a stolen blog--from "Christ for all nations"

-please note this was copied and pasted from my email...something to think about..always pray for the nations, to know the Truth and to be free-

What Are You Waiting For?

Matthew 24:14 (NKJV), Matthew 28:19 (NKJV), Hebrews 10:12-13 (NKJV)
I heard a minister recently talking about the rapture and trying to make the point that every prophecy necessary to the return of Christ has already been fulfilled. One of his points was that the Gospel has already been preached in all the world according to the promise of Jesus in Matt 24:14 (And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.) “Now,” he said, “We’re just waiting for Jesus to come back.”
If you are one of those standing in line waiting for the rapture like a ride at Disney World, consider these statistics on world evangelism that I have collected from a variety of sources. As you read these, keep in mind, that in the United States there is 1 ordained minister for every 200 people. Yet…

• For every million unreached Muslims there are less than 3 missionaries.
• In Afghanistan there are 17 million people, 48,000 mosques…but not a single church.
• In Turkey there are 44 million people, but less then 200 Christians.
• In India alone 500 million people have yet to hear the Gospel.
• 30% of the world’s population (more than 2 billion people) have had virtually no exposure to the Gospel.
• The New Testament has been translated into the mother tongue of over 80% of the world’s population. However the remaining approximately 20%, will require over 5,500 new translations.

Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19). The word, “Nations” is “Ethne” in the Greek, meaning ethnic people groups. Yet…

• There are an estimated 6,700 unreached or nearly unreached people groups.
• The countries with the most unreached people groups in descending order; India, China, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh.
• 98% of all unreached people groups are located in the “10/40 Window."

THE GREAT COMMISSION IS STILL UNFULFILLED! Oswald Smith said, “We talk of the Second Coming; but half the world has never heard of the first.” Regardless if you are “pre-trib,” “post-trib,” mid-trib,” or some other “trib,” we must all confess that there is something desperately wrong with this type of doctrinal philosophy that makes us happy to escape with our own hides while the world burns and billions of people are lost. Where is the heart of Jesus in that? “…that none would perish, but that all would come to repentance.”
Here’s some food for thought; Jesus died more then 2,000 years ago. If it was God’s ultimate goal to rapture us all out of this “old god-forsaken world,” then why are we still here? What are we still waiting for? One person told me, “Jesus is building my mansion in Heaven.” Really? It took Him 6 days to create the entire cosmos, yet He’s been hung up with your “mansion” for 2,000 years? Not likely.
Heb. 10:12, 13 says, “but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.” Since we are His hands and feet, then He must be waiting for…us. If He is waiting for us, and we are waiting for Him, it would seem we are at an impasse. This is why Jesus told His disciples, “GO” into all the world and preach the Gospel. No more waiting and debating…just Go and PREACH.

“In the vast plain to the north I have sometimes seen, in the morning sun, the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been” — Robert Moffat.

this week in reas news...relocation

our family has relocated this week, into a real life log cabin. as beautiful as it is, as peaceful as the views are, as lovely as the song of birds through the windows sound, it's still not "home." i know it's only been 6 days, but i still feel so displaced. like a fish out of water, flopping around on the floor of a boat, gasping for air and pleading with its catcher to throw it back into the sea...that's how i feel. i'm homesick, not necessarily for my old house, but for the feeling of comfort and home. and then i realize how terribly selfish and ungrateful that sounds.

sure, my "feelings" are validated simply because they are mine. but i have to take responsibility for any feeling that goes against the truth. what is truth? the great pontious pilate that ultimatley sentenced the Savior of the world to death asked this same question..."what is truth?" as a side note..this is why i have a tattoo with the word "truth," to remind myself of pilate's question and what that answer was... let's see, the truth, as my house is concerned, is this:

-this place is a direct blessing from my Creator and GOD, He purposefully chose this place for us and blessed us with it

-who am i to grumble about feeling displaced when right now, thousands,  maybe millions world-wide have literally been displaced as a result of genocide, tornadoes, hurricanes, war, hunger, poverty, tsunamis....earthquakes, like in haiti?

-and while some people have tents to live in, some have nothing to live in. no type of covering over their head in the rain, the cold, the heat. some are homeless and would give their right arm to be where i am

so that's the truth. no matter what my feelings say to me, the above is truth and no feeling or thought of mine is going to stand up against any of the truths i've listed. so for now, when i start to feel "home"-sick, i'll remember my real home is with my Savior. He is my shelter from the storm, my refuge to run to, my permanent home where i will never feel displaced. He is my home, and that home resides within me, no matter what roof is or isn't over my head.

look in the mirror and say this......

hey! YOU! yeah, you..the one who is reading this because you followed my link from facebook, or you may be one of the ones worldwide that reads this (yup, i know..i check my stats...i see you,"Germany") and YOU, friend of mine who keeps up with my writings. yes, i'm speaking to you, to me, to your neighbor, to your boss, to my neighbor, to my boss....

