October 21, 2006
This is a different type of blogspot than the ones I have been writing recently. It’s not going to tell you what I’ve been doing but it will tell you something which is on my heart right now.
Earlier in the week I helped someone. During the past few weeks we had gone on several daytrips together. On the day of our last trip I was going to say it’s been enjoyable going with you, etc. As we arrived at this person’s house he said what are your plans for tomorrow? I simply said why. I know my mind was thinking what do you want now? (We had left home about 9 hours earlier and I was ready to go home) He wanted me to help him the next day, he needed my transport help. I said no I’m staying at my house and waiting at the house for the telephone repairman to come so he can fix the phone.
By the way, the phone repair guy did come.
Later as I was driving away I was reminded of how Jesus must have felt when he healed the 10 Lepers and only one came back to say thank you. I thought thank you is all I wanted to hear.
A few days later I found the story in Luke 19 about the lepers. I reread it. This time God showed me the situation in a new light. He said how many times have I helped or healed you and you haven’t said thank you? I thought God wants to hear us say thank you and to be thankful for what we do have and what we are able to do.
Today I’ve been challenged and convicted with the thought of how many times did I not share Jesus with others when I had the opportunity to share in my heart language of English? Now that I’m in a culture that is completely different to me with a language that is not my heart language, I am convicted with the times that I missed the opportunity to share with others. Not so I could say this person accepted Christ because of me or that person, etc.; but to save them from death and to give them a hope for the future. How many people are missing out on having hope for the future? A question which I’ve been asking myself lately is how do people make it without having a hope?
I’ve been doing the Beth Moore Believing God study. In it is talking about the spiritual heritage you leave with your descendents. What kind of heritage will you be leaving? Will it be one based on Christian foundations and beliefs? Will it be one they can pass to their descendents? Is it one based on loving God? As many of you know I don’t have children who will be my physical descendents. But I am responsible for spiritual descendents. I am responsible to pass along my spiritual heritage to other generations.
Deuteronomy continually talks about the greatest commandment, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength. Is that something I’m doing each day? Is that something you are doing each day?
I’ve been blessed to have a spiritual foundation based on Jesus Christ passed down to me. Will your descendents be able to say the same? Will my descendents say the same? Will the children who are always glad to see the missionary Carol arrive be able to say the same?
The other day another colleague and myself were working on job requests for this area. A question which came up was how do you decide which job is top priority? Is it more important to send workers to the area where no one has heard before or to send workers to an area where people have heard but need discipleship/education? Is that something we can decide? Or do we write the requests and trust God to lead the workers here? I don’t know that there is a right or wrong answer to the question, there may be a better and best answer.
As I write this I reminded of the conviction I felt as I was on a mission trip to Brazil. We were showing the Jesus film in different villages every couple of days. At the end of the trip there were many who had come to know the Lord which is great. But the conviction which I was overwhelmed with was how was one missionary going to visit and disciple all these people?
As I look back over this writing I think were my thoughts really conveyed on paper? Can you see the conviction and questions I am faced with as I write this? I encourage you to ask yourself some of these questions? I’m not writing this to make you feel guilty about anything you might or might not be doing but just to share with you things that are going with me.
Carol
