So, its been a couple of weeks, I know! Its just that so much has happened and I could write a novel about it all if I had the time and energy. So, maybe a little rundown of the last couple of weeks, but I'm sorry for lack of details. I would absolutely LOVE to talk about it more in detail later though!
So, the weekend of the 28th a guy named Justin spent the weekend with us (He's a Messianic Jew--and he leads summer pilgrimages in Israel for college students-it sounds awesome, I know!). He took us to a local Messianic Synagogue and shared the entire layout of the bible with us, and how ALL OF IT points to Christ. There is so much in scriptures that I never saw before--how many times the word "nations" is mentioned, and the parables, and Jesus' life. I learned so much about Jesus' culture and His humanness but also the incredible part of him. His ministry was only for 3 years, but in those three years the world was changed forever, it was turned upside down. This man is Jesus, Emmanuel, Messiah, Healer, Redeemer, Lover (not that kind of lover! He's a lover of people in its truest sense). I learned the incredible parallels in the feeding of the 5000 in John 6:1-15 and psalm 23 and also the comparison of the details in the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the lesser talked about 4000 in Mark 8:1-13. It opened my eyes a whole lot to God's heart and who Jesus is!
The next week we finished up the Perspectives course which was also overall incredible and eye-opening, I finished up with a 93%, oh yeah! Then we went through Perspectives coordinator training, so I'm all trained up to start up or help out with a new class basically anywhere I live, even overseas, which is quite exciting. We watched an amazing video called Ee-Taow!! about this couple and a huge team of people(there with them, and at home) working with this tribe in Papua New Ginea for years learning the language and presenting the gospel in a series of stories starting with Genesis and pointing out God's promise for a redeemer and someone to die in our place. Once the tribe saw that this promised one was Jesus, the entire tribe accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior and now they have shared this gospel in all the surrounding villages and are preparing to take it to other tribes and learn a whole new language and culture. That is the gospel power! The gospel is so encompassing and life changing and HUGE. God is really moving in the world, and until every people group has had a chance to hear the gospel, the end won't come (and Jesus won't come for a second time)(Matt. 24:14).
4th of July was great fun. I got to spend it playing volleyball and barbequeing and going around philly with a Japanese girl, then fireworks and a free live John Legend concert. We left at 7:45 the next morning and headed out to Massechusetts to the very sites where men like Stott, Moody, Mills, Wishard, and the Wilders who said stuff about missions like, "we can do this if we will" and "I am willing to go anywhere, at anytime, to do anything for Jesus". We stood and prayed at the very same places students just like us stood and prayed over 100 years ago. These were the beginners of the Haystack Prayer Movement and Student Volunteer Movement http://www.thetravelingteam.org/?q=node/98 , http://www.thetravelingteam.org/?q=node/99 (a bit of what we learned while there).
Then we spent last week hearing from some experts on knowledge of the major world religions. As a project we then went as learners to visit some local temples including Buddhist, Hare Krishna and a Muslim Mosque. I don't really have the words to explain my experience with this. I might have to elaborate more later....
This past weekend was absolutely great. We got to relax on grounds surrounded by mountains and we had lots of freetime. We stayed at a New Tribes Mission Center and heard (and experienced) what it would be like to go into a tribe that has an unlearned language and culture to the rest of the world, and go in there and start building relationships with them, spending about 5 years minimum learning the language and making an alphabet, teaching the tribe how to read and write it, translate the bible into it, and to start teaching them what the bible says. I was blown away. One of the guys had worked for 14 years with a tribe in Venezuela and saw pretty much the whole tribe come to know Christ and be transformed--until the government kicked out foreigners. It was incredible spending time with the NTM staff!
Today we spent in Chinatown talking to people. I got to talk to a couple of Vietnamese women and we ate some tasty authentic Chinese for lunch. Tomorrow we're getting up early to go serve breakfast in an innercity homeless shelter and just to talk to people and love on them, I'm kind of excited for this!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
A little blurb of my Sunday night thoughts...
