Mission Trip Day 2

June 11, 2015
Morning Devotion
Philippians 1:21

²¹ For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.

But reading more...

 

Philippians 1:20-26

²⁰ For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. ²¹ For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. ²² But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. ²³ I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. ²⁴ But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

²⁵ Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. ²⁶ And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.

 

To be torn between living on Earth and dying to be with God has always been an internal debate of mine. I want to go to heaven and meet God but I want to see my kids grow up.
This is totally hitting me now---my first full day on a  mission trip---away from my kids---
No I am not dead or saying I want to die but following God and being closer to Him does sometimes mean sacrifice. Your mission for God and God's will sometimes calls you away from home. Away from loved ones and with God. But when I am away from home I miss my kids. Maybe I can blend the two and make God's calling to serve His mission and bring my kids along? <family missions, yeeaahh> This may be going off in left field a bit but it is exactly how I feel about working. I feel so judged by others for being a full time working mom, but I know it is God's calling for me also. Can I do His will (and be with Him) and still be that important rock and foundation and love for my kids?

I want to live to benefit others, share God's word, plant seeds, prepare my children for the future, see them grow. These thoughts brought me back to the passage from our missions mission verse in Romans 10. It talks about not all seeds will choose God. I realize though that the seed still must be planted and that is what I am called to do. Its really what we are all called to do.

 

Evening Journal

My first day in Nicaragua and this is not what I imagined. The team here took alot of time to learn sign language and even English for us! What can we do in return?
 

As they sang this evening "You make everything glorious and I am yours"; what does that make me?

We talked about John 19: 30 "It is finished" and what that means. Jesus completed the law of the old testament when He died. Now I have been through this before with Eric. The law refers to the 10 commandments and the old testament laws that Eric was raised with. Tonight, diving into the word I see what Tony (our mission's leader in Nicaragua) is saying. {and I am not the only one diving, Eric is in the zone with bible studying and journaling as we speak...} It is truly impossible to follow the Law, we will always fall short. Thank you Jesus for making a way for people like me who would be one of the first to fail.
 

The analogy talked about today is perfect. The commandments are a mirror to show us how dirty we are and that we are sinners. The mirror or knowledge of what we look like won't clean us. Jesus is our soap and cloth! So the law is important, but it doesn't rule over me or determine my salvation. Thank the Lord.

Evening Devotional

Galatians 1:11-23

Paul received a revelation from God but did not immediately share it or consult with other humans. Why not? Because he wanted God to make him clear and confident of his message.

Galatians 3:1-3

He then made sure that all the leaders agreed with his message prior to presenting it to the people. Wow, what a way to share the word of God with others, in agreement. <<<love it

Galatians 2:11-21

Do not give the law power over you. Now, instead of a set of rules, we have the Spirit!

But how do we not live by the law and be moral if its the only way we know?

Galatians 3:19-20

Confirmation that the law is our mirror. {Its so cool how God is awesome confirmation}

Galatians 3:23-28

 And then God answers my question {see above at Galatians 2:11-21}! Like always!

The law provided us with guidelines until God gave us the Spirit to guide our moral compass (our consciousness).
 

Galatians 6:4-5

⁴ Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. ⁵ For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
I mean seriously, God is stinkin' awesome!