Do you see this?

What do you see when you see this picture?

 I see children that I long to run to wrap in my arms, kiss them, clothe and provide for them. 

I wonder about what all these tiny, precious, innocent eyes have had to see in their short lives.

I wonder if these children have parents, or anyone to provide for them.

I wonder if they're being fed, nutured, taught, cared for, loved...

All of this pain we're looking at is in other countries.  I send the resources I can and pray, "Lord, if You send me...I Will Go!"

I will Go!

Show me what You want me to do from here, but if You send me, I Will GO!......

As I prayed that prayer many years ago, and continue to daily, this is what He has shown me...

This is where He's planted me for right now....America.

A Missionary doesn't become a  missionary because God sends them over seas...a Missionary is someone who accepts the call and is Planted. Anywhere, and freely gives to those who are equipped and sent to go over seas!

This is where I'm planted.

This is America.  Do you see them?

The girl who's lost both her parents to abuse and drugs.  The child who should know unconditional love but instead is on her own at 4 years old..?

The child who doesn't have support, or love at home.  Isn't sure if she'll even get to eat tonight..?

The child down your street who listens to her parents fighting every night, and watches as her father beats her mother, and tries to get away before he turns on her?

The teenager struggling with depression. Without any friends. Without parents to care about where she is or who she is with.  She is questioning life, questioning her existence, questioning her value and worth....

Do you see them?

This is America.

We so often get sidetracked by these heart breaking images, that we miss the pictures all around us. Worst of all we miss the Big Picture.


All of it.... It's SIN! All of it. Our entire world:  China, Africa, Japan, Indonesia, America... is filled with brokenness, Hopelessness and Sin!

All of the people in the images are in Desperate need of a Savior...

 

These happy girls in the hall of your school

 These teens sitting on the sidewalk in your neighborhood park.

Will we Go there...?

That child whose eyes are filled with preciousness and is filthy from head to toe. :)

She needs a Savior.

Whether it's a precious stranger you meet at the park...

The Next Door Neighbor you've never met...

The receptionist or traveler you run into....

The Employees you run into at the grocery store...

Your child's teacher...

Or Just an insanely busy mom...

We're All the Same!  We're All Sinners in desperate need of a Savior...

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.- John 15:13 (NIV)

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! - Romans 5:6-9 (NIV)

Do you see them? Will you go?  Are we being missionaries where we're planted? Are we going where we've been called?

....

Linked With:

These Five of Mine Plus Two

 

New Territory

Chris Tomlin - God of This City



I am writing today for "Five Minute Friday."  Haven't done this before. I have 5 minutes to write, without editing. Yikes, this may not be pretty.  The topic today is: New.

and Go...

I am new to Kentucky. I am new to this area.  I don't know many people, but God has radically burdened my heart over this place.  I hear missionaries and people talk about how badly they want to go into foreign missions and how they want to do this and that, and you wouldn't believe the people in the foreign countries, and I am SO blessed by these people lives that are called in this direction, but as I look at the faces in Danville, Ky that's what my heart cries out! "Do you see them! I wish I could come back to my church and show the faces of the broken people I've encountered that week!  "Love them like Jesus." "Teach them Jesus," I want them to KNOW Jesus! As I walk through Wal-Mart I pray for each person that I walk past and pray for the Lord to plant a seed in their heart and use me, somehow, just use me!  I want them to experience God in a radical way. I want to be used as a tool of God to reach this area. I would love to visit and minister in Africa, Asia, China, S. America. But this IS my foreign Country.

I love these people! With a ridiculous Love that can Only come from what God's doing in my heart and life, because there is no reason for it other than God has placed it there.

It's hard to get to know people. I sometimes feel like an outcast, not sure if I'm imagining it. Not sure if it's a stumbling block Satan has put there to slow my passion down. Don't know. I really struggle with feelings of rejection. However, I know that GOD is the one who brought us here, GOD is the One Who is cultivating us. He is my keeper and sustainer and in HIM I will put my trust.

Time's Up...

At War With Myself

Warning The Following Information May be filled with Run-On Sentences and a Bizarre amount of Grammatical Mistakes. Read at your own Risk: :)

(Also this is in no way a reflection of anyone but myself. I am Not preaching at anyone but this is what I've seen in my life and if this is you, too. I pray that this will open your eyes as much as it has mine.)

This is a response to my "Head Knowledge" vs. my "Life Outpour" following the Post "Lord of the Pawn".  

