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Looking At Our Weak Spots

On war planes, like the ones used in WWI, experts studied planes that made it home to learn how to better defend them in the future.  For many years this is the way planes had been inspected and improved, but finally, one day, one of the experts asked a very important question. Why were they looking where the planes had survived being hit, instead of looking at the spots where the enemy had missed?
These spots were probably the weak spots because if planes that made it home hadn’t been hit there, maybe the planes that didn’t make it home had been. So they started making note of places planes had not been hit and they decided to focus on improving those spots. What a simple solution that probably saved lives. I think there is something to be learned in that.
Are we armoring ourselves in the spots where we’ve been hit and survived? Or are we focusing on the areas we know we are weakest in? As adult Christians, are we equipping our younger brothers and sisters in the areas we know they will learn from and will survive? Or are we considering the hits we’ve seen friends, loved ones, or maybe even ourselves take and had crippling damages from? So often I think we want to put on the armor of God but we forget some parts. We pick and choose the parts we want to have and leave behind to the others. Since we are not perfect, we try and put on the armor we think we will need, rather than what God tells us we need. I know I personally am so, so guilty of doing this.
I often ignore the areas I am weak because I don’t want to admit to weakness. I struggle with so many simple things and I’m sometimes too ashamed to ask for help. I go through stages where I’ll read my Bible every day and love it and I’ll do devotions or read from a book daily, listen to podcasts and sermons a few times a week. Then I’ll suddenly go through a stage where I don’t do any of those things like I should, and instead of seeing that this is an area where I’m weak I will focus my attention back on an area where I am strong. Rather than deal with my imperfection, I focus on a strength. God doesn’t want us to do this! We will never be perfect, so in the midst of my imperfection I should turn my eyes to His perfection.
Where are we putting on our armor? Are we focusing on the hits we’ve survived in the past or are we turning our attention to problems that make it hard for us to make it home?
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the Breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Ephesians 6:10-18

-Heather Wrench, GEM Missionary

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Who is God and Who am I?

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”‭‭ Lamentations‬ ‭3:22-25

Wow, these words. I was cut to the core this morning. To be quite honest, any sort of praise or recognition of God’s goodness has been far from my lips. I hadn’t even realized how hard my heart had become until I started reading different passages like this and realized how little faith I had in them. 

I don’t know about you, but lately I have found it much easier to focus on the hardships, hurdles, and things going wrong in my life. I have been spending way too much time complaining to God about everything around me, crying out about the evil that continues to infect our world, and growing bitterness in my heart for all of the ‘unfairness’ I see. In my flesh, my heart says ‘God is not good and He is definitely not Faithful because if He were, He would do this or that… or ‘how could God be silent in times like these?’… but oh how incredibly wrong this is, how much farther from the truth could this be!

Number one, who am I to think such things about God? How could I (mere dust) point my finger at THE living God and say, ‘this is unfair, you don’t know what is good, you need to change things’? 

Psalm 24 tells us, 

“The earth is the Lord ‘s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?” – ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭24:1-3‬ ‭

Psalm 33 reads,

 “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host… Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm… The counsel of the LORD stands forever” – v. 6, 8-9 & 11.

Who am I in comparison to YAHWEH?! God is the Holy, Perfect, and Just Creator of the Universe. He is the One in charge.

Number two. After reflecting on God being the Sovereign, Powerful Author of all things, Lamentations 3:22-25 (above) reminded me that God is also overflowing in mercy… without condition. “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end” – Lam. 3:22. God has never stopped pouring out his love and mercy on us, ever. Even after accusing God and having an ungrateful heart, He has not ceased to bless me every single day with both the gift of salvation and the physical gifts that I take for granted, e.g. food, safety, clothing, etc. Jesus laid his life down for the sheep. 1 John 2:2 says, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Need I say more? The LORD has loved each of us beyond what we can ever comprehend, He is indeed The Good Shepherd; the very definition of Faithful love. 

And Lastly, the third thing. Psalm 33 showed me what my heart’s response should be to God. “Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD” – v. 1-5

He is more than worthy of praise. Truly. After reading verses this and pondering all of the other scriptures mentioned, my heart was totally changed. God made Psalm 33 the song of my heart. You know how? I looked upward instead of to myself for the answers. This is how amazing and wonderful God is!  The moment we give ourselves over to Him and realize His love, he begins to shape our hearts and take out all of the darkness and untruth. When we begin to believe we are in charge, that is when things fall apart. When we stop trusting God for who He is. 