Something that's been impacting me is just looking at how Jesus did his ministry. Half the time he was healing people and the other half he was talking to them. I am personally quite excited about the talking aspect of missions and I've honestly been wondering why God has lead me to a Global Justice minor; and then I think he gave me a little clue in lesson 12 of Perspectives. We learned that social action is intertwined with evangelism and that evangelism isn't with mere words. It's like our words explain why we have compassion, why we would love our enemies, and all the other things that boggle the minds of unbelievers. I think witnessing is less about how many converts we 'get' and more about how God is transforming lives and us carrying the message he wants to convey to every people group on earth. Jesus was God's ultimate message, he was the Word and he was made flesh. I think God is teaching me to be not just a person of words ( eve though I really really love words!), but a person of action. "The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). God's Word is living and active--in me--and I am also his word made flesh when I live a life in reflection of God's heart and view love as a powerful verb and practice it!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Who is Jesus?
Before you do anything else, watch this video. I dont' think you'll regret it. http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=152b5103d741aca61093
Here's a paraphrase of what this guy qoutes. Paul, the former persecuter of Jesus' followers writes this about Jesus:
15-18We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20 Message)
Paul speaks with authority. He traveled the world putting His life in risk, living through being stoned and imprisoned and shipwrecked and starvation and ridicule. He left his home country, his people, his familiar friends, his great job to follow this Jesus. He knew Jesus on a personal level and everything he accomplished he poured back into praise to God. Wow. Paul was an incredible person and in my opinion it is because he followed so close to an incredible God.
Here's a paraphrase of what this guy qoutes. Paul, the former persecuter of Jesus' followers writes this about Jesus:
15-18We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20 Message)
Paul speaks with authority. He traveled the world putting His life in risk, living through being stoned and imprisoned and shipwrecked and starvation and ridicule. He left his home country, his people, his familiar friends, his great job to follow this Jesus. He knew Jesus on a personal level and everything he accomplished he poured back into praise to God. Wow. Paul was an incredible person and in my opinion it is because he followed so close to an incredible God.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
NEW YORK, NY!!!
The Big Apple. (Yum! Haha, just kidding, late night humor, lol) One of the top 3 largest cities in the world...it's where you'll find all sorts of unexpected surprises. I mean, people from every country of the world flock there to see the sites. The streets are bustling with people speaking all sorts of languages, wearing all sorts of fashions, and honking cars on every street intersection. It's great fun! I think it was love at first step off the train for me.
I went to New York with my IT project small group and we attacked New York in a day and a half. That city didn't know what hit it! The first thing the four of us girls did Friday night was hop on a subway and ride to dinner in the heart of a quaint part of town. The place was called Cafe Mingala (which means Cafe Hello--haha, very friendly) and the waitor's name was Sidd. We shared a rice pasta and duck dish and a vegetable and rice dish along with some tasty naan bread. When the first course was done Sidd brought us a plate of fresh orange slices. Then we strolled around and saw central park and the metropolitan art museum from the outside and Times Square at night, which was a gorgeous display of lights and digital moving billboards and flashing colors.
The next morning we arrived by subway again at the South side of town. We saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from a distance and walked through a pretty flower garden to a little bakery where we bought lunch and sat under a tree to enjoy it. Then we walked and took the subway over to Ground Zero. It wasn't as much of a mess as I thought, it was basically a huge construction job with a big construction fence around it. But nontheless, seeing it for real was kind of breathtaking. I can't believe its been almost 7 years since the day I sat in my class as a high school freshman staring in shock at the TV screen as the twin towers collapsed and sent dust and rubble flying for blocks. There were construction tunnels you could walk through to see over and around the fence and there was a plaque with an immense list of names of the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks and some billboards on the rubble site to commemmorate the events.