I came to the dramatic reality of how Poisonious Cultural Christianity is to todays American Churches, only a few years ago. My entire life I have been blinded to the reality of the call that Christ has laid on the hearts of His children. 

I have attended church my entire life. For years, because I was so used to sitting in the pew and hearing the word preached, I Knew when I heard a good message, because it was like heart medicine. Even the ones that stepped all over my toes.  It was like finally getting a cold cup of water on a hot Southern day.  It was good!
 But that was as far as it went - HEARING it. 

It's so frustrating to hear a good word but ok what next. How do I Live it out? How do I become Salt and Light?  How do I preach the Gospel to all nations? 

Don't get me wrong, I think the IMB in the beginning was a Great Idea, and it still is. However, I am afraid that too many of us have adopted that as a,
"Well, I'm funding them to go and do what I've been called to do." 

Or even
"Well, don't we pay the pastor and church staff to do that?"


You may not have said these exact words but is "That" what your life is living?

It has been mine. Think about it... You're trusting in these pastors who have also been brought up the same way, alot of words about outreach but very little, if any, out pour.  Alot of conviction but little, to no, Action.

What do we do? How do we do it? How do I become Salt and Light? How do I minister at every oppurtunity I have. And Its not by sneaking Tracks in toilet stalls. Do you think "that's" what Jesus would Do? Run, drop and hide?  Christ wasn't sneaky at all. He was compassionate and His words spoke deep to the heart!

I am not Ashamed of the Gospel because it is the Power of Christ unto Salvation! (Romans 1:16)
Tracks arent all bad, used correctly but have a relationship first. Build a relationship! Even if it is just a 5 min totally out of your comfort zone conversation.

Because frankly "christians" have given "Christianity" a bad name, and most anyone can spot a Fake from a mile away.  And if we're saying one thing and living another, "whats so great about what we're saying?"
Not many in our society are going to respond well to a secret bathroom stall cheesy track that falls out of your toilet paper roll. Because your too scared to open your mouth and talk with them personally.  I have yet to see or hear of a toilet stall convert.

The biggest, scariest, thing about what we're facing in this war with ourselves is - Where Do We Start?  We've not seen it modeled in our churches, or much around us. So we're learning from scratch. It's exciting to see God sparking a light in hearts around the world and friends around the world but you know what.  When you see Truth clearly, and you have no one to follow...it means God's Calling you to be a Leader!

The church has got to quit with the mindset of, "well they'll come to us. maybe if we have a great program, fun games, exciting activities. Ooo, Power Point, no media shout, no a Great worship leader, well it must be, this or that or maybe so and so isn't doing such and such." All of that bogs us down from the truth of the call. Christ called us to be "Fishers of men" What are YOU doing?

Does a fisherman sit on the shore, get a well decorated, state of the art boat, push the boat out and hope that the fish jump in? Heck No!  Go, Tell, Preach! Come on!  If you don't see someone else doing it, you think it needs to be done...it may be God calling You to do it!  Quit waiting for someone else to pick of the reigns of what you've been called to do.  If your scared EVEN Better! If God's calling you to do something and your scared it means, He's ready to rock your socks off! If God's calling you to do something and you think you don't have the time, the skill or it might make you uncomfortable or excuse, excuse, excuse...get ready for God to rock your socks off!
Remain in the word. Learn how to trust Him and Him only! Learn how to hear His Voice, Learn how to notice His hand at work around you.
 It is time we stop waiting for others to fulfill our calling!

Being a Fisher of Men means NOW! Not when it's convenient or during quarterly organized ministry church projects. NOW! Today! 

My biggest struggle right now is figuring out all the little ways God's wanting to use me in my everyday life, with 2 tiny, precious anchors at home.  Anchors: is in no way a derogatory term, it just means that it limits me.  Pulls me back home :) Yes, little things I am cool with, but full-time commitments to different ministries; it is impossible for me to remain consistent in.  Doesn't mean it's stalling me, it means I've got to find out how it all fits together, and I'm about to start stalking some missionaries. 

I've got to get out of this "Church Mindset", quit labeling full-time missionaries as "the Missionaries" and realize "Hi my name is Melissa Bradley, I live in Danville, Ky and I have been Called by God to be a Missionary in this town and everywhere these feet take me!

Lord, Use me however You chose. Move me out of the way. Move my weakness out of the way and fill me with Your strength. May I be Your vessel to be used however You desire!  Clear the path ahead of me. Fill my mouth with Your words. May Your words, Your desires speak Loudly from my life!

