trust & obey
it isn't about us...
Marion and I started a class called "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement". It is a 15 week, in depth course that requires a lot of reading, studying, homework and we will be getting graded. It is a program that was developed 35 years ago to prepare missionaries and people interested in spreading God's word out to others.
We just finished the second night of class, and the second week of homework. I knew that the class was designed to give us a greater understanding of the biblical meaning of the word "missions" and what God's mission really is, what I didn't know was how personally challenging and how eye-opening the course would be.
So many people think that missionaries go out and scare people into believing / accepting Jesus, that the only reason people ever believe is so that they don't have to go to hell. However, do you really think that God just wants to scare us into loving Him? What about all the blessings He gives us (even when we don't deserve them)?...
God created us, why would he not want to bless us, but what is His ultimate goal for us?
I believe that His goal for us is that we glorify Him in everything we do - Col 1:16 and Isaiah 43:6-7. I've heard this before, many times, but the statement was left at that, and it was incomplete at that. The mission that God has given us is to bring everyone to worship Him, to glorify Him in everything that we do. When we trust His mission, and obey what He asks, He will bless us. That in turns lets us bless others who will in turn glorify God. If you step back and take a look at what is actually going on here, it is quite amazing. The mission He has laid out in front of us is an exciting one, that has an end result of nothing but blessings for all. This isn't to say however that the road isn't going to be a difficult one to travel. Also something to keep in mind, this mission isn't about us. This is all about God.
We live in the ME generation, it's all about US! It is about how much we can get for ourselves, what we think we deserve and what we can take. When we read the bible, many times we read it as what can God do for us instead of how we can serve Him, and skip over the challenging scripture about what God asks us to do for Him (much to Satan's delight by the way). This doesn't sound much fun to most people. It's even difficult for me to fully comprehend how to put my desire to serve God above everything else. We are born as selfish beings, so to try and put the desires of ourselves aside is a tough thing to do. Even when we pray, we typically pray for ourselves, our family, and friends that are sick, "bless us". When was the last time that you prayed and asked what you can do for God, how can I bless You today?
First of all, it seems hard to even think that I can do anything for God. Its amazing to think that anything that I can do would please the creator of all. How could I be worthy? Beyond that I'm selfish too! But all He is asking me to do is trust and obey. So humbly I ask Him today, what can I do for You, how can I glorify Your name today, and how can I spread your blessings to others?
God With Us
~b
- Tags: Byron Olsen, Faith, God, missions
About the Author
Byron Olsen
Hi, I'm Byron, aka superbee! Who is Byron Olsen? At first glance....maybe you would describe me as a geek who you can relate to, athletic without being Mr. Sunday football, a man who adores his family and would do anything for them, and and a person who pursues new technology with vigor - so much so that any hobby I take on involves some sort of new gadget! If you want to get down to the typical 20 questions or adjective game, I am a Christian, husband, father, son, brother, brother in law, nephew, cousin, friend and business owner. I am human and imperfect, but Jesus died for my sins and I am trying my best to let Him shape my life to be like His. I have been married to my beautiful and strong wife for 10+ years and we have an energetic and affectionate six year old daughter together. My wife and I were married in the church in 2001 but never made God a priority in our family until 2009. We always believed in God and had personal relationships with him but we never let him have full control or made him the foundation of our life or our marriage until 2009. We were at the brink of divorce until we finally gave in and admitted what we were missing. Since then our lives have dramatically changed and have been very fulfilling and enriching. Everything we both grew up with and were missing was now being fulfilled. My wife Marion had achieved her MBA in Business and was Director of Marketing for a wellness company and I was a Network and Telephony Analyst for a national corporation. We both quit our corporate jobs in 2010 and launched our business, LightSpeed Designs - a marketing, web design, and graphic design firm. We had started the business as a side business in 2002. We had no idea God would ever turn it into our full time careers, until we felt his calling and followed it. Leaving our comfortable but unfulfilling corporate jobs was certainly a leap of faith! And God never turned his back on us. How is it possible we could both leap out on our own and leave the comfort of corporate America? No medical insurance, no 401k, no sick time, no vacation, no holidays....Yet, God provided. Every month, even in a terrible economy. God opened doors and provided. Allowing us time with our daughter in her first year of kindergarten, time together, time to serve our church and time to serve our community. We have enjoyed the most amazing year we've ever experienced.
Now, we're on to 2011 and we know God has amazing plans in store for us. We feel called to serve Him, whether that be through missions or ministry, using the gifts He's given us. We feel it deep in our souls and are letting Him lead. We hope you'll join us for the journey and watch God work in our humble and little lives 2011! We're just one of the many He loves. And so are you!
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