LIFE Has Begun
I have just finished my first official week of LIFE! (The Lay Institute For Evangelism). And it has been good. The first day, I came away overwhelmed by the great work that we have before us and the amount of money we still have to raise, but since then, I've been encouraged by the fact that I know I'm here doing God's work. If He wants me here, I know He'll provide the means to keep me here!
I've learned so much already! The various presenters and instructors have so much valuable information to share that I find myself furiously scribbling notes down as they speak because I want to remember it all!
In my Biblical Foundations class, we studied various topics, such as, the story of Ruth, how we explain bad things happening in life, the book of Philemon, Proverbs 31 and what it means to "fear the Lord," and the Sermon on the Mount. I think I'm going to try to start blogging every day so I can share little nuggets of what I learn each day, otherwise it becomes too much to share.
For example, in Matthew 5:39 where Jesus talks about turning the other cheek, this isn't telling us to be passive Christians, allowing people to walk all over us - it isn't telling us to let the person push us around and slap our other cheek. This verse is teaching us to practice assertive love - we are to actively turn the other cheek to them. And it's these acts of assertive love, like turning the other cheek and going the second mile (all found in Chapter 5), that verse 16 is talking about when it says, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
I've also learned a lot about missions. The statistics are staggering! Did you know that only 1/10 of the world are Bible-believing Christians that take the great commission seriously?!? That means we have a great work to do to take the message to the other 9/10 of the world. Of that number, 2/10 of the world are "Christians" but by name only and have no commitment to sharing the message with others; 3/10 are non-Christians, but have Christian neighbors, which mean they are accessible to share the gospel with; and 4/10 of the world can't hear the gospel because they are behind cultural and often geographic barriers, which means we actually have to go and find them in order to share Jesus with them.
The director of LIFE, Ken Norton, put the great commission into his own words: "Until someone goes somewhere, no one is going anywhere." Matthew 24:14 tells us that there is a direct connection with sharing the gospel and the end of the world. Learning all this stuff, I start wondering how God will be able to use me and I get start getting nervous about sharing my faith because I don't know all that I wish I knew about the Bible. But then I'm reminded of the disciples - they didn't have it all together, they didn't know all the scriptures by heart, many of them didn't have very good social skills, or know how to give an effective Bible study. But, they did have a passion and a burning desire in their hearts to share Jesus and what He had done in their lives, and that's all they needed. That's all that you and I need, too!
Please keep me in your prayers as this program continues. I still have lots of work to do to raise all the necessary funds and I know that the devil will be working hard to stop this work or discourage me in the process. So your prayers will be greatly needed and appreciated!
I've learned so much already! The various presenters and instructors have so much valuable information to share that I find myself furiously scribbling notes down as they speak because I want to remember it all!
In my Biblical Foundations class, we studied various topics, such as, the story of Ruth, how we explain bad things happening in life, the book of Philemon, Proverbs 31 and what it means to "fear the Lord," and the Sermon on the Mount. I think I'm going to try to start blogging every day so I can share little nuggets of what I learn each day, otherwise it becomes too much to share.
For example, in Matthew 5:39 where Jesus talks about turning the other cheek, this isn't telling us to be passive Christians, allowing people to walk all over us - it isn't telling us to let the person push us around and slap our other cheek. This verse is teaching us to practice assertive love - we are to actively turn the other cheek to them. And it's these acts of assertive love, like turning the other cheek and going the second mile (all found in Chapter 5), that verse 16 is talking about when it says, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
I've also learned a lot about missions. The statistics are staggering! Did you know that only 1/10 of the world are Bible-believing Christians that take the great commission seriously?!? That means we have a great work to do to take the message to the other 9/10 of the world. Of that number, 2/10 of the world are "Christians" but by name only and have no commitment to sharing the message with others; 3/10 are non-Christians, but have Christian neighbors, which mean they are accessible to share the gospel with; and 4/10 of the world can't hear the gospel because they are behind cultural and often geographic barriers, which means we actually have to go and find them in order to share Jesus with them.
The director of LIFE, Ken Norton, put the great commission into his own words: "Until someone goes somewhere, no one is going anywhere." Matthew 24:14 tells us that there is a direct connection with sharing the gospel and the end of the world. Learning all this stuff, I start wondering how God will be able to use me and I get start getting nervous about sharing my faith because I don't know all that I wish I knew about the Bible. But then I'm reminded of the disciples - they didn't have it all together, they didn't know all the scriptures by heart, many of them didn't have very good social skills, or know how to give an effective Bible study. But, they did have a passion and a burning desire in their hearts to share Jesus and what He had done in their lives, and that's all they needed. That's all that you and I need, too!
Please keep me in your prayers as this program continues. I still have lots of work to do to raise all the necessary funds and I know that the devil will be working hard to stop this work or discourage me in the process. So your prayers will be greatly needed and appreciated!
Comments
You should know that your words are not only informational but also very special and spiritual. Thanks for sharing Mai! I miss you.
See you soon,
Dawn