It was hot and sticky in New York by that time and we headed into a huge Financial something or other building to escape the heat and while trying to find restrooms we found a huge indoor amphitheater with marble steps, huge victorian windows that took up the whole back wall, palm trees--and a huge crowd cheering and yelling at the latin ballroom dance competition going on. It was crazy, I never would have expected to find all that inside that building, lol. Then in the same building we found an Italian Gelato shop and satisfied our sweet tooths. MMM, my chocolate and dulce de leche gelato was amazing! Walking out of the building 3 young ladies from Israel stopped and asked for help with directions and we talked with them for a while. Haha, I asked if I could say "Shalom!" when they said they were Jewish and they were excited, so that was fun. Next we headed towards ChinaTown! Holla! Haha, it was a blast, but it was CRAZY!! There were so many people on the sidewalks and in the shops, I could barely move, or breath. If you so much as glanced at a bracelet or scarf, a chinese shopkeeper would come invade your personal space and say, "which color you like? you like bracret? 15 dolla." I learned that if you liked something you looked at, you ask the nearest shopkeeper how much and when they say "20 dolla", you immediately put the item back and say, thank you, and start walking away. Haha, and then a moment later, they shout, "for you, 15 dolla!" Then you go back and say, "I'll pay 10 dolla" and then they say, "okay, okay, 10 dolla fo you". And that's how that's done! Haha, it was fun, I got some good stuff.
So, we walked around China town with all its craziness and cheap clothes and strange smells and then meandered around little Italy which smelled AMAZING of course and the majority comprised of quaint little outdoor cafes and restaurants. We stopped at the nearest pizza joint complete with graffitied one person bathroom and all. The pizza was great. New York style HUGE slices with pretty much anything you wanted for toppings.
We stopped in a little Tibetan store and bought some sweet sandals and started talking to the store owner and he told us an incredible story. He's from a higher class Tibetan family who were imprisoned for no reason really other than communism in a Chinese prison when he was 10. He was there for 10 years until he escaped and walked over the mountains into India where he stayed for a while before coming to the city. Then we talked about all kinds of stuff like happiness and forgiveness, I wish we had had more time to talk with him. He said we were'nt like other people because we were actually interested in him and what he was saying. He said people just don't listen to each other anymore. I enjoyed listening to him, we all did.
Later we hit up the big stores and did some classic New York style shopping. New York is the home of the largest Macy's on earth, which is 6 stories. It was ridiculous. And every other big chain store is at least 2 or 3 stories, like H & M and Forever 21. By that time it was 9pm and we had to be back at the train station to meet the other small groups and ride back to the vans and drive the 2 and a half hours back to Philly. I was so exhausted I slept on the ride home. And this morning got to sleep in. It was glorious. This afternoon just our small group did some exploring around Philly looking at Independance hall and other fun historical stuff and waiting in a very long line at one of the best Philly Cheesesteak hookups in town and plopping down on some sidewalk sitting against a building since there was no seating at the place, which is called Pat's by the way. It was probably one of my favorite memories with my small group so far.
The rest of today was spent studying for our perspectives midterm and taking it online and then finishing up the readings and workbook and quiz for tomorrow. So now I am spent and going to go to bed since I have to go to class in the morning--which by the way is getting better and better. I thought the first lesson blew me away, but Friday's lesson REALLY blew me away. I'm looking forward to the rest of the lessons.
I went to New York with my IT project small group and we attacked New York in a day and a half. That city didn't know what hit it! The first thing the four of us girls did Friday night was hop on a subway and ride to dinner in the heart of a quaint part of town. The place was called Cafe Mingala (which means Cafe Hello--haha, very friendly) and the waitor's name was Sidd. We shared a rice pasta and duck dish and a vegetable and rice dish along with some tasty naan bread. When the first course was done Sidd brought us a plate of fresh orange slices. Then we strolled around and saw central park and the metropolitan art museum from the outside and Times Square at night, which was a gorgeous display of lights and digital moving billboards and flashing colors.