Cry out to God in faith and He WILL respond. He saved me from my bitter heart! Before reading Psalm 33, I was filled with discouragement and sadness. After being exhorted to praise, for the rest of the day I couldn’t get praise songs out of my head! It just started flowing out of me! So Let us constantly consider – Who is God? And who am I? The Lord loves you and He will show you His love if you seek Him… “The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him” Lam. 3:25.

Natalia Saint Clair, GEM volunteer

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Surrendering What We Can’t Control

During this time of quarantine and of plans not happening and disappointments, God has really been teaching me some things that are true.

As we received news that school would not go back this school year, we were so disappointed. As we have made plans to move back to the U.S. at the end of this school year, this was definitely not the ending we imagined. So what do you do when disappointment and an array of different emotions come? When you feel so frustrated and mad and sad? We were even more frustrated because we could not even get back to Juquila where we live. We came to Puerto Escondido when all of this started and thought maybe we would come for a couple of weeks. We ended up staying a couple of months as the roads and towns shut down that we’d have to travel through to get back to Juquila. We have no control over anything; I’ve seen that truth shared so many times in this whole pandemic. It is true though. We cannot control the way these small towns are handling the virus; we cannot control the decisions our government makes. We definitely cannot control the current state of the world, and we cannot control whether the plans we make happen or not.

The fact that we have no power to change those things can be really overwhelming, but it is a humbling truth and I am finding freedom and deeper joy when I surrender this. And in that surrender, I can see things that I actually can control to an extent. I can decide what I read, what I do or don’t scroll through, if I spend quality time at the feet of Jesus. These things are so worthy to be taken seriously. I could waste an entire day just worried and overwhelmed dwelling on the things I want to be different but are not. Or, as these frustrations come, I can feel them, think upon them, and then surrender them. God is trustworthy. And so that means that this is true from Matthew 6:26-34:

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Maybe it is hard for me sometimes to believe that I do not need to worry because I do not deeply think upon what I actually need. I feel worried and anxious because my plans are canceled. But I am never promised perfect plans. I get overwhelmed because the world is in chaos. But I am not promised a peaceful world, not until Jesus makes all things new. What is true is that I have Jesus, a close companion and friend. And the Holy Spirit that raised Him from the dead lives in me. Just the power of that alone should make ANY circumstance a miracle!

Sometimes it is hard to see it, but He really is making all things new. This is true, but in order to see His working, we must think upon the things of the Spirit. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. These are the things that God wants to grow in us. And as much as these circumstances are hard, as many disappointments there are, I believe that circumstances like these are actually great soil for these fruits to grow.

And I say all of this not to belittle anxiety and worry or to say that any of what is happening is good. I have just been very encouraged to have a perspective change. Our world and our lives have changed in so many ways in the last few months, but God remains the same. And His heart for us is to know Him and grow in Him so that we can love Him and others. Even though things look different, we still have just as much access and maybe even more time to see and grow in His purpose for us.

-Annie Balsley, GEM Missionary

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Taking Him at His Word

It’s no question that these last couple of months have been a challenge. Routines have been shaken up, weddings put on hold, human contact limited, jobs lost, and most tragically of all the lives of dear loved ones taken away.

Although I’ve only been slightly affected in comparison to many, I’ve had to deal with my own feelings towards being stuck a country away from some of the people I love most. And seeing friends and families of friends struggle to put food on the table because both parents have lost their jobs. And not knowing what to say to a someone whose loved one is barely holding onto life. All due to this unseen, unpredictable virus.

In a few cases it has even brought into question my own view of God, His character, and His goodness to allow something like this to shake up the lives of so many across the world.

It reminds me of Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11 when God leads Him into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.

Yes. God leads Him into a wilderness. A probably dry, unkempt sort of place where no one (besides maybe John the Baptist) lived and where you’re left to your own thoughts. And who’s in the wilderness? Yes. Satan. Just waiting to catch Jesus in one of his stealthily placed traps.

Just like in the Garden of Eden, Satan tempts Jesus to question His Father in three ways:

1. Questioning the identity and power given to Jesus by God by tempting him to make food for Himself

2. Questioning God’s love and protection for Jesus by telling Him to throw Himself down

3. Questioning God’s timing of Jesus’ reign and His allegiance to the Father by tempting him with power and dominion

Sometimes, being in our own kind of wilderness of separation from friends and family, I can feel the same kind of spiritual warfare going on in my own heart and mind.