did you know, you have value? you have worth simply because you are....merely because you breathe. that places value on you. it doesn't matter what you LOOK like, the clothes you have, the job/car/spouse/house you have. it doesn't matter if you do a million good things or just one....it doesn't matter if you're in prison for the filthiest crime imaginable...you have value and worth. not value that the world gives, but value from a Creator who adored His creation so much that He gave His only Son in death, and in life, for YOU. for ME. OUR CREATOR GOD SEES VALUE IN WHO WE AAAARRRRREEEEE. not what we do, what we don't do....our efforts to Him to be "good" are as "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).

for me personally, it's doesn't and shouldn't matter if i don't receive the love and approval of the ones i need it most from...because i've already been approved of. i already have worth. there's a Father in heaven that is so much more important than anyone's opinion on me. i have value simply because i am a creation of GOD Almighty!!!!! i was born, not able to do great things as a baby....and yet, my parents found worth in me just because i was. the same with my girls...before they could even tell me they loved me, or even knew who i was...they mattered and had immense priceless value to me!!! AND THE SAME WITH OUR SAVIOR!!! before we even knew He loved us, before we even knew Him....He thought us to be worthy of His love and of His Son. oh how stinking unworthy are we that He should love us so....but in His mind, we are worthy....we are valuable...we do matter!!!!

so to you, reader of mine....look in the mirror. say to yourself "i matter. i'm important. i'm valuable. i'm full of worth. simply because i'm me." and then, go out into in the world and make a difference, just by being your valuable self.

"For GOD so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

my cup runneth over---being 30 may not suck after all...

last night one particular phrase kept running through my mind..."my cup runneth over." "My Cup Runneth Over" is a quotation from the Hebrew Bible (Psalm 23:5) and means "I have more than enough for my needs." my cup truly runs over daily..between the food in my stomach, the clothes on my back, the air in my lungs, a Savior in my heart, and the roof over my head...i would say my Heavenly Father has blessed me above and beyond!!! but last night, i kept hearing that phrase in my heart..."my cup runneth over, my cup runneth over."

you see, i'll be 30 on tuesday. and for some reason unbeknownst to me, my Creator and Abba Father loves me so much, that He has orchestrated a most perfect celebration for His beloved (that's me!) the party started about a week ago when my brother came into town, one of my most favorite people on the face of the planet. not only did we have a great time together, but he brought me a gift from my sisters and himself..they had all gone in together to buy me an Amazon Kindle. if you know me, you know i'm a book-worm at heart...this present brought tears to my eyes. i know that each one of my siblings were hand-picked especially for me!! ALL of them are so dear to my soul!!

THEN, i was blessed last weekend by being able to go to miami with my best friend on a work trip. i stayed in the nicest hotel i'd ever seen, ate amazing food, and bff and i took a taxi and went to south beach to swim in the beautiful ocean and eat yummy cuban food!!! (i mean, the timing of all of this is just amazing)

and then, last night..when my cup runneth over.....my closest girl friends surprised me with a 30th birthday bash at an extremley nice restaurant (tip to all, ASK how much the special is before you order it and have someone else pay for it). david, my sister deanna, and my friends all went in and planned this shin-dig!!! when hubby took me to this restaurant, i had no idea that a table full of amazing women, flowers, gifts, and smiles would be awaiting me! we sang, danced, laughed, (i) made a fool of myself :)....and later into the evening when i looked around the table i felt it. when my cup started not only running over, but flooding my entire soul with love and gratefulness for these precious women that i have been blessed with. each so beautiful and special in their own God-given way. there were new and old friends alike, but all just sat there..holding a piece of my heart with the sweetest grace and acceptance i'd ever witnessed. here i was, weeks ago, being depressed about (not turning) being 30. but why? when i have all of these people? when i have all of this love?

AND if all that wasn't enough!!! .... my sister debbie and her sweet little family are coming today for the weekend on a last minute trip....WOW!!! i can't wait to see what the rest of the weekend has in store for me!

waking up this morning, and walking into a kitchen with balloons and flowers from last night, and all of my gifts carefully placed on the counter, i felt it again. my cup runneth over...and this being 30 thing might not suck after all.

