What Is Our Reward? And How Do We Get it?
Then I asked him if he knew of Jesus and “the story”. He looked at me for a minute and told me he had heard of him but never heard the story…
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary’s chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
What was it that made Mary just sit at the feet of Jesus and be with him? I have often thought that if I just ask God hard enough and He answers my prayer that all will be well, but what if I am missing the point of it all?
We recently drove 9 hours to go see Rozie’s parents for her dads 60th birthday. On the way there we stopped at a shell gas station for some food. As I got out of the car I noticed the security guard sitting there and I felt a desire to ask him if he wanted prayer for anything. I asked him if he knew of Jesus and “the story”. He looked at me for a minute and told me he had heard of him but never heard the story (What a privilege.) I told him that God wants to be his friend and that He wants to be involved in his whole life. I told him that God wanted to dream with him. I told him that if he said it with his mouth and believed it in his heart that Jesus died and rose again that he would be saved. He said that he wanted this relationship with God!
What can I say to someone who is experiencing suffering or what can I give to someone who is an aftermath of oppression? In all the complexities of it I believe one of the most powerful things is letting people know we can be friends with God. Did Mary see Him as a friend? I am living in this tension of the Kingdom of Heaven both here now and not yet fully. The now being that we can know God personally, the not yet that the injustices of the world. We have a connection with Jesus and beyond seeing that fulfillment of what you are believing for He is the great reward- thats not to say there isn’t an amazing feeling in seeing the fulfillment of things, I still press for them. But what a profound thought that Jesus is the fulfillment of every promise we see in the Bible. So if you are believing for God to breakthrough in your situation don’t give up but keep pressing in knowing that Jesus is your reward!
How Rozie's Uber Trip Turned Into An Opportunity
Have you ever taken a taxi or an Uber? In Cape Town one of the ways we get around is by Ubering. A lot of the times we don’t make too much conversation outside of the weather but One day Rozie took an Uber to a friends house and upon getting into the Uber the driver was listening to a Christian radio station. So, she asked him if he was a Christian and he said he wasn’t sure about it, and she asked him why he wasn’t sure about that. He said he had grown up Christian but had gone off the path and recently things had been hard in his life. So now, he was wanting to know more about God. Rozie offered to pray for him at which he said please. She prayed for him and he asked her what she did for a living, was she a preacher or what? Rozie told him she was a missionary. She began to tell him about YWAM’s Discipleship Training School which he was very interested in but needed something that he could do while working. So then Rozie told him about the the training school at Antioch Community Church (our local church we are apart of.) He was very interested, so she left her details with him and said goodbye. A couple of days later he messaged her and said he would like to come to church. Which he came with his girlfriend and child that Sunday! Now they are plugged in and are going to do the school next year! My take away from this awesome story is who is the person that’s in front of me that I can love today?