Terry's Devotion:
June 2 - Rejoice!
Luke 10: 17-20 "The seventy-two returned with joy and said,
"Lord, even demons submit to us in your name." He replied, "I saw Satan fall
like lightening from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and
scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your
names are written in heaven."
Oswald Chambers said, "Our tendency today is to put the emphasis on
service." He also said, "It is the work that God does through us that counts,
not what we do for Him."
When Chambers spoke of putting "the emphasis on service", he was saying
that our focus is often there, on ONLY service, instead of where it should be.
This is a trap for many people on the mission field. We often travel to far away
countries with the best of intentions...to train national leaders, to meet basic
needs, to serve in every possible way...but somewhere along the way we sometimes
forget that our emphasis must be on our personal relationship with the Lord. If
we lose sight of that, what we call service is done in vain. Above all, every
opportunity that we are given to serve should be about making Christ known and
bringing glory to God. We serve in His name and because of His name. But how can
we do that if our relationship with Him is not the emphasis of our lives?
So many go to the mission field to serve, to change a small part of the
world for the better, to help their fellow man, to make a difference. More often
than not, they leave knowing that a difference has been made...in their very own
lives. God reveals Himself in incredible ways during times like this, when we
step into the unknown. While we think we are going to make a difference in
another's life, He often uses this time to make a huge difference in ours, as
well.
I do not know your story. I do not know if you know Jesus as your Savior
and if you say that you are a Christian, if you live as if you really are.
Sometimes people call themselves Christians, but they have no idea what that
really means. I would rather know if a person is a true follower of Christ. I do
not know how strong your faith is or if you even have faith at all. What I do
know is that you have been given the opportunity to serve in Guatemala, but do
not allow that alone to become the emphasis of this short, one week mission
trip. We are called to serve, but above all, we are called to be in right
relationship with the Lord. Without that, we cannot serve as He calls us to
serve, love as He wants us to love or be the person He created us to be.
We spend weeks, sometimes months, before a mission trip talking about what
all we want to accomplish and how we want to see lives changed. As the time to
leave approaches, we become more and more excited about what will be. And we
should be excited because mission trips are big deals. But we cannot forget to
rejoice NOW, before we go, for what WE already know. If we are His followers,
our names are written in heaven!
Lord, we are expecting you to use us for great things during our time
in Guatemala, but help us to not let our minds be clouded with the thought that
we are there for any reason other than to bring you honor and glory. Remind us
often each day that while we are going to bring your love and your message of
hope to the people of Guatemala, that the condition of each of our personal
relationships with you is important. Move in our lives in a way that brings us
closer to you as we work to share your love with others. We rejoice now, before
we even go, not because of anything we will accomplish in Guatemala, but because
our names are already written heaven.
Terry Carr Bracey
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Across All Borders
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Across All Borders
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