"GOD, baptize me in the criticism of man, to free me from the approval of man."

what happens when you don't get what you want from others? when they with-hold love, affection, approval, kindness from you...it hurts, yes? it hurts me. but thankfully, i'm being freed, being weened and eventually will be cut-off from an addiction so consuming, it has become an ever-present best friend and worst enemy; approval addiction.

it started when i was very young, but it wasn't until 2 years ago when i stepped out of the light of denial into the world of truth. my husband brought me home a book he found that day called "Approval Addiction: Overcoming Your Need to Please Everyone" by Joyce Meyer. i laughed hysterically because we have never had that conversation, you know, the one where i live in a state of constant martyrdom in order that i please everyone else and strive to make myself appear perfect for the sake of others. i was also crying on the inside for the very same reason. david saw. he knew. he never said a word, but how it must have made his heart ache to see his wife in daily turmoil for years, just to make everyone else happy and to be the person she thought they needed her to be. i don't think i actually ever knew what *that* was, not until i saw it staring at me in black and white. "it" finally had a name, and i wasn't ready to face it.

my mind had raced for years, an inner dialogue with myself that went something like this: am i pretty enough? smart enough, funny, skinny, spiritual, sensitive, nice, happy enough? what if i'm not? what if others don't like me? if i become like her, people will like me! if i spend hours investing in other people's lives, others will think i'm so good and sweet! if that person compliments me, it will make my whole day..what if they don't? what if i don't get what i need from her? from him? i hate myself. i'm not any good..that person doesn't treat me like i want to be treated and it hurts. something is wrong with me. if i just sacrifice all i have, then they will see how great i am. if everyone loves me, then i'll be okay. if this person notices me today, i'll be happy. i hate myself, it's not fair that i'm me. i know i'm my Father's creation, and that to Him i'm enough..but what about her? what about him? do my kids like me? what if the blogs i write make people upset? what if i tell someone no? will they be mad? what if the way i act displeases God? i must act better! if i'm bad, i hate myself...i have no good in me, i'm totally rotten and everyone must think i'm terrible until..wait..another compliment! okay, i'm good again!!  and on and on and on and on.

as i just wrote that, the pure honest words of my very pitiful heart, i cried. not because i feel sorry for myself, but because i know so many others like this. and they don't see...that THIS IS THE ENEMY! THESE ARE SATAN'S LIES!!!! WE MUST BE FREE FROM THE PARALIZING PAIN FROM THOUGHTS AND WORDS, AND ACTIONS OF OTHERS THAT HURT US!! even the ones that make us feel good..we must not become so dependant upon the feelings of others' approval of us! i am "fearfully and wonderfully made"(Psalm 139).....my Abba Father created me perfectly. i need no one's love, i need no one's approval...if all were stripped away, and all i had was the love of a Creator that gave His Son for ME, that is enough. HE IS ENOUGH! HIS THOUGHTS OF ME ARE ENOUGH!!!! NO MAN OR WOMAN CAN GIVE ME THE LOVE THAT HE DOES, NOR THE APPROVAL....NO MATTER HOW I ACT!!!  He is gracious, and wants us to be free in Him!!!

He is showing me how to be free...to GIVE love, acceptance, approval TO others. not focus on GETTING these things...but to give and allow His love inside of me to overflow and bubble up on those around me. this "rehab program" that He's taking me through is HARD. sometimes i get little to nothing from the people i need it from the most. but that's not the point. the point is to set me free, not them, and though sometimes the love i give is through gritted teeth and a humble heart, i know His ways are best. and the way i was living was a most painful prison.

hopefulness? or hopelessness?

i love that feeling i get when the sky is full of gray clouds, and then i catch a glimpse of patchy blue showing its face from behind the veil of darkness. it's the same feeling i get when i see david's first smile or hear him say a kind word to me after a fight. it happens after a repentant prayer, crying out for His mercy. it's called hope. and nothing can match it, and nothing can beat it, and there's nothing like it. without hope, life is a torture chamber for prisoners of war.

have you ever met someone stripped down to naked hopelessness? have you ever looked into the eyes of someone in so much pain that they felt it would be more beneficial to die than to take another breath of air? or someone that has given up with no intention on doing anything but go through the motions of life? they've lost their hope.

have you met the one who, despite trial and tribulation, finds something to smile about? no matter what this life does to them, they just keep fighting, keeping their head up...they have hope.

which are you?

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in GOD; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my GOD.—Psalm 42:11

 

For you, O LORD, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.

—Psalm 71:5 

 

May the GOD of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

—Romans 15:13

 

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

—Romans 12:12

the resurrection of the dead

i have written about this in pieces for the past year. it's a subject that so many can relate to, a topic that hits home more than we'd like to admit. but maybe this blog won't be about this particular event in my life, maybe it will be about resurrection of the dead. because what can be more lifeless than a dead marriage and what can give us more hope than a resurrection of that relationship?

