I just arrived back in the States this morning. I spent the last week in Senegal, Africa. There is no way for me to communicate all that I saw or experienced there but I want to try to get something down for you. I remember walking through a street in Dakar and wishing everyone could see what my eyes were seeing. There are nearly 4 million people in Dakar. The dry season has just begun so the dust is starting to blow but there are still pockets of stagnant water in the slums left over from the flooding. It seems the poor just don't get any breaks and I suppose that is true around the world. Whenever I go overseas I come away loving what Jesus does inside of some people and wanting more of Jesus myself. The movement of the incarnation is to give up, go to, and be with. It is the movement Christians continue to make throughout the world and I saw it up close and personal this past week. As our missionary friends took us into the back streets of Dakar I entered into some of the deepest poverty I have ever seen. I have seen the very poor in villages in the Philippines and in India. But there is something that is stunning about urban poverty. It assaults all your senses. There is a smell so strong you can almost taste it. It lingers. A poverty so deep that when the wind blows the smell sticks to your skin. As I walked the streets the verse came to mind, " And yet for our sakes He became poor." I began to think of Jesus coming to earth. The original movement of giving up, going to, and being with. I wonder how our poverty struck him. All the rebellion and pride, all the hatred and injustice and greed...it must have assaulted his senses. And yet he emptied himself and became poor and lived right down here in our squalor and it was our type of poverty that beat the life out of him and nailed him to a cross. When certain leaves are crushed they give off a sweet fragrance that can fill a house. When Jesus lay dying on the cross a fragrance went out to all the world. And then I thought of my missionary friends who were picking their way through the streets and telling me dreams of ministries where poverty would be touched by the love of this Jesus. I heard of a Muslim teacher who when he heard of how a Christian woman had taken his student to the hospital and cared for him for 9 days said, "These Christians love muslims more than muslims love muslims."It struck me that while deep poverty has a distinct smell there is a fragrance that is even stronger still. It is the smell of God. It is the same scent that people smelled when they walked near the One they called the Christ. It is the smell people smell now when one of us walks so close to the savior that his scent comes off our skin as well. I have sung songs about wanting to see God but on the streets of Dakar I smelled him and it was just as good.
Friday, November 19, 2010
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15 comments:
II Cor 2:15 "Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God..." Anxious to hear more about the trip~~ welcome home.
Why are some so blessed and others not? Even in this country, even in our surrounding communities. Certainly not because of our worth or efforts. But "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men..."Eccl 3:11 I believe. The hearts of all men and women,, whether they live here in Hudson or in Senegal.
I believe your question anonymous has to enter everyone's mind at least once probably many more times in a lifetime. God is in it all. Can we understand all of God's ways no we can not. He is God.
We are to be as Christ to all we come in contact with here or across the globe. We belong to Christ. We are blessed. That is our greatest gift. How can we bless others.. by having the same heart as our Lord and model and follow his teachings give from our abundance of soul and finances.
That "smell" I believe became a fragrant aroma. I sense from Joe's post possibly a deeper relationship with our Lord. We never have enough of our Lord. When I read Joe's post, I felt he was blessed his soul enriched with a renewed commitment as a follower of Christ to minister to the poor and needy. We are to be holy as He is holy. Joe's relationship with our Lord has had to do nothing but grow deeper from those he walked amongst who were in such poverty. God chose for Joe to be there for a time such as this.
Perhaps a word of knowledge was imparted to him by the Holy Spirit as I sense a deeper love and compassion filled his heart ( jump in here anytime you want Joe as only you can tell us as it was between you and God and I can only relay the way your post spoke to me as I read it)
We are all called to extend love exampled by our Lord in His life here on earth. Jesus ministered to the poor, helpless and sick. He TOUCHED them. Powerful!
He told the rich to sell everything and follow Him.