The next morning we arrived by subway again at the South side of town. We saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from a distance and walked through a pretty flower garden to a little bakery where we bought lunch and sat under a tree to enjoy it. Then we walked and took the subway over to Ground Zero. It wasn't as much of a mess as I thought, it was basically a huge construction job with a big construction fence around it. But nontheless, seeing it for real was kind of breathtaking. I can't believe its been almost 7 years since the day I sat in my class as a high school freshman staring in shock at the TV screen as the twin towers collapsed and sent dust and rubble flying for blocks. There were construction tunnels you could walk through to see over and around the fence and there was a plaque with an immense list of names of the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks and some billboards on the rubble site to commemmorate the events.
It was hot and sticky in New York by that time and we headed into a huge Financial something or other building to escape the heat and while trying to find restrooms we found a huge indoor amphitheater with marble steps, huge victorian windows that took up the whole back wall, palm trees--and a huge crowd cheering and yelling at the latin ballroom dance competition going on. It was crazy, I never would have expected to find all that inside that building, lol. Then in the same building we found an Italian Gelato shop and satisfied our sweet tooths. MMM, my chocolate and dulce de leche gelato was amazing! Walking out of the building 3 young ladies from Israel stopped and asked for help with directions and we talked with them for a while. Haha, I asked if I could say "Shalom!" when they said they were Jewish and they were excited, so that was fun. Next we headed towards ChinaTown! Holla! Haha, it was a blast, but it was CRAZY!! There were so many people on the sidewalks and in the shops, I could barely move, or breath. If you so much as glanced at a bracelet or scarf, a chinese shopkeeper would come invade your personal space and say, "which color you like? you like bracret? 15 dolla." I learned that if you liked something you looked at, you ask the nearest shopkeeper how much and when they say "20 dolla", you immediately put the item back and say, thank you, and start walking away. Haha, and then a moment later, they shout, "for you, 15 dolla!" Then you go back and say, "I'll pay 10 dolla" and then they say, "okay, okay, 10 dolla fo you". And that's how that's done! Haha, it was fun, I got some good stuff.
So, we walked around China town with all its craziness and cheap clothes and strange smells and then meandered around little Italy which smelled AMAZING of course and the majority comprised of quaint little outdoor cafes and restaurants. We stopped at the nearest pizza joint complete with graffitied one person bathroom and all. The pizza was great. New York style HUGE slices with pretty much anything you wanted for toppings.
We stopped in a little Tibetan store and bought some sweet sandals and started talking to the store owner and he told us an incredible story. He's from a higher class Tibetan family who were imprisoned for no reason really other than communism in a Chinese prison when he was 10. He was there for 10 years until he escaped and walked over the mountains into India where he stayed for a while before coming to the city. Then we talked about all kinds of stuff like happiness and forgiveness, I wish we had had more time to talk with him. He said we were'nt like other people because we were actually interested in him and what he was saying. He said people just don't listen to each other anymore. I enjoyed listening to him, we all did.
Later we hit up the big stores and did some classic New York style shopping. New York is the home of the largest Macy's on earth, which is 6 stories. It was ridiculous. And every other big chain store is at least 2 or 3 stories, like H & M and Forever 21. By that time it was 9pm and we had to be back at the train station to meet the other small groups and ride back to the vans and drive the 2 and a half hours back to Philly. I was so exhausted I slept on the ride home. And this morning got to sleep in. It was glorious. This afternoon just our small group did some exploring around Philly looking at Independance hall and other fun historical stuff and waiting in a very long line at one of the best Philly Cheesesteak hookups in town and plopping down on some sidewalk sitting against a building since there was no seating at the place, which is called Pat's by the way. It was probably one of my favorite memories with my small group so far.
