I think I’ve had writers block or something like that lately because it’s been hard for me to think of what to write. I mean, I could continue to tell you about the African lifestyle that we enjoy…living in a small African home with about 15 other people, praying that it will rain so that we have enough water to bathe, preaching daily, praying for the sick and disabled regularly, eating the same thing every meal (which includes about 6 cups of African milk tea and some sort of potato), and continuing to have an entourage of little children to follow us everywhere we go asking “how are you� on repeat. Yup, we’re basically the “Mzungu� (white) celebrities over here, except for that we smell terrible from wearing the same clothing SEVERAL days in a row.
So talking with Samara (one of our fantastic team leaders) the other day, she told me that I should write about what I preached on last Sunday…basically something God has been digging into me: Knowing God and DOING God’s will!
Samara Preaching
Quite simply, the bible defines Eternal Life as “knowing God� (John 17:3)…it does not define it as a place, reading the bible, walking into a church building, or even simply confessing, “I believe in God.� While these are all great things to do, they do not necessarily mean that we know Him.
I’ve come to realize that God already knows everything about me. I’ve also realized that He doesn’t need me and He doesn’t need you…HE IS GOD! The bible tells us that he has hundreds of thousands of angels who will do whatever He wants, when He wants….He also has 24/7 worship music in heaven so He doesn’t need us to sing to Him (He does enjoy it, but it is a gift for us).
Our amazing “Papa”
So what’s the point…God’s DESIRE, HIS Heart, is that everyone would know Him personally, not just know about Him. He wants us to respond to the friendship that He offers us. This is the main reason that we are even alive. He wants us to know Him and to trust Him as you would your best friend. God is confident that when we truly know Him: His personality, His character, His emotions, etc… that we will fall absolutely in love with Him. The problem is that most of us have a false idea of who God really is…we’ve probably heard about Him from someone else, we’ve watched how other Christians live, some of us probably even have an idea that God is “uncool� and “not any fun� (do you realize God created taste buds and sex…). Don’t worry; He is not offended and He still loves you. But we need to find out and think for ourselves…we can’t take someone else’s word for it…we’re talking about ETERNITY.
Always children everywhere
While this is simple, it is something that God has to continually drill into me. When I signed up for The World Race, I had an expectation that I was going to see the miraculous done. However, I had not prioritized my relationship with Him. My plans were put on hold for a bit, while God began to reveal to me more and more who He was (the God behind the bible story). This was more important to Him than me “doing a bunch of things for Him.�
Hopefully some of this is helpful for you as it is always a good reminder for me, especially when I get caught up in “busyness.â€� There is more to what I preached on, which I will share in my next blog titled…WHAT IS GOD’S WILL??
Love You ALL,
Andrew
Tea Time
P.S. Before this journey began an amazing person gave me 53 cards, from friends and family, which I get to open every week. It has been a huge source of encouragement to me. This week, I opened a card from my mom who always likes to share the newest and corniest joke she probably got off a Snapple top, but they do make me laugh. Hope you enjoy this weeks joke as much as I did…thanks mom!
Why is a moon rock tastier than an earth rock?
Because it is a little meteor…(Insert HAHAHA)
