~One Week / Una Semana~

Next week at this time I will {hopefully} be on the plane from Houston to Lima. It's crazy to think that this has been on the calendar for nearly 9 months now, yet until just recently it's seemed like more of a dream than reality. I've waited for this opportunity for 6+ years, and it's finally happening! I have no doubt that this is the divine timing of the Lord, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm grateful for the time I've had living in my hometown near my parents for the last few years, growing as a professional, learning independence, and building friendships that have changed my life. I'm thankful for the church God lead me to in October of 2011, and I'm beyond blessed by the Bible study I've become a part of.

The good-byes have begun, yet the packing remains a task to be undertaken. I know not everything I have laid out to take will fit, so I'm delaying the stressful decision making process as long as possible; 140 pounds seems like a lot of weight, but as I throw things in my suitcase, I realize those pounds add up quite quickly.

So how am I spending my last week you may ask? Well, last weekend I ran my first 5k Color Run which was a blast. I spent last week relaxing and preparing for the week ahead. This past weekend I went camping with my Bible study which was an amazingly fun time of canoeing, hiking, and soaking up the goodness of God in nature. Grandma came today, and Mom made a mock Thanksgiving dinner complete with pumpkin pie since I won't be here in November for the real thing. A dear college friend is coming to visit Wednesday, I'm hanging out with college friends Thursday, and Friday I've got a coffee date with a few teacher friends and a dinner date with my family at a Japanese SOHO. Sunday I'm sharing at church, dining with church family afterwards, and participating in my final praise and prayer night. Somewhere I'll be squeezing in time to pack and clean my car out, too.

I'm so incredibly excited for the days ahead. I'm dreading the good-byes, and I'm a bit nervous for the transition. However, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has gone before me, and He has already paved the way. He knows the struggles I will face, and He knows the inner anxiety I will feel. He will be there for me even when no one else seems to understand, and He will be my hope and faith that I will cling to through the joys and trials of this change.

Again, thank you to each of you for being a faithful prayer warrior throughout the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. I am beyond blessed by each and everyone of you. Thank you in advance for going with me on this journey through your prayers and words of encouragement. Feel free at any time to comment with questions or email me if you'd like further details about anything I post along the way. We're in this together, and I appreciate your support!

~*May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and keep you near always and forever!*~
With much love,
Jessica

Dear Complacent Christian,

Disclamier: Let me begin by saying this post is a reminder for myself as well.

You go to church on Sunday {when you feel like it}, but you seldom touch your Bible otherwise. Maybe you even have multiple Bibles lying around your home collecting dust. {I know I have a few!}

Considering today is Independence Day here in the USA, I can't help but be grateful for the freedom I have to worship the Lord, when I want, how I want, and where I want. I don't have to worry about being taken to jail for listening to Christian music with my car windows down. I don't have to fear that I will be killed if someone catches me walking into my church on Sunday morning or Tuesday evening.  I can take my Bible outside on my patio and read with a cup of coffee while enjoying the morning sunrise and songs of the birds, and my neighbors aren't persecuting me for it.

Do you know how many people around the world would give their right arm for the opportunity to attend church without fearing for their life? Do you know how many Christians around the world attend church in secret for many hours a week knowing that if they are caught they may face imprisonment or death? Do you know how many people around the world are begging to hold the Word of God in their hands maybe even for the first time? Check out this map entitled World Watch List Countries {Click on the link, I dare you.You may be shocked by the widespread "suffering" of our brothers and sisters.}

Our Christian brothers and sisters around the world, particularly in the 10/40 window, are those people! Many of them have little, living on less than $2 a day. Many of them are separated from their families, suffering from disease and/or malnutrition, and are mocked and taunted for their faith, yet they still praise Jesus. Many of these Christian brothers and sisters sneak to "church" on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Saturday {whatever day they may decide on}. They congregate in homes, they congregate in small, unmarked buildings, they congregate in secret not IN a church but AS a church. They passionately pray about everything, have deep desire to follow the Lord, and long to see their lost ones saved. Their Bibles {if they have them} are their most prized possessions.

*Another Disclaimer: I do believe that these secret congregations probably include those of mediocre faith, but overall I do believe the vast majority are deeply committed believers.*

If you are living in a nation or state where you are free to attend church when you want without fear of severe persecution or even death, consider yourself blessed. However, I also believe that the easy manner in which many of my friends and family attend church has made us numb to the true demands of the Bible - to give up everything and follow Christ. {How much do we truly sacrifice to follow Christ here in the grand 'ol USA?} We've become content simply attending church, checking it off our list first thing Sunday morning and putting God on the back burner until the following week. Some of us may pick up our Bibles as time permits, and we bow our heads before meals. Yet, how deep is our true faith? Do we trust God with every aspect of our beings or only with the things we can't do on our own? What are we doing to see the lost save? Do we risk our lives for the sake of the cross?

Read 2 Timothy 3:12-17 {below or click the link}.

12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

When I think about my persecuted brothers and sisters my natural instinct is to feel sorry for them. However, more and more, I'm realizing that feeling sorry for them probably isn't the best response. I'm jealous of them. I'm jealous of their deep passion and commitment. {You'd have to be deeply committed to attend church in their situations.} I'm envious of the unity and willingness of the congregations to help one another out and to pray for one another. They are blessed because of their suffering and endurance, and I long for the deep faith they have due to their persecutions and full dependence of God to carry out His will for His glory.

Romans 5:3-5 says, "We glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."

Now, I don't think this suffering here explicitly means persecution, but it definitely hints at it. Our persecuted brothers and sisters have hope. They have hope and faith that God will protect them against the wills of Satan. They have hope of what's yet to come. They long deeply for that day when Christ returns and His people are brought into His eternal presence. They live for that, and they persevere because they trust with their whole being that in the end it will be worth it.

Ask yourself, "How deep is my faith, really?" If day in and day out you were mocked for you faith would you keep believing in God? If you had to attend church in secret knowing you could be imprisoned or lose your life if you were to be caught would you keep going? How important is your Bible to you? If your house caught on fire would you grab it with your other "special" belongings or would you leave it behind to burn? Are you willing to share the gospel with the lost at the risk of being made fun of or cursed at? Are you willing to live out the gospel, say no to sin, and be the odd man out even when your friends are pressuring you otherwise? 

I think it's time for those of us who aren't persecuted for our faith to reexamine our commitments to the Lord. Are you seeking Him with your entire being, or are you content checking church off your list on Sunday mornings, leaving your Bible to collect dust through the week, and fitting in with the crowd rather than speaking and living truth? Are you daily in the Word and on your knees in prayer or do you only participate when you have extra time? We need to be daily on our knees, in communion with our Creator developing a deeply committed relationship with Him.

Let me leave you with this from Matthew 24:36-41: But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

How well do you truly know Him? How passionate are you really? Are you ready for His return?


*If you do not know Jesus as your personal Savior or have questions about faith, please do not hesitate to ask me. I would be happy to discuss what I know with you or lead you to others who can help. All comments are moderated, and I will not post anything that I feel should be kept private.*