Lately, I’ve been thinking about myself as a human. How
fickle I am. In the same day I can be excited about something and in what feels
like a moment I am over it. The more I think about it the more I’m so thankful
God is not like me. If I was God, the world
would be an awful place. The same goes for my relationship with him, one moment
I am completely in love with and the next moment I’m not. I always seem to let
something bring me down out of that high. As
a result, I have been thinking a lot about how to continue that fire. In a real
way, not an emotional thing, but something daily that will keep me reminded of
how amazing and wonderful God is. “Quiet times” are too forced for me. They
become a legalistic thing for me. Sometimes, I don’t read my bible and then I
feel bad, like God is pissed that I
didn’t read it. Or I don’t pray and I’ll feel bad and I think I’m a terrible
Christian because I didn’t. All this brings me down a path of thinking I’m a
terrible Christian, so, sometimes, I
give up and say well I’m terrible and I can’t do anything about it. My relationship with Jesus has to be more
then, quiet time, bible memorization, and journaling. That doesn’t work for me
and I’m guessing that it doesn’t work for a lot of people. God doesn’t love me
more for doing that stuff. The reason I am on this rant is because there has to
be more to our relationship with Jesus than this. God is bigger and has way
more for us than a half an hour to an hour a day. I’m just saying Jesus said that He is, the
way, the truth, and the LIFE. JESUS IS LIFE. He is supposed to be the thing
that brings you, me, and the world life. I think God is bigger than your quiet
time. Your salvation does not lie in how many quiet times you have, it lies in
knowing God. Moreover,
I have been coming to the conclusion, lately, that Jesus is and wants to be in
everything we do. He cannot be compartmentalized. He is not just a check on the
list, that makes feel better about your salvation. HE is God, and wants to be
with me in everything. Which seems more
like who He is, a living and active God. He wants to be with us now; when I am
at the store, the beach, on vacation, reading our bibles, out with our friends,
cleaning the garage, and mowing the lawn. God wants to move through me and speak
to me. Jesus wants to be glorified in this world He wants me to be with Him in
everyday life. God wants to give me a revelation of Him everywhere I am ,and
whatever I’m doing. God is not just in church or in doing holy things. In order
for us to reach the world, I have to view God this way. Peter and John were
just on a walk to the temple and they healed a crippled man. They did this kind
of stuff almost every day, and God used them because they knew that God wanted
to be glorified in this world.
We don’t have to
go on evangelism times or do big outreaches if our life is glorifying God. It
should be normal for us to tell people about JESUS. God wants to move always. Are you willing to be open to him moving in
your life and in all things? I’m starting this journey because I want Jesus to
be in my life and not just a part of it. I want Him to be in everything (quiet
times are not bad they are just not everything).
The
theme of what I feel like God is telling me, throughout all of this, is that we
have this mentality, as westerners, that God “saves” us from our sins, so that
in the future we will go to heaven, because we are afraid of hell. So now we
have to be good people because we don’t want to go to hell. We are terrified
that God will send us to hell for sleeping with our boyfriend/girlfriend, so we
don’t because God wont save us in the future (which is terrible theology by the
way, and I am not telling you it is okay to sleep with your BF/GF before
marriage). We think that as Christians, that God is a God that saves us and
does things in the future, but what I am trying to argue is that God is and
always has been a God of the present. God is here now, and when our mentality
changes from a God that is going to do something later to God is going to do
something now. If we change that, how we live life changes. We start to live in
a world of possibilities, of what God can do right now, instead, of thinking of
what God is going to do in the future. Doesn’t matter who you are, how old you
are, and how smart you are, or what has happened to you in in the past. God
wants to reveal himself to his creation NOW. He wants to use us to do it
because he chose us the church to do it. God
wants to meet you here and now. He wants intimacy with you here and now. Are
you willing to surrender everything, in order to hear from him?
How things are going…
By: Daniel Whitson
September 19th
is the schools official start date. It is so close! I am so nervous about how
things are going to work with the school. We have about 10 students, which is
so much more than I expected .There is so much more that needs to be done. Pray
that God will unify our staff as a team. That we would be humble and work
together.
Working in the
kitchen is coming to an end. I am happy about this, since I have been doing
this now for the past 6 months I’m ready for a change, but it has been agreat
learning experience.
I am praying about what to do after the
school. I have been considering staffing our Discipleship Training School in
January. I am not sure about what I am supposed to do in that area, but it
would mean that I have to take an outreach. It would also mean that I probably
won’t come home until the summer time. I really want to come home for a visitm
I really miss everyone. September 1st will be one year since I have been gone!
This year has gone by so fast! I hope that I can come home for Christmas but
the plane tickets are between 800 and a
1000 dollars. Pray that I can get the finances
in order to come home!
My main prayer
request is that I will stay focused on God during this school and not let my
worry get the best of me and lean on myself. I really want to trust God, during
this time, work hard, and not get paralyzed by stress or worry. God needs to be
my strength and identity, not the school. I don’t want to worry about what
other people say just worry about what God is saying. I really want to do this
school well and I know that if I worry instead of trusting God that he is going
to do something through this school than it won’t be as good then if I do. I
will enjoy seeing God do great things if I trust him! Pray for faith!
How you can help…
In order that I may continue to help
equipping future missionaries and continue my mission work, the last thing that
I am trying to do is reach a goal of support for the summer. I want to raise
enough money to pay for my staff fees, car bills, gas, and bills for the
summer.$4050 will cover all of my expenses for the summer. This doesn’t include
spending money or savings. I hope that you will pray about sending me a onetime
gift to support me through the summer! I have gotten 10% of my goal. Pray that
God will provide the rest of the funds I need!
Your gifts are tax deductible
You can send your
support to:
Daniel Whitson, 2707 Hipawai Place, Honolulu,
HI 96822
Checks made out to
“YWAM Honolulu” and put my name on the
“For” line
THE MOST CONVIENIENT IS PAYPAL YOU CAN GIVE RIGHT HERE ONLINE!
Even if you can’t afford to send me
support this fall, I would ask that you just pray for me and the school
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Contact Info:
Email: danielwhitson@gmail.com
Cell - 443-289-4517
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