesman who forges through rejection after rejection until he meets the one person truly interested in his product.

A civil engineering responsible for the development of the land area in a building project or a construction worker who builds dwellings so others will have a home. 

An explorer who treks off into foreign lands facing possibly untold danger and peril in search of discovery.
 
A lawyer who must know the local laws and customs to perform his job effectively or a mediator who resolves conflicts between others.

A soldier who charges into battle to face an enemy who is often not seen and usually on their home territory. 

A farmer who grows food to feed the hungry. 

A water technician who makes sure people has clean water to drink. 

A tailor who makes and mends clothes so the naked will have something to wear and keep them warm. 

A teacher who devotes their life to teaching the uneducated and inspiring them to learn. 

A musician who enjoys spending time entertaining others with song.

A therapist/counselor who listens to the problems of others.

A parent who loves, nurtures, and cares for their children.

A homeless man who must feed and care for himself.

And finally, a shepherd who tends to his flock making sure they do not stray or get attacked.  


I’m sure you now realize that missionaries carry many responsibilities.  If anything, only a resume with all of the outlined criteria above would qualify for a position such as demanding as this.  Missionaries, in fact do rush into danger to rescue others, both physically and spiritually.  Missionaries are responsible for managing their own business which they usually start from nothing relying on the financial support of others.  They face constant rejection.  They are responsible to not only feed themselves (physically and spiritually) but also feed, cloth, and tend to the poor, sick and dying.  Missionaries educate others and must also educate themselves in the laws and customs of the land. They must counsel others in the way of discipleship and like a good shepherd, they must watch over their flock. Most of the people listed above earn a regular salary, and some are even quite substantial.  A missionary, however, survives by the grace of God and the generosity of others.  He does not do it for wealth, or personal gain, or fame, or glory.

So why do they do it?

 Jesus the Christ suffered and died on the cross and on the 3rd day rose from the grave defeating death for all eternity.  His death and resurrection became the atoning sacrifice for all sins.  This sacrifice is not something you earn, but instead a free gift.  Every true Christian missionary has received this gift and now, with joy, wants to bring that free gift to the world for all of those who wish to receive it freely, and willingly.  Therefore, just as Christ sacrificed Himself for others to bring that free gift, so does every Christian missionary sacrifice themselves for others.

I hope that this topic has helped to bring clarity to your perspective.

Oh, and I almost forgot!  If you have received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior then you are considered a missionary too! 

Huh?!  What do I mean? 

I said in my opening statement that the definition I provided is limiting.

In the Bible, Mark 16:15, Christ commanded every Christian to “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”  As Christians our calling may not require us to fill the actual position of a missionary but our mission field does not necessarily lie in a foreign land.  Instead, our mission field is our friends, family, neighbors, and even our workplace.  As Christians, we to carry with us the free gift to give to those who will receive it freely and willingly.

Now, I ask you again,

What is a missionary?


Free gift
Romans 4:16

“So the promise is received by faith.  It is given as a free gift.  And we are certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s.  For Abraham is the father of all who believe.

Romans 5:16

“And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin.  For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.”

Romans 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Great Commission

Mark 16:15

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the entire gospel to every creature.""

Monday, April 9, 2012

Will the newness wear off?

Do you think once we get to Heaven we'll get tired of saying "WOW!  I CAN"T BELIEVE I'M HERE!"

Thursday, April 5, 2012

A day in the life of Adam

Imagine what it would be like to have been created instantly.  One day you were nothing and the next you are something.  Imagine the sudden stimulus we take for granted every day that took years to analyze and develop being thrust upon your mind at once.  How would you process this?  What would be your first reaction?  What emotions would you experience?  I challenge you to truly put yourself in this scenario and explore your feelings. 

Imagine.  One minute there is complete darkness, void of everything and the next light with color, smells, sounds, emotions, objects, and textures.  What would your first thoughts be?  How would you react to suddenly seeing your hand and realizing it is attached to you arm?  Then, you follow your arm up to your shoulder and look over your chest.  After that, you look down at your feet and wiggle your toes.  If you were able to see your reflection what would be your response?  Would you be comfortable with your shape and all of its parts?  What about breathing?  Would you, at first, try to stop breathing?

 What about the new smells?  How would you describe a smell if you didn’t know what things were called?  What about speech?  What sounds would you make?  What would you call things?  Would you attempt to create a language to describe everything you saw?  Would you not care to name anything at all?

What about colors?  Would you express emotion over certain colors?  Would you have a favorite?  Would colors represent a good thing or a bad thing?  For example, if you like the colors orange and red and you touched fire, would the colors orange and red initially be associated as a bad thing?

Imagine textures.  Imagine the softness of a kitten or the roughness of tree bark.  Imagine the grittiness of sand when rubbed in your hand and then the slight scratching sensation of letting it drain through your fingers.  Or imagine the cool sensation of dipping your hand into a gently flowing stream and feeling the smooth resistance of wiggling your fingers under the water or the sudden pressure from turning your hand to stop the flow. 

What would you think of a cool breeze or the warmth from the sun?

What would you like or dislike?

Would you fear anything?

Would you be happy?

Would you want to understand how you came about?

Would you realize that you were indeed created?



I wrote this to inspire you to think of Adam, the first created man on the earth.  Although Adam did have God present to comfort and guide him I still do wonder what he would have experienced at the instant of life.

When God created Adam the Bible says that God created him from the dust and breathed life into him.  It does not specifically say what intelligence Adam was initially given although it appears that he was able to communicate and reason.  We also don’t know how long Adam was on the earth with God or even the time span between his creation and the creation of Eve.  God did let Adam name all living creatures which would allow him to become more familiar with them and it shows that God spent time developing Adam.  He also gave Adam almost unlimited freedom in the garden even though God was the ultimate authority.  Although Adam was created instantly, I believe God used true wisdom in allowing Adam to develop gradually so he would become an individual, not separate from God, but an individual with his own likes and dislikes and understanding of who he was and what his needs were.

Read Genesis, chapters 1 and 2.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

What if Heaven was like this!

Imagine!  Some day those who are Christ’s will live with Him in the New Jerusalem brought down from heaven to the new heaven and earth.  This city with be 1,500 x 1500 x 1,500 square miles and God’s glory will be the source of light in the city.  To get a better understanding of how large an area this city will be I’ve included a couple of links at the bottom of the page as reference but it will easily hold over 10 billion people!

So my wife and I were talking about how we love the history of the earth and its people.  It was not so much of a classroom historical discussion, because we are by no means anywhere near being any kind of historical experts, but more of a general one about how we both like different time periods and how the people looked and lived and what their culture was like. So as we were talking I came up with the idea that what if the New Jerusalem city had districts based upon time periods?  For example, one district could represent the time of Christ while another could represent the Dark Ages and another could represent today.  The people that lived during those time periods would inhabit the district they were representatives of but if they chose to visit, or even move, they would be able to experience a new time period, culture, and way of life.  The transition between the districts would be subtle enough not to overwhelm a person in the transition and at the same time not take a substantial amount of time to get from one district to another.  To put it more plainly you could walk through time and a living museum. 

Revelation 21:

New King James Version (NKJV)

All Things Made New

21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. Then I, John,[a] saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me,[b] “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
And He said to me, “It is done![c] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. But the cowardly, unbelieving,[e] abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”He who overcomes shall inherit all things,[d] and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

The New Jerusalem

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me[f] and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”[g] 10 11 12 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy[h] Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names[i] of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

The Glory of the New Jerusalem

22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 24 25 26 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes[o] an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.[n] Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And the nations of those who are saved[l] shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.[m] The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it,[j] for the glory[k] of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.