The rest of today was spent studying for our perspectives midterm and taking it online and then finishing up the readings and workbook and quiz for tomorrow. So now I am spent and going to go to bed since I have to go to class in the morning--which by the way is getting better and better. I thought the first lesson blew me away, but Friday's lesson REALLY blew me away. I'm looking forward to the rest of the lessons.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Just do it
What made an impact on me most from hearing the history of what God did in the world to fulfill His purposes in the world was hearing about the women victims of the Viking conquests! The Vikings at the time were the most ruthless pagan peoples of the world and they seemed unstoppable in their conquests. Everywhere they went they slaughtered men and children, but raped and eslaved the women. What amazes me is the witness of those women. They had seen the Vikings shed the blood of their families and afterwards had been violated and degraded. But instead of vengfully fighting back, they chose the way of Christ. Instead of fighting back, they whispered the gospel into the ears of the Viking men as they were raped. I don't know about you, but that is amazing to me.
These women chose love, even though it required all kinds of difficult personal sacrifice and trust in God as they gave their lives to serve the Vikings in the midst of their grief and loss. What started happening is the Vikings were effected by the power of the gospel in the lives of these women! These women trusted God in their cicumstances, doing everything for God's glory and because of this the gospel spread in the entire Viking world!
This has made such an impact on me because I dream of going and bringing the good news of the gospel blessing of God to unreached people, but if God wanted me to stay, or put me into circumstances like those women, I don't know if I could withstand it. It inspires me so much and so does Paul as I read of the numerous accounts of suffering for God's glory in his life. I think of his words in Colossians 1, "to this end I labor with his energy which so powerfully works within me". Paul had hard circumstance after hard circumstance in his life, but he knew what he was about. He knew that no matter where he was, what he did, or who he was with, he was supposed to glorify God. He didn't always see what God was doing, but he trusted God. His purpose was to glorify God. He didn't let circumstances get him down, he just did it. Looking at these stories I aspire to just do it too!
These women chose love, even though it required all kinds of difficult personal sacrifice and trust in God as they gave their lives to serve the Vikings in the midst of their grief and loss. What started happening is the Vikings were effected by the power of the gospel in the lives of these women! These women trusted God in their cicumstances, doing everything for God's glory and because of this the gospel spread in the entire Viking world!
This has made such an impact on me because I dream of going and bringing the good news of the gospel blessing of God to unreached people, but if God wanted me to stay, or put me into circumstances like those women, I don't know if I could withstand it. It inspires me so much and so does Paul as I read of the numerous accounts of suffering for God's glory in his life. I think of his words in Colossians 1, "to this end I labor with his energy which so powerfully works within me". Paul had hard circumstance after hard circumstance in his life, but he knew what he was about. He knew that no matter where he was, what he did, or who he was with, he was supposed to glorify God. He didn't always see what God was doing, but he trusted God. His purpose was to glorify God. He didn't let circumstances get him down, he just did it. Looking at these stories I aspire to just do it too!
A Force to Be Reckoned With! Amen!
How incredible is God?!? Seriously! Viewing the bible as a whole and seeing--what I feel like is for the first time--the story of Jesus' life and God's plan and purpose from Genesis to Revelation!
Jesus was an extraordinary man! Even those who don't believe in God think so! Everything He said seems to carry some profoundly deep and vital and compelling meaning to it. I've been thinking of those beckoning 3 words he says to ordinary people like you and me, "Come follow me"! I am understanding more and more the deeper implications of those words. In the gospels, Jesus is unpredictable! His disciples didn't know what was going on half the time, but they were so devoted to Him, placing their trust in Him and the promises of God. He was unpredictable, but real with people. He is serious about justice, but serious about love--even to death-on a cross! Everything about Him is rooted in deep passion for seeing God glorified through worship.
