Q&A Blog
What’s up everyone! I am finishing up my month of ministry in Thailand. Our Squad will be traveling to Africa on Monday and I will not have Wi-Fi for the next month. Two of our teams will be traveling to Botswana as originally planned, however our co-ed team will be doing ministry and living in Zimbabwe. Pray for our health, fundraising seeing as some people on my squad are not fully funded and that God would move in the hearts of the people of Zimbabwe and Botswana. As we approach moving continents we come to the last leg of our journey. I am excited to share some questions that friends have asked me about life on the race. Enjoy this question and answer blog. Peace be with you!
What was the hardest thing to overcome when you began to share the gospel with those you would meet?
Most cultures outside of western society do not look at the gospel through the same lens as we do. When sharing the gospel in eastern culture I have to keep in mind that shame and honor is the at the core of their belief system. Much like guilt and innocence is at the core of the United States belief system. Here’s an example of Guilt-Innocence: My sin made me guilty before God, a perfectly holy and righteous judge and through the blood of his son Jesus I am righteous, I am innocent, and I am no longer guilty for my sin.
Here is an example of Shame-Honor: Sin is shameful. It is shameful to leave the family of a perfectly loving Father who is our Creator and King. However through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus we have the ability to be called sons and daughters of God, to live in his family and to dwell in his house, forever. In Southeast Asia people are family focused. If I were to ask my father for my inheritance early, leave the house, or simply become a Christian I would bring shame not only on myself, but the entire group as a whole. Asia is a collectivistic society and the group is more important than the individual.
Are there any prayer/devotion practices you have learned and picked up during your travels? And that have brought Spirit filled fruit?
Fasting has become a great resource to shift my focus over the past two months. I have had a four-day fast, weekend fast, and several twenty-four fasts.
Spending time with God is simple, spend time together. I wouldn’t take a pretty lady on the same exact date all the time. And I don’t do the exact same workout everyday either. So I shouldn’t try and meet with God, of all people, the same way every day. Stretching myself and switching up my rhythms has been great. I have been able to hear the Holy Spirit more clearly and been able to live more abundantly in the Spirit.
One that I am currently doing is not reading my Bible in the morning. Yea, I know. This idea was birthed after I did secret church with our entire squad in Thailand this month. We sat in a room with no a/c for four hours, sang praise, read scripture, and prayed for the top 50 countries around the world where Christians are persecuted for their faith. Our final activity came from a story of man in a Russian prison who did not have access to a bible. So, every chance he got he would find a piece of paper and write out all the scripture he could fit, and that would be his offering to God. This was inspiring to me, because I love the Bible! I love stories and knowing scripture comes easily to me. However I would not recommend this practice to people that are young in their faith. GET IN THE WORD lol and KNOW what it says. Instead of reading my bible I spend time in prayer for other people, and write out as much scripture as I know.
The final one is worshipping God. Haha sounds simple right? Psalm 59: 16-17 says “But I will sing of your strength. Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning. For you have been my high tower, a refuge in the day of my distress. To you, my strength, I will sing praises. For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.”
God loves to hear his children sing to him. This puts me in the position to hear him. It takes my focus off of everything, and focuses my full attention on him. I tried it this morning without music, and it awkward at first because my voice needed to wake up a bit, but you know what? No one was around to hear it. It was just me,singing to God.
Has God taught you anything about money?
Gosh I love this question. For me I have learned the importance of not spending my money without first seeking the Lord’s heart. Do I REALLY need that dope looking t-shirt? Can I go play with my friends or should I wait for next weekend? God, this is your money how should I spend it? And sometimes I hear, “It’s okay Lyle, you can buy a Heineken with your meal.” Jesus tells me that not even Solomon, the richest, wisest, most lavish king, in ALL of his splendor was not even dressed like the lilies of the field. That I shouldn’t worry about being dressed in outward appearance but that the man makes the clothes, not the clothes makes the man.
I love birds. When I hear birds chirping I know that God is trying to get my attention. Jesus tells me in Matthew 6 to look at the birds of the air, they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet my heavenly Father feeds them. Am I not worth much more than they? So why should I worry about my future? About how much money I will make or if I am going to have enough to satisfy my lifestyle. It’s God’s money, he trusts me enough to hang on to it, to teach me, and to test my faithfulness.
Finally, to give my money. Even as a man who has no income, who relies on his work money from college, and money from his parents, God has shown up in my giving multiple times on the race.
What are you learning about discipline?
God has not given me a spirit of fear, but a Spirit of Power, Love, and Self-Discipline/Sound-Mind. I love the fruit of being a disciplined man of God. For me discipline and giving go hand-in-hand. I cannot give someone my time, if I am not disciplined enough to listen to what they are saying. I can’t share words of prophecy, words of knowledge, or teach the squad if I am not disciplined to say exactly what God wants me to, no more, no less.
I cannot discipline my body if I do not take time to rest, recharge, and rebuild. Before Jesus did something amazing it was from a place of rest. He spent alone time with his Father. For me it takes discipline to sit before God and not say a word, but to rest in his presence and truly put my mind at rest.
I love getting after it and pushing my body and mind to the limit. If I can give my best to physical discipline, I can surely give my God the time and place to be disciplined before him.
The same way runners or boxers, or Olympians train is the same way I want to devote my time with God. If I know that I have a boxing match in six months, I don’t need to train like a mad-man the first day. It’s proper to ease into training or I will hurt myself. Same way with God. I am preparing now to come home. Praying into being assimilated back into western culture. Praying for people back home. Picking up techniques and practices that I can use later on.
I’m Rocky and God is Micky. God is going to coach me and put me in the position to overcome, It’s my job to trust him, act, and do my part and train.
Did you accomplish your original goal(s) when you left?
God called me onto the mission field. So yes haha I have accomplished my goal of actually going on the race. I wanted to build people up in their faith. I wanted to help people around me on my squad to become mature Christ followers. I have succeeded in that. I wanted to have women that I could be friends with. I’ve wanted to stick my foot in my mouth on several occasions with each one of them but yes I have women on this squad that I am friends with. Finally my last goal is to finish strong. And God has recharged me in a number of ways and has put me in the best position to overcome. Time will tell if I finish strong.
Has there been a time these past seven months where you’ve actually felt like God was somewhat distant?
In Nicaragua I thought the Holy Spirit spoke very clear to me about being anointed with the gift of healing. I heard wrong. And it was humbling. It’s still humbling now writing this. I felt distant from God. I felt like I was a fake. That God didn’t speak to me. I felt like people wouldn’t want to follow me.
How did you respond if that was the case?
I responded with anger immediately. Really mad at myself. Why did I let this happen? What are people going to think about me? And I was met with a lot of grace by my squad mentor, squad mates, and God. He showed me that hearing from him is privilege. And that I need to be careful about saying that I heard God tell me things, because that carries a lot of weight. He also showed me that not every good idea I have is from the Holy Spirit, and sometimes even if it sounds good, it may lead to my destruction. Much like Saul saving the animals to “sacrifice to the LORD” instead of being obedient and killing them in 1 Samuel 15.
Anointing is a buzz word that I have thrown around in Christian community. But I serve the Anointed One. And he has saved me and given me his Holy Spirit. That’s about all I need.
Thank you so much for reading this blog! I have enjoyed answering questions and reflecting on my time on the mission field. God is SO GOOD. If you’re reading this and cannot see how God can change your situation, I want to remind you of something he has been teaching me. He’s God. Like actually God. The creator of Heaven and earth. You can trust him. He is famous for his faithfulness. Love you.
