My dear friend Rebecca Friday has inspired me for years with her longtime
commitment to "visit and look after the fatherless," as James admonishes us
in James 1:27—in Rebecca's case referring to the orphans of Central
America. I have watched over the years as God has utilized Rebecca's
missionary work not only to improve the lives of orphans but also to sanctify
her. We who follow Jesus surrender ourselves to a process by which God
conforms us day by day, little by little, to the image of His Son. This is
called our sanctification. Difficult as that is, we steadily learn self-sacrifice
and develop the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Rebecca presents a
beautiful example of a fruitful, sanctified servant of God.
Rebecca's preparations for her missions trips say so much about her
Christian walk. These times of preparation are not just about shopping and
packing. They are times of deep spiritual tempering, during which she puts
on the full armor of God and tunes her spiritual ears to hear the voice of her
Shepherd, without whom she cannot effectively serve. She can't imagine
going on these trips without God and His protection. Her missionary work
and her whole life thus reflect the blessing that comes from deep dependence
on God. You'll see what I mean when you read her stories.
God is a missionary God, and He sends people out on missions for His glory.
Friday calls herself "an unlikely missionary." Maybe everyone surrendered
to God's will in the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has sometimes
felt "unlikely." I know I have. I am far too aware of my failings to consider
myself anything but unlikely. We all, saved by grace, are unlikely candidates
for contributing to His awesome drama of redemption. We must come away
from times of dedicated service to God with a keen awareness of our
powerlessness and God's limitless power. We're left marveling at Him. He
gets all the glory. We are weak so He can be strong.
Let my friend Rebecca and her God-honoring life inspire you to be bold in
bringing the love of God to your own mission field, whether you are called
to a faraway land or to those in your own household.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so l...
What is the Great Commission? With all power given Him, Jesus tells us to go make disciples of all nations, gloriously changing them forever in character and reality by God's grace and power. How does adventure fit in? As author Rebecca Friday tells us, "God commands His children to leave the safety of home to go into hellish places by the power of the Gospel until Christians have discipled every nation, and every nation rises to its calling in Christ." Service to God is always a life of adventure, but no service is more adventurous than foreign missions.
Friday calls herself "an Unlikely Missionary." Perhaps everyone surrendered to God's will in the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has sometimes felt "unlikely." We all, saved by grace, are unlikely candidates for contributing to God's awesome drama of redemption. We must come away from times of dedicated service to God with a keen awareness of our powerlessness and God's limitless power. We're left marveling at Him. He gets all the glory. We are weak so He can be strong.
Friday demonstrates through this unfolding of her missionary life how God shows up to use the unlikely to fulfill His purposes, so that He receives His rightful glory. Friday becomes the unlikely translator, the unlikely comforter, the unlikely serenader, administrator, driver, life-saving prayer warrior, and more. As she learns that missions is not about fulfilling a personal bucket list, she allows God to use her in unexpected ways where she is most needed. Most importantly, we learn with her how love changes lives.
Friday's messy real-life encounters in the mission field reach deep into our hearts and touch us with their poignancy. But more than that, they teach us what the Great Commission really means and how the Church can do better at fulfilling this commission. With every chapter, Friday draws us into contemplation of the broader issues raised by her experiences. She generously honors those who taught her. Through their lives of sacrifice and surrender to God and willingness to touch the uncomfortable reality of poverty and corruption, they became the hands of Jesus to the most needy. Though qualifying her role as missionary with the word unlikely, Rebecca Friday can count herself among those rare servants of God.
Título : Great Commission Adventures: Real-Life Encounters of an Unlikely Missionary
EAN : 9781946497901
Editorial : NordskogPublishing
El libro electrónico Great Commission Adventures: Real-Life Encounters of an Unlikely Missionary está en formato ePub
¿Quieres leer en un eReader de otra marca? Sigue nuestra guía.
Puede que no esté disponible para la venta en tu país, sino sólo para la venta desde una cuenta en Francia.
Si la redirección no se produce automáticamente, haz clic en este enlace.
Conectarme
Mi cuenta