When I read my Bible and come to those verses that tell us that we are not to look like the world and we ARE to sell what we have and follow Him, I just have a hard time - a very sad and very uncomfortable time with this community that I live in- Hudson, Ohio. To consider yourself blessed because you live in this community to me is a curse. Hudson screams idols. They are everywhere. It is not an easy thing to really see Jesus in the community. Seeing (or think you are seeing) Him in a building (aka HCC) is not seeing Him. The church in action (like the book of Acts) does not take place in a building. It IS going out to places like Dakar and Huy and Akron. This is what church is. When people only go and play church inside walls, they just play with the stuff and that is not church. In truth, scripture says that the gathering of believers is to build up one another TO minister...not to build one another up just so you accumulate all this knowledge. I'd say the mark of a healthy church is not a church filled with beilevers, but an empty church...b/c all the folks are out doing what they are supposed to be doing as Jesus said..."Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age." Matthew 28: 19, 20. This doesn't mean that everyone has to go to Senegal. But it is a command to every believer to go out-all the time-and make disciples, baptize them and teach them. It's a command. When was the last time you (anyone) personally told someone about the saving grace of Jesus? When was the last time you baptized someone (yes, any believer can baptize another person) and how often do you sit down and teach or regularly disciple someone? These are the things that prove you are following Jesus. These things show where your heart is. And where your heart is, that's where your treasure is.
Back to basics Church. It has to begin within The Church. Christ first above all else. Revisit the cross and His blood shed for sinners and a lost world. Swallow God's word, imbed it in your heart and be obedient. Pray and be silent wait on the Lord's answer. Pray for guidance and wisdom then move in the love of Christ even if you stand alone.
What we have is not ours all has been given to us by God all of it. Make the world brighter with the illumination from He who is light. Get excited church. Our master is not what we own but who we serve. Glorify Jesus give him the honor and glory for even now the Father holds back his hand; his desire not one should perish. There is work to be done.
Don't forget the kids. They are bombarded with things of this world and being drawn into it and buying it all from television programs, radio, clothing, ads, movies, sports achievements etc. They need and should have Godly examples to follow and learn respect so that they learn they are not entitled and deserving of all the world has to offer. They are being deceived by the author of deception and lies.
Standing in stores and elsewhere it just disturbs me greatly the way kids talk to their parents. It is clear who runs the show and it is not the parents. What has happened to good old fashioned discipline and the word "no" and that there are consequences that go with disrespect and unacceptable behavior.
I thought this was interesting...
http://guynameddave.com/about-the-100-thing-challenge/
His goal is to live with only one hundred items for a year to reduce the amount of "stuff" he has.
Christmas is the perfect time to teach kids about the problems with excess consumerism and give them an appreciation for those living without the extra stuff. Giving to the poor and buying gifts for children in poverty instead of giving gifts within your family sets a great example.
You will want to keep in mind that this will put your kids on the spot when they are asked by friends what they got for Christmas. I know this, because I was one of those kids put on the spot. While my friends listed off all of their fun, expensive gifts, I was embarrassed to answer because I didn't have anything to answer with. Now, I am very thankful that my parents didn't spoil me with IPods and giant TVs or other "cool" gifts. It taught me an appreciation of what I did have, and gave me the gift of giving.
To AGE 22
Could this be the ministry God is calling you into to be his ambassador to share and lead other kids and young adults in what you have learned from your parents and then you can share the gospel. Pray and ask if this is where God is leading you. I will stand alongside of you and pray with you. God knows who you are though I don't. Isn't that cool. At your age you can relay better in many ways to these age groups.
Let us all cover this young soldier of the cross in prayer corporately as she/he seeks the Lord's wisdom as he/she dares to be different for the cause of Christ and expect God to work in his/her life.
So turn off the t.v. from now until Christmas so that your kids don't develop a lust or a greed for "stuff." Trust me, (as one who turned it off 15 months ago), you won't miss it a bit. And neither will your kids.
Makes me want to go to Senegal.
To Anonymous #4
I am so grateful for your scripture based post and your boldness in speaking the truth from God's word. I am in total agreement. Thank you and bless you.
Correction........ Anonymous #3 I extend my thank you to you although I am in agreement with #2 and #4 also. It is all about what God says and commands isn't it. No room for "self", "me's" and "I's".
Thanks for visiting us, Joe. Glad you got back safely.
We are blessed so that we can be a blessing, like Abraham. In Jesus we have all blessings in the heaven. One of our great privileges serving here is to be able to make a difference physically in the lives of people who have less than we do. One of the most difficult challenges is knowing how much and who and with what balance with our own families needs. I think one key principle is to hold everything with a light grip, to see all "stuff" and wealth as resources entrusted to us by our master to use for His affairs. Feeling guilty about how much he's blessed us is no more helpful than feeling resentful at the unending needs of others.
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