I'm learning that missions isn't so much about a task, as it is worship! It's about people from every tribe and language and nation worshiping God! And missions is proclaiming the good news of the coming of God's everlasting reign on earth and salvation to those who trust and follow Christ's lead. It's the pouring out of their lives like He did into the lives of others who will do the same! It's working as a whole world-wide body of believers, fulfilling by the power of God what Christ began as His Spirit so powerfully works within and through us--until there are people from among all people groups worshiping God!
It is invariably more vital and glorifying to God to allow Him to pursue me in a love relationship that is real and personal than anything else in the world! Because my passions will be parallel to His and because I love Him, I will obey His commands and everything else will come. Like Paul I'd choose passion and base every decision on God's glory instead of mine. If I even had an ounce of Paul's passion! Whew! He was a force to be reckoned with!
One thing that so astounds me is that God even allows us the privelage to work alongside Him. Jesus saw where God was working and came as a suffering servant in love to do the Father's will. I also have the privelage of prayer! I'm becoming more and more convicted of the power of prayer to rebell against the evil that blinds eyes to the light of the gospel. I'm learning that prayer is key; to evangelism, to worship, to relationship, to seeing God move. Laboring in prayer can even be a privelage of sharing in Christ's sufferings for God's glory...
Sacrifice is never easy. This summer I gave 2 months of my life to God. It's amazing how He works in your life when you humbly give Him what you have! But He seems to be asking me, or rather beckoning, "Would you give a lifetime? Would you trust me with your whole life?" Even though I know this is just the beginning and let's be real, there will be hard times ahead no matter what, everything in my heart wants to say, "Yes, Lord!" because of the surpassing joy of knowing Christ! I'm so eager to see what else the Lord has in mind this summer because so far He has positively blown me away!
Jesus was an extraordinary man! Even those who don't believe in God think so! Everything He said seems to carry some profoundly deep and vital and compelling meaning to it. I've been thinking of those beckoning 3 words he says to ordinary people like you and me, "Come follow me"! I am understanding more and more the deeper implications of those words. In the gospels, Jesus is unpredictable! His disciples didn't know what was going on half the time, but they were so devoted to Him, placing their trust in Him and the promises of God. He was unpredictable, but real with people. He is serious about justice, but serious about love--even to death-on a cross! Everything about Him is rooted in deep passion for seeing God glorified through worship.
I'm learning that missions isn't so much about a task, as it is worship! It's about people from every tribe and language and nation worshiping God! And missions is proclaiming the good news of the coming of God's everlasting reign on earth and salvation to those who trust and follow Christ's lead. It's the pouring out of their lives like He did into the lives of others who will do the same! It's working as a whole world-wide body of believers, fulfilling by the power of God what Christ began as His Spirit so powerfully works within and through us--until there are people from among all people groups worshiping God!
It is invariably more vital and glorifying to God to allow Him to pursue me in a love relationship that is real and personal than anything else in the world! Because my passions will be parallel to His and because I love Him, I will obey His commands and everything else will come. Like Paul I'd choose passion and base every decision on God's glory instead of mine. If I even had an ounce of Paul's passion! Whew! He was a force to be reckoned with!
One thing that so astounds me is that God even allows us the privelage to work alongside Him. Jesus saw where God was working and came as a suffering servant in love to do the Father's will. I also have the privelage of prayer! I'm becoming more and more convicted of the power of prayer to rebell against the evil that blinds eyes to the light of the gospel. I'm learning that prayer is key; to evangelism, to worship, to relationship, to seeing God move. Laboring in prayer can even be a privelage of sharing in Christ's sufferings for God's glory...
Sacrifice is never easy. This summer I gave 2 months of my life to God. It's amazing how He works in your life when you humbly give Him what you have! But He seems to be asking me, or rather beckoning, "Would you give a lifetime? Would you trust me with your whole life?" Even though I know this is just the beginning and let's be real, there will be hard times ahead no matter what, everything in my heart wants to say, "Yes, Lord!" because of the surpassing joy of knowing Christ! I'm so eager to see what else the Lord has in mind this summer because so far He has positively blown me away!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Mormon Ward Visit
We just got back from visiting a Mormon Ward or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Even though we already debriefed in our small groups when we got back, I need to vent a little more. My goal is not to convince people that the Mormon faith is wrong, but to share what I learned and tell why I am so frustrated.
