“The night air was frigid cold. In the dark, icy prison cell sat two young Chinese men, emaciated from loss of food and light. They had only one thin blanket between the two of them to protect against the freezing cold. The hard floor beneath them was cruel and merciless, and the shackles around their ankles seemed to mock their pain. Yet- in this arctic sanctuary of doom was heavenly warmth. One of the two young men had a thought, ‘If that were Jesus next to me, would I give Him my blanket?’ This Chinese man, who had nothing but a thin blanket to keep himself warm, recognized the privilege it would be to give what little he had to the God who had given him everything. He removed the blanket from around his shoulders and placed it around the shoulders of his shivering friend.”
(Taken from the book… When God Writes Your Love Story)
When I was in grade school, my mom would do a kid’s devotional some mornings while my brothers and I waited for the bus.
One of the lessons from back then has stuck with me my whole life. It was about putting God first in our life, and then others, and then ourselves. The acronym JOY (Jesus, Others, You) is the reminder to do this. After this devotion, my mom went out and made each of us a keychain with JOY on it. I still have mine today.
Lately selflessness has been on my heart. This is a characteristic that I desire. It is so easy to rearrange that JOY and be selfish. I desire to make Jesus number one in my life ALWAYS! And, to follow that, putting my selfish desires aside and looking at the needs of others above my own.
Over the course of this next year as I travel and share the love of Christ with others, I hope to become a servant.
As I serve those around the world, I desire to be more Christ-like in every way.
To be humbled and see the world through the eyes of God.
To have my heart broken for what breaks His.
To see His love in a whole new way.
To be bold and confident in my testimony.
To expand the Kingdom by sharing Christ with those who are lost… and in that, giving them a new hope and a
loving Father who will never leave them nor forsake them, no matter what they are going through.
That those I come in contact will be able to see God through my words and actions.
All along, applying the JOY concept that I learned so long ago.
Romans 12:9-13
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Philippians 2:3-7
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,being made in human likeness.
I will be on my way to LA in only 9 short days! And, I will be on my way to Guatemala in only 11 days! It is so crazy how time is flying by so quickly. I just spent this past weekend at Fall Retreat with Christian Campus House. It was a great time of enjoying God and His creation and spending quality time with some of my friends. I am sure going to miss everyone! This last week here is going to continue to fly by so quickly! Thank you everyone for your prayers and support!
Reminder: My open house is next Sunday (Oct 2) from 1-5 pm. It is at Buck Grove Community Church (2377 N County Road 650E, Mattoon, IL 61938). Everyone is welcome to come stop by and see me one more time before I leave. In fact, if you are in the area, please stop by! I would love to see everyone.
