Ahh, what a relief it is to be in Jesus...

“If you’re on God’s side, you’re on the winning side.” As I reflect on the words of a 106 year-old preacher/evangelist’s sermon that I was able to attend earlier this month, my mind begins to dwell on the first week of this month and how the Lord raised more than what was brought in for the entire month of August. This month has truly been a blessing and waking up early in the morning to go run and then spending some quiet time with the Lord afterwards has really helped me in seeking Him and realizing more and more why I need Him. God has definitely been setting up some divine appointments with people this month, and at the end of each one, He teaches me that it was not anything in my power that moved the person, but His Spirit who shines through me as I tell them my vision and mission for going to South Africa.
“These students are craaaazy hungry for Jesus.” With these enthusiastic words from my teammate, Tammi, who’s already in South Africa, I can’t help but to think about getting there. I think about it so much that the Lord had to show me that He still has things to teach me while I’m here in the States. Personally, He has shown me that if I don’t truly know Him, how can I expect to tell someone else about Him? He has shown me that I can be as good as I want at sharing my faith with someone but still be missing what the message that I’m sharing truly means. The Lord has taught me that my obligation to do His will does not start when I get over to South Africa, but that it starts right here and right now. I say this because, during a support appointment, I found myself sharing the gospel message with a potential supporter! This was odd because I usually don't do that during appointments but for some reason I brought my bible with the feeling that I might have to share the gospel with him.
This made me come to the understanding that, if my mentality isn’t mission driven all the time, then I’m just going over to South Africa to do some good works and then come back to regular life. Now, I must make it clear that I’m going to South Africa to share the gospel with lost students, and build them and other’s who are already believers, in their faith. Then, send them out to share with and build other’s up. I’m not going to build houses and feed people, that’s good in the right context because it is necessary, but my desire is to teach young people about Christ crucified. The Lord calls us to be ready at all times to preach the gospel, not just a set apart year dedicated to doing His will, but a life driven by one ultimate purpose: Glorifying God! Let’s do it, together!