When I see all the hurt and distance caused by this virus, questions about God’s love, His power, and His timing can slowly start to trickle into my mind. It’s in uncertain times like these when, even before I realize it, I can begin to doubt not just God’s power but ultimately His good character.

Although Matthew 4:1-11 starts off with a David vs. Goliath sort of scene where Jesus, a half-starved lowly carpenter, and Satan, one of the most powerful created beings behind God Himself, go head to head, we see that the Jesus has a powerful, secret weapon that Satan knows nothing about – the truth of God’s word. With it, He is able to slice through every temptation to question His Father like a steak knife cutting through a piece of fried baloney. All with one simple tool – The Word of God.

Hebrews 4:11 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

And in John 17:17 Jesus prays that His disciples would be covered and sanctified in the truth of God’s Word.

Lately, I’ve been learning that like Jesus, if I’m going to win against the war of questions and doubts in my mind, I’m going to have to use something more powerful than my own willpower. I’ve got to use God’s truth. It is so important for me that when I notice these thoughts come to the surface, I don’t let them roll around and lead me to fear, anxiety or despair, but that I take them captive and put them up against the truth of God’s word (2 Corinthians 10:5). This means that I have to know the Word of God and daily submit myself to it.

The devil is crafty and He knows our weaknesses. That’s why His lies are so tempting and so believable! But in giving us His Word and His Spirit, God has provided us with everything we need to fight and win.

In fact, we’ve already won if we believe in Jesus because He won the victory over Satan and death before we were ever born!

Luckily God doesn’t make us suit up for a physical battle, but He does tell us to put on armor for a spiritual one. God calls us to take hold of His Word, submerge ourselves in it, and believe it. Only then will we be able to fight off temptations to doubt God’s character. Through His Word we will come to know our God so well that the moment these questions arise we will hold them up to God’s Word and trust that despite our changing circumstances, God’s character and His promises never change and they are always good.

-Maggie Addison, GEM Missionary

If you’d like to support Maggie as she serves with GEM in Mexico, you can do so HERE. You can also contact her directly to talk further about what it means to be on her support team and find out how you can be praying for her!

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Don’t Be Afraid

I hope that everyone is doing well during this troubling time in our world. So much has changed so fast. People have lost their jobs, their money; many have lost relationships or at least access to certain relationships. Businesses are struggling to get by or are being forced to close down. It appears the world we live in is far less stable than we thought.

When everything changes and our plans are not turning out as we hoped, many thoughts start to creep into our heads. Worry, anxiety, and fear can be all consuming. I have been constantly battling these thoughts and feelings. I have been constantly having remind myself of what is true.

Just recently I remembered a command from God that has been so comforting. You might be thinking, “How is a command comforting? I’m afraid and someone is telling me what to do?” Well it has been said that this command can be found 365 times in scripture! That’s a lot! We should probably pay attention to this command. So are you ready for it? Here it goes, the command is…..

“Don’t be afraid.”

That’s it! Don’t be afraid! Or in some translations, “Fear not!” Here are a few well known places we find this command in scripture. It appears in both the Old and New Testament:

Deuteronomy 31:8  

He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Isaiah 43:1 

Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine.

Matthew 10:31

So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Matthew 14:27

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Mark 5:36

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

John 6:20

But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”

These are just a few of the places where this command shows up. Often times this command is accompanied by God reminding his people who He is. When we realize who God is, we have no need to be afraid.

When I don’t know what the future holds, I don’t need to be afraid.

When I don’t know where I will be living in the next few months, I don’t need to be afraid.

When I don’t know what my job will be, I don’t need to be afraid.

When an infectious virus is spreading all over the world, I don’t need to be afraid.

When I don’t know what will happen to the ministry I’m a part of, I don’t need to be afraid.

When I see my friends struggling in their marriage, I don’t need to be afraid.

When I don’t know who or what to trust, I don’t need to be afraid, and I need to remember that I can trust the one true living God.

He sustains me, he guides me, he provides for me, he cares for me, and above all else, he loves me.

And guess what 1 John 4:18 says,

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear”

God loves us, and we do not have to be afraid. He is God. We might not know what the future holds, but we know the one that holds the future.

Don’t be afraid my friends. Walk in love.

–Brett Balsley, GEM Missionary

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A Life That Demands A Gospel Explanation

About two years ago, God used a simple question to revolutionize how I desired to live: “Do you live in such a way that demands a Gospel explanation?” – Jeff Vanderstelt.

