We had Dan Bauman and Danny Lehman speak this week mostly about going out into the nations.  They spoke about we shouldn't overcomplicate things- to remember at the end of the day, it's all about Jesus....loving Him and being loved by Him and asking for new revelation about who He truly is.  All the other elements will fall into place if we just simply love Him and love others.  Love binds all things together. 

Jesus gave us the 2 most important commandments that binds the law of God all together and that is: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.  And to love our neighbor as ourselves.  

And it's true, if we simply do these two things, we would never lie nor steal, we would never commit adultery or use the Lord's name in vain, we would never judge or speak against others, we would be able to live lives worthy of being called a child of God most high.  Living lives holy and pleasing to God will allow us to be a light for others who do not know Him.  They will see the love and glory of God shine through us in ways that human kindness cannot express.  

If we cannot truly and purely love with the love that only Jesus can offer, we are pointless witnesses and our lives would be purely self-motivated.  We should remember that God not only created us and our families, but He is the Creator of every single human being.  Let us love another with godly love!

I apologize for not updating the last couple weeks  :o(

This week we had 4 different speakers- each with their own story of outreach and missions.  It has been really interesting to listen to each speaker and then tie it all together by the end of the week.  Although we had different speakers each day, there was one common theme that seemed to resonate within each of them....and that is- OBEDIENCE!

Often times, because of our day in age and our society, we get so wrapped up in the "it's all about me" mind set and lose sight of "what is on the heart of my Savior and my God who has created me and given His life for me?"  Being concerned about our lives is really important, especially to God.  But He not only loves us with pure and unconditional love, He loves ALL nations and ALL peoples and His heart breaks and longs for those who do not yet know Him. 

Our speakers shared that often times, sacrificing pieces of our lives to seek God and His purposes for us will actually allow us to receive the greatest fulfillment and blessing than we would otherwise.  That's not to say that seeking God is just going to be a walk in the park smelling the flowers...it's to say that it could and will be hard, yet we will be able to encounter the living God in ways we would never think or imagine.  And because of a humble and obedient spirit, He longs to fulfill the desires of our heart.  The love and wisdom that He has continued to pour on us throughout this week has again been taking me to the next level in my faith.  The Lord has been so faithful as I've been seeking Him and I am witnessing that day after day!

Surely this man is the Indiana Jones of world missions!  It has been an extremely exciting, laughter-filled and anointed week!  The Lord has imparted much wisdom to us through Fred about what it means to bring truth into the nations (mainly the unreached nations: 10/40 window).  Fred has touched so many lives- him and his team, through massive amounts of prayer, have had the priviledge of being the starting points of revival in areas such as Azerbaijan, Tibet, and other parts of eastern Europe.  

We had a strong glimpse of what God is calling His people to and what our walk of faith is truly about.  It is definitely not only about us and our own lives....but it is taking the blessings that the Lord graciously gives us and using those blessings to bless others, especially those who have not heard of the gift of salvation of our Lord!  God's word says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  - 2 Peter 3:9 NIV

It is an awesome priviledge to be able to share in this "call to all".  This week we gained insight of what is still ahead of us in this amazing opportunity to serve the Living God!!

Our speaker this week is very passionate about the Lord and is so focused on finding all the good attributes of God in every situation in life- whether in people, places, circumstances.  He has us write down at least 20 blessings we've had in our life, and for each blessing, he had us list 3 adjectives that would describe God's character in that particular person, place, or circumstance.  And we couldn't use the same adjective twice!  It really helped open our eyes to dig deep and see how God was present in each situation and it helped us to further our insight on His character.

But honestly, I must say that this week was a low week for me, I guess spiritually.  I guess the past 6 weeks I've been feeling so on fire and in tune with the Spirit of God and it just seems like humanly, I am a little sluggish.  The funny thing is, many other people have been feeling this same way and perhaps because it has reached the half-way point of our Discipleship Training.  

This week has been more of a week of reflecting and refreshing and trying to tune back into God as much as I can so that I can finish strong.  I know the Lord understands that our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak.  Yet, this hasn't stopped the Lord from working miracles in our midst.  He never rests....and He is always good....unchanging.  Praise Him!!