~ Tim Dearborn
God wanted all people to spend eternity with Him, so He had to establish a community that would take the message to all nations. God had the ultimate plan; He had the perfect plan. He provided the Sacrifice and a community to take the message to all nations…The message of redemption and reconciliation, for all who believe that Jesus is the One and Only…
It really all started with Peter, didn’t it? Jesus told Peter to feed the sheep…the mission of God was already planted before Jesus ascended to heaven…
‘He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?†Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?†and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.†Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.’ ~ John 21:17 (ESV)
Do you know why I like that Jesus chose Peter as His first missionary? Because Peter was the weakest link! Not only did Peter falter during the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, but even before that. Remember the story of Peter walking on the water? Peter was only able to reach Jesus as long as he would focus on the Lord. As soon as he took his eyes off, he sank…
Through Peter, God shows us that we as humans can not do anything without the power of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:1-8 we are told how God’s mission/church was established. No human power involved what so ever! All had to wait until the power of the Holy Spirit descended on them.
We have the same power as the early Christians. God gave us, the body of Christ the same mission, to share Christ crucified. The only way to the Father…
‘Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.â€â€™ ~ John 14:6 (ESV)
We can either support overseas mission, or we can start in our own backyard to share the Gospel. The body of Christ is growing fast in countries like China, Japan or Korea. What about here in the US or Germany? The numbers of believers in Christ is getting smaller. Other belief systems take the place of Christianity. If the decline continues, we might have to invite believers from Japan or Korea to witness about God’s love.
No matter where we are, which community of believers we belong to. We are part of God’s mission. We are part of His church…
‘Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.â€â€™ ~ Matthew 9:37-38 (ESV)
To read Laurel’s and other Godly women’s thoughts on this week’s IOW quote, please visit Laurel’s blog Laurel Wreath…Hope to see you there.
Blessings on your day and as always,
This was so very awesome Iris, and very true. Bless you for speaking the truth in such a wonderful way.
This is an awesome writing. My husband and I are missionaries here in the U.S. working with troubled boys and it has been a long hard 15 years to live by faith because people just don’t understand we have a mission field right here, so they support oversea missions, instead of helping missions in the backyard. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful writing, and awesome thoughts. Thank you for sharing this!
Such good thoughts. Aren’t you glad God doesn’t just say “goodbye!” to the weakest link?? I am. I’m a Peter for sure. I get distracted in the storms of life and take my eyes off of Him so easily, and inevitably I sink. But somehow, God still wants to use me. His mercy never ceases to amaze me.
Great post. 🙂
Wonderful thoughts as always Iris. I think it is so important not to neglect our own backyard–and I find the more we serve in our own yard the more God opens our eyes to the world. Blessings on your day.
Amazing post, Iris! Very inspiring!
Iris I enjoyed reading this, and it is so true God does work well with weak links. Praise God!
“No human power involved what so ever”…I needed this today Iris! Thank you…
Iris, this is so insightful. Thank you for sharing this. I’ve been blessed. Blessings to you!
I love how you tied Peter into it. Never thought of him in that light!
God Bless!
I’m delighted to see this quote by Tim Dearborn! He goes to our church, and we’ve met both he and his wife Kerry (she’s is a prof at a Christian university nearby.) Tim has been actively involved in World Vision locally.
You have some wonderful thoughts here. Peter is a favorite of mine. In contrast to Paul, apostle to the Gentiles, Peter was sent to the Jews. How sad that the Jews failed in their mission to be lights to the world! But praise God, Jesus–a Jew–was obedient and fulfilled His mission. Where would we be otherwise?
European missions are dear to our heart. God is still working there, and we support churches in Poland and Russia. I will pray for Germany too. :~)
Interesting thoughts on Peter. I hadn’t really ever thought of that.
I love Peter. I’m so much like him, too. What a great example! I just loved this post today, Iris.
Peter always encourages me too. I figure if the Lord could use Him in such a powerful, miraculous way – there’s hope for me too.
Great post Iris. It is so easy to leave missions for others when we have truly all been called.
I have often thought if God can use Peter, He can use anyone. Thank you for sharing this so well. 🙂
How sad that the number of believers is declining here. The very country which was once such a powerful witness to other countries is in need of witneses here. My heart aches when I hear the wondrous stories of missionaries about how God is performing tremendous miracles in the countries where they serve, but here we don’t see those miracles. Revive our hearts for missions God!
Bonnie
Iris, Wonderful…. I agree as Americans we miss the boat. I have a bible study. It includes women from all kinds of back grounds and churchs, Christian and not Christian. They are searching, desperate for the truth. The truth is a person, Jesus. If we all took His command to heart, what a different world this would be. Love you. 🙂
It is true…..God does use the weakest to prove his strength…..I know I am a living testament to that……..There are many days I feel inadequate to the mission field He has given me……but that’s when He does the miracles…when I can’t take any credit for them……
Thanks for sharing!
Blessings
Excellent thoughts………they were so encouraging to me today. thank you
Remember when Jesus called Peter Satan?
I love that quote and I love your take on it, Iris!!
(And I love our Jesus!!)