One Month Reflection 7.5.08

Hello to all. Everything here is great. I hope yesterday everyone had a great 4th of July. Last night we went out to celebrate the 4th here in Brazil by going to my favorite pizza place, Duca´s 7. We also celebrated my one month anniversary here in Brazil. It has been one great month! God has changed my life, taught me new things, and blessed me with an absolute great time. He has made this place my earthly home for at least the next 5 months. In the last month, God has called me to this place. To make this my place of missions. He has opened and closed doors here. He has allowed me to stay, he has given me a house to stay in, friends that have been great to me, meet people from all over the world (Nienke from the Netherlands and hundreds here in Brazil), allowed me to see his beauty like never before, and has matured more than I knew possible. I feel that these six months will be the defining time of what type of man I will become. I pray that during this time God will make me the man He wants me to be. No matter the cost! Once I move into the village next week I will cook every meal I eat, buy and shop for everything I need. I will do all the dishes and wash all my clothes by hand. No momma here! My mom used to always get on to me about leaving stuff out and would say to me, "I´m not your maid that comes and cleans up after you!" To be honest though, if I left it out long enough she would be that maid that came behind me and cleaned up after me. Here that isn´t true though. I will be responsible for paying the little bills that I do have. I have to clean my house, even the bathroom. Hopefully your starting to see where I am going with this. I´m becoming independent! That may be hard for my momma to grasp, but it is true and it is good. Parents raise their children up the best they can to become servants for Christ. Thank you mom and dad for doing just that. You have raised me into a man that wants to do nothing else except serve God will all my heart. You have taught me to fear Him more than you. Now I am following His will for my life. He has called me to be a missionary, someone who travels the globe sharing the Gospel. To tell the greatest story ever told.
This month God has taught me to truly fear Him and to realize that He is not a safe God, but a God that has the power over all and can do anything He wants. There is nothing safe about that. A safe god is a timid god and that isn´t the god I serve. I serve a God that calls me to unsafe places and promises me nothing except that He will always be with me. He doesn´t promise me safety in the village where I will be living. I fear God enough that I dare not be out of His will. I more afraid of being out of His will than being in a will of His that many say is crazy. Many people have told me that they wouldn´t do what I´m doing because of the danger that might be involved. People who live a life looking for safety in God´s will, will never have the adventure that I am having, see the things that I have scene, and see the miraculous sovereignty of God. They will only see a god that is timid and safe, which is what most people in the American church see God as. Sadly it took me coming to Brazil to see that that was me. Someone who doubted what God could do, instead of trusting in what He has done. What has he done? He has saved me. He has saved nearly thousands the month that I have been here. He changed families. He has given people refuge here in Brazil. He has conquered the world. A God that has conquered the world isn´t timid at all. Although He isn´t safe, He does offer refuge to all who call upon Him. Matthew 11:28 tells us that.
In Philippians 3 we see Paul talking about living a life that glorifies God in every breathe we take. He says that he considers everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. That´s the cry of my heart. That I would live a life that glorifies Christ with every breathe I take. That is a man that is fully consecrated to Him. I aim to be that man! But I can´t leave out the other half that Paul talks about in that passage. He says that he not only wants to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, but he also wants to know the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings. The call of a man fully consecrated to Him is an adventure, but is also a calling of suffering like Jesus suffered. Jesus is the King of kings and yet He followed His father even when it meant suffering for Him. So who am I, or who is anyone else, to say that they will serve God only if it promises safety. I don´t serve a safe God. There is no safe god. So don´t worry about me here in Brazil, because I am following my God. No matter what! Don´t be like me and have to go to another country to realize who Jesus really is. He is not who we make Him out to be. He is who He is, we only change what we view Him as. So change who you view Him as. If you do He will take you on the greatest adventure of your life. You will begin to live a life of reckless abandonement. And you will rejoice in His sufferings as well! Living a life that is fully consecrated to Him is a calling to all Christians, but hardly any accept, because they are afraid of what might happen to them. Many Christians are comfortable in their safe god and don´t want to venture out into the world of the unknown. Living a life that is fully consecrated to Him is the difference between a Godly man and a Christian man. Accept the calling to be a Godly man or woman and let God use you to change to the world. Warning: you just might see his power and suffering for Him just might be something you enjoy! My God is not Safe!