We came to a singles ward (meaning there is another one for married couples). Normally for their friday night service there is one song and a short prayer before going to mingle and have 'fellowship'. Since we were visiters and not converts (haha, yet), they gave us a brief presentation of what they believe, using a diagram and one recent convert shared his testimony. Then we had "munch and mingle time" lol, I love the cheesy term! Anyways there were round tables set up and we got to talk to people one on one, asking them questions. At my table there were three of us from the project, 2 mormon missionaries and another guy. I loved talking with them, I loved sitting down and getting personal.
What saddened me is a lot of their answers to our questions seemed rehersed. They seem to base a lot of God's answer to prayer on feelings alone. Their testimonies speak hardly anything of God's brilliant GLORY and it saddens me to see worship empty if almost nonexistant. I didn't see any love for God or delight in the creator God who humbled himself, becoming a servant and who died and rose and conquered sin and death for them redeeming them through faith and his grace alone and not by works!!
I can see how this religion is so appealing because of the community focus and second chances after death to accept the gospel. In Mormonism there is no judgement! But they use the bible! But they take it so out of context and let their feelings and duty lead them. They believe God had sex with Mary and that the trinity consists only of three separate persons, they are not one. When Jesus prays for his followers to be one as he and the father are one in John 17, they think he means unity, united in purpose. They believe in preaching the gospel(its pretty similar to the one other churches preach) in preparation for Christ's second coming. They say Christ died to give us the opportunity for repentence and that because God loves the world he sent prophets periodically so that the truth would be among people and he can help them stay on the right track, but Jesus was more than a prophet, they believe he is literally God's son and we are literally God's sons and daughters also, born a spirit then born on earth then depending on if we were on the right track or not, will go to a certain kingdom in the afterlife. Even if you were a murderer or worse, you get to party with all your friends and family, but you have to suffer 1000 years in Hell first. (its all called eternal progression-basically you can progress to other kingdoms and minister to people in other ones--yeah, I don't really understand it completely...). If you marry in the temple you get to live in the best of the best kingdoms, but not only that, but the more kids you have on earth, the larger domain you get to establish for yourself in the afterlife.
Some more fun facts:
*Mormonism is based on Christianity and the teachings of Joseph Smith.
*Membership is over 10 million worldwide and 2 million in Asia alone.
*It is the world's fastest growing "Christian" cult.
*They teach that the garden of Eden was in Missouri and that Jesus was married, had kids, and after being crucified in the middle east, appeared in America too.
*A lot of times women are taught to be totally dependant on men.
What saddens me is these people really believe that this is truth. But there is no freedom, there is no joy in it! They have zeal for getting more converts, but there is no vitality, no PASSION! When they go on missions its to check off something on their list, they have to pay for it with their own money and they go where the missions president tells them they should go. What else saddens me is, in all of this, they don't know the Lord at all!!! They don't understand who he is, or that they can know Him! I don't see how they can know him for His JUSTICE and LOVE and believe all of this! Our worth, our glory, our blessings came only from God, and they are ultimately for God to be glorified! What's so incredibly beautiful is that God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him! I am so convicted of this, it breaks my heart that the friends I've just made don't know this! It makes me think of 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 "The god of this age [satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves, but but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as servants for Christ's sake[and glory]. For God, who said, "let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ".
What I've observed tonight makes me sad. And I know there is nothing I can ever do to persuade or make them see the truth. But there is hope! There is so much hope! Because God is the almighty God and he desires people from all the nations to worship him! He can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine and he is in control of everything! Only he can reveal his glory to them in all its truth and we can only call on God to do this and just love on them!
