From NYC to Memphis

I just realized I haven't written in a long time. I've been sort of busy lately between a benefit concert for Atlanta and then a mission trip to New York City. But let me back up and start with Memphis. As you probably know, God has given me a huge heart for inner city missions. In fact I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it's what He wants me to do with my life right now. A few months ago I applied for a sojourners position with the North American Mission Board in Memphis, Tennessee. Two weeks ago I got accepted and I couldn't be more excited! I know God is calling me there and I can't think of spending my Summer in a better way. Here's where it gets crazy...
Three days ago I got back from a mission trip to New York City with the Journey Church. I went with twenty-two students and adults from my church and we stayed at the David Dean House in Brooklyn. The David Dean house was so nice and the owners, Mike and Amanda were more than hospitable. On our first night there I heard Mike mention that he and Amanda had lived in Memphis for a few years before moving to NYC. I asked them if they had heard of Street Reach ministries (where I'm working this Summer) and not only had they heard of it, but they worked there! I was completely speechless and we immediately realized that this was completely a God thing because what are the odds? Needless to say that was a HUGE confirmation from God that I am in His will. That was just the beginning to a wonderful week where I made the following realizations:

1. The people living in New York are no different than the people living anywhere else. They may walk a little bit faster but they're still just people and they have good days and bad days just like we do.
2. If you have a friend that looks strangely like Michael Phelps it's fun to scream "IS THAT MICHAEL PHELPS!?!?" when you are in Central Park and watch all the tourists freak out.
3. When it's twenty degrees, raining and windy, Starbucks caramel macchiatos are simply H-E-A-V-E-N.
4. Some of the friendliest people are the ones you meet in the subway or on Wall Street on rainy mornings.
5. The best directions come from those who speak the same language you do.
6. If a purse vendor tells you to "get these purses before the police do" that usually means that they aren't the legal kind...
7. When you ask God for opportunities to witness He isn't going to leave you hanging :)
8. You don't really know what turbulence is until the flight attendants start buckling their seatbelts.
9. The Toys R Us inside of Times Square has a ferris wheel inside of it.
10. Mr. Softee's ice cream is in a league of it's own.

"Missions"

This morning I spent four hours raking and bagging leaves to raise money for a NYC mission trip. It of course made me think of the trip which caused me to think about missions in general. That is, what we've made missions to be. I was thinking about how when Jesus sent out His disciples, He didn't send them out for a week. They weren't gone for a month, or a year or even two years. They made that their life. It's easy to brush that off and justify our self absorbed lifestyles by saying that it was easier for them than it would be for us. Is it? Do we have half as much faith in God as they did?
I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I finally came to a conclusion. Missions needs to be a lifestyle for us, not just a once or twice a year deal. If we believe the Bible, then we believe that all believers are called to be witnesses. Maybe God has specifically called you to Africa. Does that mean your going to ignore the lost people in your neighborhood and at your school? It shouldn't. I hate that when people think about missions, they tend to think along the lines of trips. It shouldn't only be about a trip. However if you must think of it like that, let's remember that earth is not our home so while we are on this "trip" let's think more towards where we are going then where we are. Shall we?

Beautiful Footprints

Romans 10:14-15 - "How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'"
I absolutely love that verse. I love how it narrows down the description of what preaching and witnessing should be like. We obviously shouldn't hop on mission trips simply because we like the location but I don't think that being called is emphasized nearly enough. I recently had a conversation with a friend who told me that she was going on a mission trip because she prayed about it. I waited for her to go on and tell me that God had specifically called her but she didn't. Is that all missions have become? If we pray about it and don't get struck down by fire then we assume that God must be calling us? I just don't understand. I highly recommend this verse to anyone considering and praying about missions.
I also love the last part of the verse, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." I got to read this verse to a group of girls on our Thanksgiving mission trip to Atlanta. A few girls were complaining of sore and blistered feet after we had taken a city walk on the first day and then helped at the SHO Chili Outreach the next day. At first we all had a good laugh about how "beautiful" their feet were but then I think it sort of hit all of us. As Christians we have good news, we should be bringing it to those around us. Our feet weren't beautiful in the sense that we had new Jimmy Choo's and pedicures, they were beautiful because that day God had used them to bring good news.
In all actuality no one's feet were that bad, nothing a band-aid wouldn't fix. It made me think about the disciples feet and how beautiful they must have been. I mean we aren't talking two hour city walks around nice, paved Atlanta. They walked from city to city on dirt roads wearing sandals. Talk about leaving some beautiful footprints! What kind of footprints are we leaving?

