To give you a quick update, we’ve been in Malaysia for about one week and so far so good. Our ministry this month is mostly manual labor mixed with participating in/ attending a slue of different church services. If you didn’t know already, we had team changes at the end of Thailand so I am now with Team Horizon; and guess what, we are living by ourselves this month. That means for the first time ever on the Race I am only living with 6 other people, and I can say the house seems really quiet. Not to mention, we are literally in the middle of the jungle. I’m talking monkeys swinging from the trees and wild boars wandering the dirt paths kind of jungle! We live on an oil palm planation (if you don’t know what that is, don’t worry, either did we when we first got here. It turns out that cooking oil is actually extracted from an oil palm fruit, who knew, which grows on an oil palm tree. Oil palm tree farming happens to be a big industry in Malaysia and so our ministry this month is very much a story of “doing as the locals do”) along with our ministry hosts, Uncle and Aunty Kim. We couldn’t have asked for a better setup and in fact, I find myself feeling guilty about it at times. People in the states pay a lot of money to have a weekend/ summer getaway cabin in the woods in hopes of finding some peace and quite; and here we are, lucky enough to live in that dream location for a whole month. Just another way God reminds me that I am favored.
My new team…TEAM HORIZON
That being said, no matter how good my Daddy makes things, he always manages to throw in his sense of humor. He loves to mess with me and keep me on my toes, especially when I start getting comfortable. Here, let me explain:
It’s month four here on the race and I won’t lie, I’ve been feeling pretty good about myself. I was asked to be a team leader again, but this time for a team with men and a married couple, and even in the first couple days with my new team, I could see that I had grown. In a matter of three months, I had already preached, shared the gospel with strangers, and sang in front of a crowd…all the things I swore I’d never do. I was even doing things that my first team had helped me recognize: I was going to the Lord when I had questions, fears, and worries instead of relying completely on others or myself and I was being intentional about being transparent with my team, making sure to show them my actual feelings instead of a façade of strength. In short, my faith life was out of this world. I was confident I could do anything, no matter how crazy or unusual. No problem. No questions asked. I got this!
Or so I thought.
Because when Uncle, our host here in Malaysia, told me that our team might need to preach about 10 minutes before we left for the church service, my mind began to panic. What do you mean preach? We haven’t even met these people, let alone had time to think of a sermon. How could he say it so casually? Where was the two weeks notice? Who in my new team is going to step up? Oh crap, it’s going to fall on me. I’m the team leader, so I’m the obvious choice. Ok take a breather. We can do this.
When my mind finally stopped spinning, I turned to Uncle with complete calmness and said, “Ok we will be prepared for anything.” I smiled and then walked away towards the house to find my team. When I walked in, I announced very informally that we needed to have a meeting before we left for church. As I waited for everyone to assemble I just sat and prayed. I prayed for guidance, prayed for words, prayed for peace among my group, and most of all prayed that someone would receive a message. Then God reminded me of my time in the Dominican Republic. It was that first month and God had challenged us all by asking us to preach every Sunday. And sure enough, just as he sent out his request, he also gave us the answers. I remember sitting in the church, just minutes before it was time for me to preach, and God would just give me the entire sermon. I swore one minute my mind was blank and then next the paper in front of me was full. I shared this testimony with my new team, and said with confidence that yet again he would provide a sermon. And I truly believed that. But, I was hoping that He would whisper it to someone else, not me.
But that’s not how God works. As I mentioned earlier, he is quite the comedian. And he knew very well that I didn’t want to preach. So of course, he whispered a sermon to me. I was nervous naturally, but told my team that I would preach.
As it turned out, the pastor showed up so I was off the hook. But as always, there is an important lesson to be learned. Even as a missionary, it can be easy to become complacent in my faith. I too, can get too comfortable and forget that there are people who don’t know about Christ’s love (and just a note for the nonbelievers reading this blog: telling people about God is not motivated by us condemning their previous way of life. It’s also not something we are trying to force on people. You have to choose to accept God’s love [although he offers it to everyone] and we are of the opinion that once you do, life is so much better).