If I am so passionate about this, it is only because God is humbling me more and more towards His greatness and because I want to see Him lifted up high! May He give you the same profound delight!
We came to a singles ward (meaning there is another one for married couples). Normally for their friday night service there is one song and a short prayer before going to mingle and have 'fellowship'. Since we were visiters and not converts (haha, yet), they gave us a brief presentation of what they believe, using a diagram and one recent convert shared his testimony. Then we had "munch and mingle time" lol, I love the cheesy term! Anyways there were round tables set up and we got to talk to people one on one, asking them questions. At my table there were three of us from the project, 2 mormon missionaries and another guy. I loved talking with them, I loved sitting down and getting personal.
What saddened me is a lot of their answers to our questions seemed rehersed. They seem to base a lot of God's answer to prayer on feelings alone. Their testimonies speak hardly anything of God's brilliant GLORY and it saddens me to see worship empty if almost nonexistant. I didn't see any love for God or delight in the creator God who humbled himself, becoming a servant and who died and rose and conquered sin and death for them redeeming them through faith and his grace alone and not by works!!
I can see how this religion is so appealing because of the community focus and second chances after death to accept the gospel. In Mormonism there is no judgement! But they use the bible! But they take it so out of context and let their feelings and duty lead them. They believe God had sex with Mary and that the trinity consists only of three separate persons, they are not one. When Jesus prays for his followers to be one as he and the father are one in John 17, they think he means unity, united in purpose. They believe in preaching the gospel(its pretty similar to the one other churches preach) in preparation for Christ's second coming. They say Christ died to give us the opportunity for repentence and that because God loves the world he sent prophets periodically so that the truth would be among people and he can help them stay on the right track, but Jesus was more than a prophet, they believe he is literally God's son and we are literally God's sons and daughters also, born a spirit then born on earth then depending on if we were on the right track or not, will go to a certain kingdom in the afterlife. Even if you were a murderer or worse, you get to party with all your friends and family, but you have to suffer 1000 years in Hell first. (its all called eternal progression-basically you can progress to other kingdoms and minister to people in other ones--yeah, I don't really understand it completely...). If you marry in the temple you get to live in the best of the best kingdoms, but not only that, but the more kids you have on earth, the larger domain you get to establish for yourself in the afterlife.
Some more fun facts:
*Mormonism is based on Christianity and the teachings of Joseph Smith.
*Membership is over 10 million worldwide and 2 million in Asia alone.
*It is the world's fastest growing "Christian" cult.
*They teach that the garden of Eden was in Missouri and that Jesus was married, had kids, and after being crucified in the middle east, appeared in America too.
*A lot of times women are taught to be totally dependant on men.
What saddens me is these people really believe that this is truth. But there is no freedom, there is no joy in it! They have zeal for getting more converts, but there is no vitality, no PASSION! When they go on missions its to check off something on their list, they have to pay for it with their own money and they go where the missions president tells them they should go. What else saddens me is, in all of this, they don't know the Lord at all!!! They don't understand who he is, or that they can know Him! I don't see how they can know him for His JUSTICE and LOVE and believe all of this! Our worth, our glory, our blessings came only from God, and they are ultimately for God to be glorified! What's so incredibly beautiful is that God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him! I am so convicted of this, it breaks my heart that the friends I've just made don't know this! It makes me think of 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 "The god of this age [satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves, but but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as servants for Christ's sake[and glory]. For God, who said, "let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ".
What I've observed tonight makes me sad. And I know there is nothing I can ever do to persuade or make them see the truth. But there is hope! There is so much hope! Because God is the almighty God and he desires people from all the nations to worship him! He can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine and he is in control of everything! Only he can reveal his glory to them in all its truth and we can only call on God to do this and just love on them!
If I am so passionate about this, it is only because God is humbling me more and more towards His greatness and because I want to see Him lifted up high! May He give you the same profound delight!
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