This question led me to reflect on my life up until that point. Did my words or actions demand a Jesus explanation? In other words, when people looked at my life, did it look like the rest of the world, or did my life reflect the radical love and joy that is found in Jesus?

This is an excellent question for all of us to ponder: Does the way I live demand a Gospel explanation? When people look at our life, do they see a life that conformed to the world’s ways or a life transformed through faith and obedience to Jesus?

I often ask myself – “What is the primary motivation for my life? Am I motivated by happiness, comfort, safety, material possessions or am I compelled by the command of my Lord?”

Think about this: Jesus lived a life that demanded an explanation. He claimed to be God! That’s a statement that demands some kind of explanation. His life did not make sense to this world and neither should ours. His life, death, and resurrection demands an explanation. Either he was who he said he was, or it was all a lie.

So what does all of this mean for us? In order to know how to live, we must learn from Jesus.

Jesus, Our Perfect Example.

“who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:6-8.

If we endeavor to live our lives in such a way as to demand a gospel explanation, the first place to start is to look to Jesus. He sets the pace for us.

From the very beginning, he came to earth understanding that His mission was all about obedience to His father. He knew that he was going to be arrested, tortured, and persecuted (Matthew 26:56) to fulfill the scriptures. Because sin had entered the world, God sent His son so that we could live in the freedom of His grace. He came caring the burden of humanity’s sin to the cross so that all people have the ability to know the freedom found in Christ. He came with no purpose of His own; rather, He came to serve us that we could have life (Mark 10:45).

His entire life was lived to bring glory to his father and to provide freedom for all of humanity. Jesus, fully human and fully God, lived a perfect life not on His on will, but on the will of His Father (John 6:38) He is the perfect example for us. Not only did Jesus claim to have all authority (Matthew 28:18), his life revealed this to be true. His life and ministry was spent in submission to the Father ultimately so that all humanity could have life through his death and resurrection.

Just as Jesus did, we are called to reorient our lives around God our Father. We are to act and live in the same way as His example for us.

Servants of Jesus: A Gospel-Sent People
“Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” – John 20:21-22

Jesus did not only send his disciples. Jesus did not only send pastors, church leaders, deacons, the more spiritual people, or missionaries. Jesus sent every person regardless of race, color, gender, or economic status. Not only has He sent us, but He has sent us with the Holy Spirit to guide us into all of life. We are a people sent with the good news of the Gospel to proclaim Him all over the world.

Because Jesus is our perfect example of a servant, we serve in the same way. We don’t serve others to get recognition, but we serve to make much of Jesus in our lives. We don’t need the approval of man, because God has already approved us as his righteous children. Therefore, we serve as people who are free.
1 Peter 2:16 tells us, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”

Our motivation comes from what we have received in Jesus. We can love unconditionally because we have been loved much. So how do we apply this to our lives?

Prayerful Application
How do we live such a way that demands a Gospel explanation? In other words, how can we live that would lead people to wonder what is different about our lives?
I want to give 3 practical ways that will lead us to live out our identity as dearly loved children who live in the joy and freedom of Christ.

1. Head: Remind yourself of the incredible gift of God’s grace that you have received every day. Preach it to yourself, and meditate on the truth of the Gospel early in the morning and before you go to sleep. Let it be in your mind all day.

2. Heart: Pray and ask God to let these truths you are meditating on sink into your heart. Jesus said to ask Him what we need in His name and He will give it. Give thanks to Jesus daily for the cross and the freedom we have in His grace. Think about your time before Christ and how He has radically changed your desires and have given you a hope that will never fail.

3. Hands: The scripture teaches that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. As we begin to meditate the truths of the Gospel, the truths will sink into our heart and overflow into action. Peter and John said, “For we cannot stop speaking about all we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20), referring to the power of the Gospel to transform lives. They were so passionate about Jesus that they couldn’t stop talking about it.

It is impossible to live a life the demands a Gospel explanation without the Spirit at work in our lives. As we strive to live in obedience to Jesus, may we never stop meditating on the truth of the Gospel and praying for these truths to continually transform our hearts to action.

danielDaniel Mcdonald graduated from Liberty University with a B.S. in Communication (2011) and a Master’s of Divinity in Evangelism and Church Planting (2014). He is serving as the Director of Communication for GEM, while his wife, Kristen, serves as the 4th-grade teacher.  Above all, they desire to make disciples by making Jesus known in Puerto and around the world.