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Articles from July 2015

FOR THE SAKE OF THE CALL: GOD WANTS YOU!

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Jesus is calling us…issuing a special invitation. Will you accept?

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

“Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” 

Matthew 9:37-38, NLT

Yep. Look around. The spiritual fields are indeed ready for harvest. Multitudes are weary of living with no recognized purpose. They’re desperate for hope and are willing to listen to anyone who offers it. But few workers are willing to accept the call. Why? Because it’s hard work.

When I was a little girl, I remember seeing posters of Uncle Sam in his red, white, and blue uniform. Under the angry face, with finger pointing straight at me, the caption read, “Uncle Sam Wants You!” I just wanted to run away from him as fast as I could. His scornful face did not convey the purpose behind his call to service. God is calling out to us. “I WANT YOU to be my hands and feet in a lost world!”  Instead of asking in anger, He whispers to our hearts and pleads with us to see the needs of those around us.

He knows accepting the call is hard. He knows our fears, and doubts, yet He calls us – anyway. He knows our weaknesses and even incompetence, yet He promises to use us if we will step out in faith – anyway. He knows we don’t have what we need, yet promises to equip us for the job – anyway.

Several months ago, we were on a road trip. In the quietness of the car, I mentally planned our next trip to Nicaragua, and I was worried. “Lord”, I prayed, “I know you are telling us to go, but why haven’t you sent the finances? We just got back from three mission trips, and you know we don’t have the money to even finish the Youth Building in the village of Solidaridad, much less having funds for more books and plane tickets. Please send the finances we need for the next mission.”

This wasn’t the first time I’d reminded the Lord about our need. I guess He got tired of the whining, because I very distinctly heard in my heart, “The fields are white unto harvest. Pray for the Lord of the harvest to send workers for the harvest.”  That was quickly followed by, “I never told you to pray for money for the harvest; I told you to pray for the WORKERS for the harvest.”

Oh. OK.  “Lord, would you please send the workers for the harvest?”

We need workers who are prayer warriors to go before us in prayer, as our front line of defense. We need workers to travel to the foreign field with us. We need writers and proofreaders – computer and tech savvy workers to help us raise awareness about the mission to teach women to Take Back their Families. And we need workers with the gift of giving, to help support our missionaries on the ground in Central and South America. Because givers are workers too.

Pray. Go. Give. Three ways to go on mission with us in 2015 and fulfill the great commission. Won’t you join us? Visit our “Virtual Missions Page” to see how.

Until tomorrow

Your Traveling Partner

Brenda

FOR THE SAKE OF THE CALL: DON’T BE A SCARDY CAT

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Jesus is calling us…issuing a special invitation. Will you accept?

 

DON’T BE A SCARDY CAT

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 
Matthew 28:19-20, NLT 

Has God called you on a mission, and you’ve been afraid to move forward?

No? In Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT), Jesus spoke these words from His very own lips to our ears:

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

Sister, that call is to all who accept Jesus as Savior. All of us are called to pass on His grace and forgiveness to others. We are to multiply. We are called to accept His mission as our mission.

I remember distinctly the morning God clarified His call on my life and on the mission He was giving me. Ten months before that day, I was sitting in one of the gathering areas at The Cove, the Billy Graham conference center in the mountains of North Carolina. That’s when I heard the infamous words, “It’s time,” deep in my heart. God called me to write and teach the lessons from Titus 2:3-5, as found in Living in a Zoo. But a mere ten months later, He clarified the call by telling me what I was to do with it.

Our home church was holding its annual Missions Conference where missionaries from around the world shared their ministries. Sunday morning, before Pastor Jake even began his message, I started to cry and had no idea why. Watching the Flags of the Nation’s ceremony, I blubbered and sniffed like a mad woman.

Then the pastor opened his Bible and began reading chapter one from I Thessalonians. Melting into a puddle of heartfelt submission, I heard verse four, “We know dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you…” Then I heard Him speak specifically to my heart: “I am calling you to full-time ministry to women and their families.” I wept, questioned, and doubted Him. He pulled me along, albeit kicking and screaming. Then He confirmed that call in too many ways to share in this short space.

His call to go and teach was the same call He has given to us all, not just us “full timers.” I became a Christian on May 5, 1972. From that day until the November 18, 2001, mission conference, my service was specifically in the local church. Going “full time” for me simply meant adding other locations and countries as He led the way. Not everyone receives the same call. His plan for our lives is specific; it may not look like anybody else’s. But it is His call nonetheless.

He is calling you, too. It may be the call to accept His forgiveness and invite Him into your life. If so, here is how: http://www.zookeepersministries.com/getting-to-know-christ/

Or His call may be to join Him on His mission to reach others with His hope. Click the link below, and let’s all join Michael W. Smith in a decision to give Him our hearts, our insecurities, and our fears, and let Him move us forward in the plan He has for our lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsAKeRyK-xw

Until tomorrow,

Your Traveling Companion,

Brenda

FOR THE SAKE OF THE CALL: BACK UP OR MOVE FORWARD

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Jesus is calling us…issuing a special invitation. Will you accept?

 

BACK UP OR MOVE FORWARD

“Faithful is He who calls you and He will do it!” 

I Thessalonians 5:24, NLT”

“I don’t know how I’m going to do all this Lord. So much is happening in the ministry, good things, in so many different places. You know I’m not equipped to handle it! It’s way above my head God. I see the giants all around us. What do I do?”

The room was dark and Tom slept soundly beside me, muffled snores the only thing breaking the silence. And, of course, my thoughts were whirling as I lay beside him, wide awake at 3:00 a.m. Getting up for the third time, I decided to start reading Deuteronomy, hoping I’d fall asleep within seven verses.

Instead of making me fall asleep, God used what I call “the Reminder Book,” Deuteronomy, to remind me again of His faithful leading since the time He called me to this mission of Zookeepers Ministries. He reminded me He was the One who has done it, and will continue to do it. My calling is simply to obey, to speak the truth of His Word in love, and to follow His lead.

And to do it at His speed: baby step by baby step, or running with Him, however He chooses.

And He reminded me not to be afraid of the giants that try to stand in the way of the mission. They will fall as He commands.

That is God’s promise to us. He has a mission, a plan, for all our lives. When we let Him, He will do it in and through us.

Back in bed, I finally fell asleep sometime after 4:30 a.m.  Upon awakening a mere three hours later, I read Tami Carr’s Daily Dose of Encouragement, (September 19). I quote, “If there is one thing perfectly clear in this passage, it is that God takes responsibility for the success of the mission while Samuel’s response to God’s instructions is obedience …God is faithful to do what He says He will do. He is responsible for keeping His Word. We, like Samuel, must be obedient and trust Him to accomplish His plan in and through us.”

Confirmation. It’s like a breath of fresh air when you need it most. Yes, the mission He started twelve years ago will move forward as He leads. We will not stop because of giants in the land.

Dear Sister, has God called you a mission, and you’ve been afraid to move forward? Are the giants, the enemies of God’s plan, plaguing you with doubt? Don’t listen! Join us on mission, because God has a plan for you!

Ponder these things as you go about life today, and listen to this song as you begin the pondering.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JI4CPfuLW0

Until tomorrow,

Your Traveling Companion,

Brenda