"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27
As I explained in the About Me section of the blog, I have a heart for Tigre-Mures, Romania and Rob and I have a heart for serving other nations in general. I know that the Lord placed me in that city/country for a reason and I have no doubt in my mind that He wills for me (and Rob) to go there another time. However, now is not the time.
This truth has become one of the most difficult truths for me to grasp and I know it has been difficult for Rob as well.
Orphans (and translators) in Romania
Because we both know that there is so much more to this world than just making money and buying big houses and nice cars. We know that we were not granted salvation just to get to Heaven. If that were the case then we would have immediately died and gone there the second we turned our lives to Christ.
Since we were left on this Earth, we know that there is a greater purpose than for our own personal gain. With this acknowledgment made obvious we acknowledge another fact; that our greater purpose is to bring souls to the Kingdom of Christ and to bring Him all the glory by serving the oppressed and forgotten.
Our greater purpose is to remind the forgotten that they have NOT been forgotten by their Father, their Heavenly Father.
Our greater purpose is to bring word to the oppressed that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom.
Beautiful street kids in India
However, for the time being we know that Romania and India are not where we are to be.
For the time being, we are to be in Ridgeland, MS serving his Children here.
While it may not be ideal to our hearts, in our heads we know that this is right.
And I think today was the first time that I accepted this fact.
After talking to one of my close Tuscaloosa friends, Tory (who is incredible), I was reminded that Rob and I are not ignoring God's call on our lives just because we are not currently in another country serving Him in poverty and shambles.
Romanian Orphans are my Favorite
My beautiful friend Tory is starting her first semester at McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta, GA. When she finishes up there she is going to go into the Mission field, probably somewhere in the Middle East. While we talked and shared our feelings about staying in the States for a time, she put it perfectly by saying that whatever she does for the Lord, she wants to do it to the best of her ability because these are people's lives; not to be taken lightly. With her saying that I was reminded why it is that I am going back to get my Masters. Because when I go wherever it is that the Lord wills, I want to go with the utmost preparedness. I am not getting my Masters for my own benefit or joy, because God knows how much I do not enjoy studying. I am going to get my Masters so that I can go and preach the Word with all the readiness that is available to me.
It is always amazing to me when God sends a friend my way to remind me of what I have forgotten. I know that we will eventually begin our journey across the seas to serve the oppressed and forgotten; but right now we are on the journey to serve the oppressed and forgotten sitting right on our front step. My prayer is that we not lose sight of the mission field staring us in the face.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
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