Lessons from the Road
Community Cheesecake
The returnvoyage of the Agapetos Adventures Road Trip was very much an inward journey for me, though we still drove some 16,000 miles round trip. From Gordon’s Bay, we swung through Capetown before heading through the beautiful African countryside on our way back to Pretoria. Our time in Gordon’s Bay was a welcome retreat. Tom and Cindy, our friends and hosts, live a lifestyle commited to community and the leading of the Spirit of God. Their definition of the community the Body of Christ is called to is one of “no possessions are your own.” Unfortunately for my pride, it is a biblical definition, which explains why I found it so inspiring and challenging. With only a few days in the community, I am little more than exposed to the lifestyle, though it is something I want to embrace (I think!) I am okay with the concept, until I buy a piece of cheesecake “for myself” and someone else eats it!
Free to “Be”
Tom and Cindy are also adament that each day belongs to the Lord, meaning if you can, don’t bring any agendas into the day. So often we have our days planned out in our minds and we want it to go our way, and if interruptions or changes occur, we are too busy trying to get back to the plan that we don’t even consider that it might be a God-moment waiting to happen! Tom and Cindy wake up each day with little to know idea what the day will hold. Sometimes they have plans, but they welcome interruptions, as many of their God Assignments come in the form of unexpected encounters. During our stay, I had the freedom to sit with the Lord for two whole days. I did not have a task-list to work on or anywhere I had to be. It was wonderful (after, of course, the first five hours when I was going nuts thinking “I have to
do something!” The lesson for me was in “being,” rather than the constant “doing” we are so used to. If I am consistently being with God throughout the day, and being everything He has created me to be, then I will be ready for whatever he sends my way!
Becoming Like My Rabbi
What do you do after eight hours on the road? Okay… after taking a dramamine… That’s right – you listen to an audio message to break up all the random music from Eric’s iPod! We listened to a message from Ray Vanderlon that is literally changing my life! This man speaks from an eastern context, including much of the Jewish background in the Bible (Jesus was a Jew afterall) that we often overlook in the Western church. This message was about “discipleship.”
Ray defined “discipleship” from the Hebrew word Tao Mede, which adds much depth to the concept. You see, Tao Mede’s dedicate their lives to a Rabbi, seeking not just to learn from Him or follow Him, but to
become like Him. The spend every possible moment with Him, imitating everything He does in order to become more like Him. Also, to know the Rabbi, you must know His Text. This really encouraged me to dive into the depths of Scripture… because that’s what My Rabbi did, and I want to be like Him. The insights I gained from this message are too many to list here, but in short, I realized that I want so much to be like my Rabbi that I want to walk with Him so closely that I get covered in the his dust, and I want to know His Text so that I can know Him. After a season of needing freedom from the “shoulds” and “oughts” and “obligations” so often stressed in the American Church, I am excited to again embrace intentionality and self-disciple in order to become more like my Rabbi. This time, I’m not having “quiet time” or reading my Bible because I’m supposed to. I’m doing it because I want to know and become like Jesus.
Prayer Requests for Thailand
We are scheduled to fly into Bangkok on August 1. Please join us in prayer as we enter this God’s owned (Pslam 24:1) yet spiritually dark city.
- Pray for our protection in 1) our travels and 2) our spirits. Pray that we will always wear the spiritual armor (Ephesians 6) to protect us in the spiritual war.
- Pray that the Spirit of God will continue to lead us, and we will continue to listen and obey.
- Pray for the victims and participants in the global sex trade, which is prevalent in Bangkok. Pray that God’s light will break through into the dark places, and that He will set
all captives free. - Pray that we will each continue to cultivate intimacy with God, remaining in Him (John 15), and that we will bear fruit that will last.
