This past Friday we had the
wonderful opportunity to meet with our new Brother in Christ, J. All week we
were unsure as to whether or not we would be able to meet with him due to our
schedule as well as other factors. However, God provided us a way so that we
could meet with J and disciple him before we leave the island. Our intention
was to see where he was on a spiritual level as well as teach him about his
duties as a new believer.
The first thing that we planned on
talking with him about was how he needed to seek out lost souls and share the
good news with them. Before we bring it up in conversation, he was already
trying to talk about all of the things that God was doing in his heart. He told
about a young woman that he had recently met that once claimed to be Christian.
Recently, she moved away from her family and converted to Islam. J recognized
that her story was very similar to his since he also claimed to be a Christian
who converted to Islam. J said that he would share his testimony with her the
next time that they met and that he had already begun sharing about how
incredible God is. In less than one week of his salvation, he was actively
seeking out opportunities to tell others about our amazing God.
When my team and I heard this, we
were not only extremely excited for him, but we were also highly encouraged by his
level of faithfulness to the Lord. J recognizes that he will get persecuted on
this island for his faith and that he may even be killed. He is being smart
about how he shares with others, but he is also not afraid of the consequences
that he may face as a Christ follower. His love for Jesus is far greater than
any situation that he could ever face in this lifetime and he knows that Christ
is worth suffering for.
After hearing about how he is relentlessly
pursuing Christ in all of his ways, we wanted to make sure that he knew how to
effectively share the Gospel with nonbelievers so that they would be without
excuse on judgement day. Immediately he said, “God is with me wherever I go. He
will guide me where I need to go and tell me what I need to say.” J meant what
he said with his whole heart. He believed fully that the Spirit would help him
in every situation. This was a beautiful response but we still wanted to see if
he knew what needs to be shared in every Gospel conversation. J then began to
share with us what he thought should be shared with every nonbeliever. After
hearing his response, we were astounded at how well he shared the Good News
with us. We believe with our whole hearts that God is going to use J to do
wonderful things for the kingdom.
J has been such an inspiration to
me and my team and we pray that one day we could develop a love for Christ as J
has. We ask everyone back home to pray for our new brother in Christ, J. We ask
not for protection from persecution, or for trials and tribulations to be
removed. We pray that God would grant him boldness to speak without fear,
without doubt, with power and with authority. We pray that God will surround
him with a Christian community that will love and encourage him. J will be used
to advance the kingdom of God and we have no doubt about it. However, he still
needs our daily prayers in order to persevere through the trials that he will
face.
I hope that J’s faith encourages
each of you as it did for me and my team. J is willing to give up everything
for the Lord. His family… his friends… his belongings… his life… Everything
that we have both physical as well as spiritual was granted to us by God. We
must cast everything that he has given to us back at his feet. We must give all
that we have… all that we are to Christ. Jesus paid the ultimate and perfect
sacrifice for us. He died so that we may live even though we are all so
undeserving and unworthy. Should we not live entirely for him because of what
he did for us. If we truly love Christ like we say we do, then why do we as
Christians not live like it?
I pray that everyone back home, as
well as me and my team live by this. God deserves everything that we have and
nothing less. Let us give Him our hearts and surrender ourselves to him. We
thank each and every one of you for your continued prayers for me and my team
as we have been on this beautiful journey together. Today I ask that you don’t
just pray for our team, or even the people that we come in contact with. I ask
that you also pray for one another. That each and every one of us would
surrender ourselves to God and allow him work through us. Together we will seek
him, together we will praise him, and together we will do the work that God has
placed before us.
Jeremiah 29:13 “you will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
-Caleb W