Rest is important. That is one thing that the Lord has been teaching me and revealing to me recently. Our American culture takes very little time for rest and this is reflected in the society that we live. Periods of rest throughout the day are extremely important. They clear our minds, nourish our thoughts and help us ponder on what the day has given us. But they also give us vital time to place our eyes above and focus on Jesus.
These past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. I have found myself working over forty hours a week consistently on top of all the Cru events that I must attend. This makes me physically, emotionally and spiritually tired. Even in the midst of this busy season however the Lord is reminding me of his faithfulness that comes through resting in Him.
Hebrews 4:9-11 NKJV
There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
This passage has been very helpful to me in resting in the Lord and acknowledging the importance of rest as God rested from His work on the seventh day (“…has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.) One of the interesting aspects of rest is that we need to prioritize it. Being diligent about resting is a component of true rest. Sabbath rest can only happen when I am seeking the Lord and allowing Him to give me peace and stillness. The ability to find rest could never come from me, it can only come from the One who first saw the importance of rest.
Movements of God
Two weeks ago, I was able to attend a mormon church service with one of the people I am investing in, Axel. We met early on here in North Dakota and have become good friends. Axel is mormon and me and Micah (a Cru staffer) attended a low-stakes mormon service in the town community center. I was told that the service wasn’t a typical mormon service but more of a simplifed version. Me and Micah attended so we could further our relationship with Axel and that he would be more open in attending church with us.
One of the things that broke me and Micah’s heart was the perversion of scripture and grace. The subtle twist of a certain passage or hymn turned the majesty of God’s grace and love into proving yourself to God. In essence, working for your salvation, which is completely contrary to scripture. There are countless passages in the Bible that describe the importance of God’s grace and why we must trust in God through faith, not ourselves. One of the clearest passages of this essential doctrine is below.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
We should want to live for God and do good works, but those works don’t save us. Rather those works are an outpouring of the Holy Spirit giving glory back to God for His majesty. Overall though, I’m glad that me and Micah were able to reach out and be a light to Axel and continue to create dialogue between the differences of mormonism and Biblical Christianity.
Additionally, one of the greatest blessings over these past couple weeks has been the ability to share the Gospel with two of my co-workers! I was able to share the Gospel with Daniel from Honduras and Juan from Ecuador. Both of the conversations were brief, but I was able to still share how God created us for relationship with Him, sin came into the world and separated us from God, the need for repentance as only Jesus can pay our debt and how we must all make a personal decision to trust in Christ.
Conversation at work turned spiritual and through that avenue I was able to share about my faith and the Gospel. Daniel comes from a Catholic background in Honduras but doesn’t attend church. He explained to me the problem of abuse in churches there and how they are misusing the Gospel. From what Daniel has told me about Honduras, the problem with many of the churches there is the Prosperity Gospel. Many of the churches claim that you need to, “Pay a certain amount of money to get blessed or be saved.” That is in total contradiction to the Biblical Gospel which says that we are saved by grace through faith.
My conversation with Juan was a blessing as I have never shared the Gospel with someone in the LGBTQ community. Being able to share the truth in love helped me to communicate Juan’s need for a savior and why we must trust in something other than ourselves. Currently, Juan would identity as an agnostic and throughout our conversation he was diligently listening. He asked questions and at the end of the discussion I asked him what he thought about the Gospel. He replied, “I thought it was very nice.”
One night I sat down for dinner with Axel and as I was praying over the meal, I prayed for good spiritual conversation and that I would listen to the Spirit’s promptings. That evening, spiritual and theological discussion did not happen at all with Axel, but God had other plans.
As me and Axel were conversing, another friend of mine, Jordan, came and sat down with us. Jordan has made friendships with a lot of the Cru students and it has been awesome to meet such a solid guy. Jordan is Jewish and has been more involved in his faith since college. So I was excited when he joined us for dinner.
The moment he sat down he asked, “Can I ask you a theological question?” What followed was a forty-minute conversation about God in the Old Testament, how to reconcile the idea of gods and the one true God, how Jesus fulfills prophecies told in the Old Testament and various other topics. I greatly enjoyed the conversation and pointed him to helpful resources.
One of the things that blessed me the most about our interaction was to see Jordan’s hunger to talk theologically and also the complete sovereignty of God in that moment. Many times, I find myself expecting a certain outcome or put expectations on God. “It’s going to happen this way, at this time and here’s the result.” I have often found that God moves in ways I don’t expect and in circumstances that I didn’t previously see. The Lord was humbling me and reminding me to trust in Him for the work that He is doing. One of my favorite passages about this concept is below.
Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
I had thought that my conversation with Axel was going to happen a certain way, but God had other plans. The Lord exceeded my expectations and did far more than I thought was going to happen. That’s the beauty of the Lord, He’s constantly exceeding what I expect through His power and might. These verses point to my undying need of a Savior and how I must trust and believe in Him to do more than I could ever ask or think. I pray that you will be able to see God do more than you could ever fathom this week!
Prayer Requests
That I would use my free time wisely to spend time with the Lord and that I would be spiritually, physically and emotionally rested through Him.
That the Gospel truth would be planted in the lives of Jordan, Axel, Daniel, Juan and all others that I come in contact with. Pray for continued conversation and conviction of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
The Cru staff are leaving June 26th, so the rest of the summer is up to the students! Pray for ease of transition and humility as students are taking over the staff’s positions.
Pray that I and all the other Cru students would be able to stay present in the moment. To listen to the Spirit’s promptings and remember the reason that we came to North Dakota. To grow in our faith and see others changed by the beauty of the Gospel!
Thank You!
Thank you for reading this newsletter, I hope that it blesses you greatly! Also, thank you Bubba and Sue for visiting me in North Dakota! It was such a great time to be with you both and see how the Lord is moving in your lives. May the Lord grow us all closer to Him this summer! Thank you so much!