This month, we’re pleased to present the inaugural release of our new bookmark on MISSIONS. Reaching the world for Christ did not begin with the Great Commission (“Go and make disciples…” Matthew 28:19-20) or the Acts 1:8 mandate, (“..you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”) God’s heart for missions goes all the way back to the book of Genesis. We hope that reading, writing, and praying over these MISSIONS verses this month will stir up your heart to pray, give, and perhaps even go to the nations to make Him known!
Not only are we presenting a new topic, we have another treat: we are welcoming guest bloggers — friends from our Wednesday morning Bible study here in Siloam. Two lived on the mission field and two were Mission Moms (whose children on lived on mission). I know you will be blessed by what they have written.
The LORD had said to Abram,
“Go from your country, your people and your
father’s household to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12 :1-3
Before the beginning of time, God knew what was going to happen. Before the beginning of time, God was not taken by surprise by our human actions, our sin, nor our need for a savior. Before the beginning of time, Jesus knew he would be dying to save His creation from eternal separation from himself.
Before there was a nation of Israel, the seed from Abram, there was a promise made to a man, a childless man, that he would be a great nation, he would be blessed. His name would be great, and he would be a blessing … and all the peoples on earth would be blessed through him.
God first told him to “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” Hard reality in choosing to follow a God who seemed to demand a lot from His creation.
We tend to skip ahead to the blessing part, forgetting the letting go part. Abram was asked to let go of his country (his habits and identity, his people), the security found in his tribe, people, town; and his father’s household – his tribe, those he was closest to. To go where? “The land I will show you.”
I sometimes wondered why? Why did God need Abram to go to Canaan? Why did he need to be alone, with no earthly security?
Maybe the more pressing question for me was: would God demand the same of me? Would he ask me to let go of my earthly security, my parents, the land I grew up in, the culture I grew up in and go to a place he knew about, but had not yet told my husband and I about?
God reassures us throughout Scripture that his plan is good, his plan is perfect. Even if we do not understand immediately, we sometimes get to see the plan unfold and give glory to the One and only Maker of the universe.
The land God brought Abram to turned out to be the most sought-after land in the world, it was also the most travelled land with the Internation Trade Highway going right through the land from north to south linking Europe, Africa and Asia.
God did not bring Abram to that land by mistake or by chance. It was always part of the plan, because He would be showing the whole world what it means to worship the one and only true God. Not the gods which appeared or reappeared after the flood. He would be a “missionary” or emissary for God to the people he would be in contact with. A living proof of the blessings God chooses to bestow upon those He has chosen and who in turn have also chosen Him.
Going, away, far far far away – I’ll do it, as long as I have my comforts, my sameness? I’ll go, but…
Early in our marriage, we decided to be “moveable by God”, I did not want to be so tied down to a house, so comfortable in our home that I would not want to experience the adventures God had for us. None of our moves made human sense, but all of our moves made perfect sense to God. Looking back and seeing Him move in us, through us, around us has been such an incredible blessing. To see God at work in the lives of people around us, in all our different phases of life, is a privilege I would really “wish” on everyone.
Little did I know that it required me being OK with uncertainty, with being uncomfortable, with not knowing what the short term to mid-term future will look like. Do I doubt at moments? Yes. Do I find it hard to seem so out of sync with the world around me? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.
What Abram was given was a promise. He saw some of that promise while he was living, but he could only imagine the Nation part of the scenario. He believed and it was credited to him as righteousness , he chose to follow Yahweh and continues to be a blessing to all the peoples of the earth to this day. God’s Word does not come back empty; God’s Word continues to transform each and every person who chooses to place their faith in Jesus.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then you and I are part of that blessing to the whole earth. Starting in your family, your neighborhood, your country, and sometimes, other nations.
Abram left those behind, to be a blessing to all nations converging on a piece of land, and we in turn have been tasked with continuing to show the world around us what it means to live for Christ, to live in the blessing God has promised us, and be lights of that Grace to the world around us.
Think of your comfort zone. Is God calling you to stretch it out a little? Is he calling you to reach out to someone who might be different from you? God does not call all of us to “go” somewhere else in the World to be missionaries, but he does call ALL of us to tell those around us about the Good News about Jesus.
How are you choosing to be let Jesus’ light shine through you today and be a blessing to others?
Kristin Isaac now lives in Arkansas, but lived for over 30 years in France,
first as a missionary kid, then as a Missionary working with
France Mission/Perspectives as a church planter and “tent maker”.
She and her husband Nolan were called back to the States last year
and she is now serving with Fresh Perspective Ministries
supporting women who are on mission for Christ overseas and in the US,
by encouraging, equipping and offering opportunities of renewal and rest
in the presence of God.
In this week’s teaching video, we revisit Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego in the fiery furnace — a centuries old, familiar story, but one that still resonates all these years later. We invite you to watch and we hope that the courage of these young men inspires you to cling to your convictions as you face fiery trials in your life. Like them, we pray to stand firm in our faith, knowing He is ever with us THROUGH it all come what may.