ADONAI

I got to go to a Torah dedication service this morning at the Messianic congregation I attend. They are based at my church so it's cool going to services twice during the weekend. During the service they sang this song and it almost made me cry. I absolutely love it! It was so cool to hear everyone praising God. People brought up in Jewish homes and Southern Baptists all praising the same God. Our God. Here is the song:

ADONAI -

Lord of eternity
The mystery behind the veil
Lord over Heaven and earth
God of Israel

Come with Your wisdom and power
Clothed in Your honor and strength
Lord hear the cry of our hearts
Come O conquering king

And every eye will see
Your glory fill the sky

Adonai Adonai
Every knee will bow to you Lord Most High
Adonai Adonai
You alone are God every tongue will cry
Adonai

Here Jerusalem waits
Praises lifted on high
Here the beautiful gates
Long to see You arise

When all of Zion sings
Barch ha ba b'shem
You are the Lord over all the earth
You are the Lord over all the earth

King of Nations

Have you heard the song He Loves Us by John Mark McMillan? It's a great song. Really great song. But lately it's been sort of annoying me, dare I say it. The story behind the song is really cool! If you haven't heard it I highly recommend it. In the past few months it's become one of the most well known songs in Christian music. Very cool! But here's where it starts bothering me. It's one of those songs that has got everyone closing their eyes and lifting their hands. "Worship" is what most would call it but worship means a lot more than that to me. It bothers me because I think we as Christians are slowly forgetting everything that God is about. Yes, He loves us! He is a Great and Loving God! But He is also a Consuming Fire. A Jealous God. Alpha and Omega. KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. KING OF NATIONS. THE LORD MOST HIGH. SOVEREIGN. ALL-POWERFUL. I've yet to hear a song about God being a Consuming Fire, much less a popular song about it. I'll let you know if I hear one.

Let's not forget who God is.

MLK Day!

I'm missing Atlanta a lot today. It's MLK day and it's a pretty big deal there. I keep getting distracted from the homework that I am supposed to be catching up on this holiday. I'm missing those beautiful smiles with rotting teeth and the inexplainable motivation that many of my friends in Atlanta seem to have plenty of. I miss the conversations about everything from the weather to the sovereignty of God. I really can't think about any of it without a smile being brought to my face and feeling a tug at my heart. I truly love those people and I LOVE to see what God is doing in and among them. Which brings me to another thought.
People are People. Easily said, easily done? Do we live that out with our actions? The way we treat people? Do we give everyone an equal amount of respect and love? One of my teachers recently asked our class an interesting question. If we were in a situation where we had the chance to save only one, your dog or a complete stranger, which we would choose? A dog or a stranger? I immediately chose the stranger but looking around the room confused me. Most of my classmates and friends chose the stranger, the human life and soul, but a few were unsure. Really? An animal over a person? Really?
It's getting easier and easier for me to treat people the same. To look past stereotypes and see who they really are. To ignore what I've heard about someone but to really get to know them. Sometimes it's challenging but I have yet to find a situation where it wasn't worth it. It's easy to tell yourself that you treat all people the same, believe me, I've don it. A friend and I recently had a conversation about it applies to everyone. Treating homeless people like they are beautifully and wonderfully made is great, because they are. But this also applies to the people who don't have the same morals and values that you do. The kids at school who freak you out with all their weird clothes and jewelry. The annoying underclassmen who keep asking you for directions. People who don't seem to care about anyone even half as much as they care about themselves. But if you really love God, it's impossible not to love His people. Love isn't always convenient, it's definitely not always easy, but with God, it's always possible. Always. God is love.

Jesus Freaks

I've been reading the book Jesus Freaks by dc Talk and it is incredible! It's about martyrs both from the Bible and modern day. It's crazy how when people have nothing they embrace the gospel much easier than those of us living in the top two percent of the world. I heard a speaker recently who called out Christians who lived no differently than non-Christians. At first I was skeptical but then it really hit me. If we are trying to convince people that they need Jesus then we need to live like we do. We need to live walking by faith day by day. Hour by hour, depending completely on Jesus Christ. It's hard to tell people that they're missing something when your lifestyles are identical. That makes me want to live completely different. Shouldn't everyone want to?