Voice of the Martyrs
Today in chapel we had a speaker from the mission agency Voice of the Martyrs. It was such a good chapel, and I'm loving how so many of our chapels have had missions focuses. Our speaker spoke off of Luke 9:23 where Christ says "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." He spoke on each part using stories from persecuted Christians all over the world. A theme he kept emphasizing was the fact that "It's not about me--it's about finding God's will and doing it." He talked about three points of being a follower of Christ:
1) We must deny ourselves--when we gave our lives to Christ, it's no longer about us. Our self-interests must die, and our goal must be to do the will of God.
2) We must take up our cross--we must be willing to expose ourselves to death for the sake of our Lord.
3) We must follow Christ--we must follow in his footsteps, giving up our lives for the will of God and the salvation of others.
Living for Christ may bring a pretty heavy cost...but I think the eternal cost would be greater if we neglected doing the will of God, that is, giving our all for the sake of his gospel. He gave statistics today that every 3-3 1/2 minutes, a Christian is killed for their faith. That means that in about a single hour's time, about 20 of our Christian brothers and sisters have given up their lives for the sake of Christ. They would rather die than deny their Lord. And that makes me ask myself: what do I ever give up for the sake of my Lord, who gave up everything for me?
He told a story of an 18 year old boy in Sudan who had lost everything. He'd lost his family, he had no home to live in, and he could no longer finish school because he had gone to a Christian school which was now destroyed. Many of his teachers had been killed. For a long time he wandered around the wilderness in Sudan, with no home and very little food to survive on. And when he was asked what hope he had to live on, he replied, "God has asked me to tell my people about him. And I am going to." An 18 year old boy, who has already lost much, is willing to devote himself to telling his people about Christ, though he knows it will most likely cost him his life. And I ask myself again: what am I willing to give up for the sake of my Lord?
I know the Lord has called me to some kind of ministry or missions, most likely overseas, but I am still at a loss to all that will entail. I don't know yet where God wants to send me, but I know that I want to go. I think of Christian brothers and sisters around the world who daily live lives of self-denial for their Christ. They understand, perhaps more than I, what it means to "count it all as nothing for the sake of knowing Christ." When I think of all that these people give, all they endure for the sake of Christ...and when I think of all the people who still live with no hope because they have not yet heard of the God of Hope...I do not know how I could one day look into the face of the One who gave his all for such people, and then to say that I could not find it in my heart to do the same.
I do not know what God will ask of me--it may be comparatively little. But I want to be found faithful to give my all. If only I could ask myself each day: what will I give today for the sake of my Lord? And then if only I could be found faithful to obey.
1) We must deny ourselves--when we gave our lives to Christ, it's no longer about us. Our self-interests must die, and our goal must be to do the will of God.
2) We must take up our cross--we must be willing to expose ourselves to death for the sake of our Lord.
3) We must follow Christ--we must follow in his footsteps, giving up our lives for the will of God and the salvation of others.
Living for Christ may bring a pretty heavy cost...but I think the eternal cost would be greater if we neglected doing the will of God, that is, giving our all for the sake of his gospel. He gave statistics today that every 3-3 1/2 minutes, a Christian is killed for their faith. That means that in about a single hour's time, about 20 of our Christian brothers and sisters have given up their lives for the sake of Christ. They would rather die than deny their Lord. And that makes me ask myself: what do I ever give up for the sake of my Lord, who gave up everything for me?
He told a story of an 18 year old boy in Sudan who had lost everything. He'd lost his family, he had no home to live in, and he could no longer finish school because he had gone to a Christian school which was now destroyed. Many of his teachers had been killed. For a long time he wandered around the wilderness in Sudan, with no home and very little food to survive on. And when he was asked what hope he had to live on, he replied, "God has asked me to tell my people about him. And I am going to." An 18 year old boy, who has already lost much, is willing to devote himself to telling his people about Christ, though he knows it will most likely cost him his life. And I ask myself again: what am I willing to give up for the sake of my Lord?
I know the Lord has called me to some kind of ministry or missions, most likely overseas, but I am still at a loss to all that will entail. I don't know yet where God wants to send me, but I know that I want to go. I think of Christian brothers and sisters around the world who daily live lives of self-denial for their Christ. They understand, perhaps more than I, what it means to "count it all as nothing for the sake of knowing Christ." When I think of all that these people give, all they endure for the sake of Christ...and when I think of all the people who still live with no hope because they have not yet heard of the God of Hope...I do not know how I could one day look into the face of the One who gave his all for such people, and then to say that I could not find it in my heart to do the same.
I do not know what God will ask of me--it may be comparatively little. But I want to be found faithful to give my all. If only I could ask myself each day: what will I give today for the sake of my Lord? And then if only I could be found faithful to obey.
posted by Katy @ 10:42 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home