Your Clay,
Melissa





                        

Game On!

I had the privilege of going to see some amazing girls play some Super Fab Softball last night.  Gosh I love playing softball, not that I'm necessarily any good at it but it is definitely my favorite sport to play. 

The game however, made me reflect on my spiritual walk and the current church. As a christian I have to admit I've had the problem of living most of my life in the dugout. Watching the game go on, watching some people hit homeruns and making excellent catches. While I'm comfortably chewing my bubble gum and sipping my Gatorade in the shade, and at times making some nasty critical remarks about the ones out in the field fumbling the ball around.

As time goes on I feel that we have WAY more people settling to sit in the dugout than out in the field playing.

The first time I saw that my life was being lived in the dugout, it stinking blew me away. It was a game changer in my book and it was so simple.  I went out to eat with my friends Amanda Lark and Lauren Parnell.  We were at Wendy's and before they payed, one of them asked the guy serving us, "Hey, we're about to say the blessing, is there anything we can pray for you about?" 

What the heck? Was that not awkward?  I'd never seen anyone mention their faith like that, yeah through conversations or relationship building or whenever it was within your comfort zone or convenient but Never Random dude you don't know.

Over the past year, I have realized that throughout my life I've heard some amazing Truths Preached.  You ask me a biblical question and I will probably be able to give you an answer, because I've heard it and heard it and heard it but not often have I seen believers living these biblical truths out in everyday, day to day life. I wrote about ministry a few months ago and this kinda ties in with it. 

Truths:

• There's Power in Prayer
• The Holy Spirit dwells in the lives of believers and is Always at work around us.
• Christ Raised people from the dead, Christ worked miracles through the apostles and leaders in the early church, and He still does it today.
• God desires to have a Personal Love Relationship with you.
• God desires to use you in your life on a daily basis.
• He has a plan and a purpose for your life
• etc., etc

God spoke to my heart back in September (don't know why I remember that being the month) and I realized my ministry does Not begin and end with the Youth.  I don't go out to the playing field @ 10am on Sundays and 6:30 on Wednesdays. In Truth thats supposed to be our dugout time, our Game Plan time.

My Game is All Day Every Day Seeking God to Open My Eyes to His hand at work around me. I pray as I turn on Facebook that God would speak through me to anyone who chats me, Not to be annoyed by it but to see it as an opportunity to minister.

I'm a stay at home mom and God has a plan for my life to use me, and even though I'm stuck at home, alot, God still desires to use me (that is in no way a complaint, I am SO blessed to be home with my children and I know He's using me in the lives of my Jax and Pait, but I'm not going to allow that to be my crutch and keep me from being used outside of the box either.) 

As I hop in the car to head to the grocery store instead of being annoyed at the mom with a Crying baby saying, "Lord is this You drawing my attention away from myself and opening an opportunity to minister? Even if it's through a smile, uttering a prayer for her or Praise the Lord an opportunity to share the Gospel?

As I hop in the car, even as I go and spend time with the teens not only Lord open my eyes to them and their needs and let me be used in the lives of the teens,but praying for everyone else I may cross paths with that God may use me in whatever way He chooses.

Lord let me be used in the nursery if the Sunday School teacher gets stuck in the nursery during Worship service too.

If I'm running late to Sunday School and I ALWAYS am, Lord, are You hindering me from making it on time because You desire to use me in some other way this morning, open my eyes to it? 

Praying for the mom in tears beside me as I drive down the road.

Praying, Praying Praying for God to Open my eyes to how He wants to use me, and for me to take my eyes off of my self and to look for His hand at work around me and joining Him in His work. 

Letting go of my comfort zone and saying Lord whatever it is that You are leading me to do may I do it without Hesitation and complaint. My ministry is in these little day to day things.  It is not in my routine.  I want my life to be Game On!

Game On, at the end of an exhausting day where all I want to do is grab some supper for my hot, exhausted crying babies and saying "Lord Fill my mouth with Your Words, to minister to this woman at Subway. Lord, I Know that my children are climbing on the table behind me, and hopping from seat to seat but keep them safe, send Your angels to protect them :) and may I Speak the Truth, because I may be the only bit of Jesus this woman sees!

Get the Junk out of the air conditioned, Wide Screen TV, Surround Sound, with my Gatorade and Chewing Gum, Dug Out and Get In the Game!

Game ON!

Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.