action | brokenredeemed

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. ~ (Mark, 10:43-44, ESV)

God desires that each of His children have a servant’s heart. However, we currently live in a self-obsessed culture, that doesn’t often see the needs of those around us; including the needs within the church. But I believe if every individual served in some capacity, in the church, every need would be taken care of within; and we could focus on doing even more minstry and outreach outside the church.

Sadly, the excuse used most often, is that we don’t feel called to a particular type of ministry. Unfortunately, we can get so caught up in the idea of being “called” that we never act, and miss the God-given opportunities, standing right in front of us. The Word tells us to serve (Matthew 20:26-28, 1 Peter 4:10, Philippians 2:3-8). The Word tells us to preach the Gospel (Mark 16:15). The Word tells us to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). The Word tells us to take care of widows, orphans, and the poor (Luke 12:33, James 1:27). The Word tells us to pray for the sick (James 5:14). The Bible gives us many (more) commandments, yet we wait for further instruction, without being obedient to what He’s already called us to do. We must first be faithful with the areas of responsibility He’s already placed in our lives, before He will give us more (Matthew 25:14-21).

Years ago, I heard Christine Caine speak at a Passion Conference. She spoke about (King) David, and how there was so much time between when he was anointed as the next King of Israel, and when he actually took the throne. Yet, David didn’t just stop working because he’d been anointed. David continued to tend the sheep and protect them from bears & lions. He played music before King Saul. He battled against Goliath, and won! He was a warrior and commander in Saul’s army. And later, when he was on the run from Saul, he became the leader of a rebel group of 600 men. Christine described his experiences as a “dark room,” where David was developed (like film). More recently, I heard a message by Andrew Scott, head of Scatter Global, and he said “We’re not ‘called’ into the Purposes of God; we’re created for the purposes of God.” In other words, God develops us little by little, through experiences, time, and the power of the Holy Spirit that we might display His glory. This doesn’t just happen over night!

If we want to know what God’s purpose for our lives is, we need to begin stepping out in obedience and faith (James 2:26). We should be serving both within and outside the church in some capacity. Even if it means being behind the scenes (which, is often where the most help is needed), taking care of little ones, or tearing up and breaking down equipment. We can’t ask God to do big things in us and through us, and remain in a constant state of “waiting.” We must do something. We must ACT.

There’s an old review on a book titled I Will, by Thom Rainer, that I shared two years ago, which describes the modern-day believer as a consumer instead of someone who serves. (If you’ve never read the book, I recommend it.) I don’t know about you, but when I read the New Testament, I see an early Church who served, and preached, and gave all that they had to the church and the cause, because they believed so strongly in the truth of the gospel. They weren’t focused on self, they were focused on establishing God’s kingdom! As should we!

January 22, 2016 was the March for Life event in Washington, D.C. A group of friends and I planned to participate, however, due to the expected amount of snowfall in the area we decided not to risk traveling in the snow and getting stuck anywhere.

In a previous post I mentioned that this would be the year for action. This is the year where I stop talking about doing things and actually step outside my comfort zone and DO them. March for Life was meant to be the first of this year’s actions and I was prepared to share that with you, however, it appears it will have to wait another year.

If you’ve read my testimony you would understand why March for Life was something I really wanted to be a part of. Every year I say I want to go, but only this year did I mark it on my calendar, take the day off from work, put money on my Metro pass, and gather a group of like-minded friends who were willing to make the trip up north with me. We even waited until the very last minute to cancel because we were so committed to participating in this event.

But honestly, our passion shouldn’t end here.

Not only should we be ready for whatever else is occurring this year, we should be ready to reach out to the people we come into contact with every day! Our local pregnancy center hosts events practically every month (ex. April 21st is their Empowering Life Gala) and I’m sure we all know someone in our lives—a single mom, an unwed mother, a pregnant teen, etc.—who could benefit from just having someone walk with them through life.

During our Monday night Bible study we were discussing Mark 9, when Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with Him to the mountain top and is transfigured before them. When they came down from the mountain they found the remaining disciples arguing with a crowd over their inability to cast out a demon from a man’s son. In reference to this, the author of our study, Michael Catt, made the statement: “Disciples aren’t made to live on mountaintops. We are made for valleys.” Which, in turn, reminded me of saying that goes, “He’s so heavenly minded that he’s no earthly good.”

How often we forget that when we talk about things such as abortion, orphans, or adoption, we’re talking about real people with real struggles. It’s great to talk about change and to take action regarding the big picture, but what the smaller picture; what about the actual people? We can’t stay high on the mountain top with our beliefs and opinions, and not reach out to the people in the valley. As it is now, if a woman becomes pregnant and decides to abort, people become angry because she’s taking a life. If a woman becomes pregnant and decides to give the child up for adoption, people become angry because she’s not keeping her child. And if a woman becomes pregnant and decides to keep the child, people shun her for having a child out of wedlock. This isn’t how we’re meant to show Christ’s love!

We must remember that we all make mistakes and we can encourage right choices, but most importantly, we can be there for that woman in her pain, her fear, her shame, and confusion (because believe me, these are often emotions she’ll struggle with). She may think it’s impossible to bring a child into this world, and we’re meant to show her that it’s not; it may be difficult, but it’s not impossible.

God has called us to action, to live in the valleys, to walk side-by-side with the lost, hurting, and broken, and to direct them to the Mountain of Christ. In every situation may our actions speak louder than words.