This weeks shoutout goes to my boy Cody, who is returning from a three month mission trip in South Africa this week! Prayers you make it home safe man!
Now then- to business. When I embarked on this journey six months ago, I was given a key. It is not a real key, more or less a decoration; a trinket if you will. I was told that I was to give away said key to an individual of my choosing. Here’s the kicker though. We Racers all have a key, each with something different. The people behind this key ministry put much thought and prayer into which word/key each Racer should receive. My key had the word “Hope” engraved on it. I was to give away this key when I myself had realized what the word ‘Hope’ meant to me.
For many of you who haven’t heard my testimony, I have battled lust for many years. Like many men, I struggled with pornography throughout my teenage years. And the funny thing about sin is this; one sin begets another. When I walked in this sin, I was also mean, arrogant, belittling, and angry. I was disrespectful, and sought ill upon others.
I always had a way out; Jesus Christ. And being a Christian, with my salvation assured, I knew this. However I allowed the devil to convince me that as I struggled with my sins, God would not want to hear from me. As the shame crept in, I did not deserve to talk to my Savior.
But in Sombor this past month, I had a beautiful thought: The very moment I feel God does not want to talk with me is actually the very moment He wants to talk with me the most. He wants me to seek redemption and love in his arms. I immediately wrote that down.
That revelation has become my best weapon against the devil and his attacks. I have Hope in overcoming not just lust, but all my sins and struggles.
Back to the key. We were in Sombor last month, a place where, if you read my last blog, you know the gospel of Christ is not easily preached. Our ministry host Zoli, a Hungarian man who very much resembles Gru from the Despicable Me movies and excels at ping-pong, has been trying to plant a church there for years, with minimal success. I know he and his wife Tanja (Pronounced Tanya) have at times contemplated whether or not Sombor is the city that has rejected the gospel, and if their efforts would be better served elsewhere.
But we gave him hope. Now that I live in hope that the devil can be defeated by the Power of Christ within us, I gave him my key, as a constant reminder that there is hope for the city of Sombor, and that the devil’s forces there will be defeated by that same Power.
My team is once more partnered with another team in The city of Pitesti, Romania this month. I look forward to seeing my parents in about two weeks at the Parent Vision Trip. Pray for their safe travels, that my squad would finish our race, fight the good fight, and keep the faith.
-Matt
