Upon Our Knees

"Wait for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD."

--

Psalm 27:14

Let us draw near to God upon our knees; let us wait tirelessly for our God to work in us and transform our souls to be ever more like Christ. We must realize that it will not be easy: Heart work is hard work.

I cannot help but wonder and agonize over the fact that I am so passionless in my faith, lazy in my spiritual disciplines, and unamazed by the mercy and grace of God in providing salvation for sinners. Why? I try so hard at times, but always seem to lose heart and give up. The Christian life seems too hard to live and all I ever seem to obtain is failure.

I read wonderful, inspiring stories about Christians who lived their lives for the Lord--- drinking delightfully from a hidden spring, finding joy that I only dream about, and living as it were in the shadow of heaven. Yes, men and women like Jonathan & Sarah Edwards, George Whitfield, George Muller, Hudson Taylor, A.W. Tozar, John Bunyan, J. C. Ryle, etc. who found sweet delight in the Almighty One and learned the secret of abiding in Christ.

What was their secret? How did they live such godly lives? What did they all have in common that impacted them so tremendously so that their lives still inspire Christians to follow hard after God? All of these Believers lived in different places, had their own unique life circumstances, and had completely different struggles and strengths, but all of them had Christ as their base of commonality. And what is more, they relied upon Christ to work in their hearts and keep their eyes fixed upon Him.

Oh, how they hungered after God deeply---and what did they do? Did they bustle around searching for a way to satisfy their deepest longings in a quick fix sort of way? No, they waited. They waited long agonizing hours for the Lord to meet them---to satisfy their hearts with Himself. They didn't settle for earth's empty pleasures; but, they poured over God's Word by searching intently and digging tirelessly. They prayed, they cried, and of course they waited.

I think we should also note where these Believers labored over God's Word, prayed, and waited. Was it upon their beds as they dozed? In front of the TV or computer? A second before jumping in or out of bed? Once a week at church? No, they were on their knees. However, is the position of kneeling so important, we may wonder. My own conclusion is that kneeling for kneeling sake is no better than not kneeling at all; but, when we kneel before the Lord for Him what sort of attitude are we conveying? Is it not one of total helplessness and submission? Yes, it is. And think for a moment, do we not drop immediately to our knees when hardship and tragedy surround us? This is certainly true, and we should also fall upon our knees when we are going through sun filled valleys to thank the Lord of our souls.

Yes, we should be upon our knees waiting upon our Almighty God everyday that we have the ability to do so. Yes, it may seem hard, but does God not give us breath every day? Blood pumping through our veins? His grace to sustain us every moment? Yes, we should come to meet the Lord daily upon our knees. Not until we do so will we be passionate about God, joyful in God, amazed by God, living for God, waiting upon God, faithful to God, and transformed to be like Him by Him.

Wait upon the Lord upon your knees. Hunger intensely for Him, thirst for Him, and surely He will not leave you empty handed. He will indeed fill your minds, warm your souls, and delight your hearts with Himself.

But remember that it is the heart attitude by which you come to prayer that is most essential. As I said before, kneeling for kneeling sake alone is no better than not kneeling at all. Come to God with complete submission acknowledging Him as the Master and Savior of your souls.

"Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer."

--

J. C. Ryle

What We Did & And What We Saw: Mission to New Orleans Part Two

There are still so many houses in ruins like this house in the picture above.

This is the house we worked on during the week.

This is one of the heaps of ruble that we cleaned out of the house.

This is our team leader working on some framing

This is a picture of my brother and me, along with another guy on our team, after we finished frame a window.

On my mission trip to New Orleans, my team and I did electrical and framing work on a house. It was such a joy to see the Home Owner's face light up as we helped in the rebuilding of her home.



Three other woman and I framed two closets and replaced some ceiling beams in one room. We also cleaned out the house so that it would be all ready for sheet rock.



It was fun having my brother Luke go on the trip with me. He was busy doing electrical work along with the other guys on our team.



Continue to pray with me for Erlean, the Home Owner, that she would come to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

The Mission Field Around Us: Mission to New Orleans Part One

I just arrived home yesterday from a week-long mission trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. My church mission team and I spent the week working with an organization called Operation NOAH Rebuild. We worked on one house doing electrical work, framing, and preparation work for putting up sheet rock.

In the past I have gone on several mission trips to Mexico, but I have never gone to New Orleans. Even though three years have almost passed since Hurricane Katrina, the devastation is still more than apparent. The great hopelessness that I witnessed in the lives of the people I came in contact with was overwhelming. But amidst the rubble and broken pieces these people hold in their hands and the hopelessness they face daily, God's grace, mercy, and hope shine brighter. My mission team's goal was not only to help rebuild a home, but to share the hope of Jesus Christ with the people we came face to face with.

Even though Katrina is considered a great tragedy, I also recognize that God's hand was in it. As one lady in my mission team concluded, before Katrina New Orleans would hardly have been an attractive location for Christians to visit. But God used the devastation of Katrina to send hundreds of faith based teams into New Orleans to help rebuild the city and to share Jesus Christ with the lost.

God has placed each of His children into the mission field of His choosing. But we must go out and put our hand to the plow if we are to obey and glorify Him. There are people all around us who live in utter hopelessness, and God has called us who believe and trust in Him to share our hope in Christ with those who are lost.

My own prayer to God is that He would awaken in my heart a compassion for the lost fueled by my passion for Him. God has given us so much in Christ, let us not keep the riches of His mercy to ourselves, but let us share the Hope of Christ with those around us. Whether it is a co-worker or a neighbor, whether you go on a mission trip to New Orleans or witness to a cashier at the grocery store, wherever you are share the hope of Christ that is within you.

A Passion to Make Much of Christ

Ever since I was twelve years old, I have wanted to serve the Lord as a missionary. I have read countless books about missionaries who spent their entire lives serving the Lord in foreign countries, enduring great hardships, and sharing the Gospel with lost people.

These men and women who have already gone before me as Soldiers of the Cross have inspired me to live for something so much better than myself. They have challenged me to live for God alone and to spend my life making much of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My passion in life is to make much of Christ and I want to do this by serving the Lord as a missionary to the unreached. I want to go and share the Good News of Salvation with people who have never heard and I want to translate the Bible into their language.

However, I can not do this on my own. Only by God's grace and strength will this great passion that the Lord has given me come to pass. I can do nothing, but through Christ who strengthens me I can do everything (Philippians 4:13). I also need the prayers of faithful Christians to uphold my endeavor. God uses His children to bring about His plans and one of the ways He uses them is in prayer.

I beseach all of you who are Christians to prayer for the unreached people groups around the world. Join in my passion and pray that the unreached would be reached with the Gospel.

I think it is so easy for Christians in the twenty-first century to become consumed with "self" and to forget that God is not a part of our lives, but that He is our life. All of us only have a short time to live in this world, let us make the most of our time by making much of Christ with the time we have left.