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 3^rd 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.""

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!"

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.

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. ^{2 3 4 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.

⁵ 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.”
⁶ 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. ^{7 8 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

⁹ 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.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_could_live_in_a_1960000_square_mile_area

http://www.freewebs.com/watchman4wales/the4squarecity.htm

Customer Service Sucks!

How you ever noticed how so many companies advertise that they care so much about you and that their product is so great?  However, once you subscribe to/buy the product and things go South the great and wonderful customer service department is no where to be found?  You go to the website to file a complaint and you get the old "click 1 for customer support" and you click "1" and it takes you back to the previous menu to CLICK 1 FOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT!  It's a sick cycle.

Did the owner of the company forget he/she is a customer too?  I know they don't like it when they don't get customer support.  Instead of paying a ton of money for maintaining a non-existant customer service department at each company why don't they all just pitch in and buy a telephone with an answering service and a high volume phone line with one phone number that the whole world can call and get SCREWED!!!


1 Timothy 6:9

"But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. "

What was Satan Thinking?!

Have you ever thought, beyond what the scriptures say as to why Satan would choose to challenge God's authority and why 1/3 of the angels actually believed him a better choice to rule than God?

There are stories about Heaven and even stories about people who have been to heaven. Some of the first accounts are stories from the Bible but some are as recent as today.  The book "Heaven", by Randy Alcorn, provides a great perspective to the many questions people ask about Heaven itself.  If you would like to read a book about a first hand account then one of the most recent is called "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo (Excellent book!).  From what I've read Heaven sounds like an AMAZING place.  I can't wait to go, even though I do enjoy the time I am spending here on earth.  But if Heaven is so great, wonderful, magnificent, awe inspiring, terrific, majestic, holy, pure, etc..., why would Satan and his demons choose to sin against God risking to lose everything?

We know that the angels were created before mankind but we don't know how long before.  We know that the angels had free will until the defection and the ones who sided with God now cannot sin, just as we won't be able to sin once we go to heaven.  We know that Heaven is amazing and Hell is unfathomable in its horror and suffering.  Lastly, we know that God is eternal and not a creation unlike the angles and ourselves.

So, what could've been going through Satan's mind (or whatever God gave the angels) to pose the question he did resulting in his fall?  How long did he think about his decision before he openly declared his actions?  How long was he allowed to tempt the other angels to follow him?  Did he create and uprising over time?  Was it the result of God creating mankind?  In a pure environment, how could he come to this conclusion?

Man had the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden.  Satan used tree this to tempt Adam and Eve to disobey God.  However, how is it that Satan tempted himself?  Did he tempt himself or was his ego encouraged by others?  Did the other fallen angels also have this thought and Satan, by taking action, was the catalyst for the defection?  Did they not know the consequences for their actions?  How could Satan actual reason that he could oust his creator?  Maybe what started his downfall was when God put forth the plan to create mankind and this created feelings to prove himself?  Have you ever been at work and you think your way is better than your bosses?  What weakness could Satan have reasoned in God to think that he could overthrow Him?  What lie could he have told his demons to get them to believe his way was better?  Lastly, how is it that once Satan made his mistake, his makeup instantly became the complete opposite of God's?  It seems as though in the spirit world sin completely corrupts ever part of the makeup of the host so there is no good left.

Remember, even though Satan is a defeated foe still subject to God he still has authority over this world.  He is seeking to steal, kill, and destroy.  Ultimately, we know that God has the victory and salvation lies in His son Jesus Christ.  Remember to resist temptation and don't give Satan a foothold lest YOU be decieved too.

A couple of verses for thought.

Isaiah 14:12-15

 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer,^[a] son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
¹³ For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
¹⁵ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.


Luke 22:31 (Notice Satan STILL has to ask God's permission and is therefore still subject to Him.)

³¹ And the Lord said,^[a] “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
Revelation 12:10

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

What is the cost?

If you knew beforehand that in order to create something you would have to sacrifice the life of your child would you still create it?  What about if you didn't have to create it?

Thank you God :)  Thank you Jesus :)

John 3:16