david left me in 2007 for about a month. i thought my heart, my guts, my very lungs were being sucked out of my body. it was truly the darkest time in my life, i was positive i would never live to smile again. you see back then, i had made david my god, my idol...and instead of putting my Savior first in my life (refer to the first commandment, "thou shalt NOT put any god before Me"), He very mercifully, removed david from me. i have no doubt that the pain i felt in '07 was a direct result of the mercy of my Father, because yes, it was the most painful time of my life, but i had never had to depend on my GOD like that before. i had never needed Him to literally breathe in me because i couldn't breathe myself. and in the darkness, there was so much peace, there was so much of His presence surrounding me, giving me strength that i balked at because i thought, "no, that's not me. i'm not that strong." and yet, His strength was made perfect in my weakness. david and i did reconcile (obviously), but i had come out the other side stronger, closer to my Creator, a brand new thing had happened in me and i had no idea at the time how i would be able to minister and help others in the months and years to come that were going through the exact same thing.

fast forward to spring 2010. i couldn't do it any more. be married to this man, our rough times were not behind us, but growing ever larger with every passing day. i couldn't do it. to carry on in my marriage would mean emotional and mental suicide. so i left. it was one of the hardest things i've ever done in my entire life, to take our two daughters and move out. it was also the best thing i could've ever done for david. no, i wasn't perfect in our marriage, but there were things i refused to live with any longer..and once i was gone, david was left with no one but himself, forced to look long and hard in a mirror of self-reflection.

2 days after i left, i passed david on the road. he was driving so fast, and i remember texting him to "slow down PLEASE."  he never responded and i went about my friday night, going to my best friend's house and eating dinner. next thing i know he texts me and says we needed to talk, and that he was pulling in the driveway. gripped with fear of the unknown, i walked outside and into his truck. i told jill and alicia, "if i'm not back in 10 minutes, come get me." what happened next was the very last thing i could have ever expected.

you see, for many years i prayed for david's salvation. for his turning towards the Light. i knew that if he did, my life would be so much better and easier to handle. how selfish were those prayers. of course i didn't want him going to hell, because i do most certainly believe that our Messiah is the Way, the Truth, the Life and the ONLY way to the Father is through Him. there were countless tears shed, too many notes in my Bible to count regarding my prayers for david, and many prayer requests given for him. there were fists pointed towards heaven begging GOD, pleading with Him to please get through to my husband. i remember one Easter sunday when david came to see a play at our church, and during the invitation/altar call i went back stage and hid in a room; i fell to my knees and with my face on the floor i begged for david to turn his life over ..there was a large puddle of tear drops underneath my face. everytime i pass that room at church now, the gratefulness i feel...but wait..i haven't gotten there yet.....

staring at david's tear-stained face shocked me. i knew he had been devastated over the loss of his family, but to see him broken like that put a knife in my heart. i stayed hard though, in that truck, showing him i was still making the right decision and no matter what he had to say, i wasn't gonna come back home, no matter what. he started telling me of his night, when he passed me on the road he was going to renny's house (the pastor at my church), just for someone to talk to. nothing more, nothing less. and in those moments of sadness, confusion, clarity, and hope in pastor renny's office, my husband surrendered himself to salvation giving him a new life with a new Master and a new vision. he kept saying he wasn't in control anymore. that he never was, that he finally had peace now and no matter what happened with us, while he desperatley wanted us to come back home, he had peace, and he was going to be okay. i sat there, numb. i had this insane notion that if david was saved, it would be in some grandiose gesture at church, flinging himself on the altar while a legion of angels would be singing "Hallelujah" in the choir loft......oh, but i know those angels were singing in heaven over my david just the same... i didn't know how to respond. even my "wow, that's amazing" sounded hollow and insincere. it was may 14, 2010.

 2 weeks after that i moved back home. the past year has been a brand new marriage, and i have a brand new husband. things are not perfect and romantic and amazing all the time. we struggle, we fight, we distance each other...but this time, we get back up. no more pain of the past, because after all, it is the past. and what was in the past is no more.

the Word eludes to the fact that our marriage on earth is to be a direct reflection of our relationship with our Savior. that a marriage is the single most important relationship we can ever have. it's meant to be the most fulfilling, the most cherished, the most nurtured relationship to ever be held in our grasp. so many of us, including me, look to see what we can GET in our marriage...when we should be focused on what we can GIVE in our marriage. i don't know your situation, but i'm here to tell you to never give up. sometimes we must let go, but we never give up. GOD can resurrect your dead marriage..He can give hope to the infertile, He can breathe life into the depressed. My Savior offers rest to the weary, compassion to the broken...HE RESURRECTS WHAT WE THINK IS DEAD, AND IMPOSSIBLE, AND HOPELESS. please have hope. please don't give up. please know that the One who created you, can create a new thing in you. He is more powerful, more worthy, more wonderful than you can ever grasp. and He still resurrects that which is dead.

Side note: this of course isn't all the story..there's so many secret things that my GOD did behind the scenes that i now see in hindsight to soften david's heart, and to soften mine. there's so much more than what is written here, and if you have any questions or just want to talk, let me know. i would love to share with you more, i would love in return to hear your story. He resurrects, He resurrects, He resurrects.....