So this sermon is about sharing God’s love with the world. After long deliberation, I realized that the message He gave me wasn’t for the church in Malaysia, but for the people back at home. So this sermon goes out to you!
It’s almost Christmas time, and I don’t know about ya’ll, but I’m excited. There are a lot of things I like about Christmas. For starters, everything that happens during Christmas makes you feel all warm and fuzzy; even things that you would normally find daunting. When else could you convince your entire family to go to a tree farm and cut down a tree in 40 degree weather? I mean what a task, going from tree to tree to find the perfect one, and you know there is always someone in your family that wants to look at every single tree so they know for certain which one is the best. And then you have to get on your hands and knees, sometimes in the snow, in order to chop it down. I’m telling you, something special is in the air to make things like the tradition of chopping down your own Christmas tree seem fun.
Another thing I like about Christmas is that it’s all about spreading the love. People we haven’t spoken to all year long, suddenly come into our minds and are appreciated through the form of a small gift or Christmas card. No one is forgotten. Some of us even spend a day driving, just to see family during the Christmas holiday. No distance is too far and no family member is unimportant.
But what I enjoy most about Christmas is the fact that it is so easy to keep our eyes centered on the Lord. And I mean literally. You can’t drive through a neighborhood without seeing a nativity set circled around baby Jesus. It’s a beautiful thing. I just can’t help but bring him up. I find myself talking about all the amazing things Jesus did in his lifetime and of course about the miracle of his birth. To put it simply, we get Jesus happy.
Now I realize consumerism has put a little bit of a damper on this, with all its hype on Santa Clause and finding the perfect gift; but even still, Christmas centers on Jesus and everybody knows it. But what about once Christmas ends? Do we still love God or even each other with the same intention?
Matthew 5:14-16 says, You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
What this scripture is saying is that we carry an authority that comes from the Lord. Something about us looks and feels different. You have been given a light and you are meant to share it. Whether that means preaching every Sunday in front of congregation (which it doesn’t mean for everyone), being unafraid to talk about God to your friends and family, or any of the other 1 million ways God asks you to speak His name; the idea is, you are meant to share Him with everyone. And even more than that, you are meant to talk about him all year long. Telling people about God and his mighty works isn’t something we are only called to do around Christmas. Nor, our we called to love people with such intentionality only during the Christmas season. God is present all year round and so we should live with the same heart as we do during Christmas throughout the rest of the year.
Matthew 10:26-28, 32-33 also talks about sharing God with the world. Jesus is instructing the 12 disciples, “So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
Jesus is telling the disciples to not be afraid of what man will say. He tells them straight out, man will not always support you. And it’s true, not every lesson on God is well received. People may reject you. But man is not your ruler. God calls us to speak up, shout from the rooftops, tell the good news and acknowledge God before men! Sons and daughters of Christ our courageous and thus are unafraid to speak out His name.
So what does that mean for you? It means, don’t let the magic of Christmas die after the 25th. Tell people what Christmas is really about all year long! God sent his son to live without sin, to live among all his children, both rich and poor, healthy and sick, young and old, to die for all our sins, so that we may be saved. That is good, Good News and God wants us to tell it. Every person is equipped and able. God does not show favoritism. He has prepared each and every one of you. Don’t forget about that special light that you carry. It was given to you when you decided to be a believer and follower of Christ and it was meant to shine.
And then to end my sermon, just because I’m that cheesy, I’d have ya’ll sing the children’s song “This Little of Mine.” So if you feel so moved, go ahead and sing it after reading this blog. You’ll be in good company, because I just broke it down here on my end. But in all seriousness, get out there! There are no excuses. America needs to know the true power of Jesus just as much as anywhere else. You know everything you need to know, and wherever there are blanks, God will fill them in. I promise. After all, it was him who wrote this sermon.
